Chapter 226: Chapter 226 - I Am a First-rank Martial Artist, the Qin Army Cannot Stop Me (2)

Halfway there, he was stopped by Shi Songtao.

“Marquis, Han Dazhi requests an audience,” Shi Songtao said to Zhou Shu. “Han Dazhi?” Zhou Shu asked curiously, “What is he doing here?”

“I don’t know.” Shi Songtao shook his head.

Zhou Shu thought for a moment. It won’t be too late to meet Han Dazhi first.

When he arrived at the front hall, Zhou Shu saw Han Dazhi sitting there nervously. Beside his feet was a large chest half the height of a person.

“General Han, what are you doing?” Zhou Shu asked.

“Marquis!” Han Dazhi stood up and hurriedly bowed.

“This is the reward from Great Qin to Great Liang’s diplomatic mission. I’ve brought it all here.” Han Dazhi pointed at the chest. “We didn’t do anything yesterday. We don’t deserve to receive these.” “At least you know your place,” Shi Songtao said.

Zhou Shu glared at Shi Songtao. “General Han, what do you mean?”

“We only picked up a bargain by following behind you, Marquis. These rewards should naturally belong to you,” Han Dazhi said. “Take inventory, Marquis. We haven’t touched any of this stuff.”

“General Han, what are you saying? These were given to you by Great Qin, so why should I accept them?

“It’s for you. Just take it. Great Qin is rich anyway.” “No, Marquis-” Han Dazhi said anxiously. “General Han, I understand. Great Xia and Great Liang are allies. It is only right for us to help each other. If we’re in danger, will Great Liang stand by and do nothing?”

“Of course not.” Han Dazhi patted his chest.

“Then, it’s settled.” Zhou Shu smiled. “You can just accept these things in peace.

“By the way, I have something to ask you, General Han.”

“What is it?” Han Dazhi said. “Feel free to instruct me. I will do it as long as I can. If I reject you, I will be a coward!”

“It’s like this. This matter has already been settled. We are preparing to return to Great Xia immediately. On our way back, we still have to pass by Great Liang. I was thinking, does Great Liang’s diplomatic mission want to go together? We can take care of each other on the way back,” Zhou Shu said.

“Of course.” Han Dazhi heaved a sigh of relief. He had thought that it was a big deal, but it turned out to be a small matter.

This was Great Xia taking care of them. If they followed the Great Xia diplomatic mission, they wouldn’t have to worry about any accidents on the way.

Great Xia’s diplomatic mission was much stronger than Great Liang’s.

“When I return, I’ll have our official envoy bid farewell to the Qin emperor and return with Great Xia.” Han Dazhi patted his chest and promised.

After a series of rejections, Han Dazhi finally brought the chest he brought back.

Shi Songtao smacked his lips regretfully. The chest contained quite a lot.

Although he wasn’t poor, who would despise money?

Great Liang had it easy!

“Marquis, why are we leaving with Great Liang?” Shi Songtao asked in confusion.

The people from Great Liang were not strong, but they were good at taking advantage of others.

If they left with them, wouldn’t it be equivalent to having a group of burdens?

“If we leave with another diplomatic mission, Great Qin will have to think twice if they want to try anything funny,” Zhou Shu explained. Even a country as powerful as Great Qin would have to think twice about offending two countries at the same time.

“Do you think Great Qin would restrain themselves because of the existence of the Great Liang diplomatic mission?”

In Meng Bai’s room, after Meng Bai heard Zhou Shu’s idea, he shook his head and said, “No.

“You don’t understand the Qin emperor. If he wants to do something, he won’t change his mind so easily. Even if he became enemies with everyone in the world, he wouldn’t care.

“Great Qin actually wants to trade for your cultivation technique. This is slightly troublesome.”

Meng Bai’s expression became a bit grave.

If it was just an unforeseen event occurring in Great Qin, even if Zhou Shu wanted to bring all the members of the Great Xia diplomatic mission with him, it would still be possible.

But now, Great Qin was already tempted by his cultivation technique, so it wouldn’t be so easy for him to leave.

Meng Bai sighed inwardly. The emperor asking Zhou Shu to come to Great Qin was a bit too hasty.

But then again, no one expected so many unforeseen events to occur after coming to Great Qin. Under normal circumstances, there shouldn’t have been too much risk on this trip.

Otherwise, Meng Bai himself would have strongly opposed it back then. At the time, he had also felt that this trip was an extremely good experience for Zhou Shu. Talents needed to be tempered in order to grow.

Furthermore, he thought that with him around, it would be enough to ensure Zhou Shu’s safe return to Great Xia.

“Grand General, do you think that if I don’t agree to the trade, the Qin emperor will send people to rob it?” Zhou Shu said.

“With the Qin emperor’s character, this possibility cannot be ruled out.” Meng Bai frowned. “The Qin emperor only cares about results, not the process. Rules cannot restrict him.”

The Qin emperor’s character could be seen from how he decided on the host of Ten Nations Martial Arts Tournament.

Prior to this, determining the Ten Nations Martial Arts Tournament’s host had always had set rules.

But it just so happened that Great Qin had created some sort of trial this time. Even if his country objected, the Qin emperor didn’t compromise.

“Could it be that he dares to brazenly attack the Great Xia diplomatic mission?” Zhou Shu said.

During the war between the two nations, Great Xia didn’t do anything to Great Wei’s diplomatic mission even when Great Wei’s diplomatic mission left Great Xia.

What happened to Xiao Shunzhi and Shen Yue was not instigated by the Great Xia Imperial Court.

“This is Great Qin. It will be easy for them to do anything,” Meng Bai said.

This made sense. Wasn’t this how Zhou Shu treated Great Wei’s diplomatic mission?

If Great Xia’s diplomatic mission was really attacked in Great Qin, Great Qin only needed to show that they would strictly investigate the attacker and even directly push out a few scapegoats. What could Great Xia do then? Even if Zhou Shu dragged the Great Liang diplomatic mission with him, as long as the Qin emperor wanted to attack, the outcome would be the same.

“Great General, what do you think we should do now?” Zhou Shu asked.

He wasn’t afraid himself. Even if he fell out with the Qin emperor now, he was confident in being able to kill his way out of Great Qin.

But there were more than two thousand people in the Great Xia diplomatic mission. If the Qin emperor made a move, these two thousand people would probably be completely annihilated here.

Meng Bai looked at Zhou Shu and fell into deep thought.

The best method was naturally to have Zhou Shu hand the Iron Smelting Hands Technique over to Great Qin.

But this couldn’t be done.

First of all, the Iron Smelting Hands Technique was Zhou Shu’s personal possession. Meng Bai didn’t have the authority to make him hand it over. Even Emperor Yuan Feng didn’t have this authority.

Second, the two countries were allies. It was not a good thing to show weakness. But from Zhou Shu’s description, it seemed that Great Qin was determined to obtain the Iron Smelting Hands Technique. They had even asked Zhou Shu to state a price. From this, it was apparent just how determined they were. According to the Qin emperor’s style, he would never stop until he achieved his goal. Even if he had to resort to unscrupulous means, he wouldn’t care.

If Zhou Shu refused to trade, it was obvious that it was impossible for them to return safely to Great Xia.

“You definitely can’t hand over the Iron Smelting Hands Technique just like that.” Meng Bai pondered. “If I’m not wrong, Great Qin will issue an imperial decree agreeing to let us leave.

“At the very least, they probably won’t make a move until we leave Great Qin. This is our chance.

“After we leave Great Qin, I’ll think of a way to draw Great Qin’s attention while you leave secretly…”

“No,” Zhou Shu directly denied. Wouldn’t this mean they had returned to the original plan?

If he let Meng Bai lead the team to cover him, then there was simply no need to discuss so much. Wouldn’t it be fine if he left now?

“My life is important, and so are the lives of others. I can’t let so many people take risks just because of me.” Zhou Shu shook his head.

“Great General, if your injuries recover, how confident are you in leading the diplomatic mission away?”

“If I recover?” Meng Bai sighed. “About sixty to seventy percent.” He was burdened by his body and couldn’t execute many of his plans. If he recovered from his injuries, then not to mention anything else, he would have a certain amount of confidence in escaping Great Qin, even if he did it forcefully.

“Great General, what if you can become a first-rank martial artist? How confident are

you?”

“First-rank martial artist?” Meng Bai couldn’t help laughing. “If I were a first-rank martial artist, Great Qin’s army wouldn’t be able to keep my Great Xia diplomatic mission!”