546 Hidden Traitor (2/2)

”Horse races, war games and kung fu competitions,” Gu Shenwei repeated to himself. All of a sudden, he disovered a problem. He said to Fang Wenshi, ”King Rizhu has Flame Foal, so he will take first place in the horse race. With excellent kung fu masters like Wildhorse and Taoist Yu at his disposal, one of them will be the winner of the bravery contest. He's allowing his soldiers to indulge themselves in eating and drinking so that they will perform well in the war games. Obviously, he intends to take all of the prizes of these three competitions. Is he being forbidden from meeting the Khan?”

Fang Wenshi realized what the Dragon King said was true. As the Military Counselor, he had failed to think of this. He replied, blushing, ”You're right. King Rizhu is meant to win these matches. That was why he was so furious when we stole his Flame Foal.”

Fang Wenshi paced to and fro in the tent. He thought he was close to the truth. When it came to the relationship between Norland and the Central Plain, he had lots of insightful opinions, but he was bad at analyzing things that dealt with powerful people.

Gu Shenwei came up with an idea, ”Perhaps King Rizhu's motive is not to win the competition, but to stop others from winning. In this way, King Dari and King Kuari would become more interested in him.”

It sounded reasonable, but Fang Wenshi still didn't think that was exactly right. He went on, ”It's an unwise move to threaten the future Khan. If King Rizhu was smart, he woudn't do it. Does he want to be the Khan? That's impossible. He has no claim to the throne. What's he trying to achieve?”

Gu Shenwei was about to reveal to him his real identity, but after pondering for a while, he changed his mind. ”King Rizhu has a grand plan, which is unlikely to have anything to do with the son of his enemy,” he thought.

Fang Wenshi still couldn't understand King Rizhu's real reason, even after considering it for a quite awhile. So he changed the subject and said, ”King Kuari's subordinates seem to be unhappy with you. They said...”

Fang Wenshi did not continue, for he was afraid of offending the Dragon King. Gu Shenwei followed, ”They said that the Dragon King was an ungrateful guy who dared to refuse King Kuari's advice.”

”More or less,” Fang Wenshi replied. In fact, what they had said was more blunt and even more offensive.

”What kind of person do you think King Kuari is?” asked Gu Shenwei.

”King Kuari is inclusive to outsiders but strict to his own men. He is an extremely intelligent, insightful man who is qualified to be a king. However, he acts tyrannically and never listens to other's advice and suggestions, which has made him many enemies,” answered Fang Wenshi.

”But you still think that he will be the future Khan?” asked Gu Shenwei.

”King Kuari's opponent is weak. King Dari has waited too long, and most of the other competitors around his age have either died or given up on the throne. He is no longer young, so he cannot defeat his energetic opponent. But that's not only my opinion -- most of the dignitaries in Norland think that King Kuari will sit on the throne,” replied Fang Wenshi.

After meditating for a moment, Gu Shenwei asked, ”What about King Shengri?”

”Do you mean King Shengri, who is the second rightful heir?” Fang Wenshi asked in surprise, as he had never thought that the Dragon King would be interested in this lord. ”He's a drunk who keeps more birds than soldiers. He stepped out of the fight for the throne years ago,” he continued.

Gu Shenwei had a feeling that King Shengri had not completely lost interest in the throne. However, he could not find proof to support this opinion, so he led the conversation back to King Kuari, asking, ”Do you think we should form an alliance with King Kuari?”

”I have said that King Kuari is our only choice if we intend to forge a new alliance in Norland. But if you have another plan, then everything changes,” said Fang Wenshi.

”But he wants the Dragon Army and the Golden Roc Fort to make peace with each other,” Gu Shenwei went on.

”The Khan has a clever plan,” Fang Wenshi said in an admiring tone. ”He asked for the Dragon King to reconcile with the Supreme King, but his real purpose was to let King Kuari and King Dari make peace. In my opinion, you cannot disagree,” said Fang Wenshi.

”Why?” Gu Shenwei asked, a little surprised, as he thought that Fang Wenshi had been completely convinced by King Kuari.

”If Your Highness made peace with the Supreme King, King Kuari would be the only beneficiary. Meanwhile, it would be a fatal blow to you. The Dragon Army would no longer be a small team of only a few thousand men. Instead, it would consist of tens of thousands of soldiers, most of which would be rebels from the Golden Roc Fort. If we reconciled with the Golden Roc, the soldiers would go home, because they'd feel there was nothing left worth fighting for. If that happened, the only way to keep them around would be by paying them. Your Highness, I do not think you are rich enough to afford that kind of money,” explained Fang Wenshi.

When Fang Wenshi had first met the Dragon King, he'd had no idea of the Khan's plan. Otherwise, he would have never suggested the Dragon King side with King Kuari.

”What should we do next? If we do not make peace with the Supreme King, we can't get King Kuari's support. Now, he's just using me as a pawn,” said Gu Shenwei.

Just Fang Wenshi and the Dragon King were in the tent. Still, Fang Wenshi was on alert. He walked to the exit of the tent and looked out. Then, he came back and said to the Dragon King with a frown, ”Your Highness, can you tell me your real thoughts? What are the terms the Central Plain is willing to offer?”

Knowing that Fang Wenshi had not entirely been persuaded by King Kuari, Gu Shenwei decided to tell him without reservation. ”They promised to give me an army. They told me that they had a hidden traitor in Norland of high status, and that this person's army would be mine -- as long as I killed the Khan to make Norland unravel. I don't know if I can trust them. Besides, they wouldn't tell me who this 'hidden traitor' is,” Gu Shenwei revealed.

Fang Wenshi said, his frown disappearing, ”I think I know who this 'hidden traitor' is.”

”I also have a guess...” said Gu Shenwei.

Fang Wenshi put some pens and paper on the table, and said with a smile, ”Let's write down their names and see if we have the same thought.”

Fifteen minutes passed, and two pieces of paper were placed on the table. The names on them were different, though. They both thought that each other's guess was wrong.