noffsinger Chapter 142 The Shen Family's Bet
Chapter 142 The Shen Family's Bet
At this moment, inside the Shen family hall, Xu Tianyi and Yue Pingzhi had already explained all the battle arrangements to Shen Haisheng and the others.
Shen Haisheng frowned deeply: "Master Xu, this plan is not advisable!"
"With your army deployed in this way, my Shen family has become nothing more than a tool for you to buy time and weaken the enemy!"
Xu Tianyi gave an awkward smile.
Yue Pingzhi took the initiative to speak: "This strategic plan was formulated by my young general and us together. At the time, the Shen family did not express their opinion, and we did not want to put you in a difficult position..."
Shen Haisheng nodded silently.
"Yes, I must say, General Yue is truly a genius. Such a meticulous plan is truly astounding."
Xu Tianyi nodded slightly: "General Yue's talent is naturally extraordinary. Moreover, General Yue has already promised me that as long as the Yue family can withdraw from Zhongzhou back to Leizhou, he is willing to help me pacify the world!"
Upon hearing this, Shen Haisheng's pupils contracted slightly.
The rest of the Shen family were also dumbfounded.
Shen Lang said anxiously, "Isn't this utterly treasonous? In the more than 1,600 years of the Wuji Empire, there has never been a change of dynasty!"
Shen Haisheng also had some doubts: "Master Xu, be careful what you say!"
Xu Tianyi laughed heartily: "I am the prince consort. What's wrong with restoring the empire for the crown prince? At worst, I'll make Qinghan the empress!"
"This……"
The Shen family fell silent.
Shen Lang quickly shook his head: "This is inappropriate! There has never been a woman as emperor! This would disrupt the established order and moral principles!"
Shen Haisheng remained silent.
Xu Tianyi hadn't expected the other party to pay so much attention to this.
“It is not uncommon for princes from collateral branches to seize the throne throughout history. For example, Emperor Yanwu and Emperor Jiling. With my assistance, why can’t Qinghan be made empress? In the future, my children and her offspring can also be made crown princes. In the end, it’s just a transitional period.”
Ladies and gentlemen, what if the Crown Prince only had one son, Qinghan?
Shen Haisheng and the others were surprised.
Is this really true?
The others were also encouraged.
After the coup in the Eastern Palace, the Crown Prince's male heirs were eliminated by the Prince of Qi. Originally, the Crown Prince had three concubines, each with three sons.
If the Crown Prince has not had any children all these years, then Gu Qinghan, as the eldest princess, would certainly be qualified to compete for the throne.
After the coup in the Eastern Palace, the Crown Prince would not trust his own brothers and would certainly not adopt from other branches of the royal family. He could only choose Gu Qinghan, who had the support of Xu Tianyi.
Xu Tianyi didn't know either, so he could only nod and say, "Things have come to this point. As long as you all help me, then we can join hands and pacify Leizhou!"
I then communicated with Cui Sanniang's navy, the Dragon King of the Mist Sea, and together we launched a surprise attack on Yuzhou, which was then pacified.
Ji Canghai, the future head of the Ji family in Yanzhou, has been under my control for some time now, and the pacification of Yanzhou is a piece of cake.
The Huang family of Yuanzhou are opportunists, and they have a close relationship with the Yue family, so Yuanzhou is not difficult to deal with.
The Wu family and the Cui family in Linzhou have an even closer relationship; in fact, the Wu family was previously a close ally of the Crown Prince.
In the end, the King of Qi was left with only Yongzhou and Yuanzhou.
Once Zhongzhou is breached, King Qi's power is gone, and the Crown Prince's restoration of the Wuji Empire will be inevitable!
"Such a meritorious service in supporting the emperor—if you don't seize it now, when will you?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Haisheng and Yue Ping were deeply moved.
Shen Haisheng immediately asked, "When will General Yue Shan arrive?"
Xu Tianyi smiled and said, "I have already sent Ji Canghai to invite him personally, and he should be on his way by now!"
Shen Haisheng laughed heartily: "Master Xu is indeed far-sighted; I admire him greatly..."
"Hey, old man, what are you saying? Without your help, I reckon Taikang County wouldn't even be stable, haha..."
Shen Haisheng was even more satisfied, and the more he looked at Xu Tianyi, the more he felt that he had a bright future.
If Gu Qinghan were to gain power in the future, wouldn't he be all-powerful?
Only then did Shen Haisheng abandon his plan to arrange a marriage between Shen Miao and Yue Shan.
As for marrying Xu Tianyi, he is still considering it and we need to wait and see how he performs.
The main reason is to see the specific situation on the Crown Prince's side.
The Shen family wanted to bring glory to their family, not to shrink into a single city and wait to be slaughtered by a tyrannical ruler or weakened by a wise one.
Thinking of this, he wanted to ask Xu Tianyi how to treat the Shen family in the future.
Unexpectedly, a loud shout came from the doorway.
Yue Shan and Ji Canghai have arrived.
The three peak-level grandmasters traveled together at a rapid pace.
Soon after Yue Shan entered, he was naturally welcomed by everyone.
Upon seeing Shen Miao again, Yue Shan hesitated for a moment before asking, "How has Hu Wei been lately? Why are you back?"
Shen Miao said helplessly, "Can we not talk about this?"
Her relationship with Yue Shan was simply that of a superior and subordinate.
Shen Haisheng snorted coldly: "You still remember that bandit?"
Shen Miao, on the contrary, became rebellious: "So what if they're bandits! Old man, don't give me that nonsense!"
Yue Shan frowned as well: "Patriarch Shen, Deputy General Hu cares about the people of Yunzhou and is protecting the country. He is no longer the bandit he once was."
Clearly, Yue Shan did have feelings for Hu Wei; he left Yunzhou out of necessity, as he was not a carefree and unscrupulous person.
But Shen Haisheng had already clearly understood what Hu Wei had done.
He then began to talk about Hu Wei's recent actions.
The first thing he said was, "This scoundrel didn't do his job as a proper general, but instead defected back to become a bandit leader."
Shen Miao immediately retorted that Hu Wei was not like that. He was forced to submit, but the other party refused to accept him and insisted on forcing him to leave. They even demanded that he give himself to Zhao Yi. Hu Wei, being a man of loyalty and righteousness, chose to lead everyone away from the military camp.
After these words, no one except Ji Canghai sympathized with Hu Wei.
Yue Shan sighed, "Brother Hu Wei has taken over my position as a lieutenant general. There's really no need to fear Zhao Yi..."
Shen Lang chuckled: "Knowing full well that the other party intends to annex him, he still rushes over to bow his head. Once he bows his head, how many of his subordinates in the army will still obey him?"
Shen Haisheng said disdainfully, "A bandit is a bandit! Fortunately, he wasn't stupid enough to send Miaomiao there, otherwise even if he were torn to pieces, he would still be guilty!"
Having said that, Shen Haisheng also felt somewhat resentful towards Yue Shan for not taking Shen Miao with him and letting her stay in the military camp without telling him.
Shen Miao's expression was somewhat complicated. She wanted to defend Hu Wei, but didn't know where to begin.
He wanted to say that Hu Wei was at a disadvantage because he hadn't learned these things, but he felt helpless when he said it. He had learned them; Yue Shan taught him every day, but he didn't take them seriously.
Yue Shan wanted to say something, but he sighed and said, "This is my fault. Brother Hu is just like that..."
Shen Haisheng nodded, and then began to recount what happened to Hu Wei next.
They used Shen Miao's private savings and the weapons she had painstakingly made, but instead of avenging her, they went to fight the grassland tribes and were ambushed by Zhao Yi.
Afterwards, he became despondent and asked someone to bring the rest of the people to the Shen family. He pretended to be dead and hesitated.
Shen Miao left, but they didn't chase after her.
As she recounted a series of events, Shen Miao initially tried to correct some of them and speak up for Hu Wei, but in the end, she also bowed her head.
Yue Shan was greatly disappointed.
He immediately said, "I'll write another letter. It's better for Brother Hu to stay with me..."
Hearing these words, Xu Tianyi suddenly felt some sympathy for Hu Wei and could only say softly, "Hu Wei comes from humble beginnings and hasn't received much education or had better resources. So we can't be so strict with him."
Shen Miao was immediately moved after hearing this, and Ji Canghai also applauded in affirmation.
Yue Shan nodded gratefully.
Shen Haisheng laughed.
"It seems that Master Xu also came from humble beginnings, or even from the background of a servant..."
Xu Tianyi was taken aback, then gave an awkward smile: "Me? I'm different..."
He received a prestigious nine-year compulsory education, as well as the harsh realities of society and the influence of various novels, movies, and television programs.
Can these perspectives be the same?
Besides, back in his school days, he was the top dog at No. 2 Middle School, sporting a sexy, non-mainstream blond hairstyle and commanding hundreds of followers.
How can this be the same as Hu Wei?
I've met a lot of people. After graduating from high school, I didn't go to university and went straight to the treacherous sales industry to gain experience.
I've seen it all: office politics, workplace bullying, backstabbing from competitors.
Most importantly, because I love games, I've learned a lot about the background stories and plots.
The difference in their knowledge and experience is enormous.
As for cheating, Hu Wei also cheated; wasn't his cultivation level higher than Yue Shan's?
Moreover, you don't need to cultivate much or use any techniques, yet your cultivation level increases rapidly.
As he thought about it, he laughed at himself.
Shen Haisheng immediately burst into laughter: "Yes, yes, Master Xu is naturally different from these bandits..."
Shen Lang chuckled, "Master Xu, I'd like to toast you!"
Suddenly, the hall was filled with the sounds of clinking glasses and exchanging toasts...
The banquet ended quickly.
Yue Shan and the others began to revise their battle plan.
The original planned battle location was outside of Taikang County, Wuling County, and Zhouping County.
Taking advantage of the terrain, they began to launch a series of attacks, dividing the enemy forces and disrupting their command system.
At the same time, use many martial arts masters to cut off the opponent's command system, and even lure the opponent's masters out to divide and annihilate them.
But now, the Shen family has joined in.
The Shen family's own well-trained army numbered only five thousand.
Most of them were servants.
Moreover, the Shen family is not good at attacking and killing, because General Yan Qing, the commander of Zhennan, had been watching over Muhua City every day.
The Shen family dared not organize military training at all.
Because the Shen family only has a quota of 500 guards.
Of course, servants and slaves don't count.
Craftsmen and servants don't count either.
Therefore, the Shen family's army was basically very rigid.
Shen Haisheng was willing to give 500 elite troops to Xu Tianyi.
Yue Shan is willing to send fifty elite junior officers to assist in the operation.
In reality, Xu Tianyi fought this battle alone.
After that, the Shen family agreed to provide weapons, provisions, military pay, and intelligence.
Having been based in Leizhou for many years, the Shen family had a large number of intelligence personnel in Leizhou. Although they were not professional, they could send general intelligence to each city.
After receiving a complete set of benefits, Xu Tianyi was deeply moved.
"Old Master Shen's treatment of Tianyi is truly something Tianyi doesn't know how to repay!"
Shen Haisheng understood immediately.
Xu Tianyi is now asking him to make a request.
There's no such thing as a free lunch. The Shen family is practically revealing their entire strength to Xu Tianyi, and this support is truly extraordinary.
Shen Haisheng also possesses extraordinary courage; as expected of a businessman, he understands investment.
He also began to make his own demands.
"The Shen family is already very fortunate to have Master Xu's protection, Master Xu, there's no need to be so polite."
But Mr. Shen has a question that has been bothering him for a long time. Could Master Xu perhaps offer some guidance?
That's a very clever way of putting it; the deal is for you to protect my Shen family.
But I have one more condition. Can you do that?
Clearly, Shen Lang and Yue Shanye understood, but they were curious about what conditions or questions Shen Haisheng would raise.
Xu Tianyi immediately cupped his hands in greeting: "Please speak, sir. I will answer all your questions to the best of my ability!"
Shen Haisheng immediately smiled: "Gentlemen, I was once a passionate young man with the world in my heart."
Since taking over as the head of the Shen family, he has devoted himself wholeheartedly to his work, working tirelessly day and night, only wishing to ensure that the Shen family continues to shine.
Since the reign of Emperor Yanwu, the world has been well-governed.
But my Shen family is getting worse year by year.
After several emperors, until the late emperor fell seriously ill, the crown prince took over the reins of government, and the Prince of Qi ascended the throne.
Now, more than a hundred years later, my Shen family, a family with a thousand-year history, can only lock ourselves in this Muhua City and wait for our demise.
"I am incompetent, but I would like to ask Master Xu, is it truly possible for the Shen family to regain its former glory and restore the honor of my ancestors?"
Shen Haisheng's eyes were full of expectation; he knew that Xu Tianyi understood what he meant.
He wants an answer.
Everyone's gaze was drawn to Xu Tianyi's youthful face.
Since it concerned a prominent family, Yue Shan understood, Ji Canghai, no matter how dull-witted, understood, and Shen Miao, being intelligent, naturally understood as well.
Xu Tianyi's lips slowly curled up: "..."