Ninety-two

"Two wounded?" Li Miao was taken aback. Although the small squad entering the city was few in number, it was still a full team—there were a dozen or twenty bandits. And just like that, they were all finished.

"They were careless!" Chen Dao said to Li Miao.

It turned out that the dozen or so bandits, upon seeing a group of children holding them off, burst out laughing. Underestimating them and with fewer numbers than Chen Dao’s group, Chen Dao led the charge and captured the bandit leader.

With their leader gone, the rest of the bandits were leaderless and were quickly defeated by the young scouts.

"Bring them up!" Chen Dao shouted to the young soldiers behind him. Soon, several Songshan bandits were dragged before them. Chen Dao pointed to one and said to Li Miao, "Your Majesty, this is the leader of that bandit squad!"

Li Miao looked at these Songshan bandits, noting the stark contrast between them and the arrogant bandits below the city walls. The ones below were haughty, but these looked dejected.

"You are the henchmen of Mei Qian under the city walls!" Li Miao declared.

The few bandits said nothing, tacitly admitting it.

"What’s your name?" Li Miao asked the leader.

Instead of answering, the bandit snorted coldly.

Well, he had some spirit. Li Miao chuckled inwardly. If he wouldn't speak, there were others nearby who would. He turned to another pale-faced bandit.

"I... I’m Zhang San!" the bandit stammered. "Your Majesty, please don’t kill me. At home, I have an eighty-year-old mother and a three-year-old child. Please spare me! I was forced into this!" The bandit pleaded, tears streaming down his face.

The Songshan bandits truly retreated this time. They didn’t set up camp five li away but headed straight toward Songshan.

Li Miao’s scouts tracked them for thirty li away from Jiangting before returning to report.

"Huh!" Li Miao finally breathed a sigh of relief. There was no way to resist the Songshan bandits in Jiangting city with just eight hundred child soldiers. The bandits had thousands.

If Mei Qian was truly determined to attack Jiangting, Li Miao would be helpless, forced to abandon the city and flee. Mei Qian had hundreds of cavalry; not a single person might escape.

Every step Li Miao took felt like a gamble.

The first day was a bluff, hoping Mei Qian would be confused and misjudge the situation. It worked—Mei Qian was fooled. The second day was the empty city stratagem. Mei Qian would eventually see through the bluff.

Instead of letting Mei Qian guess wildly and gamble everything, it was better to be honest: there were no soldiers inside the city, only the old, weak, and sick. The banners were mere straw men. If you enter, I will surrender. I cannot resist you and will even open the gates for you.

Sometimes, honesty is the hardest to believe. Our King Mei Qian was one such person who mistrusted the truth.

So, not believing the honest Li Miao, and after the passionate performances of Zhang San, Li Si, and Wang Er Mazi, King Mei Qian sneered. Such petty tricks to lure me into the city? No way. He immediately led his troops away, returning to his Songshan stronghold.

Li Miao wiped sweat from his brow. Psychological warfare was indeed a skill, not something everyone could master. One mistake, and the city would fall.

"Everyone, well done. Shu Zhi, you did well!" Li Miao generously praised the group.

"It’s all thanks to Your Majesty’s guidance," Chen Dao modestly replied. He had simply followed Li Miao’s orders and done his duty. Chen Dao even felt some guilt that the child soldiers hadn’t formed a strong enough fighting force quickly and failed to repel the enemy outside the gates, making His Majesty worry.

Li Miao nodded approvingly. He liked Chen Dao’s attitude—modest despite achievements, self-critical when things weren’t perfect, always striving to improve. This was why Chen Dao had achieved so much—the White-Clad War God was no empty title.

"Yang Situ, you too have worked hard!" Li Miao bowed to Yang Hong beside him.

"Your Majesty need not be so formal! It is my duty to share your burdens," Yang Hong respectfully declined the bow.

Li Miao didn’t press. Truth be told, Yang Hong was more like an elder brother to him—calling him Uncle Hong wouldn’t be wrong.

Compared to Chen Dao and Yang Hong’s humility, Huang Yi seemed to not know the meaning of modesty or simply had an incredibly thick skin.

He shamelessly approached Li Miao, "Brother Miao, what about me?"

Li Miao twitched his mouth. He had never seen anyone he wanted to praise who lacked the usual modesty. In Huaxia, humility was a virtue; even when seeking approval, one had to say “You flatter me” or “I’m undeserving.” Few were like Huang Yi.

But looking at his brother-in-law’s performance these days, it was actually quite good. At least he didn’t spew nonsense like Huang Yi, and that alone would hardly scare Mei Qian away.

So Li Miao gave a nod of approval. "Well, brother-in-law, your performance these past days was commendable. Without you, Mei Qian’s Songshan bandits wouldn’t have retreated. So I’ve made a decision!"

"What decision? Hehe, Brother Miao, you know me—I don’t care for fame or fortune. All those titles and wealth are as fleeting as clouds to me!" Huang Yi put on a look of worldly detachment, which made Li Miao pause. Could his brother-in-law have truly had an awakening?

Clearly not. "Between us, let’s be practical. Give me a thousand or eight hundred gold coins. If you feel bad about it, you can make me a prince or something!" Huang Yi’s shamelessness was in full display.

A thousand gold coins? Li Miao only had a hundred coins to spare, and making him a prince? Li Miao was an outlaw emperor but not so foolish. He already had a son-in-law titled prince; if he added another, how could his sister keep him in check?

"Yeah, between us, let’s be realistic! So I’ve decided to tell my sister about you ripping me off five hundred gold coins selling weapons and armor and your visits to the brothel!" Li Miao smiled at Huang Yi.

"Ah! Brother Miao, don’t! I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Isn’t that enough? Have mercy!" Huang Yi wailed like one with bronchitis, terrified of his wife. That was why Li Shu married his precious daughter to him—so she wouldn’t be mistreated.

If Li Miao’s sister found out Huang Yi had visited a brothel earlier this year, Li Miao bet his eyes would be black and swollen tomorrow.

"What about the thousand eight hundred gold coins?" Li Miao raised his voice.

"No, no! You almost made me owe you money last time! I don’t want it!" Huang Yi quickly shook his head.

"And the title of prince?" Li Miao continued.

"My virtue isn’t worthy of that rank. That title should go to the meritorious officials who serve Zhongguo well!" Huang Yi answered solemnly.

"Hmph, that’s more like it!" Li Miao waved his hand. Huang Yi hadn’t been beaten for three days, and a little respect could make him open a dye workshop. The others nearby chuckled.

"Alright, brother-in-law, you’re tired. Go rest. If you come back late, my sister will complain about me again!" Li Miao said. His sister, the eldest princess of Zhongguo, was his only close relative in this world, so he treated her well.

"Okay, okay," Huang Yi slumped away.

"Wait!" Li Miao called out. Huang Yi turned.

"No gold coins or prince’s title, but I’ve got some freshly harvested honey here. Take some back to your sister to satisfy her sweet tooth!" Li Miao pointed to a jar of honey on the table.

"Your Majesty, this..." Yang Hong tried to stop him. Though honey wasn’t valuable, timing mattered.

Li Miao felt a bit sad. The only delicacy Zhongguo had might just be this jar of honey. It showed how poor he had become.

Though Huang Yi was a prince, he couldn’t get anything better at the moment. He ate the same coarse grains and wild vegetables as the common folk daily. This honey was a real treat.

"Hehe!" Huang Yi’s mood shifted like the unpredictable September weather. He grabbed the honey jar and said with a sly grin, "Brother Miao, no backing out now!" He dipped his fingers, licked them, and looked utterly delighted.

"Get out of here!" Li Miao was embarrassed. This was their prince consort? His stepfather must be blind to have chosen such a character.

Huang Yi, fearful Li Miao would change his mind, bounced away happily.

Li Miao shook his head helplessly, then looked at the flushed faces around him and said with mock severity, "If you want to laugh, just laugh. Don’t hold it in and burst!"

Laughter immediately filled the room.

"Shu Zhi, though the Songshan bandits have left, don’t relax your guard at the city gates. I entrust this to you!"

"Your Majesty, I won’t fail you!" Chen Dao nodded.

"Everyone else, go rest!"

"Yes!"

Li Miao gazed toward the southern horizon. "Uncle Li Yin, why haven’t you returned yet?" He had never wished so earnestly for a man’s return—especially a middle-aged one.

"Mei Qian has withdrawn his troops?" On Mount Tianzhu, Chen Lan suddenly stood up, his men bringing him this news.

He felt uneasy. He had been waiting for Mei Qian to annihilate Jiangting city and clash with Zhang Xun’s imperial guards who had traveled far. A mutual massacre would have been perfect—he could seize the grain supplies extorted by Li Yin, countless weapons, armor, warhorses, and most importantly, the imperial jade seal.

He could even eliminate Mei Qian and swallow his forces.

But reality was harsh. Mei Qian had retreated?

Had Chen Lan’s carefully laid plans vanished into thin air?

"Boss, I say, why bother with all this? Let’s just send troops to take Jiangting city! It’s a mere thousand soldiers with the old and sick among them. With our two thousand troops, I’ll help you seize that imperial jade seal!" one leader nearby shouted loudly.

"Fool!" Chen Lan scolded. If he could just attack Jiangting directly, would he be so hesitant? He could have taken Jiangting when Li Shu passed Mount Tianzhu but delayed until now. Chen Lan valued his reputation too much to lead personally; he had to rely on Mei Qian’s forces to do the dirty work first.

Li Miao could only twitch at the corner of his mouth. This was what they called encountering a godlike enemy but pig-like teammates.

He felt betrayed by his own allies—not only betrayed, but these were volunteers, not even chosen by him. This was misfortune unavoidable.

"Your Majesty, it’s all our fault, please punish us," old Chen knelt, tears streaming.

"Your Majesty, Uncle Chen means well!" Chen Dao also knelt, weeping. "If you want to punish someone, punish me!"

"Chen Nian, damn your ancestors eight generations back!" Chen Dao suddenly cursed the name of the scout who had been captured by Mei Qian’s bandits and revealed the city’s weaknesses.

"Your Majesty, Uncle Chen means well. If you must punish, punish us!" The child soldiers also knelt, pleading.

Li Miao looked at old Uncle Chen, whose face was carved with the marks of age.

The emaciated figure showed severe malnutrition, as if a gust of wind could blow him apart. The old man was already hungry and exhausted from pursuing the bandits. When Chen Nian was captured, Uncle Chen forced himself to be carried back to personally apologize to Li Miao. The journey was too much for even a young man, let alone an elderly man.

Soon, Uncle Chen could barely stand.

"Uncle Chen! Uncle Chen!" Chen Dao hurried to support him.

Li Miao was anxious. His own skin wasn’t thick enough to watch an old man fall without helping.

"I’m fine!" Uncle Chen said, pale, addressing Chen Dao with discomfort.

Chen Dao gritted his teeth. "I’ll go get Chen Nian back!" He prepared to charge out alone.

"Where are you going? Come back!" Uncle Chen’s expression darkened.

But Chen Dao was resolute—he would retrieve Chen Nian to make amends to Uncle Chen.