Chapter 47: Infighting

  From afar, the city walls and towers of Liancheng City could be seen. Qian Buli stuck his head out of Ji Shengqing's carriage and looked over, seeing flags fluttering in front of the city gate, with people moving about beneath them. It was clear that He Xiang had already received news of their arrival beforehand.

  Money didn't leave the carriage, jumped onto his own war horse, and let Ji Shengqing and Jia Tianxiang's carriages go ahead of him. Let them clash with He Kuoming first, he should observe from the side.

  Wang Rui withdrew from the vanguard ahead of time, Qian Buli and Wang Rui, Du Bing three people looked at each other, and simultaneously showed a strange smile.

  People came forward in front of the city wall, a man wearing a white robe, riding a magnificent horse decorated with extraordinary finery, about fifty years old, came forward. Beside him was a young man also wearing a white robe, but unlike the old man who had a medal on his chest, the young man had nothing on his chest.

  "Is Your Highness all right?" The old man's face was full of anxiety: "I heard that the demon Zhamuhe launched a surprise attack on Snow Plain City, and I was worried to death. But I didn't dare to send troops without permission, fearing..."

  "Hello, Earl, I'm fine, nothing's wrong." Ji Shengqin poked her head out of the carriage and interrupted He Xiongming's words. Although she had a smile on her face, in reality, Ji Shengqin could no longer control the disgust in her heart, which was why she abruptly interrupted the Earl's greeting.

  "Heaven bless Princess Zhou!" He Xiong's expression didn't change at all, the anxiety on his face transformed into pure joy: "Your Highness, if something were to happen to you, I, an old minister, would have no face to see the Emperor again. Fortunately, fortunately..."

  "You speak so eloquently, then why don't you send some people to rescue Snowy City?! I've been waiting for you like a star in the sky or a moon in the night!" Jia Tianxiang walked over, worried that Ji Sheng would say something he shouldn't, and quickly took over the conversation.

  "Old friend, no need to mock me like that!" He Kuoming sighed with a bitter smile: "My troops are only about 1,500, and it's already not bad if we can hold on to Liancheng Pass. If we run to the snowy plains, even giving Zhamuhe's elite cavalry something to fill their teeth gaps wouldn't be enough."

  "Then can you bear to watch us fill the gap?" Jia Tianxiang smiled and added.

  He Qiongming smiled wryly and apologized while glancing at Qian Buliang without looking away: "Your Highness, this is..."

  "He is the new commander of Snowy City, General Tianwei Qian Buli."

  "General Tianwei? There is no such title! Qian Buli... I've never heard of it before either."

  "You'll be hearing about him later!" Ji Sheng's tone was calm as he took over the conversation: "His name will soon become as dazzling as the sun!"

  "Really......" He Qiongming's eyes were filled with suspicion.

  Jia Tianxiang secretly thought it was not good, and before he could think of a way to respond, Ji Shengqing had already spoken with a hint of anger: "Zhamuhe led eight thousand imperial guards in a sneak attack on my Snowy City, General Qian stood up and led the less than three thousand troops of Snowy City to defeat Zhamuhe three times, beating him down to just over five hundred cavalry... With this achievement... Duke He, do you still have any doubts?" Ji Shengqing looked at He Kuangming with a challenging gaze, unable to bear others looking down on Qian Buli, but she didn't know that what Qian Buli hoped for most at this moment was to be looked down upon by others.

  Jia Tianxiang smiled wryly and glanced at Qian Budi, he couldn't bear to blame Ji Shengqin's rashness, a girl who had endured for many years, finally waited for the day when she could hold her head high, it was indeed not easy to ask her to calm down.

  Qian Bu Li shook his head and drove the horse forward, saying very politely: "It's an honor to meet you, Count."

  "It's an honor for me to see the General's majesty!" He Xiangming smiled brightly and immediately turned to Ji Sheng: "Your Highness, I've arranged a banquet to calm your nerves. The sky is getting dark, let's head into the city."

  Ji Sheng also realized at this moment that she was a bit impulsive. She stole a glance at Qian Bu Li: "Okay."

  In the midst of drumming, Ji Shengqing and Jia Tianxiang were the first to walk through the city gate, followed by Qian Budi. Wang Rui, holding the reins, wanted to follow Qian Budi, but collided with Du Bing, who had the same idea. Wang Rui's eyebrows furrowed, and he coldly said, "What are you squeezing for?"

  "You..." Du Bing's eyes widened in anger.

  Wang Rui let out a hum, and unexpectedly controlled his horse to follow Qian Buding's personal guard. Du Bing, who was standing still on the spot, took a deep breath, gave Wang Rui's back a fierce glare, and clenched his fists tightly.

  Almost no one noticed this little episode, not even Du Bing's guards found anything unusual, because in the past few generals were used to playing pranks on each other and didn't have the leisure to pay attention to such trivial matters.

  He Kuangming stood at the city gate, constantly waving his hands to the soldiers entering the city, as if welcoming the heroes' triumphant return, but a faint, inexplicable smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

  Qian did not like attending banquets, he always thought that was a waste of life. He could have easily found an excuse to decline He Kuoming's banquet, but unexpectedly, he arrived on time at He Kuoming's City Master Mansion.

  At the banquet, Qian Buli's mouth never stopped, constantly boasting about his own strategic brilliance and clever calculations, with an extremely arrogant tone, as if he could suppress all heroes in the world with just a flip of his palm. Of course, always boasting about himself made him seem too thick-skinned. Qian Buli also dragged his most trusted Wang Rui into it, lavishly praising Wang's bravery, and then praised General Ren's courage, but only briefly mentioned Du Bing.

  The people attending the banquet had different expressions, and even the nobles of Chengdu were initially curious about Qian Buli. However, as they listened more, they became increasingly disgusted, to the point where they couldn't be bothered to listen to Qian's boasting anymore and started whispering to each other. He Xiongming smiled throughout, applauding and praising Qian whenever he got excited. Du Bing was another person who maintained a smile, occasionally flattering Qian with a few words while drinking wine, his face growing paler with each sip. The most attentive and infatuated listener in the room was Ji Shengqing, who continued to gaze at Qian with pride and excitement even when Qian himself needed to take a break, breathing in some fresh air to avoid vomiting.

  In fact, the wine party is also a battlefield, an alternative battlefield where you can probe each other's strength in a relaxed atmosphere. So after the wine party, the warring parties must adjust their deployment based on the latest information, just like He Xiangning now.