Chapter 504: Persuasion
Editor: Atlas Studios
Qi Haoran touched his nose and said, “The Imperial Court hasn’t made any new moves. Don’t worry.”
Liu Dahei looked at Lin Man. Lin Man pursed his lips in dissatisfaction and said, “The Imperial Court still hasn’t made any new moves? The 200,000-strong army has surrounded us and wants to kill us all. Who was the one who swore that he would inform us? It’s been half a month. If you hadn’t appeared on your own accord, we probably wouldn’t have been able to catch your shadow.”
Smiling, Qi Haoran said, “Even if I don’t appear, you still have something on me. It’s akin to you holding my lifeline. As long as I’m alive, I won’t dare to deny it.”
Only then did their countenances improve.
Only then did Liu Dahei ask the question he was most concerned about. “Why is General Qi in such a sorry state? The Imperial Court’s 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?”
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. “I came here this time to investigate those people, but Huaiyuan County is within your sphere of influence, so please help out.”
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, “We’re bandits, and you’re 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?”
Lin Man frowned. His intuition told him that Liu Dahei was wrong, but he didn’t 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, “No matter how much the soldiers fight with the bandits, this is our Great Zhou’s business. It’s 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?”
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“That’s because you officials are incompetent.” Liu Dahei said, “Don’t forget, we’re bandits. Don’t you think it’s atrocious to tell us to protect the country?”
Qi Haoran choked and looked at Lin Man. “Does Chief Lin think so too?”
Lin Man opened his mouth and muttered in spite of Liu Dahei’s pressurizing gaze, “Everyone is responsible for the rise and fall of the country…”
Liu Dahei gritted his teeth. “But what we’re 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?”
Qi Haoran said solemnly, “Chief Liu, I think you’re the one who should be clear about priorities. There’s a huge difference between Great Zhou dying in your hands and West Xia’s hands. If the Great Zhou dies in your hands, it’s 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, you’ll 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?”
Liu Dahei snorted coldly and said, “Just because your Great Zhou will die at the hands of West Xia doesn’t mean that we will too.”
A mocking smile appeared on Qi Haoran’s face. “Great 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 wouldn’t have come here to defend the city, right?”
Liu Dahei stopped talking.
Qi Haoran continued, “Furthermore, the Imperial Court has no intention of exterminating you.”
This time, even Lin Man did not believe it. “There’s a 200,000-strong army outside…”
“But how many of them are really fighting with you?” Qi Haoran interrupted the other party and sighed. “Believe me, His Majesty doesn’t really want to exterminate you. He just wants to take you down a notch before he negotiates amnesty with you. If he really makes up his mind to exterminate you, I’ll definitely admire him to the core.”
Liu Dahei and Lin Man stared at him unkindly. Qi Haoran said regretfully, “It’s a pity that His Majesty doesn’t have the courage…” The national treasury wasn’t capable of such a feat, either. Of course, this crucial sentence was left unspoken in Qi Haoran’s heart.
Qi Haoran hadn’t 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 Xia’s 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 Haoran’s promise.
Qi Haoran immediately mentioned his Big Brother, Qi Xiuyuan. He said, “My big brother is the second most powerful general in the Great Zhou Dynasty. The Emperor will never give up on me, of all people…”
Liu Dahei reminded him coldly, “You’ve already been abandoned once when you were surrounded.”
“…That’s because I was surrounded and my big brother hadn’t received the news yet. It was too late for them to do anything. Now that I’m free, those generals don’t dare to offend me, and the Emperor won’t be so stupid to go against my big brother and take such a big gamble.”
“Who said that you’re free now?” Liu Dahei asked.
Qi Haoran: “…”
Lin Man came back to his senses and looked at Qi Haoran for a moment. Then, he pointed at him and laughed out loud. “You actually walked into the trap voluntarily. Hahaha…”
Speechless, Qi Haoran turned around and asked Liu Dahei, “You want to imprison me?”
Liu Dahei shook his head. “I’m just wondering if you still have any value as a partner.”
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 Haoran’s 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, “I think he’s 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. Isn’t it just finding traces of the enemy group in the vicinity? We won’t suffer any losses by helping him.”
“What do you know? Qi Haoran is waiting for us to board the pirate ship. I’m afraid we’ll be tied to it and won’t be able to get off,” Liu Dahei said worriedly.