knife

Chapter 564 Taking Everything and Making Nothing
The Battle of Danyang ended yesterday.

Chen Wan, who had been staying near Danyang City to gather information, returned early this morning with the latest news from Danyang City.

The first place to be breached was not the palace, but Xianrenling.

Lin Yunqi, who held the title of Vice Minister of War, led three thousand elite soldiers to garrison at Xianrenling. In Lin Yunqi's view, this was not a difficult task, as he only needed to hold out for two or three days.

Even if Na Wei's Southwest Wolf Soldiers from the southwest were fierce, it would be virtually impossible for a force of only a few thousand men to conquer Xianrenling in a short period of time.

Lin Yunqi miscalculated two points.

Firstly, he needed to hold out for more than three days; secondly, the fighting strength of the Southwest Wolf Soldiers was even greater than he had anticipated.

Especially when a naked, gaunt old woman with only a few leaves hanging from her waist and strange patterns painted on her face began to dance and sing at the foot of Fairy Ridge, the Southwest Wolf Soldiers went mad.

Even Lin Yunqi felt a chill when he saw the woman wielding the colorful snake coiled on her wooden staff as she climbed towards Immortal Ridge, let alone the soldiers.

Even so, he persevered until the fifth day.

But starting from the fourth day, it wasn't just the Southwest Wolf Soldiers attacking Xianrenling anymore. Among the troops at the foot of the mountain were county soldiers from the surrounding counties of Danyang City, as well as some private soldiers from powerful families.

The fact that Empress Dowager Jiang Qian had not appeared for a long time finally made those who were hesitant and indecisive make up their minds.

At this moment, these people chose to stand with Xiang Ying.

Because they had no choice.

By this point, Xiang Ying and Xiong Yi have probably reached their limit of patience. If they don't act now, once the war is over, they will not only lose any benefits they have gained, but they will also have to pay a huge price to ensure that they do not lose their original interests.

The force attacking Xianrenling had grown to 30,000 by the fifth day.

The three thousand troops stationed at Xianrenling were all wiped out, and Lin Yunqi disappeared without a trace.

The fall of Xianrenling immediately triggered a chain reaction.

Tens of thousands of troops poured into Danyang City.

The palace was soon lost.

"Jiang Chong is gone!" Chen Wan glanced at Jiang Qian, who was sitting opposite her with an expressionless face, and whispered, "He left alone. I heard some news that Jiang Chong surrendered. And the Grand Eunuch He Han should have been arrested. He's probably in grave danger!"

“Jiang Chong is a master of innate level, but he is also the patriarch of the Jiang clan,” Li Dachui said, glancing at Jiang Qian.

Jiang Qian interjected, "There's nothing hard to understand. The Jiang family is a powerful clan in Jiangling County with a history spanning hundreds of years, with countless branches and offshoots. I'm using the name of a nearly extinct branch of the Jiang family. They did have a daughter, but she died when she was very young." "Then it's clear!" Li Dachui clapped his hands and said, "Jiang Chong only needs to get rid of this branch; making such a severance isn't difficult. Xiang Ying also has to make a choice, after all, Jiang Chong is also a master of the Innate Realm. If we really push him too far, it won't benefit Xiang Ying at all!"

"That should be the case!" Ke Wuji glanced at Jiang Qian and said, "Even the Jiang clan has betrayed the Empress Dowager, so I'm afraid more and more people will follow suit. Xiang Ying's move is also extremely clever, and I'm afraid it also contains a message for He Jiong and Han Zheng. Even the Empress Dowager's closest relatives can be pardoned, so as long as they turn against her, they can also redeem themselves through meritorious service. It can be said that this example has been set very cleverly!"

Jiang Qian sneered and said, "He Jiong and Han Zheng are not fools. The main reason why the Jiang family was able to get a pardon is the existence of Jiang Chong, a master of innate level. The He family and the Han family do not have that kind of advantage."

"That's true, but we have to admit that Xiang Ying and Xiong Yi played their cards very well!" Li Dachui nodded and said, "Even if He Jiong and Han Zheng are not tempted, we can't guarantee that their subordinates won't be tempted! After all, they will take over the legitimacy of the Great Chu, and the Empress Dowager's identity will likely be exposed, with more secrets being revealed. It's inevitable that the morale of the army and the people of Ruyin and Yong'an will waver!"

“At this time, these two places need a ballast to stabilize the situation!” Ke Wuji nodded and said, “In particular, we need to make He Jiong and Han Zheng feel confident so that they can go all out instead of hesitating and looking back.”

Chen Wan sat to one side, her eyes glancing at this face and that body; this conversation was no longer something she could interrupt.

"Li Dachui, isn't this exactly what you wanted?" Jiang Qian said irritably, "The internal war in Chu is about to break out, and the world will be in chaos. Chu will no longer be able to interfere in the internal war in Qin. You can now focus on dealing with Linghu Ye."

Li Dachui chuckled, remaining silent, but his face betrayed an undisguised smugness.

"What's there to be proud of? It was just good luck. If it weren't for that ship, would I have lost to you?" Jiang Qian sighed.

Ke Wuji bent down to fill his pipe with tobacco, while Chen Wan looked around, then stood up and went to fetch water from the kettle.

Li Dachui and Jiang Qian looked a little off. These two weren't naive newbies; it was easy to tell at a glance.

However, there are some things that you can see but cannot say; it's enough to keep them to yourself.

“Jiang Jiang, so we must get to Yong’an County as soon as possible to have a good talk with He Jiong!” Li Dachui said, “Yong’an is currently facing pressure from Feng Kuan’s troops, and tens of thousands of Tiger Legion’s main force are also there. Not all of these 30,000 Tiger Legion soldiers are loyal to you, are they? Once this matter comes to light, the morale of the Tiger Legion will inevitably be low, and a veteran like Feng Kuan will certainly not let such an opportunity pass.”

Jiang Qian nodded: "But this chaos is also the perfect opportunity for us to turn the tables, take advantage of the situation to wipe out Feng Kuan's forces, and seize strategic locations like Xiangcheng and Fancheng. Feng Kuan thinks he has a great opportunity in front of him, but as long as we get there in time, we can turn this so-called opportunity into a trap for him."

At this point, Jiang Qian glanced at Ke Wuji again and laughed, "If we add the support of your hidden forces within Feng Kuan, we can say that we can take down Feng Kuan without breaking a sweat!"

Li Dachui laughed loudly: "Great minds think alike, that's exactly what I'm thinking too. As for He Zudao, he's currently thinking of walking on two legs. On one hand, he's having Feng Kuan put pressure on Yong'an, and on the other hand, he definitely feels he has more leverage to persuade Han Zheng to join him. When Feng Kuan is defeated and Xiangfan changes hands, the eight towns of Jiangnan will truly become a piece of fat meat, and I estimate everyone will want to take a bite. This man's defeat and demise are imminent!"

"It seems you still harbor deep resentment towards He Zudao and his son!"

"The hatred for killing my father and mother is irreconcilable!" Li Dachui said. "Elder Ke, Jiang Jiang and I will rest for one night and set off for Yong'an tomorrow. You will remain in Danyang, firstly to gather information about the city, and secondly to contact your former cult members. There will definitely be a major battle at Yunwu Mountain, and those cult experts probably won't be able to stay there any longer. Xiang Ying will definitely hunt them down. We in Beiting are eager to find talented people, and as long as they are willing to go, we will make sure they are well taken care of!"

Ke Wuji smiled and nodded. Protector Li was really good at this; he was trying to take advantage of Empress Dowager Jiang completely!

(End of this chapter)