hsntnovel Chapter 2121 Arriving at the tribe
Chapter 2121 Arriving at the tribe
"It has been many years since we last met. Your Highness is still as elegant and handsome as ever. He is truly a rare talent."
Seeing Li Shen in person, Qu Zhiping hurriedly greeted him again.
The current Prince Ji hasn't changed much from what he saw back then, but he has lost his youthfulness and a little bit of his childishness.
He has a tall stature, handsome appearance, and he looks much more majestic than he did a few years ago in the royal attire.
"Sir, I haven't seen you for many years, but you haven't changed at all." Li Shen looked at Qu Zhiping.
"Your Highness Prince Ji, it is getting late. You should go to the tribe to rest first. I will have someone prepare a banquet to welcome your Highness Prince Ji."
"Okay, let your people lead the way, and you stay and talk to me." Li Shen nodded slightly and waved to Shi Tou.
Shitou immediately understood and led Little White Dragon over. Li Shen jumped on the horse. Qu Zhiping also came to the front of the battle formation, gave some instructions, and rode back.
Their Qi Bing led the way in front, and Li Shen's guards followed behind, but they did not take it lightly.
"Prefect Qu, what did you just say about the recent harassment by the rebels?"
Li Shen asked as he walked.
Upon hearing this, Qu Zhiping quickly replied:
"Your Highness, Prince Ji, there have been several rebel groups active in our area in the past half month. At first, they asked us to provide them with food.
After being rejected by us, they kept wandering around us, taking the opportunity to attack our tribe, not only stealing food but also capturing many people.
So our tribes have decided to send 500 men from each tribe to form a guard team to prevent the rebels from attacking again."
"So that's how it is. Have you ever had any conflicts with them?" Li Shen nodded.
"Ah~~~~" Qu Zhiping sighed.
"Your Majesty, we have had several battles with the rebels, including one yesterday. We have suffered many casualties, with more than a hundred people killed.
Our weapons and armor are not as good as those of the rebels, and we are not good at fighting, so we always suffer heavy losses."
They were all born as ordinary people and used to be farmers. How could they be compared with those rebels? If it were not for the purpose of protecting their own tribes and women and children, these ordinary people would not be forced to take up arms.
"So how many guards do you have now?" Li Shen asked again.
"Your Highness, we currently have 4,000 men, but because we don't have such good weapons, our combat effectiveness is not as good as that of the 2,000 rebels."
Qu Zhiping replied, with helplessness in his tone.
In this way, the team moved forward slowly. Li Shen and Qu Zhiping talked as they walked. Li Shen learned that five or six hundred of Qu Zhiping's tribal guards had died.
They had been attacked many times before, and had lost thousands of people, as well as large amounts of food, cattle, sheep, and the like.
According to Qu Zhiping, rebels had come to them to recruit soldiers a long time ago, and tribal leaders and people had joined their rebel army.
The reasons given were roughly based on faith and using the restoration of the nation as an excuse to no longer be enslaved by the Tang people.
The team soon arrived at Qu Zhiping's tribe. It was already getting dark. Qu Zhiping wanted Li Shen to stay at his place, but Li Shen declined.
He chose to live in his own central military tent, which made him feel more secure.
"Your Highness Prince Ji, please take a rest. I will arrange for someone to prepare a banquet." Qu Zhiping bowed and then walked out.
“Oh~~~~” Li Shen lay down and stretched comfortably.
"Rengui, do you think what Qu Zhiping said is true or false?"
"Your Majesty, this is difficult to decide. I have already sent people to investigate everywhere, and it seems there is no problem at the moment." Xue Rengui replied.
“Well, I think there shouldn’t be any problem. Back then, Qu Zhiping didn’t have the courage to follow his uncle to resist the Tang Dynasty. I don’t believe that he is brave enough now.
He is living a much better life now than before, so why would he be willing to give up this wealth and splendor?"
Li Shen had his own ideas: it is easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but it is difficult to go from extravagance to frugality. Who would give up their good life and rebel?
If there is a chance, they can still consider it, but for them to fight against the Tang Dynasty is simply a pipe dream, unless they have been kicked in the head by a donkey.
“Your Highness has a point, but we should not let our guard down. Even if Governor Qu has not rebelled, there is no guarantee that someone from his tribe will collude with the rebels.
So, Your Majesty, we should be careful." Xue Rengui reminded.
There are so many people here, who knows if there are any rebels among them.
“Well, I understand. I won’t put myself in danger, but we have to think of a way to offset the negative impact brought about by Wang Wencheng.
It seems that I still need to meet the local people."
Although there was danger, Li Shen had no other way. Wang Wencheng had brought too bad an impact on Ji Wang Mansion, making Ji Wang Mansion have a very bad reputation in Xizhou area.
Many people turn pale when the Ji Palace is mentioned.
"But Your Majesty, this is too dangerous. In fact, we can just talk it through with the local tribal leaders." Xue Rengui was still a little worried.
"We'll talk about this later. Let's first test Qu Zhiping to see if he is a human or a ghost."
Of course Li Shen was worried about his reputation, but he was also a man who valued money more than his life. The profits in Xizhou were too huge, and the Prince Ji's Mansion could not give up.
"Your Highness, the water is ready. You can take a bath." Shitou walked in and reported.
"Your Highness, I will go check on the guards first." Upon seeing this, Xue Rengui bowed and walked out.
The servants began to fetch water for Li Shen to take a bath and change clothes.
At this time in Qu Zhiping's residence, in addition to Qu Zhiping, there were three middle-aged men sitting with Qu Zhiping.
"Prefect Qu, did King Ji tell you why he came here?" one of the middle-aged men asked.
"This... His Royal Highness Prince Ji didn't say." Qu Zhiping shook his head.
"Prefect Qu, do you think he is coming to us to call us to task? The news that Prince Ji has come to Xizhou has already spread, but we have never been there to see him."
another asked.
"I don't think so. I have just explained to His Royal Highness Prince Ji that we have been harassed by the rebels these days. His Royal Highness Prince Ji should understand us and not blame us."
Qu Zhiping replied that he felt that King Ji should not come here to raise an army to punish him for such a small matter.
"Humph, that's not necessarily true. The Tang people have never considered us their own people. We have been attacked by the rebels for so long and have sent people to ask for help, but the Tang people simply don't care about us."
The last middle-aged man snorted coldly, with a hint of anger on his face.
"Baochang, be careful with your words! I have told you so many times not to say such things anymore. Be careful, there are ears on the other side of the wall.
If someone hears this and spreads it to His Royal Highness Prince Ji, I can't protect you either, do you know that?"
Qu Zhiping's face darkened and he quickly scolded him.
(Please recommend any other good cartoons. I won’t mention Hachishaku or anything like that.)