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 wasn’t a hidden message, he frowned and placed it in a box specially used to store letters. Not quite understanding the meaning of Fan Zijin’s 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, “Big Brother, just focus on returning to the Imperial Court and leave 20,000 people for me. I’ll 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.”
“Big Brother, if we can kill Minister Qin, the people will definitely be convinced.”
Qi Xiuyuan was silent for a moment before saying, “Other 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 shouldn’t chase after a desperate enemy. If we force them into a corner and fight them to the death, we will suffer heavy losses.”
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. “Big Brother, who said we’re going to force them into a corner? They’re all born and raised by their parents. Those imperial guards are mostly soldiers from Jiangnan and the central region. Do you really think they’re willing to follow the Second Prince into exile in West Xia? Just wait. Once you leave, I’ll tell them that I won’t kill them if they disarm. We can let them choose to return to their hometown or continue to be soldiers. I’ll only take the heads of the Second Prince and Prime Minister Qin. Let’s see how many people are willing to follow them.”
Qi Xiuyuan was dumbfounded. After a while, he patted his brother’s shoulder and said, “Not bad, not bad. You’re even more thorough in your considerations than me now.”
Seeing Qi Haoran become smug, Qi Xiuyuan couldn’t help but smile. He thought that if Qi Haoran had a tail now, it would definitely wag.
“Big Brother, are you going to ascend the throne after you go back?”
Qi Xiuyuan paused for a moment and said, “We still have to discuss and choose a good day. Haoran, I hope that you can make it back by then.”
Qi Haoran patted his chest and promised, “Don’t worry, Big Brother. I’ll definitely rush back.”
Qi Xiuyuan smiled and Qi Haoran said with a grin ingratiatingly, “Big 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. She’s a blockhead. She can defend herself physically alright, but she’s no good at verbal wars. Furthermore, since she’s the sort who won’t complain, we won’t even know if she’s bullied.”
Seeing his brother like this, Qi Xiuyuan couldn’t help but shake his head and laugh. “Alright, alright. You’re leading an army of hundreds of thousands outside and you’re my biological brother. Who dares to bully your wife?” Thinking of Madam Wu and the others in the Qi Residence, he sneered. “Don’t worry, I won’t let your wife suffer.”
Qi Haoran heaved a sigh of relief. He was really worried that Madam Wu would put on airs and bully Mu Yangling.
“After ascending the throne, I’ll be giving out rewards based on one’s contributions. Haoran, what title do you want?” It was a difficult topic to broach with his subordinates, but they were brothers, so there was nothing they couldn’t talk about.
Qi Haoran tilted his head and said, “You 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 can’t fight everywhere anymore. When the time comes, I’ll recover those territories in my capacity as a general. Then, you can confer me the title of King.”
Qi Xiuyuan laughed out loud. “How did you know that I wanted to confer you the title of King from the beginning?”
“I’m your biological younger brother. If you don’t confer me the title of King, who would you confer that title?” Qi Haoran widened his eyes.
Qi Xiuyuan rubbed his head and said, “You’re right. You’re my biological brother, so I’ll leave the position of King for you after you recover those lands.”
Qi Haoran nodded smugly and did not forget to specially instruct, “Big 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.”
Qi Xiuyuan was about to say something when he was stopped by Qi Haoran’s delighted expression. Forget it, Haoran’s thoughts were simple. Even if someone provoked him, he might not be provoked. There was probably no need to remind him.
“Big Brother?” Seeing that he wasn’t listening to him, Qi Haoran nudged him.
“Got it.” Qi Xiuyuan said with a smile, “I know that you two are deeply in love. Don’t worry, the decree will definitely be issued at the same time.”
Qi Haoran’s heart itched uncontrollably. “Then, Big Brother, do you think I should tell Ah Ling now or leave it as a surprise?”
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, “You can tell her to give her a surprise now. This way, you guys will be happy for a few more days.”
Qi Haoran agreed deeply. At the thought that Mu Yangling would be as delighted as him, he couldn’t sit still anymore and wanted to go back and write a letter to her.
Qi Xiuyuan pressed him down and said, “We brothers will be separated the day after tomorrow. Drink with me today. You can write the letter anytime.”
Then, he said, “Give the letter to me after it’s written. I’ll hand it to her when I get back. There’s no need to send a messenger.”
Qi Haoran also knew that this reward was privately agreed upon by the two brothers and that it wasn’t a good idea to send the letter openly, so he agreed.
“Then Big Brother, what titles are you going to confer Second Brother and Third Brother?”
The smile on Qi Xiuyuan’s lips faded slightly. “Anything is fine. I don’t want them to enter politics thanks to me.”
“Then just don’t confer them.” Qi Haoran said with heartache, “If you confer them the title of a duke, you’d 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 they’ve also caused us a lot of trouble in the past.”
“When did you start to cherish money?” 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 couldn’t help but feel bad for him when he saw his pained expression at the mention of money.