An Cui had always known that the Red Lotus Group was in internal discord, and he had tried to obtain a deeper understanding of the issue. But back then, he hadn’t had resources and could convince no one to join his side at all. He had stayed in the Red Lotus Group for quite some time, yet he just couldn’t reach a higher position. Naturally, he couldn’t investigate further.
With Jiang Pengji’s financial help, in addition to the fact that An Cui was good at managing interpersonal networks, it was as if a tiger had been given wings. He soon became the high-profile leader of a small group.
The scholar asked him for advice a few times, making An Cui his ghostwriter. This fulfilled An Cui’s wishes perfectly.
However, the scholar didn’t recommend An Cui to the cult leader as he’d promised. Instead, he suppressed An Cui both consciously and subconsciously.
An Cui didn’t mind at first, but he hadn’t expected for chance to accomplish what art had failed to do. He had caught the eye of someone very important!
The person in question was the second-in-command of the Red Lotus Group. He felt that he had gone through fire and water with the cult leader, risking his life, yet in the end, he was treated as inferior to a weasel. So, he had always considered the scholar as a sting in the eye and a thorn in the flesh. To make matters worse, the cult leader was engrossed in his luxurious enjoyments and didn’t even bother to give a small fraction of the wealth to his sworn brothers… It ticked off the second-in-command immensely, and he harbored hatred for both the scholar and the cult leader.
The second-in-command wanted to oust the scholar from power. At the same time, he wanted to replace the cult leader, but he hadn’t had a chance yet.
An Cui showing up gave the second-in-command hope.
He approached An Cui in secret, attempting to undermine the relationship between An Cui and the scholar multiple times by promising An Cui great rewards.
An Cui knew what the second-in-command was trying to do all too well, but he acted otherwise, secretly sounding out the actual goal of the latter.
After some probing, An Cui realized that it was a big coincidence. Everything was going smoothly and he was getting whatever he wished. It was too wonderful for words!
In the end, they hit it off and decided to stir up some trouble.
The beggar was the messenger that An Cui had sent in secret to inform Jiang Pengji of an important piece of information.
An Cui wanted to work with the second-in-command, obeying the latter on the surface and helping him stage a military campaign to revolt against the leader of the Red Lotus Group. This would lure the other party into sending his troops out of the Red Lotus Group. Then, the Red Lotus Group would have a weak defense, and An Cui would send his men to coordinate with their actions. Then, Jiang Pengji could take the opportunity to conquer Honglian District.
When the scholar received the news of the cult leader being held and taken prisoner and hurriedly sent troops to stop the second-in-command, Jiang Pengji could turn back and attack Jinmen District.
Finally, after the scholar and the second-in-command fought it out in Qiuyu District, she could attack and defeat them both.
After Jiang Pengji listened to the beggar’s retelling of the situation, she couldn’t help but frown inwardly. On her face, however, she still showed an appropriate amount of joy.
She hadn’t expected An Cui to be so good at acting that he could perform as a triple agent.
The audience of the livestream was still confused after listening for so long. It took them quite some effort and time for them to understand the situation.
Too Many Mosquitoes in Summer: “As an onlooker, I am so surprised that I spilled the popcorn I have been holding. Guru An Cui has really played his cards well as a triple agent.”
Shivering in Winter: “Although the plan sounds good, I’m still a bit worried. Who knows whether this An Cui is really willing to help the streamer? What if he is not a triple agent and is just playing the three parties against each other, actually being loyal only to himself? It would be a bad situation.”
Often Sleepy in Spring: “I have watched the livestream before. An Cui and the streamer are in a partnership, neither of them must loyally obey the other. His interests are aligned with those of the streamer. An Cui can only benefit if the streamer benefits, so the possibility of An Cui setting up a trap targeted at the streamer is very, very low.”
So Cold in Autumn: “I don’t care who An Cui is loyal to at all. Based on his capabilities as a triple agent, I’d say that the Oscars owe him an award for being the best actor!”
Not only did the Oscars owe An Cui a Best Actor award, but even Jiang Pengji could hardly resist the impulse to press “Like” to commend his efforts.
The Red Lotus Group wasn’t very smart. The way of thinking of those outlaws was pretty weird. Still, An Cui could closely predict their thoughts and the next steps they would take. This way, he was able to seize every single chance to benefit himself… Such a man was indeed talented.
After the beggar received his reward and left, the advisors listening beside them began to speak.
Qiguan Rang frowned. He had always been more untrusting, and he didn’t have the slightest bit of trust in An Cui.
Yang Si had interacted with An Cui for a short time and had learned more about him through what Wei Ci had said. He was relatively optimistic about the plan.
Qiguan Rang asked, “Is An Cui trustworthy?”
Yang Si curled the corners of his lips and smiled slightly, his expression calculating.
He took a glance at the fan made of goose feathers in Qiguan Rang’s hand and could feel the cold creeping up his spine just from looking at it, so he quietly looked away. “It doesn’t matter whether he is trustworthy or not. What matters is how much our lord can benefit from him. Even if An Cui harbors hostile intentions, he cannot affect the strong foundations of our lord. My lord, there is no harm in sitting idly aside as the two parties fight it out. We can wait for the Red Lotus Group to split up from the inside, fight and exhaust each other, then take advantage of them both in the end.”
However, Jiang Pengji would rather battle on New Year’s Day. She couldn’t afford to drag on further and waste more time.
Li Yun listened with confusion and said sheepishly after a good while, “So, my two good sirs… We just watch them fight each other?”
Qiguan Rang lifted his head and gave Li Yun a look, saying in surprise, “Why should we not take advantage of them given the chance?”
Li Yun was stunned.
Dian Yan was silent in thought for quite a good while, contemplating his words over and over. He then spoke up cautiously, “But, but if we follow the plan, we might not have enough manpower.” Dian Yan’s expression was somewhat defeated. They had sent more than 10,000 troops, but attacking four districts would require them not just to rush all over the place. They would need to stay highly alert as well. It would wear down the soldier’s energy and combat power significantly.
If they were to follow their previous plan and take the districts slowly and steadily, with more than 10,000 men, they wouldn’t be facing a shortage of manpower.
However, if they were to act in concert with An Cui’s plans, it would be equivalent to staging a war on multiple fronts. Their men would be too dispersed and it would be detrimental to their development and consolidation of the newly acquired territories.
Jiang Pengji said, “Opportunities don’t come by frequently, and we cannot afford to miss this one. It’s now or never. Dian Yan’s worries are not unfounded, so I plan to deploy some of the recruits here to guard the city, and it would more or less deter the outlaws of the Red Lotus Group.”
The reason the Red Lotus Group was not afraid of Jiang Pengji was that they felt they could crush her with their numbers.
It was like a gang fight in which a group of gangsters surrounded a master of martial arts.
Even though they knew that the other party was a master in martial arts, he was alone, so the gangsters could take him down if they attacked all at once.
What if the master of martial arts was not alone, but instead, there were seven or eight of them present?
The gangsters would be cautious and careful, not daring to act recklessly.
In a similar vein, once Jiang Pengji increased the number of her troops, the Red Lotus Group would have to think carefully before taking action against her.
Qiguan Rang lowered his gaze upon hearing her words.
His lord had a weird quirk of never letting recruits set foot on the battlefield if they hadn’t reached a certain standard and trained for a sufficient amount of time. Recruits lacking in experience and capability were far too likely to die in battle. To her, sending immature recruits onto the battlefield was no different from sending them to their deaths.
Once she got recruits involved in the battle, it meant that she had made up her mind to get the task done.
Yang Si smiled sinisterly. “If we deploy troops now, Zixiao will probably go mad from exhaustion.”
Jiang Pengji answered, “Zixiao’s health isn’t good, but no one can wear him out. Don’t we still have Feng Zhen there to carry the team?”
Wei Ci needed only to complete his duties. As for the extra work, he could just throw it to Feng Zhen.
Yang Si was momentarily surprised. He felt that there was something weird going on that he couldn’t put into words.
He felt as if he had just witnessed a public display of affection…
