knife

Chapter 571 There are no permanent friends, only permanent interests.

He Yiming's central command headquarters was located in a village.

The village was originally quite large, with dozens of households, but when the army attacked, the people all took their gold, silver and valuables and fled to who knows where.

And so, this village was naturally requisitioned by the army.

As the supreme commander of the entire army, He Yiming naturally occupied the best house in the village.

Although it only has one courtyard, it has a main entrance and a side entrance, with a gatehouse and a gate tower. Compared with other houses in the village, it is indeed a level above.

Zhan Zhao and Luo Liang stepped over the high stone threshold and saw many familiar generals in the courtyard. They nodded to everyone as a greeting.

Lu Xiong walked over and whispered, "The Protector-General is back. There has been a dramatic change in the Chu Kingdom. Jiang Qian has stepped down!"

"Really?" Zhan Zhao was overjoyed.

They are currently waging war against the State of Chu.

At first, due to the unexpected turn of events and the fact that Yong'an County had just changed its governor, they suffered repeated defeats. However, He Jiong was no ordinary person and immediately came up with a countermeasure.

He traded space for time, voluntarily retreating more than a hundred miles and giving up several counties to the other side.

However, he also used this retreat to gather the troops stationed in various places together and then launched a counterattack.

The city of Danyang reacted extremely quickly, with the Tiger Army arriving swiftly to its aid, supported by a navy with overwhelming superiority.

The Tiger Warriors were the elite troops of the Chu state. After being reorganized in Xiangcheng, their combat effectiveness was further enhanced.

When they arrived, the battle in Yong'an County had already reached a stalemate.

With the enemy navy being far more powerful, it was only a matter of time before the tide of battle was turned.

Feng Kuan is already considering the issue of withdrawing troops.

If we persist, we are very likely to suffer a crushing defeat.

Fighting in a place like Yong'an, where you can't compete with your opponent on the water, is like running naked on land, where you could be shot in the rear at any moment.

But if the State of Chu undergoes a dramatic change and Jiang Qian steps down, then things will be different.

It would be strange if the Chu army didn't lose morale.

"So it seems we have a good chance of taking Yong'an!" Zhan Zhao said with a beaming smile.

Lu Xiong nodded: "Not only has the Protector General arrived, but Miss Qingyun and Commander Xiao have also come and are talking with General He inside."

"How exactly did the State of Chu collapse?" "Is that even a question? It was all the Protector-General's doing!" Lu Xiong laughed. "I heard Elder Ke say that wherever the Protector-General goes, something earth-shattering happens. When he entered Chang'an, the Emperor of Qin died, and not long after, Kou Zhong also died. When the Protector-General went to Shu, the Tang Clan of Shu collapsed, and the King of Shu and Old Master Tang also died. These people were all among the most prominent figures in the world! This time, when the Protector-General went to Chu, sure enough, the sky over Chu collapsed again, hehehe!"

As the two were talking, the main door creaked open, and Xiao Le appeared in the doorway, smiling broadly at everyone, saying, "Sorry to keep you all waiting, Protector, please come in!"

"Greetings, Protector-General! You've had a long journey!" The group of military officers entered and bowed in unison.

"Please sit down!" Li Dachui waved his hand with a smile. "It wasn't hard work. I just took a trip to Danyang and saw a lot of beautiful scenery. Master Zhan, congratulations on advancing to the ninth rank of Xuan Yuan. Your martial arts cultivation has reached a new level!"

"This humble general owes all his life to the Protector-General. If it weren't for your rescue, I would probably be nothing but a pile of bones by now!" Zhan Zhao stepped forward. "I am but a common man, incapable of speaking, but I wish to tell you, Protector-General, that I entrust the rest of my life to you!"

Li Dachui laughed loudly, "We're all family, so let's not stand on ceremony. From now on, we'll fight side by side and build a great empire together! What do you all say?"

The people in the room responded in unison.

After everyone was seated, He Yiming glanced at Li Dachui and Zhang Qingyun at the head of the table and spoke first: "Everyone, I'd like to tell you about the current situation in the Chu Kingdom. Would you like to hear it?"

Seeing that He Yiming was still keeping them in suspense, the generals below couldn't help but widen their eyes. Seeing their impatient expressions, He Yiming laughed loudly: "To make a long story short, the Protector General went to Chu this time and cleverly used a scheme to push Xiang Ying and Xiong Yi and other royalists to launch a coup. With the full cooperation of our Protector General, they have succeeded, and Jiang Qian has stepped down."

"Is Jiang Qian dead?" Zhan Zhao asked.

“How can we let him die?” He Yiming shook his head repeatedly: “Jiang Qian has stepped down and become a fallen phoenix. Our Protector General helped her escape all the way. Now Jiang Qian has arrived at He Jiong’s place in Yong’an County.”

Zhan Zhao was taken aback, somewhat confused about the situation. He turned his bewildered gaze to the others in the room, only to find that the other generals were also puzzled. They looked at each other in bewilderment.

Zhang Qingyun coughed lightly and said, "Gentlemen, instigating internal strife in Chu is a crucial step in our Northern Court's struggle for supremacy. Allowing Jiang Qian to remain in power is highly disadvantageous to us, but allowing Xiang Ying and his forces to completely control Chu is also not beneficial. Therefore, letting the two sides fight each other is in our best interest. However, without Jiang Qian, Yong'an and Ruyin are far from being a match for Xiang Ying. Therefore, the Protector-General sent Jiang Qian to Yong'an County!"

"Protector, what should we do next with Yong'an County? We definitely can't continue fighting, right?" Zhan Zhao asked. "If we fight, Xiang Ying will also fight, and we'll be attacked from both sides. I'm afraid even Jiang Qian won't be able to withstand it."

Zhang Qingyun looked at Li Dachui and gestured for him to speak. Clearly, the most exciting part was to be left to Li Dachui.

Li Dachui laughed and said, "Of course we can't fight Jiang Qian anymore, everyone, because from now on, we'll be on Jiang Qian's side."

Having witnessed countless battles and grown accustomed to the carnage of generals, the room was now filled with a sense of utter bewilderment. The fact that the Protector had rescued Jiang Qian earlier was already beyond everyone's expectations, so how could things have suddenly changed so drastically, with the old hen turning into a duck and Jiang Qian becoming allies?
"Gentlemen, our enemy now is Feng Kuan!" Li Dachui said, enunciating each word clearly. "We must unite with He Jiong's forces in Yong'an to wipe out Feng Kuan's main force in Yong'an, then launch a counterattack to seize Xiangcheng and Fancheng, integrating Xingxian, Ningxian, Xiangfan, Yong'an, and Ruyin into a unified whole. In the end, we will take down He Zudao, annex the eight towns of Jiangnan, and with the Shu region connected by water, our strength will be enough to contend with anyone. Only then can we truly secure our foothold."

After Li Dachui's explanation, everyone finally came to their senses.

While many people applauded the move, they were also secretly apprehensive. Whether it was He Yiming, Zhan Zhao, or even Lu Xiong and Liu Chuang below them, they had all been trustworthy, righteous, and loyal in the past. They had just become brothers with Feng Kuan and fought side by side, but now they were about to deal with him. They felt that something was not right.

However, conquering the world and wandering the martial arts world are ultimately very different. They can no longer be considered martial arts people. If they don't change and still cling to the old ways of the martial arts world, they won't be far from failure.

"Gentlemen, this will be our strategic direction for the foreseeable future. No one is to disobey this decision." Li Dachui's tone gradually became serious. "If we fail to defeat Feng Kuan and capture Xiangfan this time, we will likely face a two-pronged attack from He Zudao and the Chu Kingdom. All our previous efforts will be in vain, and we will be the ones who die! Do you all understand?"

Everyone stood up abruptly, bowed, and said, "We understand!"

(End of this chapter)