knife

Chapter 338 What to do?
Linghu Zhishu drank one cup of wine after another.

I'm so miserable.

Bad news always comes one after another.

It's true that good fortune never comes in pairs, but misfortunes never come singly.

Not long after receiving news of the defeat and capture of Prince Ji's heir, Li Huimin, came the devastating news of the fall of Chengdu.

Outside the city of Chengdu, a fierce battle ensued, with Tang Yin, the patriarch of the Tang family, personally leading his elite troops into battle against Li Dachui.

After a fierce battle that lasted for half a day, Tang Yin was defeated and died on the spot.

The fact that a master of innate talent died on the battlefield dates back to the founding war of the Qin Dynasty.

At that time, the masters of Qin and Yong were fighting to the death on the battlefield. Neither side had any way out, which is why there were cases of innate masters dying on the spot.

Since then, the same thing has never happened again.

Centuries later, Tang Yin continued the brutal battle for supremacy that had once raged.

If even a master of innate level can die in battle, then who is safe?
Linghu Zhishu sighed.

I lost another game.

Although strictly speaking, this time it wasn't because of him, Linghu Zhishu still couldn't shake off the sense of frustration in his heart.

Li Dachui, what a clever scheme!

Putting aside his earth-shattering military operation of crossing the Motianling Mountains, his series of schemes after capturing Mianzhu alone are enough to make people admire him.

Everyone thought he was planning to take advantage of the city's vulnerability to conquer Chengdu, but he had his sights set on Li Huimin.

After feinting and wiping out Li Huimin's 10,000 elite troops, the chances of Chengdu falling were practically slim.

Now, the tens of thousands of troops at Jianmen Pass have become an isolated force.

Without logistical support from the rear, this army cannot hold out for long.

It's a foregone conclusion that Sichuan will fall into Li Dachui's hands.

This is not good news for the Linghu family.

After downing the wine in his cup in one gulp, Linghu Zhishu stood up and strode outside.

The matter in Shu is now considered closed, but we can't let Li Dachui win so easily. We have to leave him with some loose ends, so that the Linghu family can have something to look forward to.

This matter, however, will fall on Tang Xiaofeng's shoulders.

The atmosphere in the lobby was quite oppressive.

In the center was Tang Yin's memorial tablet, with incense smoke curling around it. Tang Xiaofeng knelt at the front, burning paper offerings into the brazier one by one. On the left and right sides, Tang family members dressed in mourning knelt down.

Linghu Zhishu is a very detail-oriented person, so today he specially wore a solemn and dignified black outfit.

Enter the main hall, pay homage to the memorial tablet in the center, and then offer incense.

Then he stood up, stepped forward, and helped Tang Xiaofeng, who was kneeling in return, to his feet.

Another master of innate skill has died at the hands of Li Dachui.

If the uncle's guess that Yang Jian and Kou Zhong died at the same rate as Li Dachui is true, then three innate masters died at Li Dachui's hands.

How many innate masters are there in the world?

In just a few months, three of them were lost.

"Brother Tang, may I speak to you in private?" Linghu Zhishu said.

Leading Linghu Zhishu to a side hall, Tang Xiaofeng's eyes were red with remorse: "If I had listened to Brother Linghu and made a decision earlier, things wouldn't be like this today, and my father would have died because of it!"

“Li the villain had planned this all along, proceeding step by step. We were just one step behind, and now we’re at his mercy!” Linghu Zhishu sighed. “Things have come to this point, we can’t just lament our helplessness. What does Brother Tang plan to do next?”

"Of course, we must raise the army at Jianmen Pass, return to punish the traitors, and avenge our father's death!" Tang Xiaofeng said bitterly.

Linghu Zhishu pondered for a long time before saying, "Brother Tang is heartbroken over the death of Lord Tang, and I, Linghu, feel the same way. However, returning to Chengdu might not be a wise move!"

"What do you mean, Brother Linghu?" Tang Xiaofeng said somewhat angrily, "What can I do now? Just as I said before, every day we delay, the supplies here at Jianmen Pass will be less, and the morale of the soldiers will drop. While everyone still shares the same hatred for the enemy, we should quickly return to the army. Maybe we can still turn the tide."

"Brother Tang, have you forgotten how Prince Li Huimin was defeated and captured?" Linghu Zhishu asked slowly.

Tang Xiaofeng was speechless.

Li Huimin led 30,000 troops to Jianmen Pass. On the way, he heard that Chengdu was besieged, so he led more than 10,000 elite troops back to rescue it. However, he was ambushed along the way. Exhausted, he had just left the mountains when he ran into the enemy's elite troops and his entire army was wiped out.

The 20,000 new recruits, led by Tang Jingfeng, who were slowly advancing behind them, were so frightened by this that they collapsed without a fight.

In the end, Tang Jingfeng had no choice but to bring the three thousand men he could control to Jianmen Pass.

“Li Dachui has already taken control of the situation. With Zhang Songlin and other Shu people colluding with him, he will soon be able to reorganize the Shu troops. I'm afraid that he has already laid a trap in these mountains. Even if we don't fight Brother Tang, just trapping him in these mountains will surely cause him to collapse without a fight in no time!” Linghu Zhishu analyzed.

"Moreover, if Brother Tang leads his elite troops away from Jianmen Pass, this place will inevitably fall into Wu De's hands. At that time, Brother Tang will truly be unable to advance or retreat, and will have nowhere to be buried!"

Tang Xiaofeng was not angered by Linghu Zhishu's rudeness. On the contrary, as a general in charge of troops, he was naturally aware of this possibility. Moreover, this possibility was quite high.

"In Brother Linghu's opinion, what should I do now?"

"Leave Shu!" Linghu Zhishu looked at Tang Xiaofeng: "Brother Tang can't go back to Shu now. If we hesitate any longer, I'm afraid the Tang family won't even have anyone to sweep the tombs and offer incense in the future."

"Come out of Shu?"

“Yes!” Linghu Zhishu nodded emphatically: “Although Wu De has stationed his troops at Jiguanyan, I’ve seen it, and his stronghold is only for defense against your attack. If you launch a large-scale attack, he will either watch you leave or come out of his stronghold to stop you and engage you in open battle. Are you afraid of him?”

Tang Xiaofeng took a deep breath.

If Wu De dared to engage him in open battle, he wouldn't have set up camp at Jiguan Rock and focused on its defense.

Because most of the elite troops were taken away by Li Dachui.

Even after these days of training, the troops at Jiguanyan were only able to defend themselves without panicking.

Linghu Zhishu's idea is feasible.

With the army marching out of Jinniu Road, Wu De would certainly not dare to confront them head-on.

The problem is, once he leaves, he may never be able to come back, and from then on he will have to live under someone else's roof.

After leaving Shu, his tens of thousands of troops had no territory, no supplies, and no connections. The only person they could rely on was Linghu Zhishu.

And what I need to do next is obvious.

That is to become Linghu Ye's pawn in his struggle for power, fighting for him in the east and west, and devoting oneself to the cause.

"This is a matter of great importance, and I cannot make the decision alone. I need to discuss it with everyone before I can make a decision!" Tang Xiaofeng said.

Linghu Zhishu nodded and said, "Alright, Brother Tang, but you must be quick. I'll say it again: in the current situation, whatever decision you make, you must act quickly, even if it's a wrong decision, it's better than not making a decision at all. Because every day you hesitate, you'll push yourself one step closer to your doom."

"I will give you an answer as soon as possible!" Tang Xiaofeng said confidently.

After passing through Xiaojianmen Pass, Quanxin returned to his bedroom with a long sigh and threw himself heavily onto the bed.

No one could have imagined that the situation would deteriorate to this extent in such a short period of time.

Chengdu was lost, and even Tang Yin, the pillar of Sichuan, died on the spot. What was even more unimaginable was that such a foreign army was able to gain such a strong response when it entered Sichuan, with countless people in Sichuan rising up in support.

This was not a force that a few bandits raised by others could create. At least when his family in Chengdu came to inform him, they said that as many as 200,000 people were besieging the city.

The people of Shu have always been united. When did they become so united that they would join outsiders in attacking their own people?
What's next?
Ordinary people don't need to consider this issue; they go with the flow and go wherever the tide takes them.

But someone like myself can't help but consider it.

"General Quan seems very troubled!" A voice suddenly rang out in the room.

The sound wasn't loud, but to a completely new ear, it was like a bolt from the blue. Instead of moving outwards, the person suddenly shrank inwards, disappearing into the bed. Then, sprang up, tearing open the curtains and heading straight for the roof.

His quick reaction and swift response truly befit a ninth-rank master.

Climbing onto the roof, Quanxin looked down and saw only a young man sitting at a square table in his room, holding a plate of pastries in one hand and pouring tea with the other. Quanxin looked up at the roof with a smile on his lips.

It was completely impossible to discern the depth of the opponent's martial arts cultivation.

With my eyes closed, I couldn't sense the person's presence at all.

When I entered the house, there was clearly no such person there.

A snap.

Sweat dripped from his forehead, landing on the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust.

A master born with exceptional talent.

And the identity of this innate master is self-evident.

This must be the same person who killed Tang Yin in Chengdu not long ago.

Li Dachui as described by Linghu Zhishu.

If the other party was able to approach without my knowledge, then it is obvious that killing me would be a piece of cake for them.

"General Quan, come down. If I had any ill intentions towards you, you wouldn't have had the chance to come up to the roof!" Li Dachui laughed, picked up his teacup, gestured towards Quan Xin on the roof beam, and then drank it all in one gulp.

I landed with great excitement, but my landing was a bit unsteady; my legs buckled and I almost fell.

"Please sit down!" Li Dachui said with a smile, pointing to the person opposite him.

Quanxin swallowed hard, looked outside, and slowly walked to sit down opposite Li Dachui.

With just a shout, the guards outside could rush in, and in just a few breaths, the army could surround the place.

But he feared that he would be killed by Li Dachui before the army could surround him.

(End of this chapter)