Chapter 440 - 290: Martial World Public Enemy and the Grand Scheme of the Death Agent Plan (15,000-Word Long - ) (Part 7)
"Well said, next time don’t say it!"
Rong Yichu: "..."
...
Inside the manor.
Gu Zhan and Rong Yichu sat face to face in a pavilion.
"How did you obtain the title of marquis and military power?" Gu Zhan asked.
"Threats!" Rong Yichu poured a cup of tea for Gu Zhan and smiled slightly. "This time, I directly threatened the Court."
"How so?" Gu Zhan asked in confusion.
Rong Yichu sighed lightly and said, "My lord, do you still remember Yang Yuzhi’s death plan?"
Gu Zhan nodded and said, "Back then in Linjiang City, that death plan almost dragged the White Lotus Sect into it, but in the end, someone from the Yunzhou Military sabotaged it, leading to the burial of three hundred thousand soldiers at Dragon Pass!"
Rong Yichu said slowly, "At that time, we were all in that small place Linjiang City, and only saw that small perspective, unaware of who Yang Yuzhi truly was, so we believed it was just a death plan. But now, my lord, do you still believe it was just a death plan?"
Gu Zhan shook his head and said, "At first, I did think it was merely a death plan, but later, after finding out what kind of person Yang Yuzhi is, I have always suspected it was not that simple. However, I couldn’t figure out what other tricks he had up his sleeve. Three hundred thousand troops and the Grand General of Yunzhou, and the White Lotus Sect successfully rose!"
Rong Yichu nodded and said, "This is the brilliance of Yang Yuzhi. Even though all his enemies thought he would not be easily defeated, they couldn’t think of any place where he could succeed. If it weren’t for a series of fortunate errors, I wouldn’t have been able to discover the true setup of his death plan."
Gu Zhan frowned and said, "Tell me in detail."
Rong Yichu said, "Yang Yuzhi’s setup took forty years. Back then, Yang Yuzhi was in high spirits and was valued by Qin You. He entered the Court at a young age and had a promising future.
But because he was young and successful, he did not know his limits and openly insulted the Emperor in the Court, leading to his exile from the Capital City. If not for Qin You’s protection, he would have been sent to herd sheep Beyond the Border.
Everyone thought this was a setback in Yang Yuzhi’s career, but in reality, he was already plotting the death plan. Before his exile, he had formed an alliance with the current Emperor, who was then a Prince.
The Xia Kingdom was founded hundreds of years ago, and there are many ingrained issues. The Court is not short of capable people, nor is it short of the current Emperor, who wishes to save the kingdom from collapse. However, to save Xia Kingdom, the threats of Beiwei and Southern Jin must be addressed.
If the Emperor of Great Xia starts reforms, it will inevitably lead to internal chaos in Xia Kingdom, and then Beiwei and Southern Jin will certainly take the opportunity to attack. But if Xia Kingdom does not reform, it cannot cure its ailments and will eventually collapse. This is a deadlock.
Yang Yuzhi is a true statesman. He found a way to break this deadlock, which is to first quell external threats, and then quickly stabilize internal matters during that brief period, and then mobilize the entire nation to confront Southern Jin and Beiwei. Perhaps significant issues will arise initially, but at least it will give Great Xia a chance to rebuild after breaking."
Gu Zhan took a sip of tea and said, "So, the death plan was never about dealing with the White Lotus Sect?"
"The mere White Lotus Sect," Rong Yichu chuckled, "with Yang Yuzhi’s capability, he looked down on the White Lotus Sect. If it weren’t necessary to use the White Lotus Sect in the setup, the White Lotus Sect’s failed rebellion thirteen years ago would not have revived so quickly. The resurgence of the White Lotus Sect was intentional by Yang Yuzhi, or else how could it have regained a foothold in Yunzhou after being fragmented."
Gu Zhan thought for a moment and said, "Then what is he plotting for?"
"The border!"
Rong Yichu whispered, "Yang Yuzhi is a versatile genius. He recognized that if Southern Jin and Beiwei wanted to invade Great Xia, they would inevitably first launch attacks on the Three States: Yun, Liang, and Qing.
And for Great Xia to reform, it must hold the national gates of these three states. However, the Court can scarcely exert full control over these three states because, for nearly a hundred years, Great Xia has been declining, and its control over localities has diminished.
The Three States of Yun, Liang, Qing are primarily controlled by the Noble Families and Clans. Among these, the Gu Family, Ling Family, and Dugu Faction hold the most sway. As for Sword King City and Dao Pavilion Swordsmanship Sect among the Martial World Sects, the Court does not care as much, focusing mainly on those three noble families.
So, if Yang Yuzhi wants to break the stalemate, he must resolve the issue of these three noble families, and thus began his death plan.
The first step was self-exile from the capital, making people not pay attention to him, then naturally arriving in Yunzhou, starting to wander in the Martial World, and finally stabilizing Yunxi with the Cyan Gorge Covenant, drawing infamy for decades, but he had laid the groundwork.
Then, under the guise of failure and dejection, he mingled for many years in Yunzhou, Qingzhou, and Liangzhou, in fact searching for comrades and aspirants. Among these were the Grand General guarding Dragon Pass, Marquis Liu, and others.
Through decades of setup, he silently changed the dynamics in Yunzhou, such as intentionally allowing the White Lotus Sect to gain a foothold, causing internal conflicts among the various powers in Yunxi Martial World, Marquis Chengyang Ling Hao’s arrival in Yunzhou, and the disintegration of the Gu Family."
Gu Zhan said surprisedly, "The Gu Family’s disintegration in recent years is related to Yang Yuzhi?"
Rong Yichu nodded, "Yes, I have carefully studied the changes in the Gu Family over the past few years, and combining them with the changes in the dynamics of Yunzhou, Qingzhou, and Liangzhou over these years, I discovered something intriguing: the Ling Family and Dugu Faction’s resistance to the Court is quite apparent, with disloyalty almost on the surface."