The Emperor Reigns Them All

Chapter 293 You Are Selling Your Life

Kang Xigui and Kang Chengqian trembled and hurriedly knelt down. The head stained with lime rolled out the box and appeared in the public. The officials and generals of Zhaoyi, who were drinking in the banquet, were greatly frightened. They hurriedly got up, left the table, and knelt down like Kang Chengqian. The singers, who were singing and dancing, all lay on their hands and knees in the hall, shaking.

Kang Chengqian trembled with fear and quickly explained, “This is the head of the messenger of Hedong! This guy had evil intentions, and he wanted to bewitch me to deal with you together with him. I couldn’t tolerate this kind of rebel, so I killed him without authorization! If I did it improperly, I beg your forgiveness!”

“The head of the messenger of Hedong?” As Li Ye waved his hand, the head flew into his hand. Song Jiao appeared out of nowhere and came to Li Ye’s side suddenly. She glanced at the face of the head, and then she nodded slightly toward Li Ye.

When Kang Chengqian and Kang Xigui saw Song Jiao, they felt shocked again. She was another master whose cultivation was over Level 9 of Qi-refining Realm. Maybe, she was in the semi Foundation-building Stage or in the Spiritual Master Realm!

How many masters did Li Ye have under his command?!

Li Ye casually threw the head away, and it fell into the box. He made eye contact with Shangguan Qingcheng, indicating her to sheathe her sword. Then he walked out the table with a smile and wanted to help Kang Chengqian up. But Kang Chengqian didn’t dare to let him do that, so he quickly got up.

Li Ye smiled and said, “General Shangguan is the general on the battlefield, and she always guards me, so please forgive her overreaction. General Kang, you killed Li Keyong’s messenger because of righteousness. I’m grateful and His Majesty will also appreciate that.”

Kang Chengqian was overjoyed. For him, this was a great pleasure. When he looked up at Li Ye and saw his sincere look with no doubts on his face, he was relieved. He thought, “Fortunately, I took decisive action and didn’t let the Hedong messenger run away, otherwise it is really difficult to gain His Highness’s trust.”

Kang Chengqian quickly said, “As long as you’re happy, everything I have done is worthwhile... General Shangguan lives up to the general of Militarism. She is majestic looking, and I admire her!”

Shangguan Qingcheng was expressionless. Her face was as white as ever, and her lips were as red as ever. She blushed and quickly ducked her head slightly only when Li Ye looked at her.

“Well, everyone, please get up. I know soldiers are brave and officials are wise in Zhaoyi. I will report it to the imperial court accurately. As long as this battle wins, the imperial court certainly won’t treat you unfairly!” Li Ye swung his sleeves. “Please take your seat. I will drink with you until we are thoroughly drunk tonight!”

“Thank you, Your Highness Prince An!” the officials and generals of Zhaoyi said together loudly.

Kang Chengqian and Kang Xigui looked at each other and finally felt relieved. As long as Li Ye was satisfied, they didn’t care about how the imperial court would treat them because no one took the imperial court seriously at present.

Li Ye’s recognition and approval of their contributions were more important than anything else because Li Ye was the one who had the final say.

When Li Ye and the officials and generals of Zhaoyi were enjoying the banquet and it seemed that Li Ye wanted to put Zhaoyi in an important position, Xue Wei couldn’t remain his calm anymore.

When the officials and generals of Zhaoyi went back to their seats, he quickly got up. He proposed a toast and said loudly to Li Ye, “Your Highness, I have ordered all the soldiers of the Tianping Army to set off immediately and come to Luzhou to help! There are more than 100,000 soldiers in all. Please give me instruction.”

His voice was so resonant that it spread throughout the hall. He did it deliberately to let everyone in the hall know that he sincerely followed Li Ye and to remind everyone that he was the first commissioner to follow His Highness! “Don’t contend with me for the identity of Li Ye’s No. 1 henchman, especially Kang Chengqian!”

“Oh? General Xue, you’re so loyal? It is beyond my expectations. The Tianping Army is elite, and I’ve heard that there are warriors of Militarism. With the help of 100,000 Tianping soldiers, it won’t be long before we suppress the rebels!” Li Ye raised his eyebrows. He didn’t expect that Xue Wei would be so thoughtful. He got up with a smile and raised his cup. “General Xue, why not drink wine together!”

Xue Wei was overjoyed. “Your Highness, please!” He quickly finished his wine first. After drinking, Xue Wei looked around the crowd in the hall with a proud look. Li Ye used a cup of wine to exchange for Xue Wei’s 100,000 soldiers, but Xue Wei looked as though he had got a bargain.

The Henghai secretary stood stunned, looking at Xue Wei. “Clank.” The wine cup in his hand fell to the ground.

He quickly picked up the cup. Seeing Xue Wei walking back proudly, he gnashed his teeth with hatred. If his gaze could kill a person, Xue Wei would have been killed countless times.

“Shameless. Despicable. No bottom line. There is such a shameless person in the world! It really widens my vision today! Sending reinforcements is my idea, but you steal it from me. You son of a b*tch!”

When he noticed the Henghai secretary’s gaze, Xue Wei sighed secretly. “Dude, don’t look at me like that. I know what you’re thinking. But I’m really not shameless. I have no choice and I have my difficulties. You don’t know that I didn’t take the initiative to turn to His Highness but was caught after I offended him! Kang Chengqian, who doesn’t offend His Highness, has done so much to help His Highness with no retreat left, so can I still have any reservations?”

“When fighting Weibo, I got no credit. When fighting Zhaoyi...” “It didn’t happen at all. Kang Chengqian is shameless. He welcomes His Highness to enter the border, offers food, sends out all the soldiers, and recruits many civilians. This is a desperate move! He not only gives his life out but also the lives of all the soldiers and civilians in Zhaoyi!”

“So I have to make a good performance. If His Highness bears a grudge against the person I sent who was disrespectful to him, I will absolutely suffer after the battle because Tianping is adjacent to Pinglu and located in the crossing to the Central Plains and the world!”

Obviously, the Henghai secretary didn’t intend to show understanding and sympathy for Xue Wei. He glared at Xue Wei and criticized him in the heart. Then, he got up, came before Li Ye’s table, and proposed a toast to Li Ye.

He said loudly, “Your Highness, I just received a letter from the commissioner. He let me report to you that he has gathered all the soldiers in the vassal state and that he will lead them to come to Luzhou personally! He also said that Your Highness is the pillar of the country and the hope of the empire. From now on, Henghai will follow Your Highness’s lead. Whenever you fight on the battlefield, Henghai is willing to send troops to help and bring our own food and weapons!”

When he finished speaking righteously, the secretary said to himself, “Commissioner, please don’t blame me for my decision. I was forced to do that. Otherwise, our good relationship with His Highness will come to naught and we will be replaced by Xue Wei, that shameless person, after the battle... When His Highness succeeds in suppressing Hedong, I’m afraid that the whole north will yield to His Highness. We will have a lot of benefits, so it’s nothing to give a little more at this moment. Commissioner, you will agree with me, right?”

After he said these, all the people in the hall were shocked.

“F*ck! The Henghai commissioner is not giving himself a retreat! He is not trying to curry favor with Li Ye. F*ck! He is selling his life to Li Ye! The point is Li Ye didn’t give the price and didn’t say he would buy it, but you already took the initiative to sell yourselves?!”

After hearing the Henghai secretary’s words, Li Ye was really shocked this time.

He looked at the other side curiously, and a ridiculous thought suddenly came to his mind. “Is it the Zhenguan Reign Period or the Flourishing Kaiyuan Reign Period? When did the arrogant and selfish vassal states become so thoughtful? Why are they being so loyal and righteous? Isn’t the world in chaos? Isn’t the Tao of the world crumbling? Is the Tang Empire going to revive?”

“F*ck! I’m waiting for all of you to make trouble and control a large number of troops, so I will send troops to suppress you and achieve my ambition of becoming a True Dragon!”

Li Ye wanted to cry in his heart, but he smiled brightly on the surface. He got up, raised his cup, and said with dignity and honor, “Good! I always know that the Henghai commissioner is loyal to the country. He is unwilling to yield to others in suppressing the rebels this time. I admire him. I will report it to the imperial court. His Majesty will be very happy to hear that!”

The Henghai secretary drank all the wine in the cup. He said righteously, “As long as Your Highness recognizes Henghai, all the people in Henghai are willing to serve you until we die!” “YourHighness’s happiness is more important than His Majesty’s happiness. Your Highness is the one who has elite soldiers and masters!”

The Henghai secretary returned to his seat with elation and glanced at Xue Wei faintly with deliberate provocation. “You’re too young to contend with me for His Highness’s No. 1 henchman. Henghai always has a good relationship with His Highness! Do you think you can succeed as long as you order all the Tianping soldiers to help? It’s true that you’re trying your best, but we’re trying our best regardless of our lives! How can you contend with us?”

Xue Wei’s face was as dark as ink. He twitched his mouth, but he could say nothing. He felt as uncomfortable as if he had eaten shit. “F*ck! These scholars are sinister. In terms of scheme and flattery, I can’t compare with them! F*ck! Let’s wait and see. My Tianping Army is experienced in battles, and I also have warriors of Militarism. When on the battlefield, you can’t contend with my Tianping Army!”

Kang Chengqian and Kang Xigui looked at each other, sweating on their foreheads and feeling cold on their backs. Kang Chengqian laughed awkwardly. “The Tianping Army and the Henghai Army cannot be underestimated.”

Kang Xigui nodded firmly. He looked solemn and said with fear, “They’re indeed very powerful.”

Their implication was obvious. “Fortunately, we had the foresight to make up our minds to turn to His Highness. If we dared to send troops to resist the Pinglu Army and fight His Highness, it would be very difficult for the Zhaoyi Army to defend the city even if the Pinglu Army doesn’t fight, because the Tianping Army and the Henghai Army are so desperate.”

Kang Xigui said seriously, “Zhaoyi has to send troops to Hedong without any reservations, and the Zhaoyi Army has to get the position of the vanguard!”

Kang Chengqian nodded solemnly. “You’re right!”

“Henghai always has a good relationship with Pinglu, and it’s adjacent to Pinglu. They have deep feelings. In the future, if the Pinglu Army wants to conquer the world, Henghai can follow at any time. But Zhaoyi is different. It’s far away from Pinglu. Besides, the Tianping Army is the first to send troops to support the battle, and it also participated in the battle of Weibo, so it has made many contributions. If Zhaoyi wants to share big credit after the battle, we have to work hard.”

“Offering food, sending out all the soldiers, and the recruitment of civilians will consume a lot of manpower and material resources. If we can’t share big credit, we won’t make up for it. Moreover, if we can’t suppress Hedong this time so that Hedong takes revenge afterward, Zhaoyi inevitably has to ask Pinglu for help. If we want Li Ye to help and send troops from far away, we have to make great achievements this time!”

With this in mind, Kang Chengqian immediately got up.

And at the same time, Xue Wei and the Henghai secretary, who were staring at each other, also got up together.