876 Lies (2/2)

Wu Zongheng of the An Kingdom of Xiaoyao Lake had received orders to defend Heaven's Pass. A group of generals from Big Snow Mountain went to the Xiaowan Kingdom to keep the army and provisions in the capital city under strict control as well as put Shangguan Yun under surveillance.

It took Gu Shenwei over ten days to make these arrangements. The situation had just stabilized when he received more bad news: the Governor of the Western Regions, Wei Song, would soon arrive with the envoy of the Central Plains.

There were many descendants of the Central Plains in the Jade City, so the Chinese New Year's Eve of that year was very uproarious. Wei Song and the others arrived on the third day of January in the Chinese lunar calendar, followed by 10,000 soldiers. The number of Central-Plains army troops stationed outside of Jade City thus increased to 20,000.

On the fourth day of January, in the encampment of the Central Plains, Gu Shenwei had a meeting with Wei Song, talking about official affairs. The most important topic was about the new Commander-in-chief.

Prince Xiao had appointed Dugu Xian, who was from the Western Regions, as the Commander-in-chief of the Central-Plains army. But Wei Song also hoped to get the seal of Commander-in-chief, though Dugu Xian insisted on following Prince Xiao's order. There was a dispute between them. It was not very intense, but the two had failed to reach an agreement, and the two Central-Plains armies remained under the command of their respective Commander-in-chiefs.

A normal welcome banquet was held where Wei Song introduced the envoy of the Central Plains to the Dragon King. Both sides were very polite and didn't mention anything about the battle of Thousand Horsemen Pass.

After the banquet, Wei Song invited the Dragon King to talk in private. He instantly shed the businesslike veneer and said in a fatherly, amiable tone, ”the Dragon King's victory in the Norland exceeded everybody's expectations. I've already reported it to the Imperial Court. It won't be long before you receive the Imperial Court's acknowledgement, Dragon King.”

Gu Shenwei had made a deal with Wei Song almost a year ago. Back then, Gu Shenwei had hoped to trade the Khan's life for the support of the Central Plains, but he had never taken this deal seriously. He believed that Wei Song also hadn't. But unexpectedly, after so many dramatic twists and turns, it had actually come true.

”What I've achieved during my journey to the Norland was mostly due to the luck of the draw. I barely made any contribution.”

”Alas, you don't have to be so modest, Dragon King. Without your efforts, this 'luck' would never have happened. The old Khan died at a perfect time. Otherwise, the 20,000 troops of the Central Plains wouldn't have achieved as much. Ha-ha.”

Gu Shenwei had thought that Wei Song wanted to fish out the truth of the battle of Thousand Horsemen Pass. But unexpectedly, he just mentioned it in passing before quickly changing the topic. ”Are you… displeased with me, Dragon King?”

”What makes Lord Wei say that?” The cold look on Gu Shenwei's face was his best cover. He didn't have to show too many emotions, so he naturally wouldn't expose any vulnerability. Nobody could tell whether his surprise had been put on superficially or not.

”After such a long time, Dragon King has only sent one messenger – his name's Fang Wenshi, I think – to contact me once. After that I heard-”

”Fang Wenshi is the military counselor of the Dragon Army. He's my most trusted man.”

”Oh.” Wei Song seemed to have suddenly understood. ”It's all my fault. I thought that he was just a regular lobbyist, so I treated him with only the most common courtesies. It turns out that… Ha-ha. I was wondering why you suddenly became so cold.”

”You misunderstood, Lord Wei. The things between you and me have nothing to do with the counselor. It was all because of Prince Xiao's arrival in Jade City. I believed that I would arouse unnecessary suspicions if I contact Lord Wei too often during this time. Unexpectedly, others weren't suspicious of me, but Lord Wei is.”

The ranks of the officials of the Central Plains were very hierarchical. Wei Song was the supreme official of the Western Regions and was designated by the Central Plains, but compared to Prince Xiao, his rank was several levels lower. Thus, Gu Shenwei's explanation was fairly plausible.

Stroking his beard, Wei Song burst into laughter and the minor misunderstanding disappeared instantly. ”How could I be suspicious? During the daytime, I merely had a small dispute with General Dugu. I hope that the Dragon King will understand. I have my own duty, and sometimes, perfunctory formalities are inevitable. General Dugu will naturally continue to serve as the Commander-in-chief, and I'll consult with Lord Envoy to see if it's possible to bring the 10,000 soldiers I brought here under General Dugu's command. That way, the military orders won't conflict.”

”You think too much, Lord Wei. Prince Xiao appointed General Dugu Commander-in-chief and entrusted his army to him, so General Du is only doing what he should do. He's the Commander-in-chief of the Dragon Army, and I'm unwilling to hand him over to others.”

The two told one lie after another, but the atmosphere unexpectedly became warmer. Wei Song occasionally called the Dragon King ”nephew.” The Dragon King's face was also not as cold as usual, though he never called Wei Song ”uncle” back in return.

This show lasted for about a hour, and neither side seemed bored. Eventually, Wei Song brought up the most important issue. ”Not only have you eliminated the old Khan, but you have also avenged the murder of your family. Congratulations, Dragon King.”

For the first time, Gu Shenwei told the truth during this conversation. ”I haven't. I didn't get my revenge.”

”What? Isn't King Rizhu dead?” Wei Song had an amazed look on his face.

”King Rizhu used to be in contact with Golden Roc Castle, but he had nothing to do with the massacre of the Gu family.”

”Are you sure, Dragon King? The intelligence I got-”

”Lord Wei's intelligence was accurate. King Rizhu did harbor resentment towards my father, but he didn't hire Golden Roc Castle's killers to kill my father. I'm sure of this.”

”I see.” Wei Song believed the Dragon King without asking any further questions about the details. ”And regarding the person truly behind this, do you have any clues, Dragon King?”

Gu Shenwei nodded. ”Please give me some detailed information about this envoy sent by the Central Plains, Lord Wei.”