The Prince of Travelers

Chapter 037: Letter from Li Xiang

"Against His Fourth Prince Royal Highness, facing His Eighth Prince Highness," a middle-aged courier knelt before Li Bei and Li An who were discussing at the Guest of Honor Complex. He also gave Li Xiang a letter to the two princes.

"So, a group of enemy troops will come attacking directly into the capital?" li Bei asked as soon as he finished reading his letter, "What does this mean? Is the fortress that the Seventh Prince is guarding already collapsed?"

"No, Prince," Li Xiang's envoy shook his head, "The fortress still holds up well. Only, we detected suspicious movements from the enemy forces in the surrounding valleys. It seemed, they had deliberately passed through the leading defensive fortresses to charge straight into the capital."

"Then why did you let it go?" li Bei's cold speech made the envoy stunned for a moment. The middle-aged man only replied after a while, "Although, Prince. They went through difficult terrain. We will incur heavy losses if we ambush him. Therefore, the Seventh Prince decided to send a relief force to the capital in order to protect the delegation."

"Oh, yeah. You can rest now," Li Bei invited the envoy to leave, "I'll call you later."

Li An borrowed a letter from them. In the letter, Li Xiang revealed his intention to surround the enemy forces from two directions. Therefore, he asked the delegation in the capital to defend well.

"Based on this description, it seems like the enemy troops coming are not the main troops," Li Bei said as he tapped his finger on the table, "Maybe they are the vanguard troops sent to confuse us. After all, the report regarding the condition of the line was also new until a few days ago. There's no way we're losing this fast."

"Well, that's the case," Li An agreed, then argued, "Could be, their target is actually the Wind Fortress that Kak Xiang is guarding. With the departure of the Red Steel Army from the Wind Fortress, the defense there would definitely be reduced. Well, the fort is not our responsibility entirely anyway. After all, the Left Kingdom's defense force wasn't that weak until it would lose easily. Even so, shouldn't we report this to the Left King immediately?"

"Right, but we should make good use of this information," Li Bei re-rolled his letter, "The Left Kingdoms are too chatty to bother themselves. If they're desperate, they'll be forced to follow all our demands."

"Hm," Li An nodded. In fact, the imperial demands sound simple. The Left Kingdom simply recognized the empire as its protector and paid an annual tribute. That way, the empire can fully protect its protectorate state.

But it's not as simple as it sounds. When the Left Kingdom became an imperial protectorate, they did have autonomy over their own territory, but there would also come a time when they would have to follow the direction of the empire as in the intervention of succession to the throne. It was tantamount to indirect colonization, but it was still better than being destroyed by an opponent's attack. At the very least, they could gather strength as long as it became a protectorate state. They will be fully independent someday if they work hard well.

"Let's meet the king," Li Bei asked, "After all, he will have to make a quick decision before his palace is level with the ground."

The Left King was deeply shocked upon hearing the news. His body was shaking violently. If he did not wear layers of honor clothing, his fear would have been obvious. Li An and Li Bei looked at him with pity, but still put forward the trust they brought, which was to conquer the Left Kingdom smoothly.

The vanguard forces of the Middle Kingdom were indeed not many. However, there was news that the kingdom had a group of elite troops that easily broke into the city from within so that the troops outside could enter easily overrun the city. Because of this, some of the strongholds of the Left Kingdom could be captured and become the weakest now. Had the army suddenly appeared in the capital, the Left Kingdom would definitely be in danger.

"You don't have much time to think about it protracted," Li Bei reminded, "Decide immediately before they step on your palace grounds, Your Majesty."

Li Bei and Li An retreated, leaving the king to think last night with invisible terror. The next morning, the king had completely submitted to the empire. He agreed to all the demands of the delegation to save his kingdom sitting on the edge. There was no other way but to plead for help to the empire despite having to prostrate to them.

"Prepare yourself, we will defend the capital" exclaimed Li Bei who had now taken over the entire military within the city, both from the empire and the Left Kingdom. The troops also called out to obey his orders in a compact manner. The generals of the Left Kingdom who had begun to lose faith in their king were willing to follow the Fourth Prince's orders.

"Sister An," called Li Rouwei as soon as Li An returned to the Guest of Honor Complex, "Are we going to war?"

"Yes," Li An nodded softly, "You're afraid?"

"Hm," Li Rouwei shook his head, "I'm looking forward to it."

"Huh?" Li An was stunned. He did not expect that those words would come out of Li Rouwei's words. Well, he's still innocent anyway.

"Do you not understand the meaning of war?" Li An became complicated-faced, "The war was not a festive performance like you see at festivals in the empire. It's something much different."

"Em ..?. Can't I see the greatness of our imperial troops on the battlefield?" li Rouwei asked innocently. "Said Brother Xiang, the imperial army is great and sure to win the war."

Li An patted his eel upon hearing that. He then knelt down and patted his two troublesome little sister's shoulders. The prince said, "Rou'er, war is dangerous. You can die there anytime. I do too. Anyone can die there."

"Dead?" Li Rouwei could not imagine it. All this time, he had only seen the beautiful. He did not understand the name of the loss, in contrast to Li An who had lost his mother since childhood.

"Yes, therefore, you should take cover when the day comes," Li An said seriously. He also took a long breath. The prince was truly sorry now. He should have urged Li Rouwei to go home by then, not to spoil him instead.

Well, the rice is already porridge. Li An had to protect her sister no matter what. He had to make sure that the naughty princess did not do such a reckless thing as run away from the palace to see the war. If given the plan he had made with Li Chen before leaving, it was not impossible.

"I'm not messing around," Li An emphasized his words, "Follow my orders and don't try to run away. You must return home safely."

Li Rouwei blinked both eyes a few times. This was the first time he had seen Li An so seriously. Normally, this elder brother of his was very calm in acting. If the Eighth Prince were to come to such an end, the situation would definitely be more complicated than he had imagined.

Even the Ninth Princess could only nod. He then patted the head of Li An who was kneeling before him. That was the usual way Li An used to calm him down. This time, he himself did that to appease the older brother. Not only that, she also hugged the Eighth Prince warmly as if she was a goddess that brought calmness. Think of this as a form of Li Rouwei's return to the older brother who had been very attentive to him.

"I will follow Brother," whispered Li Rouwei with a small grin on her lips, "But Big Brother must continue to watch over me then. Brother doesn't want me to run away, does he?"

"Hah ..," Li An let go of his embrace and returned to show his serious face, "Anyways, don't let you act too much."

"Hmmm!" Li Rouwei threw away his face. He has already given conditions. In the end, it was he who had to give up. "Yes, yes."