Whale Falls and Becomes a God

Chapter 69: It's Hard to Distinguish Friends from Foes
Du Fuwei was born in poverty and started out as a knight-errant. He later participated in an uprising and was one of the earliest rebels. However, he fell out with the rebels and returned to Huainan, where he eventually became a rebel king.

The experience was quite bumpy and tortuous, but also brilliant and wonderful, and it can be called a legend!

From what Xiao Ying knew in his previous life, the heroes at the end of the Sui Dynasty were first Li Mi of Wagang, followed by Wang Shichong of Luoyang, then Dou Jiande of Hebei, Liu Wuzhou of Hedong, etc., and Du Fuwei did not seem to be at the top.

However, when Du Fu was at his peak, he controlled the southeast and was known as the King of Jianghuai, so he would definitely be ranked among the top three. It was just that he never fought against Li Shimin, so his reputation was not well-known.

Those who are familiar with the historical records of the end of the Sui Dynasty know that whether in terms of prestige, strength, strategy or vision, Du Fuwei was actually the strongest opponent of the Tang Dynasty. He was not defeated by the Tang army, but by internal strife and his retreat at the height of his power.

At that time, the Jianghuai Army wanted to divide the world with the Tang Dynasty, or form a three-way balance of power. You can imagine how powerful it was at that time!

What Xiao Ying valued and recognized most was that Du Fuwei and his Jianghuai Army had no evil deeds and instead had a good reputation.

"Thank you so much, King Jingwu! If this works, I will definitely treat you to a feast!"

Du Fuwei didn't mind Xiao Ying's obvious attempt to win him over. He raised his glass and smiled in response, but also politely refused.

The so-called willingness naturally requires Du Fuwei to submit to the Sui Dynasty, even if it is only in name.

But who is Du Fuwei?
Even nominally, they had no intention of doing so for the time being. After all, the Jianghuai Army was far more powerful than the Jiangdu Army. How could the strong submit to the weak?! Moreover, Du Fuwei wanted to capture Jiangdu and make it the capital of the Jianghuai Army.

"Brother Du is truly a man of great skill and courage! Not only did he come to Jiangdu in person, he even dared to invite me!"

Xiao Ying had anticipated Du Fuwei's refusal, and praised him with a strange look of admiration.

Everyone in Jianghuai was startled and immediately became nervous...

"Ha ha……"

Du Fuwei laughed heartily without any concern, raised his glass again and responded:

"Not everyone can drink my wine! Prince Jingwu, do you want to take this opportunity to keep me here?"

"That's not the case... I have a hunch... maybe one day we'll fight side by side! There's no need to ruin our friendship... our personal relationship!"

Xiao Ying was really tempted, but soon gave up and responded with a generous shake of his head.

"Haha... let's look forward to that day!" Du Fuwei raised his glass and laughed again.

Xiao Ying raised his cup and drank from it, then asked casually, "Brother Du, are you planning to seek an alliance with King Fengming? Are you stopping by the city to take a look? I hope you won't disappoint me, Brother Du?"

"..."

Du Fuwei's expression froze, and he stopped holding the wine cup. Even the other Jianghuai soldiers' faces changed drastically!
It seems like a casual sentence, but it contains a terrifying meaning.

Du Fuwei's trip was a secret from the beginning. The purpose was even more secret, and only a few people in the Jianghuai Army knew about it. He never expected that the Prince Jingwu, whom he had just met, would casually reveal it!
Did they leak the information internally?

Or does the recently famous King Jingwu really have the ability to see through everything?
No matter which possibility it is, it is obviously the worst possible situation for Du Fuwei and the Jianghuai Army!
"Brother Du, there's no need to overthink it. Considering the current situation, it's not difficult to guess!"

Xiao Ying did not pretend to be profound, but explained frankly, and then continued:
"There are three major rebel kings near Jiangdu! Brother Du is the strongest, King Fengming is second, and King Shangliang is the last. However, their marching speeds are exactly reversed. Isn't their purpose obvious?"

After saying this, he thought for a moment and then advised sincerely:
"However, it's all right for you three rebel kings to plot against each other! It's simply impossible for you to capture Jiangdu, and forming an alliance is also difficult. It will only lead to bloodshed!" "Brother Xiao is a genius! Are you so confident? From what I know, the rebels wanted to leave on their own and just went with the flow. They were not defeated by the Sui army, right?"

Du Fuwei sensed Xiao Ying's sincerity and obviously didn't quite believe it, but he still asked with humility.

Xiao Ying replied with a half-smile, "That's certainly true on the surface! But what about the reality? The rebels are unprepared. They lack even basic supplies like food and clothing. Jiangdu is such a fortress with such high walls, how could they give in so easily?"

"That's true……"

Putting himself in their shoes, Du Fuwei nodded in agreement.

Jiangdu was the third capital of the Sui Dynasty, the first capital of Jiangnan, and the most prosperous and wealthy place in the south. Who would leave in such a hurry with insufficient supplies if they had no other choice?
"What about Brother Xiao's idea? What should I do?"

Without waiting for Xiao Ying to say more, Du Fuwei asked in a very familiar and humble manner, which did not make people feel disgusted!
This is the personal charm and affinity of Du Fuwei, the King of Jianghuai!
"Forget about capturing Jiangdu! The city walls are high and thick, the Queen is in charge, the orthodoxy is there, the people are in favor, and the resources are abundant. Even your three anti-king alliances will find it difficult to capture it!"

Xiao Ying thought about it and reminded confidently. After a pause, he continued thoughtfully:

"The only solution now! Brother Du's best option is to form an alliance with King Fengming, snipe and destroy King Shangliang, divide the spoils, and then decide who is the winner! Whoever ultimately dominates the southeast will have a chance of taking Jiangdu! Any other plans for Jiangdu will either harm others or be mutually devastating, with no clear winner!"

When saying this, Xiao Ying was quite confident, frank and quick, as if he was sure that Du Fuwei would do so.

This was originally the direction of the war in the southeast. According to Xiao Ying's analysis, it was also the best decision for the Jianghuai Army at the moment!
"Humph!"

Some members of the Jianghuai Army snorted in disdain.

Even the military advisors and teachers of the Jianghuai Army didn't dare to speak so boldly. But Prince Jingwu, who was clearly one of the Jianghuai Army's greatest enemies, actually dared to speak so boldly.

Such an obvious clumsy strategy of killing someone with a borrowed knife, driving the wolf to devour the tiger, and sitting on the mountain watching the tigers fight!
Do you really think they are fools?

"Okay! Brother Xiao's words have enlightened me. Let's do it!"

Du Fuwei suddenly realized something and couldn't help but slam the table and shouted in excitement and agreement. After he finished speaking, he glanced at several people with a sharp look and snorted coldly, with an obvious warning in his heart!
Those who snorted coldly lowered their heads...

Obviously, despite appearing to be upright and friendly, Du Fuwei was actually very strict in his rule and was not as easy to talk to or fool as he appeared to be!

Having said that, who can be truly simple and stand out in the chaotic world of war?

Especially the several rebel kings who were feared by the world and whose names were recorded in history, no matter how the world and future generations evaluated them, they were all true heroes of their generation and had their own shining points!
For example, the cannibalistic Nanyang King Zhu Can, the bloodthirsty Daliang King Xiao Xin, the cold-blooded Zhishi King Wang Bo and other rebel kings were as despicable as the legends said, and they would never become rebel kings!

The same goes for Du Fuwei. He seems to be righteous and generous, credulous, and quite brainless. What Xiao Ying said were all true words and the best strategies. If he really treated Du Fuwei as a fool, he would definitely die without knowing how he died!
This is what it means to exchange sincerity for sincerity!

After all, those who are purely evil, mentally twisted or BT are only a very small minority!

"Brother Du, what do you think of the heroes of the world? I don't know much about them, especially the heroes from all over Jiangnan, such as Li Zitong and Shen Faxing?"

Xiao Ying didn't care about the reactions of the people in Jianghuai and asked humbly.

I have paid enough, it is Du Fuwei's turn to pay too, it's only a matter of reciprocity!

(End of this chapter)