knife

Chapter 506 The real opponent

Sitting in the former imperial study, everyone felt much more comfortable than they had been in the Taiji Hall.

Linghu Ye sat cross-legged on the soft couch, while Li Guohua and the others each dragged a brocade stool and sat in front of the couch.

Several years after entering the pass, the Linghu Group finally took over Luoyang and Chang'an, two important cities of the Qin Dynasty. At present, apart from the area outside the pass, Shu County and the eight towns in Jiangnan, the Linghu Group has basically taken control of other places. Even if Linghu Ye cannot take care of some places for the time being, the local forces have already expressed their attitudes.

Linghu Ye can now say that the world has just been settled.

Hundreds of years ago, the Li family achieved the same level as Linghu Ye, then ascended the throne in Chang'an and spent decades pacifying the surrounding areas, eliminating rebellions, and finally establishing the Qin Dynasty, which lasted for three hundred years.

But right now, Linghu Ye doesn't have that thought.

The real threat lies beyond the Great Wall.

The area outside the Great Wall today is vastly different from the area outside the Great Wall hundreds of years ago.

The area outside the Great Qin Dynasty was a wild and untamed land, controlled by barbarians. Although they were extremely vicious, they were far from being a major threat. At most, they were like a mosquito buzzing around you while you were sleeping, annoying but impossible to swat. They might suck a little blood, but they wouldn't seriously endanger you.

But what about the area outside the Great Wall now?
It has millions of people, countless cultivated fertile fields, smooth land and sea trade routes, a city with a strong technological foundation centered on Tai'an City, and a granary centered on Baoping Prefecture.

Of course, what Linghu Ye valued most were the official team led by Li Dachui and the military group led by Xiao Changche. The immense power they had unleashed in the years since he entered the pass had kept Linghu Ye somewhat restless.

He allied with the Tiele, plotting to reunify the divided Yuan Dynasty and create another powerful enemy for the Guanwai Group, but in the end he fell into Li Dachui's trap and was killed.

This is a classic case of killing the chicken and losing the rice instead! Li Dachui used this opportunity to completely wipe out the three divided forces.

If they didn't have this intention, the three divided forces would at least give Li Dachui and Xiao Changche some pause.

Whenever he thinks about these things, Linghu Ye feels like he's shot himself in the foot.

“Li Dachui might really be Li Jimin’s son!” Linghuye said.

The expressions on the faces of everyone in the room were all different.

"General, wasn't it thoroughly investigated back then? This was nothing more than Zhou Zhi, that old bastard, deceiving people!" Wang De said, "Such a case of falsely claiming ancestry is truly the most ridiculous thing in the world, and it only makes us a laughingstock!"

Linghu Ye shook his head: "It's all a mix of truth and deception. I suspect I've fallen for Zhou Zhi's trick. He knows his identity can't withstand scrutiny. Once I find out his true identity, he'll inevitably suspect the kid next to him. So he pulled this stunt to lure me into investigating, and then uncovered what he wanted me to know, making me believe that Zhou Zhi is nothing but a clown. Heh heh, what could be more convincing than something I discovered myself? Now that I think about it, I can only say I admire him."

"Even so, so what?" Li Guohua said disdainfully, "This title is an advantage for him, but it also presents obstacles. It's a double-edged sword; whether it will harm others or himself is still hard to say. Commander, we don't need to let this matter get to us. When our strength is sufficient, we will crush all obstacles!" Linghu Ye laughed, "Guohua understands me best. That's indeed the truth. So, what's more important for us now is to focus on ourselves. However, that kid Li Dachui is cunning, and the forces outside the pass are indeed powerful. If we want to completely defeat our opponent, we have a long way to go."

“You’re just a greenhorn, probably still wet behind the ears. How could you possibly be a match for the Commander-in-Chief?” Wang De said obsequiously. “But I think the one who’s having the biggest headache right now is Wei Zhengdao, isn’t he? Commander-in-Chief, I think we should try to win him over now.”

Linghuye nodded.

This is Wang De's way of surviving.

He is indeed very obsequious and shameless, but that doesn't mean he lacks ability.

There's no other way but to be shameless!

Back in the Northeast, he and Linghuye didn't get along very well. Although he didn't oppose Linghuye, he always wanted to escape. Now it seems that your unwillingness to cooperate and join the team is the original sin!
So now, while he's trying to earn credit, he also has to tear off his mask and act shamelessly from time to time.

He knew that Linghu Ye also needed someone like that. Otherwise, with only a big man like Chang Lei who had no expression on his face and Li Guohua who would shout "General, please!" all around, even the General would find it meaningless!

Even if the general becomes emperor in the future, the people around him still need to be diverse.

"Old Wang is right. I guess Wei Zhengdao already knows about Li Dachui's background, and he must be panicking." Linghu Ye laughed loudly. "Back then, Li Zemin was the mastermind behind the killing. I, Linghu Ye, was at most a pawn carrying out orders. Li Dachui will not rest until he has completely wiped him out. He has no other way to survive except to come to us."

“He will use Hanzhong as leverage to negotiate with us!” Li Guohua said.

“This is his only asset!” Linghu Ye nodded and said, “Hanzhong is the throat of Shu Commandery, and its geographical location is extremely important. If we can take Hanzhong and station a large number of troops there, then the Shu Commandery that Li Dachui has worked so hard to obtain will only be able to exert its full power, less than 20% or 30%. Guohua!”

"What are your orders, Commander?"

“You shall set off to replace Linghu Shili!” Linghu Ye said, “Shili is brave, but he is brave but lacks strategy. Moreover, he has not made many contributions in the past two years, but has suffered one defeat after another. I am worried that he will ruin important matters because he is too eager to make contributions.”

"Alright, I'll be right there. But Commander-in-Chief, what position have you reserved for Wei Zhengdao?"

“Wei Zhengdao is old and can retire now, but I still admire his son Wei Yi!” Linghu Ye said with a smile. “When Wei Yi went to Zhenwu City to deliver the imperial edict, I had a deep conversation with this kid. He is quite promising. I told Wei Zhengdao that the emperor and Hanzhong sent him here, and the Wei family will not be worse off than it is now.”

"In that case, Wei Zhengdao must be completely satisfied!" Li Guohua laughed. "Only the Marshal has such a broad mind to give this formidable enemy such treatment."

“Wei Zhengdao is not a major enemy; Li Dachui is!” Linghu Ye said, “Unite everyone who can be united to form a united front against Li Dachui. Hmm, who said that again? I remember now, it was Li Dachui. When Zhou Zhi brought him to see me back then, he said that to deal with the Yuan people, we should form this united front. Haha, that kid was so green back then. I really didn’t expect that one day he would become my opponent.”

(End of this chapter)