Wei Ci was a cautious and thorough person. He was already prepared for Jiang Pengji's question.
"Them? A portion of them are the private troops of the aristocratic families. The remaining 70% are the militia that was temporarily recruited. " Wei Ci gently wiped her wet hair as he said, "The Nansheng aristocratic families allocated a portion of their troops to Yang Tao to show their support for him. This defection allowed the Nansheng aristocratic families to proceed so smoothly and caused Yang Tao's army to be defeated and trapped. This portion played an important role. "
Fortunately, there were only slightly more than 3,000 elites. The rest were the militia that was temporarily recruited. They were used to make up the numbers and increase their influence.
Otherwise, even if Yang Tao had Yan Lin's support, it would be difficult to defend the city.
"Is this true?" Jiang Pengji raised her eyebrows slightly and the corners of her lips curled up. "If that's the case, Yang Tao's loss was not undeserved."
Wei Ci said, "Indeed, it was not undeserved."
Jiang Pengji said, "If you rely on someone, the mountain will collapse. If you rely on someone, you will run away. Doesn't he know this? When the Nansheng aristocratic families are of one mind with him and are willing to support him, the sword they lend to him is his. Once they betray him, the borrowed sword will no longer listen to them. "
It was precisely because some of the troops under Yang Tao's command were lent to him by the Nansheng aristocratic families that when the Nansheng aristocratic families betrayed Yang Tao, Yang Tao's foundation collapsed so thoroughly. If not for this incident, even if the Nansheng aristocratic families wanted to bring people to incite Yang Tao's troops, it would not have been done overnight. Yang Tao might even have been able to kill them instead of helplessly choosing to surrender to Jiang Pengji.
Historical experience taught people that things that concerned one's life should never be held in the hands of others.
If Jiang Pengji was Yang Tao, even if she accepted the aristocratic families' aid and owed them a favor, Jiang Pengji would secretly change the group of people after she made her fortune. Soldiers that were not trained by herself were always separated by a layer. Who knew if their old master would secretly cause trouble?
This was the difference between Jiang Pengji and Yang Tao.
Wei Ci said coldly, "Although Yang Tao made some mistakes, An Cui is better. Otherwise, how could he persuade so many aristocratic families to defect?"
"What ability does he have? He was just lucky and picked up a loophole. So what if he was born in the Nansheng aristocratic families? In the end, the Nansheng aristocrats favored Yang Tao, who was an outsider. If Yang Tao hadn't suffered such a huge loss at my hands and affected his value in the eyes of the landowning households, would a mere An Cui have been able to seize the opportunity to enter? He sent more than ten thousand soldiers to test our strength and defenses. Just this point alone is enough to make him look down on us … "
Where did these ten thousand soldiers come from?
Thirty percent of the troops were originally loaned to Yang Tao by the landowning households, and the remaining seventy percent were temporarily recruited militia. An Cui didn't even have to pay a single cent.
Jiang Pengji couldn't help but mock him. She clearly told Wei Ci that she really didn't have a good impression of An Cui.
It was not only because of the other party's character and behavior, but also because he was Wei Ci's previous master in his previous life.
Every time she thought of this, she felt uncomfortable all over. Was her family's Zixiao someone who could be oppressed by just anyone?
Wei Ci advised, "My lord is right, but our military strength has been greatly depleted. We cannot let our guard down against An Cui."
Jiang Pengji fought with the Nie clan and Yang Tao at the same time. Even if she won, the loss of troops and financial resources was astronomical.
She had run over to fight An Cui before she had even recuperated. Even if An Cui's vitality was also greatly depleted, she couldn't deal with him half-heartedly.
She might fail miserably in an easy task.
Jiang Pengji said with certainty, "I know this principle. It's better to be safe than sorry."
After she finished speaking, she sighed comfortably. She tilted her head and leaned on Wei Ci's shoulder. She closed her eyes and rested. The tip of her nose lingered with the fragrance that belonged solely to Wei Ci. She didn't know what he used to wash his clothes, but Wei Ci's clothes carried a faint sandalwood fragrance all year round. When she sniffed it carefully, it seemed to have an indescribable coolness that had the effect of calming one's heart. Jiang Pengji liked it very much. When she sniffed it more, her mood would calm down.
Wei Ci gently dried his long hair. It was probably too comfortable. His eyelids became heavier, and he started to feel sleepy.
When Jiang Pengji had enough rest, her long hair, which had been slightly wet, was almost dry.
Jiang Pengji took the opportunity to take advantage of him. She uttered free words of love one after another.
Wei Ci was also used to her actions. Even if she wrapped herself around him like an octopus, he could still free up his hands to tie up her long hair.
"My lord is really becoming more and more childish."
Jiang Pengji said, "Zixiao is becoming more and more like a loving father. In the future, he will definitely be good at raising children."
Wei Ci was speechless.
How could he respond to that?
Because she was busy, Jiang Pengji didn't meet Yang Tao that day. Instead, she chose the next day.
That night, too many people tossed and turned restlessly because of various reasons.
Yang Tao was needless to say. As the person who slept by his side, Yan Shuxuan naturally knew her husband's situation, but she could only comfort him silently.
"… I don't know what will happen tomorrow …"
Yang Tao's voice carried a rare sense of confusion. He sounded like a child standing at the crossroads, looking around. He sounded a little fragile.
Yan Shuxuan turned sideways and looked at him. "No matter what the outcome is, I will accompany you. Wherever you go, I will go."
Yang Tao scowled at her. "Nonsense. What if your husband goes to see the King of Hell?"
Yan Shuxuan said, "Then I will look for you after I raise the child into an adult."
Yang Tao was stunned. He hugged her even more tightly. The couple didn't speak for the whole night.
Yan Lin was also restless. Yang Roujia coaxed the child to sleep and found her husband drawing something on the brocade.
"This is …"
Yan Lin said, "The Great Universal Geographical Map of some of Nansheng's prefectures. Our army retreated in a hurry, so we didn't bring many things with us."
Smart people usually had good memories. Yan Lin was one of them. Even though he didn't have a photographic memory like Yang Si or Shi Zhong, he was still better than ordinary people. Many confidential documents were read carefully and memorized deeply before being destroyed.
Things that were kept in one's mind were the least likely to be stolen and spied on. Yang Tao's surrender was a foregone conclusion. To prevent Jiang Pengji from underestimating him, Yan Lin set up a trap first and then presented her the Great Universal Geographical Map to help her conquer Nansheng. Yang Tao's situation would be much better then.
Yang Roujia sighed. "My husband has a lot of plans for my brother …"
Yan Lin said, "In this world, I only have you and your family. If I can't even protect you, the world will be so lonely and boring."
That night, besides the few of them, An Cui and the others were also distraught.
They had heard about Jiang Pengji's arrival in Zhangzhou with her troops. An Cui looked calm on the surface, but he was extremely agitated.
An Cui had known Jiang Pengji since before she made a name for herself. He had seen her rise from a lowly county magistrate to a lord of a country.
Now that she was pointing a butcher's knife at his weakness, it was impossible for An Cui not to feel pressured, but he couldn't show any fear.
When he was distraught, An Cui went to his confidant for a solution to gain a sense of security.
Hua Yuan talked with him for the whole night. They carefully analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of both sides. The candle flame burned throughout the night.
Before dawn, someone outside the tent reported that the military counselor Lu Zheng was looking for An Cui.
An Cui left Hua Yuan's tent and the latter stood up to send him off.
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