The Villain's Counterattack

Abandoning the tall horse, Yang Kang bought a small donkey and lay on the donkey's back as he leisurely advanced towards Mount Hua. With a white shirt, a long spear, a folding fan and a donkey, Yang Kang's image immediately became vivid, attracting the attention of passers-by.

In ancient times, Zhang Guolao rode his donkey upside down. Today, Yang Kang rides his donkey while lying down. The Jin Dynasty was truly rotten. With the Mongol army looming, it still had the heart to enjoy peace and prosperity. The lower-level officers and clerks were still harsh and rude, but the targets of their brutality seemed to be a bit problematic. Yang Kang jumped off his donkey and beat them black and blue with his spear. When the army arrived, he threw his identity token over, sending them to their knees.

Upon hearing that the Prince of Qi, who had defeated the Mongolian army several times, was on a secret visit, high-ranking officials from the surrounding areas flocked to him. Later, the news reached the new Jin Dynasty palace. Wanyan Honglie, regardless of any obstruction, rode at full speed with his elite guards, and the father and son met on a small hill.

"Father is now the emperor, shouldering the fate of the Jin Dynasty. How can he go out casually like before?" Yang Kang scolded Wanyan Honglie as soon as he saw him. The masters guarding Wanyan Honglie felt their veins throbbing on their foreheads, but they could only watch. Didn't they see that Wanyan Honglie was being scolded like a grandson, but he had a smile on his face?

This is a deep love between father and son.

"Why did Kang'er think of coming here in disguise? Your Majesty has heard from the Queen that you were preparing to welcome the invasion of the Mongolian army. Are you leaving Shandong now just to see your father?" Wanyan Honglie felt too good about himself.

Yang Kang glanced at him and said weakly, "I have already made all the arrangements in Shandong. No Mongols would dare to take on such a tough nut to crack. Guanzhong is a difficult terrain to defend but hard to attack, so it is not the first choice for the Mongolian army. It's a pity for the people in Daliang. Actually, there are still one or two people who can be used."

"Kang'er is right. Among those hundreds of civil and military ministers, if we pick and choose carefully, we might be able to find one or two who can be used." Wanyan Honglie followed Yang Kang's words, but heard the guards around him speechless. You two, father and son, really disgraced that group of high-level officials. You should know that less than 30% of the Jin Dynasty nobles followed Wanyan Honglie to Guanzhong, and most of them stayed in the relatively prosperous Daliang in the Central Plains.

"I have two purposes for this trip. The first is about the affairs of the martial arts world. The second Huashan Sword Contest is about to begin. I want to see if I can use some martial arts forces to strengthen the power of the Jin Dynasty in Guanzhong. Sometimes these martial arts people who come and go are more useful than soldiers." Yang Kang did not hide anything and told Ouyang Feng that he was going to promote him to be the best in the world and then let him serve as Wanyan Honglie's golden thug.

Kang'er really still cares about me, Wanyan Honglie smiled happily.

"Ouyang Feng is a barbarian from the Western Regions, which have now fallen into the hands of the Mongols. I'm not entirely confident in him. If he lives up to his word, I'll make him the Jin Dynasty's Imperial Preceptor, responsible for gathering experts from the martial arts world to combat the Mongols. If he doesn't, then we'll settle for the next best thing and strive to win the support of the Quanzhen Sect. With my relationship with Master Qiu Chuji, that shouldn't be too difficult. However, Father needs to rein in his subordinates and not impose excessive taxes or oppress the lower classes. Otherwise, the government will force the people to rebel, and with internal and external pressures, the Jin Dynasty will be doomed to failure."

Wanyan Honglie nodded and sighed, "Father knows this, but Guanzhong is not as prosperous as the Central Plains. If we want to rely on the power of Guanzhong to resist the vast Mongol forces, without increasing taxes..."

"The Mongolian army has not yet controlled the Yangtze River. In the next few years, I will continuously transport food, fodder, and money through the Yangtze River waterway. Senior Qiu Qianren, who is known as the Iron Palm Floating on the Water, is the second person I think of. If Ouyang Feng is not capable, then let him be the national teacher." Yang Kang was prepared for both situations. It was true that Qiu Qianren's enemies were powerful, but Yang Kang was not a pushover.

"Kang'er, Guanzhong has the natural barrier of Tongguan, but Shandong doesn't have that. When winter comes, the Yellow River will sometimes freeze over, and your naval superiority won't be fully utilized. Since Qiu Qianren is so capable, why not leave him to you?" Wanyan Honglie was very happy that Yang Kang cared about him, but he was also secretly worried about him. If it were him, could he rely on just Shandong to resist the Mongol army? If Shandong was lost, Guanzhong would become the last remaining territory of the Jin Dynasty, and would be attacked from all sides by the Mongol army.

"Your Majesty, don't worry. This is the second thing I will do. Assassinate Temujin, use the Khan's throne to instigate civil strife in Mongolia, and delay their southward offensive." Yang Kang's words surprised everyone.

"No, absolutely not!" Wanyan Honglie said hurriedly. "The Mongol army is incredibly powerful, and Temujin, as the Great Khan of Mongolia, is heavily guarded. How could you possibly get close to them all alone? If anything were to happen to you, what would become of my father and your wife and children back in Shandong?"

"You and I, father and son, one from the east and the other from the west, complement each other. I don't believe that we can't defeat old Temujin's Tartar soldiers." Wanyan Honglie was really moved this time.

Yang Kang waved his hand and said, "I have made up my mind. Father, there is no need to persuade me. I have already made many preparations for assassinating Temujin. I even learned a simple disguise technique some time ago. It is very easy to disguise myself as a foreigner. It is just a matter of sticking some things on my face."

Seeing that Yang Kang had made up his mind, Wanyan Honglie stopped trying to dissuade him and instead asked, "How do you need your father to cooperate with you?"

"Dispatch troops and generals, pretending to send reinforcements to Daliang, but secretly strengthen the defenses of Guanzhong. Send capable men to defend it with all their might. We must resolutely not let the Mongol army succeed." Yang Kang sneered, "Whatever your schemes and tricks, I will remain unmoved."

Wanyan Honglie nodded and said coldly, "Those reckless people in Daliang actually ignored the will of the late emperor and established a new emperor. They blatantly split the Jin Dynasty. Their crime is unforgivable."

Daliang was originally the bait they had agreed to throw to the Mongolian Tartars, so naturally they would not send troops to rescue it, but Mongolia might not know this.

"Hou Tonghai and Sha Tongtian are fierce bandits on the Yellow River. Although Daliang has been abandoned by us, it cannot be taken over by Mongolia so easily. I plan to order them to lead the Yellow River bandits to rescue under the banner of Guanzhong. What do you think, father?" Yang Kang's words made Wanyan Honglie very happy. He raised his thumbs and cheered.

This was a great opportunity to kill two birds with one stone, so he naturally wouldn't refuse. "I'll write this letter, and Kang'er will take care of the rest. The throne will still be yours in the future, and no one can take it away from you."

Yang Kang shook his head and said, "I aspire to be a warrior, but I don't like the mess in the court. If I ascend the throne, I might end up killing a lot of people."

"Hahaha, what childish talk! You won't think like this when you grow up. As you said before, it's better for the emperor to have some sharpness." After Wanyan Honglie finished speaking, he ordered someone to grind ink, and he wrote a few documents according to what Yang Kang said and handed them to him.

Watching Yang Kang leisurely departing on his donkey, Wanyan Honglie had a strong feeling that this child might actually be able to accomplish something. "Temujin, since Kang'er wants you dead, you won't outlive me. No matter how much gold and silver you have, how much territory you have, or how powerful your soldiers are, in the end, you'll still be a corpse. Let's go back to the palace!"

After saying this out of habit, Wanyan Honglie realized that he did not have a carriage, but came on horseback. His men pretended not to hear his speech error and escorted him back on horseback.