Chapter 1314 – Defeating Huang Song, Unification of Dongqing (Fifty-Six)
Jiang Pengji ignored the idle fish’s attack on her.
She said, “An Huan is quite confident. Although the Southern Barbarians suffered significant losses, he’s still a tough character. Can a coalition of a few powers really win?”
Wei Ci understood why she said this. The Huangshui Alliance was a cautionary tale; a bunch of guys in the alliance rarely put in any real effort.
He replied, “The chances of victory are much greater than those of defeat.”
The Nan Sheng Alliance is different from Dongqing’s Huangshui Alliance.
The Huangshui Alliance was for protecting the throne, and the enemy was the pseudo-emperor Changshou Wang who attempted to take the throne. To put it bluntly, it was a royal internal battle, and the lords attending the alliance were merely bystanders. For those ambitious lords, it didn’t really matter who became the Emperor of Dongqing, so most of them were just going through the motions. The ones charging forward first would surely bear the most losses.
Every lord had their own thoughts, wanting to preserve their own strength and harden their wings, refusing to heed the court’s orders.
In contrast, the Nan Sheng Alliance had an enemy that wasn’t from their own ranks—it was the Southern Barbarians!
Those non-tribal folks with fundamentally different hearts!
To the lords of Nan Sheng, the Southern Barbarians were a threat, and if they didn’t band together to crush the Southern Barbarians, they could easily get picked off one by one. For this reason, they were both working and putting in real effort, soaring the odds of victory.
They weren’t fighting for grand ideals; they were fighting for their own lives!
Jiang Pengji propped her chin on her hand. “So, should I agree to the alliance?”
Everyone agreed that it would be better to form an alliance, so they decided to go ahead with it.
After all, whether allies or enemies, everyone would ultimately be crushed under her heels. An Huan knew that she was tough on familiar faces yet still approached her, so he couldn’t blame her.
How could Hua Yuan be unaware of Jiang Pengji’s intentions?
Just from her saying to his face, “I once allied with Xin Zhao, once with Bo Gao, and once with Zheng Ze. Now, even the Happy Duke must ally with me,” Hua Yuan knew this woman had an exceedingly strong aggressive nature that posed a danger equal to that of the Southern Barbarians.
Hua Yuan didn’t linger too long. Once he received Jiang Pengji’s affirmative reply, he led his party away.
Before leaving, Hua Yuan’s second persona wore a rigid smile as he said, “It’s a pity; with so much going on in Nan Sheng, I won’t see the sight of Duke Lan Ting unifying Dongqing. It’s truly a regret. Here, I wish Duke Lan Ting great success in martial prowess—”
Jiang Pengji replied, “Thanks for your kind words.”
Hua Yuan hopped into his carriage and departed under the escort of guards.
Inside the carriage, apart from him was An Huan’s heir, the current Young Master of the An Clan.
This eleven- or twelve-year-old boy was still dressed plainly, with some dirt smeared on his face to hide his natural good looks.
In the entourage, he was not recognized as the Young Master but rather as the most inconspicuous little errand boy.
After the carriage rolled forward for a quarter of an hour, with everyone far from Jiang Pengji’s camp, the boy finally asked casually, “Sir, why do you and Mr. Lu believe that Liu Xi can win? The situation changes so rapidly; Huang Song might not be down for the count.”
As they distanced themselves from the camp, Hua Yuan’s second persona gradually relaxed.
Staying in Jiang Pengji’s camp, he was on edge, unable to sleep, always feeling he was in a dangerous place where he could lose his life at any moment.
Now that he had “escaped,” he could finally ease up.
“What have you observed in Liu Xi’s camp over these past few days?”
Hua Yuan treated the boy like a student and a son, guiding him with great care.
The boy recounted his observations honestly.
As the errand boy, he occasionally interacted with the logistics in the camp, and their high standards and discipline left a deep impression on him.
Hua Yuan listened attentively and said, “What the Young Master has seen is precisely the key to Liu Xi’s victory.”
The boy was baffled.
Hua Yuan explained, “Throughout history, records only document the wise strategists and brave generals who can decide the fate of an era. When has it ever recorded the common soldiers? No matter how clever a strategist is, strategies become empty words if not put into practice; a general without soldiers to charge into battle is simply a reckless fool. The outcome of war is often determined not by the wisdom of the strategists or the bravery of the generals but by the soldiers themselves.”
People overly exaggerate the roles of strategists and generals in warfare while neglecting the soldiers who are the real key to victory.
Whether it’s a strategist’s plans or a general’s commands, fundamentally, it’s just support.
It’s laughable how ignorant people can be, often getting it completely backward without knowing.
The boy pondered Hua Yuan’s words carefully, his confusion gradually dissipating.
Seeing this, Hua Yuan smiled in relief.
Before he could speak, a sudden headache hit him, and he instinctively pressed his hand against the throbbing pain in his head.
The boy noticed and felt that his teacher’s mental episode had returned.
He didn’t dare to move, nervously watching Hua Yuan.
Hua Yuan held his forehead with one hand and grabbed the fabric of his knee with the other, taking quite a while to recover.
“C-could it be…,” the boy cautiously called out, “Sir?”
When his teacher had these episodes, he often didn’t recognize him, so he needed to ensure that the Hua Yuan before him was indeed his teacher.
Hua Yuan looked at the boy with unfamiliar eyes. “Hmm? What’s wrong? Where is this place?”
The boy awkwardly responded, “We are on our way back. Do you still remember your student, sir?”
Hua Yuan furrowed his brow, shifting from a proper sitting posture to a very relaxed one, his eyes gaining a hint of terror.
“Which teacher?” Hua Yuan looked around to confirm he was in a carriage; his expression suddenly changed, “Did you kidnap me?”
The boy was startled by that look and stammered, “Who are you?”
“Hmph—has An Duoxu grown brazen?” Hua Yuan said, “I am Liu Xi! Stop the carriage and take me back at once!”
The boy was speechless.
Oh my goodness!!!
No one expected that Hua Yuan had split off another persona claiming to be “Duke Lan Ting Liu Xi”!
Such a horrifying plot twist was something even Wei Ci couldn’t have imagined. Though Hua Yuan’s new persona claimed to be “Duke Lan Ting Liu Xi” and had strength beyond the ordinary, Hua Yuan’s body was too feeble, and this newly emerged persona was ultimately subdued and tightly bound by the others.
Hua Yuan caused chaos for an entire afternoon; finally, his new persona grew tired and fell asleep, while the original Hua Yuan struggled to resurface.
The boy’s eyes were brimming with tears.
Hearing his teacher refer to himself as “Duke Lan Ting Liu Xi” was just too shocking!
Jiang Pengji was still unaware of Hua Yuan’s antics, intently training her troops and covertly preparing to strike Huang Song.
Time flew like a galloping horse; in the blink of an eye, the wheat fields had shed their green coats, and the heavy ears of wheat turned golden.
Typically, at this time, the fields would be bustling with common people hastily gathering the harvest, and the air would be filled with cheerful vibes.
This year, however, the atmosphere was void of laughter and songs, replaced only by a chill of impending death.
Huang Song had dispatched troops to hastily harvest the autumn crops, working day and night while remaining tense and alert for any enemy ambushes.
Jiang Pengji cracked her knuckles, producing a crisp sound.
“It’s time for me and Bo Gao to settle things!”
