knife

Chapter 769 Either Die Together or Survive Alone

"Your Excellency, please forgive my bluntness, but at this point, the fate of the Chu Kingdom is sealed." Jiang Chong said directly, "The only thing you can still do now is to do your utmost to ensure that the Xiong clan continues to exist, instead of being wiped out like the royal family of Dayong before them!"

Before Xiong Yi could speak, Xiong Yi couldn't help but retort, "That's not necessarily true. Even if that dynasty collapses, the Great Chu still has thousands of miles of land and countless loyal and patriotic people. The Xiong family has been in power for hundreds of years. How could it collapse so easily?"

"A benevolent and righteous man?" Jiang Chong couldn't help but laugh, looking at Xiong Yi and saying, "The regent should let the young master go out and experience more, see some stories of the world, and know the joys and sorrows of life."

"We haven't had time yet!" Xiong Yi sighed. "I originally thought I could shelter them from the wind and rain and help them transition peacefully. I really didn't expect the storm to come so suddenly. Lord Jiang, you don't need to care about a child's words. He's young, but he has the courage and righteousness to do so. Just tell me, what should we do next?"

“The State of Chu has existed for hundreds of years, and your Xiong clan has received the support of countless people of Chu for just as long. Now that the fate of the Great Chu is no longer secure, it would be best if the Xiong clan could do something to give back to the people,” Jiang Chong said. “This is for the sake of the people, and also for the continuation of your Xiong clan!”

After a moment of silence, Xiong Yi said, "Given the current situation, what can the Xiong family do?"

"Of course, there is still much to be done!" Jiang Chong said. "No matter what, the Xiong family is still the current emperor. Na Wei is now trapped in Liyang County, caught in a dilemma. The day his food and military supplies run out will be the day he is destroyed. Soon after, the armies of the eight garrisons in Jiangnan will sweep in. How the Xiong family expresses their stance at this time will actually mean whether the south will be filled with war or peaceful!"

“I understand what you mean!” Xiong Yi said, “You mean that when Jiang Qian’s army comes to attack, the Xiong family will directly announce their surrender and stop resisting.”

Jiang Chong nodded and said, "That's right. Of course, we should assist in governing. What's the use of resistance? The biggest consequence is just a lot of extra effort. The final result will not change at all, but the consequences will be the suffering of the people of Chu and the complete annihilation of the Chu royal family."

“Even if I agree, Xiang Zhuang, who is currently waiting in Yuezhou, wouldn’t agree, would he?” Xiong Yi said.

Jiang Chong laughed and said, "Xiang Zhuang's only asset right now is his navy. As far as I know, your influence over that navy is far greater than Xiang Zhuang's. Once you give the order, that navy will no longer obey him. And without that navy, what is Xiang Zhuang's current strength?"

Xiong Yi smiled wryly: "You guys even know this?"

Jiang Chong then asked, "What does the Regent think of Chen Yan?"

"He is a valiant naval commander!"

"Would you be surprised if I told you that this person had actually secretly defected to Linghu Ye after the defeat at Chibi?"

Xiong Yi frowned slightly: "Is that really so?"

Jiang Chong nodded: "This time, when Xin was defeated in Tongan County, Na Wei originally wanted to organize a joint land and water counterattack, but Chen Yan refused to obey the order and even led the Jiangnan Navy all the way up to the Han River Basin. This is because he wanted to get rid of the control of Chu. He could also see that Chu would definitely not be able to hold on any longer."

"So you must take down Chen Yan!"

Jiang Chong nodded: "Linghu Ye will inevitably lead his troops north to fight the Northern Court. Chen Yan's navy will then be used to coordinate with his Nanyang garrison to contain our Xiangfan. If he gets stuck with this 'dog skin plaster,' it won't be fatal, but it will be very uncomfortable. So we definitely have to take him down."

"Do Wang Dao and Yao Dali still not have absolute confidence in defeating Chen Yan?" "The last victory was by chance!" Jiang Chong said frankly, "A large part of the reason was that most of the officers and soldiers of Chen Yan's navy participated in that battle back then, and Empress Dowager Jiang had unparalleled prestige in their hearts. But this time is different. The reorganized navy will no longer be affected by that, and the Jiangnan navy has little feeling about what happened back then. In addition, with Chen Yan's own abilities, we really don't have a sure chance of winning."

"It's not necessarily a matter of losing!"

“If we can find more keys to victory, why don’t we use them?” Jiang Chong said. “Victory will come more easily, fewer people will die, and the impact of the war will be minimized, won’t it? Moreover, assisting in government is also your opportunity to secure future benefits from the Xiong family!”

"Is this all you need to do?"

"And Xiang Zhuang!" Jiang Chong said. "Xiang Zhuang is unaware of the details of this Danyang incident, and we have completely sealed off the specific information of those involved. What the outside world knows is only the elite of my Jiang family and the disciples of the Five Tigers Breaking the Gate Blade, plus the troops of Zhou Zheng, the governor of Danyang, and some of the Tianluo direct action teams. And the only person in Danyang who wants to unite these forces to exert their greatest power is, of course, you, the Regent!"

Xiong Yi's brows furrowed into a deep frown.

Xiong Yi was somewhat puzzled. How could such a great achievement be attributed to his own grandfather?
Seemingly knowing what his grandson was thinking, Xiong Yi patted his shoulder and said, "Such a pie falling directly into my head means that I'll have to take the blame for a huge mess. Xiang Zhuang's sword dance was aimed at Liu Bang. Are you trying to make me deal with Xiang Zhuang?"

Jiang Chong gave a thumbs up: "The magistrate is indeed capable, seeing through our intentions at a glance. The Xiang family's power and influence are deeply entrenched in Yuezhou and other places. If we were to encircle and suppress them after this incident, I'm afraid the battle would turn into a mess again. But what if Xiang Zhuang leaves Yuezhou and leads his troops to Danyang?"

Xiong Yi, standing to the side, was already deathly pale.

With Jiang Chong's words, his schemes were laid bare.

That is, to lure Xiang Zhuang over in Xiong Yi's name, and then capture Xiang Zhuang's troops in one fell swoop. By then, the resistance forces within the Chu state will have been basically eliminated.

"Grandpa!" He suddenly grabbed Xiong Yi's arm.

"Li Dachui promised that once these two things are done, the Xiong family can continue to exist?"

"Of course, whether Xiong Shi wants to continue living in a certain place in Chu or move to another place to live an ordinary life is up to you, the Regent," Jiang Chong said.

"How can we trust Li Dachui?" Xiong Yi retorted loudly.

Jiang Chong smiled at Xiong Yi: "The regent will definitely believe it!"

"The Xiong and Chu families have been friends for hundreds of years." Xiong Yi closed his eyes.

"Either perish together, or survive alone!" Jiang Chong's tone was ruthless. "That depends on the wisdom of the regent! The Xiang clan has already been almost wiped out by Na Wei. Compared to the countless people in Yuezhou and other places, what are the remaining people?"

(End of this chapter)