Chapter Thirty-Five: The Storm Rises Again

  "Fool! Too foolish! This Wang Xuan is really too foolish! Zhu was driven to death by such a person! Such a good opportunity, it was actually messed up to this point, it's really deserving of death!……” Ye Xu heard the report from Zhuge Yu and immediately lost the smile on his face, scolding loudly: However, before he could finish speaking, he immediately shut his mouth because he suddenly realized that he had misspoken. Because at this moment, he was no longer the former young general, but also became a rebel leader. Although the troops led by Ye Xu were still nominally the Ye Family Army, everyone in their hearts knew that this Ye Family Army was not the same as before.

  So he scolded Chen Qiyu for being too stupid in front of his subordinates, which was obviously not very appropriate. He quickly retracted his words and showed an awkward expression on his face.

  Zhuge Yu glanced at Ye Xuan with an awkward face, knowing that it was impossible for Ye Xuan to change his way of thinking overnight. Due to his habitual way of thinking, Ye Xuan would scold Wang Xuan as stupid, but Zhuge Yu had no opinion on this. This is what they call "great people don't bother with trivial matters".

  Wang Xuan was originally a general dispatched by the Xining Empire to resist the invasion of the southern barbarians in Jiangdong.

  But who would have thought that Wang Xuan, this good-for-nothing, would fall for the deceitful surrender plot of the righteous army led by Wan Zhi, the leader of Jiangdong, and as a result, nearly all 200,000 troops of the Xi Ning Empire were annihilated.

  However, Wang Zhi is a man who looks powerful but is actually just a paper tiger. This kind of person who bullies the weak and fears the strong can kill ordinary people with ease, but when facing enemies like the Southern Barbarians, he has already lost his nerve and never intended to put up a fight.

  After annihilating Wang Xuan's troops, Wan Zhi chose to retreat and gave the Southern Barbarians a way out. As is well known, people's desires are forever unsatisfied, Zhuge Yu speculated that the Southern Barbarians might cross the Yangtze River to come to Hebei to plunder.

  Looking at Ye Xuan's furious face, Zhuge Yu also reminded him: "General, in fact, we are now no different from the tiger general Wang Zhi and others. This kind of talk is okay between you and me, but don't let anyone else hear it. After all, this matter is a bad thing for the officialdom and the court. However, whether you admit it or not, at least the court is still our sworn enemy, the Ye family army. Yu thinks that as long as it's something that harms the officialdom, we should be happy about it!"

  Having heard this, Ye Xuan also nodded awkwardly and said to Zhuge Yu: "Please forgive me, sir. I was just momentarily moved to speak out of turn and forgot my current identity. I will be more mindful in the future!"

  General, you don't have to blame yourself. After all, General, you used to be a renowned young general, and this identity change is too fast. It's normal to think that way for a while!

  However, the general has one point that is correct, which is that Wang Xuan did make a mistake this time, and as a result, the good situation was wasted by him! If I were you, General, maybe I wouldn't be as calm as you are.

  Ye Xuan nodded, then habitually touched his chin again before asking: "In that case, please tell me, Mr., now that this matter has become a fait accompli, how do you think the situation will develop from here?"

  Zhuge Yu looked at Ye Xuan, who had calmed down by now, and smiled slightly. He fanned himself with his feather fan, thought for a moment, and then replied: "In my opinion, Wang Zhi and those rebel troops will surely leave quickly like a tiger escaping from its cage, avoiding the Southern Barbarian's army. King Xuan has already missed the opportunity to watch the Southern Barbarian and Wang Zhi fight each other, and then take advantage of the situation to eliminate them. When this news reaches the capital, the Emperor will not forgive King Xuan and will surely dismiss him from his post and investigate him!"

  "What happens to Wang Xuan is not my concern, what I care about now are Nanmanzi and Wang Zhi. As long as one of them invades our territory, where will we go?"

  At this time, Ye Xuan was also frowning and thinking, hoping to come up with a feasible solution to stop the impending crisis in front of him.

  Watching Zhuge Yu not responding for a long time, Ye Xuan also became anxious and asked again: "I think Mr. will not be unaware that if the southern barbarians cross the Yangtze River to Hebei, the first ones they will face are our Ye family army. I think these southern barbarians will not sit idly by and watch us. With our current strength, we are far from being a match for them in a head-on confrontation. In that case, what should be our next move?"

  After hearing Ye Xuan's question, Zhuge Yu fell silent for a long time before slowly uttering a single word: "Guard!"

  After hearing this, Ye Xuan saw that Zhuge Yu was not panicked at all, still as calm and confident as ever. Ye Xuan smiled wryly and asked: "I wonder if sir has any plan?"

  Zhuge Yu smiled slightly, shook his fan, and then slowly said: "Actually, General, as long as you do three things, I think our Ye family army not only doesn't need to fear these southern barbarians, but can also make them the best stepping stone for our Ye family army to become famous throughout the world!"

  "I'd like to hear more about it."

  "One of them, together with Zi Jinshan's Lei Ma Teng in western Hebei, Huang Jialing's Golden Retriever Huang He in the north, and Bai Shengjiang Lin Yun in Qingyunpo in the east, joined forces."

  After hearing this, Ye Xuan thought for a moment and then asked: "Sir, how confident are you that you can unite all these people together? Sir also knows that putting aside Lin Yun, Ma Teng is the sworn enemy of our Ye family army. This kind of person is someone who hopes for the downfall of the Ye family army! And what about Huang He? This Huang He is a narrow-minded person who will only be content with the status quo and cannot become a great talent. For this kind of person, whether he is willing to come or not is already a problem. Even if he is willing to be an ally of our Ye family army, what role can he play? In my opinion as a general, if this guy doesn't drag us down, I'll thank the heavens."

  Zhuge Yu listened to Ye Xuan's questioning, without a hint of annoyance in his heart, but instead smiled and replied: "General, don't worry, let's talk about Lin Yun first. This Lin Yun can be considered a heroic figure. I think as long as the general is fighting against the Southern Barbarians, Lin Yun will definitely support us wholeheartedly."

  Ma Teng may be our enemy, but as the saying goes, there are no eternal enemies or friends, only eternal interests. At this time, Ma Teng is facing off against the imperial court's soldiers, and even if he dislikes us, the Ye family army, he doesn't dare oppose us now. Firstly, if he provokes us, we'll turn on him like a cornered dog and stab him in the back. Even if we don't make any moves behind his back, if our Ye family army loses, then the Southern Barbarians will come, and with enemies on both sides...

  Zhu Ge Yu didn't continue, but Ye Xuan understood what he meant and nodded before saying: "I understand what you mean, Mr. Zhu. As for Huang He, is that what you think?"

  ……