Chapter 178
Book 16 Chapter 07 - The Treacherous Banquet
Xiang Shaolong and Li Yuan left a little earlier and met on a side street to exchange updates.
The two of them ensconced themselves in a horse carriage. Li Yuan asked: "What did Empress Dowager want of you?"
Xiang Shaolong warily peered out the window, and casually said: "Empress Dowager wanted me to kill Li Quan, Li Ling and Lord Chunshen."
Li Yuan's spirits rose, saying: "Did she really say that?"
Xiang Shaolong smiled faintly and said: "Why would I lie to you? Why does she hate Lord Chunshen so?"
Li Yuan sighed forlornly and said: "She hates all men who have sullied her body. This includes King Xiaolie."
Xiang Shaolong asked: "Any updates on your end?"
Li Yuan replied: "It appears that Lord Chunshen merely intends to use a duel to deal damage to us. This is because the guests tonight include all the senior officials, foreign dignitaries and even some va.s.sal lords themselves. No matter how reckless Lord Chunshen and Li Quan are, they will not dare to attack us openly with their hundreds of people."
Xiang Shaolong asked somberly: "Is the Yelang King in the guest list?"
Li Yuan replied: "I did not see his name. This does not mean he won't be there though. Lord Chunshen must know how easy it is for me get a copy of his guest list."
Xiang Shaolong said in a deadpan: "I intend to determine victory or defeat with Lord Chunshen and Li Quan at this banquet. We will not get another chance. If I am not mistaken, Lord Chunshun will rise in revolt tomorrow morning when Dou Jie's troops are in position. Attacking from within and without, they will use overwhelming force to subdue Shouchun. The Inner City Guards falling into your hands was a bitter blow to them. This banquet is meant to detain us along with the most influential people in Shouchun. Cut off from the outside, we will not be able to make any countervailing moves. This gives them great tactical advantage."
Li Yuan frantically said: "But Lord Chunshen has three thousand family warriors while we have a mere sixty men. Worse, some of our men will be left out in the front lawn. If we start fighting, we would be lucky to escape with our lives. How would we be able to kill the enemy?"
Xiang Shaolong smiled and said: "To shoot a person first shoot the horse. To catch the thieves first catch the king (ringleader). Has Brother Li heard of these two sayings?"
Li Yuan repeated the words twice to himself before his eyes gleamed, demonstrating his understanding.
Xiang Shaolong said: "I almost forgot the crucial point. Is Tian Dan on the guest list?"
Li Yuan shook his head and said: "I was just coming to this. Tian Dan has vanished after having breakfast with Lord Chunshen this morning. I think he may have slipped away from Shouchun."
Xiang Shaolong's heart sank. He said vexedly: "If he did leave, he should have been spotted by the city guards. Why haven't you received any news?"
Li Yuan said in exasperation: "With Dou Jie making the arrangements, even Wu Zhan would have found it hard to investigate. It is a simple matter for them to sneak Tian Dan out of Shouchun under cover."
Xiang Shaolong said with determination: "With this, it is even more important for us to make a move. The only way we can determine Tian Dan's whereabouts is to force it out of Lord Chunshen."
Li Yuan understood his intent. If Tian Dan is already on his way to Qi, Xiang Shaolong would need to settle the matter with Lord Chunshen as quickly as possible and then double up to give chase.
Heaving a sigh, he said: "Brother Xiang has neglected his own matters because of me. I am embarra.s.sed. Ai! That said, our chances tonight are actually not high!"
Xiang Shaolong smiled while shaking his head, saying: "Know yourself and know your enemy, a hundred battles without defeat. I have another proposal. Brother Li might as well subst.i.tute all his personal guards for my men. As long as Lord Chunshen does not know that we are carrying crossbows, our chances will increase to seventy percent. This is known as lengthening oneself to shorten the enemy. Using the crossbow to defeat the sword; avoiding their strengths and attacking their weaknesses, using efficiency and speed to defeat the enemy's strength in numbers."
Li Yuan exclaimed: "Even if Sun Wu were to come back to life, he would find it difficult to defeat Brother Xiang's clever stratagems."
Xiang Shaolong chuckled in his heart. This is precisely the creed of the special forces, using the elite to defeat the ordinary. As long as they could grasp the enemy's weakest link, it would be like pinching a viper's throat. No matter how formidable the enemy was, it could only submit and be captured.
After the two of them split up, Li Yuan entered the palace to report everything to Li Yanyan while Xiang Shaolong made his way to Lord Chunshen's banquet.
Entering the main gate, he reached the lawn of the residence which was large enough for a thousand drilling soldiers. It was presently filled with horses and carriages. The whole area was brightly lit.
The main residence was on built on a white stone terrace. It was surrounded by covered walkways which were connected to buildings on the left and right as well as the rear. The environment was elegant and refined, with ancient trees reaching to the skies.
Xiang Shaolong's heart was stirred.
The status of the Chu King with his subjects was clearly lower than that of the Qin King.
That year in the period before King Zhuangxiang's funeral, all forms of celebrations and festivities in Xianyang ceased. The people here were completely different. Just with this one observation, once could tell why Qin was always victorious over Chu.
Xiang Shaolong and his men dismounted. Six of the men were a.s.signed to watch over the horses while the other twenty-four followed him towards the main residence.
It was common for big shots to bring ten family warriors to banquets. Twenty-four is on the high side, but under the present circ.u.mstances, Lord Chunshun had no reason to object. Moreover, how could he be concerned with twenty-four men?
The steps leading up to the main residence were filled with Lord Chunshen's family warriors. Lord Chunshen was with his two sons Huang Zhan and Huang Ba