Chapter 211: You Are the Best

One man against twenty—what's there to boast about? Tukuslo held off four thousand by himself. Just a petty trickster!

Jiang Mingyu glanced coldly at Wang Leyuan, disdainful in his heart. This newly surrendered fool thinks he can flatter his way into favor? He's not that easily fooled.

Then he turned to Wang Leyuan and asked, "After all that, what of Zhong Nianyu?"

Wang Leyuan smiled, a complex glint flashing in his eyes. He and Zhong Nianyu had grown up together as brothers, once fighting side by side to conquer Lanzhou. But since Jiang Mingyu appeared, he had seen Zhong Nianyu's true nature—a brute who only knew how to fight and never knew when to advance or retreat. For his own future and life, he had chosen betrayal without hesitation.

"Zhong Nianyu is brave in battle," Wang Leyuan said, deliberately shaking his head in feigned regret, "but I'm not ignoring our past friendship—he truly lacks brains. Had he possessed even a shred of grand vision, expanded his troops several times over, he'd have seized all of Lanzhou by now."

Understood. Jiang Mingyu smiled faintly. A man content with small gains, devoid of ambition—he's no material for contending for the realm. Even if Jiang Mingyu hadn't come, Zhong Nianyu would've been crushed by other rebel forces soon enough. Never mind distant threats—even Xu Zhanhong, with only thirty thousand troops and not a single city to his name, dares challenge him. What a miserable lord of Lanzhou he is.

After dismissing Wang Leyuan, Jiang Mingyu felt even more confident about capturing Xiawei. Gazing at the sickle-shaped moon on the horizon, weary as he was, he couldn't help thinking of Liu Yifei. What was she doing right now?

He remembered the gentle, beautiful, clever woman who obeyed him without question. She was his most precious treasure in this world—and his greatest weakness. Without her, fighting and killing in this chaotic age might have been easier, more fearless. But without her, what meaning would fighting and killing in this chaotic age hold?

He sighed softly, silently vowing: When I take Xiawei, pacify Lanzhou, unify the northwest, earn glory, return to the capital, be enfeoffed as a marquis, marry you, and give you a happy, peaceful family… The next morning, facing his orderly troops, Jiang Mingyu swept his sleeve. "Rapid march to Xiawei—advance!"

Soon, his forces moved like chasing stars and outpacing the moon, advancing toward Xiawei by the most covert means possible. Leading the way, naturally, were Wang Leyuan and the soldiers who had surrendered with him that night.

Though his soldiers were already moving at full speed, Jiang Mingyu still felt it was too slow, and kept urging them again and again. "Faster, faster…"

If Xu Zhanhong destroys Zhong Nianyu and then breaks through Xiawei, what follows will be hard to handle.

He knew Xu Zhanhong was no ordinary opponent. Though he had no territory or troops, he possessed a heart full of ambition, deep cunning, and superior strategy. Once a high minister of the Da Feng court, he had been demoted to Lanzhou as a minor county magistrate after angering the emperor. Unwilling to accept his fate, he seized the rebellion's opportunity to secretly ally with local powers, aiming to carve out a kingdom for himself in Lanzhou.

He and Zhong Nianyu had originally been enemies, but after Jiang Mingyu's arrival, Xu Zhanhong voluntarily proposed an alliance. On the surface, he claimed it was to resist Jiang Mingyu's advance; in truth, he sought to use Zhong Nianyu as a blade to kill. He planned to let Zhong Nianyu's troops exhaust Jiang Mingyu's strength, then turn on him and seize his lands. He had even secretly sent his trusted confidants to approach Jiang Mingyu, attempting to lure him into his service.

The man's treachery and cunning impressed even Jiang Mingyu. Had Jiang Mingyu not possessed wisdom and vision beyond this age, he too might have been manipulated at will. But precisely because of this, Jiang Mingyu could not let him live. Such a man by his side was like a time bomb, ready to explode into fatal danger at any moment.

So Jiang Mingyu must strike first, before Xu Zhanhong moved. He had already devised a plan, waiting only to execute it upon reaching Xiawei. If all went smoothly, he could seize the city in one blow and eliminate both Zhong Nianyu and Xu Zhanhong in a single sweep.

With that, no force in Lanzhou could stand in his way. He could then complete his mission—pacify the northwest for the Da Feng court—and carve out an immortal legacy for himself.

Thinking of this, a firm, resolute gleam flashed in Jiang Mingyu's eyes. He told himself: Keep going! You can do it! You are the best!