Langya Kingdom is in the north of Xuzhou, with Kaiyang as its capital, only 400 to 500 miles from the capital city of Xuzhou. The kingdom is in decline, leaving only an empty name. Xue Tai did not put Langya Kingdom in his eyes. He only sent a letter of condolences and congratulatory last year when the Langya king died, and Liu Yan succeeded to the throne. However, Xue Tai didn’t know that Liu Yan had been secretly gathering people for the past two years, storing food, and strengthening barriers. He was not the same young man exiled in Yanzhou for several years.

Liu Yan has always been secretly concerned about the situation in Xuzhou. Since the first battle with Xue Tai last year, Bi Zhi has been in his eyes. When Xuzhou was in turmoil, he persuaded the Donghai Kingdom to join forces and seize it.

Xue An determined to avenge his father’s death and leave Xuzhou City empty, which allowed Liu Yan to attack him. When he returned to rescue the city, he couldn’t save it. Afraid that Yang Xin would take advantage of the opportunity to attack him, he had no choice but to abandon Xuzhou City and took the remaining tens of thousands of his soldiers back to Xiapi to recuperate.

The first thing Liu Yan did was to go to Lingbi to visit Bi Zhi and express his desire to unite with him.

……

Wei Shao sat behind the desk, his sword resting across it. His long fingers slowly stroked the dragon pattern. His expression was calm, but his eyes turned turbulent as if the rain was about to come.“…… Liu Yan is a Han family nobleman. He was known to be virtuous. When he was a teenager, he lived in Yanzhou. That said, he had a history with Bi Zhi. It will be a pity if Bi Zhi joins him. It is not a big deal, but it is something you can’t ignore. In my opinion, My Lord should take the overall situation as a priority and let go of the past suspicion, take the opportunity of this retreat to recruit that Bi Zhi as your own, which is the best policy ……”

Gongsun Yang was chattering away at the side, but what he said, Wei Shao didn’t listen. His heart and soul focused on the name Liu Yan, his wife’s childhood sweetheart and her former fiancé. After he married her with a big wedding, this person still not giving up and snatched her away in the middle of the journey, which led to the battle of Shiyi and made him send troops to attack in anger!

With the position Wei Shao reached today, the problem on his mind was too much. Except for these world war plans, his private emotions are all tied up in Xiao Qiao’s body. He was captivated by her, losing his heart and soul. Sometimes he was so affectionate that he turned into clay. The feelings were like, ‘you have me while I have you.’ But sometimes, his heart felt so much love and hate that it was hard to be at peace. He had already forgotten about Liu Yan and never thought that this name suddenly appeared again in such a surprising way.

The most important thing that stabbed Wei Shao’s heart was that he wanted to recruit Bi Zhi! No matter how Wei Shao refuses to admit it and calls Bi Zhi ‘the head of the stragglers,’ he knows in his heart, in Xiao Qiao’s mind, the head of the stragglers is her sister, Da Qiao’s husband’s. He was afraid that Xiao Qiao cared more about Bi Zhi than himself!

It was only because of Qiao’s surname! He was a little saddened by this and felt even more resentful. Last night he walked alone in the rain for a hundred miles, chasing her to the post house to exchange her willingness on impulse. He made that compromise for her, which made him unable to face his father and brother’s spirit.

At that time, he did get her soft and gentle treatment. After the tide of love, his heart was still missing a corner. Something that always seemed to be lost. He felt like she was insincere with her calm-sounding ‘fine.’Only one night has passed, and then something like this pops up. One is her former fiancé, and the other is her brother-in-law. How will she feel if that head of the stragglers joins Liu Yan? Will surnamed Liu increase his weight in her heart?

“…… If the Lord does not want to come out personally, I can ask the Lady to assist from the side. If you write a letter to clarify the advantages and disadvantages, Bi Zhi will not move by Liu Yan …….”

Gongsun Yang was still on the sidelines, talking endlessly.

Wei Shao’s face sank. He pushed his sword forward, straightened his shoulders, and said, “I have my own decision on the matter of the military. Why should women interfere?”

The former relationship between Liu Yan and the Lady was well-known to Gongsun Yang. Seeing that the ruler had taken such a stand, he had to restrain his words.

Wei Shao said: “Order someone to go and investigate the news again. Wait and see what happens first. As for Xuzhou ……”

He pondered and sneered, “Tell Yang Xin not to move his troops first and just wait. Xue An lost Xuzhou. How can he be willing to give up? He will attack the city again. What is the foundation of Liu Yan? Expelled by a woman like a lost dog and was lucky enough to live in Yanzhou for a few years. He was not thinking about repaying the kindness but dragging others down. The small fireflies dare to compete with the stars and the moon. I will sit back and watch them fight it out.”

He said, got up, and went out.

……