The Beacon of Kyushu

After leaving Luoyang, the team continued to travel south and arrived at Liucheng after more than 20 days.

Liucheng was built very early, and it was famous for its abundance of fine wood and its ability to make coffins. However, when the team arrived at Liucheng, it was already late, and the team was large and had prisoners, so Gao Chujun ordered them to camp outside the city on the Liujiang River to avoid any complications when entering the city. The Liujiang River got its name from Liucheng. Although the river is not as winding as the Yellow River, it is also turbulent and boundless. White tents and red bonfires were scattered along the riverside, adding a bit of majesty and solemnity to the already boiling Liujiang River.

Wan Jianfeng held two jars of good wine he had asked for from the cook, and walked towards the general's tent with a smile on his face. His eyes kept rolling around as if he was making some wishful calculations. When he was about to reach the general's tent, he ran into Wang Shize. He quickly grabbed Wang Shize and said, "Hey, brother Wang, where are you going? Are you going to see General Gao as well?"

Wang Shize said, "Yes, this place is not far from Quyue, but I have not yet made up my mind about how to discuss it after meeting Li Huan. I would like to discuss it with General Gao."

Wan Jianfeng said, "I just happened to have something to ask him, why don't we three drink and talk, I can help you, brother Wang, come up with some ideas."

Wang Shize said, "That would be great. Thank you, Young Master Wan."

Wan Jianfeng smiled and said, "We are brothers, so we are all friends! Besides, it was I who proposed the peace talks. How can I dig a hole and then let my friends jump into it?" After saying this, the two looked at each other and laughed, then walked towards the general's tent side by side.

As soon as they entered the tent, they saw Gao Chujun sitting behind a plan, wiping his silver spear, looking ready for battle. Wang Shize didn't know why Gao Chujun was so alert, but Wan Jianfeng knew it in his heart, so he deliberately joked: "General Gao, you have already cleaned your spear before reaching Quyue. It seems that you are ready to fight with the people of Quyue! I have heard that the Gao family has produced many powerful generals. If you can kill Li Huan with one shot, this young knight and my brother can rest assured!"

Gao Chujun slowly raised his head and said, "Young Master Wan, you are joking. If I really kill Li Huan, I am afraid that you and Wang Zhengyan will not be able to report to the government."

Wang Shize asked: "General Gao, why are you cleaning your gun so late at night?"

Gao Chujun asked, "This place is not far from Qu Yue. What if Li Huan finds out that we are resting here and sends a team of elite soldiers to raid our camp?"

Wang Shize nodded in understanding, "Yes, I understand. General Gao's move is indeed a precautionary measure, I admire you."

Gao Chujun smiled faintly and placed his gun beside the bed. "By the way, what brings you two to my tent so late at night? What can I do for you?"

Wan Jianfeng placed two jars of fine wine on the table and said, "I wanted to have a drink with General Gao, but unexpectedly I met Brother Wang on the way. He said he wanted to discuss peace talks with you, so I came along to listen."

Gao Chujun said, "I see. The peace talks are related to the fate of the Song Dynasty and Quyue. It is indeed very important. If I don't talk it over with you two, I will not be able to rest easy."

Wang Shize sat opposite Gao Chujun and said, "General Gao, Lord Hou died not long ago, and the three armies were almost wiped out. Qu Yue is at the peak of his power. If it weren't for Young Master Wan persuading Dali to tie down some of Qu Yue's troops in the southwest, I'm afraid the south of the Song Dynasty would have become a purgatory. In my opinion, the only way to persuade Li Huan is to pretend to be powerful. What do you think, General Gao?"

Gao Chujun said: "The territory and military strength of the Song Dynasty are far greater than that of Quyue. If the emperor had not made up his mind to destroy Quyue, it would not have fallen to the current situation. But Li Huan is so smart that he would not believe everything he hears, not to mention that we don't even have any wind at the moment."

Wang Shize said: "It may not be a bad thing that the emperor did not send the most powerful and famous general to attack Qu Yue. It is because of this that Qu Yue is wary of our Song Dynasty. Only if we put enough effort into this can we deter Qu Yue and show our power to foreign countries."

Gao Chujun asked, "Wang Zhengyan, what's your plan? How should we make a fuss about this?" Wang Shize hesitated and made several suggestions. Gao Chujun pointed out the shortcomings one by one. The two of them were at a loss for ideas. Wan Jianfeng took the opportunity to make a suggestion, saying, "Hey, I have to say, your ideas are good, but it is too difficult to implement them. In my opinion, the easiest way at the moment is to release Ying Rufeng. As long as he is willing to work for us, won't things be much easier?"

Gao Chujun frowned and asked, "How can Ying Rufeng restrain Qu Yue and persuade Li Huan?"

Wan Jianfeng smiled and said, "Ying Rufeng is a rare thief in a century. He must be not only good at stealing things, but also stealing people, right? If he stole Ding Xuan, the former emperor of Qu Yue, then we can use Ding Xuan as a hostage to threaten Li Huan, right?"

Gao Chujun said: "Ding Xuan is no longer even a puppet in Li Huan's hands. Will Li Huan care about his life or death?"

Wan Jianfeng said, "He became the emperor by usurping the throne. If he wants to keep the throne, he must have three things. The first is the people's hearts, the second is the army's hearts, and the third is the hearts of the Ding Dynasty nobles. If he is willing to agree to us, everything will be solved. If this guy doesn't listen, we can just kill Ding Xuan. Think about it, if he stood by and watched Ding Xuan die, would the people and the army of Quyue still support such a ruthless and ungrateful emperor? The nobles of the previous dynasty will regard Li Huan as a thorn in their eyes and a thorn in their flesh. They will automatically rebel against us without us taking action. Is there any better idea than this?"

Wang Shize shook his head slightly and said, "Young Master Wan, this is too despicable. It is an insult to the prestige of our Song Dynasty and should not be done."

Gao Chujun was even more blunt, "Mr. Wan, I'm ashamed that you could come up with such a bad idea! Not to mention that the emperor won't agree, even if the emperor is confused for a moment, I will never agree to it!"

Wan Jianfeng grinned bitterly, "Alright, alright, you are all gentlemen, can't I just ignore this matter? Instead of wasting time, I might as well go back to have a drink and get some sleep. See you later, both of you!" He got up and walked out of the tent in a huff, striding out. Until Wan Jianfeng left the tent, Gao and Wang still did not say anything to try to stop him.

Who would have thought that when Wan Jianfeng walked out of the tent, he still looked dejected. He then asked the cook for a few more jars of wine and hurried to the back tent, as if there were a hundred taels of gold waiting for him there. Soon he arrived at the back tent and saw the prisoner car outside the tent and a dozen guards beside it. "My friends, is everything peaceful here? I hope this monkey kid didn't bother you guys."

When the imperial guards saw that the person coming was Wan Jianfeng, they all said, "Young Master Wan, why are you here? Does General Gao have any orders?"

Wan Jianfeng rolled his eyes and said, "Haha, General Gao said that the brothers have been working too hard recently, so he asked me to bring a few jars of wine to reward them. Don't just stand there like an idiot, come over and have a drink with us, otherwise if General Gao asks about it, I won't be able to report to him!"

"This... I'm afraid it's not appropriate?" The leader of the imperial guards hesitated.

Wan Jianfeng smiled and said, "Unsuitable? What's wrong with it? Not to mention that this monkey boy is seriously injured and has no ability to escape from the prison van. Even if he really escapes, I can catch him easily with you. What are you afraid of? Do you think that I am not worthy of drinking with you because I am wearing tattered clothes?" The imperial guards looked at each other when they heard this, undecided for a moment.

Ying Rufeng heard Wan Jianfeng's words clearly in the prison car. He quickly put away his original resentful attitude and curled up in the car to moan softly. Those who didn't know would think he was seriously injured and dying. The leader of the imperial guards glanced at him and saw that he suddenly became like this. He thought that his injury had relapsed and said hesitantly: "Since General Gao has ordered it, if we don't drink this wine, it would be disobeying the order. Why don't we drink less so that Young Master Wan can report to the emperor."

There were many alcoholics among these imperial guards. After hearing what their leader said, they were no longer polite and immediately sat around to ask Wan Jianfeng for wine. Wan Jianfeng handed them several jars of wine in his hand one by one, then sat beside them with a big laugh, raised a jar of wine and said, "Everyone, we will be in Quyue soon, what do you think?"

The leader of the imperial guards was startled, took a sip of wine and said, "Young Master Wan, what do you mean by that?" (End of this chapter)