knife

Chapter 836 My life has been like walking on thin ice
While every inch of Shapingba was being soaked in blood, Fanyang, hundreds of miles away, remained peaceful.

Fanyang was the first to start fighting.

Wang De led 30,000 men on a rapid advance, sweeping all the way to the walls of Fanyang. Then, as if by prior agreement, Wang De set up camp a dozen miles away, showing no intention of attacking the city of Fanyang. Meanwhile, Fanyang, having consistently implemented a strategy of trading space for time from the beginning, had its elite troops retreat all the way back into the city, without suffering much loss in strength.

However, they showed no intention whatsoever of going out of the city to harass or attack Wang De.

What's most baffling is that after the two sides had been locked in this stalemate for more than ten days, some farmers actually appeared in the extremely lush wheat field between the two armies.

They were drawing water to irrigate the fields and pulling out weeds and barnyard grass, seemingly without ever considering that they were in wartime.

Strangely, both sides seemed to have tacitly approved of this.
In particular, Wang De's troops, although they were actually in poor condition for fodder, strictly disciplined their soldiers, forbidding them from cutting wheat seedlings to feed horses and other livestock. This forced the soldiers to walk a long way to find other fodder.

It is no exaggeration to describe Wang De's army as having "not committed a single offense against the people."

Inside the central command tent, Lu Xin, the prefect of Fanyang, leaned against a large table, his long legs spread wide without any regard for appearances. Holding a wine cup in his hand, he looked at Wang De opposite him and chuckled, "If Commander Linghu saw the two of us drinking and having fun here, wouldn't he be so angry that he'd vomit blood?"

Wang De, the former Left General of the Protectorate General of the Northeast, raised his wine cup, took a sip, and said with a grin, "No, Commander Linghu is such a smart man. If the two of us drink and chat, he might be happy to see it happen!"

"why?"

"Because this shows that you, Prefect Lu, are not entirely loyal to Li Dachui. If his side wins, there is a certain chance that you, Prefect Lu, will side with him!"

"Given the current situation, do you think Commander Linghu still has a chance to win?" Lu Xin pursed his lips.

Wang De straightened his back and said seriously, "That's hard to say! Just like Li Dachui back then, who could have imagined that he would suddenly turn from a hen into a duck and bring the entire area outside the Great Wall into his arms? Did you think of that?"

Lu Xin shook his head: "I really didn't expect it. But when I heard that Commander Linghu had suffered such a big setback and was tricked into being speechless, I got drunk at home for several days!"

"So it seems that Commander Linghu is indeed in dire straits and has no choice but to fight a desperate battle. But what if he wins?" Wang De said, "Prefect Lu, people like us, whether under Commander Linghu or Protector Li, have no chance of entering the inner circle, don't you think?"

“That’s true!” Lu Xin agreed wholeheartedly.

"But in this world, how many people can truly become their confidants? Most are probably like us!" Wang De said. "They need us, so we don't need to fight to the death. We just need to show our stance at the most opportune moment, and we can get our share. It may not be much, but it's enough for us to live comfortably." "General Wang is truly a wise man!" Lu Xin sighed. "Now I understand why Wan Feng lost his life, while you, in a similar situation, are living a more and more comfortable life. Back in the borderlands, your troops were almost completely wiped out by Linghu Ye, leaving you as a figurehead general, weren't they? But look at you now, you have tens of thousands of subordinates!"

"How can you compare me to Wan Feng?" Wang De said discontentedly, "That's just Zhen Shang being stupid. I also made money back then, but you have to have a limit to this. You can't push people to their deaths! Besides, I made some money back then because I wanted to transfer away and stay out of Linghu's mess. I really didn't mean to rebel against Commander Linghu. That guy Wan Feng was greedy for money and didn't value his life. In the end, he lost his life!"

"That's right!" Lu Xin nodded. "That guy is indeed no match for you! But you have quite a few people under your command, right? When Commander Linghu loses, you'll definitely turn against him. Won't those people cause trouble then?"

Wang De chuckled, "Prefect Lu underestimates me too much. If it really comes to that, dealing with these people will be a piece of cake. I earned my title of Left General step by step through hard work, not by charity. I'm not as fierce and brave as Xiao Changche, nor as greedy and ambitious as Wan Feng. I'm just a content and cautious person, but that doesn't mean I'm a ruthless guy!"

"Yes, I underestimated you before. The fact that you were able to climb to the position of Left General outside the pass, and that you were still able to get to where you are today even though Linghu Ye knew you were unreliable, already shows your ability!" Lu Xin said with emotion.

"My whole life has been like walking on thin ice!" Wang De shook his head and said, "But it seems that this kind of life is coming to an end soon. No matter who wins in the end, I can retire and live a wealthy life! Anyway, I won't lose my empty title and generous salary. Old Lu, from this point of view, I will have an easier life than you. You will still be used like a donkey or a horse for many years before you can slowly retire!"

Lu Xin's face darkened. He tilted his head back, downed the wine in his glass in one gulp, stood up, and said, "I'm leaving!"

"Hey, Prefect Lu, I'm running out of meat. You have to send me some!" Wang De, still sitting cross-legged on the ground, raised his wine cup and said, "You can't expect my soldiers to go find it themselves, can you? If they do, your people will suffer. And I can't stop this kind of thing, can I?"

Lu Xin snorted and turned to leave the tent.

Watching the other person's retreating figure, Wang De chuckled, "Wanting this and wanting that, how can this possibly work? These two are both extremely powerful figures. No matter which one takes power and pacifies the land, they won't allow local forces to become too strong. How can someone so intelligent not see through this? Even at this point, you still want to form alliances with me to expand your power. Do you think I'm easy to fool? Once the war is over, I, Wang, will go home and indulge in a life of pleasure and become a peaceful gentleman. Haha, who wouldn't like me like that?"

Outside the tent, Lu Xin, a master of the Innate Realm, was extremely sharp-eyed and heard Wang De's seemingly unintentional mutterings. After a slight pause, he quickened his pace and left.

How could that damn Wang De compare to me? He's still trying to convince himself.

I have a large family behind me, so I need to accumulate some capital so I can negotiate with Li Dachui in the future. I need to secure more benefits for my descendants.

As parents, we must naturally plan far ahead for our children and grandchildren!

(End of this chapter)