knife

Chapter 592 Foreign Aid
The river wind howled, stirring up layers of waves that surged to the riverbank and crashed heavily against the rocks.

Dressed in a gray robe, He Zudao stood quietly on a reef, watching the warships slowly moving in the middle of the river.

The warships sailed in a long line on the river, with no end in sight. There were more than thirty of them in front of him, and each one was quite different from the warships that He Zudao had seen before.

This is a fleet of ships from Sichuan.

There were warships and transport ships.

The transport ships were drafted very deep, clearly loaded with supplies, either food or various military weapons.

Whether it's Yong'an County or Ruyin County, they have always been at the forefront of the confrontation with the Great Qin. They are not wealthy. Now, tens of thousands of troops have cut off the imperial court's supplies. Without external support, that Tiger Army simply cannot hold on.

If it were only Jiang Qian plotting against him, He Zudao wouldn't be afraid at all.

Even if he lost Yang Lixin and Feng Kuan, it wasn't something he should be at a loss for.

He only needs to maintain the stalemate with Jiang Qian, and both places will collapse without a fight.

But Jiang Qian actually got together with Li Dachui.
Unfortunately, Li Dachui had already taken control of Sichuan before this.

However, after taking control of Shu, Li Dachui focused on developing his navy.

Now, with food and military supplies flowing down from the Land of Abundance in an endless stream, tens of thousands of elite troops have no worries about food or pay, and can naturally unleash their terrifying fighting power.

Those were Jiang Qian's trusted confidants whom she painstakingly cultivated after taking power.

Their equipment is something anyone would covet.

If he doesn't defeat Jiang Qian, he will be in grave danger.

Linghu Ye might not come to fight him, even though he is very weak now, because Linghu Ye can't afford to lose. If he suffers a setback here, it will greatly affect his upcoming duel with Li Dachui.

In Linghu Ye's heart, he felt he wasn't good enough!
Although it's a disheartening conclusion, that's the truth.

But Jiang Qian will definitely come and hit me.

Jiang Qian needs to quickly expand her strength and strengthen herself, otherwise she will be in a very unfavorable situation when facing Xiang Ying and his group's attack.

Unfortunately, he misjudged the situation some time ago, thinking he could get a bargain, but he ended up losing more than he gained, and was turned around and attacked by Jiang Qian and Li Dachui, resulting in a fundamental reversal of power between the two sides.

Previously, she could wait for a better price and negotiate with the people of Chu. But now, her status has plummeted. It's as if she used to be a virgin, but now she's divorced and has a child. How could the rich and handsome man from Chu still offer her a high price?

If it weren't for Jiang Qian in Yong'an County, they probably wouldn't even glance at her!

Thinking of this, he became somewhat annoyed and punched down, shattering a nearby rock.

On the river, Wu De and Fang Xiaomao sat facing each other.

Wu De, as the military commander of Shu Commandery, came to Yong'an Commandery this time mainly to discuss the cooperation between the two sides. For a long time, Yong'an and Ruyin have been in great need of continuous support from Shu.

Of course, for this support to arrive smoothly, the first requirement is that this great river flows unimpeded.

The Chu navy was renowned.

Even if it were to split in two now, it would still cause great trouble for our side.

This time, Fang Xiaomao was directly transferred to Yong'an County.

Arriving with Fang Xiaomao was a group of over a hundred officers.

Although Li Dachui had already decided that Kang Zhen would serve as the supreme military commander of Yong'an and Ruyin, Li Dachui would not give up on transforming these troops into the form he desired. Even though the Tiger Legion's current combat strength was indeed considerable.

Kang Zhen is the principal, and Fang Xiaomao is the deputy.

Kang Zhen was in charge of combat matters, while Fang Xiaomao was in charge of the subsequent reorganization and restructuring.

"That Kang Zhen, can he be considered your senior brother?" Wu De said, "I heard that City Lord Zhou was originally from the Five Tigers Breaking the Gate Saber Sect, and is the current sect leader's junior brother! You are City Lord Zhou's personal disciple!"

"Private matters are private matters, and public matters are public matters!" Fang Xiaomao chuckled. "Even when my senior brother and I are together, we often argue fiercely about official business! And as you know, one of the most important functions of our Northern Court's military manuals is to decentralize command and strictly prevent military commanders from turning their troops into their own private forces. From this point of view, apart from officers under the Northern Court, all other officers, regardless of which unit they are commanding, are hostile to this manual!"

“That’s not bad!” Wu De nodded: “In the past year or so of reorganization in Shu, many problems have arisen in this regard, but fortunately we have persevered. Now the Shu army has been completely transformed and is no longer the same as before.”

"Our combat effectiveness still needs improvement!" Fang Xiaomao shook his head and said, "Completing the reorganization is only the first step. It will take time to reach the combat effectiveness of the Beiting army!"

"Since there is no war in Shu for the time being, I came to Yong'an this time to discuss with Governor Li whether we can take out the Shu army in rotation for battle!"

“It’s impossible for the young master to make all the decisions in Yong’an right now, is it?” Fang Xiaomao said, “Jiang Qian still holds the dominant power in Yong’an County and Ruyin County.”

"I sent troops out to help them fight, and Jiang Qian isn't happy?" Wu De laughed. "This is like a pie falling from the sky. By the way, Little Cat, I heard that our Protector-General has already captured this Empress Dowager Jiang. Now that we've captured her, what happens to her is entirely up to us, our Protector-General."

"Who told you that?" Fang Xiaomao's eyes widened.

Wu De laughed loudly: "Little cat, have you forgotten that although I have left Zhi Qiu Yuan and Black Ice Platform, I was still called Wu Ding. I can still find out this kind of information!"

"Really?" Fang Xiaomao was skeptical.

"It's probably true!" Wu De said in a low voice, "Our Protector calls her Jiang Jiang."

"What does Jiang Qian look like?"

“Of course she must be a beauty of unparalleled grace, otherwise how could she become empress?” Wu De said.

Fang Xiaomao couldn't help but sigh. Good-looking, skilled, and a master of innate cultivation—he couldn't help but feel sorry for his junior sister. Xia Zhi liked Li Dachui, but the competition was far too fierce.

First she lost to Xiao Changche, and now it seems she has lost to Jiang Qian, and Zhang Qingyun is also watching her closely.

Xiao Changche is already the undisputed first wife, and Fang Xiaomao really doesn't think her junior sister has any chance of winning against these two women.

"Will Madam get angry?" Fang Xiaomao thought of something else: "It is said that pregnant women are more temperamental, and Madam is known for being intolerant of any wrongdoing."

"Winning over Jiang Qian isn't just about love and romance!" Wu De shook his head and said, "It also involves matters of national importance, Little Cat. At the level of the Protector-General, marriage and politics are inseparable. At this stage, it's impossible to separate national affairs from family matters!"

“That’s true, thankfully Madam is about to give birth!” Fang Xiaomao said.

“That’s exactly right!” Wu De stood up with a smile, stretched, and said, “Who is General Xiao? Why would he waste his energy on jealousy and rivalry?”

"That's true!" Fang Xiaomao was quite impressed with Xiao Changche.

Before Wu De could finish stretching, his eyes sharpened as he looked towards the riverbank. There, a gray figure was slowly leaving, reaching the embankment, and instantly disappearing from sight.

That figure from behind looked so familiar.

"What's wrong? What are you looking at?" Fang Xiaomao turned her head and followed Wu De's gaze, but unfortunately, she couldn't see anything except for the waves, yellow soil, and green grass.

"My eyes are playing tricks on me. I thought I saw someone I knew, but he couldn't possibly be here!" Wu De laughed.

(End of this chapter)