Xue Beng had only just put on a hard front when he was scared limp on the spot. Before the enemy army arrived, he immediately fled Sea-Sky City with all his possessions, boarded a ship, and drifted out toward the open sea.
Before boarding, the bedraggled Emperor Xue Beng appointed Qin Gui as his peace envoy and sent him to Spirit Hall.
"Negotiate peace. Quickly, go negotiate peace. As long as I can keep the throne beneath my ass, they can have whatever they want. Exhaust Heaven Dou's resources to win Spirit Hall's favor," Xue Beng said.
"Yes," Qin Gui said, lowering his head.
Thus, Qin Gui went to Spirit Hall's Northern Army as an envoy.
"Oh? Your newly enthroned Emperor Xue Beng wishes to negotiate peace with Spirit Hall?" Jialing said. "But why did I hear that your emperor is a staunch advocate of war? He sent Marshal Ge Long to launch attacks everywhere against the cities occupied by our forces. I even heard that they have now reached Heaven Dou City in our rear?"
Qin Gui said with a fawning expression, "Those were all Marshal Ge Long's actions on his own initiative. They have nothing to do with His Majesty."
"Hmph. But he is still your emperor's subject, and he swore loyalty to your emperor, did he not?" Jialing said. "You may negotiate peace with our army, but there is one condition. I want Ge Long's head!"
Ge Long's influence had now made him a hero of Heaven Dou. Killing him would inevitably damage both his own reputation and Emperor Xue Beng's. But he did not necessarily have to be killed openly; he could be assassinated. Qin Gui thought of several ways to kill Ge Long before saying, "This subordinate will return at once to discuss it