knife

Chapter 481 How to Turn Resistance into Advantage
From the splitting of the Yuan Dynasty to its complete demise, it seems that only three to five years had passed, but in reality, Li Dachui had been working hard against the Yuan people for more than ten years.

Nothing is ever truly easy or effortless.

There's nothing you can truly get just by luck.

Behind every success story lies a great deal of planning, investment, and even sacrifice.

After years of quiet and continuous investment, the final burst of success is so stunning that people only see the surface and forget the hard work behind it.

Just like the Three Kings Incident back then, inside the Xuanwu Gate, those members of the Azure Dragon Brigade who sacrificed themselves to save the Tiele.

Of the thousands of members of the Azure Dragon Brigade, only two or three hundred managed to break through the encirclement in the end.

More recently, just like the case of Zhou Yi and his group who were arrested and imprisoned by Tiele, their lives were also in limbo; whether to kill them or not was entirely up to Tiele.

If they were truly killed by the Tiele, they would only be pawns sacrificed for the greater good.

Therefore, Zhou Yi didn't have many complaints, because over the years, he had seen, heard about, and even personally planned the sacrifice of countless comrades to achieve certain goals.

So, when it's your turn, what is there to complain about?
If the ending is good, then there's nothing more to say.

Because their investments will yield huge returns once they succeed.

This is no different from soldiers going to the battlefield and risking their lives for wealth and status.

When you die, you are left out of the wind.

To be alive is a matter of luck.

After more than a decade of struggle and hard work, the Yuan Dynasty was finally overthrown. However, how to govern this newly conquered land became another difficult problem for the Beiting Protectorate.

The Yuan Dynasty was a nation that had been established for over a hundred years, and its traditions were deeply ingrained in the hearts of people throughout the north. Completely assimilating and absorbing their culture would not be an easy task.

Without assimilating and attracting the Yuan Kingdom, the Beiting Protectorate would be unable to concentrate its full strength to march into the interior.

Compared to the area outside the Great Wall, the area inside the Great Wall is now a chaotic place with many warlords vying for power. However, joining this game is no easier than taking down the Yuan Dynasty.

More importantly, Li Dachui and his group had been plotting against the Northern Yuan for over a decade, while the Guannei region had only been under their control for the past few years. Although Li Dachui had made remarkable moves, taking over Shu County and now secretly bringing Ning County and Xing County under his control, he still appeared weak and alone, and it was impossible to say for sure that he could secure victory.

"Destroying the Northern Yuan is not the end, but the beginning!" Mao Daxian stood in the center of Wangyue Hall, looking at the high-ranking officials of the Northern Protectorate, and said, "This meeting should have been held after Protector Li returned, but Protector Li is still in the south and his return date is uncertain. Meanwhile, we have many urgent matters to attend to. If we don't establish a plan, everyone will inevitably be constrained or deviate from our main objectives, which would be undesirable!"

Everyone turned their attention to Xiao Changche, who was sitting at the head of the table.

Xiao Changche nodded and said, "I have no objection. The situation inside the pass is becoming increasingly critical. While we were waging our final battle against the Yuan Kingdom, Linghu Ye had also basically eliminated all the forces supporting the Wei clan around Chang'an. Chang'an is now an isolated city, and its fall is only a matter of time. The Wei clan has already begun to move to Shu. After Linghu Ye took Chang'an, he has basically controlled the entire northern part of the pass, and his strength has increased to a new level."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Just as Mao Daxian had said, destroying the Northern Yuan was not the end, but the beginning. From the very beginning, everyone's goal had been to march into the interior and contend for supremacy.

There is an inherent disadvantage between the area outside the pass and the area inside the pass. If the area inside the pass is completely pacified by Linghu Ye, it will be much more difficult for the area outside the pass to make further progress.

That's why Li Dachui entered the pass to manage his affairs and make strategic moves.

“What Protector Xiao said is absolutely right. Although we have now conquered the Northern Yuan and our strength has greatly increased, Linghu Ye is also gradually taking control of the Central Plains. The two sides will inevitably clash in the future, which is something everyone knows.” Mao Daxian said, “Therefore, we have a few very important things to do next. The first thing, I think, is that Protector Li’s identity should be made public to the world.”

In the past, Li Dachui's identity as the posthumous son of the former crown prince would have been tantamount to openly betraying the court, which was almost equivalent to declaring war on the court.

But now the dynasty has collapsed, the world is in chaos, and the emperor in Chang'an is a universally acknowledged puppet, completely controlled by the Wei family. This has caused immense grief and indignation among those who remain loyal to the court.

At this time, if a powerful member of the Li family were to rise to power, it would be tantamount to declaring to the world that the Qin Dynasty was not yet over, and that there were still outstanding members of the royal family who could turn the tide.

If this person is Li Dachui, the Protector-General of the Northern Court Protectorate who destroyed the Northern Yuan, then this bonus would be even greater.

Now, the Wei family is teetering on the brink of collapse. Over the past year, they have been working hard to transfer assets and manpower to Sichuan. By now, there is nothing left that Sichuan needs.

Naturally, the Beiting Protectorate also had to abandon this so-called ally.

“The timing of this announcement needs to be carefully chosen!” Qian Jia said. “My point is to be patient and let them fight the Linghu clan one more time. If we release the news now, I’m afraid the Wei clan will suffer a crushing defeat.”

“This matter should have been handled by Zhi Qiu Yuan, so the timing should be decided by Zhi Qiu Yuan!” Mao Da Xian said.

Ironclad nodded in agreement.

"The second important thing is to absorb and assimilate the Yuan Kingdom we just conquered!" Mao Daxian said. "To forge iron, one must be strong oneself. If we want to advance into the interior and compete for the world, the most important thing is our own strength. If we can completely absorb and assimilate the Yuan Kingdom's power in the shortest time, then our strength will be unparalleled in the world."

"Chief Secretary, how can we eliminate our opponent in the shortest possible time? The Yuan Kingdom is also a powerful nation. Although we have captured its main cities and strategic locations, and its important figures have either been captured or surrendered, the resistance has never ceased," Quan Xin said.

Xiao Dongwei laughed and said, “General Quan, you haven’t been here long and you’re not very familiar with the customs of the people here. To the Yuan people, we are the conquerors and the victors. The Yuan people respect the strong. Whoever beats them, they will follow. That’s why the resistance we’ve encountered isn’t particularly strong.”

Everyone in the room nodded in agreement. Most of the people here had dealt with the Yuan people for half their lives and were quite clear about their character. In fact, people from outside the Great Wall were the same way; they would listen to whoever had the strongest fist.

“Winning is easy, but governing is difficult!” Mao Daxian said. “And turning these past adversaries into our allies on our next journey is even more difficult.”

She clapped her hands, and the door was pushed open. Tu Jiaojiao walked in carrying a stack of documents, and everyone in the room was given a copy.

"These are some of our governance strategies and methods for the Yuan people, covering both military and civilian aspects. Some have already begun pilot programs, while others are still in the planning and design stage. Everyone should take them back and study them carefully, offer their opinions, and once a consensus is reached, they will be officially implemented." Mao Daxian smiled and said, "It's still the old way. We make things clear in advance, and once a decision is made, you have to implement it whether you agree or disagree."

(End of this chapter)