r18novel Page 342
Page 342
"But the Western Chu Kingdom was destroyed and perished, and righteous people were determined to restore their country!"
"I, Cao, would like to invite the princess to return with me to take charge of the overall situation!"
As soon as Cao Changqing finished speaking, Jiang Si was at a loss for words.
But at this moment, Li Chang'an's answer was resolute.
"I forbid it!"
P.S.: I'll update twice a day from now on. I've been maintaining 1.2 words a day for fifty days, but I can't keep up.
Chapter 208 Zhuge Liang: I just don't like people with the surname Cao.
Jiang Si has recently focused on practicing swordsmanship, and once she has mastered it, she will naturally seek revenge.
However, she was completely unprepared to lead a group of people to restore the country.
She knew very well that she didn't have that ability. She had been following Li Chang'an as a bodyguard for the past two months, and she knew how difficult it was to lead a large group of people.
Even if everyone is loyal to Li Chang'an, there are still countless problems to be solved.
Li Chang'an directly rejected Cao Changqing, not giving her a chance to answer.
Before Cao Changqing arrived, Jiang Si had already agreed to serve as Li Chang'an's bodyguard for five years in exchange for ownership of the Dragon Sparrow Sword.
Li Chang'an said slowly, "Master Cao, Xiao Si cannot go with you."
Hearing Li Chang'an call her Xiao Si, Jiang Si's heart trembled. Li Chang'an had called her Xiao Si for a long time.
Cao Changqing asked in confusion, "Your Highness, Jiang Si is a princess of Western Chu."
Li Chang'an said, "It was I who rescued her from the tiger's mouth. In the years before I rescued her, you did nothing."
"At that time, Xiao Si was alone in a tiger's den, surrounded by enemies. Where were you, the former officials of Western Shu, at that time?"
"I rescued the person, so Jiang Si is now mine."
Li Chang'an spoke slowly, but his tone left no room for argument.
Upon hearing these words, Jiang Si couldn't help but jump with relief. Her face flushed, and her beautiful eyes glistened with tears.
The emotions she had been suppressing for so long suddenly burst forth.
Upon hearing Li Chang'an's words, Cao Changqing was stunned, unable to refute them.
Li Chang'an continued, "Why would you send Xiao Si back with the makeshift army you, Cao Changqing, have assembled?"
“Those people all have their own agendas, and I'm afraid you can't even control them yourself. If you send Xiao Si back, aren't you putting her in a very difficult position?”
The forces restoring the Western Chu kingdom were indeed not united. Cao Guanzi was highly skilled in martial arts, but he was not good at management.
Cao Changqing was surprised that Li Chang'an was even aware of their internal problems.
Moreover, what Li Chang'an said was indeed very reasonable.
He frowned, pondered for a long time, and then sighed.
"The King of Tang is right."
"I will come to welcome the princess back after I have reorganized my troops and purged my own forces!"
After he finished speaking, he cupped his hands to Jiang Si and said, "Take care, Princess."
“The King of Tang is right. It’s much safer for you to stay here now than to come back with me.”
For some reason, Jiang Si felt a sense of relief.
"Uncle Qizhao, I haven't decided whether to go back with you."
"I have only recently escaped from Beiliang, please give me some time to consider."
A hint of disappointment flashed in Cao Changqing's eyes, then he nodded helplessly and left the military camp.
Knowing that Jiang Si was safe and sound, Cao Changqing felt much more at ease.
Zhuge Liang and Gu Dazu escorted Cao Changqing out of the military camp, leaving only Jiang Si and Li Chang'an in the central command tent.
When Jiang Si thought of Li Chang'an's words, "Jiang Si is my woman," she felt her body go weak.
In Beiliang, Jiang Si only needed to sweep the graves regularly and think about escaping alive every day.
But now that Chu Zhen has escaped, and Cao Guanzi has also arrived, she is even more troubled.
In her subconscious, Li Chang'an was much closer to her than Cao Changqing, because during the years she spent in the Northern Liang Prince's Mansion, only Li Chang'an had sent people to keep in touch with her.
Without Li Chang'an, Jiang Si might have spent her whole life in the Northern Liang royal palace, a result she dared not imagine.
Outside the military camp.
Zhuge Liang watched Cao Guanzi depart into the distance, his face grim.
Gu Dazu remarked with emotion, "In any case, Cao Guanzi's determination to restore his kingdom is still admirable."
"Once we've established a foothold in the west, recruiting this person would be a great help."
Zhuge Liang slowly shook his head, seemingly disagreeing with Gu Dazu's statement.
Gu Dazu then said, "The strategist dislikes him because his restoration of the kingdom is not for the sake of the former kingdom, but for the sake of vindicating the Empress of Western Chu?"
Cao Changqing's restoration of his kingdom was neither for the sake of his former country nor for the sake of the people, a view that Gu Dazu did not quite agree with.
Seeing that Zhuge Liang still did not speak, Gu Dazu guessed again, "Cao Cao barged into the military camp, which was really rude. It is understandable that the strategist does not like him."
Unexpectedly, Zhuge Liang simply shook his head helplessly, "It's not that complicated."
"I don't like Cao Changqing, simply because... I don't like people with the surname Cao."
Gu Dazu was taken aback. So what if he was surnamed Cao? It's better than being surnamed Hong!
A month later.
Li Chang'an led his troops to the Jiange Pass. Once they passed through the pass, the journey to Shazhou would be smooth.
At this moment, Murong Fuyun, who was on the Jianmen Pass, truly understood what it meant to be caught in a dilemma.
He never imagined that Li Chang'an would slowly devour all 70,000 of his men.
Li Chang'an, however, used war to sustain war, and not only did he not lose any men, but he also grew stronger.
He initially led 150,000 troops into battle, but now only about 20,000 remain at Jiange Pass.
The troops stationed in the heart of Shanshan number only about 30,000, a truly perilous situation.
The Guihan Army, which was following far behind outside Jiange Pass, was not a threat before, but now things are not so sure.
With Li Chang'an in the west and the Gui Han army in the east, once they were surrounded from both sides, the more than 20,000 Shanshan troops would be suffocated at Jiange Pass.
If Li Chang'an had the patience to wait for the central army of the Liyang court to arrive, the Shanshan army would be in a hopeless situation.
What's most despicable is that Li Chang'an actually hung Murong Fuyun's head on the top of Jiange Pass, killing him and destroying his spirit!
When the Shan army saw the prince's head, their morale had already plummeted by half.
Finally, on a dark and windy night...
Murong Fuyun led more than 20,000 remnants of his army and fled the pass under cover of night!
To avoid the Han army lying in wait outside the pass, Murong Fuyun deliberately took a detour south.
Ultimately, the Shanshan tribesmen escaped back to the Western Regions by passing through the Waleng tribe.
Li Chang'an's troops entered Jiange Pass and got a brief rest.
Jiange Pass is sturdy and reliable, and the interior is quite spacious, which is perfect for Li Chang'an to rest in.
A few days later, the leader of the Han army outside the city requested an audience at the pass.
The other party is nominally independent of the Li Yang Dynasty.
Although they have always longed for the Central Plains, there has been no news of them for a long time.
Therefore, Li Chang'an had no idea what they were up to.
If you want to cooperate to deal with the barbarians, then of course you can cooperate.
At that time, Li Chang'an will be stationed in Shazhou, and the Guihan Army will provide support from behind enemy lines.
Before long, we will be able to destroy the Shanshan tribe and take back Gantai County.
Li Chang'an is unsure of the Guihan Army's attitude towards him.
Intelligence indicates that General Zhang Yichao is not in the army.
The current leader of the Guihan Army is Zhang Huaiding, the son of Zhang Yichao, and several of his cousins.
If it were the utterly loyal Zhang Yichao, Li Chang'an would have no worries.
However, things are hard to say about the second generation of the Guihan Army.
Perhaps they saw that Li Chang'an only had 10,000 men and harbored evil intentions, so we must be on guard.
Therefore, it is still advisable to handle this matter with caution.
Even if these people had malicious intentions, Li Chang'an still wanted to recruit them as his masters.
After all, these are Han Chinese from the Northwest, and they are their kin who have persisted in the areas occupied by the non-Han people for more than ten years.