The Great Sage, Heaven's Equal. The Shuidong, Shuixi, An Song, Tian, and Yang clans were the four heavenly kings of the southwest. Ye Xiaotian had married a Tian Clan's daughter, destroyed the Yang clan of Bozhou, and stood shoulder to shoulder with An Song …
Perhaps when Ye Xiaotian had sent a letter to Jingzhou and accompanied Shuiwu and Yaoyao on their journey to the west, he had already foreseen today's outcome. He would become a Great Sage!
The words "stand shoulder to shoulder with An Song" exposed Ye Xiaotian's ambition, and all the officials in the hall felt their blood boil.
Once upon a time, Ye Xiaotian would be satisfied if he could travel a thousand miles and earn fifty taels of silver. Once upon a time, he would be satisfied if he could become a Warden and return to his hometown in glory. Once upon a time, he would be satisfied if he could become an Elementary Scholar. But now, he wanted to stand shoulder to shoulder with An Song.
A person's desire and ambition would always grow with his growth. Was there any hope to go further? There should be. Standing shoulder to shoulder with An Song was not the end. If possible, he could even surpass the Shuixi An clan and become the Chieftain King!
Above that, there was the throne of the Emperor. However, Ye Xiaotian had no ambition for the throne of the Emperor. He had been in Guizhou for a few years and had deeply felt that the Chieftain system was a more stable and long-term choice for a clan's inheritance than being an Emperor.
The chances of success as an Emperor were too slim. The time that the empire could last was too short. Moreover, to conquer the world, the people had to be plunged into misery and suffering. Once he succeeded, defending the empire would be a problem! Even with the great talents of Emperor Qin and Emperor Song of the Tang Sect, the empire would only last for a few hundred years. Once they lost the empire, the consequences would be unimaginable. Because … there was no way out.
However, it was different for the Chieftains. They could attack and retreat. No matter how the dynasty changed, no matter who ruled the empire, they would always be the local tyrants.
Ye Xiaotian wasn't that ambitious. He wanted to take over the Yang Clan of Bozhou because he only needed to stand on tiptoe, and there would be hope. Furthermore, once Yang Yinglong of Bozhou became the ruler, he would definitely not let him go. Ye Xiaotian could only rise up and fight. That was why his goal was to stand shoulder to shoulder with An Song.
The Shuixi An clan was watching. The Shuidong Song clan was watching. The hundreds of chieftains in Guizhou followed the lead of the An and Song clans. At this moment, Ye Xiaotian appeared again on the Crouching Bull Ridge and made the most eye-catching decision.
Ye Xiaotian did not mobilize his troops immediately. Right now, he had his own group of chieftains under him. Shi Qian's Yang family, Zhan family, Tongren Guoji family, Yu family, as well as the small chieftains that belonged to these families, all wanted to send out their troops. The Shi Qian Yang clan, the Zhan clan, the Tongren Guoji clan, the Yu clan, as well as the smaller chieftains that belonged to these clans, were all going to mobilize.
Some of these chieftains were willing to follow Ye Xiaotian into battle, while others were forced to do so. This was because Ye Xiaotian was not inviting them, but rather forcing them to follow him. Only if they were willing to follow his orders could their relationship become even more stable. From then on, their interests would be linked to the Crouching Ox Ridge, and they would share both glory and disgrace.
Just as Ye Xiaotian was preparing his troops and losing no time in submitting a memorial to the imperial court to express his loyalty, Guizhou had already mobilized its troops.
City Head Yang Guozhu and Commander Li Tingdong led 20,000 soldiers into Bozhou. Yang Chaodong, who had stayed behind in Bozhou, and Yang Zhaolong, He Hanliang, and the others who had hurried back to Bozhou faced the Flying Training Fortress. This time, Yang Chaodong used the same trick he had used against the Sichuan army — feigning defeat. He had actually succeeded again.
Was the imperial army too stupid? That was not the case. However, the imperial army had never thought that the same method would be used twice against the Bozhou army. Moreover, the imperial army had actually been careful. However, the terrain of Bozhou was complicated, and the Bozhou army knew this complicated terrain like the back of their hand. They had purposefully feigned defeat and used familiar paths to successfully encircle the Bozhou army in a place where the imperial army did not think they would be able to make it back in time.
The imperial army was ambushed in Tianbang Camp. City Head Yang Guozhong, Commander Li Tingdong, Commander Pan Ruzi, and the other high-ranking officers had all died in battle. Bozhou had achieved victory after victory on the northern front, and the southern front had also achieved such military success. For a time, the world was shaken. When Wanli heard the news, he immediately transferred Li Hualong back to Sichuan. He was given the title of assistant minister of the Ministry of War and given control over the military affairs of Sichuan, Hubei, and Guizhou provinces.
Afterwards, the imperial court transferred 170,000 soldiers from the provinces of Shu, Guizhou, Yunnan, Hunan, Guangxi, Shaanxi, Gansu, Henan, Shandong, Ningxia, and Jinjiang. They directly pressed into the four borders of Bozhou. Together with the troops currently fighting there, the total military strength was over 240,000.
Yang Yinglong took advantage of the fact that the other troops had not yet arrived to form an iron-locked river. He personally led an army of 80,000 to capture Qijiang, the southern gate of Chongqing, and then retreated to Sanxi in an attempt to establish autonomy.
Yang Yinglong also had a strategist. His strategist was called Sun Shitai. He suggested that he should seize the opportunity when the army had not yet assembled to break through Qijiang and directly attack Chengdu. He should then take the King of Shu hostage. Once Sichuan was in chaos, the more than 200,000 troops of the imperial court would not be enough. It should be known that he was a roaming rebel, and the imperial court had many places that needed protection.
However, Yang Yinglong was worried that the imperial court would have more troops than him. That way, the imperial court would be able to continuously mobilize troops to suppress the rebellion. He had gradually given up on the idea of seizing the Central Plains. He wanted to defend the southwest and proclaim himself as an emperor. He wanted to imitate the Xixia state of the past and leave his name in the annals of history.
Sun Shitai saw that such a brilliant plan was not adopted by Yang Yinglong. He felt like Fan Zeng had encountered the Overlord of Chu. He felt extremely depressed. In desperation, he came up with another plan. He suggested that Yang Yinglong should not divide his troops everywhere. Since the total number of troops was not as great as the imperial court, it was better to avoid the strong and attack the weak. No matter how many routes they took, he would only take one route. He would concentrate his superior forces to annihilate one route, and then break through the other routes after he succeeded.
This was an excellent strategy when the weak faced the strong. Later on, among the emperors who succeeded in seizing the world, there was more than one who used this strategy. However, Yang Yinglong had already made up his mind to use his current territory to establish himself as an emperor. As long as he could withstand the imperial court's attack, his independence would be a fait accompli. Therefore, he still did not adopt this idea.
Yang Yinglong led his troops to attack Qijiang. He broke through the county seat in one go and massacred the entire city. He annihilated General Fang Jia Chong, Guerilla Commander Zhang Liangxian, and the three thousand soldiers guarding Qijiang County seat. He then stationed his troops at Three Creeks and erected boundary stones at Three Creeks, Mu Du, and Dongxiang Dam. He declared that the land he occupied would be the Yang family's "Xuan Ji Guan Zhuang". He had the intention of establishing himself as an emperor.
At this time, Ye Xiaotian's request for an imperial edict to send troops and assist in the suppression of the rebellion had also been sent to the capital. The first person to take the lead might not necessarily be the one who put in the most effort or contributed the most, but the person in the top position would definitely remember him. Ye Xiaotian was the first among the chieftains to show his loyalty to the imperial court and request to fight.
For a moment, Wanli could not care less about whether this fellow was just opportunistic or not. He was indescribably grateful for Ye Xiaotian's timely help. Wanli immediately issued an imperial edict, promoting Ye Xiaotian to the position of Crouching Bull Commander. He would be in charge of the eight prefectures of Tongren, Shiqian, Sizhou, Sinan, Zhenyuan, Uro, Xinhua, and Liping.
These eight prefectures were actually still under the rule of local officials. The area under the jurisdiction of the imperial court was limited. The Wanli Emperor did a favor at little cost. He handed over the eight prefectures, which were originally not under the direct control of the imperial court, to Ye Xiaotian. The imperial court only gave him a "title". As for whether or not he could control it, it would depend on Ye Xiaotian's own ability.
These eight prefectures happened to be the territory of the Tian Clan. They had been divided into eight prefectures by Zhu Yuanzhang and his son, Zhu Di. They had been ruling together for more than a hundred years. The eight hundred years of the Tian Clan's empire could now be considered to have officially fallen into the hands of Ye Xiaotian.
In this way, Ye Xiaotian had in fact brought these eight prefectures under his rule. He had completely inherited the legacy of the Tian Clan. He had not even sent out a single soldier. With just a single memorial, he truly stood at the same height as An Song.
However, he was not an envoy of consolation, nor was he an envoy of proclamation. He was a commander, and he only controlled the eight prefectures during wartime. In other words, he was a temporary commander of a theatre of war for the sake of war. Once the war ended, this position would be removed.
Then, due to the threat of Yang Yinglong of Bozhou and the current prestige of the Crouching Bull ridge, even if he could temporarily control the eight prefectures, he would not be able to control them legally after the war. As for how he could control the eight prefectures completely, that would be up to Ye Xiaotian's methods.
In ancient times, when Yu the Great controlled the flood, he relied on the manpower and material resources of the entire country to force Emperor Shun to step down after he succeeded in controlling the flood. He then 'abdicated' the throne and exiled Emperor Shun. As long as Ye Xiaotian used his methods, he could also grasp the lifelines of the eight prefectures during the process of suppressing the rebellion, making them obey his orders obediently.
"You can't compare to me when it comes to scheming; I can't compare to you when it comes to overt schemes! Brother Tian, I'll leave this matter to you as to how we can reorganize the eight prefectures so that they can still be under our rule after the chaos of Bozhou! "
Ye Xiaotian said to Tian Binfei sincerely. Tian Binfei nodded and said, "It's my duty! However, you've once promised me … "
Ye Xiaotian said, "Don't worry, I've already sent a letter to the Tian family. As long as the Tian family is willing to cooperate with me, I'll give the greatest credit for suppressing the rebellion to the Tian family in the future!"
Tian Binfei nodded in satisfaction. Ye Xiaotian said to Li Dazhuang, "Brother Tian, it's difficult for you to move around, so you'll assist him!"
Ye Xiaotian then said to Tian Miaowen, "Yunfei and I will lead the troops into battle, so the logistics and even the entire Crouching Bull ridge will be up to you."
Tian Miaowen said gently, "Don't worry!"
Ye Xiaotian then turned to Law Tycoon and said, "Tycoon, you're not from Crouching Bull ridge, but we're brothers, so I won't stand on ceremony with you. You're skilled at managing finances, so you should help out your sister-in-law a little more."
Law Tycoon patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, big brother. I'll be here for everything. I won't let sister-in-law tire herself out!"
Tian Miaowen blushed slightly and lowered her head in embarrassment. Xia Yingying said happily, "What about me? How can I help you? "
"You …" Ye Xiaotian's face was stern. "Just take good care of yourself and give birth to a healthy and lively baby for the Ye family. That'll be a great merit!"
Yingying's face was instantly filled with bashfulness. With a soft spit, her cheeks turned red.
During this period of time, Tian Miaowen and Xia Yingying had actually gotten pregnant one after another. Originally, it was normal for a married couple to get pregnant after three to five years, so Tian Miaowen had never gotten pregnant before. However, he never thought that Xia Yingying would be the first to get pregnant. Perhaps it was due to her luck, but Tian Miaowen had secretly given birth as well. As a result, Ye Xiaotian had warned the tycoon not to overwork Tian Miaowen.
Zhan Ning 'er panicked. She asked closely, "Then what should I do?"
Ye Xiaotian whispered into her ear, "I'll do you tonight!"
Zhan Ning 'er's pretty face immediately turned red. Ye Xiaotian was rarely so frivolous. People often say that power is a man's aphrodisiac. Ye Xiaotian, who had suddenly gained the military power of the eight constabularies, could not help but say something that he would never have said in the past.
Tian Miaowen and the rest only saw Ye Xiaotian whispering into Zhan Ning 'er's ear, and Zhan Ning' er's face turned red. They couldn't help but cast curious glances at her, and Zhan Ning 'er was even more embarrassed. Ye Xiaotian succeeded in flirting. He smiled and said, "Alright, everyone split up and get ready. Tomorrow morning, I will lead the army to depart!"
At this point, Ye Xiaotian took a deep breath and looked at the sunset. He squinted his eyes and said, "Before I leave, I'm going to meet someone and have a good chat!"
