Chapter 206: Build High Walls, Store Abundant Grain, and Delay Claiming the Title of King

Zhu Ge Yu was a scheming man; he had long since investigated the situations in various regions, and while sipping tea, he explained to Jiang Jiang Mingyu:

"This place, Cangzhou, has Yizhou to the east, Lanzhou to the west, and Guizhou to the south. Although that fellow Fei Hou is not much, one must not underestimate him; as long as he does not come to stir trouble now, we can still catch our breath."

"Over in Yizhou, there is a Chen Tang; do not look down on him. He commands over a hundred thousand troops, is well-liked, and is not someone an ordinary person can deal with."

"Lanzhou over there is in a mess; there are many rebels, but they are all small bands with no organization or discipline, undermining each other."

"The intelligence I gathered says the biggest rebel leader in Lanzhou is named Zhong Nianyu; he occupies the two commanderies of Dingdong and Xiawei, with just over fifty thousand men. The rebels in the other three commanderies are even more of a ragtag mob."

"Our army has just captured Cangzhou; morale is high and our strength is great. If we do not take this opportunity to attack Lanzhou now, then what are we waiting for?"

As he spoke, a glint of cunning flashed in his eyes.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu listened for a long time, pondered for a while, then nodded and said: "What you say makes sense; attacking Lanzhou is necessary."

"But the problem is, once we send out troops, Chen Tang in Yizhou will surely take the opportunity to cause trouble, and then we will have to fight on two fronts. If Fei Hou comes to stick his foot in as well, that will be even more troublesome."

Before Zhu Ge Yu could reply, a burst of hurried footsteps suddenly sounded outside the door, followed immediately by Tu Tu Kesiluo's familiar yet grating voice: "Chen Tang will not act rashly for the time being."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu raised his eyes and saw Tu Tu Kesiluo supporting Zhang Zhang Jiani as they slowly walked in. Zhang Zhang Jiani's face was pale and her eyes vacant, clearly not yet recovered. Tu Tu Kesiluo, however, wore an expression of great triumph, as if he had picked up a great bargain.

After letting Zhang Zhang Jiani sit down, Jiang Jiang Mingyu asked: "Zhang Zhang Jiani is not yet recovered; why did you take her running around? And what do you mean by saying Chen Tang will not act rashly?"

Tu Tu Kesiluo curled a smile at the corner of his mouth: "Excuse me, I just received a report from scouts that Chen Tang in Yizhou is preparing to ascend the throne and become Emperor."

Ascend the throne? Jiang Jiang Mingyu felt he had misheard: "What nonsense are you spouting? With his meager troops, he dares to become Emperor? Isn't that asking for death!"

With only a few tens of thousands of troops in hand, he dares to feed hundreds of thousands of people; this Chen Tang is indeed a talent. Jiang Jiang Mingyu secretly mocked in his heart, thinking Tu Tu Kesiluo was deliberately causing trouble.

But Tu Tu Kesiluo stated with great certainty: "The message delivered by the scouts is correct; Chen Tang is rushing to make a dragon robe and a jade seal. He also plans to establish a new dynasty in Yizhou and call himself the Great Han Emperor."

After speaking, Tu Tu Kesiluo chuckled a few times: "My lord, since others have become Emperor, why not you also indulge in the thrill of being an Emperor? By then, us serving as Grand Commandants would be quite imposing."

Tu Tu Kesiluo and Jiang Jiang Mingyu were close, so he did not avoid Zhu Ge Yu and made such jokes openly.

Seeing him talk nonsense, Jiang Jiang Mingyu spoke first: "Becoming Emperor should be postponed for now; we do not have the strength for it. Rather than fussing over such empty things, it is more practical to quietly occupy more territory. Think about it: after Chen Tang becomes Emperor, how many people will oppose him? We can take the opportunity to gather hearts and minds and expand our power."

Speaking thus, Jiang Jiang Mingyu took out a map and pointed to several places on it, saying: "We currently control Cangzhou. If we can capture Lanzhou as well, we can form a solid base. By then, we will have the confidence to confront Fei Hou."

Zhu Ge Yu nodded upon hearing this; he also felt Jiang Jiang Mingyu's plan was more steady. He said: "I agree with your view. Chen Tang becoming Emperor will only bring fire upon himself; we need not take the same risk. As long as we can advance steadily, one day we will surely unify the world."

Seeing both of them say so, Tu Tu Kesiluo found it hard to say anything more. He only thought in his heart: If only Jiang Jiang Mingyu could become Emperor, how wonderful that would be.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu could already foresee that once Chen Tang became Emperor, Fei Hou would be the first to destroy him.

Before crossing over, although he was a student and history was not his major, he still remembered how Hongwu Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang rose from a beggar to become a supreme hegemon. He had once heard a famous saying: "Build high walls, store abundant grain, and delay claiming the title of King." This was Zhu Yuanzhang's path to success.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu had always treated this strategy as his motto.

Seeing Jiang Jiang Mingyu's expression, Tu Tu Kesiluo felt a bit panicked in his heart. He knew Jiang Jiang Mingyu was a capable person; having followed him for so long, he had developed some affection.

But now the position of Grand Commandant was out of the question; what else could they do? He thought for a moment, then rallied his spirits and said with a grin: "Oh, my lord, do not take it to heart. We still have Lanzhou, do we not? Did we not agree to attack Lanzhou? Let us hurry and make preparations, capture Lanzhou, and then settle the score with that damn Chen Tang!"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu ignored Tu Tu Kesiluo's comfort; he turned his head and said to Zhu Ge Yu: "Good disciple, what do you think we should do? Chen Tang is about to become Emperor; can we still attack Lanzhou?"

He pondered for a while and said: "Master, I think we should attack Zhong Nianyu first. Although the Lanzhou rebels fight independently, Zhong Nianyu is the most prestigious among the Lanzhou rebels. If we can defeat him, the other Lanzhou rebels will be headless, and we can easily deal with them. By then, we will have the confidence to confront Chen Tang."

Zhu Ge Yu spoke with great logic, and Jiang Jiang Mingyu also felt it made sense. He nodded and said: "Very well, let us do as you say. In three days, we will march on Lanzhou!"