Chapter 1 A Tilt Towards Sun Bo Ping

Lin Qingxuan was indeed leaning somewhat towards Sun Bo Ping. He and Sun Bo Ping had similar backgrounds, and they had known each other for almost twenty years. Even though one was in the central government and the other was a local official, Lin Qingxuan and Sun Bo Ping had maintained close ties. When Sun Meier married Lei Huang, Lin Qingxuan was also quite puzzled by this matter. Although Sun Bo Ping didn't tell Lin Qingxuan that he had already sided with Dongping, or rather, mainly with Yunzhou, Sun Bo Ping did describe his mindset and ambitions in his letters. Although Lin Qingxuan felt that combining with this kind of sectarian power was dangerous, he still sent gifts and blessings.

What he didn't expect was that in just a few short years, the Lei Yin (Thunder Sound) Demon Sect would have such power. Compared to the Dao Ming Sect's attempts to influence the court, the Lei Yin Demon Sect's dedication to cultivating the local areas, organizing many ordinary people to fight for their lives, was clearly more acceptable. Because the Lei Yin Demon Sect's system didn't seem to tie its followers so tightly to its war chariot, it didn't have that kind of fanatical religious brainwashing, but instead started from people's hearts. Although Lin Qingxuan was the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, as a middle-level official qualified to attend court meetings, he also understood all aspects of the situation. In Taizhou, at least the lives of those people united by the Lei Yin Demon Sect were indeed improving. The mutual aid system that the Lei Yin Demon Sect had spent a lot of effort coordinating had benefited countless people.

Just when Xiling's attention was drawn to the chaos in the north, the Chun Nan army was already beginning to stir on the southern border of Xiling. General Chen Xujing, who was in charge of the entire southern campaign, had also learned of the current turmoil in northern Xiling. This showed Tan Xiaopei's superb diplomatic thinking. Tan Xiaopei strongly supported Ye Tao's outright refusal to send troops to assist, but he still did some other things afterward. For example, now that the situation had changed, Dongping was facing a war with the Northern Liao that could break out at any time, and Yunzhou was plotting to get the Zhenbei Army Command into its hands, Tan Xiaopei immediately changed his tone towards Chun Nan. For Chun Nan, it would be an excellent containment if Dongping could launch an offensive in the north, but for Dongping, Chun Nan's offensive would have the same effect. Now, if Chun Nan and Dongping advanced from the north and south, although it would be impossible to destroy Xiling in one battle, cutting off the Zhenbei Army Command and everything south of Dananguan from Xiling's territory would be a great loss to Xiling's national strength. After talking to Ye Tao about Yunzhou's offensive, Tan Xiaopei began to chat with Chun Nan's envoys in Danyang. He carefully designed his words to make the other party feel that it was not impossible for Dongping to launch an offensive, but Chun Nan had to pay a greater price. The Chun Nan envoy sent the news back to his country, causing great joy. Anyone with a brain understood that the price paid would never be greater than cutting off such a large piece of fertile land from Xiling. Moreover, this was, after all, the only large-scale counterattack against Xiling by Chun Nan in recent decades. If a complete victory could be achieved, the effect on boosting the confidence of Chun Nan from top to bottom could not be underestimated.

What Tan Xiaopei did even better was that he had already officially begun to provide intelligence support to Chun Nan when the two sides were still holding "minister-level meetings" and had not yet reached an agreement. A considerable amount of information about the situation in Xiling, especially the military strength of various places, the commanders, the assessment of the local military strength, and important information such as food reserves in various places, was sent to the Chun Nan court one after another, especially to the delight of the Chun Nan military. The role that this information could play in a war between the two countries was even greater than that of one or two thousand soldiers.

Although this attitude transformation of Dongping giving a sweet date after a slap in the face made Chun Nan a little depressed, they had to buy it. Although the negotiations were still proceeding unhurriedly, the transmission of intelligence had never been interrupted. Chun Nan even took the initiative to propose that in the future, it would be best if a copy of the intelligence could be sent directly to General Chen Xujing to avoid the delay of several days from Danyang to Yuhang and then to General Chen. Tan Xiaopei agreed without even thinking about it, and even set up a hawk station in General Chen Xujing's mansion. When such a commotion arose in northern Xiling, Tan Xiaopei's first thought was to send it to Chen Xujing to see Chen Xujing's reaction.

While secretly mobilizing his troops, Chen Xujing sent a letter urging further intelligence. This move made Tan Xiaopei, Zhuo Mang, and others give Chen Xujing a higher evaluation. As a cavalry general, Chen Xujing might only be considered qualified, but with age, experience, and qualifications combined, he was indeed calm and good at thinking, and a qualified senior general.

Yunzhou, which bordered both Taizhou and the Zhenbei Army Command, pretended to be preventing the turmoil from spreading to Yunzhou, and began to promote the Balanced Scorecard program in the border area while expelling and controlling the followers of any religion. Although with the current situation in Taizhou and the Zhenbei Army Command, it has become unrealistic to hoard grain in the Zhenbei Army Command, there are advantages and disadvantages to everything. The Zhenbei Army Command probably has no time to care about what Yunzhou is preparing, and the control on the border and some internal preparations that have to be exposed to others also have a good reason.

What Ye Tao didn't expect was that under such complicated circumstances, the Western Route Army of the Northern Liao sent Gao Senqi again to contact him to reaffirm the non-combat principle on the border between the Northern Liao and Yunzhou. Ye Tao could quietly tell Tan Xiaopei about this private agreement, but the Western Route Army could not let the Northern Liao court know. Gao Senqi said very frankly that the Western Route Army was going south to Zhenbei Pass this time. Ye Tao was a little strange as to why the Western Route Army would do this, but Dai Yun explained to Ye Tao that whether the Western Route Army was optimistic about the Northern Liao's attack plan or not, they had to get involved. If they won, they would stand with the victors, and if they failed, they could also try to control the damage and minimize the losses of the Northern Liao. At this time, it was no longer a question of whether the Western Route Army wanted to retain its strength to protect itself. If the Northern Liao suffered heavy losses at Zhenbei Pass, then the Western Route Army would definitely be unable to save the ruined situation in the Northern Liao in the future. If they could at least form a two-point situation at Zhenbei Pass, even if the Western Route Army alone bore a larger loss, it would be worth it. After all, everyone understood the principle that if the skin is gone, what will the hair cling to. And the Western Route Army's sending Gao Senqi to reaffirm the agreement with Ye Tao was probably not really to express peace, but more like saying: A war is about to break out, we all know about this, if you dare to take action here, we will not be unprepared, everyone should weigh it carefully.

Once he said that, Ye Tao understood. Naturally, he was not the kind of person who would really evacuate the defense on the eastern front because Gao Senqi came up with such a move, but would strictly follow the original plan and let several battalions be ready to deal with any eventuality. And after Dai Yun explained Gao Senqi's intention, Ye Tao was even considering whether to mobilize a bit the several Rongjun (Honored Veterans) farms and ranches on the eastern front.

Ye Tao stayed at Thunderclap Cliff until the matters in the Zhenbei Army Command and Taizhou came to an end before embarking on the road to Danyang once again. Now, with the arrival of Lin Qingxuan and the five thousand soldiers in Taizhou, and with Sun Bo Ping's recovery and re-emergence under Lin Qingxuan's "persuasion," Taizhou was becoming increasingly firmly in his hands. If Sun Bo Ping could handle it properly, not only would he not be punished for the turmoil and his inextricable relationship with it, but he would be reused. That was the news Lin Qingxuan brought. Although the monarch was very dissatisfied with Sun Bo Ping's closeness to the Lei Yin Demon Sect and had suspected Sun Bo Ping of using the conflict between the Lei Yin Demon Sect and the Dao Ming Sect to blackmail the court, it was the Dao Ming Sect that had provoked the matter, which was beyond doubt. Compared to the Dao Ming Sect, which was now in a state of anxiety, the Xiling monarch was clearly letting the Lei Yin Demon Sect off the hook, treating the Lei Yin Demon Sect as an important pawn to contain the Dao Ming Sect, and also gave Sun Bo Ping a choice: he could enter the capital and start as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. The old Minister was estimated to retire in two to three years at most. By then, as long as his performance was not too bad, he would take over the Ministry of Revenue and become the head of an extremely important part of the central government's six ministries; or, he could continue to stay in Taizhou. The monarch required him to cut off his too close ties with the Lei Yin Demon Sect as much as possible, and at least be able to treat sectarian affairs fairly. In return, Taizhou would increase by 30,000 soldiers, which he would be responsible for forming, and he would also have further power in the northern border military affairs, and not just guarantee supplies for the Zhenbei Army Command.

This question really stumped Sun Bo Ping. The armies of Xiling were characterized by obvious personalization and clanization. Compared to Dongping's more thorough nationalization of the army, this kind of army clearly represented personal power more. However, Xiling was extremely strict in cracking down on private armies, and it was as difficult as climbing to the sky to obtain a establishment recognized by the Ministry of War. Although having a formal establishment meant that one must unconditionally respond to the Ministry of War's conscription, and any violation would be treated as a private army, for the powerful Xiling, at least before Dongping flourished, fighting was always a matter of taking advantage, which everyone sought. And how to respond to the court's conscription was also a matter of great skill. Although Sun Bo Ping was now determined to side with Dongping, controlling the army was actually more conducive to him playing the role of a high-level spy. Especially, the army's establishment had always been passed down in the family. As long as there were no problems, this army could be regarded as the court recognizing the Lei Yin Demon Sect's protectorate army in another way. The commander of the army would inevitably be Lei Huang and the capable people around him, which made him tempted.

Fortunately, Dai Shikui was still by his side to help him with advice at this time. Dai Shikui unhesitatingly suggested that Sun Bo Ping become the Minister of Revenue. In front of the Xiling monarch, continuing to entangle in the local area would make his ambitions seem even greater, while directly entering the central government would only show his personal desire for officialdom. The difference between the two could not be measured in terms of reason.