The Child Emperor-Chapter 337: Prince Donghai’s Guesses
How did Deng Cui manage to abduct the Xiongnu king’s concubine? No one knew. Although the Xiongnu claimed it was a violent kidnapping, Prince Donghai believed the concubine was most likely a willing participant. Deng Cui’s physique and appearance were first-rate, and he was eloquent and persuasive. From the very first day he arrived at the Xiongnu camp, he had attracted the attention of everyone around the Xiongnu king.
But no one could have imagined he would actually dare to do such a thing. The Xiongnu didn’t expect it, and Prince Donghai certainly didn’t expect it either—he nearly lost his life because of it.
The Xiongnu woman was skilled in horsemanship. Disguised in ordinary soldier’s clothing, she left the camp with Deng Cui and four attendants, taking over twenty horses with them, shortly after that evening’s banquet ended. They weren’t discovered missing until the following morning, by which time they had long since vanished without a trace. The Xiongnu king sent out over ten pursuit parties, but by the time Prince Donghai left the camp, they still hadn’t found any clues.
“Deng Cui didn’t even give me the slightest hint!” Prince Donghai said with lingering fear, his voice still trembling. “He just ran off without warning. He wanted to get me killed—he did it on purpose, just to get me killed!”
Cui Teng could no longer contain himself and burst into hearty laughter, clapping his hands. “What a fine fellow, that Deng Cui! Even while escaping, he didn’t forget to use the Xiongnu to punish traitors for His Majesty. When I see him next, I must toast him three cups!”
Prince Donghai didn’t dare stand up and remained kneeling on the ground as he angrily protested, “I’m not a traitor!” Then he turned toward the Emperor, adopting a serious expression. “Although the scouting plan failed, I didn’t make this trip for nothing. I gathered quite a bit of important intelligence.”
Hidden behind his serious facade, Prince Donghai carefully observed, hoping to detect some emotion on the Emperor’s impassive face, but he was disappointed. The Emperor showed neither anger nor joy, as if he didn’t care about Prince Donghai’s existence at all.
Han Ruzi was thinking about Deng Cui. So far, he had managed to send out quite a few people by various means, most of whom had disappeared without a trace. Zhuo Ruhe, who had been placed with high hopes, had already been captured. Although Marquis Piyuan who was stationed beyond the frontier was a veteran general focused on defense who wouldn’t easily fall into Xiongnu traps, he probably couldn’t devise any clever strategies to rescue the Emperor either. As for the Chu army in the south, they were few in number and constrained by the Linzi rebels, making them even less reliable. Deng Cui had suddenly become the greatest hope for both Jincheng and the Emperor.
But Deng Cui acted unpredictably, following the principle of adapting to circumstances as they arose. Enemies couldn’t anticipate his moves, and even his own people couldn’t guess what he would do next.
Han Ruzi silently sighed to himself. He still needed to think of more ways to protect himself. His gaze finally settled on Prince Donghai’s face. “What important intelligence did you gather?”
Prince Donghai’s mood relaxed slightly, and he was about to answer when Cui Teng spoke up. “Wait a moment. Your Majesty, first let him explain how he obtained this intelligence. It’s rather strange that the Xiongnu would just let him return like this…”
“What’s strange about it? The Xiongnu king had no idea of my true identity and thought I was just an ordinary nobleman.” Prince Donghai was truly afraid he might die at Cui Teng’s hands, so after defending himself, he still explained his source first. “There’s an interpreter beside the Xiongnu king who used to be from Chu. I spent considerable effort winning his favor, and I got the intelligence from him.”
Han Ruzi raised his hand, indicating that Prince Donghai could continue.
Prince Donghai had prepared well in advance. “According to the interpreter’s account, combined with my own speculation, the Great Chanyu’s decision to send people for peace talks actually has ulterior motives.”
“You’d better do less speculating,” Cui Teng refused to let Prince Donghai off the hook.
Prince Donghai shot him an annoyed glance and continued. “The Linzi rebels are colluding with the Xiongnu and holding fast without venturing out, hoping to receive Xiongnu support. But since the northern territories aren’t pacified, the Great Chanyu is unwilling to divide his forces to march south. So he only sent ten thousand cavalry to Linzi, originally thinking they could coordinate with the rebels from within and without to defeat the Chu army in the chaos, but they didn’t succeed.”
“The Xiongnu were defeated?” Han Ruzi asked. He still had great confidence in Chai Yue.
“I dare not lie to Your Majesty. Since it concerns Xiongnu honor, the interpreter wouldn’t reveal the true situation, but I speculate—” Prince Donghai glared at Cui Teng again, “—that those ten thousand cavalry must not be making smooth progress, and the Linzi rebels haven’t been able to break out of the encirclement either. So the Great Chanyu urgently needs a ceasefire to free up his hands to resolve the southern campaign.”
Han Ruzi thought for a while. “No, that’s not right. If we accept a ceasefire now, the Chu army in Mayi City won’t enter the pass, and the Xiongnu main force’s ambush plan will be affected. For the Xiongnu, the north should be more important than the south. Moreover, disrupting the deployment of the Chu army in Qi would be easy—breaking through Jincheng would be more effective than peace talks.”
“Uh… anyway, that’s what I heard. The Great Chanyu’s request for peace talks isn’t primarily about Mayi City, but about Linzi.” Prince Donghai was also somewhat confused.
Cui Teng lowered his voice, but still let Prince Donghai hear, “Why do I feel like this is information the Xiongnu deliberately leaked?”
Prince Donghai, who had been able to argue with Cui Teng before, could now only glare at him angrily.
Han Ruzi didn’t respond to Cui Teng’s words and asked Prince Donghai, “If we accept the peace talks, we might fall into the Great Chanyu’s scheme and anger the Right Wise King outside the city. In that case, should We refuse the peace talks and drive the envoys out of the city?”
The tears on Prince Donghai’s face had dried, and he now showed a smile. Taking the opportunity, he stood up and walked several steps closer to the Emperor, stopping only when the guards and eunuchs showed warning expressions. He said, “I have a brilliant plan.”
“A brilliant plan for whom? His Majesty or the Xiongnu?” Cui Teng asked.
This time Prince Donghai ignored Cui Teng. He had lost most of the Emperor’s trust and had to quickly regain as much as possible. “Accept the peace talks, but don’t accept a ceasefire.”
“Hmm?”
“The Great Chanyu’s purpose is to have Your Majesty issue an edict for a temporary ceasefire. The peace talks are just an excuse. Our best approach is to use this excuse to buy some time, but absolutely not issue an edict to cease fire.”
“How many days can this delay?” Cui Teng asked disdainfully.
“Even delaying one day is worth it. Then we find a way to figure out what exactly happened in Qi that made the Great Chanyu so nervous that he would rather temporarily abandon his plan to lure the Chu army from Mayi City and seek peace talks with Your Majesty instead?”
“There’s no reason at all. You’re just making wild guesses.”
Prince Donghai forced himself not to look at Cui Teng and stared only at the Emperor. Many things were indeed his guesses. If he guessed correctly, he could earn merit before the Emperor. If he guessed wrong—he dared not think about it.
“Summon the Xiongnu envoy Jin Chunzhong,” Han Ruzi ordered. A eunuch received the command and withdrew.
Both Prince Donghai and Cui Teng looked at the Emperor, but Han Ruzi refused to take a position.
Prince Donghai said somewhat awkwardly, “Your Majesty, may I go change my clothes? The Xiongnu things stink terribly.”
“Go ahead.”
Prince Donghai expressed his gratitude and hurried out. Cui Teng watched him disappear, then seized the time to say, “Your Majesty, Hua Bin and the others’ mission was to assassinate you. Prince Donghai might have received the same mission. You must be careful and on guard. Why not lock him up with Hua Bin and the others?”
“We must be on guard, but there’s no need to imprison him yet.” Han Ruzi turned to look at Cui Teng. “This matter is entrusted to you. From now on, you will watch Prince Donghai and guard against him for Us.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Cui Teng joyfully accepted the command and was about to leave.
“Where are you going?”
“To watch Prince Donghai.”
“You don’t need to do it every moment.”
“Oh.” Cui Teng was somewhat disappointed.
Prince Donghai guessed that while he was away, Cui Teng would certainly slander him, so he returned quickly. He had changed into his former clothes, but his face was still sweaty, having had no time to wash.
Jin Chunzhong also arrived shortly after.
“We have decided to accept the peace talks.”
Upon hearing this, Jin Chunzhong kowtowed, Prince Donghai breathed a sigh of relief, but Cui Teng frowned, thinking the Emperor had been persuaded by Prince Donghai.
Han Ruzi had actually made this decision long ago. He didn’t have many choices now, and Prince Donghai’s various speculations only gave him some points to consider. “Tomorrow morning you can leave the city. Go back and tell the Great Chanyu: We have already sent primary and deputy envoys, whom the Great Chanyu should have met. The meeting between Us and the Great Chanyu shall also be arranged at their discretion.”
“When will Your Majesty issue the edict to cease fire? This is something the Great Chanyu particularly cares about,” Jin Chunzhong said, wanting to complete his mission fully.
“Next time you bring an envoy from Great Chu to Jincheng, and we’ll discuss the ceasefire together.”
“Yes.” Jin Chunzhong kowtowed again and said, “This humble subject was originally from Chu, stranded beyond the frontier, and had no choice but to serve as a Xiongnu envoy. I would rather stay in the city to serve Your Majesty.”
Jin Chunzhong had expressed this wish many times, but Han Ruzi was even less able to accept it now. “The time has not yet come. No matter what, you are now a Xiongnu envoy. This concerns national dignity, and We cannot keep you.”
Jin Chunzhong had no choice but to kowtow again, then rose and took his leave.
Early the next morning, the Xiongnu envoy departed. Through this, the Xiongnu Right Wise King learned that the Great Chu Emperor was not ill at all and realized he had been deceived. He became even more furious and spent the entire day sending troops to provoke battles, but due to the Great Chanyu’s strict orders, he dared not directly attack the city.
The defenders did not dare to be careless. Fan Zhuangshan took up residence on the city walls, not leaving even to sleep, ready to wake at a moment’s notice, fearing a surprise attack.
Han Ruzi also climbed the city walls several times, sensing that the Xiongnu Right Wise King might try every means to attack the city during the few days it would take for the envoy to make the round trip.
After just one day, his premonition became reality.
The Xiongnu did not directly attack the city, but instead allowed a Chu relief force to get pass their encirclement.
In the afternoon, dust clouds rolled from the southwest as a Chu army fought desperately toward Jincheng. Though the Xiongnu were also intercepting them, they did so halfheartedly with few men, and this Chu army drew closer and closer to the city.
Fan Zhuangshan worried this was a Xiongnu trick, so he ordered the city gates to remain tightly shut and not be opened. However, after seeing the Chu army’s banners outside the city, he was startled and immediately sent someone to notify the Emperor.
This Chu army numbered several thousand, and part of it appeared to be the Weary Marquis’s personal retainers who had been incorporated into the Imperial Guards.
Han Ruzi immediately climbed the city to observe. By this time the relief force was only a mile from Jincheng, and Han Ruzi could even recognize some of the soldiers—they were indeed his former retainers. Leading them was Chao Hua, along with the eunuch Cai Xinghai.
He immediately ordered the gates opened to welcome them. This situation differed from previous relief efforts—the Right Wise King would create an excuse to attack the city no matter what, so rather than sacrifice this relief force in vain, it was better to bring them into the city.
The city gates opened, and Fan Zhuangshan personally led troops out to escort the relief army. The Right Wise King had been waiting for precisely this moment—Xiongnu from all directions immediately sprang into action, following close behind the relief force.
Before engaging in a battle of wits with the Great Chanyu, Han Ruzi had to engage in a battle of courage with the besieging Xiongnu. If he could not hold firm in this fight, everything else would be meaningless.
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