knife

Chapter 705 Gains and Losses

Cui Ming stood before Li Guohua's large desk, his hands, veins bulging, braced on the desk. He leaned forward, his white hair cascading down onto the desk, his eyes bloodshot, making the age spots on his face stand out even more.

"General, we must give it a try!" Cui Ming said in a humble tone. He had never been so cautious before today, not even in front of Linghu Ye.

Because the Cui family of Boling has always been Linghu Ye's biggest financial backer and supporter, Cui Ming has always been high and mighty.

Emperors may change, but families may endure for generations.

This is their way of thinking.

But now, he has no choice but to beg Li Guohua.

It would be absolutely impossible for Cui's armored men alone to capture Yangguan.

“Lord Cui, one must learn to admit defeat!” Li Guohua shook his head firmly: “When things are hopeless, persisting is not courage, it is foolishness, it is suicide. You may not care about your five thousand armored men and the troops sent here by other families, but I still have to consider the lives of tens of thousands of men under my command.”

Volcano Fortress failed, but Li Guohua didn't care.

But the loss of Huxiaoyuan was like a sharp knife stabbing straight into Li Guohua's heart. It is likely that Gu Xiaoman is already making preparations to take over the plain with his army. At present, Boling County is extremely vulnerable. If Gu Xiaoman takes over the county, everyone will truly have nowhere to go.

"Attack with all our might!" Cui Ming roared. "If we still can't take it down, I'll give up!"

Li Guohua stood up and said, “Lord Cui, do you think I don’t want to take Yangguan? I do, but given the current situation, how many lives would we have to sacrifice to take it, and what good would it do? Don’t forget, the intelligence that Cui Shu brought back confirmed that Lu Xin has joined forces with Li Dachui. Their allied forces have come down from Huxiaoyuan. Once they capture the county town, we will be trapped in this cage.”

“There are still tens of thousands of garrison troops in the city. It’s not so easy to conquer. Moreover, Yang Rong has already sent word that he has returned to the city, and several thousand people have fled back with him. The city is not so easy to lose!” Cui Ming said.

“Master Cui, what I need is absolute certainty, not just possibility!” Li Guohua said.

Cui Ming gritted his teeth and glared at Li Guohua: "Are you planning to withdraw from Boling County?"

Li Guohua's expression was solemn: "When all else fails, we can only make this decision. Huxiaoyuan is like a sharp blade hanging over our heads. If we can't take back Huxiaoyuan, we can't defend Boling County no matter what."

Cui Ming straightened up and stared coldly at Li Guohua: "General, don't forget how Huxiaoyuan was lost? If Linghu Zhishu hadn't wanted to seize Huxiaoyuan and control the lifeblood of my Cui family, would Huxiaoyuan have been so easily taken away by that Li Dachui? I didn't want to expose this matter out of consideration for both sides, but you show no consideration whatsoever. Then I'll let the whole world come and discuss this!"

Li Guohua said calmly, "Lord Cui, we can't just believe your family's side of the story. In my opinion, it's mostly because Zhishu discovered Li Dachui's plot to seize Huxiaoyuan, and led troops to rescue Huxiaoyuan overnight. However, Cui Shu's poor performance in battle led to my poor nephew's death at Huxiaoyuan, and not a single one of the three thousand Wolf Fang soldiers survived!"

At this point, Li Guohua's voice grew increasingly cold: "Linghu Zhishu died in battle at Huxiaoyuan, but Cui Shu escaped with his men. If we were to truly discuss this before the world, who do you think the world would believe more? Although Zhishu is dead, we cannot allow some cowardly people to slander him at will!"

Hearing Li Guohua's utterly shameless words, Cui Ming almost coughed up blood. This was nothing short of blatant fabrication and distorting the truth.

But when it comes to discussing these matters, everyone has their own version of the truth, and it's impossible to reach a clear and definitive conclusion.

"Tomorrow I will personally lead the charge, General. Although you have always concealed your martial arts cultivation and almost no one has seen you fight, I know that you are a master of the Innate Realm. You even entered the Innate Realm earlier than Linghu Ye!" Cui Ming said, "As long as the two of us attack together tomorrow, Yangguan will definitely not be able to withstand our attack!"

Li Guohua stared at Cui Ming for a long time, then suddenly laughed: "Lord Cui, the reason you haven't made a move these past few days is because you know very well that there must be some Xiantian masters hidden inside Yangguan, right? We all know that in terms of the number of Xiantian masters, Beiting has more than us. Zhou Zhi, Chang Jian, the old Taoist Yiming, and even Phagpa, who disappeared after the fall of Beiyuan, are rumored to have joined Beiting. What if we storm into the city tomorrow and encounter these people?"

"impossible!"

“What’s impossible!” Li Guohua sneered. “Don’t forget how Li Dachui and his men schemed against Jiang Chong at the Battle of Red Cliffs in Jiangnan. If they could do something like that once, why can’t they do it a second time?”

"Our forces still have an overwhelming advantage. As long as we take Yangguan, we can force them to negotiate!" Cui Ming roared.

Li Guohua ignored him and continued, "The news from Volcano Fortress is clear: Li Dachui has returned, Xiao Changche is also a master of the Innate Realm, and there's a woman with the Blood Jade Skill. They traveled from Volcano Fortress to Yangguan Pass by fast horse in just two days. They are the elite of the elite from beyond the pass, led by Xiao Changche!"

“General, you have retreated and abandoned Boling County. You still have Shanggu, Yuyang, and Hedong and Hexi, but my Cui family has lost everything after losing Boling County! I will never give up!” Cui Ming took a deep breath and said sternly.

“Lord Cui, I advise you to calm down. As long as the people are still alive, there is a chance to turn the tide! If you save the land but lose the people, you will lose both. If you save the people but lose the land, you will gain both!” Li Guohua said coldly, “To tell you the truth, Lord Cui, when you stepped into my tent, my troops had already begun to retreat. If you want to attack, I can ignore you, but I will not linger in Yangguan for even a quarter of an hour.”

Cui Ming stared at Li Guohua for a long time before turning and leaving.

"If you want to gamble everything, so be it. I'll leave all the siege equipment behind!" Li Guohua's voice came from behind. "But I still advise you to come with me. Even without Boling, the Cui family is still the Cui family!"

"Then the Cui family will become a vassal of the Linghu clan!" Cui Ming's furious voice rang out from outside. "Li Guohua, I will take Yangguan!"

Li Guohua shook his head, too lazy to pay him any more attention; this man had really gone mad.

I slowly sat down, but my heart was filled with sorrow.

Linghu Zhishu, the child he had always had high hopes for, was gone just like that, dying silently.

This time, he did indeed succeed in incorporating the large army of these aristocratic families and completing the integration of the power of the entire Central Plains aristocratic families. But having lost Boling County and Linghu Zhishu, was he at a loss or a gain?

Looking up, two streams of tears flowed down her cheeks.

(End of this chapter)