542 King Kuari (1/2)

In the Royal Court, it was widely known that King Kuari was the Khan's favorite grandson. The most convincing evidence of this was that he was conferred with the title of ”King Kuari” soon after his father's death. Now, he was the fourth rightful heir to the throne.

Those who met with King Kuari gave him many compliments. Fang Wenshi was one of them, and he told the Dragon King, ”The future of Norland is bound to be in the hands of King Kuari. He is an exceedingly important figure. We only have two choices: side with him or kill him.”

Gu Shenwei discovered that King Kuari was different from others by observing one detail.

Gu Shenwei entered the noble area with Butler Han and his six guards. No one had gone ahead on their way to King Kuari's encampment to inform him of their arrival. However, as soon as they walked into the encampment, Gu Shenwei saw a man of about thirty years opening his arms to welcome them. He seemed to have foreseen their arrival in advance.

”Dragon King, you are finally here. I thought I would not have the honor of your visit,” greeted King Kuari.

King Kuari had a handsome, genteel look. He was more like a well-read, highborn master from the Central Plain than a rude illiterate born in Norland who spent most of his time on horseback. Now Gu Shenwei understood why Fang Wenshi thought so highly of him.

”It's natural to visit the most important people,” replied Gu Shenwei.

King Kuari burst into laughter when he heard these words. His laughter was lively and sincere, typical of the Norland style.

Butler Han came forward, bowed and said, ”I beg your pardon, My Lord. I brought the Dragon King here without your permission.”

”The Dragon King is a distinguished guest. How could I punish you?” laughed King Kuari.

Butler Han was very relieved, with a bright smile on his face. He bowed to King Kuari, and then dismissed himself.

The tent of King Kuari was neither as luxurious as King Dari's nor as simple as King Rizhu's. Sets of armor, bows and arrows, and sabers and swords were displayed in the tent. A brass incense burner of the Central Plain style stood in the corner. The light scent of the incense pervaded the entire tent.

Gu Shenwei thought, ”It's a strange combination of decorations.” He decided to make a judgment about King Kuari after more observation.

”You must wonder why King Rizhu and King Dari were so eager to meet you,” said King Kuari straightforwardly.

Gu Shenwei liked King Kuari's frankness. He replied, ”Yes, I did. I was confused, especially when they dodged my questions.”

King Kuari laughed again. During the whole conversation, he always laughed at the proper time. He seemed to consider the Dragon King as his ally. Avoiding small talk and persuasion, he went straight to the point.

For the past six months, Fang Wenshi had been paving the way for the Dragon King to seek an alliance in Norland. King Kuari thought that there was no reason for the Dragon King to refuse to form an alliance with him.

”There is only one person who can change the Norland lords' attitudes,” King Kuari said. He was the first man from Norland who was honest with the Dragon King. ”A few days ago, the Khan summoned ten lords and gave them an order: anyone who persuaded the Dragon King and the Supreme King to make peace with each other and work together to fight against the Central Plain would become the Lord of the Western Region,” he told Gu Shenwei.

Gu Shenwei admired King Kuari. He was not supposed to be trusted here, as he had just left King Dari's encampment. However, this lord neither showed any displeasure nor inquired about his conversation with King Dari. Instead, he openly told him the secret that the others had concealed.

Even so, Gu Shenwei could not accept Khan's order. He asked, ”Do you mean that the Khan will turn the Western Region into a dependency of Norland?”

King Rizhu and King Dari did not want to irritate the Dragon King too soon, so they had hidden this from him.

King Kuari said, as if he had no such concern, ”You do not need to take these words seriously. The Khan's real purpose is to select his successor.” After pausing for a while, he continued, ”This is the way that the Khan handles matters. He asks you to do one thing, but he actually has another plan. Haha, he is getting old.”

King Kuari was also the first who dared to show disrespect to the Khan. Gu Shenwei had discovered that no one in Norland dared to tease the Khan behind his back.

The people of Norland regarded the Khan as the leader of the gods.

”Even if the Khan had another plan, he would take the Western Region as well. Am I wrong?” asked Gu Shenwei.

”Dragon King, don't worry about it,” King Kuari said with a grim look. ”There is a border between the Western Region and Norland that no one can cross. It's not the natural moat, the pass or the strong troops, but the lifestyle,” he continued.

”The people in Norland go out on horseback, while the people in the Western Region go by carriage; the people in Norland eat meat and drink horse milk, while the people in the Western Region plow the land and eat pancakes and pastries. If the people from Norland resided in the Western Region, they would have no place for their horses. If the people from the Western Region lived in Norland, they would have no land to plow. Since ancient times, the two kingdoms have been on good terms for these very reasons,” King Kuari went on.

”Now thousands of cavalry from Norland are galloping into the Western Region,” replied Gu Shenwei.

”It's temporary. Dragon King, you are from the Western Region. You could come to Norland and stay months, or even years. However, you would eventually go back, because no one here woud treat you as a Dragon King. If you insisted on staying here, you would slowly become a man of Norland, abide by our rules, and serve the Khan. In the end, you might be granted with the title of Lord, but do you want to lead such a life?” quipped King Kuari.

King Kuari was an eloquent master. Compared to him, Fang Wenshi was a clown.

Still, Gu Shenwei was a practical man who only cared about his own interests. He asked, ”Are you saying that the cavalry from Norland will withdraw someday?”