The deepest affection in Gu Long's world

Chapter 53 The Great Desert Line Plan

Fang Yunhua, who had just left Yuan Suiyun's place, originally planned to go back to his residence and talk to Hua Zhenzhen again to get some more information.

But to his surprise, he was stopped by the disciple who came to report.

It's Shangguan Cangxing who has arrived.

It must be said that Shangguan Cangxing was very efficient; judging from the situation, it seemed that he had kidnapped Lin Yi overnight.

After meeting the two again in the guest hall, Lin Yi first politely expressed his gratitude for the previous gift on behalf of the Prince An's Mansion, and made it clear that when the three forces from different regions formed an alliance to go to Mount Hua to demand an explanation.

The Prince An's Mansion is on the side of the Huashan Sect and will provide assistance to the best of its ability.

For Fang Yunhua, this was something he could do but listen to, but he did need a little help from the other party.

"As for the information about those forces and related old cases, I understand. I will have Officer Luo retrieve all the case files later."

After hearing that the other party needed these things, Lin Yi basically understood Fang Yunhua's plan.

How many people in the martial arts world have clean hands? This might not be a big deal under normal circumstances, but now that the storm of cracking down on the Beggars' Clan has just subsided, some of these small sparks could easily ignite into a raging inferno if given a little more attention.

Of course, he believed that Fang Yunhua was a sensible person and would not allow these three places to be drawn into chaos and fighting again. It would be enough to use him to control and warn some fools.

Then, the conversation shifted to the real focus.

"Was the brilliant idea that Young Master Fang mentioned earlier related to Shi Guanyin?"

"To be precise, it's the Western Regions. Don't you think now is the perfect time for the imperial court to intervene and develop its strategy in the Western Regions?"

Lin Yi blinked, not reacting for a moment.

Shangguan Cangxing, who had long been interested in this matter, seemed to be deep in thought.

"By the way! It seems that the Desert King Jamukha was also killed by Nangong Ling and Wuhua working together! Although he himself was not very strong, he commanded thousands of troops in the Western Desert."

Taking advantage of its natural environment and good relations with the Western Regions, it has repeatedly repelled some of our dynasty's attempts to test us.

Now that he's dead, even if his successor is highly capable, it will likely be difficult to maintain the previous tacit cooperation with the Western Regions.

Lin Yi's eyes lit up, but just as he was about to speak, he heard Fang Yunhua say something else.

"I just received news that a rebellion has broken out in the Kingdom of Kucha. The king had no choice but to evacuate the capital with a small number of followers. He is, in my opinion, a spy planted by the court in the Western Regions that we can use!"

In the original storyline of the Great Desert, although the King of Kucha had successfully eliminated the rebels, he had borrowed troops from several other countries at great expense. It is likely that even if he were to regain the throne, he would face countless troubles.

The first question is how to deal with those subjects who previously seemed to have feigned surrender to the rebels. Then, after the king used the treasures of the former king and invited several reinforcements to repel the rebels, would these people so easily accept the money and leave?

Furthermore, the people of Kucha likely already had lost most of their support because of their king's decision to flee upon discovering a crisis.

So, although the storyline seems to have ended and everything is moving in a positive direction, in reality, the situation of this King of Kucha was actually worse than if he had found an oasis to continue enjoying some peace and tranquility.

What's even more ridiculous is that after the King of Kucha used the Star of Bliss to pull off a clever stunt, the original text explicitly praised him as having the abilities of Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of Han.

Who among the Qin and Han emperors would be hastily driven from their capitals, forced to feign madness to buy time, and then ultimately retaken their capitals by using money to hire troops from neighboring states to launch a counterattack? But one thing must be admitted: this emperor was definitely the restless type.

His ambition was not commensurate with his strength, but it also meant that he possessed the gambling spirit of an ambitious person, which was also the point of exploitation that allowed him to become a thorn in the side of the Western Regions.

Perhaps in the mind of this King of Kucha, he could use the power of the Ming Dynasty to his advantage, thus expanding his own power.

Fang Yunhua then truthfully analyzed the behavior and personality of the King of Kucha, attributing some of the information to his friend Situ Liuxing, a well-known lone bandit who frequently appeared in the Western Regions.

After helping Fang Yunhua steal the wooden fish containing Wuhua's diary, he immediately went to the Western Regions to continue gathering relevant information for Fang Yunhua.

Once it is confirmed that the King of Kucha has entrusted the Peng Family Escort Agency to transport the Star of Bliss, and that a formal recruitment notice has been sent to the martial arts world of the Central Plains, this will be the perfect opportunity for him to intervene in the Great Desert storyline.

At this moment, Lin Yi remained silent for a long time.

Then he asked.

"What does Your Excellency wish to obtain?"

"Firstly, this will open up trade routes to the Western Regions. The potential profits are immense, so I don't need to elaborate. It's not unreasonable for my Huashan Sect to want a share of the pie."

Furthermore, even if my faction joins forces with the Prince An's mansion, we might not be able to take the entire stake in this deal. Therefore, I need the help of some friends, which inevitably means they will also have to share some of the profits.

Lin Yi nodded.

More important than the continuous flow of gold and silver was the fact that, from the perspective of the imperial court, this was a crucial strategic policy that allowed them to venture into the Western Regions and gradually gain control over the various kingdoms there.

"Finally, I want to kill Shi Guanyin. Steward Lin should know about the hatred between my sect and her from Shangguan. At the same time, according to my intelligence, Shi Guanyin is also in the Western Regions, and she has also set her sights on the Kingdom of Kucha."

Otherwise, why would Wuhua and Nangong Ling have gone to such lengths to lure Jamukha to the Central Plains, only to kill him without asking for anything in return?

Lin Yi seemed to understand something, and Shangguan Cangxing, who was standing to the side, also nodded belatedly.

"And most importantly, this operation will primarily use江湖人 (jianghu people) as the vanguard, which means that the imperial court's strategic policy of defending the north will not be affected. If everything goes smoothly and we successfully capture the King of Kucha, we can complete the first step in laying out our plans for the Western Regions."

The imperial court could then obtain the greatest results with the least cost, or even restore the long-abandoned Protectorate of the Western Regions.

What I need, aside from some nominal support, is nothing more than a helping hand that is insignificant to the imperial court.

Lin Yi fell silent. He admitted that he was once again impressed by Fang Yunhua. However, this was not a matter he could truly control. Now, he needed to report what Fang Yunhua had told him to His Highness Prince An as soon as possible.

This matter will likely be formally discussed in the imperial court within a few days.

As for the result...
Even the anti-war faction in the imperial court knew how great the gains would be if this plan succeeded, especially since it was led by people from the martial arts world, which meant they could shirk all responsibility at any time.

Surely no fool would turn down a benefit that's offered to them.

Moreover, if this matter succeeds, it will not only bring the court a large amount of wealth, but also a reputation and achievements that will be recorded in history books. This is the most irresistible temptation for those officials.

(End of this chapter)