Chapter 686 – Father “Son” Soy Sauce Group (3)
Cheng Jing lowered his eyelids in thought, clearly analyzing, “It can’t be Xu Pei or Xu Fei; it’s definitely one of these two. They brought the most troops, totaling a hundred thousand elite soldiers, far better than the ragtag bunch from the alliance. If the leader doesn’t emerge from among them, I fear neither will be satisfied. If they leave in a huff, the alliance will be as good as dead… and that would play right into the enemy’s hands.”
Four hundred thousand troops from the Loyalist Alliance sound grand, but in fact, half are just idle slackers who can only shout “666”—purely there for show.
Of the remaining elite, the Xu brothers account for sixty percent.
If they were to leave, what would happen to loyalty?
When it comes to military strength, Huang Song felt a bit frustrated.
Actually, he had his eyes set on Liu Zhi. Older, reputable, respected, and with a solid family background, he’s way more reliable than those two young Xu brothers. Yet, Liu Zhi played it differently; as a governor of Chongzhou, he brought only twenty thousand soldiers!
Even someone as young as Huang Song managed to bring twenty-five thousand!
People asked Liu Zhi why he only brought such a small force, wasn’t it embarrassing?
Liu Zhi smiled warmly and replied with a retort.
“I am the governor of Chongzhou, and should prioritize the safety of its people. Chongzhou is a harsh land bordering the three tribes of the Northern Frontier. The barbarians of the tribes constantly eye Dongqing, gazing hungrily day and night. If I were to withdraw significant forces for this Loyalty Cause, the Northern Frontier might seize the opportunity to attack Chongzhou’s borders—what then? While Loyalty is important, all matters have their priorities. I believe we should focus on national defense, everything else is secondary.”
See that? His diplomatic talk was impressive, who would dare mock Liu Zhi for lacking troops now?
Huang Song and Cheng Jing returned to the camp, where Feng Jue was hard at work. Hearing their entry, he looked up just in time to see the two come in one after the other.
“Lord and Friend Mo have returned, what’s the news?”
The two shook their heads.
Huang Song spoke, “Liu Zhi is too cunning; no wonder he used to be the governor of Hujun—tough to deal with.”
After listening to their descriptions, Feng Jue furrowed his brows.
“You both seem to have forgotten someone.”
Going head-to-head with Liu Zhi was clearly asking for trouble.
To drag that old fox down, direct confrontation isn’t the way; it’s better to go around.
“Forgotten who?” Cheng Jing asked.
“Liu Xi.”
Feng Jue sneered as he uttered that name.
Huang Song shook his head like a bobblehead.
“That’s not acceptable; if we drag Liu Xi into this, that father-son pair won’t spare me.”
Feng Jue clarified, “That’s not what I mean.”
Cheng Jing frowned, seemingly understanding Feng Jue’s plan.
“You mean, if the alliance… or rather, the Xu brothers can’t decide, we could swing to support Liu Xi?”
Feng Jue nodded, “Yes, precisely. If Xu Pei and Xu Fei bicker endlessly, it will impact the unity of the alliance, leading to a disheartened morale, which would only benefit Changshou Wang. In that case, why not let Liu Xi step up as the leader while they’re entangled? Though he’s only a county magistrate, he’s ambitious, and Wanzhou is probably under his control. Together with Chen Zhou and Hujun under Liu Zhi, what force in Dongqing can possibly oppose them? Even if the Xu brothers are unwilling, they’ll have to bow down.”
Huang Song pondered; this was indeed a strategy.
However…
He felt a bit anxious, shaking his shoulders and wearing a bitter face, his brows drooping.
“I fear Liu Xi might just strangle me.”
The two considered him more than friends; having not seen each other for years, now plotting against Liu Xi, he really feared being beaten down by him.
Feng Jue and Cheng Jing shared a glance, their eyes reflecting a mix of sympathy and disdain.
Lord, could you be any more cowardly?
The three plotted quite effectively, everything was in place, just missing Liu Xi’s arrival.
Little did they expect, Liu Xi, the true “son” of Liu Zhi, came with far fewer forces.
While his “father” brought twenty thousand to look good, Liu Xi came completely bare-boned with only ten thousand troops just to watch the show.
Liu Zhi and Jiang Pengji’s thoughts surprisingly were in sync; after all, his son (or father) would bring in more people, so no need to put on a brave front.
With Jiang Pengji’s contingent of ten thousand, six thousand were elite troops, while the other four thousand were fresh recruits with little training—essentially cannon fodder.
Hurrying along, Jiang Pengji finally arrived at the meeting spot—Huangshui—with her one thousand troops.
The ailing Feng Zhen was freezing like a quail, clinging to the carriage and refusing to get out.
Yang Si laughed at him, “Look at you, how inspiring.”
Though he said that, Yang Si’s own actions weren’t much different—he too didn’t want to dismount and ride.
Seeing two grown men shrink like this, Jiang Pengji raised her brows, unleashing her indiscriminate mockery.
“Look at the two of you, what a sight.”
The weather was just right, yet the two were huddled in the carriage, even eating inside—Jiang Pengji couldn’t stand it any longer.
Yang Si said, “We’re older; we’re not as full of vigor as the young.”
Feng Zhen replied, “I’m practically half buried in the earth already, please have pity on me, my lord.”
Great, these two strategists successfully annoyed Jiang Pengji out of the vicinity.
Once Jiang Pengji ridden off majestically on Xiao Bai, Feng Zhen seized the opportunity to snatch the hot water bottle from Yang Si.
“Stealing from a sick person? Yang Jingrong, you’re regressing.”
Yang Si didn’t go down without a fight.
“You claim to be ill but now you’re all lively; who would believe you’re sick? Besides, I’m still older, so respect your elders.”
“Then why don’t you love the young?” Feng Zhen retorted, frustrated.
Through the commotion coming from the carriage, Jiang Pengji rolled her eyes secretly.
Why did she specifically request Feng Zhen and Yang Si to accompany the troops?
Each of them was decent on their own, but together they sparked a subtle yet explosive reaction, causing a ruckus non-stop.
The two of them combined were nearing sixty years old and still couldn’t behave.
As she rode on Xiao Bai, she glanced at the live stream comments, hoping to find some entertainment in the barrage.
Slackers remain slackers, the comments were flying high.
【Ye Wushanmu】: So boring, all I can do is watch these two strategists go at it to kill time.
【Fake Mud Doll】: #Propping chin, over on Bilibili, there’s already fanfic for Yang Si X Feng Zhen, welcome to taste it!
【Book Mountain Duck Pear】: You cultists, looking at your fellow men with corruption, I think those two are just going further down the path of ridiculousness.
【Que Sang】: That’s their nature. If it were Feng Jin, Wei Ci, or Xu Ke, the atmosphere would probably remain icy.
【Old Driver Alliance】: Have you all become so idle that you need to ship CP to pass the time? By the way, when will we arrive at Huangshui?
【Genius Guo Fengxiao】: Same question, we’re waiting with bated breath. If we don’t reach Huangshui soon, Yang Si and Feng Zhen’s characters will fall apart.
Jiang Pengji looked down at the terrain map; according to the directions, it would take another half a day to reach Huangshui.
After a while, scouts rushed in on horseback.
“Milord, we have scouts from an unidentified force ahead.”
Jiang Pengji responded with an “Oh,” feeling cautious, and said, “It’s possible they’re scouts from the alliance, hold off on alerting anyone, let’s assess the situation.”
