knife

Chapter 351 Meet
Wei Yi walked to the large map hanging on the wall and stared at it for a long time.

One must be strong to forge iron. If I have the strength to defeat Linghu Ye's army head-on, why should I care about Li Dachui? If I am strong, why would Zhang Songlin and Wu De switch sides?

"Hold Hedong County, control Tongguan, join forces with Zhang Quanyi, firmly control this area, and fight a protracted war with Linghuye. As long as we can hold out until next spring's planting season, Linghuye's offensive will not be able to maintain its current intensity!" Wei Yi said.

Wei Zhengdao nodded.

If they can hold out until next spring, the hundreds of thousands of able-bodied men that Linghuye has mobilized must return home to do spring plowing; otherwise, if you miss a moment of farming, you will miss a whole year of farming.

Without these laborers to transport supplies, build bridges and roads, the army's combat effectiveness would be greatly reduced.

Further on, as summer approaches, the scorching heat will severely dampen the soldiers' morale, and food supplies will be at their most scarce of the year. Linghuye may not be able to hold out any longer.

Chang'an, on the other hand, had no shortage of food.

Luoyang also has no shortage of food.

The grain reserves in these two areas are sufficient to support the army for at least two to three years, not including ordinary people.

However, as long as the front line can hold off Linghuye's attack, there are plenty of farmlands around Chang'an that can be cultivated.

"Yongfeng Warehouse must be defended! It absolutely cannot fall into Linghuye's hands," Wei Yi said, pointing to a point on the map. For a military strategist like Linghuye, the importance of Yongfeng Warehouse was immediately apparent.

This area will definitely be a key point of contention in the future.

Taking Yongfeng Granary would not only secure a stable grain supply, but also block the passage for the Tongguan garrison to advance westward to aid Chang'an.

"The inspection team of 5,000 men will set off immediately to reinforce Yongfeng Warehouse." Wei Zhengdao had just spoken when he suddenly remembered that the inspection team was created by Wu De, and Wu De was now hanging around with Li Dachui. It was really hard to say whose team the inspection team actually belonged to.

The father and son exchanged a glance, both seeing the helplessness in each other's eyes.

No matter how you look at it, you can't get around Li Dachui.

Chang'an could not spare any more elite troops, after all, Chang'an was more important than Yongfengcang.

Chang'an's ability to hold out in the long term also depends on the strong support from Shu. As long as Shu continues to supply Chang'an with resources, Chang'an will have more confidence to fight a protracted war with Linghu Ye.

“Linghu Ye’s strength is insufficient to launch attacks of equal scale simultaneously on both Luoyang and Chang’an!” Wei Zhengdao pondered. “Therefore, one must be the main focus, and the other the secondary. In my opinion, Linghu Ye will definitely prioritize Chang’an, while Luoyang will be the secondary focus.”

"You want Zhang Quanyi to launch a large-scale attack on Luoyang, forcing Linghu Ye to be distracted?" Wei Yi shook his head and sighed, "Zhang Quanyi is indeed capable of doing so in Luoyang, but the question is, is he willing? His current attitude is ambiguous. I only hope he doesn't betray us. As long as he doesn't side with Linghu Ye, we can tie down a lot of Linghu Ye's forces!"

"So we need to persuade him to join us in this struggle!" Wei Zhengdao smiled and said, "Yesterday, He Bing and I discussed this for a whole afternoon, and this is the conclusion we came to. Perhaps, a title of nobility could sway Zhang Quanyi. Just think about it, someone who has been orphaned since childhood and whose family is not even considered poor, being granted a title of nobility—what an honor that would be!"

Wei Yi laughed heartily: "Father, now that you mention it, I'm almost tempted. Send He Bing to persuade Zhang Quanyi? At this time, is He Bing willing to leave Chang'an? Didn't he say not long ago that he was still trying to control that inspection force?"

“I used to think about it, but now I might not!” Wei Zhengdao shook his head and said, “The Inspection Team belongs to Wu De, and he might be able to take it over. But if the Inspection Team belongs to Li Dachui, can he take it over? Instead of wasting our time in Chang’an, we should go to Luoyang and talk to Zhang Quanyi. They used to be colleagues at the Black Ice Bureau, and He Bing was Zhang Quanyi’s superior. Maybe they can reach an agreement and become allies. That way, they can stand against our Wei family.”

Wei Yi said calmly, "Now I hope they can reach an agreement on cooperation. If Zhang Quanyi cooperates sincerely with us, Luoyang, Tongguan and Chang'an will be connected. As long as we defeat Linghuye once, the Guanlong Group will not side with Linghuye as it is now, and we will have more room to maneuver."

"I hope he succeeds!"

"What title of nobility will be given to Zhang Quanyi?"

“King Lantian!” Wei Zhengdao said with a smile, “I have already had the jade seal of the king carved by the craftsmen, and the gold book and jade plate have also been taken with me. As long as Zhang Quanyi nods, these things will all be his. The court will also issue an imperial edict to announce it to the world.”

"I'm afraid it will make many people envious!"

"As long as they pledge allegiance to the court, what does a mere princely title matter?" "That's true!"

"How should we handle things in Sichuan?"

"Let's play dumb!" Master Wei Zheng sighed. "However, we need to reconsider the plan to move to Sichuan."

There was a loud knocking on the study door, which was then pushed open, and a woman with a stern face walked in.

The two men inside stood up with smiles on their faces.

Wei Yi quickly took two steps forward, supported the woman, and said, "Why did you come out, Mother? I was just about to finish talking to Father and then go to the back to pay my respects to you!"

The woman snorted and said, "How long have you been back? You arrived in the afternoon, and it's already dark. If I hadn't come, you probably would have left again after a while, right?"

"How could that be? I'm not a saint. I would never do something like passing by my own home without going in or not paying respects to my mother!" Wei Yi said with a smile.

"The food is ready in the back. You haven't been back for months. Have a good drink with your parents today, and then stay at home. We can take care of everything tomorrow!" the woman said.

“Mother, I must eat, but I probably can’t stay at home. Tonight I have to go to the Ordnance Department to find their commander, catch him in the dark, and get all the necessary paperwork done for the ordnance I need. I have to go back to Tongguan first thing tomorrow morning. The military situation at the front is very tense right now.”

“You men, sigh!” The woman sighed, then turned to Wei Zheng and said, “This afternoon, Zhang Ruo’s daughter, Miss Qingyun, sent a maid to say that she had just obtained a lot of high-quality furs from beyond the Great Wall. These are rare finds even in Chang’an. She has prepared a few items for us and they will be delivered tomorrow!”

"Zhang Qingyun?" the father and son asked in unison.

"They really are father and son!" The woman glared at Wei Yi and said, "I remember my husband telling me before that Zhang Ruo's daughter should be working for Li Dachui of the Beiting Protectorate. This woman had no dealings with me before, but suddenly she sent someone to tell me about this. I'm afraid her real purpose is to see my husband and talk to him about something, so I agreed."

Zhang Qingyun is Li Dachui's representative in Chang'an. The Wei family father and son are well aware of this, but everyone pretended not to know before.

Now that Zhang Qingyun has openly come to their door, it means she's about to break through this barrier.

"It seems Li Dachui already knows he can't hide this from us anymore, so he's planning to talk to us?" Wei Yi thought for a moment and said.

“That should be it!” Wei Zhengdao nodded and said, “This man has courage, strategy, integrity, and strength. It’s just that his strength lies far beyond the Great Wall. In Sichuan, things only work out because of people. Zhang Songlin and Wu De are merely his partners. I think he needs our help to hold off Linghu Ye, or rather, to fight Linghu Ye to a draw, so that he can reap the benefits!”

"Therefore, we can still cooperate with him!"

"Of course, but he needs to show sincerity."

"Father, if that day really comes, is there a possibility that Li Dachui will emerge victorious?" Wei Yi asked. "What should we do?"

"What if we help him succeed?" Wei Zhengdao shrugged. "When has our Wei family ever thought about sitting in that chair and becoming emperor?"

“Since we’re talking, Li Dachui needs to show some sincerity this time; words alone won’t do!” Wei Yi said. “The inspection team is definitely under his control, so we can see his sincerity by defending Yongfeng Granary this time. If he really wants to cooperate with us, then he has to help us defend Yongfeng Granary with all his might. If he’s just going through the motions, then there’s no point in talking about it. Father, I will prepare a backup plan. If the inspection team doesn’t put in the effort, I will make sure that Yongfeng Granary is in our hands. At the same time, we can also ask him to send troops into the pass to threaten Hedong and Hexi. As long as the army from outside the pass appears within Yangguan, Linghu Ye will have to retreat.”

“You can let him guard Yongfeng Granary, but as for sending troops to fight Linghu Ye, he absolutely won’t do it now!” Wei Zhengdao shook his head and said, “Don’t be fooled by his current dominance outside the pass. Every family has its own problems. He definitely can’t spare any manpower right now. Besides, why not let us fight a fight to the death with Linghu Ye first?”

“Father, I’ll go with you tomorrow. I suspect Li Dachui will come with Zhang Qingyun.”

“It’s too much of a show for father and son to meet him together. You go and take care of your own business!” Wei Zhengdao shook his head: “I don’t think Li Dachui will come tomorrow. What kind of status does he have now? He would definitely think that coming to visit me would be beneath him. So Zhang Qingyun will most likely just be a scout tomorrow, to arrange a time or place for both sides to agree on a time or place!”

"Such a grand display?" Wei Yi grumbled in dissatisfaction.

"He has the resources now, because he has the time and the capital to afford it, while we are in dire straits and need his help!"

(End of this chapter)