For the next three days, Gu Yuzhi followed Mr. Huo around the village, where he not only saw the magical tree, but also finally spotted a trace of a heavy crossbow that had not been completely burned.
He was so busy every day that he would fall asleep as soon as he finished dinner, and he didn't have time to chat with Mr. Huo and the others like he used to.
Gu Yuzhi had finished compiling all the information and sent Hei Yuan to the palace again with the letter.
Meanwhile, things seemed to have suddenly calmed down in Huizhou.
Qi Chengjun looked at the man's smiling face, his hands slowly clenched into fists, but his back seemed to be bent, and his whole spirit seemed to have been drained away.
He was outwitting and outmaneuvering the King of Chu's men in Huizhou, and he had never felt so tired in the past year.
But now, seeing this person appear, it seems that his inner resolve has suddenly found a place to be poured out.
He forced a smile, turned and sat back down in his chair. After a long pause, he said in a hoarse voice, "I am deeply honored by your support. But now the King of Chu has been provoked, and Huizhou..."
The King of Chu is now clearly ready to break ties with everyone. If he simply leads his troops to besiege Huizhou, his death would be no loss, but what about the thousands of innocent people in Huizhou?
This was Qi Chengjun's first thought when he saw the people on the street protecting him.
But now, upon seeing this person, he knew that the King of Chu would not give up easily, but he also wouldn't act so quickly.
Why would he do that? It was clearly an attempt to provoke the King of Chu!
The wealthy merchants and gentry of Huizhou were chattering away below. Qi Chengjun's mind was like it had been bombarded by hundreds of ducks. He was extremely annoyed, but he could still spare a thought to wonder why this person had provoked the King of Chu.
Could it be the Emperor?
Could it be that something has happened in the northern desert?
But my younger brother just wrote to me, and he didn't mention anything about any changes in the northern deserts...
Only after the yamen had quieted down did Qi Chengjun suddenly kneel down before the man and respectfully say, "Father."
Upon hearing this, apart from those who had previously recognized the Duke of Qi, the other guards were utterly astonished.
This man is nothing like the Duke of Qi!
The Duke of Qi laughed heartily as he helped Qi Chengjun up and patted him hard on the shoulder.
Even though I'd been looking at him all afternoon, I still couldn't help but tear up as I looked again: "He's lost so much weight. I don't know how heartbroken your mother would be if she saw this."
Qi Chengjun, however, did not think much of it: "Although I am also helping the emperor share his burdens in the capital, it is nothing new to fight with those ministers. It is more interesting to come to Huizhou."
The father and son headed towards where Qi Chengjun was currently staying. Qi Chengjun spoke very softly, telling the Duke of Qi about what had happened to him there.
The father and son acted as if they were still in the capital, one speaking and the other listening, and finally analyzing the situation together.
Since arriving in Huizhou, Qi Chengjun has had no one to discuss matters with. He often wonders how his father would have handled the situation if he were here.
Everyone thought that Father was just a rough military general, but they didn't know that Father was wise and resourceful, no less so than the advisors around him when he was still the emperor or the crown prince.
Upon returning to his residence, Qi Chengjun knelt down once more. This time, he kowtowed three times earnestly to the Duke of Qi before choking out, "Father, you've had a long and arduous journey."
The distance between Beijing and Huizhou is not far, but my father had to travel and disguise himself to stay in Jiangzhou. He knew the hardships involved, even without my father saying them.
The Duke of Qi laughed heartily, removing the disguise from his face to reveal his naturally dark complexion and smooth chin.
It wasn't until they saw the Duke of Qi's true face that the guards realized that the Duke of Qi had really come.
Duke Qi helped Qi Chengjun up, waved his hand, and when only the two of them were left in the room, he whispered, "His Majesty sent me here urgently to mobilize the troops stationed in Lingnan."
Mobilize the garrison?
Qi Chengjun's pupils dilated, and his breathing became rapid: "Father, why are you mobilizing the troops stationed in Lingnan? The Emperor wants to deal with the Prince of Chu..."
Duke Qi nodded slowly: "News came from the King of Wen that the King of Chu sent someone to Quanzhou with the intention of disrupting and dividing the Mobei army. General Lu and Prefect Ke of Quanzhou followed the clues to find this person, only to discover that he had already escaped beyond the Great Wall."
Qi Chengjun didn't think much of escaping beyond the pass, since what this person had done was something that would cost him his head.
People who didn't want to die fled to the border regions; this wasn't uncommon throughout history.
Duke Qi continued, "Prefect Ke's investigation revealed that before leaving, that person had asked many people in various prefectures and counties in the northern desert to buy salt, and he took this salt with him to the border region."
Did they take salt to the area beyond the Great Wall?
Now, Qi Chengjun had to think twice!
In an instant, Qi Chengjun reacted, clenching his fist and slamming it heavily on the table: "King Chu, send that man with this salt to find the Northern Di people!"
The Northern Di people don't know how to make salt, and over the years they've paid countless tributes to Sang Chang just to buy salt.
And now, this man has taken these bits of salt he bought in small quantities and used them as a guide stone to go to the Northern Barbarians!
Speaking of this, the Duke of Qi looked quite grim: "Of course we hoped that this was the man's own doing and had nothing to do with the King of Chu. But after I came to Jiangnan and conducted a thorough investigation, I discovered that this man was probably sent by the King of Chu."
"I have angered the King of Chu today, but he still dares not act, because he is waiting for news from the Northern Di to come back to him that the Northern Di have agreed to cooperate. Only then can he coordinate with the Northern Di from within and without."
The King of Chu wasn't entirely brainless; he knew that if he were to kill Qi Chengjun in front of everyone at this critical juncture, the Emperor wouldn't give him another chance.
Qi Chengjun closed his eyes briefly: "The King of Chu is truly..."
He really didn't know what to say!
A prince, for his own selfish reasons, actually cooperated with the ruthless Northern Di people.
Qi Chengjun said, "Didn't he ever consider what he would do if they actually succeeded and the Northern Di people didn't leave?"
"For the King of Chu, that's something that happens after the war is won; he naturally won't be thinking about that now."
The successive defeats had left the King of Chu with no hope of winning, which is why he took such a risk and cooperated with the Northern Di people.
"I'm going from Huizhou to Lingnan, and I estimate it will take more than a month to come back."
Duke Qi patted Qi Chengjun on the shoulder: "Be careful over the next month or so, and you can be a little bolder in your actions."
Qi Chengjun nodded solemnly.
Since the King of Chu has some reservations, then he doesn't need to have any!
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