Chapter 653

Xu Zengyi, after reading Yang Tiejiang's letter, smiled and said: 'This matter is easy, my lord and Lao Yang just swap positions. My lord hasn't returned to Hezhou for some time, you might as well rest a while and entrust the attack on Yushan Prefecture and Zhong Qiang to Lao Yang.'

'No!' Chen Wuji firmly refused, 'I have this breath stuck in my chest, still not smoothed out, and you want me to go back and rest? Impossible! I must personally set foot on Zhong Qiang's land, turn their pastures into our pastures, into our fertile fields.'

Chen San Shu

Although Hezhou is currently stable, after all it is where my lord's Junzhi is located, the true rear base; we cannot fail to leave a trustworthy, strong person to command the troops there. If Lao Yang leaves, should anything happen, the consequences would be unpredictable.

Actually, San Shu would be a good choice, but he is currently stationed in Guangtongzhou, also stretched thin; for that Guangtongzhou area, San Shu wants to fully secure it, which would take at least half a year, or even longer.

Chen Wuji clapped his hands, 'You see, we two had the same idea on this, but since Lao Yang brought it up, I can't ignore it? Mister, please help persuade him.'

Xu Zengyi chuckled, 'My lord, what's difficult about this? Let him discuss with San Shu. My lord, you have agreed to this, but Hezhou is an important place, cannot be left undefended; as long as San Shu's side can free up manpower, Guangtongzhou has a successor who can take charge, then he can leave Hezhou and lead troops to the front line.'

Chen Wuji's expression brightened, 'No need to say, it's still the strategist; let's do it that way!'

Xu Zengyi pulled out a letter case from his sleeve, 'Coincidentally, I also have a letter here.'

Chen Family

Chen Wuji picked up his brush, preparing to reply to Yang Tiejiang with a letter.

'Zhong Qiang's Linglu Langdu.' Xu Zengyi said.

Yushan Prefecture

Guangtong Prefecture

Chen Wuji rubbed his forehead, 'In our previous intelligence, Zhong Qiang didn't seem to have any tribal officials, right?'

Central Plains

Dayu Dynasty

Xu Zengyi stared for a moment, 'My lord, you don't know this matter, and actually I don't know either.'

Prefectural Seat

Xu Zengyi said, 'Zhong Qiang's tribal officials were probably established recently; they have great ambitions.'

'As can be seen.' Chen Wuji snorted, 'Our strongest neighbor is likely considering founding a state; but if they want to found a state, what about the other Qiang? Will they agree?'

Court

The various Qiang peoples had two precedents for founding a state in ancient times; the tribal official system was established then. The entire dynasty, building on the clan system, also established the tribal official system, and meanwhile, following the Zhongyuan Dynasty, set up the Secretariat, the Military Council, and the Three Departments, etc.

Regional Inspector Commander

Knowing Self and Enemy

Among the various clans, those like Zhong Qiang able to field over a hundred thousand troops are extremely rare. Setting aside the western regions unknown to Chen Wuji, there seem to be only two or three such groups in total.

Military Advisor

Tribal Official

Tribal Official System

Because of these special factors, it is not easy for the Qiang People to found a state; first, they must surely obtain the approval of the other clan alliances and major clans, otherwise what right do you have to be emperor of the Qiang People? To make your clansmen become Qiang nobles?

'It's not clear for now, but Zhong Qiang should be considered one of the strongest among the various Qiang.' Xu Zengyi said, 'Previously, the various Qiang formed an alliance and attacked our Dayu Dynasty; Zhong Qiang merely sent a symbolic two or three thousand troops, likely to preserve its strength.'

'Now they have suddenly mustered a hundred thousand troops; judging by this momentum, it seems they intend to occupy Nan Jun and then found a state. If they occupy Nan Jun, Zhong Qiang should have justification to let the other Qiang clans agree to founding a state.'

Qiang clans

Xu Zengyi nodded and gave a light laugh, 'This is the greatest possibility I can think of for now; however, their idea may only remain a thought for the time being.'

Clan? clan appears many times; generic term "clan". Not a proper name; but it's a term. Should we list? It's a common noun, not a named entity. The instruction says list named entities/coined terms. "clan" is a common noun meaning clan/tribe. Not a proper name. So we exclude.

He opened the lacquer-sealed letter case and pulled out a piece of extremely thin parchment, 'How come these people still haven't used our paper? If I weren't currently thinking about burying them all, I'd really want to discuss business with them.'

Tribal Alliance

This Qiang person's Linglu is quite courteous; the beginning of the letter repeatedly greets Chen Wuji many times, and the characters are written quite well, suggesting they have painstakingly studied Zhongyuan culture.

'Huh? This damn thing actually advises me to surrender? Where does he get the nerve?!' Having read halfway through the letter, Chen Wuji was utterly shocked.

Tribal official system? Already.

In the letter he said he understood Chen Wuji and the Chen clan very well, detailing how the Chen clan suffered humiliation at the hands of the Zhongyuan court, how the once-respected military family had fallen into being ordinary commoners bullied by others.

Then came a wave of empathy, saying he deeply understood Chen Wuji's desire to overthrow the Dayu Dynasty and change dynasties, and that he himself thought the same; afterwards he suggested Chen Wuji cooperate with them to destroy the Dayu Dynasty together.

"I have to admit, they really did a lot of work on me; their understanding is indeed quite detailed, they almost managed to recount our family genealogy. Compared to that, our understanding of them is still shallow." Chen Wuji sighed and said, "This matter should serve as a warning."

Xu Zengyi said: "The Qiang People have been preparing for this battle for a long time, not to mention their secret collusion with the court's powerful officials. Just those merchant caravans traveling around Da Yu are enough for them to gather a lot of information; they all come with a purpose."

"Our response was a bit slow; in terms of Knowing Self and Enemy, we naturally fall short of the Qiang People. The Qiang People advised their lord to surrender; I don't know what terms they have offered to their lord."

Chen Wuji sneered and said: "They want to take revenge on our Chen Family!"

This also made Xu Zengyi laugh: "It seems they still lack knowledge; if they knew what the title Regional Inspector Commander signifies, perhaps they wouldn't have said that."

"How interesting!" Chen Wuji laughed.