Ning Chen smiled and shook his head. "He will, but he won't give this much.

Knowing that son of a bitch Kang Luo, he'll start by leaking it to Her Majesty that Lei An killed Yue Congyun, to force a break between us and the Great Xuan.

After that, he'll sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight while the court sends troops to put us down.

Whoever wins, it's good for him.

If we can't hold out against the court, he'll show up as our savior, hand us a little money and grain, and earn our gratitude."

Yuan Long gave a slight nod. He understood.

"Then what do we do next, my lord prince?"

The corner of Ning Chen's mouth lifted. "Wait! It'll be a while before Qu Shao gets word to Kang Luo."

Communications and transport in this world were far too backward.

A war often dragged on for years, and half the time was spent on the road.

A month and a half later.

Far away in Biluo City, Kang Luo flung an imperial edict to the floor, his face cold.

It was the twenty-second one.

Every one of them ordered him back to the capital.

But he wasn't stupid. Were these edicts? They were death warrants, plain and simple.

Gao Lifu, Kang Luo's trusted man, tried to soothe him. "Calm yourself, Your Highness. Just ignore them!"

Kang Luo gave a cold laugh. "Kang Feng really never tires of it. He wants this crown prince to walk into the capital alone. Nobody's ever had a dream that sweet."

As he spoke, his gaze fell on the map beside him, cold and dark. He said slowly, one word at a time, "Kang Feng wants this crown prince to come to the capital, doesn't he? Then this crown prince will give him his wish.

Lifu, how are the preparations on the Gaoli Kingdom's side coming?"

Gao Lifu said, "The Gaoli Kingdom hasn't written back yet. The old emperor of Gaoli has just died, and Jin Tiancheng is only running the government in the meantime. He hasn't formally taken…