knife

Chapter 781 Worry
Zhang Qingyun walked into the council hall with light steps.

This period was a highlight for the entire Zhi Qiu Courtyard.

For her, of course too.

The series of defection and decapitation operations carried out within the State of Chu under her command were all a complete success. It can be said that under her strategic planning, she accomplished what would have required hundreds of thousands or even millions of troops with only a few thousand people.

The Danyang Incident, the death of Xiang Zhuang, and the collapse of Chen Yan's navy without a fight—each of these events was like hammering a large nail into the coffin lid of the Chu Kingdom.

To achieve all this at the last moment, it was undoubtedly due to her relentless efforts in laying out plans in the State of Chu over the past few years, making progress little by little each day, and finally accomplishing it all in one fell swoop.

As soon as they stepped into the council chamber, enthusiastic applause erupted from inside.

Led by Jiang Qian, He Jiong, Kang Zhen, Lin Yunqi, Ke Wuji, He Yiming, Zhan Zhao and others looked at her with smiles, clapping their hands rhythmically.

This was naturally the greatest affirmation for her, but the enthusiasm made Zhang Qingyun blush.

He Jiong then pulled out the first chair on the left and said to Zhang Qingyun, "Headmaster Zhang, please!"

This chair, which He Jiong had always made, was now being offered to Zhang Qingyun.

"How can this be?" Zhang Qingyun waved his hand gently and said, "Even if Zhi Qiu Academy has made some gains, it is only because Protector Li laid the foundation in Chu. Without people like Jiang Chong and Hu Tianying, we simply could not have accomplished these great things!"

Jiang Qian smiled and said, "Governor Li did lay a solid foundation, but without you, Qingyun, connecting these scattered forces and using them so effectively, how could we have achieved what we have today? Now that Danyang has been captured, the Zhu brothers are wiping out Xiang Zhuang's last remaining followers in Yuezhou and other places, while Na Wei, who is trapped in Liyang County, has run out of sufficient supplies and his defeat is only a matter of time. Therefore, the greatest credit for our southern campaign undoubtedly belongs to Qingyun! So, Qingyun, this position is indeed yours."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Chi Qiu-in's move, by cutting off the enemy's supply lines, turned what was originally a difficult southern expedition into a large-scale armed demonstration.

When the southern expedition began, no one expected it to be so easy.

Even a starved camel is bigger than a horse. Although the State of Chu was in decline and in turmoil, its size and foundation were still there. Everyone had originally intended to fight a tough battle, but now it seems that everything has fallen into place naturally.

He Jiong insisted on giving way, so Zhang Qingyun stopped putting on airs and walked forward to sit down in a generous manner. After she sat down, the others took their seats one by one.

“Speaking of Liyang County, I just received the latest news from there!” Zhang Qingyun said, “It seems that Nawei is prepared to defend it to the death!”

“He has nowhere to run and nowhere to hide, so it’s to be expected that he’ll hold out to the death!” Jiang Qian nodded.

Kang Zhen said with some regret, "Why didn't he run away? If he had, this battle would have been much easier for us!" "No matter what, Na Wei is a powerful figure, and he's not bad at weighing the pros and cons!" Jiang Qian said, "He also has 50,000 elite Southwest Wolf Soldiers, whose fighting strength is not bad. Since he has decided to defend Liyang to the death, he must have made some preparations, right?"

Zhang Qingyun nodded and said, "That's right. Na Wei searched every inch of Liyang County for grain and fodder. The people of Liyang have suffered a great calamity this time. Na Wei didn't care about their lives at all. He sent out wolf soldiers to forcibly seize grain and store every grain. Even the wealthy families in the county were no exception. If anyone resisted, they were all slaughtered."

"Is this such a perverse and reactionary approach?" Jiang Qian frowned.

“Only the Southwest Wolf Soldiers remain in Liyang County!” Zhang Qingyun said. “Everyone else has been driven out of Liyang County by Na Wei. The able-bodied men and women are now being forced to build defensive camps outside Liyang County. Many more people are fleeing, and a significant number are currently heading this way. The first group should arrive in a few days!”

"So ruthless?" Ke Wuji was shocked: "Liyang County is a large city, with at least 100,000 people living there. They were all driven out?"

Zhang Qingyun nodded and said, "It can't be said that they were all driven out. The women were left behind, while the men are still doing hard labor outside. Na Wei didn't kill the rest, but he just wanted to cause us some trouble! Now many houses in the city have been demolished, and everything that can be used for city defense has been moved to the city walls. According to our spies, Na Wei has stockpiled enough food for about 50,000 people for three years in the city."

"This guy has turned Liyang County into a military formation!" Kang Zhen couldn't help but grin. "With such a strong determination, this battle is going to be tough!"

“It’s a good thing that Na Wei drove the people out of the county town! They are indeed free from burdens and have gotten rid of their responsibilities, but we also have no scruples when we fight!” Jiang Qian said in a deep voice, “However, we need to deal with the large number of refugees fleeing to our area. Prefect He, I’m leaving this matter to you. Build some camps in advance to temporarily accommodate these people!”

“Building a camp is not difficult; the difficulty lies in providing food!” He Jiong said, “To settle these people, I’m afraid we’ll have to take some food from the army!”

“A batch of grain is being transported from Sichuan, which will be useful for emergency use!” Jiang Qian said. “Since Na Wei is holding Liyang County to the death, we are not afraid of him flying into the sky. It doesn’t matter whether we fight sooner or later. What we need to do is send people to Danyang City to take over. Yun Qi!”

Lin Yunqi stood up.

"You hand over the rear army to Elder Ke, and you take a portion of your old troops back to Danyang to re-establish order. Once you appear in Danyang, many local prefects who are still observing will realize the gravity of the situation and will likely pledge allegiance to you. Quickly bring peace to other areas and restore normal production and life!"

"As ordered!"

"Qingyun, if Wei wants to play the turtle shell, things will actually be simpler. What I'm worried about now is Dongdu!" Jiang Qian said, "To be precise, I'm worried about Chang Lei. He's made great contributions all the way into the pass and is definitely a formidable opponent. It's really unusual for him to be so obedient now!"

“Linghu Ye was worried about him because of the Chang family, so he demoted him to Luoyang and left him idle. If it were me, I would be disheartened too!” Kang Zhen spread his hands and said, “What else can he do now besides slack off?”

"According to intelligence, this person is still preparing troops to attack Xiangyang!" Zhang Qingyun said. "Our intelligence source is reliable, and it comes from the high-ranking officials in Dongdu!"

“If that’s the case, that would be for the best. But Qingyun, think of a way to see if you can find other ways to corroborate whether this person is really as he appears on the surface!” Jiang Qian said, “It’s not that I don’t trust your source of information, but deep down I just feel that this doesn’t seem like Chang Lei’s personality. I won’t feel at ease until I find out the truth!”

(End of this chapter)