LFHYB -Chapter 173 Follow Me to Seize Shuofang City First

On the way back, with their backs to the Turks, Li Xuanba and Qin Qiong crossed the river while chatting.

Qin Qiong asked, “Strategist, the intelligence for Jieli Khagan is in the box. Why leave the wheelchair behind? Didn’t you say earlier to try to mimic the Yanmenguan battle?”

Li Xuanba replied, “Too bumpy. I get dizzy in the wheelchair. I refuse.”

Qin Qiong was speechless. He had thought Li Xuanba leaving the wheelchair behind was a special tactic, maybe to mock Jieli Khagan. Turns out, it was just to avoid getting dizzy.

Qin Qiong asked, “Strategist, I’ve wondered… is it okay to give Jieli Khagan the intelligence on Western Turks? If he grows stronger, even though we could win, wouldn’t it have been easier if Western Turks remained divided?”

Li Xuanba said, “What do you mean ‘easier’? It would definitely be easier.”

He glanced at Qin Qiong. It was normal to have doubts, but a good subordinate waits until the mission is over to question. Qin Qiong was indeed excellent at this.

Qin Qiong often sighed at himself, thinking he was merely a fierce general, useful only for muscle. With his emotional intelligence, he could have done very well in politics. He had underestimated himself.

Li Xuanba, however, looked puzzled. “Why ask? Didn’t I also give the Eastern Turks’ intelligence to the Western Turks?”

Qin Qiong: “Huh? That happened?”

Li Xuanba continued, “We’re also cooperating with the Tiele tribes. If the Eastern Turks mobilize, the Tiele will supply resources, and we’ll send a few thousand elite troops to support them. You didn’t know?”

Qin Qiong was slightly embarrassed.

He quickly flattered Li Xuanba: “Strategist, you’re amazing. So many preparations in advance.”

Li Xuanba gave a faint, half-smile and tilted his head toward Qin Qiong:

“Qin Shubao, when I was busy rebuilding local governance in Longyou—waterworks, roads, city walls, and so on—I had no time to plan strategies on the steppe. Helping Western Turks and Tiele against Eastern Turks was your lord’s idea. I merely executed it. Only this time, provoking Jieli Khagan to attack Western Turks fully, was my plan.”

Li Xuanba thought his elder brother’s preparations against the Eastern Turks were too conservative.

If the Eastern Turks didn’t fight Western Turks and the Tiele tribes with full strength, all of his elder brother’s previous planning would have been wasted.

Since the Western Turks and the Tiele were ready for war, the Eastern Turks had to match them in strength to make their preparations meaningful.

“Go for it, Jieli Khagan.”

Qin Qiong could only remain silent.

Li Xuanba sighed. “When you were guarding your master in Longyou, he was drinking and dancing on the steppe, and deciding to aid Western Turks and Tiele tribes. You should have been beside him. And yet, you didn’t know?”

Qin Qiong thought: Did my lord really do all that while drinking and dancing with the steppe people? He only remembered guarding his lord, unable to drink, suffering terribly. And the steppe dances were strange—he didn’t like them.

Li Xuanba said, “Most of the intelligence on the steppe came from your master drinking, dancing, eating meat, and riding horses with those steppe people.”

When they controlled only Zhangye, there wasn’t much mundane governance to handle. Li Xuanba had collected intelligence, and Li Shimin coordinated strategies based on that information.

Later, as their territory expanded, Li Xuanba gradually handed over some of the intelligence work to Changsun Wuji. He brought Changsun Wuji to familiarize him with the intelligence system he had built, hoping that once Wuji could operate independently, he himself could focus more on civil administration and logistics, areas he excelled in.

When Li Xuanba disappeared, it was originally Changsun Wuji alone who handled Li Xuanba’s intelligence work on the steppes. But Li Shimin, being someone with a tendency toward perfectionism, was not satisfied with Wuji’s work. So he took over himself, still allowing Wuji to assist.

Most emperors who leave a mark in history tend to be a bit obsessive; if their subordinates did something even slightly wrong, they would feel uneasy, wishing they could take all the responsibilities upon themselves.

Li Shimin’s perfectionism wasn’t extreme. Although he would sometimes take tasks from his subordinates, he would also teach them, allowing them to improve before handing back responsibilities.

A ruler cannot do everything personally; otherwise, even if he himself can handle everything, his successors cannot. Building a complete bureaucratic system is far more important than achieving immediate “perfection.”

Originally, Li Xuanba was training Changsun Wuji. When Li Xuanba disappeared, Li Shimin took over.

When Li Xuanba returned, he had not yet fully recovered his health, and the territory in Longyou had gradually expanded. Li Shimin still handled the collection and integration of steppe intelligence himself, with Li Xuanba only assisting.

Li Xuanba said, “Back when Teacher Changsun was gathering intelligence on the steppe, he befriended the Turks—hunting, drinking, eating meat, and dancing with the Khagan. Wuji only learned the surface, not the essence. He was too formal; although he treated the Turks politely, he didn’t truly integrate with them or make them feel sincerity. In the end, Brother must personally intervene. Sigh.”

It wasn’t that Changsun Wuji lacked ability—he was just too concerned with appearances. After all, he had been meticulously raised by Changsun Sheng as a young noble. Being young and headstrong, Wuji couldn’t genuinely engage with the steppe nomads, and his acting skills weren’t up to par yet; he needed more experience.

Qin Qiong sealed Li Xuanba’s evaluation of Wuji deep in his memory, resolutely refusing to remember any negative assessments of colleagues.

After crossing the river, Li Xuanba patted Qin Qiong on the shoulder and said, “You often say you’re slow-witted, but even if you were, listening and thinking carefully will teach you a lot. And you are not slow-witted at all. You are naturally good with people. Gaining favor and intelligence from the Turks? You can absolutely do it. Your only flaw is underestimating yourself.”

Li Xuanba smiled and patted Qin Qiong’s shoulder several more times. “Although Brother teaches you in person, he doesn’t remind you to study proactively, because he acts mostly on instinct and doesn’t realize his actions are lessons for you. So you have to think for yourself.”

Privately, Li Shimin had complained to Li Xuanba about the subordinates’ slow learning. As their lord, he couldn’t openly complain—it would make them anxious—so only Li Xuanba could speak plainly about it.

Qin Qiong bowed his head with a clenched fist. “Yes, I will work hard.”

Li Xuanba said, “Brother and I both believe in you.”

Qin Qiong was both anxious and self-conscious, realizing that the things Li Xuanba described were actually done by Lord Li Shimin, yet as a bodyguard, he had not noticed.

He thought to himself: I am still too clumsy. Do Lord and the strategist find me lacking?

Li Xuanba’s words were like a warm current, melting the anxiety in Qin Qiong’s heart.

If both the lord and the strategist believed in him and were willing to teach someone as clumsy as he was, then what right did he have to use his clumsiness as an excuse not to study?

Seeing determination ignite in Qin Qiong’s eyes, Li Xuanba felt pleased. “Once the person who lit the firecrackers returns, we’ll meet up with Brother. Wudi, stop hopping on the ground; go with Hangu to make the firecracker guy come back quickly.”

The thunder just now had, of course, been Li Xuanba setting off firecrackers.

While “borrowing” supplies along the way, Li Xuanba noticed that many wealthy northern households had bought bamboo from the south and stacked it at home.

Bamboo, abundant in the south, was a rare building material in the north. Wealthy families often spent heavily to transport bamboo from southern merchants, using bamboo pavilions, bamboo houses, and bamboo furniture to subtly show off wealth.

Li Xuanba, after punishing uncooperative wealthy families, took all their bamboo, and that’s when he came up with the idea of making firecrackers.

The most traditional firecrackers were simply bamboo segments burned to make a crackling sound; later, gunpowder was placed inside, and eventually, paper casings replaced the bamboo.

Sealing bamboo segments with gunpowder produced an explosion louder than later firecrackers, like a thunderclap. Anyone woken on New Year’s Eve by firecrackers has firsthand experience of their might.

Although the current gunpowder made them almost useless in regular battles, it could still be used for superstition and psychological tactics.

Hangu’s flight from the air signaled the lighting of the firecrackers.

See, Jieli Khagan loved the sound of firecrackers so much that cold sweat covered his forehead.

Li Xuanba’s men quickly withdrew after setting off the firecrackers. In no time, everyone had regrouped, and the group boldly left under the Turks’ watch, despite the enemy being on the opposite riverbank.

Some soldiers were anxious, worried that as soon as they left, the Turks would pursue.

But after only a few li, they noticed thick smoke rising behind them.

Qin Qiong turned around: “Did the Turks burn the pontoon bridge?”

Li Xuanba chuckled lightly.

Qin Qiong exhaled in relief, and on horseback, bowed: “The strategist is indeed flawless in planning.”

The other soldiers looked at Li Xuanba with shining eyes.

Li Xuanba modestly said, “I am not flawless. Jieli Khagan is a smart man; that’s why my plan succeeded. If he were a reckless man who followed instinct over reason, we’d have failed.”

He paused and added, “Like Brother. Oh, I’m not saying Brother isn’t smart—sometimes, he trusts his intuition more than his brilliant mind.”

Qin Qiong: “…”

He showed a helpless expression. Only at this moment could he see the lord and the strategist as ordinary people.

Ordinary brothers are like this—constantly teasing and undermining each other. The strategist often criticizes the lord, and the lord often finds fault with the strategist.

At first, they overthought things, worrying that a rift might form between their lord and the strategist. Later, when they saw the lord and the strategist actually fighting each other—and fighting back and forth, evenly matched—they realized they’d been worrying for nothing.

The lord and the strategist were just ordinary brothers.

But Qin Qiong didn’t want to listen to the strategist complain about the lord in front of him, so he quickly changed the subject.

“Strategist, you said that when the lord gathers intelligence on the steppe peoples, he does it by blending in among them, making them believe he genuinely wants to befriend them. When you were in charge of steppe intelligence back then, was it the same?”

“Of course… What’s with that expression? What’s so shocking about it?”

“Uh, I just can’t imagine the strategist eating meat, drinking, dancing, and riding horses with a bunch of steppe people.”

“Making friends with them doesn’t necessarily mean dancing together. As long as they can feel that I treat them as equals and sincerely want to befriend them, that’s enough.”

“Still hard to imagine.”

Qin Qiong’s face scrunched up into a knot.

Li Xuanba laughed and shook his head, raised his whip, spurred his horse, and hurried onward.

On the battlefield at Shuofang Commandery, Li Shimin had already begun assembling siege engines.

Liang Shidu seemed to have grown dull from playing bandit for too long and had forgotten his experience as a Sui general. With Li Shimin coming to attack the city, he hadn’t even cut down the trees and brush near Shuofang’s walls, nor torn down the abandoned houses.

Li Shimin’s army included many commoners. Even if they weren’t carpenters, back when they were farmers they’d been self-sufficient, building their own houses and furniture.

Li Shimin only needed the craftsmen he’d brought along to take the lead, and they could produce usable siege equipment.

There was nothing fancy or flashy about siege warfare.

When Li Shimin needed to move, he moved faster than anyone; when he needed to stay still, no one could budge him.

Although this wasn’t the “defense-and-counterattack” style he was best known for in the original timeline’s histories, the way he waited for an opening—solid as bedrock—was no different from the Li Shimin of that other world.

After setting up camp, Li Shimin ordered the soldiers to speed up the manufacture of siege engines, then had his fierce generals take turns hurling insults beneath the city walls, challenging Liang Shidu to come out and fight to the death.

In defending a city, one must fight in the open. If you only cling to the walls and passively defend, you’ll be harassed until morale steadily collapses. This time, Liang Shidu’s old experience as a Sui general finally resurfaced. Taking advantage of the night or moments when Li Shimin’s troops were changing shifts, he personally led cavalry to harass Li Shimin’s forces.

He personally led the cavalry out only once. After that, he no longer dared to take the field himself.

Zong Luohu let out a long sigh. Just a little more—just a little—and he would have captured Liang Shidu!

Seeing that Zong Luohu had nearly earned great merit, Ma Sanbao and Shi Wanbao were all fired up, shouting even louder beneath the walls.

Liang Shidu, don’t be a coward! Hurry up and come out again and deliver us some achievements!

Liang Shidu remained unmoved, only occasionally sending subordinates out of the city.

When every commander he sent out was captured by Zong Luohu, Ma Sanbao, or Shi Wanbao, Liang Shidu could only stop worrying about morale altogether and shut himself in, refusing to come out.

Li Shimin’s stratagem succeeded, and he could focus on assembling the siege engines with peace of mind.

Inside the city, Liang Shidu reassured his officers: “Jieli Khagan has personally led steppe cavalry to our rescue. Once the Turks arrive, the siege of Shuofang will lift on its own. The Turks sent word last time that Jieli Khagan had already reached Wuyuan Commandery—they’ll arrive soon.”

Outside the city, Li Shimin also received a message from Wudi.

As he knocked Wudi on the head—Wudi chattering nonstop with complaints—he grumbled to his officers, “My younger brother is really a headache. He actually crossed the Yellow River with Qin Shubao, saying I was going to become some ‘Heavenly Qaghan’ and telling Jieli Khagan to get lost—and Jieli Khagan really did get lost.”

Zong Luohu, Ma Sanbao, and Shi Wanbao didn’t quite understand, but they were deeply shaken.

Shi Wanbao said in shock, “Jieli Khagan just… just retreated like that?”

Li Shimin replied, “What else? Stay and wait to be captured by me and sent to Jiangdu to reunite with his two elder brothers?”

Zong Luohu said, “What the lord says makes sense.”

Ma Sanbao was still too stunned to speak.

He exchanged a glance with Shi Wanbao and saw the same wide-eyed, country-bumpkin expression on the other’s face, which brought him a bit of comfort.

See? It’s not just me who’s a bumpkin!

Li Shimin handed the letter to an archer and had him shoot it onto the city wall.

Zong Luohu asked, “Will Liang Shidu believe it?”

Li Shimin said, “What does it matter whether he believes it or not? I’m just letting him know. We’ll attack the city the way we should attack it anyway—we never planned to persuade him to surrender.”

Ma Sanbao was surprised. “Not going to persuade him?”

Li Shimin shook his head. “No. We’ve raised the banner of ‘Whoever acts as a dog for the Turks gets beaten.’ The first Turk-dog we beat must be beaten hard. All right, don’t harbor any lucky hopes. Rest well today—tomorrow we attack the city.”

The siege engines were already assembled. Li Shimin was simply waiting for Li Xuanba’s message.

If Jieli Khagan still intended to march south, then he would have no choice but to abandon Shuofang and first beat Jieli Khagan soundly.

After issuing his orders, Li Shimin grabbed Wudi by the foot as it tried to fly off. “Don’t run. Have you forgotten all the training I gave you? Once you’re on the battlefield, you obey military orders! No matter how much you miss A-Xuan, you’re not allowed to go back on your own. Stay here obediently—I still have things for you to do.”

Wudi: “Chirp chirp chirp!”

Li Shimin flicked the back of Wudi’s head with a finger.

Wudi curled up aggrieved, like a big broody hen sitting on eggs.

Li Shimin didn’t care about Wudi’s grievance. He wasn’t like his younger brother Li Xuanba, who doted excessively on the two golden eagles.

Shuofang Commandery had more than one city gate. Li Shimin had Wudi circle in the sky to observe the enemy’s true and false strengths, chose the gate with the most defenders for a fierce assault, and then secretly sent troops around to the gate with the fewest men, waiting to suddenly exert force once the fighting at the first gate grew intense.

Folding his arms, he sighed. “In attacking a city, aside from feints and solid strikes, there’s really no shortcut. Wu Qi’s use of troops amounted to nothing more than strong soldiers and sturdy horses. That—that is the art of war that cannot be broken.”

Li Shimin ran through plans for improving training in his mind, then shook his head and tossed those thoughts aside.

“Let’s take this city first.”

Once the siege ended, at least twenty to thirty percent of the new recruits would die. Those who survived could become elite infantry.

The siege itself was incredibly tedious, bloody, and monotonous—it was purely a matter of human lives being piled up.

Li Shimin’s troops first used catapults to bombard the walls and gates. Once the enemy’s morale faltered, they would scale the walls with ladders.

Liang Shidu’s soldiers defended the walls to the death. The corpses on the walls piled up one on top of another.

Li Shimin did not use gunpowder to blow up the walls.

Shuofang City had been constructed very solidly to resist Turkic cavalry. After Liang Shidu took it, he even forced the local populace to reinforce it. Black powder buried under the walls could at most leave marks, not destroy them.

Under the cover of night, Li Shimin quietly inspected the walls. Aside from stone, they were built with clay and rice paste—basically the same materials as the walls of Luoyang.

Due to the chaos across the land, Shuofang Commandery had poor harvests. The natural environment was harsh, and the people were already malnourished. Rice paste was even used as mortar for the walls.

Li Shimin wondered how many civilians would remain alive after he captured the city.

“This is the world in chaos,” he muttered to himself.

Although he had read about chaotic times in books, he was born in the Sui Dynasty’s most prosperous period—a true era of peace. Even when the Sui faced uprisings, the officials still tried to protect ordinary citizens. They would not deliberately drive people to death.

Now, this was real chaos—complete disorder.

Li Shimin drew his long sword. “Follow me up the walls!”

He personally led the elite troops up the ladders and onto the walls.

Zong Luohu protected him, his spear swinging relentlessly.

Ma Sanbao and Shi Wanbao lagged a step behind, still a little stunned.

They looked at each other.

“Champion Marquis, the Champion Marquis is going for the first to climb?! How can he go first?! It’s too dangerous!!”

“Stop your chatter! Hurry up! Don’t get to the wall after your lord!”

Shi Wanbao had valued his life, but he had no choice but to grit his teeth and climb.

Ma Sanbao thumped his chest. He was of low birth, just a servant of Chai Shao. This was his chance to change his life. If he could earn a few merits on the battlefield, a future as a minister or general wasn’t impossible.

He had been keeping an eye on Zong Luohu, but now his lord was the first to scale the wall?!

“Lord!! Do you know how dangerous it is to go first!! Don’t rush!! Wait for me!!”

Li Shimin reached the wall and, under Zong Luohu’s protection, took down the bow on his back. He nocked arrows and picked off the better-armored enemy officers one by one.

Wu Di also appeared on the battlefield.

Grabbing gunpowder jars, Wu Di lit the fuses. As they were tossed into the enemy ranks, they worked seamlessly.

Even weak gunpowder, exploding amid a crowd, could shred flesh. Li Shimin had even added iron shards into the jars.

“Why are flames falling from the sky?!”

Liang Shidu was extremely unlucky—direct hit.

Yet he was also lucky: fully clad in metal armor, the explosion only scratched his face and hands.

Gunpowder jars were not just for harm—they crushed morale.

By the time Wu Di threw the tenth jar, most of Liang Shidu’s troops had fled, wailing about divine punishment.

[People of both the Central Plains and the steppes were superstitious in this era.]

Li Shimin remembered his younger brother’s scolding words and grinned.

“Charge with me! Kill!”

He tossed aside his bow, drew his long sword, and signaled the direction toward Wu Di.

Zong Luohu rushed past him to the front.

Li Shimin frowned: “?”

Zong Luohu shouted while charging: “My lord, don’t steal the glory! Be careful!”

Ma Sanbao hurried after: “Yes! Go rest, Lord!”

Shi Wanbao said nothing, just pressed forward.

Li Shimin cut down an enemy in his path and chuckled: “Still trying to outdo your lord and steal my glory? Liang Shidu is mine!”

Zong Luohu: “Liang Shidu isn’t worthy of your sword, Lord!”

Ma Sanbao: “Exactly!”

Shi Wanbao continued forward silently.

Li Shimin spat in amusement, intending to catch up. But his armor was the heaviest, making it impossible to outpace the three generals.

What frustrated him more was that some of his own soldiers deliberately or not blocked his path.

“What are you doing?” Li Shimin halted.

A smiling officer said: “Second Young Master, it’s Lord’s order. He said if the battle is decided and you still try to claim the generals’ merits, we’re to give you trouble.”

Li Shimin recognized the man.

Gritting his teeth, he snapped: “Chen Tieniu!!! Who’s the commander!”

Chen Tieniu feigned innocence: “Second Young Master is the commander.”

Li Shimin yelled: “Then why aren’t you following orders!”

Chen Tieniu replied: “Second Young Master personally entering danger isn’t a military order. Besides, you are the commander, but Lord is the master. I always follow the master.”

Li Shimin was speechless and drained.

He knew it—A-Xuan leaving Chen Tieniu behind was no good.

“Forget it… where’s my bow?” Li Shimin wiped the blood from his face. The more he wiped, the more there was.

In the heat of battle, he had thrown it away. Now he regretted it.

Changing bows on the battlefield was normal, but strong bows were rare and should be protected when possible.

“Here.” Chen Tieniu handed the bow back to Li Shimin.

Li Shimin laughed and cried at the same time: “You’ve been watching me this whole time?”

Chen Tieniu nodded heavily: “It’s the lord’s order.”

Li Shimin immediately lost all motivation to personally chase the enemy. “Forget it, you’re as stubborn as an iron head; scolding you is useless anyway.”

Zong Luohu, Ma Sanbao, and Shi Wanbao had already disappeared, so Li Shimin had no choice but to follow the soldiers opening the city gates to receive the remaining army.

After organizing the troops, Li Shimin strictly ordered them not to harass the civilians. Then, mounted on his tall warhorse, he led the army into the city along the widest street leading to the Prefect’s Office.

“I am Marquis Champion Li Shimin! Not a bandit!”

“Civilians, please stay inside your homes. If any soldier under my command harasses you, come find me, and I will punish them!”

Li Shimin rode forward, loudly comforting the civilians in plain language.

The soldiers behind him also reassured the people, telling them not to be afraid.

Hearing Li Shimin’s words, the civilians, though skeptical, lost the will to resist and obediently closed their doors.

As long as there is even a sliver of hope, nobody wants to risk their life recklessly.

Meanwhile, Zong Luohu, Ma Sanbao, and Shi Wanbao had already cornered Liang Shidu and were fiercely fighting his elite guards.

Li Shimin, however, remained calm, comforting the people while making his way to the Prefect’s Office.

Once there, he removed his armor and had the literate soldiers in his army carry and organize the Prefect’s household registration and land documents.

The blood on his face hadn’t even dried, yet he began performing the duties of acting prefect.

As for Liang Shidu, Li Shimin trusted his own generals. Even if Liang Shidu escaped, it didn’t matter; without Shuofang Commandery, he would merely be an ordinary bandit. If he joined another faction, he would only be a second-rate military officer—Li Shimin had no respect for him.

After entering the city, the household and land documents of Shuofang Commandery were far more important than Liang Shidu himself.

By the time Li Xuanba returned, Li Shimin had already organized the household records and had brought in several former Shuofang clerks as assistants. He was now furrowing his brow, calculating and planning to restore the commandery’s production and order.

Though Shuofang Commandery’s natural conditions were poor, grain and beans could still be planted.

Li Xuanba entered the study without washing up. “Are the household records complete?”

Li Shimin set down the documents and looked up: “Liang Shidu protected the records well, saving us a lot of trouble.”

Li Xuanba exhaled in relief: “Good. Come closer.”

Ignoring the dirt on himself, he squeezed Li Shimin aside on the couch.

Li Shimin obediently made room. “A-Xuan, I heard you crossed the Yellow River alone. Didn’t you promise me you wouldn’t take risks?”

“With Qin Shubao, Han Gou, and Wu Di—crossing the Yellow River isn’t ‘alone,’” Li Xuanba replied. “I heard you personally led the first wave. Didn’t you promise me you wouldn’t take risks?”

Li Shimin said: “Zong Luohu went onto the wall before me; I wasn’t first.”

The two brothers glared at each other.

“A-Xuan, that’s evading responsibility!”

“You’re the one evading responsibility!”

“Heh, you have the face to say that to me?”

“You do have the face—your cheek is thicker than the corner of a city wall.”

Li Shimin and Li Xuanba put down the documents and started bickering.

“How can you talk to your elder brother like that? Watch your tone! And I am the commanding officer! I lead by example!”

“I’m the strategist and also the commander of that army. I call the shots. How can you talk to your younger brother like that? Don’t you know how to care for him?”

“I say one thing, and you counter ten times?!”

“Brother, can’t you count?”

Han Gou flapped a wing at Wu Di: “Chirp chirp?” trying to mediate.

Wu Di flipped Han Gou over with a wing: “Chirp!”

Han Gou: “?”

Han Gou got up and kicked Wu Di.

Wu Di lunged and bit him.

The two eagles immediately tumbled to the ground, feathers flying everywhere.

Li Shimin and Li Xuanba’s argument escalated, voices growing louder as they dredged up old grievances, threatening to complain to their mother, sister-in-law, and teachers.

Qin Qiong, who had entered the room with Li Xuanba, quietly stepped back—one step, two steps, three steps—crossing the threshold, finally reaching outside, and breathed a long sigh of relief.

“Shubao, what are you doing?” Zong Luohu asked, puzzled, about to step in, but Qin Qiong stopped him.

Qin Qiong: “The lord and strategist are arguing.”

Zong Luohu: “Oh.”

“I knew the lord would scold the strategist.”

“And I knew the strategist would scold the lord.”

The two exchanged helpless looks and sighed.

Could the lord and strategist just save us some trouble!