knife

Chapter 218 The Question of Who Helps Whom
With one punch, the solid table shattered into pieces.

Sitting at the table, Gao Qunshu reacted quickly, grabbing the teapot with one hand, holding his teacup with the other, and stretching out one leg to steadily support the tea tray and the other three cups inside, gently placing them aside.

"The older the general gets, the more irritable he becomes!" Gao Qunshu said with a smile after taking a sip of tea.

The two of them were very familiar with each other. If someone else had said "Old Man Lengge," Lengge would probably have slapped them across the face long ago.

Dragging a chair over and sitting down, Lengge angrily said, "How can I not be angry? Advisor Gao, tell me, what has happened in the past year or so? It's all been shameful and upsetting. In my entire life, when have I ever been so humiliated? I've been bullied by the Qin people, publicly humiliated by Shaliewen, and now I've been slapped in the face by Jebe."

Gao Qunshu smiled and stood up to pour Lengge a cup of tea. "General, calm down. In life, there are always some unpleasant things you have to face, but once you get through them, the road ahead will be bright. Endure a moment of anger, and you'll find a vast and boundless future!"

Lenger put his hand to his chest, exhaled several breaths of stale air, and said, "If it weren't for His Highness's important matter, Lenger would never have done this even if you beat me to death."

"You killed Baoli as soon as you arrived in the southern border region, which certainly served as a warning to others. I don't think you'll have an easy time at today's first military conference either."

"Is that even a question?" Lengge said, "From Qingtongxia to Yezhuling, all the generals in important positions have been replaced by his men. Our men are now either home taking care of their children or out maintaining order in the local areas."

"As expected, General. What about you?"

"I've been entrusted with a heavy responsibility!" Lenger sneered. "I'm in charge of procuring and transporting grain. My first order is to procure 100,000 shi of military rations within ten days. After that, he's going to use troops, and if the rations aren't procured on time, he'll punish me."

"The combined storage in Qingtongxia and Yezhuling is at most 70,000 to 80,000 shi. There's still more than a month until the autumn harvest, and some old grain has been disposed of to free up warehouses for new grain. Zhebie really knows how to seize the opportunity; he's going to use this chance to get rid of some of us again!"

“Does Jebe even have the brains for this? It must have been his sycophantic advisor Qin Gong who came up with the idea!” Lengge sighed. “In previous years, at this time, the lower-ranking officers would sell some of the old grain to make some extra money. As long as it didn’t cause any trouble, the Second Prince and I would turn a blind eye. This year, we clearly warned them, but some still did it. If we can’t gather 100,000 shi of military rations, we’ll definitely investigate the reasons. I’ll get a beating, and they’ll lose their heads!”

“It’s not like we can’t get enough!” Gao Qunshu said with a smile. “His Highness has been supporting these people on the border for the past few years. Every family has some grain stored up!”

"Requisition grain?" Lengge shook his head and said, "They have all paid their taxes and fees. There is no reason to ask them for more! This will incite public anger."

"This is to procure grain on His Highness's orders!" Gao Qunshu said calmly. "It's definitely too late to transport it from within the country in ten days. Let's borrow from the common people first. It's not like we won't pay them back!"

Lengge glanced at Gao Qunshu and thought to himself, "What the hell!"
However, it's still possible for this matter to fall on the Crown Prince.

At that time, the common people will hate the Crown Prince, so what does it have to do with me?
Once the First Prince falls from power and the Second Prince ascends to the throne, the borrowed grain can be returned. Wouldn't the people be even more grateful to the Second Prince then?
Both the inflow and outflow are profits for the Second Prince.

“That’s a solution!” Lengge nodded. “Military Advisor Gao, what is the current situation in Yandu? Also, who exactly killed Astu?”

Gao Qunshu smiled and said, "Astu was killed by someone sent by the Second Prince!"

Lengge shuddered, nearly dropping the teacup in his hand.

Although he had been somewhat prepared, Lengge was still somewhat shocked by Gao Qunshu's straightforward and nonchalant way of saying it.

That was the Left Wise King of the Great Yuan Dynasty!
They killed him just like a chicken.

"Was it done by Granny Duanmu?"

Gao Qunshu shook his head: "General Lengge, don't ask about that. Anyway, Astu is dead, and everyone in the world thinks that Jebe did it, so Jebe can only be sent to the southern border. And the emperor's personal guards currently stationed outside Yandu will soon be under the command of the Second Prince."

"Is the information reliable?" Lenger suddenly became excited.

“Of course it’s reliable!” Gao Qunshu lowered his voice and said, “After Astu died, His Majesty was furious and his health deteriorated. The Empress visited him in the palace, and His Majesty said it himself.”

"So, does His Majesty intend to favor the Second Prince? But why was the garrison of Yandu given to Akdun? His Majesty's health is poor, and the garrison of Yandu is extremely important. To put it bluntly, if His Majesty were to pass away, those outside might not even know," Lengge said.

Gao Qunshu smiled and patted Lengge on the shoulder: "General, these are not problems. You only need to keep an eye on Jebe in the southern border."

Lengge nodded: "Your Highness means that you are worried that when the situation in Yandu is stable, Jebe will be dissatisfied and lead the troops in the southern border to rebel and fight back to Yandu?" "That possibility certainly exists!" Gao Qunshu said: "So during this period, we need to let Jebe's trusted subordinates be greatly depleted in the battles with the Qin army. In this way, even if he is dissatisfied at the last moment, General Lengge, you can deal with him in the southern border and send him back to Yandu in a cage."

"Deliberately losing to the Qin army again?" Lengge felt a little uncomfortable.

"You think you can do it on purpose?" Gao Qunshu smiled and said, "We just need to provide the Qin army's Anxi Protectorate with Jebe's military intentions, routes of action, and dates in a timely manner. The rest will naturally be handled by Li Dachui and Xiao Changche!"

Seeing that Lengge was not feeling well, Gao Qunshu comforted him, "General, there's no need to worry about this. It's all for the sake of the country. Once this year is over and everything has settled down, His Highness will naturally take back everything we've given up. You've also received news of the great turmoil in Qin, haven't you?"

Lengge nodded: "The rebellion of Qin general He Zudao has thrown Qin into chaos, making internal strife in Qin a foregone conclusion."

"So, General, we must not hesitate in our actions. We must be prepared to make sacrifices, otherwise our Great Yuan might even descend into civil war. Then, the great advantage right before our eyes will be lost. We must quickly resolve our internal problems, help the Second Prince ascend the throne, and then we can reorganize our troops and march south swiftly. While the Qin Kingdom is embroiled in internal strife, we can destroy this 'morning meal'!" Gao Qun

The book looks somewhat grotesque.

“Go back and tell His Highness to rest assured that Lengge can distinguish between what is important and what is urgent!” Lengge nodded and said, “I will deal with Jebe for now.”

"I've placed a few men here with you. From now on, whenever you need to communicate with the Anxi Protectorate, just hand them over. The other generals don't need to worry about anything; just focus on procuring supplies for Jebe!" Gao Qunshu said with a smile.

While Gao Qunshu was drinking with Lengge at his residence and chatting about things in Yandu, Zhebie, who had just taken office, also received a guest.

Li Guohua, the chief secretary from the Andong Protectorate.

Jebe disliked the Tiele, even hated them, largely because of the Tiele's Qin ancestry. Of course, the arrival of Princess Changle also contributed to Jebe's mother's melancholy, which ultimately led to her death when Jebe was thirty years old.

Jebe also blamed Tiele for this.

Despite their dislike for it, the Tiele's plan to drive out the wolves and devour the tigers had to be implemented because it aligned with the fundamental interests of the Yuan Dynasty and was highly feasible.

If they succeed, the Yuan Dynasty will gain more than just the land beyond the Great Wall; it will also escalate the internal strife in the Qin state to several levels.

With the manpower and resources of the Qin Dynasty, if they don't fall into internal strife, the Yuan Dynasty can only covet the land outside the pass; the land inside the pass is out of the question.

In terms of territory, the Yuan Dynasty was much larger than the Qin Dynasty, but in terms of population and wealth, the two countries were not even in the same league.

In the end, wars still come down to population and wealth.

“Beiting has become Andong and Anxi, so all the conditions you proposed before will have to be changed!” Zhebie said, looking at Li Guohua with some disdain.

Li Guohua smiled and said, "Although Beiting has been transformed into the Andong and Anxi Protectorates, the Great Yuan is not the Great Yuan of the past. If we really compare, our commander-in-chief is probably more at ease."

"Are you really at ease? Without our help, I'm afraid even Commander Linghu would hesitate to leave Zhenwu City easily, right? Xiao Changche and Li Dachui are keeping a close eye on you! We can sit back and watch the tigers fight!" A man who looked like a Qin person said with a smile next to Zhebie.

Li Guohua chuckled. This man was named Qin Gong, a strategist for Jebe, and indeed a true Qin native.

“What’s so funny?” Jebe asked.

"Your Highness, as far as we know, His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Yuan Dynasty has only a few months left to live. Whether he can even survive the year is still uncertain!" Li Guohua said with a smile. "I was just thinking, once His Majesty passes away, Your Highness will still be in the Southern Frontier. Are you planning to wait until the Second Prince or the Third Prince ascends the throne before rushing back to pay your respects and submit?"

Jebe's expression immediately changed.

“Your Highness, we don’t care about time. Internal strife in the Central Plains has always been a long and drawn-out affair. It takes at least ten or twenty years to achieve anything significant. But do you have the energy and time to play along with us?” Li Guohua’s tone gradually became stern. “So Your Highness, you must understand that we are helping you, not the other way around!”

The question of who helps whom is essentially a question of who holds the initiative.

(End of this chapter)