knife

Chapter 171 A Business Deal

Upon entering the small hall, Tiele plopped down on the brocade couch, panting heavily as he glared at Li Dachui.

Li Dachui didn't stand on ceremony. He dragged over a stool and sat down, looking Tiele up and down. "You've recovered quite well. You should thank me for giving you a Rejuvenating Pill, otherwise you would be a cripple."

"Shouldn't I thank you for beating me up? Otherwise, I wouldn't have had the chance to get the Rejuvenation Pill." Tiele mocked.

Li Dachui clapped his hands: "I was a little embarrassed to say this, but since Your Highness is so understanding, I feel ashamed to accept it. It seems you have turned misfortune into blessing and your skills are about to greatly improve!"

"That's called good deeds being rewarded!" Tiele sneered. "You came here to die, are you looking for death?"

“I believe Your Highness is a wise man. I imagine you’ve been waiting anxiously for my arrival these past few days!” Li Dachui said. “Now, the two of us are a perfect match, like a turtle and a mung bean. We’ve hit it off. You need me, and I need you, don’t we?”

Looking at Li Dachui, who was leaning forward with a smile on his face, Tiele leaned back with some disgust. If he got any closer, his spittle would be spraying onto him.

This man's shamelessness was unprecedented in his life.

"You two have taken a liking to each other?" Tiele said, "Then what you said to my father was also to help me, wasn't it?"

“Of course!” Li Dachui nodded repeatedly: “It’s a little trick of praising first and then exaggerating, nothing to brag about. I wonder if I were to lavish praise on you in front of His Majesty, making you sound like the best in the world, would you be happy?”

Tiele remained silent, his face dark.

"See, you know this won't work!" Li Dachui laughed. "If this happens, the First Prince and the Third Prince will go all out against you, using you as a target. I'm afraid Shaliewen's defeat will also be attributed to you. You've been guarding the border for many years; if you really want to talk about it, can you really escape responsibility for this?"

Tiele snorted a few times, but did not refute.

"Next, His Highness will definitely target His Highness the Third Prince. The Third Prince, burdened by Shaliewen, has lost much of the goodwill he accumulated with His Majesty in recent years. To counter His Highness, he will inevitably come to you. That's when Your Highness should set his price!" Li Dachui said with a smile. "I've done so much for His Highness, yet he shows no gratitude and harbors resentment. It truly breaks my heart!"

"If I didn't now know a little about what kind of bastard you are, Li Dachui, I would have actually believed what you said!" Tiele sneered.

"I truly have His Highness's best interests at heart in this matter!" Li Dachui said earnestly. "His Highness might as well stay in Yandu to recuperate for a while longer and catch up on any missed lessons!"

"What lessons do I need to catch up on?"

"Tsk tsk, does the Second Prince really think he is the chosen one?" Li Dachui mocked. "If His Majesty were to summon all the civil and military officials in Yandu to vote for a crown prince, where would you rank among the three of you?"

Tiele fell silent.

“I dare say you’ll be at the very bottom!” Li Dachui said, “In terms of military achievements, is Zhebie inferior to you? Linghuye has shown absolutely no ambition these past few years, while the Western and Northern Hu are truly desperate to seize your territory. So, in many people’s eyes, your defense of the southern border was achieved through a clever trick. But Zhebie’s contributions in the north are genuine!”

"I held off Qin's army of over 100,000 with only 30,000 men, and these 30,000 men can hardly be considered the true elite of the Yuan Dynasty!" Tiele argued.

Li Dachui shook his head: "Others won't see it that way. Let's go back to the Third Prince. This man is stationed in Yandu, connecting the north and south, and traversing the east and west, stabilizing the domestic situation. His contributions are indispensable. He has also procured provisions, ensuring that His Majesty has no logistical worries in the north. More importantly, by leveraging his financial power, the Third Prince has won over many important figures!"

"And more importantly, Tiele, your mother is Princess Changle, and you have half Qin blood in your veins. Therefore, many important officials of the Yuan Dynasty do not trust you from the bottom of their hearts. They want to ensure the purity of the Yuan emperor's bloodline! And this point is probably more fatal than all of the previous ones."

Tiele stood up and paced back and forth in the room.

“This is not your fault, you have no choice, but that’s just how it is.” Li Dachui spread his hands and said, “So if you want to rise to the top, now is not to prove how excellent you are, but to make everyone feel that the eldest and third eldest are too bad, so bad that they are simply incapable of inheriting the great Yuan dynasty.”

"So the first step is to send the boss to the southern border!" Tiele said, his eyes red.

"Excellent! Send Zhebie to the Southern Frontier, to the place you once held!" Li Dachui said with a grin, "Next, what we need to do is make him lose every battle in the Southern Frontier, keep fighting and losing, until he's so destitute he has nothing left to wear. Only then will everyone realize, 'Wow, are the Qin people really that strong? How come the First Prince, who was invincible in the Northern Frontier, can't fight in the Southern Frontier? The Second Prince had it pretty tough before!'"

"But if we do that, it will be my sons who die!" Tiele said through gritted teeth.

Li Dachui looked at him with a half-smile and said, "If that's what you think, then you might as well stay here and retire! What's the point of fighting for the throne? With that kind of mentality, you'll die very quickly!"

Tiele, panting heavily, paced back and forth in the room like a trapped beast. "Do you think Jebe will still reuse your old troops after he goes to the southern frontier?" Li Dachui asked. "Doesn't he have his own trusted confidants to settle? He probably trusts the newly conquered tribes of the Northern and Western Hu, but not people like Lengge, right? So all you have to do is go with the flow and remove your people. Of course, it's also necessary to go to the emperor and complain about Jebe suppressing your old troops!"

"Let me help you defeat Jebe, and you'll reap all the benefits. Once the area along the Qingtongxia Wild Boar Ridge falls into your hands, you'll be able to attack or defend at will, and my Great Yuan will be at a disadvantage in the southern border! You've certainly got a good plan!"

"Tiele, that depends on how you calculate this!" Li Dachui said calmly, "Is the strategic initiative on the southern front more important, or the throne of the Great Yuan? If anyone can hold the southern frontier, where does your importance lie?"

With a loud thud, Tiele slammed the teacup on the table onto the ground.

“What a fine piece of porcelain, what a pity!” Li Dachui said, “Besides, this line, twenty-five years ago, it didn’t belong to you either, did it? Your father was able to snatch it back from the Qin Dynasty back then, but you didn’t have the courage to snatch it back from me?”

"Alright, I promise you!" Tiele said emphatically, "I lost it, I'll get it back."

"What a spirit!" Li Dachui gave a thumbs up and praised, "This is the Tiele I truly respect! Maybe when I'm in the Southern Frontier, I'll simply take care of Jebe for you, so you won't have any worries. In that case, both the eldest and third brothers will suffer great losses in the Southern Frontier, while only you will stand out. In the Great Yuan, which values ​​military achievements above all else, it will be obvious which courtiers will choose, right? Besides, the third brother has a lot of weaknesses to exploit. When the time comes, you can investigate him for corruption and bribery, and I guarantee that beneath his glamorous clothes lies nothing but a bunch of scoundrels!"

Li Dachui raised his fist. "In that case, we have reached an agreement."

"There's also Linghuye beyond the Great Wall!" Tiele said. "Your enemies won't just be Jebe! Linghuye will also try to harm you!"

"Don't worry!" Li Dachui said, "Linghuye is just a grasshopper in autumn, he won't be able to hop around for long. Every victory we Anxi wins is like driving a nail into his coffin. Moreover, given Zhebie's personality, after suffering a loss here, he might turn around and try to make amends with Linghuye."

“Jebe isn’t as foolish as you think! He is straightforward, but he also has far-sighted strategists around him. Moreover, the strategy of using one tiger to devour another was my idea, but it was also approved by the court! Jebe will carry it out!”

"How to deal with Linghu Ye is my business, you don't need to worry about it. The only one we need to work together to deal with is Zhebie!" Li Dachui said, "Let's settle things after you return to the Southern Frontier or ascend the throne!"

The door creaked open, and Li Dachui turned around, his pupils shrinking slightly. The middle-aged woman in the black cloak, who was like a nightmare to him, stepped into the room.

"So it's Aunt Duanmu!" He turned around, bowed, and said respectfully.

Duanmu chuckled and shook his head, saying, "You little rascal, where did you learn this from? Your mother is dignified, elegant, and has a broad perspective. Although your father is indecisive and a pushover, his innate noble air is captivating at first sight. I really suspect you're a fake."

“Aunt Duanmu, anyone who starts their life on the run from birth, having to survive in the wild and dangerous lands beyond the Great Wall at a young age, will end up like me!” Li Dachui sighed and pointed at Tiele: “If I had the same living environment and upbringing as him, I would also be a polite murderer and robber.”

Duanmu Miaomiao snorted and said, "Come with me?"

"Huh?" Li Dachui said, "I'm discussing serious matters with the Second Prince!"

"The princess wants to see you!" Duanmu Miaomiao said impatiently, "Hurry up and come with me. If you keep arguing, I'll grab you and take you away. If you don't want to suffer, then behave yourself!"

After saying those words, Duanmu Miaomiao turned and left.

Li Dachui quickly followed. This guy had a bad temper, and if he really angered him, he would be no match for him if a fight broke out.

Watching Duanmu Miaomiao's retreating figure, Li Dachui silently circulated his inner energy, feeling the powerful true energy flowing through his body.

"You just wait! It's just the Innate Realm! Once I break through this barrier, I'll make sure I get all the revenge I suffered at your hands!" Li Dachui thought bitterly. "If I don't beat you to tears, I'm not Li!"

Duanmu Miaomiao suddenly turned around and looked at Li Dachui, making him feel a little uneasy.

"If you try to ambush me, then I'll make my move. I'm actually looking forward to giving you a good beating! I can't really hurt you, but I can still teach you a lesson."

"Why? I didn't do anything to you, Auntie!"

"Because your surname is Li! Just looking at you makes me angry!"

(End of this chapter)