Chapter 211: You Are the Best

One person challenging twenty, what is there to be arrogant about? Tu Tu Kesiluo once held back four thousand alone. Just a petty clown!

Jiang Jiang Mingyu swept a cold glance over Wang Wang Leyuan, feeling disdain in his heart. Did this newly surrendered fellow think to curry favor with him using such low-level flattery? He was not so easily coaxed.

Immediately, he asked Wang Wang Leyuan again. "Having said so much, what is this person Zhong Nianyu like?"

Wang Wang Leyuan smiled, a trace of complex expression flashing in his eyes. He and Zhong Nianyu were brothers who grew up together since childhood, once fighting side by side and jointly conquering Lanzhou. But since Jiang Jiang Mingyu appeared, he had seen through Zhong Nianyu's true nature: a brute who only knew how to fight and kill, unaware of when to advance or retreat. For his own future and life, he resolutely chose betrayal.

"Zhong Nianyu, though brave in battle, is not that I do not remember past friendship, he truly has no brain," Wang Wang Leyuan said, deliberately shaking his head with an air of regret. "If he had any grand strategy, expanding his troops several times over, he likely would have occupied the entire prefecture of Lanzhou long ago."

Understood. Jiang Jiang Mingyu smiled faintly; content with modest gains and having no ambition to advance, this man was indeed not material for contending for the world. Even if Jiang Jiang Mingyu himself did not come, it was likely that Zhong Nianyu would soon be swept away by other rebel armies. Not to mention distant examples, even Xu Xu Zhanhong, with only thirty thousand troops and not a single city under his command, dared to challenge him. Being the boss of Lanzhou was quite a stifling experience for him.

After waving Wang Wang Leyuan away, Jiang Jiang Mingyu's confidence in capturing Xiawei increased by several points. Gazing at the sickle-shaped crescent moon on the horizon, the slightly weary Jiang Jiang Mingyu could not help but think of Liu Liu Yifei. What was she doing at this moment?

He thought of that gentle, beautiful, clever, and quick-witted woman who was utterly obedient to him. She was his most precious treasure in this world, and also his greatest weakness. Without her, the struggle and slaughter in this chaotic world might have been easier and fearless. But without her, what meaning would the struggle and slaughter in this chaotic world have?

He sighed softly, secretly swearing in his heart: When I capture Xiawei, pacify Lanzhou, unify the northwest, establish merit, return to Jingcheng, be enfeoffed as a marquis and appointed as a prime minister, marry you, and give you a happy and complete family... The next morning, looking at the neatly arranged troops before him, Jiang Jiang Mingyu rolled up his wide sleeve. "Forced march, to Xiawei, set out."

Soon, his troops rushed toward Xiawei like chasing stars and hastening the moon, using the most secretive methods. At the very front serving as guides were naturally Wang Wang Leyuan and the surrendered soldiers who had defected with him that night.

Even though the soldiers were already advancing at full speed, Jiang Jiang Mingyu still felt it was too slow, so he urged them again and again. "Faster, even faster..."

If Xu Xu Zhanhong destroyed Zhong Nianyu and then broke through Xiawei, the matters afterward would be difficult to handle.

He knew Xu Xu Zhanhong was not a simple opponent. This man, though having no territory or troops, possessed a heart full of ambition, deep scheming, and superior strategy. He had once been a high-ranking official of the Great Feng court, but later, for offending the Emperor, was demoted to Lanzhou to serve as a mere Prefect. Unwilling to accept his fate, he took advantage of the rebel uprising to secretly collude with some local forces, planning to rule as king and dominate the region of Lanzhou.

He and Zhong Nianyu were originally in an adversarial relationship, but after Jiang Jiang Mingyu appeared, he proactively proposed an alliance with Zhong Nianyu. On the surface, it was to resist Jiang Jiang Mingyu's advance, but in reality, he wanted to use a borrowed knife to kill. He planned to first use Zhong Nianyu's troops to exhaust Jiang Jiang Mingyu's strength, then take the opportunity to switch sides and swallow Zhong Nianyu's territory. He even secretly dispatched his trusted aides to contact Jiang Jiang Mingyu, attempting to recruit him for his own use.

This man's methods were so sinister and cunning that even Jiang Jiang Mingyu had to admire them. If he himself did not possess wisdom and vision surpassing this era, he likely would have been played like a puppet in the palm of his hand. But precisely because of this, Jiang Jiang Mingyu could not let him go. Such a person left by his side was like a time bomb, capable of exploding with fatal crisis at any moment.

Therefore, Jiang Jiang Mingyu must strike first before Xu Xu Zhanhong makes his move. He had already devised a plan, waiting only to implement it upon reaching Xiawei City. As long as everything went smoothly, he could capture Xiawei City in one stroke and wipe out both great enemies, Zhong Nianyu and Xu Xu Zhanhong, in a single net.

In this way, there would be no force in Lanzhou capable of blocking him. He could then smoothly complete his mission, pacify the northwest for the Great Feng court, and establish immortal merit for himself.

Thinking of this, a look of firmness and determination flashed in Jiang Jiang Mingyu's eyes. He said to himself: Keep going! You can definitely do it! You are the best!