The Prince of Travelers

Calm Before the Storm

Li An attended every official meeting with the Left Kingdom. He did not say much and tended to be passive compared to Li Bei who skillfully showed the dominance of the Tang Empire in negotiations. Well, indeed that was the role Li An had sent as an observer.

The main purpose of participating in this delegation was not to discuss matters with the Left Kingdom, but to study and examine the international relations that would be needed by him. Emperor Yung Wei was aware that it would be of great benefit to the Eighth Prince in the future.

"Sister An," called Li Chen as soon as Li An arrived at the special guest of honor complex, "Today's meeting is over?"

"Well, it should have been," replied Li An who looked tired. Even though he was just sitting watching in the meeting room, he also needed a lot of energy to think. In addition to supervising, he is also required to be able to analyze conditions in noisy and rigid meetings, even he will be asked for an opinion occasionally. It was very stressful and exhausting.

"They complain too much about the problems" Li An said as he dropped himself on the long chair and heaved a heavy sigh. His hands were twitching his dizzy head. The contentious discussion gave him a bit of a headache.

There came a lady-in-waiting who brought her a drink of pure herbal tea. The smell of tea is very fragrant. This is a type of tea that is prepared to relieve stress.

"Where is Rou'er?" li An asked after checking the purity of the tea. It could be that there is poison in it. Well, although it is unlikely that the Left Kingdom side did such a reckless thing. However, being careful is better. There may be someone who wants to complain to them.

"She left her lesson because Big Brother was not around," Li Chen reported, "Mimi was very troubled because of that. Moreover, Brother Yun is coming with you to watch the meeting."

"Is there a place that makes Rou'er interested here?" Li An looked around. When compared to the gardens in the imperial mahligai, the palace here was nothing. Well, it is beautiful, but not as beautiful as the Eternal Palace of Happiness.

"Well! Brother An has already gone home," Li Rouwei's shrill voice was heard entering the room. The girl came with Mimi and a girl her age. "Sister, introduce. He's my new friend, Seonghwa."

"Seonghwa is facing the Eighth Prince of Tang," said the girl timidly. He lowered his face nervously. This was the first time he had seen a prince from abroad. As the youngest daughter, she was always locked up in the palace. If only Li Rouwei hadn't found him, he would never have come out.

"Let's relax, Princess," Li An said with a faint smile on her lips, "I'm really grateful that you want to be friends with Princess Rouwei."

"Call me as usual!" exclaim Li Rouwei protest.

"Rou'er, we are guests ...," Li An heeded the call, but kept reminding. However, Li Rouwei directly cut him off, "We are already friends. Don't be so stiff."

"Hm?" Li An looked at Seonghwa who was also staring at him. Their eyes meet each other. A moment later, Seonghwa instantly shifted his gaze. There was a red hue appearing on his cheek.

"Sa–i don't matter, Prince," Seonghwa said as he lowered his head, "I'm the one who should thank you because Princess Rouwei wants to be friends with me."

"Mimi, let's make a snack" Li Rouwei exclaimed to the kitchen, "I want to eat a sweet cake."

The princesses ran to the back followed by Mimi who was holding her daughter. They seem to be enjoying their time. Well, it's also good that Li Rouwei came to visit here. Hopefully this place is completely safe because it is quite far from the battlefield.

"How did you learn?" Li An turned his gaze to Li Chen. The boy who is now almost a scholar also turned his head, "I've gotten better. When I get back, I'll take the exam to be a scholar."

"No! I will ask Big Brother Yun for acceleration," Li Chen denied, "You can. Why am I not?"

"Hm, just try it," Li An reviewed a faint smile, "The test isn't as easy as you think."

I definitely can," Li Chen replied optimistically. Li An stroked his head like Li Huanran stroked first. He then said with his distinctive smile, "Yes, you can definitely."

The Eighth Prince also read a book, but it was different from the books Li Chen had studied. It was a foreign-language book given by Ali. He was able to understand it little by little. From that book, he learned many things.

Day after day passed in the capital of the Left Kingdom quietly. Li An documented everything that happened while there. He also coordinated with the nearby branches of the Fuli Trade Union.

When the time comes, he will definitely expand his guild to this country, even to the Middle Kingdom and the Right Kingdom. He has also targeted a country on an archipelago in the east. Within two or three years, maybe he will also open a branch in sna.

***

"The "delegation of the empire was there. Are you sure we can attack the Left Capital with the available troops?" ask a scout soldier who just left the capital. He stopped on a hill with his friend. Seen by the capital of the Left Kingdom that still looks tanang and peaceful from the outside, even though their leading defense fortresses have begun to be seized one by one.

"Why not? According to reports, the delegation is not much?" said his friend who spoke wide, "If we can conquer the capital as soon as possible, their fortresses will collapse by themselves. We can also take ambassadors from the empire hostage. I heard, there are some imperial princes and princesses among them."

"That's rash. You think the empire won't care about its children? We could be destroyed if the empire mustered its full strength" the scout soldier weighed in. The wide caping chimed in, "It is precisely because of that, that we should be able to hold the princes and princesses hostage so that the empire does not assort. I heard, there was a princess from the empress who was most loved by the emperor. He'll be our main victim."

The scout soldier was silent. Their investigation this time provided very useful information. They risked their lives by infiltrating a heavily guarded city. They should immediately report this to their commander immediately.

Arriving at the nearby camp, the two scouts immediately reported his observations. Their commander exclaimed in delight at the news. He ordered his entire army to prepare. Time for a surprise attack.

They also climbed mountains and down valleys. Carefully, they dodged every single Left Kingdom defensive outpost. Their main goal was to disrupt enemy concentration by attacking to the center of his government as quickly as possible, not conquering. However, apparently their commander had a greater ambition than that.

Honey, what a pity. They have scouts, the empire has scouts. The movements of the vanguard forces had been detected early on by the forces that Li Xiang controlled.

The Seventh Prince was occupying the fortress city closest to the capital. Upon receiving the report from his spies, he immediately made a quick decision. This is a golden opportunity. In fact, he had thought that he would be bored because he was placed in the back line.

A sinister grin was engraved on the face of the Seventh Prince. He gave the order to the troops he was carrying, "The Left Kingdom took too long to make a decision, while the enemy was eyeing my sweet brothers in their city. Did the enemy underestimate the empire? Take some troops to the capital! Secure the delegation before the enemy attacks! The rest follow me ambushing the enemy from behind. Let's show the Red Steel Force strength."

"Hhh ...!" exclaim the Red Steel Army that Li Xiang is in control of.