Chapter 504: Persuasion
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Qi Haoran touched his nose and said, âThe Imperial Court hasnât made any new moves. Donât worry.â
Liu Dahei looked at Lin Man. Lin Man pursed his lips in dissatisfaction and said, âThe Imperial Court still hasnât made any new moves? The 200,â000-strong army has surrounded us and wants to kill us all. Who was the one who swore that he would inform us? Itâs been half a month. If you hadnât appeared on your own accord, we probably wouldnât have been able to catch your shadow.â
Smiling, Qi Haoran said, âEven if I donât appear, you still have something on me. Itâs akin to you holding my lifeline. As long as Iâm alive, I wonât dare to deny it.â
Only then did their countenances improve.
Only then did Liu Dahei ask the question he was most concerned about. âWhy is General Qj in such a sorry state? The Imperial Courtâs army is only three to four days away from here. Since you could avoid the bandits along the way, why did you take the initiative to come to Huaiyuan County?â
What Liu Dahei was most afraid of was that Qi Haoran would lose power in the Imperial Court. If that happened, they would really lose a trump card.
Qi Haoran deliberated for a moment before telling them about the massacre. âI came here this time to investigate those people, but Huaiyuan County is within your sphere of influence, so please help out.â
Lin Man also hated the barbarian Tartars. Hearing this, he immediately wanted to agree, but Liu Dahei kicked him under the table. Lin Man closed his mouth and lowered his head without saying anything.
Qi Haoran pretended not to notice and just looked at the two of them expectantly.
Liu Dahei asked, âWeâre bandits, and youâre soldiers. Now that the West Xia soldiers are making trouble for you, it should be a good thing for us, right? Why should we help you?â
Lin Man frowned. His intuition told him that Liu Dahei was wrong, but he didnât know exactly what was wrong. Hence, he frowned and looked at Qi Haoran. He saw that Qi Haoran was also frowning.
Qi Haoran said unhappily, âNo matter how much the soldiers fight with the bandits, this is our Great Zhouâs business. Itâs wrong for West Xia to get involved. Our Great Zhou has already lost more than half of our empire. Are we going to let West Xia swallow the remaining half?â
âThatâs because you officials are incompetent.â Liu Dahei said, âDonât forget, weâre bandits. Donât you think itâs atrocious to tell us to protect the country?
Qi Haoran choked and looked at Lin Man. âDoes Chief Lin think so too?â Lin Man opened his mouth and muttered in spite of Liu Daheiâs pressurizing gaze, âEveryone is responsible for the rise and fall of the country⊠Liu Dahei gritted his teeth. âBut what weâre doing now is causing the fall of our country. Do you have nothing better to do than protect the Great Zhou now? Can you distinguish between priorities?â
Qi Haoran said solemnly, âChief Liu, I think youâre the one who should be clear about priorities. Thereâs a huge difference between Great Zhou dying in your hands and West Xiaâs hands. If the Great Zhou dies in your hands, itâs just establishing a new country in our Han territory. Although the people have fallen into war, there will be a day when peace will be restored. Life goes on. However, if our country perishes in the hands of West Xia or the Jin Kingdom, be it the subjects of the Great Zhou or you, youâll all be the citizens of the destroyed country. The citizens of the entire Great Zhou will be reduced to second-class citizens. If the Great Zhou falls and becomes controlled by the Tartars, will your lives really be better? Is this really what you want to see?â Liu Dahei snorted coldly and said, âJust because your Great Zhou will die at the hands of West Xia doesnât mean that we will too.â
A mocking smile appeared on Qi Haoranâs face. âGreat Zhou has a total of more than 800,000 troops and only one monarch. If even we succumb to West Xia, do you think you bandits can resist the West Xia army? If your alliance is really so fair and convincing, the two of you wouldnât have come here to defend the city, right?â
Liu Dahei stopped talking.
Qi Haoran continued, âFurthermore, the Imperial Court has no intention of exterminating you.â
This time, even Lin Man did not believe it. âThereâs a 200,000-strong army outsideâŠâ
âBut how many of them are really fighting with you?â Qi Haoran interrupted the other party and sighed. âBelieve me, His Majesty doesnât really want to exterminate you. He just wants to take you down a notch so that he negotiates amnesty with you. If he really makes up his mind to exterminate you, Iâll definitely admire him to the core.â
Liu Dahei and Lin Man stared at him unkindly. Qi Haoran said regretfully, âItâs a pity that His Majesty doesnât have the courageâŠâ The national treasury wasnât capable of such a feat, either. Of course, this crucial sentence was left unspoken in Qi Haoranâs heart.
Qi Haoran hadnât eaten up till now and his mouth was parched from all the talking. In any case, he was trying his utmost to persuade Liu Dahei to set aside his political views. For the sake of the nation, they would cooperate temporarily. After West Xiaâs conspiracy was dismantled, they would resume the fighting and peacemaking among themselves. At that time, he would definitely do his best to help them.
Not only Liu Dahei, but even the naive Lin Man was skeptical of Qi Haoranâs promise.
Qi Haoran immediately mentioned his Big Brother, Qi Xiuyuan. He said, âMy big brother is the second most powerful general in the Great Zhou Dynasty. The Emperor will never give up on me, of all peopleâŠâ
Liu Dahei reminded him coldly, âYouâve already been abandoned once when you were surrounded.â
ââŠThatâs because I was surrounded and my big brother hadnât received the news yet. It was too late for them to do anything. Now that Iâm free, those generals donât dare to offend me, and the Emperor wonât be so stupid to go against my big brother and take such a big gamble.â
âWho said that youâre free now?â Liu Dahei asked.
Qi Haoran:ââŠâ
Lin Man came back to his senses and looked at Qi Haoran for a moment. Then, he pointed at him and laughed out loud. âYou actually walked into the trap voluntarily. HahahaâŠâ
Speechless, Qi Haoran turned around and asked Liu Dahei, âYou want to imprison me?â
Liu Dahei shook his head. âIâm just wondering if you still have any value as a partner.â
Qi Haoran wanted too much, yet what he could offer them at the moment was promises backed by nothing. Who knew if he could fulfill his promise eventually?
Now, he and Lin Man were not the only bandit leaders in Huaiyuan County. There was also Chief Yang. That person was not easy to deal with. He and Lin Man had already taken two-thirds of his benefits when they were transferred here. If they did anything else, they would probably force the other party into a corner.
Qi Haoranâs identity was a bomb to him and a cup of poisonous wine to them. It could take effect at any time. If the alliance really found out that he, Lin Man, and Qi Haoran were working together in private, the two of them would definitely be torn apart. At that time, they would definitely not be able to get rid of the title of a traitor.
Hence, Liu Dahei was unwilling to take this risk. Or rather, the benefits Qi Haoran offered were not lucrative enough for him to take this risk. Now, he actually hoped that Qi Haoran would leave.
However, Lin Man agreed with what Qi Haoran said and privately advised Liu Dahei, âI think heâs right. Us fighting with the Imperial Court is an internal matter within Great Zhou. Who knows what tricks West Xia has up their sleeves by interfering? I think we should help him. Isnât it just finding traces of the enemy group in the vicinity? We wonât suffer any losses by helping him.â -What do you know? Qi Haoran is waiting for us to board the pirate ship. Iâm afraid well be tied to it and wonât be able to get off,â Liu Dahei said worriedly..