CHAPTER 565: CHAPTER 565: MASTERING THE INTRICACIES (3 UPDATES)

Gu Beifeng had just finished speaking when he immediately froze, saying:

"I’m going to seek an alliance with Du Tianxing, will he agree?"

Zhuge Ming gave a faint smile and replied:

"No."

"Why?"

Gu Beifeng looked at Zhuge Ming with some surprise. Zhuge Ming was very intelligent, often giving him many ideas, earning his deep trust. The two had also been university classmates and had a very good relationship.

"The reason is simple," Zhuge Ming said. "Zhao Benling said that Wuji Mountain should be divided equally among the four factions, which benefits Du Tianxing. Moreover, if Yang Xiao, Du Tianxing, and Zhao Benling form an alliance, they could easily force us to comply. Du Tianxing only needs to show an alliance stance to easily profit from it. Such a good deal; even a fool would do it. If it were you, you would do the same."

Gu Beifeng nodded, his expression growing somber.

Yang Xiao’s plan was too formidable, turning him from the aggressor to the passive side in an instant.

"There is only one situation under which Du Tianxing might agree to ally with you to oppose Yang Xiao and Zhao Benling."

Zhuge Ming continued.

Gu Beifeng gave a bitter smile and said:

"So give Du Tianxing more benefits, and then he would agree to ally with me, right?"

"Correct."

"What benefits should we offer him?"

"There are two ways to offer him benefits. First, we directly give him half of the nearby Mountain City."

"No, absolutely not. I’ve only just gained control of Mountain City, how could we easily give it to Du Tianxing? Besides, Mountain City is close to the sea, with limitless future marine resources. We cannot readily cede Mountain City to him."

Zhuge Ming chuckled and said:

"There’s another way, promise Du Tianxing that after jointly attacking Eastern Province, everyone gets an equal division of the territory."

"That?"

Gu Beifeng paused. In his plans, Eastern Province was to be under his control. If it weren’t for Yang Xiao throwing a spanner in the works, Zhao Benling would already have become his vassal, and his influence in Eastern Province was equally significant. The resources of Wuji Mountain were also increasingly under his control.

Sharing Eastern Province with Du Tianxing pained him since that meant losing a significant future resource base, especially to his main rival, Du Tianxing. He was very reluctant.

Seeing Gu Beifeng’s indecision, Zhuge Ming spoke:

"Boss, do you know where you fall short when compared to Yang Xiao?"

Gu Beifeng’s heart skipped a beat as he looked at Zhuge Ming.

"Yang Xiao is the type who dares to gamble, with nothing to lose. If he loses, it’s just a bad life, but if he wins, he wins the world. Once he decides, he will act quickly, as he did with taking over Eastern Province and Luoying City Province.

These provinces were within reach for Green Dragon City’s King Chi Lin and Du Tianxing, yet both hesitated, especially Du Tianxing, who feared getting trapped in a war quagmire with Yang Xiao, leading to mutual destruction and you picking up the pieces cheaply. Thus, they missed the opportunity, allowing Yang Xiao to take Luoying City and East City.

The same goes for Wuji Mountain. Yang Xiao had never been involved with Wuji Mountain, but now suddenly, he was brought in by Zhao Benling. As a newcomer, he stirs things up without any worries, since he has nothing to lose. Even if he loses, it doesn’t matter, but if he wins, he will have gained some territory.

But we are different. We already occupy two-thirds of Wuji Mountain’s territory. We neither want Yang Xiao nor Du Tianxing to get involved, indirectly pushing Du Tianxing to our side against Yang Xiao, allowing them to temporarily unite and divide our domain.

Boss, if you want to save face and are unwilling to make sacrifices, in the end, you will lose both ways. If I’m not wrong, Du Tianxing is currently planning how to take Wuji Mountain from us and would prefer to join hands with Yang Xiao to force us to yield.

One step lost, all is lost, Boss!"

Zhuge Ming’s words silenced everyone in the conference room.

After a long while, Gu Beifeng let out a long sigh, slapped the table with a "smack", and said:

"I absolutely cannot let Yang Xiao pull Du Tianxing onto his warship. Brother Zhuge, pay a visit to Magic City yourself, negotiate with Du Tianxing, and say that after we join forces to attack Eastern Province, we will divide the territories equally upon success."

"Boss is wise!"

...

In Magic City, Du Tianxing was indeed convening his subordinates to discuss the intelligence brought back by Zhou Yong.

"This Yang Xiao goes to Wuji Mountain and causes a huge commotion, disturbing the peace, and now Gu Beifeng must be having a headache."

Du Tianxing sighed emotionally, admiring the strategy Yang Xiao and Zhao Benling had formed to suggest an equal division of Wuji Mountain among the four factions.

"Let’s discuss, what should we do? Support Yang Xiao’s proposal, or oppose it?"

Zhou Yong immediately smiled and said:

"Right now, we only have one stronghold in Wuji Mountain. If we support Yang Xiao’s suggestion, we could immediately have more than eight strongholds, and I can’t find any reason to oppose Yang Xiao."

The others nodded in agreement.

"Moreover, weakening Gu Beifeng’s power, in the long run, is also beneficial for us."

Du Tianxing said with some concerns:

"If I ally with Yang Xiao, from then on, he will have even more room for development, and his alliance with Zhao Benling will not be very favorable for me in the future."

Zhou Jian then said:

"The current situation is such that Gu Beifeng and you, Boss, are two established King Level Evolvers with the greatest strength. Although Yang Xiao has gained a strong momentum recently, he is still outmatched, otherwise, he wouldn’t need to form an alliance with Zhao Benling.

It’s Gu Beifeng who entered Wuji Mountain and took the lead in resources. If he is not checked, he will surpass us sooner or later, and become dominant, which is even more disadvantageous for us.

So, personally, I think that after Yang Xiao grows up, at worst we will have a three-way stand-off, and nobody can swallow the other. That’s better than being devoured by Gu Beifeng in the end."

Du Tianxing nodded,

"Since Yang Xiao’s rise, the situation has become somewhat complex. For now, this is the only way to go. However, from now on, we must be more vigilant against Yang Xiao; the man is too shrewd."

As they were talking, a guard came in and said:

"Boss, Gu Tianwang has sent Zhuge Ming to see you; he says he has important matters to discuss."

Du Tianwang laughed and said:

"Speak of Cao Cao, and Cao Cao arrives. Zhuge Ming’s visit must be related to Wuji Mountain; let him in."

Zhuge Ming entered the conference hall, saw Du Tianxing, and the dozens of high-level officials meeting, and immediately saluted Du Tianxing:

"Greetings, Du Tianwang!"

Du Tianxing laughed heartily and said:

"Brother Zhuge, we’re old acquaintances, no need for formalities, please take a seat."

Zhuge Ming smiled and said:

"If I’m not mistaken, Du Tianwang and everyone must be discussing how to join hands with Yang Xiao to seize Wuji Mountain’s strongholds from us and redefine our territories there, right?"

Du Tianxing was taken aback, then burst into laughter and said:

"Brother Zhuge truly is our era’s Zhuge Liang, pinpointing the core issue at once. Impressive, most impressive!"