knife

Chapter 555 Game within a game
Li Dachui has his own ideas.

Jiang Qian naturally had her own plans.

Li Dachui, together with Xiang Ying and Xiong Yi, set up a scheme, and in this game, they also dragged He Zudao into it. Whether he wanted to or not, he had no choice but to enter the game.

Jiang Qian, on the other hand, built her own scheme within the framework of Li Dachui's scheme.

Li Dachui hoped that the State of Chu would fall into greater strife and internal strife, ideally with the Empress Dowager's faction and the Royalist faction directly tearing each other apart, just like the current Qin Dynasty, where everyone is constantly fighting each other, so that no one has the extra energy to interfere in other people's affairs.

As for Jiang Qian, she has never found an opportunity to deal with Xiang Ying and Xiong Yi, these old men.

I can't find an excuse!
After the Battle of Xiangcheng, these two cunning old foxes immediately retreated into the background and acted extremely obedient in front of the world, which made Jiang Qian feel like a dog gnawing on a stone millstone, with nowhere to start.

If you nitpick, you'll inevitably become the target of public criticism.

But if these old guys get moving, things will be much easier.

You gathered troops in Danyang City to fight and attacked the imperial city. No matter where you look at it, that's blatant treason and rebellion. It's only natural that I deal with you.

Jiang Qian once told Li Dachui that some of the policies currently being implemented by the Beiting Protectorate outside the Great Wall were not something she didn't want to do, but rather something she couldn't do.

Like the Qin state, the Chu state, after hundreds of years of ups and downs, had its wealth highly concentrated in the hands of a few, and social conflicts were on the verge of exploding.

If Chu had lost the Battle of Xiangcheng five years ago, it would have been Chu that collapsed, while Qin would have continued to live a precarious existence for a while longer.

But Qin lost, and as a result, Qin collapsed quickly, while Chu gained a chance to catch its breath.

After that battle, Jiang Qian, who had gained immense prestige, purged a group of people who opposed her. Such political purges are not uncommon in history, and people are used to them and not surprised.

Therefore, the Royalist faction, led by Xiang Ying and Xiong Yi, took a step back, and a balance was reached.

This battlefield victory brought her prestige among the people, and the court intrigue brought her a great deal of wealth, finally allowing Jiang Qian to gain a foothold.

However, the deep-seated contradictions within the State of Chu itself remained unresolved.

It only delayed the time it would erupt.

If she could seize this opportunity to take down Xiang Ying and Xiong Yi, Jiang Qian felt she could gain at least ten more years to reorganize the internal affairs.

The Xiang Ying family and the Xiong Yi family are the most elite families in the Chu Kingdom. Compared to them, the Zhu family, who spent millions of taels of silver to buy their lives, and the Lin family, who plundered every inch of Yong'an County, are nothing but small fry.

According to the intelligence gathered by Tianluo, the Xiang family owns millions of acres of farmland in various parts of the Great Chu. If you include their houses, shops, caravans, mines, and so on, it would not be an exaggeration to say that they are as rich as a country.

His family's annual net income is slightly more than the national treasury's.

The income in Da Chu's accounts seems plentiful, but when you look at the expenses, things aren't so great. When you compare the two, the figure becomes negative.

The Xiong Yi family was slightly inferior to the Xiang Ying family, but it was still a behemoth.

Jiang Qian felt that if she could overthrow these two families and confiscate their assets, she could immediately be described as wealthy and powerful.

Think back to five years ago, after I distributed the confiscated land to the soldiers who fought alongside me in Xiangyang, they followed me wholeheartedly. They didn't even need me to say a word; they automatically began to attack the remaining forces of the fallen families.

These soldiers were also worried that those guys would turn the tables and cause them to lose all the wealth they had risked their lives for!

So Jiang Qian is going to use the same old trick again.

By defeating these powerful clans, one can reap both political and financial rewards, and the entire Chu state can be revitalized in an instant.

Therefore, in the early to middle part of the game, Jiang Qian and Li Dachui were truly in sync, hitting it off immediately. But in the second half, a decisive battle was inevitable between them.

Li Dachui originally thought he had the upper hand.

With Xiang Ying and Xiong Yi wielding immense power, and with Na Wei's addition, they could deliver a devastating blow to Jiang Qian in a very short time, completely seizing control of the entire Danyang.

Even if Jiang Qian returns to Danyang, she will be helpless in the face of this mess. The best place for her to go is Ruyin County and Yong'an County. If Han Tan and He Jiong are truly loyal to her, then congratulations to the Chu Kingdom, a civil war is about to begin.

But the situation is different now. Jiang Qian was prepared, and it is still unknown who will emerge victorious in Danyang City.

Moreover, if Danyang City can be held up for a while and Jiang Qian returns successfully, Xiang Xiong and his companion will undoubtedly be defeated.

The two set up a trap, and the entire Chu state, including the eight towns south of the Qin state, were mobilized.

The Shu Commandery's navy sailed down the river and engaged in a struggle with the Chu navy, led by Wang Dao, son of Wang Pu, on the waters around Badong and Zigui.

Meanwhile, in Xiangcheng, He Zudao's general Feng Kuan mobilized his main force and, with the assistance of Ke Wuji in Xingxian and Ningxian, marched directly into Yong'an County. There, they engaged in a fierce battle with He Jiong, a general of the Chu state, aiming to seize Yong'an and thus threaten the Jianghan Plain.

He Zudao then prepared his troops and threatened Ruyin County, making Han Tan of Ruyin County hesitant to send troops to support He Jiong.

While the fighting in these directions appears to be quite intense and lively, the real core of the conflict lies in Danyang City.

Once one side achieves final victory, the fighting on the other fronts will immediately come to an abrupt end.

In Danyang, the two sides, having exhausted all their scheming, finally faced off.

Within a single day, Xiang Ying and Xiong Yi gathered several thousand elite troops and launched a direct attack on the imperial palace. Under Zhou Zheng's leadership, the Danyang County troops basically controlled most of the Danyang area.

However, in the capital city, the elite Tiger Army led by He Han and Jiang Chong was well prepared and defended the capital to the death. Although the battle was very difficult, it seemed unlikely that they could break through the capital city in a short period of time.

Outside the city, Lin Yunqi and Na Wei were also locked in a fierce battle.

Lin Yunqi underestimated Na Wei and his Southwest Wolf Soldiers. If it weren't for prior preparations and the advantage of terrain, the Xianrenling defense line would probably have been breached by the enemy very soon.

Lin Yunqi could only barely hold on.

He knew very well that once Na Wei entered Danyang City, the situation inside the city would be immediately disrupted.

What sustained their arduous struggle and unwavering hope was the naval force on the river, and the warship that represented the Empress Dowager's imperial carriage.

The war will end as soon as the Empress Dowager arrives.

Xiang Ying and Xiong Yi were naturally aware of this fact. Time was of the essence to them; taking over the capital and seizing the emperor was of utmost urgency.

On the imperial city wall, He Han stood with his hand on his sword, looking at Xiang Ying, who was riding a horse under a fluttering banner in the distance, and laughed loudly: "Xiang Ying, I heard that you have already entered the Innate Realm and are an Innate Realm expert. Do you have the guts to fight me?"

Beneath the battle flag, Xiang Ying sneered, "Such a clumsy plan, and you dare to show it to me? Heh heh, truly trying to teach a master craftsman how to use his axe in front of Lu Ban!"

Xiong Yi nodded and said, "Jiang Chong should be hiding inside the city! General, there's no need to pay attention to this kind of provocation. Just command the army!"

"Of course! To lure me into the city and trap me, or even carry out a decapitation strike, ha, that's truly wishful thinking!"

"Three days, General Xiang! We only have three days. The fast boats departing from Danyang City will take at most two days to reach Yunwu Mountain. Once the Demon Queen hears the news and returns, she can sail downstream in one day, which will be more than enough!" Xiong Yi said, "If we cannot capture the capital and reclaim the emperor in three days, we will have lost!"

(End of this chapter)