Simply Trading

"Oh? What are you trying to say here? That the Barbarians have gotten a.s.sistance from these rebels, these traitors, and are now a greater danger than they were before? How ridiculous! How can their pitiful numbers prove a threat? My Ducal Armies outnumber them at least four to one!"

Qin Feng shook his head. This was easier than he thought it would be. Surely the Duke could not be this stupid! Or was this just a test from the old man? it certainly sounded like it!

Of course, even if it was a test, he was definitely going to take advantage of it. So long as he could get the Duke to lose his temper - or give the impression that he had lost his temper, then he would have succeeded, wouldn"t he? That should be sufficient to give him the excuse for leaving the castle, and getting on with what he really wanted to do!

So he went on, to rebut the older man with no qualms whatsoever. At least, none that showed. "Your advisers should warn you against taking the Barbarians for granted. Do not forget that it was only thirty years ago that they managed to spring a surprise at the Kingdom, by stampeding all of those Spirit Beasts at you. They are not as uncreative as you may think.

"And if they can think of a plan like that, what is so surprising if they have come up with another? This out of season attack may be just the start of another of their strange strategies."

Then he sighed and waved a hand at Li Changhai, who had a rather strange expression on his face. Was the Second Ducal Prince worried about him? And what the younger man was doing? Qin Feng felt a little sorry, but he pressed on all the same. Li Changhai could always wash his hands of him, if he felt that he had gone too far.

"Your own son has seen their numbers. And he had confided in me that their arms and armor seemed to have improved over the last decade or so. If he can see that ... If it is so obvious to his eye, how is it that none of your other advisers have seen the same?"

He paused then, and fixed the now discomforted Duke with a stern gaze. "I would question the motives of these advisers, if I were you. Or send them out to have a closer look at the enemy. They may not have as good an idea of what the Barbarians are capable of, compared to your second son."

"Bah! What does Hai"er know? He has never been in command of a troop!"

He smiled as he shook his head again. "That is just naive. One doesn"t need to be a Captain to have a pair of eyes. If the Barbarians are really as weak and mindless as you say, and their numbers are as few as decades ago - Well, your armies should not have any trouble totally wiping them out in their home lands, would they? And would have probably done so too, long ago. Unless your soldiers are equally as mindless - No. Unless your soldiers are even more mindless than they are. Otherwise, how could they have missed taking advantage of such a glaring weakness?

"Besides, it is clear enough from the change in their strategy that they have someone working on their side. And the fact that your neighbor to the North has launched a.s.sa.s.sination attempts against your son, just who those advisers are likely to be."

He paused then, and took an almost casual sip of his wine. He had no idea that talking about strategy like this could make his mouth feel so dry. And the Duke was taking a lot longer to blow up than he had expected. In fact, he had half-expected the man to throw a wine cup at him by then. Strange that he had been able to hold it in thus far.

But the man was simply fuming, and did not show any attempt to respond to his words. So Qin Feng had little choice but to keep going. He had to force a response, didn"t he?

"From what I have seen of these a.s.sa.s.sins, they have basically the same style of fighting, which hints that they are from the same School, or same military unit. Perhaps both. And there are some competent soldiers among the people that Marquis Feng had sent to escort your second son, so they should be able to come up with possible suspects at least.

"That should make it easier for you, since you appear to prefer to surround yourself with mindless idiots who do not even dare to tell you when you are utterly wrong."

The sound of a wine cup crashing to pieces against the stone tiles lining the floor of the Pavilion was almost masked by the Duke"s angered shout. But Qin Feng caught it. How could he not, when he could see the old man slam the cup down, at almost the same moment that he shouted:

"Ridiculous! You are being ridiculous! How can they possibly do such a thing? They are only Barbarians!"

"Oh? I believe those words should be engraved onto a plinth, and set over your tombstone, when the Barbarians finally oust you from your fief here in the West. They are already ma.s.sing, and trying new strategies. If you do not make changes to your own armies, they will doubtless be attacking every one of your weak points that they have discovered in the years that you have been fighting them.

"Who would be the one being called ridiculous then, I wonder."

Qin Feng rose then, before the Duke could utter another word, and tendered a bow to the woman at his side. And then bowed again, this time to Li Changhai. It was only polite, and added to the image that he was trying to convey.

But it was evident that he had succeeded, and the break with the Duke was so obvious that it was to all parties present. Even the quiet Butler Jin standing behind the red-faced Duke could not say that he had not managed to remain utterly polite even as he threw the old man"s insult back in his face.

It seemed next to impossible to rescue this relationship already, which made it perfect for his purpose. Now, no one could say anything when he left the Ducal Palace!

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