He could use Ye Xiao 'an as a bargaining chip to regain control over the Crouching Ox Ridge. Under the premise that he could not use force, there were not many methods he could use.
One was to publicly announce that Tian Miaowen had usurped power and that Ye Xiaotian had fled to the Bozhou province. He would accept Yang Yinglong's protection and establish his own power, causing the Crouching Ox Ridge to split. This was the safest method. However, who was Yang Yinglong working for by doing this?
The split he could create by doing this would only slow down the Crouching Ox Ridge. He would make the Crouching Ox Ridge busy with internal strife, unable to pay attention to anything else. However, if Yang Yinglong really rebelled, just how many obstacles could the Crouching Ox Ridge create for him? To Yang Yinglong, it was negligible.
He felt like the trouble that the Crouching Ox Ridge could cause him was nowhere near as much as the trouble caused by the actions of the Shui Dong and Shui Xi clans. As a result, by doing this, the effects would be slow and the benefits would be small. Was it just for a piece of trash like Ye Xiao 'an to possess a certain level of influence? Was there a need for him to nurture Ye Xiao 'an so painstakingly?
The other method was for Ye Xiao 'an to use his identity as a chieftain that he still could not deny and seize control over the Crouching Ox Ridge through internal strife. If he did that, he would be able to get the Crouching Ox Ridge once and for all. He would obtain the Crouching Ox Ridge successfully, and it would become crucial for him to open or close the eastern gate.
But if he failed? If he failed, it was possible for Ye Xiao 'an to die. However, regardless of whether he survived or died, he would still achieve one result, which was the split of the Crouching Ox Ridge. Under such an analysis, was there even a need to guess what the adventurous Yang Yinglong would choose?
He would choose the second method, which was to seek fortune amidst danger!
When Yang Yinglong told Ye Xiaotian his plan, Ye Xiaotian's face darkened as expected. Ye Xiaotian stammered, "Sir Yang, I- I've escaped from the Crouching Ox Ridge after so much difficulty. Y- you want me to go back?"
Yang Yinglong could not bear to see his cowardly appearance. Originally, when he saw him again, he felt that he seemed to have changed a lot from his previous cowardly self. However, he did not expect that when it came to matters of life and death, he was still so useless. Yang Yinglong suppressed his impatience and said pleasantly, "That's right. At first glance, it does seem dangerous …"
Ye Xiaotian said, "Yeah, yeah, I think so too …"
Yang Yinglong interrupted him, "However, if I think about it carefully, your return this time was more daunting than dangerous."
Ye Xiaotian looked at Yang Yinglong blankly. Yang Yinglong patiently explained, "Tian Miaowen already knows that you're not Ye Xiaotian, right?"
Ye Xiaotian nodded. Yang Yinglong asked again, "Did she kill you?"
Ye Xiaotian shook his head. Yang Yinglong's face lit up. "That's it. Then why didn't she kill you?"
Ye Xiaotian thought about it and said, "She wants to continue using me to pretend to be my younger brother so that there won't be any internal strife in the Crouching Ox Ridge."
Yang Yinglong was like a kind old teacher, patiently guiding his slow-witted student. "That's it. As a result, she can only claim that the chieftain has been abducted for your disappearance, and she's acting on his behalf. The entire Crouching Ox Ridge will definitely keep urging her to find your whereabouts, which will be enough to tire her out. If you appear in the Crouching Ox Ridge right now, will she be bold enough to give the order to kill you? "
Ye Xiaotian hesitated, but he still said worriedly, "If I stay in the Sea Dragon Village and claim that Tian Miaowen has usurped the position …"
Yang Yinglong smiled. "Isn't that simple? If I were Tian Miaowen, I only need to say, 'The chieftain is under my control. For the sake of my life, I have no choice but to say this against my will!' Do you think the world will believe her, or you who are hiding in the Sea Dragon Village? "
"This …" Ye Xiaotian licked his lips, speechless.
Yang Yinglong continued to encourage him amiably. "She won't dare to kill you. Once she does, she'll be accused of usurping power and killing her husband. The only thing she can do is point out your true identity. However, under the premise that you accuse her of usurping power and usurping the position, how many people will believe her? Of those who believe her, how many will be willing to stay in the Crouching Ox Ridge? Your chances of success and failure are fifty-fifty! "
Yang Yinglong placed his large hand on Ye Xiaotian's shoulder and patted him encouragingly. "Compared to the riches and glory after success, even if there's only a twenty percent or even ten percent chance of success, it's worth the risk, not to mention that you have a fifty percent chance. Chieftain Ye, do you still need to hesitate? "
Ye Xiaotian still wanted to hesitate, as he wanted to drag things out as long as possible. If he returned to the Crouching Ox Ridge too early, the greatest difficulty for him would be how he was going to deal with Tian Miaowen, Li Dazhuang, and the others once his "restoration" succeeded. With such a grand occasion, it would probably be very difficult for him to play the same old trick and imitate Tian Binfei's act of substituting him.
Unfortunately, Yang Yinglong did not give him the opportunity to hesitate anymore.
… …
Hong Baichuan's days became more and more difficult, as it was becoming more and more difficult to keep the news under wraps.
Ningxia's Borbai's rebellion had completely failed. The territory he had occupied in the beginning of his rebellion was gradually eaten away and recovered. In the end, only a tiny piece of land remained. He was trapped in his lair, surrounded by heavy troops. Seeing that there was no chance of escape, Borbai's entire family burned themselves in despair.
The imperial court's response to the news war over Borbai's rebellion had gone through three stages. The first stage was when Borbai's rebellion had just begun. The imperial court's propaganda machine had yet to be activated, so they completely relied on the rumors and guesses of the people.
Borbai had taken down the Flowery Horse Pool, Borbai had taken down Wuwei, Borbai had taken control of the Jade Gate pass, Borbai was about to take down all of Hetao, Borbai was about to enter Shaanxi, Borbai was about to enter Sichuan … Everyone's hearts wavered when they heard this.
By the time the imperial court reacted and gradually controlled the information channels, the merchants who had fled from the war-torn areas in a hurry gradually disappeared. The commoners heard about how many soldiers the imperial court had sent out and how many places they had recovered. From time to time, they would hear news that Borbai had already died in battle, saying that only his remnants were still resisting stubbornly.
In order to achieve his objective of confusing Yang Yinglong, Hong Baichuan had been working hard to weave a web of information that was difficult to distinguish between true and false, passing on false information to Yang Yinglong. Now that Borbai had already died in battle, it was even more difficult to conceal the news. Hong Baichuan could only drag it out one day at a time. However, the news that came from North Korea made Hong Baichuan secretly heave a sigh of relief.
Japan had always had a dream: to invade North Korea and the Central Plains and obtain a piece of land for Japan on the mainland. As early as the Kofun period, Japan's Empress Shinkong had invaded North Korea with a big belly and declared on the land she conquered, "The King of Korea is a dog of Japan!"
However, the further coveting of the Central Plains was not very smooth. During the Tang Dynasty, they tried once, starting from North Korea. In the end, in the battle of Baecun River, they lost everything and were utterly defeated. From then on, they stopped all the way until the Yuan Dynasty. The Yuan Dynasty took the initiative to launch expeditions to the east twice, but both times they failed due to natural disasters.
During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, Japan felt that they had rested and started to try again. Their first target was naturally North Korea. North Korea could not withstand a single blow and quickly asked for help from the Great Ming Dynasty. At first, the Great Ming Dynasty did not send many troops and horses. Because they were not familiar with the geography, they failed miserably.
When the Wanli Emperor heard the news, he immediately sent the famous general Li Rusong to gather 40,000 troops and enter the court again. This time, the progress was smooth. First, they conquered Pyongyang and defeated the troops of the Little Western Army. After that, they reopened the city and reversed the situation. After that, they forced their way into the royal capital. However, because they underestimated the enemy at Jade Hoof House, which was 30 li away from the royal capital, they were ambushed and suffered heavy losses. Li Rusong almost died in battle.
The Great Ming Dynasty then sent Liu Ting and Chen Zhao to lead reinforcements. The Ming army guarded Linjin, Baoshan, and other places to cut off the Japanese army's food supply. The Japanese were short of food and had to abandon the royal capital. They retreated to Pusan and other places and began to negotiate with the Ming army.
When the Japanese sent people to wave a white flag and propose peace with the Ming army, the Brocade Guards of the Great Ming in the court had quickly sent the news back to the country. Therefore, when Hong Baichuan learned that the Korean war had entered the stage of peace negotiations, it was not much later than the court.
The war in Korea was also about to subside. Now, even if Yang Yinglong knew the truth, he would not be afraid of him rebelling immediately. Naturally, Hong Baichuan was relieved. Hong Baichuan was not so worried anymore. In the guest house garden of Hailong Tun, Ye Xiaotian and Tian Binfei were sitting opposite each other, worrying.
"This time we took the risk to return to Hailong Tun and won Yang Yinglong's trust. It was not easy. But if we go back like this, what is the point of us taking the risk to come here? "The two of them held the belief that 'a thief will not leave empty-handed' and were full of complaints.
Tian Binfei sighed and said, "That's right! Originally, we planned to wait for Yang Yinglong to send out his troops and then counterattack at the critical moment. Who would have thought … "
Tian Binfei rolled his eyes and suddenly said happily, "If we return to Crouching Bull Ridge this time, what if we continue to pretend? Let Miaowen admit that she intended to kill her husband and usurp his power, then put her under 'house arrest'. You can then regain your power as a chieftain. That way, Yang Yinglong will definitely think that Crouching Bull Ridge is already in his control. Aren't you afraid that you can't deal him a fatal blow in the future? "
Ye Xiaotian thought about it and shook his head. "No! Crouching Bull Ridge has been through a series of changes. It can't withstand too much trouble. Besides, once Yang Yinglong confirms that I have already taken control of Crouching Bull Ridge, do you think he won't send people to divide my power? If we can only make him suffer some losses and we suffer great losses, it's not worth it. "
Ye Xiaotian sighed and said, "I don't want to, but there's nothing we can do. At the very least, we've temporarily restrained Yang Yinglong's intention to rebel and bought time for the imperial court. We should be satisfied. "
Ye Xiaotian was satisfied, but Tian Binfei was still not. After a long while of thought, Tian Binfei said, "Yang Yinglong plans on having you use Ye Xiaotian's name to contact the Xia family of Red Maple Lake and the Shi Qianzhan family to go to Crouching Bull Ridge as well?"
Ye Xiaotian said, "That's right! The Xia family of Red Maple Lake and the Shi Qianzhan family are engaged to me. Since I'm using the pretense of the Palm Seal Madam usurping my power and expelling them, I want the two families to step forward and pressure Miaowen together. In Yang Yinglong's eyes, Miaowen will be even less bold to act without permission. "
Tian Binfei tapped his fingers gently and said in thought, "Then, who will be in charge of this matter?"
Ye Xiaotian said, "Yang Yinglong plans on sending the first ah shepherd, Chen Xiao, to escort me back."
The light in Tian Binfei's eyes flickered. He shook his head. "No! In my opinion, it's not impossible to trick him again. However, we need to change the person who will escort you back to Crouching Bull Ridge! "
Ye Xiaotian asked in surprise, "Who?"
Tian Binfei said, "Tian Xiufeng!"
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