Chapter 46: The Plan Finally Comes Together

Finally, the plan to establish the Floating Water House had begun, and Li Xiang could finally let out a sigh of relief. Once the Floating Water House grew and flourished in the future, he would likely seize the initiative everywhere and even place himself in an undefeatable position.

After resolving the matters concerning Mao Xiang and the Floating Water House, Li Xiang had Wei Xiaokuan called in. Although this man might not be the equal of Wang Meng, he was nonetheless a peerless strategist and a great talent of the current era. Naturally, Li Xiang wanted to win him over as early as possible.

Once Wei Xiaokuan entered, Li Xiang stared intently at him for a long while.

"Wei Xiaokuan, I have often heard people say that you possess great talent. Whether it is commanding troops in battle, devising strategies, or governing a region, you excel in all and are second to none. My command is currently lacking a military advisor. I wonder if Mr. Wei would be willing to lower yourself to join us?"

Hearing Li Xiang's words, Wei Xiaokuan showed no surprise. After pondering for a long time, he finally spoke slowly, "May I ask what the General's ambitions are?"

A ruler chooses his subjects, just as subjects choose their ruler. Hearing the question posed by Wei Xiaokuan, Li Xiang thought to himself that whether this would succeed depended entirely on this single step.

Even so, Li Xiang did not answer directly. Instead, he took a roundabout approach and asked, "I wonder if sir wishes to hear the truth or a falsehood?"

Wei Xiaokuan did not mind at all that Li Xiang had not answered directly. Following Li Xiang's lead, he countered, "Oh? I wonder what the General's truth would be, and what his falsehood?"

"If it were a falsehood, my ambition would naturally be to protect the borders and pacify the people, to resist the Xiongnu of the northern territories, to remain loyal to His Majesty, to pledge allegiance to our Great Han Dynasty, and to do everything in my power to safeguard the rivers and mountains of our Great Han for ten thousand generations," Li Xiang said playfully to Wei Xiaokuan.

Hearing Li Xiang put it this way, Wei Xiaokuan unexpectedly revealed a trace of a smile and continued to ask, "Then I wonder what it would be if it were the General's truth?"

Hearing this, Li Xiang straightened his expression and said, "The Qin lost its deer, and the entire world chased after it. I wonder what sir thinks: if one day the Han were to lose its deer, what should this general do?"

Although Li Xiang still had not answered the question directly, with Wei Xiaokuan's wisdom, he could naturally understand the underlying meaning of Li Xiang's words.

Not only did Wei Xiaokuan feel no displeasure at this, but the smile on his face grew even brighter.

"This subordinate greets my lord," Wei Xiaokuan said, suddenly bowing deeply in a salute.

"Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining 9 summoning points. The current total is 194 summoning points."

Upon hearing the prompt from the system that Wei Xiaokuan had finally pledged his allegiance as a lord, Li Xiang knew that his gamble had paid off.

Among strategists, there were those like Xun Yu, loyal ministers of the Han who were single-mindedly devoted to the dynasty and willing to give their lives for a dying Han regime.

Yet there were also those like Wang Meng, who preferred their lords to be filled with great ambition so that they could better display their talents.

Of course, ambition also required the right timing. During the prosperous era of Emperor Wu of Han, even if you were full of ambition, such strategists would not pay you any heed; rather, they would fear you and keep as far away as possible.

However, although the world had not yet truly entered a troubled era, how could people like Wei Xiaokuan and Wang Meng fail to see what others could not? A chaotic age was not far off.

And this period was precisely the best time for ambitious people like Li Xiang. During this era, as long as you possessed the grand ambition to swallow up the realm, coupled with the right timing and fortuitous circumstances, great talents like Wei Xiaokuan would naturally be willing to assist you.

Of course, the prerequisite was that in addition to ambition, you must also possess the talent and character worthy of that ambition.

Having settled the matters of Mao Xiang and Wei Xiaokuan, Li Xiang temporarily fell back into a state of having nothing in particular to do.

Every day, he simply went to the military camp to mingle and build rapport with Xue Rengui, Dian Wei, and the others. Afterward, he would seek pointers on spear techniques from Qin Qiong and Lin Chong, or learn archery from Xue Rengui.

Although Li Xiang also wanted to ask for guidance from the even stronger Xing Tian, unfortunately, Xing Tian specialized in battleaxes. Their areas of expertise differed, rendering Xing Tian completely unhelpful to Li Xiang.

Half a month passed uneventfully in this manner until Wang Meng finally returned.

"Sir, how did this trip go?" As soon as he welcomed Wang Meng back into the estate and exchanged brief pleasantries, Li Xiang went straight to the point.

It was no wonder Li Xiang was anxious; the outcome of Wang Meng's journey was simply too important to him. If it succeeded, Li Xiang could stay far ahead of the future warlords and the balanced emperors of past dynasties throughout history. In a chaotic age, being a step ahead did not necessarily mean staying ahead every step of the way, but falling behind by a single step could very well lead to lagging behind at every turn.

Facing those historical warlords who had already proven themselves through history, Li Xiang did not dare to relax his vigilance in the slightest, even with the assistance of the system.

"My lord, rest assured, the matter is accomplished. When Meng entered the city, the imperial envoy had already arrived. I expect that this evening, when Lord Li Yang returns to the estate, my lord will know the result," Wang Meng said with a relaxed and joyful expression.

After all, this was the first strategy Wang Meng had offered after pledging his allegiance, and it had finally succeeded. Even with Wang Meng's deep composure, he could not help but show a hint of joy on his face.

Hearing this, Li Xiang instantly let out a sigh of relief. Next, all he needed to do was vigorously develop Bingzhou. When the world fell into great chaos and the various warlords rose up together, the other regional lords would only just be starting their preparations, whereas he could directly march out to seize cities and territory.

For the entire day, although Wang Meng had already given him his word, Li Xiang still felt like sitting on pins and needles, eagerly yearning to hear the exact news from Li Yang's own mouth.

Although it was less than a day, Li Xiang felt as though every moment dragged on like a year, until finally, just as dusk was about to fall, Li Yang and the others returned.

"Father, this child hears that the imperial envoy has arrived. I wonder how our plans fared?" As soon as Li Yang stepped through the door, Li Xiang asked anxiously.

It was clear that Li Yang was in a remarkably good mood, as he paid no mind to Li Xiang's slight breach of etiquette just now.

"Hahaha, rest assured. Your plan has succeeded. From today onward, I am already the revered Inspector of Bingzhou, and Ding Yuan will also follow the imperial envoy to the capital in three days. It's just a pity that it worked out in Ding Yuan's favor; the position of Commander of the City Gates actually went to him."

As he spoke, Li Yang frowned once again. He then led Li Xiang into the study, tightly closed the doors, and only then said, "Now that the position of Inspector of Bingzhou is in hand, how certain are you of the plan you harbor in your heart?"

Hearing these words, a chill ran down Li Xiang's back. He finally understood that his father had somehow found out about something, yet he still replied, "Father jests. What plans could this child possibly harbor in his heart?"

Li Yang stared deeply at Li Xiang, and father and son fell into a silence.

After a long while, it was finally Li Xiang who broke the silence. "When did Father find out?"

Li Yang did not answer directly, instead saying calmly, "I still maintain a certain grasp over the affairs of Bingzhou. Your little maneuvers behind the scenes have been incessant, and there were even a few times when I had to help you clean up the loose ends. Coupled with helping me secure this Inspector of Bingzhou position and your request for me to issue a decree to levy troops during the battle of Yanmen... Even though I was reluctant to believe it, even if you are not plotting that exact possibility, you are not far from it."

He then added, "Very well, you still haven't answered my question. Just how certain are you?"

"Father jests. How can there be any talk of certainty in a matter like this? This child is simply waiting now—waiting for that major turmoil to erupt. Everything done before this is merely making preparations for it."