Chapter 53
When Tang Qi was able to walk a few steps with difficulty, he returned to the previous house. Hu Xingche's injuries had mostly healed by then. When Tang Qi was recuperating, he had been taken to see Hu Xingche several times by Ye Qian and Shen Zhiqing.
When Hu Xingche first saw Tang Qi lying on the bed with his eyes closed, resting, he immediately broke down in tears at the foot of his bed, almost banging his head on the ground. Of course, all he got in return was a sidelong glare from Tang Qi.
"Can't you wait until I'm really dead before you start crying at my grave?"
Tang Qi had just stepped through the gate when Hu Xingche suddenly appeared out of nowhere and gave him a bear hug, making Tang Qi wince in pain and almost curse him to death.
"Boss, you have no idea how scared you almost killed me! Forty strokes! When the news came from the palace, I thought you were going to die. When I saw you lying motionless on the bed, I thought you were dead! It really scared the soul out of me..."
"Go, get me a glass of water."
Tang Qi was annoyed by his noise and frowned as she sent him away. Hu Xingche said "Okay!" and ran off in a flash, while Tang Qi, leaning on her crutches, dragged her feet and collapsed onto the bed.
Actually, his injury wasn't fully healed, but Tang Qi didn't want to stay in Yun'an any longer, so he endured the pain and came back as soon as he was able to get out of bed a little.
His forehead was covered in beads of sweat, and he finally let out a long breath as he lay on the bed. Hu Xingche brought in water and stepped into the room. He was about to help Tang Qi sit up and give him water when Tang Qi slapped him on the head and took the water glass from him.
"I'm not at the point where I need to be fed water."
"Boss, how long will it take for your injury to heal?" Hu Xingche scratched his head and plopped down next to him, asking.
"If I knew, I would make it better immediately tomorrow," Tang Qi said, resting his chin on his fists.
Tang Qi then looked up at Hu Xingche and asked, "Are you alright now?"
Hu Xingche nodded, then his expression suddenly turned melancholy: "Boss, is Wolf Strategy...?"
Tang Qi remained silent, his face darkening. After a few seconds, he finally said, "It was my failure to overturn the verdict on Lang Ce. I was too arrogant."
"No!" Hu Xingche immediately retorted.
Tang Qi chuckled before raising her eyes to ask him, "What are you planning to do in the future?"
Hu Xingche paused for a moment, then asked in a daze, "What? What should we do?"
"It's about the future. Your injuries have healed, haven't they? The entire Wolf Strategy Southern Camp has been wiped out, so there's no need for you to continue serving. Have you thought about where you want to go and what you want to do in the future?"
Hu Xingche didn't speak, but Tang Qi pointed to the cabinet and said, "There's money I saved up in there. Take it all. Use it in case you need it in an emergency—"
"You don't want me anymore?" Hu Xingche suddenly stood up and stared at Tang Qi.
Tang Qi remained silent.
"Boss, don't you want me anymore?" he asked stubbornly again.
Tang Qi didn't look him in the eye, but just sighed: "I'm having trouble even protecting myself right now, it would be very dangerous for you to continue following me."
Hu Xingche sat back down, turned his head to the side, and muttered, "I don't care. I told you long ago that I would go wherever you go. You saved my life, and I'd rather die by your side."
Tang Qi endured the pain and slapped his arm again: "What's wrong with you, brat? How old are you? Don't keep talking about death. It's bad luck to be associated with that word."
"Anyway, I'm not going anywhere. If you try to kick me out, I'll hang myself at the door."
Tang Qi burst out laughing, almost causing her wound to reopen: "Who taught you all this?"
Hu Xingche's face turned red: "Isn't that how it's written in storybooks?"
"Your brain is ruined by looking at these things," Tang Qile said, then continued, "Anyway, I'm giving you a chance to leave. Think carefully before you decide whether you want to leave."
"Boss, what do you plan to do next? Are you going to stay here?" Hu Xingche suddenly asked.
"I will go to northern Xinjiang," Tang Qi said frankly.
"Then I'll go north with you."
"Do you even know why I'm going to northern Xinjiang? Why are you going?"
"I'll follow you wherever you go." Hu Xingche laughed.
Tang Qi glanced at him for a long time before muttering a low laugh and a curse: "Stupid."
"So what if you're stupid? As long as you're smart, boss, that's all that matters."
"If the road through the northern frontier is also blocked, I will raise an army." Tang Qi's tone was as casual as if he were talking about how many bowls of rice he had eaten that day.
Hu Xingche's eyes widened as if he hadn't realized what he was saying.
“So, I don’t want you to come with me,” Tang Qi continued.
He would be heading down a dead end. Tang Qi didn't want Hu Xingche to blindly enter the game just because he wanted to follow him. Once he stepped on that path, there would be no turning back.
Hu Xingche is still young and has many possibilities ahead of him. The bright future that Tang Qi wants to fight for also includes Hu Xingche.
"Then...then I..." Hu Xingche opened his mouth, as if he was frightened by Tang Qi's words, and stood there stunned for a while before finally speaking: "Then I'll be your first soldier."
After saying that, Hu Xingche felt his face burning, not knowing if it was from the excitement in his words. He looked at Tang Qi with bright eyes.
Tang Qi didn't look at him, continuing to speak with her eyes lowered: "There's no need to say things so soon. I didn't save you so you could repay a debt or casually hand your life over to someone else. Your survival is what I want. Don't tie your life to me. I'll give you enough time to think it over. Maybe things won't be so bad. You can make your choice when that day really comes. However—"
"Your decision must be based on your own actions. No one can change your fate, understand?" Tang Qi's voice was muffled, as if a heavy stone was weighing on someone's heart.
Hu Xingche's eyes were still shining, and he looked at Tang Qi excitedly with a smile on his lips, saying, "Okay. Boss, I'll stay with you until that day."
Tang Qi was amused by Hu Xingche's silly antics and laughed a couple of times before finally relaxing. Then he instructed Hu Xingche to prepare some food and drink for him, as his wound had been hurting so much these past few days that he couldn't eat anything.
"But boss, does His Majesty know anything about the Wolf Strategy?" Hu Xingche asked casually, ignoring Tang Qi's resentful gaze as he ate one bite of food from his plate.
“He knows.”
"Knowing that, why did you still—" Hu Xingche suddenly slapped his thigh in realization: "Your Majesty did it on purpose!"
Tang Qi reached out and grabbed a few of the things that Hu Xingche had half-eaten from the plate, stuffed them into his mouth, chewed for a long time before swallowing, and couldn't help but look at Hu Xingche—what kind of appetite does this kid have, eating so smoothly.
"Is His Majesty targeting the Wolf Strategy Army?" Hu Xingche frowned and pondered seriously.
"Guess again."
Tang Qi choked and finished the water in his cup. He waved the empty cup in front of Hu Xingche, who immediately got up and poured him more water, still saying, "It wasn't the Wolf Strategy Army, but all the dead were from the Wolf Strategy Army. What exactly is Your Majesty trying to do?"
"He's my father," Tang Qi finally said.
"General Tang?" Hu Xingche said "Oh" and sat back down, frowning as he continued, "But why is His Majesty targeting General Tang? Wasn't the general's southern expedition a war for the Shuo Dynasty? Wouldn't it be better for His Majesty if he won?"
Tang Qi glanced at him and said, "Because he's afraid, afraid of my father."
Hu Xingche was even more surprised: "Afraid?"
He continued stroking his chin, a look of doubt on his face: "One is His Majesty, the other is a subject. Only a subject is afraid of the emperor, how could His Majesty be afraid of a subject?"
"Because the Wolf Army's achievements are too great and threaten His Majesty's vision, he cannot pretend not to see them."
Hu Xingche turned his head again and looked at Tang Qi, saying, "But hasn't His Majesty been wary of General Tang for a long time? Ever since the general's campaign in the northern frontier more than ten years ago, hasn't His Majesty already begun to reduce the general's power by granting titles and establishing mansions?"
Tang Qi remained silent, his expression gradually becoming serious as he listened to Hu Xingche's words.
"In the past ten years or so, General, it seems you haven't done anything that could threaten His Majesty, have you? Since the Northern Frontier, your focus has shifted to you and your wife. As for the achievements of the Wolf Strategy in recent years, apart from your capture of a few cities, there doesn't seem to be anything particularly noteworthy. Your most brilliant victories were almost all before the Northern Frontier. If His Majesty was afraid, why didn't he attack and kill them back then, instead of using the excuse of granting you a title and establishing a prefecture to transfer you away from the capital?"
Hu Xingche thought for a moment and continued, "Moreover, things have been peaceful for over a decade. The general hasn't even been to Jingzhou more than a few times. His Majesty couldn't possibly be unaware of his intentions. Yet, His Majesty suddenly ordered the general to lead a southern expedition at this crucial juncture, choosing to devise a plan to eliminate Lang Ce. This doesn't make sense, unless—"
Hu Xingche looked at Tang Qi and said with the most certainty he had ever shown, "Unless the general did something to anger him, causing His Majesty to settle old scores and new grudges at once, and in a fit of rage choose to kill the general. But what could it be? Could it be—that the general publicly berated His Majesty?"
Tang Qi: ......
You shouldn't expect this guy to say anything serious. However, Hu Xingche's words did give Tang Qi a new idea.
Hu Xingche's words were rough but reasonable. His Majesty hadn't chosen to kill his father all these years, so why would he suddenly have such thoughts? He recalled the remonstrance his father had submitted.
Was it simply because his father reprimanded His Majesty for changing his decrees frequently and enacting laws without restraint? Would these things make His Majesty want to kill him?
"Alas, it can only be said that the general was unlucky to have the right time." Hu Xingche sighed, looking quite sorry for Tang Mian: "Not only the general, but the entire Langce was unlucky to have the right time. If the late emperor were still alive, the strength of Da Shuo would be far greater than it is now."
Tang Qi frowned again, a sudden thought flashing through his mind: the late emperor?
He remembered that the Wolf Army was at its peak when the late emperor was alive. At that time, the Wolf Army and the Li Guang Army were on par. The two armies were not divided into four major camps as they are now. Tang Mian and Ye Xusheng were simply generals of the two armies.
It was through their bloodshed and countless battles that Langce and Liguang grew to their current strength. And the Shuo Dynasty, which was still weak more than thirty years ago, was led to its zenith by the wise leadership of the late emperor, winning victory after victory and expanding its territory time and time again. It welcomed the tribute of all nations and enjoyed unparalleled glory for a time.
However, after the Shuo Dynasty reached its peak, the late emperor suddenly died and left a will to pass the throne to Emperor Ming, who was then the second prince.
After Emperor Ming ascended the throne, a three-year drought ensued. His governance was ineffective, and it was precisely because of this unexpected event that the dynasty declined from its peak. Emperor Ming issued various decrees one after another, and it took ten years for the dynasty to reach the current state of being surrounded by wolves and eyeing us with hostility.
"When did the late emperor pass away?" Tang Qi suddenly asked.
"It seems to be... the thirty-sixth year of the Taiming era."
"Tai Ming Thirty-Six? Tai Ming... Thirty-Six...?" Tang Qi suddenly realized, "Isn't that the year my father went to the Northern Frontier!"
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