719

Yang Jian slammed his hand against the desk furiously.

Yan Lin said calmly, “Defense remains our priority at the moment. We won’t let them stab us in the back.”

What Yang Jian had done had completely offended the alliance.

On the other hand, since he had quit the alliance without giving up on saving the emperor, those people could not do anything to him openly.

“After some time, the leader of the alliance, Xu Pei, may come here in person. Have you figured out a way to deal with him, my lord?”

Yang Tao looked confused. “What would he come here for?”

Yan Lin explained with a smile, “Xu Pei is the leader of the alliance. If he proves himself incapable of handling this well, that basically means that anyone can quit the alliance whenever they want. The alliance will be as good as dead.”

Yang Tao couldn’t come up with any ideas. He didn’t think he could, at least not using his own brain. He simply stared at his best friend in anticipation.

Yan Lin was used to this. “If Xu Pei comes here in person, it will be to apologize. He will politely ask the lord to rejoin the alliance. Considering what happened, the alliance is unlikely to go too far or pull anything too obvious. You may consider responding with generosity and forgiveness, my lord.”

Yang Tao did not expect this. “Why? One second we’re quitting, the next we’re going back?”

How capricious and undignified!

Yang Jian understood.

Making a big scene at the banquet was more about showing the alliance their attitude than being defensive. It was about making sure those people knew they shouldn’t mess with them.

If they went too far, with Yang Jian’s forces of only 15,000, it would be quite difficult to go against the alliance.

Compared to making each other the enemy, stepping back was a better solution for both parties.

“Okay, let’s just follow Shaoyang’s suggestion.”

As expected, one zodiac hour later, Xu Pei came to visit in person.

When Jiang Pengji learned that Xu Pei had swallowed his pride enough to persuade Yang Jian, she knew that the climax of this meeting of the alliance had begun.

“Yang Jian’s act pretty much blew away the alliance’s fig leaf. People can’t keep lying to themselves anymore. They have no choice but to get down to business. Regardless, the alliance was created to save the emperor. They’ve gotta act the part.” Jiang Pengji lifted the corners of her lips. Life was not boring anymore! Finally!

Before, since nobody had called it out, everyone within the alliance simply muddled along, avoiding facing the obvious.

Now that Yang Jian had created this disturbance and called everyone out, they had no option except to get to work in earnest.

On the same day, Xu Pei, the newly elected leader, invited every force to talk business.

This time, it was not about food or drinks or dancing performances. Among the people present, some were bystanders, waiting and watching. Some were eager for a chance.

Under the leadership of Xu Pei, everyone got together to discuss possible plans to save the emperor and eliminate the unforgivable traitors.

Some suggested attacking Prince Changshou first so that Chenzhou would be saved.

Some suggested entering Chenzhou and finding a way to team up with local forces first, and then attack Prince Changshou together.

Some proposed relieving the besieged by besieging the base of the besiegers. In this case, it meant occupying Prince Changshou’s nest in Zhangzhou first so that he would have to come to save it.

The first two sounded feasible. The third sounded as if it was meant to be funny.

Yan Lin gave his best friend an intimidating look. The proposer of the funny idea, Yang Tao, looked down and stopped talking in dismay.

Discussing the topic back and forth, the group failed to reach an agreement. No one could convince all the others.

Listening to the advisors serving their respective lords argue, Jiang Pengji grew sleepy. She raised her sleeve to hide her yawning mouth.

Some wetness appeared in the corners of her eyes. She lowered her sleeve, acting like nothing had happened, and resumed her part as a distracted listener.

Fortunately, she had her audience in the streaming room. She could kill time by chatting and joking with them.

The others had no such luck. God knew how they were getting through such a long and boring meeting.

As Jiang Pengji muddled along, she heard someone say her name. She reflexively looked up at the person.

She was distracted, yet her streaming audience was recording everything for her. The bullet screen was full of transcriptions.

Meigui Chuanshuo: Host, Cheng Jing said you went to Langye Academy and were highly regarded by Master Yuanjing. He figured everyone should pitch in, so he asked if you have a great plan. Sh*t! How dare this tool drag the host into this?

Jiang Pengji kept her cool, revealing nothing suspicious. No one could tell that she’d been even slightly distracted.

“I wouldn’t say that my plan is great, but I do have some suggestions.” Jiang Pengji then pointed out the strengths and weaknesses of each force. “The alliance has numerous excellent officers and many soldiers. Each force has its own way of doing things. If we force everyone to act as one, even within the alliance leadership, we might not be able to fight well like ordinary armies. I suggest that we divide the force. One force would go to save Chenzhou, and another to contain Prince Changshou. The third would provide cover from the side, and the last would sneak their way into Prince Changshou’s nest and give them a surprise.”

The alliance was not one force, but 23 forces put together. There was no way they could effectively wield a force of 400,000.

As a result, dividing the force and taking advantage of their flexibility would be better.

As soon as she finished, an older general scowled. “If we divide, won’t that expose each force to our enemy? We are a force of 400,000. Why can’t we attack them and take the traitor alive? This kind of circuitous tactic proves that you young kids know nothing about real warfare. Nothing more than strategies on the paper! Shame on you!”

Jiang Pengji tossed away the nut in her hand. “If I only have strategies on the paper, then you, sir, are on the edge of illiteracy. Based on your logic, we can simply dump our 400,000 men on top of the enemy and crush them into paste! Or we can drown them in our spit!”

“You…”

The old general had apparently never suffered from words like these. Furious, he was about to draw his weapon and fight her.

Dian Yin and Li Yun stepped forward to defend Jiang Pengji, showing no fear. The atmosphere was intense.

Cheng Jing, who’d started the whole thing by asking for Jiang Pengji’s plan, was speechless.

He had heard that Liu Xi was very eloquent and sometimes could get under a man’s skin. Yet it was the first time he had heard her talk like that with his own ears.

Now he realized why people always gritted their teeth when they mentioned this person.

Such a sharp tongue! As bad as Fengzhen!

Xu Pei’s role as the alliance leader was not easy. He could not just stand by and watch them fight.

Xu Pei stepped up as the peacemaker. “Lanting’s plan of dividing is doable. What this general said also made sense.”

Jiang Pengji gave him a look of disgust. Fence sitter!

Xu Pei let out a light cough and said, “Now that Chenzhou is in urgent trouble, no one knows how much longer they can last. We should act as soon as possible and eliminate the traitors! We don’t have time to delay. The longer we wait, the more danger the emperor will face. Lanting’s plans are good in the long term, but they are also time-consuming. As to what the general said, I personally agree with it. We are a force of 400,000 fearless and good fighters. As long as we act as one, we are destined to destroy the traitors! We will have our lands back! We will help rebuild the empire’s order!”

Jiang Pengji snorted lightly.

Cheng Jing, Feng Jue, and several others simply closed their eyes for a second out of helplessness. Out of sight, out of mind.

Yang Jian slammed his hand against the desk furiously.

Yan Lin said calmly, “Defense remains our priority at the moment. We won’t let them stab us in the back.”

What Yang Jian had done had completely offended the alliance.

On the other hand, since he had quit the alliance without giving up on saving the emperor, those people could not do anything to him openly.

“After some time, the leader of the alliance, Xu Pei, may come here in person. Have you figured out a way to deal with him, my lord?”

Yang Tao looked confused. “What would he come here for?”

Yan Lin explained with a smile, “Xu Pei is the leader of the alliance. If he proves himself incapable of handling this well, that basically means that anyone can quit the alliance whenever they want. The alliance will be as good as dead.”

Yang Tao couldn’t come up with any ideas. He didn’t think he could, at least not using his own brain. He simply stared at his best friend in anticipation.

Yan Lin was used to this. “If Xu Pei comes here in person, it will be to apologize. He will politely ask the lord to rejoin the alliance. Considering what happened, the alliance is unlikely to go too far or pull anything too obvious. You may consider responding with generosity and forgiveness, my lord.”

Yang Tao did not expect this. “Why? One second we’re quitting, the next we’re going back?”

How capricious and undignified!

Yang Jian understood.

Making a big scene at the banquet was more about showing the alliance their attitude than being defensive. It was about making sure those people knew they shouldn’t mess with them.

If they went too far, with Yang Jian’s forces of only 15,000, it would be quite difficult to go against the alliance.

Compared to making each other the enemy, stepping back was a better solution for both parties.

“Okay, let’s just follow Shaoyang’s suggestion.”

As expected, one zodiac hour later, Xu Pei came to visit in person.

When Jiang Pengji learned that Xu Pei had swallowed his pride enough to persuade Yang Jian, she knew that the climax of this meeting of the alliance had begun.

“Yang Jian’s act pretty much blew away the alliance’s fig leaf. People can’t keep lying to themselves anymore. They have no choice but to get down to business. Regardless, the alliance was created to save the emperor. They’ve gotta act the part.” Jiang Pengji lifted the corners of her lips. Life was not boring anymore! Finally!

Before, since nobody had called it out, everyone within the alliance simply muddled along, avoiding facing the obvious.

Now that Yang Jian had created this disturbance and called everyone out, they had no option except to get to work in earnest.

On the same day, Xu Pei, the newly elected leader, invited every force to talk business.

This time, it was not about food or drinks or dancing performances. Among the people present, some were bystanders, waiting and watching. Some were eager for a chance.

Under the leadership of Xu Pei, everyone got together to discuss possible plans to save the emperor and eliminate the unforgivable traitors.

Some suggested attacking Prince Changshou first so that Chenzhou would be saved.

Some suggested entering Chenzhou and finding a way to team up with local forces first, and then attack Prince Changshou together.

Some proposed relieving the besieged by besieging the base of the besiegers. In this case, it meant occupying Prince Changshou’s nest in Zhangzhou first so that he would have to come to save it.

The first two sounded feasible. The third sounded as if it was meant to be funny.

Yan Lin gave his best friend an intimidating look. The proposer of the funny idea, Yang Tao, looked down and stopped talking in dismay.

Discussing the topic back and forth, the group failed to reach an agreement. No one could convince all the others.

Listening to the advisors serving their respective lords argue, Jiang Pengji grew sleepy. She raised her sleeve to hide her yawning mouth.

Some wetness appeared in the corners of her eyes. She lowered her sleeve, acting like nothing had happened, and resumed her part as a distracted listener.

Fortunately, she had her audience in the streaming room. She could kill time by chatting and joking with them.

The others had no such luck. God knew how they were getting through such a long and boring meeting.

As Jiang Pengji muddled along, she heard someone say her name. She reflexively looked up at the person.

She was distracted, yet her streaming audience was recording everything for her. The bullet screen was full of transcriptions.

Meigui Chuanshuo: Host, Cheng Jing said you went to Langye Academy and were highly regarded by Master Yuanjing. He figured everyone should pitch in, so he asked if you have a great plan. Sh*t! How dare this tool drag the host into this?

Jiang Pengji kept her cool, revealing nothing suspicious. No one could tell that she’d been even slightly distracted.

“I wouldn’t say that my plan is great, but I do have some suggestions.” Jiang Pengji then pointed out the strengths and weaknesses of each force. “The alliance has numerous excellent officers and many soldiers. Each force has its own way of doing things. If we force everyone to act as one, even within the alliance leadership, we might not be able to fight well like ordinary armies. I suggest that we divide the force. One force would go to save Chenzhou, and another to contain Prince Changshou. The third would provide cover from the side, and the last would sneak their way into Prince Changshou’s nest and give them a surprise.”

The alliance was not one force, but 23 forces put together. There was no way they could effectively wield a force of 400,000.

As a result, dividing the force and taking advantage of their flexibility would be better.

As soon as she finished, an older general scowled. “If we divide, won’t that expose each force to our enemy? We are a force of 400,000. Why can’t we attack them and take the traitor alive? This kind of circuitous tactic proves that you young kids know nothing about real warfare. Nothing more than strategies on the paper! Shame on you!”

Jiang Pengji tossed away the nut in her hand. “If I only have strategies on the paper, then you, sir, are on the edge of illiteracy. Based on your logic, we can simply dump our 400,000 men on top of the enemy and crush them into paste! Or we can drown them in our spit!”

“You…”

The old general had apparently never suffered from words like these. Furious, he was about to draw his weapon and fight her.

Dian Yin and Li Yun stepped forward to defend Jiang Pengji, showing no fear. The atmosphere was intense.

Cheng Jing, who’d started the whole thing by asking for Jiang Pengji’s plan, was speechless.

He had heard that Liu Xi was very eloquent and sometimes could get under a man’s skin. Yet it was the first time he had heard her talk like that with his own ears.

Now he realized why people always gritted their teeth when they mentioned this person.

Such a sharp tongue! As bad as Fengzhen!

Xu Pei’s role as the alliance leader was not easy. He could not just stand by and watch them fight.

Xu Pei stepped up as the peacemaker. “Lanting’s plan of dividing is doable. What this general said also made sense.”

Jiang Pengji gave him a look of disgust. Fence sitter!

Xu Pei let out a light cough and said, “Now that Chenzhou is in urgent trouble, no one knows how much longer they can last. We should act as soon as possible and eliminate the traitors! We don’t have time to delay. The longer we wait, the more danger the emperor will face. Lanting’s plans are good in the long term, but they are also time-consuming. As to what the general said, I personally agree with it. We are a force of 400,000 fearless and good fighters. As long as we act as one, we are destined to destroy the traitors! We will have our lands back! We will help rebuild the empire’s order!”

Jiang Pengji snorted lightly.

Cheng Jing, Feng Jue, and several others simply closed their eyes for a second out of helplessness. Out of sight, out of mind.