The Third Prince's eyes turned vicious. "Set the mountain on fire," he said coldly.

The middle-aged man in scholar's robes paled slightly and bowed. "They still have a good deal of the loot with them. If we set the mountain on fire, that loot will burn too.

Third Prince, you might wait a few days. They have some food, but there's no water on the mountain. They can't hold out long."

The Third Prince looked up at the sky, his eyes cold. "And if it rains? Do as I say. Not one of them is to be left alive."

The middle-aged man bowed. "Yes!"

Then he hesitated. "But eighty thousand-odd men suddenly vanishing... Ning Chen will never let it go. He's sure to send people to investigate with everything he has. If, I mean if he finds out, then..."

He swallowed and didn't dare finish.

They both knew perfectly well: if Ning Chen found out, the consequences didn't bear thinking about.

But the Third Prince didn't care. He smiled darkly. "So what if he finds out? His Highness the crown prince did this. What does it have to do with us?

That Imperial Brother of mine is too soft. He's not fit to be heir apparent at all.

This prince will take the loot, and I'll trouble my good Imperial Brother to take the fall."

The man in scholar's robes said worriedly, "Whoever did it, eighty thousand men will still be dead. How could Ning Chen let that go?"

The Third Prince grinned savagely. "It doesn't matter. The enemy of my enemy is my friend... Ning Chen has just taken the Nanyue imperial city. Nanyue hates him to the bone now."

He sighed. "Is that loot really worth making an enemy of Ning Chen?"

Jin Tiancheng didn't hesitate. "Yes, of course it's worth it... That loot is enough for us to raise troops and buy horses. Feeding an army of two hundred thousand would be easy, with plenty to spare.

Fortune favors the bold. If I don't fight for it and grab it, won't I end up just like my…