Chapter 1089: Full Attack (2)

Although Li Zhang was a Han Chinese, he was also Ogedei’s savior. Back at the mine, it was Li Zhang who shared what little food he had and worked with Xue Ji to find medicinal herbs to treat his injuries.

After the rebellion, Li Zhang had also made many contributions in his capacity as the Military Advisor. Before their faction was formed, he even thought of ways to communicate with Great Qi and ask for many weapons. His prestige in the army was not low.

If word got out that he suspected Li Zhang, it would definitely leave the impression that he was getting rid of a subordinate after making use of him. Considering his status was not stable yet, he could not risk lowering his soldiers’ morale.

However, Ogedei also had some doubts about Li Zhang. Why would he, who was always so considerate, say such things at such a time to lead others to suspect him?

Rage still evident on his face, Li Zhang didn’t seem to notice Ogedei’s probing gaze. He stood up and said, “I know you think that I’m on their side because I’m a Han. But I’m also your brother and your Military Advisor. Even if I’m biased towards them, between you and a group of strangers, who do you think I’ll choose? I’m only opposed to falling out with Great Qi now for everyone’s sake. Since the Jin soldiers have their hands full at the moment, why don’t we seize the opportunity to take down Great Jin in one go?”

Tempted, everyone looked at each other and looked at Ogedei. While also tempted, Ogedei was even more reluctant to cede the large piece of land to Great Qi.

After all, the grassland was impoverished. Why did they always want to expand south?

It was precisely because the land of the Han people was fertile and the Han people were good at farming and weaving. Only by occupying this territory could they possess enough wealth.

Ogedei didn’t agree immediately, but he said that he would think about it.

Li Zhang knew that haste makes waste. If he continued, he was afraid that it would arouse suspicion, so he only said lightly, “Khan, it’s better to make a decision quickly. Time waits for no man.”

Ogedei nodded slightly.

Li Zhang then returned to his tent. When Xue Ji saw him enter, he quickly asked, “How did it go?”

Li Zhang shook his head slightly. A tad disappointed, Xue Ji said in a low voice, “It’s getting harder and harder for us to contact His Highness. I don’t know if Ogedei has become suspicious, but the inspection along the way is very strict these days.”

Li Zhang said in a low voice, “It hasn’t been peaceful recently. West Xia and Great Jin have snatched back two regions consecutively. I’m afraid he suspects that there are spies among his men. These checks might not be targeting us, but we have to be careful these days lest he catches us in the act.”

Xue Ji was still a little sad. “Seven to eight years of brotherhood…”

Li Zhang sneered and said, “He was the one who betrayed the alliance first. If he had been more considerate of us brothers, we wouldn’t have come to this point.”

Although the two of them were spies, they did not have any ulterior motives when saving Ogedei back then as the latter had hid his identity. The two of them were accidentally captured and brought to the mine. At that time, they only wanted to survive. Getting to know Ogedei was pure coincidence, and they had rebelled in accordance to the situation. On the other hand, they had intentionally asked Prince Rong for weapons. However, they also had the intention of staying by Ogedei’s side to serve him, so they took the risk to get in touch with Prince Rong and expressed their intention to stay in Dayuan.

This move was extremely dangerous. If Prince Rong was suspicious or narrow-minded, they and their families who stayed in Great Qi would definitely die without a burial place. However, not only did Prince Rong agree to supply the weapons, but he also sent their families to their sides. This could be considered tacitly acknowledging their status as spies. That is, as long as they did not forget Great Qi and did not do anything detrimental towards it.

But how did Ogedei treat them?

The two of them were the ones who had been in contact with Great Qi. Though it was Ogedei who betrayed the alliance, the two of them would be the first to bear the brunt. If Prince Rong wanted to settle scores with someone, he would definitely look for them. Even if their families were no longer in Great Qi, it would be easy for Prince Rong to have them killed.

Most importantly, a scholar would die for his confidant. They treated Ogedei as their confidant, and in the end, they found out that the person who truly trusted them was Prince Rong. How could they not be saddened?

Li Zhang was not as soft-hearted as Xue Ji. The adoration he had felt for Ogedei in the past had now turned into hatred.

A cold light flashed in Li Zhang’s eyes as he said, “His Highness is already besieging Shijiazhuang. With his ability, I’m afraid he’ll reach Zhending in less than half a month. Do think of a way to return to Dongjing and bring our families to Zhending Prefecture.”

Xue Ji was shocked. “What about you?”

“I can’t leave. If I leave, he’ll definitely be suspicious.”

Xue Ji’s lips trembled. Li Zhang grabbed his hand and said, “Ah Ji, we’ve been brothers for 20 years, and been together since we were soldiers. I hope you can show filial piety to my mother on my behalf.”

Xue Ji cried. “If I had known earlier, I wouldn’t have brought them here back then…”

“Who would have thought that His Highness didn’t use them to threaten us, but our sworn brother used them to threaten us? Pack up quickly. The reason is readily available: the battle is imminent, and you need to go back and gather the rations.”

Xue Ji nodded and wiped his tears. He waited for the swelling in his eyes to subside before leaving.

When Ogedei received the news, he took two steps in the tent and asked, “You said that Lord Xue stayed in the Military Advisor’s tent for an hour? What did they talk about?”

“Reporting to the Khan, their voices were very low, and their personal guards were guarding the entrance of the tent. We couldn’t quite hear what they were saying.”

Ogedei thought for a moment and said, “Find two people to serve Lord Xue.”

“Yes.”

Ogedei went to look for Xue Ji and asked with a smile, “Third Brother, what made a grown man like you cry?”

Xue Ji smiled in embarrassment and said, “Big brother, I was just talking to Second Brother about the current war. When I think about how we’ll be fighting Great Qi soon, I feel terrible.”

Ogedei was stunned. He did not expect Xue Ji to be so direct.

Xue Ji looked at him and said, “Big Brother, do we really have to fight a war with Great Qi?”

Ogedei said calmly, “Why? Third Brother can’t bear to? But aren’t you from the Great Zhou Dynasty? The Great Qi Dynasty took over the Great Zhou Dynasty…”

Xue Ji shook his head and said, “There’s not much difference between Great Zhou and Great Qi in my heart. In any case, they’re both Han Kingdoms. Moreover, the Emperor of Great Zhou is far inferior to the Emperor of Great Qi. I just think that the current Emperor of Great Qi is not bad, and our enemy is Great Jin. Can’t we just destroy Great Jin? Why do we have to fight Great Qi? I don’t like war.”

Ogedei found it funny. “Third Brother, you make it sound like a mere feud in the pugilistic world. Wars aren’t that simple.”

“Second Brother said the same thing and even scolded me.” Xue Ji was depressed.

Feeling slightly relieved, Ogedei smiled. “Second Brother was doing this for your own good. By the way, why did you pack your luggage?”

Xue Ji lowered his head and said, “Second Brother said that I would let my imagination run wild if I stayed here. In that case, I might as well go back and gather rations. I thought that it would be uncomfortable for me to stay here, so I agreed.”

Ogedei thought for a moment and nodded. “Alright. You don’t like to fight wars, but you’re good at gathering rations. I’ll get someone to send you back.”

Xue Ji did not refuse and nodded in agreement.

The doubts in Ogedei’s heart dissipated slightly, but the feelings of unease lingered. This uneasiness was quickly confirmed. Xue Ji had only been gone for a few days, but Qi Haoran had already conquered the Shijiazhuang and fought his way to Zhending Prefecture. Now that Great Jin’s power had been compressed in the Central Capital, Great Jin was about to fall.

Perhaps because he knew that there was nothing he could do, the Great Jin generals did not listen to orders and directly betrayed the country and established themselves as kings. Many people attacked the north and took many cities from him.

The rations that he had painstakingly gathered had been burned to the ground by some faction. Just as Ogedei was having a headache, he received news that Xue Ji had disappeared with the old and weak of the Xue and Li families.