knife

Chapter 605 A Full-Force Strike

(I've been too busy with work to write, and I'd like to take a day off tomorrow. If I have time, I'll definitely try my best to write. Sorry!)

Yan Su looked at Li Guohua with excitement and anticipation.

A large-scale upheaval occurred in the State of Chu, with the Grand General and the former Chief Minister successfully launching a rebellion that overthrew the rule of Empress Dowager Jiang Qian.

However, while the first half of the operation was handled very well, a mistake occurred in the latter half, allowing Jiang Qian to escape and reunite with her trusted subordinates Han Zheng and He Jiong.

What happened in the short time that followed was enough to dazzle everyone.

He Zudao, who controlled eight towns in Jiangnan, thought he had seized an opportunity and launched a large-scale raid to take advantage of the chaos. However, he ended up losing tens of thousands of his men and also losing Xiangfan, Nanyang and other places.

The entire south is truly in chaos right now.

"Sometimes, I'm truly in awe of Li Dachui's genius!" Li Guohua exclaimed as he looked at all the evidence that Yan Su had painstakingly collected and investigated. "You never know where he'll make his move, and it always works wonders at crucial moments!"

He nodded solemnly.

He didn't know anything about Li Dachui before.

Wei Zhengdao truly gained a personal understanding of Li Dachui after Li Dachui took over Shu County. In that incident, the shrewd and calculating Wei Zhengdao also fell into the other party's trap, becoming a typical fool who was sold out and still helped the other party count the money.

And this time, it was Li Dachui again.

It's still unclear whether what happened in the State of Chu is related to Li Dachui.

However, it is an undeniable fact that Li Dachui had already placed his pieces near He Zudao early on.

Poor Yang Lixin and Feng Kuan, they truly lost without even understanding why.

As a former high-ranking official of the Black Ice Bureau, and Zhang Quanyi's best brother and most trusted person, Yan Su certainly knew the difficulty of doing these things.

Zhang Quanyi and Yan Su initially made significant errors in their assessment of the current situation.

Zhang Quanyi had high hopes for Li Dachui from beyond the Great Wall.
Yan Su, however, believed that Linghu Ye had the appearance of an emperor.

The two argued endlessly and eventually parted ways; one went beyond the Great Wall, while the other stayed in Luoyang.

Even now, it's still hard to say who is better between Li Dachui and Linghu Ye.

Even though Li Dachui had already destroyed the Northern Yuan,

But Linghu Ye, who controlled the Central Plains and wiped out all the separatist forces there, was no less capable.

Because what Linghu Ye is doing now is exactly what Li Qing, the founding emperor of the Qin Dynasty, did hundreds of years ago.

Linghu Ye is replicating what Li Qing did back then. Both professionally and personally, Yan Su doesn't want to lose to Zhang Quanyi.

Even if he knew that Zhang Quanyi would win, he would never treat him unfairly and would still give him a bowl of rice to eat.
But he wanted to win even more, so that he could provide Zhang Quanyi with a livelihood in the future.

"He Zudao has no other way to go!" Yan Su's face lit up. "If Li Dachui is indeed Li Jimin's son, then He Zudao has a blood feud with him for killing his father and mother. Therefore, his only option now is to join forces with Xiang Ying of Chu to wipe out these people in Ruyin and Yong'an. The great battle is about to begin. Once the battle starts, even if Li Dachui and Jiang Qian join forces, they will be at a disadvantage in this area. General, this is an opportunity given to us by heaven! If we take Nanyang, and if we are lucky, we can even take Xiangyang and hold the vital passage to the south in our hands!"

"Is the intelligence accurate?" Li Guohua asked.

"Absolutely accurate. So Li Xiu thinks he can hold Nanyang with just five thousand elite troops?" he said seriously and firmly. "Li Dachui is underestimating us too much."

“If all of this is true, then it’s not that he’s underestimating us, but that he has no other choice!” Li Guohua laughed. “He only has so few people, so he has to make choices! Nanyang is a good place! There are large plains here that can be used for farming. If the army is stationed here, we can be self-sufficient. If we retreat, we can defend the Central Plains; if we advance, we can covet Xiangyang.”

"Yes, General, now is the perfect time!" he said solemnly. "Yang Lixin was defeated and killed, and his deputy, Xiao Zhongren, fled back to Nanyang in a sorry state. He didn't even dare to enter the city of Nanyang and fled all the way to Wolonggang in Nanyang. However, they had a good reputation in Nanyang and had gathered quite a few people around them. I have made contact with them, and they are willing to cooperate with us to plot against Nanyang!"

“Xiao Zhongren?” Li Guohua frowned.

"Yes, General, don't underestimate this man. In the past few years, Yang Lixin and he have governed Nanyang and won the hearts of the people. Although Li Xiu has occupied Nanyang County with 5,000 Tiger Warriors, his orders still reach the villages and towns. In these places, Xiao Zhongren and his men are very influential. I have personally experienced this. Now that this man is willing to serve us, we might as well win him over. We can first gather the surrounding forces, and then head straight for Nanyang County and defeat Li Xiu in one fell swoop! We can take Nanyang!"

Li Guohua stood up, paced back and forth in the room a few times, and said, "Don't trust Xiao Zhongren too much! Use him only to a limited extent."

"You suspect this person of using espionage?" he asked seriously.

"Li Dachui is as cunning as a fox. When fighting him, remember one thing: never trust anyone other than your own people!" Li Guohua said. "No matter what kind of person Xiao Zhongren is, we can only use him as a pawn. To take Nanyang, we must rely more on ourselves!"

"Is the General preparing to mobilize a large army?" Yan Su asked excitedly.

"Of course!" Li Guohua clenched his fist. "If we don't move, we won't move at all; but if we do, we will defeat our opponents with overwhelming force. So, Brother Yan, there's no need to first consolidate our surroundings and then annihilate the county seat. With 50,000 troops, we will strike directly at Nanyang. I will take Nanyang with overwhelming force!"

"Mobilizing 50,000 troops is no small matter. Luoyang has suffered many calamities and has been struggling to survive for the past six months. It is not an easy task to raise enough provisions and pay for 50,000 troops, as well as to recruit the corresponding able-bodied men!" he said solemnly.

"Just as you said, this is a golden opportunity, we can't afford to miss it!" Li Guohua seemed to have made up his mind. "It is indeed difficult to provide the necessary provisions and supplies for the army, but it's not impossible to gather them. In this urgent situation, let's use our resources and let the army recruit some from the surrounding areas. As for able-bodied men, we can find plenty, can't we?"

After a moment of serious silence, he finally nodded.

He understood what Li Guohua was talking about. The so-called conscription of troops on the spot was nothing more than letting the troops plunder on their own. As for the able-bodied men and women, they would simply be captured.

“Nanyang is wealthy. Taking Nanyang will allow us to make some compensation to them!” he said solemnly.

"Excellent!" Li Guohua said, "Opportunities are fleeting. I'm worried that Li Dachui will defeat He Zudao in a very short time, and even the Chu army that came to punish him. So we must seize every moment to act. Brother Yan, let's secure our gains!"

"Isn't that unlikely?" Yan Su was somewhat skeptical. "Xiang Ying is incredibly shrewd; how could he be defeated so easily?"

“He’s old!” Li Guohua shook his head. “Besides, I wouldn’t be surprised if that monster Li Dachui did something amazing! Think about the Northern Yuan. A few years ago, they were so full of vigor and ambition, always thinking about marching into the interior, drinking from the Yangtze River, and unifying the world! Now, apart from Akedun who is still a mascot in Tai’an City, all the other prominent figures have turned to dust.”

(End of this chapter)