In the quiet of the night, Li Dahu stood behind Wu Caiwei, watching her meticulously draw out all the places she had visited that day. He curiously asked, "Mistress, didn't we come here to help the King of Qin? Apart from helping them defeat a few generals on the second day, you haven't been involved since. Aren't you worried at all?"
Dahu was the only person Wu Caiwei had brought with her on this trip. Firstly, he was loyal; secondly, his martial arts had greatly improved under her recent guidance. When he heard she was going to the King of Qin alone, he insisted on accompanying her, fearing for her safety. Although Ye Xingli knew no one could harm her, he was still uneasy and egged Dahu on. Wu Caiwei couldn't refuse these two men, and thinking it would be convenient to have someone run errands for her along the way, she tacitly agreed.
Seeing the other person acting like a curious baby, wanting to learn, she quickly opened the door and peeked outside. She saw that the person following her had already gone back to sleep impatiently.
Then, she lowered her voice and said, "Our purpose here is to buy time for Binzhou. If we offered strategies and defeated the imperial army, allowing the King of Qin to further expand his influence and strengthen his power, and he attacked the capital, what do you think he would do next?"
"He would definitely attack us! I understand now, so we can't let the King of Qin win." Li Dahu suddenly realized, and a shiver ran down his spine at the thought of such a scenario. He hoped it would never happen.
After thinking for a moment, he was confused again. "Our purpose for coming here was to help the King of Qin. This seems to contradict what you said. Are we helping him or not?"
Wu Caiwei smiled mysteriously and said meaningfully, "Both helping and not helping. When the King of Qin has the upper hand, we'll tour the mountains and rivers, not getting involved. When he is at a disadvantage, we will support him. This way, they will be entangled with each other and have no time to pay attention to Binzhou."
Li Dahu immediately slapped his forehead, feeling he was too foolish to have not thought of this. He immediately looked at her with admiration.
Wu Caiwei smiled and shook her head, realizing she had seen this expression from him countless times, yet he had hardly improved. It seemed he was destined to be a general. However, if he wanted to be a general, he needed some strategy when campaigning, and learning a little would always be beneficial.
Then, he took the initiative to offer.
Knowing his mistress was drawing a map of the city, though he didn't know its purpose, he cooperated. Without needing to be asked, he hurried to inquire from the soldiers in the city about fun and interesting places, displaying the eagerness of a servant trying to please his mistress. Of course, as a good subordinate, to prevent his mistress from getting bored, he never visited the same place twice; each outing was a new experience.
Just as Wu Caiwei was finishing her map, the King of Qin finally summoned her. "My strategist has been enjoying himself in the city, perhaps unaware that the imperial army attacked again today. Although our soldiers fought bravely, we couldn't withstand their numbers. If this continues, we won't be able to resist. Does the strategist have any good plans?"
"When two armies are locked in battle, a siege is the worst strategy, as losses are considerable. As long as we shut the city gates and don't engage, they will be the ones to rush." Although Wu Caiwei had been playing, she had gathered plenty of information. There had been a couple of battles recently, but they all ended in the enemy's defeat. She knew the King of Qin said this because he didn't want to just defend his fiefdom but wanted to expand into new territories.
"Rumor has it that the strategist alone can fight ten thousand troops. I don't think that's true. You can't even come up with a good solution for such a small matter. I wonder how the soldiers of Binzhou obey you." The King of Qin was somewhat disappointed and spoke carelessly.
"We are humans, not gods. The soldiers of Binzhou obey us because they know we cherish our soldiers like our own children and will not let any of them sacrifice in vain. We value their lives and safety above all else." Wu Caiwei calmly defended herself, knowing he was trying to provoke her and choosing not to fall for it.
The King of Qin was truly angered this time. What did his words mean? Was he implying that the King of Qin didn't care about the lives of his soldiers? How could that be? He relied on them to conquer the empire! Besides, in the process of conquering any empire throughout history, there have always been sacrifices. Just looking at the troops they used to capture Binzhou, weren't the left and right armies devastated? He was truly speaking from a position of privilege.
However, from their conversation, he could also tell that the strategist had no intention of intervening. He waved his hand, dismissing her. From the first time he met her, the King of Qin had been able to guess her style of conduct. He knew she wouldn't genuinely help him, which was why he kept her. It was because he couldn't afford to fail; failure meant losing his life. If he were to fall into a disadvantageous position, with Binzhou's help, there might still be a sliver of hope. Sudan Novel Network.
If I were to succeed on my own, my life would still be forfeit. He wouldn't dream of leaving my territory alive.
Thus, the master and servant stayed in the King of Qin's territory for two years. During these two years, battles were constant, the people's lives were difficult, and taxes were repeatedly increased. Before the crops they had painstakingly grown could ripen, large numbers of soldiers moved in. They watched the harvest in the villages, and as soon as the grain was brought back, more than half of it was taken away. The villagers, seeing the large swords at their waists, dared not speak their minds.
What infuriated the King of Qin was that after two years, he had only conquered one city. At this rate, when would his wish to counterattack the capital be realized?
In fact, the Emperor was even more infuriated. In terms of imperial forces, they were many times stronger than the King of Qin. The reason why not only had they failed to eliminate the King of Qin, but he had also managed to seize a city, was because other princes had followed his example and raised banners of rebellion, thus scattering the imperial forces.
This situation provided an excellent opportunity for Binzhou to develop and grow. Over the past two years, he had continuously recruited manpower, developed irrigation, planted fruit trees, and even introduced sweet potato seeds to solve Binzhou's food problem.
Of course, feeding an army of 80,000 was not easy, as others had said. The simplest method was to develop their own trade routes and explore business opportunities. After earning money, they could stock up on grain.
After experiencing so many events, he had quite a few recipes in hand. He specially established a department to produce various products based on his recipes and secretly sold them to the south.
When Mu Gelin, cartloads of silver were transported from the south to the north. Along the way, they would also acquire grain if they encountered it. However, to prevent them from secretly buying grain, the Emperor had set up many checkpoints. Yet, there were always those who had foresight, knowing that the imperial court would eventually fall into chaos. Moreover, the money offered by the other side was enough to bribe them to turn a blind eye. They did it to do a favor for the people of Binzhou, and in case the imperial court truly collapsed one day, they would have a fallback.
Of course, an army of just 80,000 was not enough. As long as someone was willing to enlist, they would accept them. He had his own methods for training soldiers and made Liu Zhongjun follow him every day to learn, as this matter would be handed over to him in the future.