The command center fell silent. Zhou Qi and Luo Lan looked at the negotiator like he was a fool, but they did not say anything.
Qing Zhen said with a half-smile, "How does Yang Lichen want me to help him?"
"He'll give you the defensive deployment map of Ziyang's front line. All you have to do is help us defeat the Ziyang garrison." The negotiator smiled obsequiously and said, "To show my sincerity, I've even brought the defensive deployment map with me."
Qing Zhen raised his eyebrows and looked at Zhou Qi with a smile. Then he said to the negotiator, "How do I know if this defensive deployment map of yours is real or fake? Leave the defensive deployment map with me, and I'll study it before deciding if I want to help your master. Alright, take him out. Remember to leave the defensive deployment map with me. "
With that, a group of strong soldiers escorted the Yang Clan's negotiator out.
Zhou Qi jumped to his feet. "Is he a fucking fool? We're already at this point in the war, yet he's still fighting amongst himself? Does he think we're just playing around with the Yang Clan? What Stronghold 97 or Stronghold 99? Who allowed him to take our things and give them to us? "
Qing Zhen said calmly, "The garrison at Ziyang's front line is led by Yang Huaiyin, a member of the younger generation of the Yang Clan. Yang Lichen is also a direct descendant of the Yang Clan, but he was pushed aside a few years ago. He's now guarding a small stronghold and is in charge of overseeing the production of the surrounding factories."
"Hehe." Luo Lan laughed and said, "Reality is always more magical than a storyteller's stories. You can encounter things that you can't even imagine in a story in real life. It's no wonder Yang Lichen was pushed aside. So it turns out that he's an idiot. "
"During the battle at Stronghold 88, the Li Consortium's nanosoldiers charged in like madmen and started a massacre. I even suspect that it was the nanomachines in their bodies that were controlling them and not the other way around." Qing Zhen said, "During that battle, the core members of the Yang Clan were all in Stronghold 88. Now that the Yang Clan is without a leader, the entire Yang Clan is starting to fall apart. Many of the members of the Yang Clan who were previously ostracized don't even think about how to win the battle and are instead vying for the authority of the Yang Clan."
Yang Lichen wasn't the only one who had sent people over. The others had also sent people over.
Of course, not all of them were so foolish. Most of them said they had given up on resisting and hoped to seek an official position in the stronghold in the future.
Someone like Yang Lichen was the type that was hard to find even among fools …
Therefore, the outside world thought that the Kyung Clan would be exhausted in the battle against the Yang Clan, but in reality, that was just an act by the Kyung Clan.
After all, not only did the Southwest and Northwest exist in this world, but there was also the Central Plains.
"But there are also smart people in the Yang Clan." Qing Zhen said with a smile, "That Yang Huaiyin from the front lines at Ziyang also said he wanted to give up resisting and seek an official position. He even sent me a defensive map of the front lines at Ziyang. In the end, it turned out that the map was half genuine and half fake. He was trying to scam me."
Luo Lan said with a sigh, "The Yang Clan is such a large organization and used to be so glorious. I never expected it to end up like this."
Qing Zhen looked at the sand table and said calmly, "Never reveal your trump cards and intentions. Otherwise, you'll be at the mercy of others. This game of chess isn't over yet."
"By the way," Luo Lan said, "what about the Experimentals in the south?"
Qing Zhen frowned slightly. Due to the destruction of the Li Consortium, the Kyung Clan and Yang Clan's troops had returned to the north. The defenses in the south were weak, so the Kyung Clan couldn't possibly place too many of their forces in the south.
Therefore, the former Li Consortium's sphere of influence no longer had any forces that could contend against the Experimentals.
The Yang Clan fled in defeat. Qing Zhen had left a combat brigade in the south to guard against the Experimentals. But with so many strongholds, how could a single combat brigade defend against them all? Moreover, the combat brigade's main mission was to take over the strongholds and force those former stronghold bureaucrats to cough up their wealth.
In just two short months, another stronghold had become the territory of the Experimentals.
Inside the fallen stronghold, it was like a purgatory where demons ran amok.
If the Kyung Clan had not left a combat brigade behind, even more people would have died.
Qing Zhen thought for a moment and said, "Tell Qingyi to take down the front lines at Ziyang within 15 days. After that, he'll lead his troops south to encircle the Experimentals. We can't afford to lose any more people."
It sounded especially absurd for the person who led the entire Southwest War to suddenly say that they could not afford to lose any more people. But no one knew what Qing Zhen was thinking at this moment.
Luo Lan suddenly asked, "After the battle against the Yang Clan, the soldiers are probably exhausted. Shouldn't we let them rest now? Since they still have to head south, why don't we —"
"You can't." Qing Zhen interrupted, "Some things can't be done casually."
Luo Lan dusted himself off and stood up. "Alright then, I'll be in charge of taking over the Yang Clan's strongholds. I think those old bastards are quite rich. After this war is over, our Kyung Clan can't keep getting poorer and poorer, right? You're not suited to do such a lousy job, so I'll do it."
Now that Qing Zhen was the Kyung Clan's patriarch, he needed to cherish his reputation. Therefore, Luo Lan took the initiative to take over the loot.
It was the same when Luo Lan went to the Li Consortium's territory. Now, the Li Consortium's bureaucrats and businessmen would turn pale at the mention of Luo Lan. This was because Luo Lan's methods of looting could be said to be cruel.
Some bureaucrats who had sought refuge with the Li Consortium even insisted that they had no money at all in order to hide the gold.
In the end, they were hung on the roof and beaten up by Luo Lan for three days and three nights before they confessed.
Also, they were not allowed to sleep, and they were tortured. Luo Lan had used almost all kinds of methods. These were all the methods they used to deal with spies. How could the officials withstand these?
At this moment, many people were still scolding him behind his back, saying that Luo Lan was a man-eating monster.
But all the valuables that Luo Lan plundered were put into the Kyung Clan's account. He did not keep anything for himself.
In Luo Lan's words, his younger brother was the Kyung Clan's patriarch, so why would he still need money? He didn't need to spend money anywhere he went.
In the past, Qing Zhen was the Kyung Clan's shadow. Now, Luo Lan was like Qing Zhen's shadow.
Qing Zhen looked at Zhou Qi. "I want you to make a trip to the Central Plains. The matter there is about to unfold, and time waits for no one."
"You're quite trusting of me this time, aren't you?" Zhou Qi said with a smile, "Weren't you afraid that I'd change sides at the last minute? Why are you handing over such an important task to me now?"
Qing Zhen said, "Because the price I'm offering you is high enough that no one else can afford it."
Zhou Qi whistled. This person had long since lost his refined demeanor and was acting more like a hooligan. He smiled and said, "Boss is so generous! The war in the Southwest is about to end, and the entire Southwest will belong to the Qing Clan. It looks like I made the right choice back then! "
But this time, Qing Zhen was silent for a long time before suddenly saying, "I don't think this is anything to be happy about."
Qing Zhen stood next to the sand table and looked down at the terrain. Luo Lan suddenly remembered that his younger brother had said that he actually preferred to grow flowers.
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