Call of the Heroes of Chaos in Another World

Chapter 2096 The remnants of the Jiande rebellion have surrendered to the Han, and the top scholar, Yuan Shao, has gone to Dali.

This story actually begins with Da Wu.

In response to the rising power of the Han Dynasty, the policy of the Great Wu was to split the Han Dynasty, support the Han Dynasty, strengthen border defenses, form alliances with powerful states, and leverage external forces to defend against enemies.

As for the Han Dynasty, the corresponding strategy was naturally to befriend distant states while attacking nearby ones, to ally with the Golden Horde in the north and to support Jiande in the west.

However, after that, Wang Yu destroyed Zhongcang and won the Southern Expedition.

However, Da Wu also gradually disintegrated Dou Jiande, eliminating internal troubles within Da Wu, so that they could focus on dealing with external threats.

However, this does not mean the end of everything.

Previously, Da Wu wanted to form an alliance with Cang Qiang to defend against enemies, so it did not hesitate to send Wu Zetian, a princess of the royal family, on long-term missions to Zhong Cang.

Correspondingly, since the Han Dynasty was planning to support Jiande in the west, it naturally required contact with that region. In the Han court, matters involving diplomacy were naturally handled by the Ministry of Rites.

Of course, the help of the Luo Wang organization was also indispensable in secret.

Although Kuai Liang, the Minister of Rites, was not quite as great as Jia Xu, he still possessed many of Jia Xu's qualities.

Although he hadn't reached the point of not working, he would delegate as many tasks as possible to his subordinates, only needing to grasp the general direction himself.

Therefore, the actual implementation of these matters was mostly handled by Wang Yingkan, who served as the Vice Minister of Rites.

Although he didn't go to Dou Jiande's place personally, he was the one who arranged all the personnel.

In short, Da Han and Dou Jiande have maintained contact in recent years.

However, after Dou Jiande's death, his forces were not completely wiped out; some remnants remained, hiding in the shadows and barely surviving.

It was precisely because of these people that Wang Yingkan, who was far away in the Northern Di, set his sights on them.

Therefore, during Wang Yu's southern campaign, Wang Yingkan, who had been busy with feng shui and water management in the northern barbarians, was not only active in the north, but also in the west.

He instructed his staff from the Ministry of Rites to carry out one of his plans.

Not long ago, Wang Yingkan's men successfully won over the remnants of Dou Jiande's forces after their demise. Furthermore, they had even established connections in Dali.

Although Dou Jiande's side has been destroyed, there are still some nails left in a broken ship. The remnants he left behind may be useless to the Han Dynasty, but they are a strong ally for Dali at present.

Although Wang Yingkan also thought that the Dali leadership had completely lost their minds, daring to send troops to aid Xicang in the name of Zhao Song just because of a few personal connections, since the deed was already done, it wouldn't stop Wang Yingkan from making use of it.

After all, if it weren't for the Da Wu incident, Wang Yingkan would never have sent anyone to win over Dou Jiande's remnants. Only with Dali around could these remnants truly be of value.

It was precisely because he successfully won over these remnants of the regime and reached an agreement with Dali that Wang Yingkan's subordinates in Dali relayed the information directly to the imperial court, even bypassing Wang Yingkan himself.

After all, it was inconvenient for Wang Yingkan to be so far away at this time.

After Yao Guangxiao, who was on duty in the cabinet, reported this matter, it quickly attracted the attention of Wang Yu, Guan Zhong, and a group of people.

In the war between the Song Dynasty and Xicang, Xicang was clearly no match.

If it weren't for the fact that Xicang was the legitimate royal family of Da Cang and had some influence, and that by chance it brought him such a group of outsiders, by the time Wang Yu's battle in Henan ended, Zhao Kuangyin's side, even if it hadn't ended yet, would definitely not have been much shorter.

However, even with more external support, Wang Yu still didn't have a high opinion of Xicang.

After all, if Xicang had had these external aids from the beginning, there might have been some chance. But by the time these external aids arrived, Xicang had already lost a lot.

As a result, even with these external aids, it only delayed things a little.

However, for the Han Dynasty, it would be good if they could delay Zhao Kuangyin's advance for as long as possible.

If Dou Jiande's remaining followers were to lend a hand to Dali at this time, it would certainly delay Zhao Kuangyin's advance even further.

However, compared to Wang Yingkan, Yao Guangxiao, upon receiving the news, clearly thought about it more, while Wang Yu, Guan Zhong, and Zhao Anling did not only think about it, but also wanted even more.

After Dou Jiande's forces were destroyed, although some remnants fled, these people were no longer a major threat to the Great Wu.

Furthermore, these people hid within the Tianshan Mountains, which, as a massive mountain range that completely separates the Great Wu and the Great Xia, is the largest mountain range in the entire Tianqi World, far surpassing the mountain ranges in the northern part of the Great Cang.

Therefore, given the ongoing external threats, Da Wu did not devote too much attention to these remnants, giving them a brief chance to survive.

However, for Dou Jiande's remaining followers, this was merely a temporary measure, allowing them to prolong their lives but not to survive forever.

Although their numbers were far fewer than during Dou Jiande's heyday, they still numbered over ten thousand. Could so many people remain holed up in the mountains indefinitely? Where would they get their food?

They couldn't survive for long on hunting and the small amount of food they took with them when they fled.

Therefore, once the Han side made their move, they easily got them to agree.

In fact, when Wang Yingkan's men arrived at Dou Jiande's side with his plan, they were already on the verge of running out of food.

After that, although the Han's Luowang branch in Dawu was able to help them solve some of their food problems, it was not a long-term solution either.

This is not to say that the Luo Wang branch of Da Wu could not supply enough food for 10,000 people. In fact, among all the Luo Wang branches, the Da Wu branch was definitely the richest.

After all, Zi Nu, the head of the Luo Wang Da Wu branch, owns the Zi Lan Xuan in Da Wu. She can not only use him to gather intelligence but also solve funding problems. The Zi Lan Xuan is currently a notorious money pit in Da Wu.

Therefore, the Luo Wang Da Wu branch had the capital to solve their food and supplies problems.

However, the amount of food for 10,000 people is not small, and it is being transported to the Tianshan Mountains. It's fine once in a while, but if it happens a few times, they'll really think that the Tianwu Academy of the Great Wu is just sitting around doing nothing.

This is precisely why the Great Wu side couldn't wait for the Great Han side to finish their discussions before taking action. Long ago, when everyone had finalized their plans, with the help of the Luo Wang (Net of Heaven), Dou Jiande's remaining forces had already begun moving along the Tianshan Mountains towards Dali. While Dou Jiande's remaining forces slowly advanced towards Dali, Wang Yingkan's men tirelessly contacted those he had simultaneously dispatched to Dali. Once they received approval, they immediately relayed the information back to the Great Han.

Dou Jiande's group, no matter what, had more than 10,000 defeated soldiers.

To put it bluntly, these are remnants of a defeated army. To put it more kindly, if these people were reorganized and their fighting strength restored, they would be a proper army of ten thousand men.

Ten thousand soldiers are indeed of little use within the Great Wu Dynasty, but if they were stationed in Dali, they would be a force of considerable importance. Crucially, this force could be controlled by them.

In the short term, with this force assisting Dali, they can make things difficult for Zhao Kuangyin.

And that is precisely Wang Ying's purpose in doing this.

As for Wang Yu and Guan Zhong, what they wanted to achieve was not just a short-term goal, but also a long-term goal.

In the long run, if this force can take this opportunity to establish itself in Dali, when Wang Yu later leads his troops out of Henan to attack the Song Dynasty in the west or the Yan Dynasty in the east, they can incite the Dali leadership to do something ruthless to Zhao Kuangyin behind the back of the Song Dynasty.

After the Zhongcang issue was resolved, for the Han Dynasty, the biggest enemies within the original Dacang territory were Zhao Kuangyin's Zhao Song and Xuanyuan Huang's Da Yan.

Between the two, at least for now, the Song Dynasty is still stronger in all aspects.

"Dali is sandwiched between various dynasties, and it can be said that it is trying to survive in the cracks! If it is not careful, it may end up with nothing."

"Furthermore, Dali's recent military campaign against Zhao Song will inevitably lead to retaliation after the war between Zhao Song and Xicang ends! I'm afraid Dali's fate is in jeopardy!" Guan Zhong added.

In fact, Guan Zhong, Wang Yu, and Yao Guangxiao all shared the same idea: since Wang Ying had already brought such a force over, they should either not do it at all, or if they were going to do it, they should aim for an even bigger goal.

However, while Guan Zhong thought this way, he would naturally also mention the potential risks that might be encountered in the process beforehand.

After all, if they were truly aiming for a long-term goal, they certainly wouldn't allow Dou Jiande's remnants to develop freely; they would still need to send their own people to control this force.

This way, they can keep the course of events under their control as much as possible.

The Dali region, located at the intersection of several dynasties, was inherently complex.

Furthermore, although that region was dotted with more than a dozen dynasties of varying sizes, they were generally not very powerful. For example, the Dali Dynasty was already among the stronger of those dynasties. However, even so, it only reached the average level of the four minor dynasties.

However, as the world became increasingly turbulent, these small dynasties had lost their original purpose, and therefore, many imperial powers no longer deliberately kept them around as before.

For example, the Han Dynasty took over two of the four smaller dynasties next door, didn't it?

Furthermore, these dynasties themselves were also affected by the chaos of the times. Whether for self-preservation or for development and expansion, they all engaged in different forms of annexation.

"Surviving in such a precarious situation, this is indeed a difficult task!" Wang Yu nodded.

As for the risks Guan Zhong just mentioned, they certainly exist. However, there are always rewards to be had. In this world, how many things offer easy gains without taking any risks?
However, precisely because this matter is always quite risky, the requirements for those sent to carry it out are quite high.

Such talented individuals usually hold high positions within the Han Dynasty. It would indeed be somewhat heartbreaking if they were to perish there.

"What do you, my esteemed ministers, think of Gu Ling? Is he capable of shouldering this important responsibility?"

If Wang Yu hadn't suddenly mentioned this person, everyone present would have almost forgotten about this former third-place scholar in the imperial examinations.

The top three finishers in that year's imperial examinations were all quite remarkable.

Su Li was originally a county magistrate, but because his jurisdiction was located on the banks of the Yellow River, he was temporarily transferred to Huli Guang's army during the Southern Expedition to serve as a military advisor, also known as a strategist.

He remained silent until he made a stunning appearance. When Hulü Guang led his troops down Tiger Head Mountain, this top scholar in the imperial examination made an indispensable contribution to the victory.

Xun Ping had achieved remarkable military exploits during his tenure as county magistrate, and now he was being prepared to be promoted to prefect.

As for Gu Ling, he was much bolder than the previous two. During the palace examination, he directly urged the emperor to ascend the throne, catching the entire court off guard.

However, he also obtained a sinecure as a scholar of the Zhaowen Pavilion, but he would definitely be reappointed later.

Now, it's not an opportunity for him either.

For Yu Guling, doing this well would be a great achievement, paving the way for a smooth official career. As for the risks involved, well, fortune favors the bold!
As for the Han Dynasty court, they wouldn't care what happened during this process.

To put it bluntly, in the Han Dynasty court, Gu Ling was just a minor scholar of the Zhaowen Pavilion, a nobody.

"Gu Ling is talented enough to shoulder heavy responsibilities. However, his impetuous and risk-taking nature makes the outcome unpredictable!" Guan Zhong replied after thinking for a moment.

The implication is that the emperor should make the decision himself!
An aggressive and risky style can neither be considered good nor bad.

People with this kind of personality can indeed bring surprises. However, they are also prone to making a big mistake.

“Good. Then let Gu Ling be the leader and Yuan Shao the deputy. The two of them will secretly go to Dali to take over Dou Jiande’s group.”

Gu Ling is a bit too impulsive and risky, so let's just assign him a gentle and indecisive deputy to keep him in check.

Yuan Shao certainly possessed talent. In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, he was able to become the most powerful warlord. His natural family advantages were certainly one of the reasons, but his personal abilities could not be ignored either.

As for his personality flaws, as long as he isn't made the leader, these flaws can be minimized.

It's not that we shouldn't have flaws, after all, everyone has flaws, just bigger or smaller. The key is how we use them.

Finding a few capable but not too high-ranking people in the imperial court who wouldn't be too heartbroken if something unexpected happened to them is no easy task.

These two are already rare finds to be a perfect match.