Uncle Alham was a blunt man accustomed to saying whatever came to mind; he didn’t realize how improper his words were. However, there were many youths in the group that adored Qin Yining, as well as a number of those who’d noticed Lu Heng’s affections for her. Involuntary looks scanned the pair.
Lu Heng’s heart pounded furiously, thumping like a hare as his face flushed red. “Uncle Alham, please don’t joke around like that.”
Alham looked at Qin Yining, thought of her identity, looked back at Lu Heng’s reddened face, then heaved a sigh. He clapped Lu Heng’s shoulder again, conveying a world of meaning with no words at all.
Qin Yining didn’t understand what they were saying since the words used had been too complex, and their speed too fast. Although she’d been studying Tartar recently, she could only understand basic words and phrases.
Worry rose when she saw Lu Heng’s face turn red. “Are you alright?” She habitually reached out to take his temperature.
“I’m fine.” An easy smile belied the turmoil of conflict, wryness, and sweetness within him. Lu Heng turned to address everyone in the Tartar tongue. “You protected and helped your fellow tribesmen out of the desert, and for that, you are all heroes. I’ve long known that the Tatars are an incredibly strong people, and seeing you now, I know that the rumors are true.
“Indeed, you are a people worthy of great respect and admiration! And we Minou are exemplary among the Tatar! Having journeyed alongside you all, I am truly moved and amazed by what I’ve experienced.”
Emotion threatened to overwhelm Uncle Alham, while joy and pride flooded the rest. They were all hot-blooded men, each with a tenacious and unyielding heart. Every one of them had preserved through all kinds of trials and hardships, and was now praised and recognized by a foreigner. High spirits seized their hearts, in a feeling they didn’t know was called patriotism.
Although Qin Yining didn’t know what Lu Heng was saying, she could tell from everyone’s expression that his words had touched their hearts. She couldn’t help a sigh at Lu Heng’s skill.
He really is a very capable leader, blessed with the ability to convince others to happily follow his lead. No wonder he could leave the shelter of his family to start from scratch at such a young age, and then reach heights that no one else can contend with before telling everybody he’s a Lu.
“Although we won, I know that Siqin’s men will certainly make frequent rounds of these outposts,” continued Lu Heng, “we can’t stay here for long. Everything must be packed and ready to go by today. We don't know when the outposts last contacted each other, so if we’re exposed by the next messenger, it will result in unnecessary trouble.”
Chapter 512.1: Official Denunciation
The crowd—who’d just been basking in joy over escaping the desert and conquering the army camp—sobered considerably at Lu Heng's words. They calmed themselves and considered their predicament.
These outposts on the outskirts of the desert were surely Siqin’s doing. They’d ran into a smaller troop division only because Qin Yining had proposed for them to travel in this direction.
Some of them didn't even know where they were anymore and simply went with the flow. Meanwhile, the others who knew their bearings understood they were moving further and further from Great Zhou, so they thought Qin Yining's instructions were incorrect.
In retrospect, the princess consort must have predicted that Siqin was lying in wait for them, like someone guarding a tree stump, waiting for rabbits to come along.
Having just recovered their strength, their chance at victory was questionable if they were to encounter a large hoard of soldiers, much less if that happened when they’d just made it out of the desert and were exhausted.
Qin Yining's decision to go this way had saved all of their lives. Otherwise, they would’ve sacrificed a lot more than the two hundred people who died.
Recognizing the precariousness of their situation, everyone came back down from the clouds of euphoria and firmly planted their feet on the ground.
"Second Master Lu's words make sense. Uncle Alham, what do you think we should do next?" Caganbhara asked, his brows furrowed.
Alham pondered for a moment, then responded, "Our best option is to send people to scout the road ahead of use. Once we get a clear picture of the situation outside and confirm the location of their campsite, we'll have an easier time hiding from them."
Harbhara, however, shot back, "We're not afraid of them! None of our warriors will retreat without putting up a fight if we really do run into the khan's army!"
Lu Heng smiled and nodded. "Indeed," he replied calmly. "The Minuo warriors don't fear them. But if I may offer my humble opinion, unnecessary confrontation will be of no benefit to us unless we have good reason to fight them, such as the prospects of provisions and other things that will help us."
Caganbhara laughed, "Right, if we gave it our all in a fight, but are only fighting for the sake of fighting, wouldn't that be too silly and brash?"
The people gathered in the tent laughed at that. Though Qin Yining didn't understand what they said, she relaxed upon seeing that the heavy atmosphere had lightened up once again.
In the end, Lu Heng and the tribesmen agreed they would first arrange for parties to scout the area, while those left behind at camp tidied up their belongings so that they were ready to depart at any time.
Once word got out, tribesmen immediately got to work without a single complaint. Compared to the perilous desert, hope for the future filled them, despite having to weather the frigid cold and the occasional blizzard.
……
Upon Siqin’s ascension to the throne, he spent some time stabilizing his court. Eventually, his council raised the question of filling the imperial harem. Some of his officials proposed a pageant, in which every tribe in Tatar was to send in their beauties.
By the time Anari assumed the regency, the royal family had already died off almost entirely. Initially, the court had thought her children would become heirs to the throne.
Yet she’d been assassinated and Siqin didn't have any other woman by his side. If something were to happen to him, wouldn’t that mean the end of Tatar royalty? For the stability of their nation, his officials pleaded and begged for him to host a pageant and appoint a Khatun.
Siqin, however, sternly refuted them in morning court. "The only one I love from the depths of my heart is Anari. If I must have a Khatun, I wish for Anari to assume that position. I will have heirs. However, no woman but Anari has the right to bear the title of Khatun. I will take wives and produce children for the sake of Tatar's royal lineage and stability. As for matters concerning the Khatun, you will cease your attempts to persuade me otherwise."
One of his older subjects was even moved to tears—he placed a hand on his chest and bowed deeply. "I do believe Anari Khan's soul will be moved by the khan's devotion from where she is in the heavens."
All of his officials bowed and shouted, "The khan's deep love and devotion is the blessing of Tatar!"
Regardless of whether Utkin Khan wished to appoint a Khatun or not, there was no need to fret over the heir to the throne so long as he didn't become a monk. All would be fine if he bedded beautiful women and had as many children as possible. His officials were smart; they knew not to oppose Siqin on this matter.
Seeing that his subjects had come to an agreement, he somberly brought up Anari once again.
"My heart aches for the suffering Anari endured. Alas, the assassins are far too sneaky. I have sent so many men after them, yet their capture still eludes me. In fact they’ve gained the protection of the Minuo traitors! There would be no reason otherwise that I have yet to receive any word of their capture." Siqin's voice rang clearly, yet he spoke calmly without a trace of excessive emotion.
His officials, however, bowed deeply once again. "Your subjects have been incompetent."
"Do rise at once, I didn't intend to blame you." Siqin stood and clasped his hands behind his back. "No matter
how fierce a warrior may be, even he cannot secure absolute victory over the slippery Great Zhou."
Someone who was able to read between the lines of Siqin's words stepped forward. "Khan, those two assassins must have been sent by Great Zhou's dog of an emperor! They were able to escape because they had their emperor's help from the shadows."
Chapter 512.2: Official Denunciation
"Indeed, great khan." Another of Siqin ardent supporters came forward and bowed. "This emperor of Great Zhou has gone too far. The matter of him sending assassins to murder Anari Khan aside, he had the nerve to quibble when we sent diplomatic letters condemning them for their actions! Not only did he fail to apologize, but he didn't even give us compensation. They truly think us Tatars to be beneath them!"
These words inspired a wave of discussion and speculation among the crowd.
Soon enough, everyone agreed that the truth of the matter was that the Great Zhou emperor had sent assassins after Anari Khan, yet now refused to admit to his murder. He was attempting to help his assassins escape punishment!
As the sound of discord grew louder, their emotions escalated. Amid their disparaging, a loud voice cried out, "Those sly Great Zhou foxes are begging for Tatar hunters to teach them a lesson! Then they'll know what we're made of!"
That ignited the fighting spirit and blood lust of the officials. No Tatar warrior would admit to being cowards who didn't dare exact vengeance on Anari's behalf. What's more, Utkin Khan loved Anari so dearly that they wanted to help avenge her. Not only would this appease the khan, it would win them his favor.
The gathered officials wordlessly came to the same conclusion and stirred themselves up. In just a moment, the court was filled with cries to volunteer for military service.
The corners of Siqin's lips involuntarily twitched into a faint smile, but it was suppressed as quickly as it came.
"I thank you all," said Siqin, "but we Tatars aren't a people who do not see reason. I will decide after discussing terms with Great Zhou. We shall give them a chance. If they continue to refuse responsibility, then they cannot blame us for collecting on the blood debt owed to us!"
His subjects expressed their unanimous approval and assented verbally with bows.
Calls to arms written in four-six prose were immediately published after the court meeting adjourned. They recounted the shamelessness of Great Zhou in great detail—for sending and then not owning up to sending assassins, and ended with subtly lauding Utkin Khan's wise and benevolent rule.
These writings not only made their way to Great Zhou; but also cities and villages all over Tatar, big and small. It didn't take long for heated discussion to flourish in the general public, with everyone collectively praising Utkin Khan's heroism.
The people of Great Zhou, on the other hand, were disgusted by their shameless words.
Li Qitian was so infuriated that he smashed his favorite tea set and summoned Pang Xiao, Patriarch Lu, and Qin Huaiyuan to the palace for another tongue-lashing.
"Tell Us, what are we to do now?! Not only did those Tatars write these calls to arms, they show great disrespect with their words. That is not even the least of it—they think themselves lions and wish to extort an obscene amount of money as compensation! These Tatars are so impoverished that they've gone mad!" fumed Li Qitian.
Strictly speaking, he’d seized the throne from the back of his stallion in the battlefield. War wasn’t something he feared. However, their greatest dilemma wasn’t that they didn't have soldiers or horses, but that the national treasury didn't have any spare silver to fund yet another war.
He was already so strapped for silver that he felt as if his elbows were exposed every time he pulled on his robes, as if he were so poor that he couldn’t afford to replace threadbare clothes. And now the Tatars were trying to extort him?! How was Li Qitian not to be angered by this?
"Please quell your anger, Your Majesty." Qin Huaiyuan was the calmest of the three—seeing that Pang Xiao and Patriarch Lu didn't move to speak, he did the natural thing and bowed. "This subject believes Siqin is using any excuse he can to extort reparations out of us. If that fails, he will have a plausible reason to declare war."
Li Qitian felt the onset of a massive headache at the mention of the word "war"—whether it was warfare or the livelihoods of the people, all of them required financial support. The government was still as chaotic and broken as it’d been in the past; the tumors of Northern Ji didn't cease to be simply because a new dynasty had begun.
They had been hard at work trying to stabilize the nation so that Great Zhou could gradually rise and prosper.
However, it was precisely because they had their hands full with rebuilding the country that they didn't have the energy to spare on other affairs. Li Qitian's worries had already turned the hair on his temples white.
"We know full well this is the case! The problem is how we are to resolve this situation! As We said from the start, the people of Our war torn nation have suffered for years. We are willing to go through any ordeal if the people can be spared from hardship.
“It’s still uncertain if it’s even our people who killed Anari! If née Qin and Lu Heng are both captured, Tatar will swear we were the ones who did it! And now they think themselves to be a lion and open their maws to demand money from us, or else they will declare war. We pity each and every one of Our citizens!"
Li Qitian's heart ached so much that he was close to beating his chest and stamping his feet from sheer frustration. To be emperor seemed glorious, but he was so frazzled that he couldn't even feel the depths of his exhaustion, whether mentally and physically.
Patriarch Lu and Pang Xiao spoke not a single word, for they knew Li Qitian couldn’t care less for Lu Heng and Qin Yining's safety. If the Tatars had declared they would waive all responsibility as long as Great Zhou handed those two over, Li Qitian wouldn't have cared if they were deceiving him or not—he would’ve gladly accepted those terms.
Pang Xiao was in secret contact with some of the Elite Tigers and had ordered them to infiltrate Tatar in search of Qin Yining. Though Li Qitian seemed high-strung, the nation's affairs were so chaotic that his hands were completely full; he wouldn't care about the prince's actions for the time being.
Even if the emperor decided to press charges, Pang Xiao was willing to accept any punishment. He had already defied all those royal decrees, after all—would he care about such a thing if it meant helping his beloved?
Chapter 513: Rations
Despite much discussion, Li Qitian and Qin Huaiyuan were unable to come up with a solution. In the end, all they could do was to write a formal response. They couldn't show fear toward the Tatars—lest they undermine Great Zhou authority—and they had to clarify how Anari's death was unrelated to Great Zhou.
Naturally, the officials of Tatar erupted in outrage when they received the letter. The court petitioned for Siqin to declare war. Eventually, he did as they wished and began allocating rations in preparation.
In less than ten days, they had readied the amount they needed. Instead of loudly proclaiming their intent to go to war, Siqin sent a group of one hundred men disguised as merchants to transport a large shipment of rations to the front lines.
The Elite Tigers sent to search of Qin Yining arrived in Tatar and learned of this secret plan to deploy rations before they could find her. When Pang Xiao received word of this, he somberly requested an audience with Qin Huaiyuan.
"Father-in-law, my men have acquired this piece of intel. I cannot say for certain whether His Majesty also knows or not."
Qin Huaiyuan's brows furrowed as he pondered. "Are you uncertain whether you should report this to His Majesty?"
Li Qitian had been watching Pang Xiao's men like a hawk—if he reported this to Li Qitian, wouldn't that mean admitting that he’d sent men to Tatar? But as a citizen of Great Zhou, if he remained silent despite detecting something untoward from Tatar, soldiers would lose their lives because they missed a key opportunity to prepare themselves
for battle.
Pang Xiao pondered this. "It would be of no consequence to me if I tell His Majesty. He’s always been aware of my bad temper, after all. Even if he has yet to pick up on what I’ve been up to, I wager he expects me to send people to look for my darling anyways."
Qin Huaiyuan laughed. "So you intend to inform His Majesty yourself?"
"What does father-in-law think? I have no desire for innocent civilians and soldiers to needlessly throw their lives away."
Qin Huaiyuan clapped Pang Xiao on his shoulder.
"You see the situation clearly. In truth, this is all inconsequential. If we allow ourselves to be weighed down by bureaucracy, we will easily lose sight of what is important to us. When we overturned Northern Ji's tyrannical rule, we did so for neither fame nor glory, no?"
Moved by his words, Pang Xiao smiled. "It is as father-in-law says. You see things with great clarity."
Qin Huaiyuan smiled. "You have done well enough already. Presently, His Majesty's primary concern is silver. He worries we don’t have enough to fund the war effort, not the prospect of going to war itself. We would be doing our duty as his subjects by telling him, in any case."
How would Pang Xiao not read between the lines of Qin Huaiyuan's words?
He was criticizing the hypocrisy of Li Qitian's self-righteousness of looking out for the people when in truth, his worries were actually about money!
Once the prince let go of his concerns, his mood instantly lifted.
"It is as father-in-law says. I don’t wish to be overly cautious, either. Should we go to war, I trust His Majesty will send me to the battlefield. His Majesty still values my abilities, so he won’t be too critical about me sending my men to Tatar."
"Oh?" Qin Huaiyuan sounded rather amused. "How can you be so certain His Majesty will send you to battle?"
Pang Xiao smiled briefly. "His Majesty trusts Ah Lan considerably, and he’s the master of the Valiant Tigers, in addition to the commander of the capital guard. The emperor will trust no one but Ah Lan with his personal safety."
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