knife

Chapter 80 Dare to take a gamble?
The north wind was blowing so hard.

The snowflakes are falling...
Snowflakes are falling, the New Year is almost here.
Tiele, why haven't you returned yet?
You've made your grandpa wait anxiously!
The grating singing coming from the cave annoyed Xiao Changche immensely. Li Dachui, that kid, just wanted to monopolize the warm kang (heated brick bed), so he used this awful singing to make Xiao Changche unable to stay any longer and escape from the cave. Meanwhile, Li Dachui climbed onto the kang with satisfaction, leaned against the wall, crossed his legs, and swayed them back and forth while clapping his hands.

This guy seems to always be an optimist, always able to make himself happy.

But Xiao Changche couldn't do that.

His life always seemed to be dominated by heaviness.

Just like now, Li Dachui is happily singing a song, but he is worried about the war in Baoping Prefecture.

The weather is getting colder.
The wind and snow intensified.

Standing in front of the windbreak wall, I watched as the wind swept by in gusts of snowflakes. Outside the windbreak wall, the snow had already piled up to a height of more than a foot, and this was on a leeward hillside.

Thanks to Li Dachui for digging this hole; if he had really tried to set up a tent in the woods on his own, he would have been freezing in this weather.

Although he thought this in his heart, Xiao Changche would never say it out loud.

Li Dachui is the kind of guy who, if you give him a little credit, he'll immediately turn into a ruthless tycoon.

If you really want to talk about it, that guy can immediately start praising himself to the skies.
Then they also went on to belittle you to the point of being worthless.

"I wonder how Dongwei and the others are doing now? Baoping City looks small, but if we really fight, it won't be easy!" Xiao Changche sighed and muttered to himself.

“There’s nothing to worry about!” Li Dachui’s voice came from behind. “Xiao Changche, relax a bit. We’ve arranged everything. As the saying goes, man proposes, God disposes. If it still doesn’t work out with such a meticulous plan, then it’s just that God doesn’t want us to succeed. There’s nothing to complain about.”

"So you weren't entirely confident either?" Xiao Changche turned around, walked back, and sat cross-legged on the felt mat.

Li Dachui sat up straight, spread his hands, and said, "What in this world is ever absolutely certain? Even a cooked duck can sometimes fly away! But you don't need to worry this time. Right now, your one-eyed subordinates are probably drinking, joking, dividing the spoils, and watching the show with Fang Xiaomao and the others in Baoping City. They won't even be thinking about you, their commander, at all. What are you worried about!"

Xiao Changche glared and said, "Dongwei was blinded by an arrow while fighting the Yuan people. I hope you will show him respect and not call him a one-eyed man so easily. Besides, Dongwei is a highly disciplined soldier. He would never drink alcohol during military operations!"

Seeing Xiao Changche's serious expression, Li Dachui nodded: "Okay, it seems I have to apologize to you again. But I don't believe you that Xiao Dongwei doesn't drink. You'll know when you see him next time. Want to make a bet?"

"What are we betting on?" Xiao Changche asked.

"Heh!" Li Dachui's eyes lit up immediately: "Looks like you have a lot of confidence in Xiao Dongwei! I'll bet you that Xiao Dongwei not only drank alcohol in Baoping City this time, but he got drunk. The wager is that you switch places with a woman."

"Change into women's clothes and dance!" Xiao Changche interrupted before Li Dachui could finish speaking.

This embarrassed Li Dachui, who waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "I slipped my tongue, I slipped my tongue, that's not what I meant."

"Sure!" Xiao Changche's answer left Li Dachui speechless: "But if you lose, the debt of two million taels will be wiped clean, and we'll be even from now on!"

"Is your dance really that expensive?" Li Dachui jumped off the heated kang and asked, his eyes wide.

Xiao Changche stared intently at Li Dachui: "Tell me, do you dare to bet? If not, then forget it!"

“What’s there to be afraid of! A gentleman’s word is his bond!” Li Dachui raised his fist.

Xiao Changche clenched his fist and bumped it against his own, saying, "A promise made in heaven is hard to keep!"

Having fulfilled his vow, Li Dachui said with emotion, "If Xiao Dongwei knew how much you trusted him, he would cry his heart out!"

"Don't you trust Fang Xiaomao and the others?" Xiao Changche asked rhetorically.

“That makes sense!” Li Dachui nodded. “Judging by the time, Baoping City should already be in our hands. As long as Yan Sheng and Yan Dong are executed, and the main force of the Yan family is wiped out, what can Baoping City use to resist us? Over the years, the Yan family has been constantly recruiting idle martial arts masters, and at this time, they will surely retaliate!”

“These people are just as despicable!” Xiao Changche frowned.

Li Dachui chuckled and said, "If they help us take Baoping City, we'll definitely pay the promised reward. In the end, they'll still spend it on places like Tai'an City, so we won't lose out. These people aren't exactly virtuous, but we're neither friends with them nor subordinates to them, so what does it matter?"

Xiao Changche bent down and stuffed a few pieces of firewood into the stove, but didn't answer. Clearly, they had another disagreement.

Li Dachui guessed that this guy definitely wanted to cross the river and then burn the bridge, and after taking over Baoping City, he would wipe out all these rebellious idle ronin, leaving a vast expanse of snow and a truly clean land!

But if you do something like that, you'll inevitably lose credibility, and it will be difficult to do business in the future.

After all, people of high moral character who refuse to compromise their principles for a living are a minority in this world. Most people are the type who will follow whoever provides the benefits.

Isn't living the most important thing?

"Will the Commander-in-Chief intervene in Baoping City?" Xiao Changche asked. "We can hold Yan Shengli accountable for colluding with the Northern Yuan. There's definitely plenty of evidence in Baoping City. But the Commander-in-Chief is the nominal supreme commander outside the Great Wall. If he wants to intervene, how can I refuse? If I refuse, others will see it as me engaging in annexation, framing others to expand my power. Everyone will feel a sense of unease, fearing they'll become my next target. In doing so, it will only push them towards Linghu Ye faster. Li Guohua and Linghu Zhishu are both very good at this kind of thing."

"Are you stupid?" Li Dachui looked at Xiao Changche as if he were an idiot.

Xiao Changche retorted angrily, "I'm discussing serious matters with you, why are you attacking me again?"

"Have you forgotten that you are a proper third-rank General of Chariots and Cavalry, appointed by the emperor?" Li Dachui retorted. "Or have you never taken this official position seriously?"

"I've never taken him seriously!" Xiao Changche said disdainfully. "What is the emperor anyway?"

"Then what is this Commander-in-Chief Linghu Ye anyway?"

“They are the strongest force outside the Great Wall!” Xiao Changche retorted. “A local official has more power than a distant one!”

"Nominal! Status!" Li Dachui slapped his thigh forcefully. "As a third-rank cavalry general, you are qualified to submit a memorial directly to the emperor, you know that? Has no one ever told you this basic common sense? After taking Baoping Prefecture, you should submit a memorial to the emperor. Request that the emperor appoint you, as a cavalry general, concurrently as the governor of Baoping Prefecture, and at the same time request that Zhang Ru be appointed as a chief secretary or something, basically making the emperor feel that Zhang Ru can be a check on you."

"He'll agree as soon as I ask?"

"He'll be overjoyed! It's like you've brought him a pillow when he's sleepy, a blanket when he's cold, a torch when he's in the dark, and bread when he's hungry. Chang'an will send you an imperial edict by express courier!" Li Dachui said. "For the past few years, they've been trying to seduce you, but you've remained chaste and ignored them. They're getting impatient. Now that you've finally flirted with them, they'll definitely pounce on you like dogs eating shit!"

"Who flirted with them?" Xiao Changche's face twisted with rage. "Who are you calling shit?"

"Smooth talker, smooth talker!" Li Dachui repeatedly cupped his hands in greeting, "However, the principle is just that!"

"Should I have Zhang Ruo help me set up the stage? We don't necessarily get along!"

"What's there to be afraid of? In the end, the army will be yours, the business will be mine, and his men will either be yours or mine. He just needs to work for us honestly. If he does well, he'll get a bonus; if he doesn't, we'll just treat him like a stamp. When we need him, we'll let him stamp our stamps; when we don't, he can go cool off somewhere else. Don't you think so?"

Hearing this, Xiao Changche tilted his head and looked at Li Dachui with a mocking gaze in his eyes.

"Are you trying to find a way out for your future father-in-law? Are you afraid that one day I'll get angry and kill him?"

"What are you saying?" Li Dachui spread his hands: "Don't ruin the young lady's reputation. She has a proper job in Tai'an City now, and she works very hard."

"Does her reputation need me to ruin it? You've already ruined it long ago!" Xiao Changche sneered.

"In times of emergency, we must act expediently. At that time, weren't we afraid that you might kill someone on a whim? We were also afraid that Linghu Ye would kill him without thinking twice. This person is of great use to us, so we can't kill him easily! In any case, anything that makes Linghu Ye unhappy is beneficial to us."

"Who said you're one of us?" Xiao Changche said.

“At least for now, right?” Li Dachui said discontentedly, “Xiao Changche, we’re allies now, but I’m still your creditor.”

"The accounts will be settled soon!"

"Really? I'll prepare the most gorgeous outfit in Tai'an City for you!"

The two glared at each other for a while, then suddenly burst into laughter at the same time.

"I'm too lazy to argue with a shameless person like you!" Xiao Changche waved his hand: "Tell me, how can you be so sure that the Tiele will definitely take this route?"

“I guessed!” Li Dachui said. “Because this road is the shortest. Such a major event has occurred outside the pass. You, Xiao Changche, swallowed Baoping Prefecture, ruining his grand plan. The power structure and balance of power outside the pass have undergone a great change. The Tiele will definitely want to rush back as quickly as possible to deal with the impact of this event.”

"What if he didn't take this path?"

“If he takes the other route, I’ll get the news immediately. We’ll both ride at full speed and cut him off in time!” Li Dachui pointed to the ground: “This spot was carefully chosen by me!”

How did you get the information?

Li Dachui pointed to the sky: "We'll have news soon!"

(End of this chapter)