knife

Chapter 219 Time is of the Most Importance
time!

It is the most valuable thing in the world, but also the least valuable.

For most people in this world, time is boring, useless, and even forces them to endure painful experiences for extended periods as it slowly passes by.

These people have no goals or plans, and no expectations for the future; they simply drift through each day numbly.

But for others, time is priceless. Money can buy everything, but it can't buy time. Whether you are poor or rich, powerful or humble, from sunrise to sunset, everyone experiences the same amount of time.

This caused these people immense pain, as they lamented that the time was too short to allow them to fully display their talents.

Time cannot be bought, but timeliness can.

This is why Li Guohua came to find Zhebie with such confidence.

If in the past they were in a weak position when dealing with the Yuan people and had to beg them, now the situation has been reversed.

Jebe needed time even more than they did.

Why were the Tiele and Akdun at odds on everything else, yet able to reach an agreement on this matter? It was because they wanted to drive their strongest competitor to the distant southern frontier.

Distance shortens time and also infinitely reduces timeliness.

If something happens in Yandu, even if a fast horse runs day and night, it will take about ten days to arrive, and in that time, a lot of things can happen.

Therefore, Jebe needs to resolve the situation in the southern border region as soon as possible. While the old emperor is still alive, he needs to quell the war in the southern border region and add another significant achievement to his record, so that the second and third sons will no longer have the qualifications to compete with him.

Of course, if possible, Jebe would never want to come to southern Xinjiang.

But circumstances are beyond our control.

Astu's death remains an unsolved mystery.
But all the clues pointed to Jebe, leaving him with no way to defend himself.

The key issue is that no matter what he says, people don't really believe him.

Jebe, filled with injustice and resentment, arrived in southern Xinjiang with a burning rage.

He had no choice but to obey the emperor's order, which was given personally.

Now he just hopes the old emperor can last a little longer.

Li Guohua's threat was straightforward and targeted Zhebie's weakness.

Either accept my terms, or we'll have to engage in a tug-of-war on the battlefield.

What I lost was nothing more than time that didn't matter.

But what you might lose is the supreme emperor's throne.

The allure of that position is irresistible.

Just look at his own commander, who is still a long way from that position, but whenever this matter is mentioned, his eyes light up and he immediately becomes energetic.

Not to mention Jebe, who was only a step away from that position.

He could have gotten it with just one step forward; if he lost it, would Jebe be willing to accept it?

"Once we defeat you and take over the area beyond the Great Wall, no one will be qualified to compete with His Highness!" Qin Gong, who was watching from the side, couldn't stand it anymore and spoke up as he saw Zhebie being subdued by Li Guohua in just a few words.

Li Guohua laughed loudly: "Our commander-in-chief has clashed with His Majesty of the Great Yuan before, but our commander-in-chief is still the commander-in-chief. Qin Gong, I'll tentatively believe that His Highness, the mighty and powerful, can indeed defeat us, but how long will it take? Can His Majesty of the Great Yuan even hold out until you defeat us?"

"This is a situation where cooperation benefits both sides, while division results in mutual loss. If we can't have it, then you can't have it either!" Qin Gong said angrily.

Li Guohua raised his head and said coldly, "Then we'll see whether the Tiele or Akdun ascend the throne and still allow Your Highness to command tens of thousands of troops and entrenched outside. When an imperial edict summons you back to Yandu, will you return or not? If you return, you'll face certain death; if you don't return, you probably won't survive either."

Qin Gong wanted to argue further, but Zhebie stopped him with a wave of his hand. Helpless, Qin Gong sat down and looked at Zhebie. It seemed that he was definitely going to be ripped off by this guy.

"What do you want?" Jebe asked.

Li Guohua smiled and pulled a thick stack of papers from his pocket, pushing it in front of Zhebie.

Jebe opened the book, only read the first page, and was already furious, laughing instead: "Linghu Ye really has a huge appetite. Asking me for so much, aren't you afraid of bursting your stomach?" "Your Highness, I think we're asking for too little!" Li Guohua said: "Once we get these things, we'll leave. What will you get in return? Zhenwu City, an impregnable fortress beyond the Great Wall, hundreds of thousands of people, thousands of miles of territory, and fertile land."

Jebe snorted, unimpressed.

“Money, provisions, weapons, armor, warhorses, and even gold and silver are all just external things. They are indispensable for our army, which is preparing to leave our homeland. Without enough money, how can we get our soldiers to leave willingly?” Li Guohua laughed and said, “But Your Highness, you are going to be the emperor. The emperor has the whole country. What use is gold and silver to you?”

Zhebie pushed the scroll of documents in front of him towards Qin Gong.
Qin Gong flipped through a few pages, his expression becoming extremely excited.

“Your departure is actually a result of the success of the plan that Tiele devised many years ago. It will not highlight my contribution, but rather make Tiele stand out even more!” Jebe pondered for a moment and said, “I can give you these things, but I also have some conditions. If you can agree, then we can each take what we need. If you can’t, then we’ll part ways.”

Li Guohua nodded and said, "Your Highness needs military merit. If we leave voluntarily, your military merit will not be apparent. So you want to attack Xiao Changche and Li Dachui in Anxi and use their heads to demonstrate your illustrious martial prowess, right?"

“You’re right!” Jebe said, “I need your cooperation to join me in attacking the Anxi Protectorate.”

“We can make way for you, but we cannot join forces with you to attack.” Li Guohua shook his head and said, “Your Highness, if we do that, it is very likely to cause a mutiny among our troops, and then it will probably backfire.”

"Just clearing a path? You're asking for far too much!" Qin Gong threw the dossier in his hand onto the table.

"Longgou Fort is now in our hands!" Li Guohua said. "After we get the first batch of supplies, we will return Longgou Fort to you. Starting from Longgou Fort, you can bypass Tongquan Fort and launch an attack on the heart of Anxi without any worries. Once Tongquan Fort becomes an isolated fort, it will have to be abandoned. In this way, Your Highness will recapture two strategic points without lifting a finger. You've only just arrived in the Southern Frontier, and haven't even had a chance to settle in, yet Your Highness has already retrieved what Lengge and his men lost. I think such a report of merit, once it returns to Yandu, will have a certain curative effect on His Majesty's illness!"

Jebe took a deep breath and finally nodded.

“You win, and you will get what you want! Ten days later, you can send people to Wild Boar Ridge to retrieve the first batch of what you want, but I also need to get Longgou Fort. Without Longgou Fort, all agreements will be null and void, and I will consider you to be playing me for a fool. Do you know what the consequences will be?”

After a pause, Jebe said sternly, "I will turn my attention to you, because I, Jebe, hate those who break their promises the most in my life."

Li Guohua stood up with a smile and bowed to Zhebie: "Your Highness, we will all get what we want."

That night, Li Guohua and Gao Qunshu left Qingtongxia almost simultaneously.

One exited the city through the south gate, and the other exited through the north gate.

Although they were going in completely opposite directions, both of them were very satisfied.

Ten days later, at Longgou Fort, Chen Liang read through the secret document that had just been sent from Zhenwu City word by word, and the anger in his eyes gradually gathered.

After capturing Longgou Fort, Chen Liang moved his headquarters there.

He walked to the window and looked at the hillside covered with wildflowers below the distant, rolling mountains. Below that lay the remains of countless ancestors and relatives.

"Someone, go and invite Scholar Zhang over!" Chen Liang said.

A moment later, footsteps sounded, and Zhang Ruo stepped into the house, walked straight to Chen Liang's side, and together they gazed at the flower-covered slopes in the distance.

“I heard that many of your relatives are buried down there!” Zhang Ruo said, “When will you erect a tombstone? If you don’t mind, I’d be willing to write their epitaphs.”

"Then I'll thank you in advance, Scholar!" Chen Liang said, "However, I'd like to do this after we've reclaimed Qing Tong Xia!"

Zhang Ruo smiled and said, "That's how it should be!"

Chen Liang turned to look at Zhang Ruo for a moment, then suddenly said, "Scholar, you've stayed here for quite some time now, so you must have a deep understanding of me. What new thoughts do you have about this treacherous person who betrayed his master for personal gain?"

“Wan Feng’s matter has nothing to do with you!” Zhang Ru shook his head and said, “If you are truly guilty, it is only for knowing but not reporting. A person like Wan Feng, even if he were to die ten thousand times, could not atone for his sins. As for General Chen, as long as you are dedicated to defending the borders of Great Qin and are able to launch a northern expedition against the Yuan Kingdom, your merits will outweigh your sins.”

Chen Liang nodded and handed the crumpled letter in his hand to Zhang Ruo: "However, it seems I can't become the kind of person the scholar was talking about."

Zhang Ruo unfolded the crumpled paper, carefully smoothed it out, and after reading only a few lines, she was already furious.

"Give up Longgou Fortress and return it to the Northern Yuan? What is Linghu Ye trying to do?"

"What's so hard to guess!" Chen Liang said, "There's chaos inside the pass, and Commander Linghu is preparing to enter. He's probably reached some kind of agreement with the Yuan people!"

"Longgou Fort has been given to the Yuan people, what about Tongquan Fort?" Zhang Ru clenched his fist. "When the Yuan people set off from Longgou Fort, they can turn Tongquan Fort into an isolated fort. General Chen, what do you plan to do? Rebel with Linghu Ye?"

Chen Liang smiled, turned his head, and looked at the slope: "Scholar, I would like to see Xiao Changche, or Li Dachui, if you prefer!"

"Okay, okay, I'll send someone to find them right away!" Zhang Ruo suddenly became a little excited.

(End of this chapter)