jdhmnovel Chapter 354 When something goes wrong, there must be a monster
Chapter 354 When something goes wrong, there must be a monster
Next, Hu Junfeng, Li Baiyun, and the generals of the Rongdi tribe all showed off their best skills, taking turns to perform and winning rounds of applause, bringing the atmosphere to a climax.
Gu Zhanghua was already beside Shishu, who was lying on the blanket. Hao Xiong had built a frame for him with firewood, and he glued the Xuan paper to a wooden board. He picked up his brush, looked at the surrounding scenery, and began to paint seriously.
He first painted the scenery of the frontier, then the performances of the various people on the field, and the excited and happy faces of the audience on the sidelines.
Even the servants lying on the blanket were not overlooked, their images leaping off the page.
Halfway through the performance, Qin Shao quietly sat down next to Zhao Xuan without disturbing anyone, and nodded to Ying Yang.
Zhao Xuan handed Qin Shao a bowl of wine.
"Uncle Qin, have you finished your official duties?"
Qin Shao took the wine bowl, took a sip, grunted, and looked at the Rongdi people who were wrestling in the center of the arena.
"That's exciting! Is everything going smoothly?"
"With such good food and drinks, how could things not go smoothly?"
Zhao Xuan smiled and pointed to Gu Zhanghua, who was painting intently not far away.
"You see, Xiao Wu will draw all the interesting things that happened tonight, as a testament to our friendship."
Qin Shao smiled and whispered to Zhao Xuan in a voice only the two of them could hear.
“If the Rongdi tribe hadn’t only raided the city in the past two years without harming our people, I wouldn’t have let them off so easily.”
"The Rongdi King is doing this to force us to open a market in the northern border to exchange goods that we each need with them."
Qin Shao nodded slightly.
"Once the northern border is at peace, I can go back to Liyang to spend more time with Yun'er. I haven't been a good father these past years; I've neglected her..."
Seeing the dejected look on Qin Shao's face and hearing his somewhat sad words, Zhao Xuan quickly took Qin Shao's arm and affectionately rubbed her face against his arm.
"Uncle Qin, you have been stationed at the border for so many years to protect the people of the North. Yun'er will understand you!"
As she spoke, Zhao Xuan began to badmouth Qin Shao, though it wasn't really a badmouthing; she just wanted to give Qin Shao a heads-up.
"I feel like that girl has a lot of ideas! She told me she doesn't want to get married, she wants to roam the world!"
"what?"
Qin Shao was indeed surprised, then looked closely at Zhao Xuan and understood.
"Did you learn this from me? You're already thinking about flying around before your wings have even grown strong enough? Your dad has complained to me a lot about how you ran away from home behind her back back then!"
"When did you two become so close?"
Zhao Xuan playfully stuck out her tongue at Qin Shao.
"I had important things to do. Besides, isn't everything fine now? I don't think there's anything good about keeping Yun'er at home and only knowing how to embroider."
Qin Shao seemed to have thought of something and sighed.
"Fortunately, Yun'er met you in Fengcheng, otherwise her stepmother would have continued to teach her..."
Qin Shao gave a wry smile and didn't continue, but Zhao Xuan knew what Qin Shao wanted to say. Aunt Lan wasn't bad, she was just a little timid.
She herself never leaves the house, yet she expects Qin Chuyun to be like her. How is that possible?
At this point, the wrestling performance in the arena had come to an end.
When the applause subsided, Ying Yang suddenly stood up, looked at Qin Shao, and respectfully cupped his hands in a fist salute.
"General Qin, why don't we two have a friendly spar, as a birthday gift for Princess Xian!"
Qin Shao stood up and clasped his hands in greeting.
"King Rongdi, what a brilliant idea! I, Qin, am willing to oblige you to the very end!"
The two arrived at the arena. Qin Shao thought for a moment, then took off the sword from his waist and handed it to Ma Si. He then began to fight Ying Yang with his bare hands.
Zhao Xuan and the others were dazzled by what they saw.
Gu Zhanghua sat down next to Zhao Xuan, also looking surprised.
"I only knew that Uncle Qin was good at leading troops in battle, but I didn't expect his boxing skills to be so superb!"
"I didn't expect this either... but these two are so resilient, they're like nothing happened when they're punched, it hurts just watching them!"
As Zhao Xuan spoke, she subconsciously touched her stomach.
Just now, Ying Yang had punched Qin Shao in the stomach. Qin Shao didn't change his expression. He simply took two steps back to regain his footing and immediately rushed forward again, throwing a punch at Ying Yang.
After several rounds, Qin Shao and Ying Yang stopped short of each other, their eyes filled with admiration as they looked at each other and clasped their hands in a fist salute.
"Concession!"
Hao Xiong, who was watching from the sidelines, looked completely bewildered.
"They're stopping after just a few exchanges? I couldn't tell who won."
Qin Shao said, "It's a draw!"
Ying Yang, however, said at the same time, "General Qin has won!"
"what?"
Hao Xiong looked left and right, not understanding why the two people's statements were so different.
Everyone looked at the two of them with suspicion, and Yingyang immediately began to explain.
"Because General Qin did not use his preferred sword and spear techniques, but instead used a fist technique similar to that that we Rongdi people often use when practicing martial arts, but I was only able to fight General Qin to a draw even when I used all my strength, so General Qin won!"
Upon hearing this, Qin Shao burst into laughter.
"That's not true. The Rongdi King is skilled in archery and horsemanship. If we were to fight on horseback, I'm afraid even if I used all my strength, I wouldn't be your match!"
Hao Xiong nodded.
"Alright, I understand now. General Qin and the Rongdi King are kindred spirits!"
As night fell and the roaring campfire gradually died down, everyone became one with each other.
Slightly tipsy, they helped those who were too drunk to hold their liquor and were swaying unsteadily. The drunk and sober people put their arms around each other's shoulders. Gradually, everyone dispersed and found their own tents to rest.
Only Qin Shao, Gu Zhanghua, and Zhao Xuan remained sitting by the campfire.
Qin Shao asked the two of their most crucial questions.
"How much do you think the Rongdi King will ultimately ask for?"
"Three hundred horses!"
Gu Zhanghua was somewhat conservative; this was already three times the one hundred horses Ying Yang had proposed.
"I said the maximum would be five hundred!"
As soon as Zhao Xuan finished speaking, she saw Qin Shao and Gu Zhanghua both give her disbelieving looks, so she quickly explained to them.
"They are in our hands, and they were the ones who took the initiative to propose peace. In fact, what we are doing now is to be courteous first and then resort to force. If the Rongdi king does not appreciate our efforts, we do not need to be polite!"
"We can't be too tough!" Qin Shao considered more. "At least Ying Yang is willing to negotiate. If the Rongdi King were a warmonger, like Emperor Tian Shang of Yue, it would be much more troublesome."
"Don't worry, Uncle Qin, I know what I'm doing."
Zhao Xuan understood Qin Shao's meaning: Yingyang must be released, and the terms of peace negotiations could not be too harsh, but had to be within the acceptable range for the Rongdi tribes. However, five hundred fine horses were Zhao Xuan's bottom line.
The lives of Yingyang, Wang Shubogegu, and Mona and several warriors—aren't they worth more than five hundred fine steeds?
Zhao Xuan decided to take a gamble!
Qin Shao stood up, looked up at the night sky, where the moon was bright and the stars were few.
Tomorrow will be a good day.
Qin Shao reached out and patted each of them on the shoulder, his eyes full of encouragement.
"Alright, I trust you all, and I will definitely do a good job of what His Majesty has entrusted to me!"
The next morning, Gu Zhanghua and Zhao Xuan once again negotiated peace terms with Yingyang.
Although Zhao Xuan already felt she was asking for an exorbitant sum of five hundred fine horses, Ying Yang simply held up one finger.
“One thousand horses! In the first year, we will pay tribute of one thousand fine horses to the Xia Kingdom. In the following years, we will pay tribute of five hundred horses each year, and exchange the remaining five hundred horses with you for the grain and other necessities we need!”
Zhao Xuan and Gu Zhanghua were stunned and stared blankly at Ying Yang for a moment.
"But I have a small request, and I hope that the Prince and Princess will grant it."
After saying this, Ying Yang, a tall and imposing man with a full beard, smiled shyly at the two of them.
There must be a demon in the abnormal situation!
Zhao Xuan shivered and became alert, fearing that this small request would put the two of them in a difficult position.