Nine Princes Struggle for the Throne: The Mad Prince

Chapter 185 King Zhou's Joy

Eastern Qin border.

King Zhou stood atop the city wall, gazing into the distance.

Originally, after taking over the 40-strong army, he was preparing to take action against the Western Zhou, but unexpectedly, the Western Zhou sent an envoy at this time to request to enter the Eastern Qin for peace talks.

This prevented him from launching a military campaign against the Western Zhou.

As for the other three kings, he had already received the news that they had taken action against the Western Zhou.

This made him even more anxious, but it did nothing to help.

The Western Zhou envoy set up camp ten miles outside the city, awaiting a reply. At this time, he could not attack the Western Zhou, otherwise he would be violating the rules set by that being.

At first, he did consider sending troops to annihilate the delegation. If someone hadn't stopped him and told him about the rule, he would have sent troops long ago.

He's feeling incredibly frustrated right now.

Has any news come from the capital?

King Zhou looked into the distance and asked the person beside him.

"Not yet, but it should be within the next day or two. However, I hope that the capital will not give a reply so soon."

The middle-aged scholar spoke calmly.

"Why? If the capital doesn't give a reply, I can't send troops. My three younger brothers have already made their move against Western Zhou. The longer it takes, the more disadvantageous it will be for me."

King Zhou was not angry; instead, he calmly inquired.

He really didn't understand why his strategist said he didn't want the capital to give a reply so quickly.

“Your Highness, the Western Zhou wants to negotiate peace and has already submitted a letter of credence and sent an envoy. Once the envoy enters our Eastern Qin, it means that we must stop the war. If we do not allow them to enter our Eastern Qin, then our Eastern Qin will be given a pretext for criticism. Either way, it will be disadvantageous to us.”

"Therefore, the longer we delay, the better. As long as we prevent the Western Zhou delegation from entering our Eastern Qin too early, we can avoid a ceasefire."

"Although we are unable to attack the Western Zhou and seize its territory, and it seems that we have accomplished nothing, this is not the case."

"If we keep a close eye on the Western Zhou delegation and prevent them from sneaking into Eastern Qin, that will be a great achievement. As for the other three princes, if they take more territory during this period, that's fine, but if they take less, that will be a crime."

"This is a good thing for us no matter what."

The strategist analyzed the current situation for King Zhou.

As he said, Dong Qin needs to stall for time, and the longer it takes, the better for Dong Qin.

What they had to do was keep a close eye on the Western Zhou delegation.

And indeed, just as he had guessed, that was exactly what the Emperor of Eastern Qin thought.

This shows that King Zhou also had capable people under his command.

"It can't be dragged out for too long! At most, it can only be dragged out for half a month. It's impossible for it to last any longer."

"King Zhou said."

After the strategist's advice, he realized that he really had to delay and couldn't rush things.

"Your Highness, that's not our concern. What we need to do now is keep a close eye on the Western Zhou delegation. As for how long it can be delayed, that's His Majesty's concern."

The strategist shook his head.

How long it will drag on, and how long it can drag on, is not something they can decide.

He also wanted to see what the capital would do.

“King Zhou, you don’t need to worry about how long it can be delayed. The prince has already sent people, and someone will deal with the Western Zhou delegation. What you need to do now is to prevent the Western Zhou delegation from entering our Eastern Qin.”

At that moment, a voice rang out, and a general dressed in silver armor appeared beside King Zhou.

This person was Ou Qilu, a Grandmaster-level general sent by Qin Wu to King Zhou. He was a powerful expert at the early stage of the Grandmaster realm.

"General Ou, do you mean that Ninth Brother should handle this matter?"

When King Zhou saw the visitor, he immediately smiled.

"Yes, the Prince has sent word that His Majesty has instructed the Prince to handle this matter, and the Prince has already dispatched someone."

Ou Qilu nodded.

He had just received Qin Wu's message and was originally going to the military camp to find King Zhou and tell him to send someone to keep an eye on the Western Zhou delegation.

When they arrived, they learned that King Zhou had come to the city wall, so they rushed over.

Upon arrival, they overheard a conversation between King Zhou and his military advisor.

"That's good. General Ou, rest assured, I have already sent people to keep an eye on them and will absolutely not give them the opportunity to sneak into Dong Qin."

King Zhou said politely.

If Qin Wu could resolve this, that would be the best outcome, as he wouldn't have to be so anxious every day, constantly watching the battle reports from the other three armies.

"Alright, then I'll go back to cultivate now. If you need anything, Your Highness can send someone to find me."

After finishing his sentence, Ou Qilu left immediately.

"Sigh, it's so difficult to win them over; these people are too loyal to Ninth Brother."

After Ou Qilu left, King Zhou sighed.

He had tried many ways to win over Ou Qilu, the Grandmaster General, but the man was completely unyielding. No matter what he tried, the other party ignored him, which frustrated him greatly.

He had never failed to win over anyone he had tried in the past.

He could always find the opponent's weakness, but Ou Qilu had no weaknesses at all, leaving him with no way to attack.

“Your Highness, I have investigated. These people have all grown up alongside the Divine Martial King through thick and thin. Moreover, the Divine Martial King is their superior and mentor. It is virtually impossible for them to betray him.”

"From now on, we should stop trying to win them over, otherwise angering the Divine Martial King will be even more disadvantageous for us."

The strategist spoke up to offer a reminder.

He spent a considerable amount of time and effort to gather this information.

This also explains why they couldn't win over the other side no matter what methods they used.

That's why King Zhou gave up. In addition, since King Shenwu was not capable of inheriting the throne, there was no need for him to offend King Shenwu at this time and create a powerful enemy for himself.

"Alas, I know this, but I am unwilling to accept it. If I had the support of a Grandmaster warrior, it would be a powerful help in my struggle for the throne."

"Just like the King of Han, he has the support of the Grandmaster-level expert, the Sword Master of the Spirit Sword, which makes us all wary of him and dare not make any big moves against him."

King Zhou was still somewhat unwilling.

“Your Highness, this is not actually a bad thing for us. This military expedition has shown that Your Highness, Prince Wei, and Prince Xian all have Grandmaster generals sent by His Majesty to assist you, but only Prince Han does not.”

"If the Tang King hadn't been punished, the Han King might not have even had the chance to lead the troops this time."

The strategist said with a smile.

He could see it clearly; it was obvious that His Majesty was dissatisfied with the Prince of Han.

As he said, if the Tang King hadn't made a mistake recently and been confined for a year, the Han King probably wouldn't even have had the chance to lead troops.

This shows how dissatisfied His Majesty is with the Prince of Han and with Lingjian Manor.

In the future, there will likely be further reckoning with the Prince of Han and Lingjian Manor, which will further reduce the Prince of Han's chances of seizing the throne.

"Military Advisor, what do you mean?"

King Zhou understood the meaning behind the strategist's words.

"Yes, that's exactly what Your Highness wants."

Neither of them said it explicitly, but they both understood what the other was thinking.

A hint of joy flickered in King Zhou's heart. If that were truly the case, then it would be either the new King of Wei or King Wu of Qin.

His only rivals were the Tang Emperor and the Wise King.

Because of that grave mistake, if the Tang emperor wanted to seize the throne, he would have to pay several times, or even dozens of times, the price.

Neither he nor the Wise King would give the Tang King a chance, so his biggest opponent now is the Wise King.

This is much easier and more effortless for him.

This is good news for him.

With his frustration dissipated, King Zhou's mood improved significantly, and he was no longer in a hurry to send troops to Western Zhou.