Martial Arts Crossover: It All Started with Hijacking Li Canghai

Qin Han tore open the seal and pulled out the secret letter inside, which had been written with a special potion.

The ancestral worship ceremony is scheduled for the ninth day of next month, and the location will be the Imperial Ancestral Temple in Lin'an. In the past two weeks, 20,000 imperial guards from Yangzhou and Jiangling have been moving towards the outskirts of Lin'an in batches.

Yuwen Huaji's Xiaoguo Army disbanded its formation and, under the guise of rotating garrisons, deployed all its elite troops within a ten-mile radius.

Roughly calculated, Yuwen Huaji commanded nearly 80,000 troops!

Qin Han finished reading the contents of the letter, folded the letter a few times, and held it between his fingers.

His face showed no emotion as he slowly walked towards the fishpond at the end of the corridor.

Seeing this, Xu Xingzhi hurriedly followed behind.

Hearing the commotion on the shore, the koi in the pond gathered close and opened their mouths, as if waiting to be fed.

Qin Han grabbed a handful of fish food from the earthenware jar next to him and slowly sprinkled it into the water.

"What does the strategist think?"

Xu Xingzhi already had the answer, but sometimes he didn't necessarily say it directly.

"Your Highness, Yuwen Huaji will either force the emperor to abdicate or kill him on the spot; there is no other possibility."

Qin Han sprinkled some more fish food into the water, his gaze falling on the koi carp that were constantly thrashing and scrambling for food on the surface.

"What are Cai Jing and Jia Sidao's reactions? Are they just going to stand by and watch?"

Xu Xingzhi shook his head slightly.

"Those two are usually very perceptive; they probably sensed something was wrong a long time ago."

"But Yuwen Chengdu has been stationed in Lin'an City. This man has extremely high martial arts skills and is not easy to deal with, so the two of them simply stayed behind closed doors and did not come out."

"Cai Jing did secretly send someone to contact the people in the Palace Guard, but the person he sent completely lost contact the next day."

Qin Han chuckled and threw the remaining fish food into the water.

"So now, in Lin'an City, Yuwen Huaji is the one who calls the shots?"

Xu Xingzhi nodded slightly, a hint of hesitation on his face.

"Your Highness, now that we've received the message, should we inform Yuchi Jingde beforehand?"

Qin Han paused his movements for a moment.

"Yuchi Jingde?"

Seeing this, Xu Xingzhi realized that the prince had just emerged from seclusion and probably didn't know who this person was.

"This is a talented general that General Qin Qiong recruited in Xiangyang a few months ago."

"I heard that these two actually fought a real battle back then, and in the end, General Qin defeated him and made him submit."

"This man is very skilled in leading troops and fighting battles. He has already trained five thousand elite cavalrymen on the border of Jingzhou and Xiangyang."

Qin Han couldn't help but find these words somewhat interesting.

"So that's how it is."

Seeing that he didn't intend to blame him, Xu Xingzhi continued what he hadn't finished saying earlier.

"I'm thinking of having Yuchi Jingde put on a show of force on the Jingxiang border to exert some pressure."

"Should we have Guo Jing coordinate some commotion later? That way, even if Yuwen Huaji really intends to take action, he'll have to think twice beforehand."

Qin Han put the pottery jar back in its original place and glanced at Xu Xingzhi, who had been trying to fool him.

"You, never mind... no need to bother with this."

Xu Xingzhi was not surprised by this answer at all.

"Your Highness, about this matter..."

Qin Han had a faint smile on his face.

"The Song Dynasty court was rotten to the core. Some people wanted to lead the charge, while others wanted to reap the benefits from behind."

"Let them fight it out themselves first."

Qin Han walked slowly along the edge of the fishpond, his gaze casually falling on the water.

"If Yuwen Huaji wants to sit on the emperor's throne, let him sit on it."

"When he actually sits in that position, he will naturally find that it is not so easy to sit firmly."

Xu Xingzhi was shaken, realizing that the prince was going to include all the forces in the Southern Song court.

No matter how fiercely the people in front fight, in the end they are all just doing the work for someone else.

He calmly accepted the order, saying, "I know what to do."

Qin Han stopped under an old plum tree nearby and broke off a withered branch from the trunk.

"I'm still not entirely at ease with Guo Jing. Strategist, I'll have Tianbao go to Xiangyang personally later."

"Remember, without my order, none of your men are allowed to make any rash moves."

Xu Xing clasped his hands in agreement.

"I'll go and make the arrangements right away."

He turned around and took a few steps outside, but then turned back as if he had suddenly remembered something.

"Your Highness, there is one more thing I forgot to report."

Qin Han casually tossed the withered branch in his hand into the water beside him, his gaze following the branch as it drifted further and further away.

"explain."

Xu Xingzhi looked strange.

"Three imperial princesses have gone missing in Lin'an City."

Qin Han raised an eyebrow upon hearing this.

When did this happen?

Xu Xingzhi shook his head.

"The exact time of their disappearance is uncertain, mainly because the palace has kept the news extremely secret."

"The people behind the net only recently managed to pry this information out of an old eunuch in the palace."

"Princess Maode, Princess Roufu, and Princess Ande—all three of them vanished without a trace."

Qin Han was unaware that Jiang Yuyan was behind this, since according to the original plan, Jiang Yuyan should still be in Xixia, cultivating to break through to the Grandmaster level.

Although Princess Maode was quite beautiful, she disrupted the plan and interfered prematurely just for the sake of a woman.

No matter how I think about it, it doesn't seem like a good deal.

Xu Xingzhi stood aside and saw that his prince hadn't said anything for a long time, so he added a sentence from behind.

"There are some rumors in the palace that it is because the emperor is going to marry off his daughter. Many people suspect that Yuwen Huaji secretly arranged for this to be done in order to isolate the emperor."

The Qin and Han dynasties are neither confirmed nor denied.

"There's no need to investigate this matter any further."

Xu Xingzhi was somewhat surprised to hear this. Had his lord recently lost interest in beautiful women?

"Your Highness, these three princesses are ultimately of somewhat special status. If we could find a way to bring them under our control, wouldn't our actions be more legitimate..."

Qin Han glanced at him sideways.

"They're just a few princesses; there's no need to create unnecessary trouble for three women."

Xu Xingzhi was actually relieved; at least the prince wouldn't ruin his plans because of a woman at this time.

"It was my fault for being so talkative."

Qin Han could easily see that Xu Xingzhi was considering his foresight at this time.

"You... never mind, let's stick to the plan."

The two walked one after the other to the end of the corridor, where Qin Han stopped.

"Go and inform Tianbao of the arrangements in Xiangyang now."

Xu Xingzhi bowed slightly to show respect.

"Understood."

He clasped his hands in a fist salute once more before quickly walking away.

Qin Han stood alone under the corridor.

The struggle for power should not be rushed, but I'll probably have to put in some effort to appease the women in this household tonight.

Just as I was pondering this, I heard a light, quick footstep behind me.

"Master, the ladies are all waiting for you to come over for lunch."

Qin Han turned his head and saw Zhu Jian running up to him, a smile clearly on his face as if he were watching a good show.

"Let's go."