Chapter 1540 – Attack on Nie Liang and Yang Tao, Sword Pointed at the World (Seventy-eight)
The Deputy General wore a look of reluctance but felt it was unavoidable.
Wei Ying stated, “If we don’t let him be discouraged now, there will only be more conflicts in the future. It’s better to take this opportunity to deflate his spirit and make him see things clearly.”
“But if we do that, our army will suffer losses…”
Wei Ying replied coldly, “Is it better to lose hundreds of thousands now as a lesson or wait until next time when we lose tens of thousands and the whole army?”
The Deputy General understood these principles, but Wei Ying’s cool-headed and decisive approach made him somewhat uncomfortable.
If only the former leader, Nie Liang, were still around, these things wouldn’t have happened at all.
Though there were conflicts among them, nobody dared to bring personal grievances into the open. Yet, the current situation made one wonder if the former leader would be angry if he knew. Most likely, he would be; when the former leader was present, Wei Ying, the Military Adviser, was never questioned like this—or bullied by others.
The Deputy General said, “What if the General remains stubborn and refuses to reflect, instead harboring resentment against the Military Adviser?”
Wei Ying answered, “Though that man is willful and reckless, he’s not unreasonable. A little lesson will make him obedient.”
Some people are so thickheaded that unless facts hit them in the face, they stubbornly cling to their ways.
It’s proven that some people just need a lesson, and they won’t realize they’re wrong until they’re smacked with reality.
Although Qi Guanrang and the others had retreated, there were no signs of a rout; the withdrawal was orderly, and whether advancing or retreating, they moved with ease. The general sent troops to pursue, slaughtering over a thousand enemy soldiers, greatly boosting morale.
“Tsk, I heard from Zixiao that Wei Ying is ridiculously cautious and would never take the bait. Why is he acting so recklessly now?”
Qi Guanrang was confident that Wei Ying wouldn’t immediately send troops to chase after them, making their retreat rather leisurely.
Who would have thought he miscalculated?
If the city gates weren’t blocked, the pursuing enemies wouldn’t have been so few, only able to scale the walls via ladders.
“How could Wei Ying underestimate them? With just this little chasing party, does he really think our army has fallen into disarray during the retreat?”
If the main force completely lost their will to fight, indeed, a thousand pursuers could damage them with wild attacks.
Just look at the example of their lord battling in the front lines, making a name for himself—“miracles” struck fear into the hearts of the enemy, decimating their remaining forces. Those enemies either froze in fear or fled without resistance, making them easy targets.
However, as Qi Guanrang evaluated his own position, he didn’t think he fit those criteria.
“Military Adviser, perhaps they’ve gotten a bit overconfident,” remarked a young guard accompanying Qi Guanrang.
Qi Guanrang frowned, “Overconfident? You think Wei Ci, our Military Adviser, would be foolish enough to be overconfident?”
As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together. Since Wei Ci valued his older brother, Wei Ying, the latter would undoubtedly possess exceptional qualities and wouldn’t easily make mistakes—much less such a rookie error. Compared to the guess of “overconfidence,” Qi Guanrang leaned towards another possibility.
“Their former leader, Nie Liang, has passed away. Their new lord, Nie Qing, has returned to Zhong Zhao, and without leadership on the front lines, it is likely…”
The young guard asked curiously, “Likely what?”
Qi Guanrang laughed, “They might be having some friction with Wei Ying, causing conflicts.”
The young guard said, “I heard Wei Ying holds a significant position in the Nie Army and controls military power. Who can overshadow him?”
Qi Guanrang replied, “Why not? Wei Ying has military authority, but he’s not the only one in charge.”
The young guard proudly stated, “These kinds of things wouldn’t happen under our lord!”
“While our lord’s strong-willed nature and fair practices make it unlikely, nothing is absolute.”
Qi Guanrang knew that there were indeed conflicts under his lord’s command; they just didn’t openly present them.
If there were future clashes over interests and positions, they might fight even harder than he imagined.
If the lord didn’t support him, Qi Guanrang might have to keep an eye on Wei Ci and, when necessary, scheme to eliminate him.
So what if Wei Ci was the lord’s beloved man? When it comes to political intrigue, that identity would only hasten Wei Ci’s demise.
Qi Guanrang would not show mercy just because Wei Ci was the lord’s man—he’d at most ensure Wei Ci’s death would have some dignity, leaving a complete corpse.
The young guard curiously asked, “Are there conflicts? I haven’t noticed; the generals and Military Adviser seem to get along quite well.”
Qi Guanrang was left speechless. How could there be no conflicts?
The strife between aristocrats and commoners is a contradiction that cannot be ignored.
Though there aren’t many aristocrats serving under their lord, they certainly exist.
Once the world stabilizes and everything begins anew, heavily relying on aristocratic talents will become inevitable since aristocrats have more resources.
Commoners have shallow roots; initially, they could compete evenly with aristocrats thanks to their founding achievements.
As time passes, the disadvantages of shallow commoner roots become more evident.
Either they will be assimilated by the aristocrats and rise to become new aristocrats, or they will fall, losing the chance to rise again.
Aristocrats have survived for years, their means of existence far beyond what commoners can match.
As he pondered deeply, the young guard laughed, “Our lord is so wise that even if conflicts arise, they will be nipped in the bud.”
Qi Guanrang couldn’t help but smile; his lord had indeed been deified.
“Indeed, our lord is the child of destiny. What can’t she accomplish?”
Wei Ci’s propaganda was terrifying; a perfectly good seedling had been brainwashed into becoming a mindless follower.
The Nie Army general pursuing them saw the enemies retreating calmly, not at all the disarray he had imagined, making his face feel hot.
Not only was he embarrassed, but also furious for being outsmarted by the enemy!
“You brats! Such despicable behavior truly makes one infuriated!”
The general cared deeply about his reputation; he had just blindly rebuked Wei Ying and was now slapped in the face by the enemy, losing all face!
When Wei Ying led the troops to catch up, he didn’t even dare to look at his face.
Fortunately, Wei Ying was magnanimous, not deliberately using this matter to humiliate him, and the two tacitly glossed over it.
Wei Ying said, “Let’s first withdraw two miles and regroup our supplies before attacking again.”
The general instinctively wanted to argue, but after being taught a lesson, he didn’t want to be slapped in the face again so soon.
“Let’s listen to the Military Adviser’s arrangement.”
Many soldiers didn’t understand Wei Ying’s decision to retreat two miles after scoring a small victory.
Why give up the meat within reach for a retreat?
This was a classic case of information blockage.
The soldiers below didn’t understand the orders from above; some would blindly obey, but others would harbor doubts, even misinterpreting the orders.
“Why did they withdraw?”
As they retreated to the second city, noticing the enemies had indeed pulled back, they felt puzzled.
Qi Guanrang laughed, “Of course they’re withdrawing; otherwise, when would we send out troops?”
The enemy’s supplies hadn’t caught up; such a time was perfect to retreat and stabilize, continuing to risk it could lead to disaster.
Old Man Sun Wen, with a cold expression, asked Qi Guanrang, “Is it feasible now?”
Qi Guanrang replied, “Let’s wait a little longer until they relax their guard.”
