Chapter 1103 – Across the Realm, I Seek 100% (Part 2)
“Lord… what is this?”
“This is my sand table,” Jiang Pengji replied, her tone dripping with pride, as if waiting for compliments. “How does it look?”
Yang Si said, “My Lord, your dexterity is remarkable; it’s so lifelike, it’s as if all the mountains and rivers have been miniaturized and brought here.”
Currently, the other sand tables were quite rough and basic, but Jiang Pengji’s creation was intricately three-dimensional, with the contours of the terrain unmistakable.
Jiang Pengji accepted his praise, her smile widening.
“But — what about this little flag?”
Yang Si picked up a small flag lying nearby, adorned with the face of a black-and-white Iron-Eating Beast, which looked rather amusing the more he stared.
“It’s for future use as a battle flag or family crest—” Jiang Pengji seemed to slip up, clearing her throat awkwardly, her tone suddenly rising as she changed the subject. “Don’t you think this flag is quite distinctive? With so many people surnamed Liu in the world, if a fellow Liu lord shows up one day and our flags face off with ‘Liu’ written on them—whoever’s handwriting looks bad will be the fool—”
Yang Si narrowed his eyes.
He ignored Jiang Pengji’s latter half of the statement, focusing instead on the first part.
Using this as a battle flag is fine; my Lord can use whatever design she likes, but about changing the family crest—
Changing the family crest is a significant matter, and even the clan leader can’t decide that unilaterally.
Though Jiang Pengji hails from the Liu Clan, her ties to that clan are nearly nonexistent, and she hasn’t been on good terms with the Hejian Liu Clan in years.
This suggests that if she wants to change the family crest, there’s only one possibility—
Establishing her own clan!
Like how the Wang Clan of Langya branched off from the Zhong Zhao Bianzho Clan, both share a common ancestor, but in terms of relationships, they are two separate families. If my Lord intends to break away from the Liu Clan, cutting ties with the Hejian Liu Clan—
Yang Si felt a chill, recalling a recent conversation with Wei Ci, and sighed softly.
Is my Lord planning to completely sever ties with the aristocracy, eliminating any external interference?
Jiang Pengji merely doodled two small flags, but Yang Si had already conjured an entire narrative in his mind.
Wait—
Yang Si snapped back to reality, his eyelid twitching uncontrollably.
“My Lord, are you truly considering using this for—”
Yang Si swallowed the rest of his words.
“Is it not good?” Jiang Pengji laughed. “I drew it based on the Iron-Eating Beast beside Zixiao; see—doesn’t it look like it? Chiyou used the Iron-Eating Beast army to fight the Emperor; it was their flagship in ancient times—so imitating the ancients here isn’t too much, right?”
Jiang Pengji’s drawing was in a chibi style, with a big round face and baby-like chubby cheeks.
If not for the obvious black and white color scheme, others might not recognize the creature on the flag as something that had been punched twice.
In ancient times, art emphasized expression, and chibi-style—
This pitch wasn’t very appetizing!
Suppressing his urge to critique, Yang Si suggested, “Zixiao excels in calligraphy and painting; wouldn’t it be better to let him refine the flag’s design?”
He believed Wei Ci’s skills could salvage the situation.
Jiang Pengji didn’t even look up as she replied, “You make a good point; Zixiao’s artistry is indeed commendable.”
She then took a blank flag, wrote the character “Huang” on it, and inserted it into the sand table at Chenzhou.
Yang Si occasionally lent a hand by grinding ink or passing small scissors…
Before long, small flags marked all the other territories on the sand table.
“One day, I will make the whole sand table filled only with my flags.”
Jiang Pengji flicked one of the small flags inserted in Zhejun that read “Xu.”
Although her flick wasn’t forceful, the flag was so light that it toppled with the slightest touch. Jiang Pengji then took her Iron-Eating Beast flag.
“Just like this—”
She flicked away the “Xu” flag and replaced it with her Iron-Eating Beast flag.
Yang Si watched her movements, his gaze fixated on her hands, slender like spring onions, as she let go of the Iron-Eating Beast flag—
In a fleeting moment, he seemed to catch glimpses of scenes filled with battles and chaos flashing before him, as the sounds of clashing steel and battle cries echoed in his ears.
Is this the next move my Lord intends to make?
Attacking the Xu Clan?
Sure enough, the sibling bond with Xu Pei is flimsy; the guy sometimes checks on my Lord, but I never expected her to be ready to stab him in the back.
And a stab aimed straight at the heart!
“The Xu Clan should not be underestimated—” Yang Si cautioned. “Xu Pei controls Zhejun, Hujun, and half of Zhangzhou. They’re quite wealthy.”
Xu Pei, basing himself in Zhejun, has already swallowed Hujun, and he has secretly dealt a blow to the neighboring Yang Tao, snatching away half of Zhangzhou.
If Yang Tao hadn’t expanded his influence southward, Xu Pei’s actions would have surely drawn a furious retaliation!
Previously, Yang Si had been a match for Xu Pei, but now that cousin Xu Fei is hiding out in some obscure place, struggling to survive.
Yang Si had dealt with Xu Pei long enough to understand him fairly well.
“That’s exactly why I’ve chosen him,” Jiang Pengji said with a smile. “I initially considered targeting Bergao, but ‘to attack without justification’—the only conflict has been resolved, and now I can’t find a reason to act against him. Besides, if I target him, the pressure on the border will be immense, providing hidden enemies with a chance to strike, making it a loss for me. It’s better to let him go for now—”
Yang Si nodded. “That’s true; it’s not a good time to move against the Huang Clan.”
Jiang Pengji stated, “Bergao isn’t viable, but Xu Pei is.”
Yang Si replied, “But… what’s the justification?”
What does it mean to act with justification?
There must be a valid reason for deploying troops.
With Jiang Pengji, the words “justified” can be tossed aside; any excuse will do.
In extraordinary times, a lack of justification is acceptable.
“Let me ask you—if Xu Fei were to request our assistance, should we send troops?” Jiang Pengji’s smile deepened, her words sending shivers down Yang Si’s spine. “Xu Fei and I shared a bond during the Kuangshui Alliance; we can’t just stand by and watch him die.”
Yang Si: “…”
You and Xu Pei shared an alliance too! You worked together for a while!
Using such reasoning to turn on Xu Pei, Yang Si could vividly envision Xu Pei spitting blood.
Used and tossed aside; his Lord certainly had the potential of being a heartbreaker!
Thanks to their exceptional organizational skills, Yang Si, Cheng Jing, and Nie Xun quickly completed the paperwork, and all that was left was to exchange territories.
Huang Song moved all his people and resources, while Jiang Pengji released her ambush troops and ordered the military to withdraw from Chenzhou.
This was already a win-win situation, with both sides gaining, making the “going-away feast” rather pleasant.
Jiang Pengji and Huang Song, in high spirits, reminisced cheerfully—
Though they had clashed repeatedly and hurt each other more than once, their relationship remained steadfastly “ironclad.”
The audience in the live stream felt deeply impressed, as they had seen Jiang Pengji calculating against Huang Song from her perspective more than once.
Of course, Huang Song had his fair share of schemes against Jiang Pengji too.
These two had already torn their masks off, yet they still acted as if nothing had happened, restoring their former bond.
Haha—
Their mood shifts were as swift as a whirlwind.
Exhausting; I can no longer believe in friendship.
