Chapter 202 Another Plan
Five days later, Mobei.

In the early morning, in the meeting hall of Chifengling, more than a dozen corpses were laid out on the ground. They were Chagan and his party who had died tragically in the Lingqiu mountain stream.

Yan Wuji, the leader of Red Wind Ridge, looked gloomy and said nothing. Su He and Long Yu had different expressions and didn't know what to say.

At this time, there was a burly bald man sitting in the hall. His name was Hu Zhen, and he was the leader of the "Hu Ma Gang", one of the three major sects in the northern border.

There were two men standing on each side of Hu Zhen. The burly bearded man was Huo Biao, the second leader of the Hu Ma Gang. The thin and sinister middle-aged man was Qiu Zheng, the third leader.

Today, the three leaders of the Huma Gang were invited by Yan Wuji to come here to discuss important matters.

"Take a good look at it!"

Yan Wuji pointed at the corpses and said in grief and anger: "If the local government hadn't sent people to send their bodies back, I wouldn't even know... they all met with disaster!"

After saying that, Yan Wuji slammed his fist heavily on the desk. At this moment, there was a secret letter on the desk, written by Luo Tianjin himself.

Yan Wuji gnashed his teeth and said, "I tried so hard to please Luo Tianjin, but I didn't expect him to be so cruel! If he didn't want to form an alliance with me, he could just tell me directly. Why did he have to kill him? The most hateful thing is that he clearly killed my people, but now he pretends to be innocent and shamelessly said in the letter... saying that he knew nothing about this matter, and pretended to assure me that he would investigate it thoroughly and give us an explanation... and so on, all of which are excuses. The cat cries over the rat, and the smile hides a dagger. It's really hateful!"

The main reason why Yan Wuji was so sad was because Chagan and Bater died together. These two were his trusted aides, loyal to him, and had fought for Chifengling and made countless contributions. Now that he had received the tragic news, and one of them had died, and the other had died together, how could Yan Wuji not be heartbroken?
Su He hesitated again and again, and with a sad expression, he bowed his hands and advised: "Master Ling, we are sad about the death of Chagan and Bater. But the exact situation has not yet been determined. If we insist that it was done by the Xianwang Mansion at this time, it would be too arbitrary."

Without waiting for Yan Wuji to speak, Long Yu sneered and said in a gloomy tone: "Even if Chagan and his group were not killed by Luo Tianjin, they died because of Luo Tianjin. No matter what, Luo Tianjin cannot escape responsibility for this matter."

Yan Wuji's eyes flashed with coldness, and he nodded and said, "Long Yu is right. No matter who did this, Luo Tianjin cannot escape responsibility! Zhongyuan is his territory, and Chagan made a special trip to visit the Xianwang Mansion, but now he died on the way inexplicably. Luo Tianjin must give me a satisfactory explanation for this matter, otherwise I will never give up."

"Then..." Su He hesitated, "Can Luo Tianjin make his position clear in the letter? Are you willing to submit to the Khan?"

"It's just like when he reported Wang Xutong's death to the Khan." Yan Wuji said viciously, "It's full of excuses and no sincerity. Han people like to beat around the bush when they speak, talking about the 'golden mean'. They seem sincere, but in fact they are just shirking their responsibilities, but they don't want to cut off their own retreat. Luo Tianjin is the same, smooth and worldly, and extremely shameless! In his letter, he avoided the subject and said a lot of pleasantries, but did not mention the matter of recruiting us. It is obvious that he is unwilling to submit to us."

"First, he killed Wang Xutong's family, and then he killed Chagan and his party." Hu Zhen said coldly, "And they did it cleanly and neatly, leaving no chance for the opponent to breathe. It seems that Luo Tianjin really thinks we Mongolians are fools. He dared to use the same trick again and again. If we don't teach him a lesson this time, I'm afraid that other sects in the Central Plains martial arts world will not take us seriously in the future!"

"Not just us? Even if it is the Mongolian Khan, these Han people will not have the slightest fear." Long Yu sneered, "Master Yan Ling, you want to win over the Central Plains sects for your own use without bloodshed. Although the idea is good, it is not smooth to implement. Before, there was the Tianshan Jade Dragon Palace, and now there is the Luoyang Xianwang Mansion, both ended in failure. You have spent a lot of effort to ask the Khan to adopt your policy of recruiting. During this period, the Mongolian Empire, from the court officials to the merchants and herdsmen, all acted according to your orders, but what was the result? Except for the Luoyang Golden Sword Sect, Iron Palm Gang... these inferior rabble, how many people from the real famous sects are willing to bow down? Now not only has the recruitment failed, but it has also lost people like Wang Xutong, Chagan, and Bater. The Khan is already dissatisfied with Wang Xutong's death. If this matter is heard by the Khan again, I am afraid that Master Yan Ling... can only die to apologize!"

"Long Yu." Su He said in a deep voice, "Our three sects in Mobei have now submitted to the Khan. We should be of the same blood and the same mind. Why do you have to sneer at us? I think there is nothing wrong with Lingzhu's strategy. If we can win over the Central Plains martial arts to serve the Khan, it is better to win without bloodshed than to suffer the loss of lives. If we use brute force to attack, let alone whether the three sects in Mobei can compete with the Central Plains martial arts, even if we can be evenly matched, it will inevitably arouse the common hatred of the heroes in the Central Plains. By then, they will unite and advance and retreat together, and even join forces with the Song Dynasty to resist. Wouldn't it be more disadvantageous to the Khan's southward policy?"

"That makes sense!" Hu Zhen nodded. "The reason why the Khan asked us to win over the Central Plains martial arts world is to help us fight from the inside and outside in the future, so as to reduce the unnecessary sacrifices of our Mongolian soldiers. Now, the imperial court is fighting east and west, and the battle lines are very wide. The loss of soldiers, horses, and food is huge and in short supply. The Khan has no power to dispatch troops to the south, so he gave us the opportunity to make achievements."

Faced with Hu Zhen and Su He's unanimous opinions, Long Yu snorted coldly but did not argue any more.

"I thought that after winning over Luo Tianjin, I could use his power to unify the Central Plains martial arts world and save a lot of trouble." Yan Wuji sighed, "I never expected that this person would be more cunning than I thought. How dare he call himself the 'King of the North'? In my opinion, Luo Tianjin is a complete hypocrite!"

Su He thought for a moment and said in deep thought: "Master Ling, how about... I go to Tianshan Jade Dragon Palace again?"

"No need." Yan Wuji shook his head tiredly, "Ren Wuya is a cunning old man, even worse than Luo Tianjin. Moreover, Ren Wuya is even more greedy and shameless. Moreover, Yulong Palace is the leader of the four major heretical sects in the martial arts world and is notorious in the Central Plains. If we get too close to them, I am afraid that not only will we not be able to borrow their power, but we will also suffer from them in vain. I was too naive before, and I thought I could cast a wide net and gain success everywhere. Little did I know that these Han people are much more difficult to deal with than I expected."

"How about..." Hu Zhen thought, "We should use their own tricks against them? In order to persuade Luo Tianjin, Chagan lied that we intended to win over the Hexi Qin family. Although this is just a rhetoric, since Luo Tianjin is not aware of the current situation, why don't we really win over the Qin family? Behind the Hexi Qin family are the four major martial arts families in the Central Plains, and their relationship with the Xianwang Mansion has never been very close, and there are even some contradictions. If we can promise Qin Ming a huge reward, maybe..."

"Naive!" Before Hu Zhen could finish his words, Long Yu shook his head and laughed, "Luo Tianjin doesn't want to make friends with us. Do you know why? He is afraid that he will be branded as a traitor. The Xianwang Mansion doesn't want to be a traitor, but does the Hexi Qin family want to be? These Han people sometimes sell out their masters for a penny and do all kinds of evil. But sometimes they also regard reputation and morality as more important than their lives, and would not exchange them for mountains of gold and silver. I advise you, if you are not absolutely sure, it is best not to take the risk of recruiting the Hexi Qin family."

"Why?" Hu Zhen asked suspiciously.

"Because there is a high possibility that the same mistakes will be repeated. Those who go to recruit Qin Ming will end up following in the footsteps of Chagan and Bater." Long Yu smiled contemptuously.

"Besides this, there is a bigger obstacle." Yan Wuji said quietly. Then, under the curious gazes of the crowd, his eyelids twitched slightly, and then he said word by word, "Golden Sword Dock!"

"correct!"

Hu Zhen slapped his head and nodded repeatedly, saying, "Jinjianwu has a close relationship with the Qin family in Hexi, and the 'Master of Jinjianwu' Jin Fuyu is said to be a descendant of the royal family of the Jin Dynasty. Back then, the Mongols and Song Dynasty joined forces to destroy the Jin Dynasty, slaughtered countless Jin people, and almost wiped out the entire Jurchen tribe. Therefore, Jin Fuyu would definitely regard the Mongols as his sworn enemies, so how could he form an alliance with us? Right, right, right! If it weren't for Master Yan Ling's timely reminder, I would have almost forgotten this section."

After saying that, Hu Zhen slapped his head again and again, and cried out: "Trouble! Trouble! It's really troublesome! This won't work, and that won't work! Otherwise... let's start a war? First, destroy the Xianwang Mansion, kill one to warn the rest, and let those Han people know how powerful we are. Then persuade them to surrender one by one, and kill those who don't obey! I don't believe that we can't deal with those weak Han people with the scimitars in our hands, what do you think?" As soon as these words came out, Yan Wuji and Su He's faces changed at the same time. But Long Yu clapped his hands and praised, nodding his head and said: "This plan is very good, I agree! Things that can be obtained by good words are far less reliable than those that can be obtained by swords and knives!"

"I don't agree!" Yan Wuji said in a deep voice, "Once the war starts, both sides will fight to the death. By then, we and the major sects in the Central Plains will be dragged into the quagmire and swamp, and there will be endless troubles. Unless we can kill each other, there will be no peace between us. What's more, if Su He's worries come true, the Central Plains martial arts and the Song Dynasty court will join forces, wouldn't it create even greater trouble for the Khan? Not only can we not help the Khan share his worries, but we will also indirectly help the Song Dynasty court? No! No! This is absolutely not allowed!"

“So what if I kill them all?” Long Yu stuck out his scarlet tongue and licked his cracked lips.

"If we kill them all, who will cooperate with the Khan's troops in the future?" Yan Wuji said in a deep voice, "Wouldn't it be a waste of blood and effort if we do this?"

Long Yu narrowed his eyes slightly, and said with a smile: "Master Yan Ling, you haven't figured out how to explain to the Khan about the death of Chagan and others, so how dare you jump to conclusions now?"

“How dare you!” Yan Wuji shouted angrily, “Unless the Khan deposes me, I, Yan Wuji, will still be in charge of the three sects in Mobei! It is not your turn to make irresponsible remarks and act bossy here!”

Hearing this, a chilling light suddenly flashed in Long Yu's eyes.

Seeing this, Su He immediately used a move to change his position, and instantly stood in front of Yan Wuji to protect him. He stared at Long Yu without looking away, and as long as Long Yu made the slightest move, he would be able to counterattack in the blink of an eye.

Long Yu, holding a short sword, walked towards Su He leisurely. Ya Kun, who was standing behind him, violently knocked away the table and chairs in front of him, holding two huge axes, and followed closely behind.

"Long Yu, you must not be rude to the Lord of the Ridge!" Su He said bluntly without fear.

"I've wanted to fight you for a long time." Long Yu showed a wicked smile nonchalantly, staring at Su He with eyes full of desire, and said with a sinister smile, "When you conquered the twenty-four cities in Mobei, I was with the army on the Western Expedition. I didn't meet you, what a pity!"

While he was talking, Long Yu had already walked in front of Su He. The two of them looked at each other, standing opposite each other, less than a foot apart.

Seeing this, Hu Zhen, Huo Biao and Qiu Zheng on the side couldn't help but look at each other, and there seemed to be a hint of gloating in their eyes.

"What are you doing?"

Yan Wuji saw that the situation was not good, and suddenly shouted. He quickly stepped forward and angrily said: "Do you still have me, the Lord of the Ridge, in your eyes? Do you still have the Khan?"

Upon hearing this, Su He and Long Yu both became alert, looked at each other deeply, and then took two steps back.

Seeing this, Hu Zhen couldn't help but frown and asked, "Master Yan Ling, what are your plans next? Are you going to attack or recruit them?"

Under the gaze of everyone, Yan Wuji frowned and thought for a long time.

When Hu Zhen was about to ask another question, his eyes suddenly lit up. He turned to look at the corpses on the ground and said meaningfully, "Forced attack won't work, and persuading them to surrender won't work either. No matter which way we go, we will eventually force them to a front line and fight us to the death. So we have to think of a way. We no longer need to beg them, but let them beg us on their own initiative."

"What method?" Long Yu asked curiously, and then quickly added, "No matter what method it is, this matter must be left to me. Su He and Cha Gan are both from Chifengling, but they have both returned empty-handed. According to seniority, it is our turn as the Twenty-Four Cities and the Huma Gang to make contributions to the Khan next."

"That's right!" Hu Zhen quickly agreed.

Yan Wuji took a deep look at Long Yu, then said with a half-smile: "I've heard about your outstanding performance in the Western Expedition Army, but some things are always just hearsay. Today, I'll give you a chance to see how capable you, Long Yu, are."

"I'm all ears." Long Yu chuckled and asked, "But what about Master Yanling's solution? Don't be as weak as before."

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend, and the opponent of my opponent is my ally." Yan Wuji said with a sinister smile, "If you want to subdue the various sects in the Central Plains, you must first disintegrate their hearts. As the saying goes, it is easier to fish in troubled waters. I want to cause chaos in the Central Plains! I want to kill someone with a borrowed knife!"

Hu Zhen was completely confused and asked in confusion: "Then...are we still going to fight?"

"Fight!" Yan Wuji said, "But we won't fight them. We need to let them...fight with each other!"

……

(End of this chapter)