knife

Chapter 285 Two Extremely Confident People
Linghu Ye looked at Li Dachui with shock and confusion in his eyes.

After a long pause, he shook his head repeatedly. "I used to scoff at the saying that heroes have emerged from among the young, thinking it was a joke that some immature kids dared to call themselves heroes. But now that I've seen you, I believe it. There really are such people."

"To receive praise from Commander Linghu is truly an honor for me!" Li Dachui said, cupping his hands in greeting.

Regardless of their respective positions, the person before me still deserves my respect.

Over the past few decades, although this person has been cultivating his private power outside the Great Wall and is single-mindedly thinking about entering the Great Wall to seize the world, he has objectively protected the people outside the Great Wall for several decades.

Even if they didn't achieve anything significant, they certainly put in a lot of effort.

We cannot negate what he did in the past just because he was blinded by greed in the past two years.

When judging people, we should always consider both sides.

"What kind of fortuitous opportunity did you have to suddenly advance to the Innate Realm?" Linghu Ye asked.

What is Li Dachui supposed to say about this?
You can't exactly tell Linghu Ye that he slept with Xiao Changche and woke up to find himself a Xiantian, can you?

"I'm completely confused, I don't even understand it myself!" Li Dachui said sheepishly, "I just got lucky, unlike you, Commander, who has accumulated knowledge and experience over time!"

Linghuye laughed loudly: "Nonsense, I was just angered by you! After decades of hard work, you easily reaped the rewards. When I learned that Chen Liang had left me and even Chang Jian had defected to follow you in annihilating Zhebie, I knew that Zhebie was finished. And my foundation outside the Great Wall was uprooted by your battle. From now on, people outside the Great Wall will only know you, Li Dachui, and will not know Linghuye, who fought for them for decades."

As he said this, Linghu Ye sighed, feeling somewhat wistful.

Sometimes, a single choice—left or right—can drastically alter one's entire life.

Li Dachui smiled but remained silent.

"Sit down. Guohua's tea skills are quite good. Let's drink tea while you tell me how you managed to turn Yuan Kingdom into what it is today?" Linghuye pointed to Li Guohua, who was busy brewing tea.

There were only the three of them in the room.

Sipping his tea, Li Dachui leisurely recounted his plan to the two men in front of him.

Li Guohua listened especially attentively.

As a strategist, he was utterly impressed by Li Dachui's plan this time.

The actual implementation took only a few months, but the real planning can be traced back more than a decade.

"If I hadn't decided to enter the country back then, would you still have carried out this operation?" Linghuye suddenly asked.

As the most powerful figure outside the pass, if he hadn't entered the pass, the biggest beneficiary of Li Dachui's actions would definitely have been Linghu Ye.

"Yes!" Li Dachui said confidently.

"Really? All that hard work, only to have it all go to someone else?" Li Guohua pressed.

"Brothers may quarrel within the walls, but they unite against external threats!" Li Dachui said calmly. "There's no difficult choice. If the Northern Yuan falls, I'll be the biggest beneficiary, which is of course the best outcome. But if it's Commander Linghu, that's fine too. We're all Qin people, aren't we? Let's keep the benefits within the family!"

Li Guohua stared blankly at Li Dachui, oblivious to the tea overflowing from the cup.

Li Dachui's words were somewhat beyond his comprehension.

"What a fine saying, 'Keep the good stuff in the family!'" Linghu Ye slapped the table and laughed, raising his teacup and saying, "For your words, I'll toast you with tea instead of wine. I suppose when you launched your attack, you were basically certain that I would use this opportunity to get rid of the Yuan people's entanglement and march my troops into the pass, right?"

Li Dachui nodded and said, "The commander-in-chief's mind has always been on the inside of the pass, but how to enter the pass safely is also a big problem. You have to guard against the Yuan people attacking you, and you also have to guard against us dragging you down. So there are not many opportunities. There is only one, which is when Jebe attacks us."

Linghuye sighed and nodded, saying, "Yes, Zhebie is eager to make a name for himself and will definitely attack the area outside the pass. I am eager to leave and will definitely collude with Zhebie to attack you. Only when the two sides fight each other can I enter the pass smoothly. You calculated it very accurately."

"General, I've found your weakness, so everything is pretty much settled!" Li Dachui said. "Of course, this is also related to the fact that you lost the hearts of the people when you entered the pass. Chen Liang was like that, and so was Chang Jian."

"The key is that they have a new option!" Linghu Ye said. "The plan you provided them showed them the possibility of resolving the Northern Yuan issue in one fell swoop, and that's the crucial point. Otherwise, they wouldn't have turned their backs on me!"

Li Dachui nodded. That was indeed the case, especially persuading Chang Jian, which had taken a lot of effort.

Li Dachui basically laid out all his plans.

It was all a gamble, really. It's just that in the end, Li Dachui won.

Otherwise, given Li Dachui and Xiao Changche's capabilities, they would have been quite powerless to force Zhebie to land at that time.

"He who calculates more wins, he who calculates less loses!" Linghu Ye said, "I accept my defeat in this round wholeheartedly. But Li Dachui, this is just the beginning. There's still a long road ahead. Who will win and who will lose, even God doesn't know! What kind of trouble are you planning to stir up this time you enter the pass?"

"I really didn't intend to do anything earth-shattering this time!" Li Dachui laughed heartily. "I just wanted to come in and take a look. To be honest, Commander, I've never been inside the pass before! Right now, things are basically peaceful outside the pass. The heirs of the Yuan Kingdom are fighting fiercely, and with our encouragement, they'll only fight more and more intensely. As for the internal affairs of the Beiting Protectorate, someone else is handling them. Taking advantage of this lull, I want to come in and see just how chaotic this turmoil can get!"

"If you have the chance, you will naturally cause trouble!" Linghuye laughed. "Li Dachui, do you know that a few years ago, I really wanted to bring you, Xiao Changche and the others under my command? If you could all be used by me, then I would have a better chance of winning the world. So I tolerated you all, but I never thought that in the end, the saying 'raising a tiger will only bring trouble' would come true."

“Regardless of anything else, Commander, your magnanimity is truly remarkable. This is why I didn’t want to hide my arrival from you and instead made a special trip to visit you!” Li Dachui said.

"I want to ask you something!" Linghuye suddenly said.

"Please speak, General!"

"Two years ago, Zhou Zhi came to me and said that you were the posthumous child of the deposed crown prince. Is this true or false?"

Li Dachui laughed heartily: "Didn't the commander investigate very thoroughly? He even found out the details of the village where I lived when I was a child. Why are you asking about this now?"

“Indeed, the investigation was very thorough, but what is false can be true, and what is true can be false. Zhou Zhi is not a delusional person! So I want to ask you something.”

"General, does it really matter whether it is or isn't?" Li Dachui took a sip of tea. "If one day my strength reaches a certain level, then if I declare myself to be, countless people will testify for me. If I don't have that strength, and I dare to say that, countless people will come to kill me and ridicule me. History is always written and painted by the victors. The truth is often not that important, is it?"

“That’s absolutely right!” Linghu Ye wholeheartedly agreed: “If I succeed, will you still stand by what you said before?”

"If you succeed, I will guard the northern frontier for you?" Li Dachui said with a smile.

“Exactly!” Linghu Ye said, “I can feel the importance of time. If I give you ten years, the Northern Frontier will likely change drastically. Therefore, I must become the number one person in the world within ten years. By then, I don’t want to send a large army to fight you again. So, I want to make a gentleman’s agreement with you. What do you say? If I succeed, you will guard the Northern Frontier for me. If I fail and you enter the pass, I, Linghu Ye, will gladly be your vanguard. Li Dachui, do you dare?”

Li Dachui put down his teacup and extended his hand: "A gentleman's word is his bond!"

"It's hard to chase a horse!"

Linghu Ye also reached out and exchanged three blows with Li Dachui, thus establishing a simple alliance.

The two exchanged a smile, both seemingly sharing a sense of camaraderie.

Both Linghu Ye and Li Dachui have an extraordinary level of confidence in their strength, judgment, and abilities.

They all believed that they would be the ones laughing last.

Therefore, on this basis, being able to recruit a great general to serve one's own purposes is naturally something to be celebrated.

As for who ultimately wins and who loses, or whether both lose and become dust in history, only time will tell.

"Next, I'm going to Luoyang!" Li Dachui said. "The commander-in-chief and He Zudao are naturally on some terms. Could you give me some tokens so I can come and go freely there?"

"With your martial arts cultivation, do you still need this?" Linghu Ye asked, somewhat puzzled.

"With this, things will naturally be easier!" Li Dachui smiled slightly: "He Zudao is about to attack Luoyang, and the commander-in-chief must have given him support, as have other forces. However, Luoyang must have received word of this and is on high alert. I heard that Kou Zhong has gone to Luoyang. I have to go and see such a big scene!"

"Kou Zhong is in Luoyang?" Linghu Ye narrowed his eyes. "Are you so well-informed, or just guessing?"

Li Dachui smiled without saying a word.

"I also know that some powerful families have even sent innate masters to help He Zudao attack Luoyang. Everyone is hoping that He Zudao will break through Luoyang and Chang'an so that you can all rush in, right?"

"This is exactly what everyone wants!" Linghu Ye laughed heartily. "If He Zudao wants to be the first, then let's grant his wish."

"Poor He Zudao, his future is bleak!"

“You chose this path yourself, there’s nothing to complain about!” Linghu Ye said, “You want to go to Luoyang just to watch the show? I feel like you have ulterior motives! However, I don’t have much of a relationship with He Zudao, but I do have some dealings with his subordinate Feng Congwen. Once you get there, go and find that person.”

(End of this chapter)