The Beacon of Kyushu

Ten days later, at noon.

Duan Sicong had just gone to court not long ago. He was sitting alone behind a table in his dormitory, enjoying a lunch that would make others greedy, but he had long been accustomed to it. While he was slowly eating the delicacies in front of him, he was thinking about state affairs, large and small, and did not dare to relax for a moment.

At this time, a young eunuch suddenly ran in and said, "Your Majesty, something bad has happened! In order to save Miss Murong, Prince Duan accidentally fell into the Quyue Prison. Li Huan has sent someone to deliver his credentials. , wants to take Prince Duan as a hostage and force you to unite with Qu Yue, otherwise he will..."

Hearing this, Duan Sicong had nothing to worry about and asked anxiously: "If I don't agree to him, what will happen to him? How dare he kill my cousin?"

The young eunuch nodded and said: "Yes, if you don't agree to the alliance, he will throw Prince Duan into a dog pen to avenge the Zhouzi race a few months ago!"

Duan Sicong slammed the table hard and said angrily: "Li Huan, you are so courageous! If you really dare to harm my cousin, I will personally conquer the country and let the whole Qu Yue die for my cousin!"

The young eunuch said tremblingly: "Your Majesty... Your Majesty, do you mean to refuse to unite with Qu Yue? But the Za family heard that Li Huan is a very sinister person. If you really reject his request categorically, I'm afraid he will really turn against Duan. It’s not good for the prince!”

Duan Sicong hesitated and said: "This matter is of great importance. Please find Dong Jiayi and Gao Fang quickly. If you dare to be even half a step late, I will take your head!"

"Yes!" the young eunuch hurriedly responded. He was so frightened that he ran out of the palace without even realizing it. He was afraid that if he ran a little slower, Duan Sicong would steal his meal.

Duan Sicong stopped his cup and threw his chopsticks, looking at the south longingly, thinking to himself: "Cousin, cousin, what do you want me to say about you? Look at the princes of the Song Dynasty, which one is not cautious and conducts his life with his tail between his legs? You It's a good thing, if you cause trouble for me every three days, I can't even wipe your butt after you. It's really annoying for me!"

I don't know how long it took, but there were three hurried footsteps outside the dormitory. Soon, footsteps arrived in front of the palace. Duan Sicong looked up and saw that it was the young eunuch leading Gao Fang and Dong Jiayi, and he couldn't help but smile.

Gao Fang and Dong Jia entered the palace in pairs. They bowed deeply to Duan Sicong and said, "I have seen your Majesty. I wonder why your Majesty summoned your ministers and others to come here."

Duan Sicong sighed and said: "My cousin Duan Siming, in order to save some girl Murong a few days ago, he didn't even say hello to me, and went to the Quyue Palace to cause trouble by himself. His martial arts are not comparable to those of Li Huan. Not only did my opponent fail to rescue the girl, he was also imprisoned. No, Li Huan wrote me a letter of confederation, saying that he wanted to use his cousin as a hostage to force me, Dali, to join forces with him, Qu Yue!"

Gao Fang frowned and said: "Prince Duan was on an envoy to Qu Yue last time. It was a blessing to be able to return safely. How dare you go to Longtan Tiger's Den alone?" Dong Jiayi also said with some disappointment: "Your Majesty, you and Prince Duan have a brotherly relationship. Deep, and you always feel that you owe their brothers too much, which makes Prince Duan act more and more mischievously. But now that the matter has come to this point, it is useless to complain any more. Yi Weichen thinks it is better to agree to Li Huan's conditions. "

Gao Fang hurriedly said: "Dong Buxie, this must never be done! Although Qu Yue was tyrannical for a while, he was not the opponent of the Song Dynasty. If we give up the decades of friendship with the Song Dynasty in order to save Prince Duan, once If Li Huan fails, we, Dali, will have to face the powerful enemy of the Song Dynasty!"

Duan Sicong looked at Gao Fang and said hesitantly: "Master Gao, do you mean that in order not to offend the Song Dynasty, you want me to abandon my cousin who grew up with my own eyes?"

Gao Fang had no choice but to say: "Prince Duan is your majesty's cousin, the prince of Dali, and my royal relative of Dali. Moreover, although the general and Prince Duan have little contact, Quanzi is as close to him as a brother, so In the end, both public and private, I don’t want anything to happen to Prince Duan, but now for the sake of the overall situation, I can only bear the pain and give up on Prince Duan.”

Duan Sicong pondered for a long time, looked at Dong Jiayi, and said: "Dong Buxie, do you mean this too? If so, maybe this is the only way I can go, but I really can't bear it!"

Dong Jiayi smiled and said: "Your Majesty, I do have a way. It's just that this plan can be saved for a while, but not for a lifetime. I hope your Majesty will think about it."

Duan Sicong was slightly surprised and asked: "Dong Buxie, if you have any good ideas, tell me quickly!"

Dong Jiayi said leisurely: "Your Majesty, you might as well agree to Li Huan's request and ask him to release Prince Duan. If he agrees, the clouds in the sky will disappear. But if he doesn't agree, we will Only by lying that generals such as Cao Bin and Pan Mei are currently stationed in the states and counties closest to Dali, we will not be able to defeat him for a while. We must wait for the opportunity. I think Li Huan has only been emperor for a few days, so he must not have the intelligence of Dali. He is well-informed, and the general he sent was fooled by Zhao Guangyi in Tokyo. If we use this as an excuse, he will definitely believe it. Even if Prince Duan is not released, his life will be safe. "

Gao Fang laughed and said: "Hahaha, Dong Buxie is indeed very resourceful. Why can't I come up with such a clever idea? If everything goes as Dong Buxie envisions, we can keep Prince Duan without losing his mind. Offending the Song Dynasty is the best of both worlds."

Duan Sicong also nodded vigorously, obviously very satisfied with Dong Jiayi's strategy.

But Dong Jiayi was not as optimistic as the two of them, and continued: "It's just that this plan can only be hidden from Li Huan for a while. It won't take long for Li Huan to wake up, and then Prince Duan's life will be equally worrying."

Duan Sicong said solemnly: "Yes, if you want this plan to be completely successful, you must look to Wan Shaoxia. I hope he can arrive in Tokyo first before Li Huan wakes up and ask Zhao Guangyi for the imperial edict for peace talks, otherwise Not only will the Song Dynasty continue to lose troops and generals, but we, Dali, are also in danger!" (End of Chapter)