knife

Chapter 640 New Elite in Chang'an
Linghu Ye put down the thick dossier in his hand, leaned back slightly in his chair, and smiled warmly at the middle-aged man sitting in front of him, who was sitting somewhat restrained. He said with a smile, "Commander Yan is truly talented. In such a short time, you have grasped the general situation of what has happened in Chu Kingdom."

With only half his backside on the chair, Yan Su bowed slightly and said, "You flatter me, Prime Minister. It is thanks to your illustrious reputation that I can achieve twice the results with half the effort in Chu!"

Linghu Ye laughed loudly: "No, no, no, it's really remarkable that you were able to integrate the forces of several factions in Chu in such a short time and bring them together. Merits should be rewarded and mistakes should be punished. If you work under me for a longer period of time, you will understand my style. I never praise people casually."

He took a deep breath, smiled, and stopped being modest.

As a former high-ranking official of the Black Ice Guard, he naturally had his own power base in the Chu region.

After parting ways with Zhang Quanyi, Yan Su joined Linghu Ye's forces, succeeding Linghu Zhishu and taking full control of Wolf Fort under Linghu Ye's command. In a short period of time, he integrated intelligence forces from several directions. This time, Li Guohua was able to react so quickly to the changes in Chu and launch a reckless attack on Nanyang without receiving substantial support from Chang'an, thanks to Yan Su's intelligence support.

Li Guohua originally only wanted to gain a few footholds in Nanyang in order to prepare for the next step of a full-scale invasion of Nanyang County. However, he did not expect that it would go so smoothly and that he would take over the entire Nanyang without lifting a finger.

"You deserve the greatest credit for taking Nanyang so easily. Report back to the court the list of those who have contributed to the victory, and the court will reward them handsomely!" Linghu Ye said.

"Yes!" Yan Hua nodded and said, "It's a pity. The other side reacted too quickly. If they could hold out against us in Nanyang for a while and fight a few battles, that would be even better!"

"Whether it's Li Dachui or Jiang Qian, don't underestimate them just because they're young. They're both cunning foxes!" Linghu Ye nodded in deep agreement. If Li Dachui were even slightly greedy, his power in Nanyang would fall into Li Guohua's hands. Once Li Xiu's several thousand elite troops were defeated in Nanyang, Li Guohua could seize the opportunity to advance into Xiangyang and possibly take it in one fell swoop.

At that time, Wang Dao's navy was confronting Chen Yan's navy on the Yangtze River, but he did not have much strength to send reinforcements to Xiangyang.

But Li Xiu didn't say a word, turned around and ran. The five thousand Tiger Warriors returned to Xiangyang intact. If Li Guohua wanted to attack Xiangyang again, it wouldn't be so easy for him.

Linghu Ye certainly didn't believe that Li Xiu, a guy whose brain was full of muscles, would have such keen strategic thinking and a global perspective. It must have been Li Dachui and Jiang Qian who gave the order.

“These two are indeed troublesome!” he said seriously. “But I don’t understand. According to the intelligence we’ve gathered from Chu, Xiang Ying and his group were clearly colluding with Li Dachui to plot against Jiang Qian during the Danyang coup in Chu. How did Jiang Qian end up joining forces with Li Dachui? There must be some unforeseen circumstances. And the only major gap in the intelligence I’ve gathered is after Li Dachui and Jiang Qian entered Yunwu Mountain.”

“The suspicious point is indeed here!” Linghuye said, “Based on the intelligence you have gathered, Jiang Qian should be aware of Xiang Ying’s collusion with Li Dachui and has made corresponding arrangements. Jiang Qian should have wanted to take this opportunity to wipe out Xiang Ying and Xiong Yi in one fell swoop, but an unexpected change occurred at Yunwu Mountain, which ultimately led to her failure and utter defeat.”

"Moreover, how those two left Cloud Mist Mountain is still a mystery!" he said solemnly. "Xiang Ying and Jiang Chong went to Cloud Mist Mountain together, intending to wipe out those two in one fell swoop. But in the end, they found nothing; those two seemed to have grown wings and flown away. Prime Minister, I am currently trying to find some high-ranking members of the Demonic Sect who escaped from Cloud Mist Mountain; they must know something!"

Linghu Ye nodded, looked at the other person, and smiled, "These are all minor matters. You can make the decisions yourself; there's no need to ask me. You just returned from Chu. What do you think is the right way we should treat them now?"

After a moment's hesitation, Yan Su said, "Prime Minister, I think we should unite with the State of Chu and make sure to eliminate this thorn in Li Dachui's side. Even if the State of Chu doesn't give us anything, we should still take the initiative to help them."

"Is that what you think?" Linghuye asked.

"Yes!" he said solemnly. "Compared to Li Dachui outside the pass, the current Chu Kingdom is no match for you, Prime Minister. After Na Wei took power, the Chu court is in chaos. There are many talented people who are dissatisfied with him. Chu Kingdom will be too busy to take care of itself. But the Eight Towns of Jiangnan are different. Li Dachui has already taken control of Shu County. If he can also revitalize this territory, it will be a great obstacle to your unification cause, Prime Minister."

“But our navy is really weak!” Linghu Ye sighed. “While the enemy’s navy is incredibly powerful, if we start a war rashly and things go wrong, the enemy will become even more arrogant. Moreover, those people in Chu who were originally on our side will probably waver again!” “Prime Minister, there is no perfect plan in this world. When He Qiqi fought against Chu, his navy was also being suppressed, but with the help of his powerful land army, he was just a hair’s breadth away from winning. If it weren’t for internal problems, the Qin army would probably have already entered Danyang City by now!”

Speaking of these things, Yan Su still felt somewhat heartbroken.

That was He Qiku's last struggle after decades of hard work, and also the most crucial battle for the He family to leap to the top. Kou Zhun and Wei Zhengdao supported He Qiku, and the rise of a new elite could also help them complete their plan to purge a group of old nobles.

Unfortunately, even among the top-tier families, there are some extremely capable individuals who saw through this scheme, leading to the disastrous defeat at Xiangyang.

This major defeat accelerated the collapse of the Qin Dynasty, forcing Kou Zhun and Wei Zhengdao to adopt more radical strategies to purge some of the old nobles.

"Hehe!" Linghu Ye chuckled. "There are no 'what ifs' in this world. What's done is done. I also want to fight, but my forces are limited. Fighting the current Eight Towns of Jiangnan would be humiliating if I didn't have enough strength. But if I had sufficient strength, problems would arise in other areas. Compared to the Eight Towns of Jiangnan, the consequences of problems in those places would be far greater. It's a difficult situation for me!"

He sighed seriously.

He knows these things.

The eight towns south of the Yangtze River are currently preoccupied with the formidable enemy of the State of Chu, and their main focus is on dealing with Chu. Compared to Chang'an, the threat is naturally not significant. However, this is a dangerous seed, and if it is allowed to grow freely, Yan Su doesn't know what it will become in the future.

Perhaps they will be defeated by the Chu people.

Perhaps they will become a major threat to Chang'an.

Who can say for sure!
He stood up, bowed, and said, "Prime Minister, then this subordinate will take his leave!"

"Take a few days off!" Linghuye laughed. "Sharpening your axe won't delay your woodcutting work. I heard you haven't rested a single day in the past year. That won't do."

"Thank you for your concern, Prime Minister!" he said with a serious smile. "I'm used to being busy; if I don't do anything for a day, I feel empty inside."

Watching the serious figure leave, Linghu Ye smiled happily.

The Xiangyang Incident of that year was orchestrated by Linghu Ye. How bitter it was that if that old man had succeeded, he would have been confined to the borderlands for the rest of his life, becoming a pawn in the resistance against the Northern Yuan.

So, how can we ensure his success?

If Yan Su knew that he was also involved in what happened back then, I wonder what kind of expression he would have on his face, and whether he would still do his best to work for himself as he does now.
It probably will.

(End of this chapter)