Chapter 564: Claiming Credit
Editor: Atlas Studios
When Qi Haoran received the letter, he was rushing to Chengdu Prefecture with the army. He set the letter aside after reading the letter twice and failing to see any hidden content.
When Qi Xiuyuan received the letter, he studied it twice, too. After confirming that there wasnât a hidden message, he frowned and placed it in a box specially used to store letters. Not quite understanding the meaning of Fan Zijinâs letter, he planned to ask him when he returned.
After a few days of hard work, Qi Haoran finally brought the army to meet up with Qi Xiuyuan. This was the first time the two brothers had reunited after being separated for three years.
What Qi Xiuyuan wanted to do was just to force the Second Prince, Prime Minister Qin, and the others out of Chengdu Prefecture. Although there were hidden dangers if he let the Second Prince off, the Great Zhou had been in chaos for so many years. The people were tired of fighting, and the soldiers were exhausted. It was indeed not a good idea to continue.
However, Qi Haoran was unwilling to let them off just like that. He had yet to take revenge on Ah Ling. In fact, he had rushed over to kill the Second Prince and Minister Qin.
Therefore, he tried his best to say, âBig Brother, just focus on returning to the Imperial Court and leave 20,000 people for me. Iâll definitely be able to fight the Second Prince and Minister Qin to the death for you. The Second Prince carries the bloodline of the Guo family. Although he courted death and rebelled, as long as a trace of bloodline remained in the Great Zhou, the empire might be unstable. Furthermore, Minister Qin is among them.â
âBig Brother, if we can kill Minister Qin, the people will definitely be convinced.â
Qi Xiuyuan was silent for a moment before saying, âOther than West Xia s army, the Second Prince also has about 50,000 imperial guards. Are you sure you can take them down with just 20,000 men? You have to know that one shouldnât chase after a desperate enemy. If we force them into a corner and fight them to the death, we will suffer heavy losses.â
This was also the reason why Qi Xiuyuan was willing to let them go. Previously, Qi Xiuyuan had nothing, so he rushed forward with all he had. Now that he had conquered more than half of the country, he was only one step away from success. On the other hand, Second Prince had been forced to Chengdu Prefecture, and after that, he would be forced to enter West Xia.
Qi Haoran chuckled. âBig Brother, who said weâre going to force them into a corner? Theyâre all born and raised by their parents. Those imperial guards are mostly soldiers from Jiangnan and the central region. Do you really think theyâre willing to follow the Second Prince into exile in West Xia? Just wait. Once you leave, Iâll tell them that I wonât kill them if they disarm. We can let them choose to return to their hometown or continue to be soldiers. Iâll only take the heads of the Second Prince and Prime Minister Qin. Letâs see how many people are willing to follow them.â
Qi Xiuyuan was dumbfounded. After a while, he patted his brother s shoulder and said, âNot bad, not bad. Youâre even more thorough in your considerations than me now.â
Seeing Qi Haoran become smug, Qi Xiuyuan couldnât help but smile. He thought that if Qi Haoran had a tail now, it would definitely wag.
âBig Brother, are you going to ascend the throne after you go back?
Qi Xiuyuan paused for a moment and said, âWe still have to discuss and choose a good day. Haoran, I hope that you can make it back by then.â
Qi Haoran patted his chest and promised, âDonât worry, Big Brother. 111 definitely rush back.â
Qi Xiuyuan smiled and Qi Haoran said with a grin ingratiatingly, âBig Brother, I might need a long time before I can go back. Help me take care of Ah Ling when you go back. If you and Sister-in-law move into the palace, bring her along to prevent her from being bullied outside. Sheâs a blockhead. She can defend herself physically alright, but sheâs no good at verbal wars. Furthermore, since sheâs the sort who wonât complain, we wonât even know if she s bullied. freeÏebnovÄl.cà«Šm
Seeing his brother like this, Qi Xiuyuan couldnât help but shake his head and laugh. âAlright, alright. Youâre leading an army of hundreds of thousands outside and you âre my biological brother. Who dares to bully your wife? Thinking of Madam Wu and the others in the Qi Residence, he sneered. âDonât worry, I wonât let your wife suffer.â
Qi Haoran heaved a sigh of relief. He was really worried that Madam Wu would put on airs and bully Mu Yangling.
âAfter ascending the throne, Iâll be giving out rewards based on oneâs contributions. Haoran, what title do you want?â It was a difficult topic to broach with his subordinates, but they were brothers, so there was nothing they couldnât talk about.
Qi Haoran tilted his head and said, âYou can confer me the title of Prince. Qi Xiuyuan raised his eyebrows. Qi Haoran lowered his voice and said, Big Brother, do you really plan to just take over the Great Zhou? Now, West Xia is occupying the west and Dali in the south, while the north is occupied by the Jin Kingdom. These are all Han Chinese territories. We have to take them back one day. Once you become the Emperor, you definitely canât fight everywhere anymore. When the time comes, Iâll recover those territories in my capacity as a general. Then, you can confer me the title of King.â
Qi Xiuyuan laughed out loud. âHow did you know that I wanted to confer you the title of King from the beginning?â
âIâm your biological younger brother. If you donât confer me the title of King, who would you confer that title?â Qi Haoran widened his eyes.
Qi Xiuyuan rubbed his head and said, âYouâre right. Youâre my biological brother, so Iâll leave the position of King for you after you recover those lands.â
Qi Haoran nodded smugly and did not forget to specially instruct, âBig Brother, you must remember that when you confer me the title of Prince, you have to confer Ah Ling as the Princess Consort. You have to confer us the titles at the same time.â
Qi Xiuyuan was about to say something when he was stopped by Qi Haoran s delighted expression. Forget it, Haoranâs thoughts were simple. Even if someone provoked him, he might not be provoked. There was probably no need to remind him.
âBig Brother?â Seeing that he wasnât listening to him, Qi Haoran nudged him. âGot it.â Qi Xiuyuan said with a smile, âI know that you two are deeply in love. Donât worry, the decree will definitely be issued at the same time.
Qi Haoranâs heart itched uncontrollably. âThen, Big Brother, do you think I should tell Ah Ling now or leave it as a surprise?â
Qi Xiuyuan saw that the topic was getting more and more off-topic, but he did not try to pull it back. He only played along and said, âYou can tell her to give her a surprise now. This way, you guys will be happy for a few more days.â
Qi Haoran agreed deeply. At the thought that Mu Yangling would be as delighted as him, he couldnât sit still anymore and wanted to go back and write a letter to her.
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Qi Xiuyuan pressed him down and said, âWe brothers will be separated the day after tomorrow. Drink with me today. You can write the letter anytime.â
Then, he said, âGive the letter to me after itâs written. Iâll hand it to her when I get back. Thereâs no need to send a messenger.â
Qi Haoran also knew that this reward was privately agreed upon by the two brothers and that it wasnât a good idea to send the letter openly, so he agreed. âThen Big Brother, what titles are you going to confer Second Brother and Third Brother?â
The smile on Qi Xiuyuanâs lips faded slightly. âAnything is fine. I donât want them to enter politics thanks to me.â
âThen just donât confer them.â Qi Haoran said with heartache, âIf you confer them the title of a duke, youâd have to reward them with a lot of stipend land and give them a significant salary each year. We can do a lot of things with this money. Anyway, not only have they not made any contribution, but theyâve also caused us a lot of trouble in the past.â
âWhen did you start to cherish money?â Qi Xiuyuan asked curiously. You ve always been generous, but now you know how to save money.
Although he was going about it in the wrong direction.
As his biological brother, Qi Xiuyuan could naturally tell that the latter reason Qi Haoran gave was just a casually made-up one, and him feeling sorry for the money was the real reason. Even Qi Xiuyuan couldnât help but feel bad for him when he saw his pained expression at the mention of money.