After a moment of confusion, Cui Qianyi seemed to realize something. He looked at the Marquis with sudden understanding and said in shock.
"You abandoned the Crown Prince and fled for your life alone?"
Having said that, he believed he had guessed correctly, and he immediately pointed at the Marquis and angrily rebuked him.
"Your Highness, do you know what you've done? That's the Crown Prince! You abandoned him and fled for your own life! This is a capital offense..."
"Lord Hou, how could you flee alone? Brother Zhu treated you so well, you ungrateful bastard..."
The king was even more bewildered. What was going on? How was I ungrateful? How was I guilty of a capital offense? You didn't even listen to me finish speaking before assuming I was fleeing for my life. It was even worse than when I asked for help earlier…
"Can't you guys be normal for once? Can't it be His Highness the Crown Prince who conquered Qicheng?"
Hou Wang is usually a man of few words, preferring to take action rather than argue, but now he has been forced to say a few more words to defend himself!
"Haha, how ridiculous! General Dada, did you hear what the Marquis said? He said that His Highness the Crown Prince has captured Qicheng..."
Our border troops have been stationed here for so long, and all we've managed is a stalemate with the enemy. We simply can't take Qicheng, which is defended by tens of thousands of soldiers. He only has five thousand men, yet he dares to dream of taking Qicheng. This joke is not funny at all...
I bet the Crown Prince is hiding in some corner, trembling with fear. He sent you back to test the waters first, and then you slunk back, saying that you had actually captured Qicheng, but Qicheng's reinforcements took it back?
Do you find this joke funny? If the future crown prince of the new Tang Dynasty is such a despicable person, I think it would be better to replace him as soon as possible…”
Cui Qianyi's outburst left the Marquis completely bewildered. If he hadn't witnessed Li Zhu conquering Qicheng, he would have believed Cui Qianyi's words to be true...
However, Cui Qianyi noticed that Tuoba Dada and Nazha weren't agreeing with him, and he suddenly realized something was wrong...
"General Dada, Princess Nazha, you don't believe what the Marquis said is true, do you?"
Cui Qianyi asked somewhat uncertainly!
"Why can't it be true? My Zhu-gege is amazing..."
Naza said naturally, completely trusting the Marquis's words. Before the Marquis explained clearly, she also thought he had come to ask for help. As the saying goes, concern can cloud judgment, which is why she had the same idea as Cui Qianyi...
However, after the Marquis announced that Li Zhu had captured Qicheng, she first felt relieved, then happy for Li Zhu, and even more proud that he was the man she had chosen—he was truly amazing…
Tuoba Dada was also unwilling to believe it, but he thought Li Zhu was a cunning old fox, and who knew what tricks he had up his sleeve? So after hearing the Marquis's words, he didn't doubt the truth of the news, thinking that Li Zhu had probably tricked the Qicheng garrison again...
His idea was correct; Li Zhu had indeed outmaneuvered his opponent, but the method he used was something Li Zhu could never have imagined. After all, very few people in this world knew anything about strategic substances like gunpowder…
Cui Qianyi's face immediately turned ugly; he refused to believe it was true. He looked at the Marquis and asked...
"Now that Qicheng has been captured, what is the purpose of sending you back?"
"Didn't His Highness the Crown Prince make a bet with you? So he wants to invite General Cui to have tea on the city wall of Qicheng..."
The Marquis said calmly, feeling that General Cui seemed a bit abnormal; how could he have forgotten about the bet…
This isn't Cui Qianyi's fault. He didn't take the bet seriously. Most importantly, he felt that even if he won against Li Zhu, he wouldn't dare to voice any objections, since Li Zhu was the future emperor and he couldn't afford to be disrespectful. Besides, he never even considered the possibility of losing...
Cui Qianyi's eyes flickered for a moment, then he seemed to realize something. He looked at the Marquis and said in a guessing tone...
"Your purpose has been exposed..."
The king was completely bewildered. What had I revealed? All I did was take you to the appointment.
"Your goal is to lure me to lead my troops there. Once we reach Qicheng, regardless of victory or defeat, my border troops will have no choice but to join the battle. That's the Crown Prince's objective, isn't it?"
"Holy crap... who gave you the confidence to think His Highness the Crown Prince would definitely lose?"
Even the Marquis couldn't help but swear. He'd learned it from Li Zhu, finding it powerful and catchy, and it gradually became one of the interjections he used to shock events...
"Isn't that right? I guessed it, and now you're getting angry and embarrassed..."
Cui Qianyi said firmly!
"You're not unable to accept the fact that you lost the bet, are you? But the bet you made was with the Crown Prince. Even if you had a hundred lives, you wouldn't dare to break your promise, would you?"
The Marquis's eyes darted around, and he thought to himself, "Anyone can make wild guesses; it's just mindless speculation..."
"How could I, the dignified Lord of Pingyao, possibly break my promise? I just think, why should the Prince deceive himself? I'm not stupid. With only five thousand men and no siege equipment, how could he possibly breach Qicheng? Even if you're lying to me, you should at least make it plausible, right? Since you've come back seeking reinforcements, you should at least tell me the truth so I can mobilize my troops..."
Cui Qianyi was somewhat annoyed by what she was being said. She had clearly come back to lie and ask for help, but she insisted on saying they had already won. No one would want to help in that situation…
"The Crown Prince has already brewed tea on the city wall of Qicheng, just waiting for you to arrive. If you don't go soon, the tea will get cold..."
The Marquis took a deep breath and made his final effort, saying!
"Lord Hou, you are the Emperor's top secret agent. Don't you know the importance of accurate intelligence? Why are you fooling around with the Crown Prince?"
Cui Qianyi looked at the Marquis and spoke, her words already carrying a hint of displeasure and reprimand…
"Your stubbornness is truly an eye-opener for me. You'd rather believe your own conjecture than the truth. Why don't you come with me yourself? Even if it's a lie, you can come back unnoticed. I don't think you and the Crown Prince are trying to kill you, do you?"
The Marquis could only say helplessly that this guy's obsession with Li Zhu had reached its extreme, and it was simply too difficult to change his mind...
"That's actually quite possible..."
Cui Qianyi frowned and said, as if to say, "You're right..."
The prince's hands trembled with anger; this guy was a stubborn blockhead who wouldn't listen to reason...
If they continued trying to communicate, the king felt he would be driven mad by this scoundrel. Thinking this, he decided to abandon communication and resort to the simplest and crudest method…
Tie Cui Qianyi up...
Without hesitation, the Marquis gave Cui Qianyi no chance to react, directly sealing off Cui Qianyi's energy channels, rendering him incapable of resistance. He then picked him up and leaped off the city wall...
"Your Highness, what are you doing? Attacking the border troops is a capital offense..."
No matter how much Cui Qianyi screamed and resisted, the Marquis did not respond at all…
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