Chapter 209: I Have a Plan

Wang Wang Leyuan knelt on the ground, his face twisted in a bitter expression as he begged for mercy. Jiang Jiang Mingyu watched his appearance, secretly pleased in his heart. He smiled and said, "Brother Wang, you are a sensible man. Rest assured, I, Jiang Mou, will not make things difficult for you."

He held up two fingers and whispered, "Two paths. Choose one: either follow me, Jiang Mou, or get out and return to your hometown."

"My current target is Lanzhou. If you return to find Zhong Nianyu and we meet again in the future, we won't be so lucky."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu knew clearly that Wang Wang Leyuan and these people held no deep hatred against him, so there was no need to wipe them out completely.

Wang Wang Leyuan hesitated for a long time, exchanged a glance with the other surrendered soldiers, and then spoke up, "My lord, we are willing to follow you."

Now Fei Hou is plundering and killing everywhere; even returning home wouldn't allow them to live in peace. Let alone returning to Zhong Nianyu's place—having lost the city of Dingdong, returning would be tantamount to seeking death.

As expected, Jiang Jiang Mingyu nodded in satisfaction, "Good! Tu Tu Kesiluo, enroll them into our army. You must keep a close eye on them; do not treat some better than others!"

Seeing everyone leave, Zhang Zhang Jiaqi asked with some worry, "My lord, letting them join so quickly—what if they secretly collude with Zhong Nianyu? Wouldn't that be very dangerous for us?"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu laughed heartily, "Zhang Jiaqi, stop worrying blindly! I have my own judgment, and I believe Tu Tu Kesiluo won't be careless either. Let us simply focus on capturing Xiawe!"

Zhang Zhang Jiaqi wrinkled her nose and said discontentedly, "Is it necessary to spare their lives? Killing them one by one would be straightforward. We have many soldiers and plenty of strength; we don't lack a few surrendered troops."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu shook his head and explained, "Zhang Jiaqi, you have overlooked a very important point. Our goal on this journey is not merely this small city of Dingdong, but the entire Lanzhou!"

"Wang Wang Leyuan grew up here and knows the mountains and rivers of Lanzhou inside out. This is an advantage we do not possess."

Zhang Zhang Jiaqi suddenly understood and nodded, saying, "I see. My lord wants Wang Wang Leyuan and the others to serve as our guides, right?"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu nodded in satisfaction, "Exactly. And most importantly, we are about to capture Xiawe City."

"Wang Wang Leyuan is a trusted confidant of Zhong Nianyu and knows the situation and defenses of Xiawe inside out. With his help, Xiawe will surely fall."

"Even if he truly has ulterior motives, killing him at any time is not too late."

Hearing Jiang Jiang Mingyu speak with such confidence, a faint smile appeared on Zhang Zhang Jiaqi's lips. She thought to herself, "This My Lord Jiang is indeed cunning and calculating. Seeing him so calm and composed, the fall of Xiawe City is just around the corner!"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu had just arranged for Wang Wang Leyuan and the others to stay in a clean inn to rest properly. He himself wanted to take this opportunity to close his eyes and rest a bit. After all, these past few days of hiding by day and marching by night, fighting continuously, had left him utterly exhausted.

However, he had barely sat down for a moment when Tu Tu Kesiluo rushed in hurriedly and reported, "Big Brother, Dingdong is now completely under our control. The people in the city are very obedient; there is no resistance. Should we rest for a few days before heading to Xiawe?"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu frowned and shook his head, refusing, "No! I said it long ago: we are a lone army deep in enemy territory. If we delay, that old fox Zhong Nianyu will surely detect the anomaly. By then, if he mobilizes troops to surround and annihilate us, we are finished."

"Send someone immediately to Huicangzhou to order Zhu Ge Yu to bring people to guard Dingdong. He is a steady person capable of holding this place."

"Also, order Li Goudan to immediately send scouts to scout the situation at Xiawe. See if Zhong Nianyu has discovered our movements. Once Zhu Ge Yu arrives, we will march on Xiawe!"

The round trip to Huicangzhou takes at least five days. This time is enough for everyone to rest a bit.

Tu Tu Kesiluo knew Jiang Jiang Mingyu was a meticulous person. Since he said so, there must be his reasons. So he agreed and went out to deliver the orders.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu added, "From now on, cut off all contact between Dingdong and the rest of Lanzhou. No merchants or commoners are allowed to enter or leave. We must hide our light and bide our time, ensuring Zhong Nianyu does not discover our whereabouts."

"Only in this way can we launch a surprise attack on Xiawe when he is completely unprepared and achieve victory through unexpected means."

"Zhang Jiaqi, you are in charge of this. You are a smart person who knows how to handle various situations. But you must also be extremely careful. Do not let anyone see through the ruse."

Zhang Zhang Jiaqi decisively agreed and turned to handle it immediately. She had immense trust and admiration for Jiang Jiang Mingyu. She knew he was a person with great ambitions who would not easily give up on his goals.

She also wanted to follow him to conquer the world and witness his glory.

Soon, all preparations were complete. The sky gradually brightened.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu let out a huge yawn and said to Tu Tu Kesiluo, "The most urgent matter is to recruit soldiers immediately. There is plenty of silver in the Dingdong treasury. Go recruit thirty thousand new soldiers quickly. Speed is essential."

The surrendered soldiers are all cowards who fear trouble; we cannot rely on them to guard the city. Without new blood, once they leave, Dingdong will become an empty shell.

Tu Tu Kesiluo's eyelids were almost closed, dozing off in his chair. Hearing Jiang Jiang Mingyu's order, he opened his eyes groggily, "What? Big Brother, what did you say?"

Seeing how exhausted he was, Jiang Jiang Mingyu did not blame him. After all, everyone had fought desperately these past few days; everyone was utterly worn out. He patiently repeated it once more.

Tu Tu Kesiluo finally woke up, mumbled "Got it," and went to handle it.

These past few days in Dingdong were quite peaceful, except for a few individuals who refused to obey Jiang Jiang Mingyu's orders and insisted on going out of the city to trade.

As a result, Zhang Zhang Jiaqi chopped them down with a single blade, resolving the trouble cleanly and efficiently.

From then on, no one dared to cause trouble again.

Until the people sent by Zhu Ge Yu arrived in Dingdong, everything remained peaceful these past few days.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu was just about to see who Zhu Ge Yu had sent when a familiar face walked in. He took one look and was startled; the person who came was none other than the clerk Xing Shiyeh of Wang Zhe, the corrupt official who had once extorted a lot of money from him. But now, Clerk Xing lowered his eyes and was obedient, respectfully saying, "My lord, I have come to take over Dingdong on the orders of My Lord Zhu Ge."

It turned out that on the day Wang Zhe surrendered, this clerk also fell with the ship. It was just that Jiang Jiang Mingyu had been busy advancing westward and had no time to deal with him.

Although he had no good feelings for this corrupt official, since he was sent by Zhu Ge Yu, there must be his reasons. Jiang Jiang Mingyu still seriously questioned him to see if he had truly repented.

The result was that Clerk Xing's performance was not bad. Jiang Jiang Mingyu said quite satisfied, "From today on, Dingdong is in your hands. Work hard. In the future, the harvest will be more than just silver."

Clerk Xing immediately kowtowed and said, "Big Brother, rest assured. I will definitely do my utmost!"

Only then did Jiang Jiang Mingyu feel relieved. It turned out people could change; the key was to give them a chance. With the guidance of Zhu Ge Yu and himself, he believed Clerk Xing would no longer be insatiably greedy.

After dismissing Clerk Xing, Tu Tu Kesiluo also reported, "Big Brother, the thirty thousand new soldiers have all been recruited!"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu was startled, "So fast?"

Tu Tu Kesiluo said wearily, "With silver in hand, what cannot be accomplished?"

Before the words had fully faded, Li Goudan entered and said, "Big Brother, the scouts sent to scout Xiawe have returned."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu hurriedly called him in. A scout covered in dust and dirt walked in quickly and said, "Big Brother, Zhong Nianyu still does not know we have occupied Dingdong. He is currently fighting Xu Xu Zhanhong to the death fifty li outside Xiawe City."

Seeing Jiang Jiang Mingyu did not understand, the scout explained, "Xu Xu Zhanhong is also a famous leader of the righteous army, with over thirty thousand men under his command. He is the figure in Lanzhou second only to Zhong Nianyu."

"Just a few days ago, he led his troops to the gates of Xiawe City, demanding to seize the city and drive out Zhong Nianyu. Zhong Nianyu flew into a rage and immediately led his troops out to fight."

"They fought several battles with neither side gaining victory, so they are now in a stalemate. No one knows who will ultimately win."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu nodded in understanding and analyzed in a low voice, "Zhong Nianyu still has over thirty thousand men. That means only over ten thousand defenders remain inside Xiawe City. But Zhong Nianyu is close to the city. Once our army arrives, he will definitely return to rescue it. How should we respond?"

He thought for a moment, a glint of sharp light flashing in his eyes, "I have a plan. We can capture Xiawe City in one stroke and cause both Zhong Nianyu and Xu Xu Zhanhong to suffer mutual destruction."