Beside the official road of the Jin Dynasty, a large group of troops were setting up camp. A young man in a carriage slowly opened his eyes and looked at the snow scene outside through the small window of the carriage.
It was freezing cold outside the carriage, but the small stove inside the carriage made it warm as spring. However, the warmth inside the carriage could not calm his heart. This operation was related to the destiny of Western Xia. If it failed, Western Xia would be in real danger.
When he thought of this, he couldn't help but feel confused.
His father was a talented writer, but when it came to governing the country, he was a mess, especially in his attitude towards Mongolia and the Jin Dynasty, where he made huge mistakes.
Although the Jurchens were fierce and brutal, they were like well-fed tigers, while the Mongols were like hungry jackals. Although they were both wild beasts, one was well-fed while the other was not.
Xixia was originally a small and weak country, and had always been sandwiched between the Liao Dynasty and the Song Dynasty. Now it was living between Mongolia and the Jin Dynasty. The way to survive was to unite the weak to attack the strong. However, it was extremely foolish to unite with the emerging Mongolia to attack the Jin Dynasty.
The damage to Western Xia caused by several small-scale wars was not obvious, but once a major war broke out, Western Xia would be in real danger.
However, if he completely ally with the Jin Kingdom, he would go against his father's wishes and his position would be in jeopardy. This would be too difficult to deal with.
"Your Highness, I, Liang Deyi, request to see you."
The young man was startled and woke up from his memories. He said hurriedly:
"My Lords, please come in."
Lord Liang was one of the few wise men in the Xixia court. He had a clear view of the situation and was very supportive of his prince. He was one of the few ministers who clearly supported his suggestions.
Therefore, he also had great respect for the Chief Censor.
Then a handsome old man in his fifties opened the curtain and walked in.
The carriage of the Western Xia prince is called a carriage, but in fact, it is like a mobile room. Although it is not very spacious, it has extremely complete functions and even has a toilet and incense to cover up the smell.
After the old man came in, he immediately felt a sense of warmth, and the coldness outside was mostly dissipated.
"Meet His Royal Highness the Crown Prince"
"Sir Liang, please don't be polite. Please sit down and drink some hot tea."
As he spoke, he personally poured a bowl of tea. The old man smiled and nodded. The prince was intelligent and polite, and he was well versed in governing a country. This was a blessing for the Western Xia Kingdom.
"Thank you, Your Highness."
After finishing his tea, he continued, "I wonder if Your Highness has any plans for this trip to the Kingdom of Jin?"
The Xixia prince said: "Sir Liang, my goal this time is very clear, that is to persuade the Emperor of the Jin Kingdom, and then unite with the Jin Kingdom to fight against Mongolia."
The simple and straightforward goal made Liang Deyi nod his head.
"Your Highness is right. Mongolia may seem weak now, but it is actually a serious threat. The seemingly powerful Jin Kingdom is actually weak inside. If we help Mongolia to destroy the Jin Kingdom, the result will be the same as when the Song Dynasty allied with the Jin Kingdom to destroy the Liao Dynasty."
"We are a small country. Our national strength cannot be compared with that of a big country. If we want to survive, we must learn how to maneuver and take the initiative to balance the forces of all parties. Only when all parties check and balance each other can we, Xixia, become an important bargaining chip on the scale."
"However, we all know what His Majesty is thinking. He does not want Xixia to completely ally with the Jin Kingdom, so Your Highness needs to carefully consider how to respond to His Majesty. I have already thought about it. The best way is for Your Highness the Crown Prince to minimize his presence after entering the Jin Kingdom's capital, and let me handle everything."
"This way, after we reach an agreement, even if His Majesty wants to blame someone, he will only blame the old minister. His Majesty is kind, and even if he gets angry afterwards, he will only demote the old minister, and there will be no other harm."
The Prince of Western Xia was so moved that he almost cried. Liang Deyi hurried to comfort him, saying that he was already old and would soon be old enough to retire, so it would be a good thing for him to retire early.
The two talked for a while, and the sky darkened. Lord Liang then stepped back. It was already pitch black outside, and the guards lit a bonfire to illuminate the camp.
After Lord Liang got off the carriage, he led his men for an inspection. The entire Western Xia delegation was led by Crown Prince Li Deren, so there were thousands of cavalry guards, and there were also masters from Yipintang secretly protecting them, so it was as solid as a rock.
But he still did not dare to slack off in the slightest. After all, the Jin Kingdom was still an enemy country at this time, and any carelessness could bring unnecessary danger.
But he was not too worried. After all, there were thousands of cavalrymen. Unless a large army was used to encircle and suppress them, there would be no risk.
It was a dark night, with snow all over the ground, and the only sound was the crunching of the snow as patrolling cavalrymen stepped on it.
Time passed bit by bit, and there was no problem at all until dawn. The patrolling cavalry also entered the most sleepy time.
The sky was turning pale, and the morning mist rose, lightly pouring into the tent.
The cavalrymen who came to take over the shift were yawning. The biting cold wind made them a little more awake. But at this moment, they saw double in front of their eyes. A strong sense of drowsiness came over them. Their eyelids felt so heavy that they suppressed all their senses and then they fell straight down.
"Oh no! There's an enemy attack. There's a poisonous smoke attack. Everyone, cover your mouth and nose!"
A burly man guarding the carriage of Crown Prince Li Deren was extremely alert. After the patrolling cavalry fell, he immediately realized that something was wrong.
While shouting a warning, he guarded in front to prevent a sneak attack and stuffed a few detoxification pills into his mouth.
Then, more than a dozen experts jumped out from around the frame, guarding it tightly. They looked around vigilantly and did not dare to act rashly for a while.
"Pa pa pa"
Following a burst of clapping, two figures slowly walked out of the morning mist. They were Lu Qingzhou and Mei Ruohua.
"As expected of a master from Yipintang, you reacted very quickly. My pirated copy of Sad Breeze is indeed not as good as the original. Even though I used it with the help of the morning mist, and used up all my supply of more than a year in one go, you still noticed it."
"But if it is the original version, it is difficult to gather such a large amount. At most, it can only work on people in a small range. Once it is diluted too much by the wind, it will be useless. Otherwise, if it is really that magical, you Xixia would have dominated the world long ago."
"By the way, the antidote you just took is good. It should be effective for most paralysis poisons. After you die, I'll take some to study and maybe I can make a better potion."
As soon as Lu Qingzhou finished speaking, many figures ran out from all around. They were all strong men. They moved in a very orderly and regular manner. After approaching the camp, they immediately began to finish off the soldiers who had fallen to the ground.
They worked in groups of two, one on guard while the other quickly used a thin and long poisonous stinger to pierce the temples of these cavalrymen. This way, less blood would be shed after killing them, and their armor would not be contaminated.
Seeing this scene, the dozen or so masters could no longer hold back.
Once the cavalry were slaughtered, even if they were able to protect the prince and leave safely, they would be severely punished when they returned to Xixia.
"Master, how about we each take half?" Lu Qingzhou said with a smile.
Mei Ruohua nodded, as if he was facing not a dozen masters, but a group of weak children.
Then the two of them attacked suddenly and rushed towards the dozen masters.
The Western Xia Prince Li Deren and the accompanying minister Liang Deyi in the carriage were all terrified and didn't know what had happened.
He could only force himself to comfort himself that there were elite cavalrymen outside, and more than a dozen first-class masters protecting him, so he would be absolutely fine. However, the fear in his heart was growing like weeds, and he didn't even dare to look out of the small window.
The shouting and screaming outside soon died down, as if the battle had quickly stopped. I couldn't help but feel happy. It seemed that the masters of Yipintang were very powerful and the attackers were quickly killed.
After waiting for a while, it was quiet outside without any movement. The two men tremblingly lifted the curtain and walked out, but the scene before them almost made him collapse to the ground.
The dozen or so masters who had been secretly protecting him were now all lying on the ground. Each of their faces was trembling with fear, as if they had seen a ghost.
At this moment, a voice sounded behind him:
"Your Highness, are you looking for me?"