Zhutian: From Douluo, the illusion becomes real

Chapter 683, Section 682: Loyalty (Part 1)

Black and white are relative terms.

So, the next day, having made his plans, Bai Yifei met Chao Nu Yao, who was also his cousin, Lady Mingzhu, shortly after court.

There were no idle words after we met.

After all, the two were very familiar with each other.

You can't say they were childhood sweethearts.

Because the two did not have a childhood sweetheart relationship.

The situation is limited to mere acquaintance.

In addition, the two had different hobbies. Madam Mingzhu had liked fancy things since childhood and was cunning, while Bai Yifei had liked military books and fighting since childhood and looked down on Madam Mingzhu's methods.

Because Bai Yifei's goal from a young age was to become a man like Bai Qi, or rather, to become a general renowned throughout the world.

Bai Qi was just one of the most famous generals in the world.

It was also the most representative at the time.

In fact, besides Bai Qi, there were many other famous generals.

To put it more simply, Li Mu is an example.

Looking further ahead, we could even consider Han Xin in the future.

Of course, whether these two men could defeat Bai Qi in the Battle of Changping is still unknown. This is not only because they were not from the same era, but even if they were from the same era, given the context of the Battle of Changping, no one could guarantee that they could defeat Bai Qi. It mainly depended on how far the war progressed. In fact, if they were surrounded, that is, after Bai Qi formed a one-to-one encirclement, perhaps the only one who could lead the Zhao army to break through was Xiang Yu, the Hegemon of all time, who could rely on his absolute charging ability to break through. Military strategy is all about momentum. As long as the momentum and personal strength are at their peak, any technique is useless. Of course, personal strength is still relatively fragile in the face of the power of heaven and earth. In suitable geographical conditions, such as the battle where Bai Qi flooded the Chu Kingdom, even if Xiang Yu came, he would not be able to turn the tide.

Besides, there might be another person who could win the Battle of Changping when Zhao's army was surrounded. However, this person was not a general, but an emperor. Most people who have heard of his deeds should be able to guess who he is: Liu Xiu, known as the Son of Heaven.

What if a meteorite were to fall down?

No matter how strong Bai Qi is, it's useless.

In conclusion, Zhao Kuo's abilities were adequate.

Anyone could hold out for more than forty days and keep the military camp from collapsing.

They can all be called famous generals.

Regardless of what underhanded tactics this famous general used.

Even if it's just to encourage soldiers not to give up because of their homesickness.

It's not something an ordinary person can do.

It's fair to say that if Zhao Kuo were replaced by Ma Su, Prime Minister Zhuge Liang would probably be laughing out loud. Whether Zhao Kuo was strong or weak depends on who he was compared to. He was certainly no match for Bai Qi, but he was quite capable compared to Zhang He.

The key point is that Zhao Kuo was a commander-in-chief, not a general.

Zhao Kuo possessed the ability to command troops exceeding 100,000.

This was extremely rare in Shu Han.

The Shu Han state had no shortage of talented generals.

All five Tiger Generals were talented generals. Ma Chao might be considered a commander-in-chief because he had led large-scale cavalry, but considering his personality flaws and lack of strategic acumen, he was not good at using tactics. Zhang Fei at least had the victory at Changban Slope, Guan Yu had flooded seven armies, Huang Zhong had fought in the Battle of Dingjun Mountain, and Zhao Yun was even more outstanding, lacking nothing in courage, wisdom, and martial prowess. Only Ma Chao was manipulated by Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and others.

The schemes to sow discord in Chinese literature are numerous.

Therefore, Zhao Kuo can be viewed as an enhanced version of Ma Chao.

In addition, the Zhao state already had a large number of cavalry.

Since King Wuling of Zhao implemented his reforms.

Wearing nomadic clothing and practicing archery on horseback.

Although Zhao's cavalry were light cavalry, they were different from the heavily armored Golden Fire Cavalry.

But the destructive power of besieging a point to attack reinforcements is something everyone understands.

It mainly depends on who uses it.

What tactics should be used?

In fact, Qin's Golden Fire Cavalry was very suitable for a commander like Xiang Yu. He didn't need to think too much; he just needed to find the enemy commander's position and then charge forward. In front of the running heavy cavalry, everything would be smashed and trampled into mincemeat. Low endurance didn't matter; these things were like a group of high-speed lucky cavalry, and almost anyone who came near them would die.

In addition, Zhao Kuo was also very loyal.

They died on the way to the front.

He sacrificed his life for his country.

In this respect alone, he was far superior to Ma Su, who escaped and returned.

Unfortunately, it was all a matter of timing and fate.

A wrong decision.

This makes it impossible for the situation to turn around.

Therefore, considering Bai Yifei's age, it is perfectly normal for him to idolize Bai Qi, not to mention that Bai Yifei has been studying Bai Qi's military strategy books since he was a child.

It's called a military treatise, but it's more like a notebook.

Most of these are summaries of Bai Qi's experiences and personal opinions during his military campaigns.

As for how this notebook came about.

Obviously not important.

It's at least unrelated to the current topic.

Also, because Madam Mingzhu and Bai Yifei were too familiar with each other.

Therefore, before Bai Yifei could speak, Madam Mingzhu had already discerned part of his thoughts, and before Madam Mingzhu could speak, Bai Yifei had also discerned part of Madam Mingzhu's thoughts. Both of them instinctively opened their mouths at the same time, only to close them at the same time. After a moment of stunned silence, they were both amused and exasperated. Ultimately, Bai Yifei spoke first, seizing the initiative: "Let me speak first..."

"Row."

Madam Mingzhu nodded.

They had this habit of interrupting each other when they were little.

This led to arguments.

After several adjustments.

A tacit understanding was gradually cultivated.

Most of the time, she would take the initiative to back down.

Or perhaps wait until Bai Yifei shuts up before speaking.

Only on very rare occasions, when Bai Yifei determined that what he wanted to say was not very important and could be said or not, would he yield to her.

"Last night, Bloodcloth Fortress was attacked."

"Tianze fled."

"Missing."

"In addition, the other people from Baiyue also fled."

"This doesn't look like a hasty escape."

"It was more like a premeditated rescue."

"I know the problem isn't with you."

"But there are indeed problems inside Nightfall."

"What I can't understand is why there are so many experts in Quicksand."

"Or has someone infiltrated places they shouldn't have?"

Bai Yifei stated this fact in as calm a tone as possible, then changed the subject: "Your probing last night yielded no results?"

Madam Mingzhu didn't tell Bai Yifei about her plans, but the tacit understanding between the cousins ​​was enough for them to guess each other's general intentions.

It would be a problem if Madam Mingzhu remained inactive.

If something happens.

Madam Mingzhu would not come to see him on time.

No need to carry any messages.

It's enough to simply not show up.

Since Lady Mingzhu chose to see him, there are only two possibilities: either Lady Mingzhu discovered something was amiss and ended the probing prematurely without delving deeper, fearing she might alert him; or Lady Mingzhu did probe, but to no avail, and everything seemed ordinary, so there was no need to probe further.

But a third possibility also exists!
"That depends on what outcome you want, cousin."

Madam Mingzhu shook her head.

He offered a meaningful reminder.

One sentence put Bai Yifei on high alert.

The pupils shrank.

He looked at Madam Mingzhu in surprise.

Even with his composure, he was starting to lose his composure: "Mingzhu, what do you mean by that? You haven't joined Quicksand, have you? Or is there some kind of leverage that Quicksand has over you? After all, if Quicksand has absorbed the power of the Baiyue assassin group, you alone really can't defeat them..."

"What if it's a snare?" Lady Mingzhu asked in a deep voice.

Bai Yifei was taken aback for a moment.

Immediately, his expression changed drastically.

Confused, he asked, "Why would the Luo Wang (Net of Heaven) get involved in this?"

"Because one of the core members of Quicksand is the current Lord of the Net."

“Last night, in Honglian’s palace, I saw with my own eyes Jingni, one of the Eight Swords of Yue, holding the Jingni Sword and acting as a guard beside Honglian. Although I have no evidence, I can almost conclude that Honglian and the Lord of Luowang have a relationship that goes beyond friendship.”

"Moreover, judging from Honglian's attitude..."

"This is not a marriage of convenience."

"It's not a matter of support at any cost."

"Honglian seems to really like that Lord of the Net."

"So, cousin, you need to think this through!"

“We still have a chance right now, because the main body of the Luo Wang is no longer here. Currently, only the Jing Ni Sword Master and the Luo Wang Master are based in Xinzheng, but they are top-tier members who are both Grandmaster-level martial artists.”

"Once the other eight swordsmen of Yue arrive..."

“And the other experts from the other branches will arrive soon.”

"At that time, you will have no choice."

Lady Mingzhu took a deep breath and said this.

Bai Yifei, who had figured everything out, gave a bitter smile.

He quipped with a touch of self-deprecation, "It seems that the Lord of the Net is quite merciful. Before taking action, he even sent you to persuade me. Mingzhu, I don't believe I've done anything to wrong you, so I hope you can tell me the truth. Please tell me, are the things you've told me true?"

"It's the truth."

"However, in my opinion, this is not a kind of mercy."

"It's not that they don't care."

"The Lord of the Net did not instruct me to inform you."

"Everything was my own choice."

"So, judging from the capabilities of the Net, either the Lord of the Net noticed but didn't care, tacitly accepting my action of informing you, or the Lord of the Net didn't care from beginning to end, and had absolute confidence that even if I betrayed him and informed you, or even betrayed him to Nightfall, he was confident that he could sweep Nightfall away with ease and support Quicksand."

"Although I still don't understand his intention in doing this."

Why support Liusha?

"But the young often admire 'love'."

"If you insist on saying it's a case of 'raging for a beauty,' then so be it."

"Never mind whether this explanation is reliable or not."

"In short, it makes no logical problem."

"So, cousin, I'm leaving this choice to you now. Whether to seize the opportunity to defect or to run to death when there's no other option, I don't think I have the right to make that choice for you."

Madam Mingzhu answered sincerely.

Bai Yifei was indeed tempted.

But you could also say that you weren't moved.

Because Bai Yifei was very clear about his own nature, he was completely different from the Tide Demoness. His hands were stained with far too much blood, and it seemed that he had no other way but to go down this dark path.

He wasn't sure if the Ninth Prince would let him go.

Moreover, a new broom sweeps clean.

If Han Fei were to rise to power, he would become the King of Han.

A general like him who commands thousands of soldiers.

Moreover, this is a very conservative figure.

The so-called thousands of soldiers are white-armored soldiers. Even if he rebels, these white-armored soldiers will follow him and will be a major threat to any monarch. Even if a monarch is tolerant, he cannot tolerate such people.

For details, please refer to the Xuanwu Gate Incident.

Eight hundred it is.

Certainly, there were many military officers among these eight hundred men.

Saying that one can fight a hundred is a bit of an exaggeration.

But it's no exaggeration to say that one person can take on ten.

There were no generals among the white-armored soldiers.

As for martial arts skills, they're even in that respect.

If everyone practices martial arts, it's as if nobody practices martial arts.

But thousands of people won't be easily evened out.

Holding these thousands of white-armored soldiers in his hands is like holding his lifeline. If Han Fei wants to kill him after taking power, he can use this to threaten Han Fei and ask for a way out. But if he surrenders to Liu Sha now and hands over the command of these white-armored soldiers to show his loyalty, then in the future, when Han Fei wants to kill him, he only needs to issue an edict and arbitrarily accuse him of any crime to confiscate his property and exterminate his clan.

Apart from that, he had no contact with Han Fei.

He could trust a middleman.

For example, suppose he has a daughter.

Now, he can let his daughter communicate and build a relationship with Han Fei.

After all, everyone needs protection.

A sense of security is necessary.

As for the issues of charges and public acceptance.

joke.

Doesn't he know how many heinous things he has done?
How did those girls, who were received by the Tide Demon and collected by the Emerald Tiger, ultimately die? Does the murderer dare to say he doesn't know?
Even from a legal perspective, he should be judged.

He couldn't possibly survive.

There's no need to even consider personal factors here.

For the sake of pure fairness, he deserves to die.

How could Han Fei knowingly break the law?

Therefore, after thinking for a moment, Bai Yifei made another choice: "Mingzhu, what is your relationship with this Lord of the Net? If I side with him, can I avoid death?"

"I'm really not sure about that..."

Madam Mingzhu hesitated for four or five seconds, then shook her head.

But she also understood what Bai Yifei meant by asking that question.

She knew what Bai Yifei had done.

There's nothing you can do about the problems you're born with.

Rather than relying on drinking blood to survive, it's more accurate to say that Bai Yifei needs to absorb killing intent to reduce his pain. Unlike Bai Qi, Bai Yifei is not afraid of being devoured by ten thousand souls because he has the ability to suppress this killing intent. To put it bluntly, if I've killed the living, why would I be afraid of the dead? There's no need to worry about this kind of pain. But Bai Yifei clearly doesn't have Bai Qi's perseverance and courage. Coupled with his innate factors, it's truly an unavoidable outcome.

However, it's not entirely true that there's no way to solve this problem.

Can't we spare those girls?
of course can!

Slaughtering pigs or cattle.

If all else fails, go to prison and drag a few death row inmates out and behead them.

It’s okay.

Bai Yifei simply didn't like doing that.

I also dislike that violent and barbaric approach.

Therefore, he chose a more elegant way to reduce his own pain.

However, what goes around comes around.

Currently, this very flaw has become the biggest obstacle preventing him from switching sides.

"How about this."

"I'll go ask for you, cousin."

Madam Mingzhu made the suggestion with a sense of helplessness.

Bai Yifei sighed.

But the situation is stronger than the people.

He could only nod.

Perhaps others wouldn't mind, but he absolutely didn't want to experience being besieged by eight grandmasters, including his mother who was still in seclusion, who also didn't want to be attacked by eight of the world's top grandmasters.

(End of this chapter)