knife

Chapter 343 A spirit of perseverance despite repeated defeats is commendable.

Linghu Zhishu walked while spitting blood, and drank alcohol as he did so.

This greatly worried the two guards accompanying them.

“Young master, victory and defeat are common occurrences in war, there’s no need to take it too seriously!” an elder advised.

Taking a sip of wine and spitting out a mouthful of blood, Linghu Zhishu said, "Of course I know that, but to keep losing and never win a single game is just too disheartening."

The two guards remained silent.

As Linghu Zhishu's two closest bodyguards, they were naturally well aware of their young master's rivalry with Li Dachui over the past few years.

Every failure was a huge blow to Linghu Zhishu.

“Young Master, I think that Protector Li admires you quite a bit. Although we are ruining his plans, he doesn’t seem to have much hostility towards you!” Another person tried to comfort Linghu Zhishu from another angle.

"What's so satisfying about defeating an idiot?" Linghu Zhishu sighed to the heavens, "Only by defeating someone like me time and time again will his confidence soar and he feel even more superior!"

At this point, he felt a metallic taste in his throat and spat out a mouthful of blood, which was like a shower of flowers, startling both guards. One of them quickly handed him a water pouch.

Pushing aside the water pouch, Linghu Zhishu picked up the wine gourd and rinsed his mouth with the wine.

"Young master, let's not dwell on these unhappy things. Why don't we think back to when we were at our peak?"

The guard's continued persuasion only made Linghu Zhishu more heartbroken, her eyes reddening slightly: "To recall past happiness in the most miserable situation is the greatest pain in the world!"

When the two guards saw that Linghu Zhishu was crying, they panicked.

Has his willpower been completely destroyed by his opponent?
If that's the case, then he'll become a useless person. With that kind of mentality, he won't have any confidence when facing Li Dachui again.

Wiping away her tears, Linghu Zhishu raised her head again.

“Old Zhou, go back immediately and report to the commander-in-chief about the situation in Sichuan. It’s a fait accompli that Li Dachui has taken control of Sichuan, and our strategy needs to be adjusted accordingly. Also, the Wei family probably doesn’t know that Li Dachui has personally intervened in this matter. We might as well inform Wei Zhengdao through some channels. Wei Zhengdao is not exactly a magnanimous person. Let’s create a rift between them.”

"Okay." Old Zhou nodded repeatedly.

"In addition, we might as well reveal the fact that Li Dachui is said to be the posthumous son of the former Crown Prince Li Zemin!" Linghu Zhishu pondered for a moment and said.

"What?" Old Zhou was shocked. "Li Dachui is the posthumous son of the former crown prince? This is no small matter."

Linghu Zhishu curled his lips: "We were also very surprised when we first heard about this, but after a detailed investigation, we found out that it was a scheme set up by that old bastard Zhou Zhi. But now we can use it. Wei Zhengdao was the main instigator who killed Li Ze and He Qingqiu. Now that he knows that Sichuan has fallen into Li Dachui's hands, I want to see if he still dares to cooperate with Li Dachui without worry."

Old Zhou nodded repeatedly: "Once the seeds of suspicion are sown, they will eventually grow into towering trees that shake the mountains!"

Linghu Zhishu seemed to be in a better mood, and a smile appeared on his face.

"Young master sent me back. Are you planning to go out and relax? That's good. You've been busy all year and haven't had a proper rest. This is a good opportunity to go out and have a look around!" Old Zhou smiled.

"Take a walk?" Linghu Zhishu chuckled. "Indeed, I need to go for a walk. Tell the Commander-in-Chief I'm going to the South!"

"South?" Zhou Zhou was taken aback.

Linghu Zhishu casually drew the knife from Lao Zhou's waist and carved on the roadside rock. In a short while, the entire map of the Qin Dynasty appeared on the rock.

With a single thrust of the blade, a deep pit appeared beyond the pass; with another flash of light, Sichuan was transformed into a deep abyss. Sheathing his sword, Linghu Zhishu gazed at the map and asked, "Can you see anything?"

Old Zhou thought for a moment, then a look of realization dawned on his face: "You mean, Li Dachui's next target might be in the south?"

“It’s not just possible, it’s certain!” Linghu Zhishu said, “He Zudao is currently fighting with those local forces in the south, causing chaos in the south, and Li Dachui loves to profit from chaos. In his plan, he has already gained momentum outside the pass, and in the southwest, Shu has also settled down. Next, his pieces will inevitably fall to the southeast. If he succeeds in this as well, a three-way balance of power will be formed. Once he leads his troops into the pass, troops from these two directions will rise up in response, and then the trend will be irreversible!”

As Linghu Zhishu poked another hole in the southeast direction of the rock, Old Zhou stared at the three holes, and what appeared before his eyes were three armies marching towards the Central Plains from three different directions, eventually converging on Chang'an.

“The situation in the south is chaotic right now, and you don’t have enough manpower!” Old Zhou said in a low voice. “After I get back, I will quickly send the Wolfsburg elites to the southeast to strengthen the forces there. No matter what, we cannot let Li Dachui succeed in this direction again!”

“That’s exactly right!” Linghu Zhishu said, “He Zudao should be much stronger than Li Shen and the others. The South will definitely see a fierce battle. I’ll go there and have another fight with Li Dachui!”

At the highest point of Jianmen Pass, Li Dachui and Wu De stood side by side, gazing at the endless mountains before them. In their field of vision, thick smoke billowed straight into the sky from many places.

That was to purge some of the loyalists of Prince Ji and the Tang family.

Although Tang Xiaofeng, Tang Jingfeng, and other direct descendants of the Tang family were captured in one fell swoop, there were still quite a few people in the grassroots units. It was inevitable that some rebellions and assassinations would occur during the reorganization process. However, since the middle and upper levels had reached a consensus and everything had been arranged, it was basically impossible for some junior officers to cause any major trouble. They would only cause some trouble for their superiors.

Li Dachui and Wu De didn't even bother with the matter, leaving everything to Quanxin. This was both a test for Quanxin and a way of showing their trust in him.

Although Wu De's army had already entered Jianmen Pass, Li Dachui did not strip Wu De of his new military power. Instead, he handed over all matters concerning Jianmen Pass to Wu De.

What Li Dachui needs now is stability, which neither he nor Wu De can perfectly achieve, but Quanxin can undoubtedly do so.

"Once the entire Shu region is pacified, can Quanxin truly put everything aside and go beyond the Great Wall to start from scratch?" Wu De was somewhat unsure.

"Where does it start from scratch?" Li Dachui shook his head and said, "I promised him that I would let him take the entire family and its wealth, as well as the subordinates who were willing to go with him. With people, horses, and money, we would even give him territory. Although he is an outsider, he will become a local figure in the area outside the Great Wall."

“Li Duhu is indeed becoming more and more adept at using people!” Wu De praised. “Xin Quan and his family are not bad in strength, but they are unfamiliar with the place and people outside the pass. If they want to gain a foothold, they will definitely have to rely on the Protectorate. In this way, the Protectorate will have another powerful card to counterbalance the existing forces outside the pass and maintain the balance.”

Li Dachui smiled slightly, and that was indeed the case.

The area outside the pass was originally dominated by various powerful forces. Previously, Linghuye was first, Tai'an City was second, Baoping City was third, and Xuanwu Prefecture should be ranked fourth. Other small and medium-sized forces were as numerous as carp crossing the river.

In the past two years, the Linghu clan entered the pass, the power of Tai'an City was in Longzhou, the Yan clan of Baoping City fell, and Xuanwu Prefecture has nominally submitted to the Protectorate. Although the powerful Chang clan has bet on both the Linghu clan and Li Dachui, it is clear that Chang Jian favors Li Dachui more.

The consolidation of major powers outside the pass has been completed, but smaller powers are still acting independently, which is clearly not what Li Dachui wants.

But any small or medium-sized forces that still exist naturally have their reasons for existing.

You can't just execute someone who has committed no crime.

If someone is being respectful and you just go up to them and slap them a few times, nobody will be happy about it, right? If you slap them too often, other people will inevitably start to wonder if they'll be the next one to get slapped.

Where there is oppression, there is resistance.

This is a true saying.

Just like in Shu, no one dared to rebel before, but after someone started it, the rebellious sentiment erupted like a volcano, directly burning Prince Ji and Li Shen to ashes.

Of course, the current policies implemented outside the pass would not lead to such a situation of public outrage, but in Li Dachui's view, this situation of local separatism and each region acting independently must be corrected.

Verbal compliance and nominal obedience are not the correct approach.

The right path is to reform the local administration and replace it with centrally appointed officials.

Since we can't take action openly, let's throw a catfish in and let it thrash around a bit.

The Quan family is like this catfish.

Outside the Great Wall, there can only be one voice, one government, and one army.

All remaining forces should unite around this government, offer advice and contribute their strength to ensure that this army is invincible and victorious in every battle.

Only in this way can we ensure that we obtain greater benefits.

Don't just focus your attention on this small piece of land outside the pass.

We need to look to the future and make the pie bigger.

If some people really don't want to work together to make a big pancake, and are always thinking about dividing up this small pancake in front of them, then Li Dachui will make sure they don't even get to eat the crumbs.

However, the current situation outside the Great Wall is now considered an internal conflict among the people, and we can only proceed step by step. Decisive and drastic measures are no longer suitable.

But in Sichuan, it was the perfect time for a grand and decisive campaign.

A vigorous movement to mobilize the masses to overthrow local tyrants, distribute land, and equalize wealth will soon unfold.

This movement will bring about a huge change in the social class in Sichuan. A considerable number of wealthy families will disappear, and a large number of proletarians will become propertied. These people will be the foundation for Li Dachui to firmly control Sichuan.

Those who have stable property have stable minds.

In order to keep what they have gained, these people have no choice but to stick closely around the current government.

Otherwise, if those from the past were to return and launch a counterattack, they would not only lose their wealth but also their lives.

(End of this chapter)