Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
As expected, as soon as Yan Lin opened his mouth on Yang Jian’s behalf, Jiang Pengji knew their intention.
Xu Pei was surprised. Listening to Yan Lin in silence, he snuck a glance at Jiang Pengji, wondering if the two forces were in this together.
He had legitimate reasons to suspect that Yang Jian and Jiang Pengji were teaming up to take him down.
“I did not expect that Chief Yang would also have a plan like this,” Xu Pei said in a soft voice, adjusting his mood. Everyone wanted to free themselves from the alliance and have fun. No one cared about his feelings anymore. “Everything else is open for discussion. However, this one thing, not so much.”
Yan Lin was the surprised one this time. He looked at Jiang Pengji instinctively. “My lord, by ‘a plan like this,’ do you mean… ”
Xu Pei confirmed his guess. “Before Chief Yang came in, Lanting, my younger brother, was talking about a similar plan.”
Yan Lin put up a smile to hide his nervousness. “I never expected that District Magistrate Liu and my lord would see eye-to-eye and come up with the same idea!”
Jiang Pengji secretly sneered. Just looking at Yang Jian, she would never believe it had been Yang Jian’s own idea.
All three parties were concerned about their own business. An awkward silence filled the tent.
The audience of the streaming room was also burning with anxiety, despite not really being able to help thanks to the dimensional barrier.
Han Xiaoyu: I’m outraged! I wish I could grab Xu Pei by his collar and break his head! What’s he hesitating about?
The Fairy Queen’s Blush: Alas, no matter what, he’s the alliance leader and needs to balance all the forces. My impression of Xu Pei is not bad. But if he keeps acting like this and making trouble, I’ll want to break his head too! Too much nonsense!
Life is Bitter: Haha, you all want to break Xu Pei’s head, and that makes me feel bad for him. To be honest, the so-called alliance leader position is nothing but a fancy title. His power is very limited. The streamer and Yang Jian both want to ditch the main force. It makes sense that Xu Pei is worried.
Mi Jiu: I’m more curious if the streamer will team up with Yang Jian’s force. After all, they share the same goal, and the streamer doesn’t have enough soldiers. If they work with Yang Jian and help each other, it’s a win-win.
While the audience was seriously discussing the issue as if they were part of it, Team Yang Jian broke the stalemate.
Yan Lin turned to Xu Pei, looking composed. “This is an emergency and we need to act quickly. We hope your leadership can give the order as soon as possible.”
Xu Pei put on a bitter smile, still playing ball. “I understand that you are all eager to contribute to the country. But no rules, no justice. The alliance’s mission of saving the imperial court is closely related to the whole country’s future. I can’t let you guys run wild. We need to at least discuss this with all the other forces.”
Yan Lin felt sparks of rage within him. Even though his voice was still calm, his tone contained a hint of sarcasm.
“Discuss it with the other forces? They took a whole day to decide who should go first in the attack and still couldn’t reach a consensus. If we leave this to them for discussion too, perhaps by the time they make a decision, if ever, Prince Changshou will have already taken the throne by threatening the emperor to give it to him.”
Jiang Pengji didn’t mind helping. “An emergency like this requires exceptions. How about we make an exception for this, older brother Xu?”
Xu Pei’s eyelid twitched. How could he make such kind of exceptions?
If he let Yang Jian and Liu Xi’s forces go around Jiamen Pass, how could he explain it when the other lords confronted him?
Disunity had already shaken the alliance. With something like this, the alliance, which had taken so much effort to put together, might entirely fall apart.
“I don’t see any room for exceptions here. If you guys are in a hurry, we can put together a meeting. You can’t take action by yourselves like that.”
Sitting still, Yan Lin clenched his fists tightly, unwilling to give in.
Yang Jian’s force had been isolated by others in the alliance from the beginning. Now they had to endure this kind of treatment? That was more than unfair!
Jiang Pengji took it way easier. “My dear old brother Xu, have you ever seriously considered the future of the alliance?”
Xu Pei found the question unexpected. “What do you mean exactly, my dear young brother?”
The corners of Jiang Pengji’s lips lifted in a smile. “The alliance set out to save the imperial court following the royal order. This is justice in the face of treason. Justified, no doubt. But all of this is based on the fact that the emperor on that throne is still the same emperor. If the person on the throne is different, say it’s Prince Changshou instead, then we will be seen as nothing but traitors.”
Xu Pei’s eyelid twitched.
If the alliance became the traitors, as it’s leader, Xu Pei would naturally become the primary target for punishment.
However, the alliance was a force of 40,000. Even if Prince Changshou ended up taking the throne, he would not dare to attack them directly. Instead, he would probably try to break them apart from within.
“…If we can save the royal family within the imperial city in Chenzhou and keep the emperor safe, it would be on you, all thanks to your excellent leadership. All Chief Yang and I would get is the little credit for following orders and doing our jobs right. On the other hand, if we can’t save them all, because of your background, my dear old brother, you could still get away with it…”
Xu Pei agreed with Jiang Pengji even though he still looked humiliated and furious.
“My young brother, do you see me as a hypocrite?”
Jiang Pengji was not surprised by his reaction at all. “Of course I know you are not like that. But I’m worried. Especially after seeing that everyone in the alliance is busy arguing and not one has done anything important, I’m concerned that they will bring bad reputation to the alliance and to you, the leader, making outsiders think that our leader is someone indecisive and who lacks talents and charisma… Please seriously consider this, my dear brother Xu!”
If there was one thing Jiang Pengji was good at, it was accurately spotting a person’s weak point.
Xu Pei’s weak spot was his value of fame, reputation, and credit. She simply offered what he craved most. Of course, it worked well.
Looking down, Yan Lin listened, acting as if he was an outsider.
Still, he knew Xu Pei had bought it.
Just as expected.
Xu Pei’s face changed dramatically. After a long moment of hesitation and consideration, he said, “But don’t forget, my dear younger brother, all you have is 10,000 men. If you are unlucky enough to encounter Prince Changshou’s elite squad, it will be very dangerous. No. We can’t do this. How can I, as your older brother, put you in such great danger?”
Jiang Pengji gave a light smile. “I will be fine. We still have Chief Yang here. Combined, our forces will be over 20,000. Enough to get the job done.”
Xu Pei turned to Yang Jian to see what he thought.
“We will follow your orders completely, my lord,” Yan Lin said on Yang Jian’s behalf.
Xu Pei pounded the table, ambition and determination filling his heart. He agreed. Finally.
As for the other forces, he would figure out a way to convince them.
Yan Lin let out a cold snort after they left the tent.
“How generous you were, District Magistrate Liu!”
Jiang Pengji responded with a smile. “Why do you say that, sir?”
“We will be the ones fighting, bleeding, and putting our lives in danger on the front line, yet we have to give all the credit to Xu Pei. If that’s not generous, I don’t know what is!”
Jiang Pengji shrugged. “We’ve gotta give something to get something. Credit is nothing. We need real benefits in our hands.”
If they hadn’t bribed Xu Pei with credit and fame, he would have never let them do it.
Yan Lin understood it, of course, but he was still annoyed.
“Since we’re gonna work together, how about we meet up and talk about the plan?”
Yan Lin looked down. “Sure.”
