My book friend Long Aotian

Chapter 77 Best and Middle Strategies

The flames were blazing, with dozens of large bonfires illuminating the dark wilderness in every detail.

The craftsmen were busy repairing and debugging the airship so that it could take off again. Taking this opportunity, Wenren's soldiers entered Timoke's lair to look for "evidence".

During this period, a large tent will be set up in the wilderness, and you are invited to take a short rest.

Wen Ren Zhuo in the tent was still furious.

He had gone through many trials, and his family had helped him to ascend to the position of Tianjiao. Tianjiao was a prestigious title, initially an honorary title, and later a title of great responsibility. With this title, one could almost become one of the future helmsmen of the sect... Both his family and Fenglinhuoshan had high hopes for him.

After he came out of the mountains, Bafengtai entrusted him with an important task and sent him to subdue Baihua Valley and demonstrate his power.

In order to make a beautiful debut, the family sent out 300 soldiers to help him. All of them were trained according to the Eight-Heavenly Army training method and were all warriors. This force was also very important on the Qining battlefield.

His father even handed him an important chess piece to help him succeed—a second-rank Demon Sect master who was efficient and loyal.

However, if you entrust your work to his hands, you will die as soon as you start.

Trash! Your whereabouts were discovered, ruining my plan!

Wen Renzhuo gritted his teeth in hatred, but Timoke, the second-rank master, was not a soldier who could be abandoned at any time. Now that he was defeated here, his father must be disappointed...

The task needs to be completed beautifully before it can be remedied.

While he was thinking about it, the family's troops had already sorted out the remnants of Timoke's cave.

"Everyone is dead, and a lot of evidence has been destroyed. However..."

The family warrior held a tray, handed over some shredded paper evidence he had found, and then stepped back.

Wen Ren Zhuo glanced at it for a few times and suddenly snorted coldly... Although they were all fragments and torn pages, they could still be pieced together to reveal their original appearance, and there was clearly a remarkable name written on the paper.

He glanced at it for a few seconds and suddenly smiled sarcastically.

Xi Lao sat aside and asked, "What's wrong?"

Wen Renzhuo pushed the "evidence" on the tray over.

The old man looked at it for a moment, frowned and said, "Why would Timoko write something like this?"

"Of course it was changed by someone."

Wen Renzhuo sneered, "What Li Bailong and the others did... was really ridiculous. How can such cleverness be of any use in front of Fenglin Volcano? I can ask Timoko to write one copy, and then I can create another 100 copies!"

Old Xi retracted his gaze. As a warrior, he had amazing eyesight. In a short period of time, he saw several names that made people shudder with fear. He couldn't help but say, "This thing is troublesome, let's destroy it first."

"No need!"

Wen Renzhuo thought of today's humiliation and gnashed his teeth, "I want to keep it. When Li Bailong is imprisoned, I will throw these pieces of paper on his face and laugh at his naivety... this jumping clown! I will also take this thing back to the mountain gate. When I laugh and have fun with my peers in the future, I will also take it out to make them laugh and teach everyone to see the amazing wisdom of the Perfect Moon!"

Time passes and the night deepens.

Everyone has returned to Baihua Valley. As this important event happened, they were all unable to sleep.

In the main hall of the sect, the founders of Baihua Valley were seated, and Li Bailong stood behind his master.

Among the seven elders, the head uncle Yang Ying was away and had not returned, the fourth uncle seemed to have disappeared from the face of the earth, the fifth uncle stayed at home embroidering and weaving all day and hardly took the initiative to ask about any affairs of the sect. Only the second uncle, the third uncle and the master were seated there. The lights in the hall were on and everyone waited in silence.

After a while, footsteps were heard and a heroic woman with a high ponytail pushed open the door. She swept her sharp eyes around the room and nodded slightly.

Then a young woman with a light veil and a graceful manner was invited in.

The woman was dressed in white, like a cold, melting moon. She looked intelligent and noble, but her eyes, which should have been bright and lively, were as calm as a lake, reflecting her heart which was as cold as a dead tree.

Li Bailong lowered his head and said, "Seventh Master."

Third uncle and master stood up to greet her: "Seventh sister."

Fenglin Mountain is approaching, and the leader has not returned. The seventh sister who joined last is the younger sister of the leader of the Cao Gang. At this moment, she is the greatest hope of Baihua Valley.

"Sit down, both sisters." Uncle Seven spoke in a calm voice and directly. After sitting down, he flipped his hand and held out a piece of paper. "Big brother has replied. He has always been clear about public and private matters. Everything he can say is in the letter."

Wei Henglan sat upright and expressed respect to one of the princes of this dynasty: "Thank you for your kind words, Seventh Sister."

"First, let's talk about why Fenglin Volcano attacked us."

The six major sects are high and mighty, and every decision they make is unknown and hard to predict. The Baihua Valley is still at a loss when the enemy is about to attack, but for the other six major sects, this matter is no secret.

"That thing flying in the sky is called an airship. It is a strategic plan that Fenglin Huoshan has been planning for a long time. They call it the 'Six Army Array Platform' internally. It can be regarded as an aerial battleship that can carry warriors, sorcerers, and ingenious weapons. In my brother's words, it is the decisive weapon of Fenglin Huoshan's 'intention to promote and dominate the next generation of war'... The Eight Front Platform has high hopes for this thing and plans to build it completely in ten years and complete it in one go."

"Originally, this thing was supposed to be shipped three years later, but in the past two years, Fenglin Volcano has been stimulated and pressured by something, so it decided to speed up the process and get this thing out first..."

When Li Bailong heard this, his eyes moved slightly.

"The price is that the various processes are not perfect, and the first product is much smaller than expected. The most important thing is..." The uncle paused and said slowly: "The skin of this object requires a large amount of special fabrics with extremely high knitting technology. The weaving sect supported by Fenglin Volcano's original plan has not fully mastered the process technology, and the scale of production cannot meet the requirements at all..."

Everyone exclaimed.

No wonder Fenglin Volcano sent an envoy for the first time a few days ago. Although he brought generous gifts, his attitude was overbearing and he asked Baihua Valley to cancel all previous orders... It turned out to be because of this matter.

The truth was revealed, but it was the worst possible outcome. Wei Henglan thought deeply and a look of worry flashed across her brows.

——If it was just a matter of factions fighting each other, or the big fish eating the small fish, or Fenglin Huoshan competing with other factions and attacking Baihua Valley to establish its prestige, then there would still be room for maneuver. But since this is a matter of Fenglin Huoshan's major strategy, the other party must be determined to win, so there is a mountain of pressure and an airship coming today!
Therefore, when they parted before, Xiong Jingyan threatened them and almost ordered them not to weave an inch of cloth for Fenglin Huoshan!
When she thought of this, she looked at Li Bailong, and they both understood clearly.

The so-called "Fenglin Volcano was stimulated by something and decided to speed up the development of the airship" and so on. The one who could stimulate this military giant that spans states and counties and has countless soldiers... is most likely the Lingyu School!

Uncle Seven noticed the expressions of the few people and asked, "What's wrong?"

Wei Henglan calmed himself down and told what happened today.

"That makes sense." Uncle Seven looked calm, "Big Brother told me that the good times in Baihua Valley wouldn't last long, but I didn't expect that we would be involved in the conflict among the six major sects in this way." Wei Henglan smiled bitterly, "So..."

"So we can't surrender to the frontal volcano."

"Yes, if we surrender once, the other sects will also know that Baihua Valley can be bullied..."

"That's not the point. The point is that we can't offend the Lingyu Sect."

Uncle Seven said directly: "We have offended Fenglin Huoshan. They came from across the state, sent soldiers, fabricated charges, and used the situation to pressure us. We still have to consider the head sister and me, and offend the Lingyu sect..."

At this point, she sneered, "The Lingyu Sect doesn't even need to send people to cause trouble. They only need to withdraw their support for mulberry masters, saplings, and silkworm seeds and end the agreement to make us look bad. If they are kind-hearted and do nothing, our weaving output will drop by 30% next year. If they are not kind-hearted and spread some diseases to make the mulberry trees wither and the silkworms die, it will be unimaginable."

"The Lingyu Sect can also use this method to threaten our upstream and downstream partner sects. They call this 'long-arm jurisdiction'. After all, they can control cattle and horses, meat, eggs, milk, vegetables, war beasts and pets, rice, grains, flour and oil. Within a year, our business partners will scatter, and our business will drop by at least 60%."

"If Fenglin Huoshan wants to threaten or suppress a sect, he has to be straightforward and use swords to speak. However, many sects in the world are subtly controlled by the Lingyu Sect before they even offend it. If they are not satisfied with something, the other party will just kick the pillars and beat them, and without bloodshed, they will beg for mercy."

When Uncle Seventh Master said this, he sneered for no reason.

"My eldest brother said that the Lingyu Sect has become more and more ruthless in recent years, killing people without shedding blood. There must be a rotten-hearted military advisor who is making trouble out of nothing, instigating seduction, and talking nonsense, which gave the decision-makers of the Lingyu Sect inspiration. This person is a born bad seed, a beast in human clothing, and a hypocritical person. Who is he? The Cao Gang is very interested."

Wei Henglan didn't care about anything else. Now after hearing Seventh Sister's explanation, she realized that Xiong Jingyan's threat was so real... Since the airship is related to Fenglin's strategy and the competition between the two factions, if Baihua Valley gives in and provides Fenglin Volcano with airship skins and fabrics, then the revenge of Lingyu Faction will surely follow closely and there will be no room for negotiation!
"Third sister understands."

Uncle Seven's eyes remained calm, as if he was talking about something ordinary. He looked directly at Wei Henglan and said, "Without the Sect Master here, Third Sister is the leader of our sect. Today, Fenglin is in danger. It's not an exaggeration to say that it's a catastrophe. What's your plan, Third Sister?"

Third uncle smiled bitterly and said, "I don't have deep roots, nor do I have any friendship with the six major sects. I don't have to be so stubborn as a sister. I can only rely on the head sister and seventh sister. If you have anything to say, please speak directly."

Uncle Seven nodded and said, "Okay, I don't have any clever ideas, I'm just relaying Big Brother's advice."

The advice from the leader of the Cao Gang.

Everyone looked serious.

And Seventh Uncle turned his gaze to Li Bailong.

Li Bailong was somewhat puzzled by her gaze, and then he heard Uncle Seven say: "Since Lingyu Sect said so, the option of succumbing to Fenglin Huoshan is the worst option and it is absolutely not an option."

"In this case, if we want to survive this crisis, our sect has two options: the best option and the middle option... But both of these options will probably require Li Bailong to suffer."

Meow.

Li Bailong was even more puzzled, but still said: "Since you are a disciple of Baihua Valley, our sect is facing a major change, and disciples should also stand up. How can you say you are wronged?"

The master, who had been silent all the time, glanced at Uncle Seventh Master for a few times, and his eyes suddenly became unfriendly.

Wei Henglan also said: "Junior sister, please start from the beginning. How did you wrong Bai Long?"

"The Fenglin Volcano is coming with great force, but it still has to take me and the head sister into consideration."

The uncle-master said more tonight than he usually says in a month. He gently lifted his veil and took a few sips of tea with his jade-like lips. Li Bailong ran to pour the tea with a wink.

"For example, if Wenren Zhuo bullies me, my elder brother can even climb the gate of Fenglin Volcano Mountain openly and chop off his head. The master of Fenglin Mountain will thank my elder brother for disciplining his disciples."

"The same goes for Master Sister. If Wenren Zhuo attacks her or Jianlan and the others, then Master Zhang can intervene and make him go back in disgrace with just one word."

Uncle Seven looked at Li Bailong and shook his head, saying, "So that person knew the limits and targeted Li Bailong. The Cao Gang and Xuanyuan Sect had no suitable reason to intervene, and they didn't even want to interfere. After all, the six major sects also have tacit understandings and unspoken rules, and they won't easily have frictions or conflicts, otherwise there will be endless troubles."

She sighed, "The reason is simple. Baihua Valley is an independent sect. This is the price of being free and unfettered and not being controlled by others."

"For example, I am the sister of the leader of the Cao Gang in our sect. My uncles and aunts love me and my fellow gang members respect me. So it is no problem for Baihua Valley to use my relationship to do business and make money. If we encounter any minor troubles, the Cao Gang can easily solve them. It is not a big deal."

"But this time the enemy is Fenglin Huoshan, and Fenglin Huoshan didn't touch me, but only attacked someone who is not my disciple, and his reason is upright. Even if I force my big brother to help me, the Cao Gang is not my family's private property. Will my uncles agree that my big brother would forcibly clash with an opponent like Fenglin Huoshan for a sect that has no subordinate relationship and no interest transfer with our gang?"

"The same is true for Xuanyuan Sect, and the situation is even worse. Master Zhang is only the next headmaster, and his relationship with the headmaster's sister, can it be closer than that of brothers and sisters?"

These words left everyone silent.

After a moment, Wei Henglan said in a hoarse voice: "So..."

"So, the middle strategy is to choose one between the Cao Gang and the Xuanyuan Sect." Uncle Seven said in a light tone, "Baihua Valley is lucky to have the best of both worlds and to have risen to the sky with the power of the two sects. Now Fenglin Huoshan has discovered our weakness and is using its power to suppress us. There is no other way except to formally join one sect and become part of its territory."

She looked at Li Bailong and said, "The reason why this is a middle strategy is that Fenglin Huoshan is framing you. If our sect formally submits to Xuanyuan Sect or Cao Gang, the enemy's plan will fail, and they will not hesitate to frame you. Although you won't die, your journey to the martial arts exam will end here."

"Because from now on, every time you take the imperial examination or get promoted, there will be people with Fenglin Huoshan background who will come out and tell you that you have a history of colluding with the Demon Cult."

“Besides that, our faction’s plan to become the second-class leader will definitely be obstructed by Fenglin Volcano.”

Uncle Seven sighed, "And the most important thing is, since you have submitted to the six major sects, whether it is the Xuanyuan Sect or the Cao Gang, you will be controlled by others and follow their orders... It will never be the same as before."

Wei Henglan shook her head and said, "No, we can't ruin his future."

The path of the martial arts examination is almost the only way forward for a martial artist. How can it be abolished for such a talented person like Li Bailong?
"That's the best option."

Uncle Seven glanced at Li Bailong again, his eyes strange: "But I have to put you in a difficult position."

"..." Li Bailong shrugged, "Uncle Master, you can talk as you please."

"My eldest brother said that the Cao Gang can help, and Baihua Valley does not need to join. Baihua Valley does not need to join Xuanyuan Sect. They will remain independent sects in the future, and you sisters can do whatever you want."

Such a generous offer must have conditions.

Wei Henglan said in a deep voice: "What?"

"My eldest brother has a daughter and wants to marry Li Bailong into the family."

The Seventh Uncle looked at his nephew and said straight to the point: "If you agree, I will write back immediately. In two hours, the two families will be able to exchange marriage invitations, and you will be the leader of the Cao Gang. If you are willing, you can go find that Feng Lin Tianjiao tonight and slap him in the face. If he fights back, the Cao Gang will make him die on Jiangbei Road."

I wrote almost 9,000 words today. You guys keep talking about posting new chapters and so on. I write new chapters almost every day, but I just don’t divide them into chapters…

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(End of this chapter)