CHAPTER 566: CHAPTER 566: HE WHO KNOWS ME, YANG XIAO!

Zhuge Ming smiled and said:

"Let me guess what King Du Tian’s decision will be, hmm, I think, King Du Tian would definitely be willing to ally with Yang Xiao. With just some sweet talk, he could get seven or eight strongholds from Wuji Mountain. Wouldn’t passing up such a bargain make him a fool?"

Upon hearing this, Du Tianxing laughed heartily and said:

"Zhuge Ming, you really got it. I am impressed, truly impressed. Indeed, that’s what I thought before you came. However, I assume you’re here with an even better proposal. Let’s not beat around the bush. Just say it—if you have a better proposal, I am open to considering it."

"Good! King Du Tian really is King Du Tian, straightforward!"

Zhuge Ming looked up and saw a map of Xuanming District on the wall behind Du Tianxing. He walked over, pointed at the East City on the map, drew a circle, and said:

"Compared to the several strongholds on Wuji Mountain, how about half of the territory of East City? Would that interest King Du Tian?"

Du Tianxing and his subordinates present were stunned, all looking at Zhuge Ming.

"What do you mean?"

"My meaning is simple. Our two families join forces to eradicate Zhao Benling of the Eastern Province. We divide the territory in half. Isn’t this more meaningful than just a few strongholds on Wuji Mountain?"

A silence fell over the meeting. Du Tianxing and the others had not expected Gu Beifeng to propose such a bold, ferocious plan, one that could completely alter the current power structure and create a much larger stir.

Du Tianxing looked at Zhuge Ming and said in a deep voice:

"Is this the intention of King Gu Tianwang?"

"Correct. Yang Xiao wants to ally with you to weaken us, the Gu Tianwang, right? Why can’t we unite to eliminate both Yang Xiao and Zhao Benling? We will first join hands to occupy the Eastern Province, and then work together to take down Yang Xiao’s four Southern provinces. King Gu Tianwang will dominate the Northern lands, and you, King Du Tian, will reign over the Southern lands. What’s not to be happy about?"

Du Tianxing listened, and a wave of emotion suddenly surged within him. Gu Beifeng’s strategy was daring and attractive, aligning with his own true desires. If fate decreed he and Gu Beifeng should vie for dominance, then they might as well rule half of Xuanming Country each, or end up dividing the territories by a line, which would be more peaceful than continually being disrupted by the rise of others like Yang Xiao.

Since Yang Xiao was no longer manageable, it made sense to eliminate him and put an end to future troubles.

"Your idea is quite interesting, but it doesn’t count if you’re the one talking to me about it. Go back and have Gu Beifeng come over himself, or we can arrange a meeting place. It has to be a face-to-face discussion with him for us to finalize anything."

Zhuge Ming smiled and said:

"No problem. Since King Du Tian is interested, I will go back and report to King Gu Tianwang immediately, and then we’ll set a time and place with you guys. We can discuss and finalize the alliance, and also, I hope that today’s matter can be kept confidential. The best outcome would be for you to pretend to ally with Yang Xiao against us, and then strike him when he least expects it. This way, we could quickly rid ourselves of the thorn that is Yang Xiao."

Du Tianxing nodded,

"Alright, let’s do it Zhuge’s way."

With a satisfied smile, Zhuge Ming left. He hadn’t expected things to go so smoothly. As soon as Du Tianxing heard it was possible to eliminate Yang Xiao and equally divide the Eastern Province, he immediately agreed.

After Zhuge Ming left, Du Tianxing’s conference room erupted into chaos as everyone began vigorously discussing Gu Beifeng’s and Yang Xiao’s plans, pondering over which to support.

Some opposed Gu Beifeng’s alliance plan.

"Boss, we can’t trust Gu Beifeng. He’s just using you to get rid of Yang Xiao, and once Yang Xiao is gone, we’ll be facing him next."

"Instead of facing off with Boss Gu directly, isn’t it better to have Yang Xiao around? With the three of us in a stalemate, no one would dare make a move, and coexist peacefully. Isn’t that much better?"

"King Gu Tianwang is ambitious, and his power has already slightly exceeded ours. If we help him get rid of East King Zhao Benling, he will control East City and his power will surely soar. Battling Gu Beifeng later will become even more difficult."

...

After some discussion, the people in favor of allying with Gu Beifeng and those in favor of allying with Yang Xiao were pretty much evenly split, putting Du Tianxing in a difficult position.

Du Tianxing glanced at Zhou Jian and asked:

"Zhou Jian, I know you and Yang Xiao are good friends. Do you think I should ally with Yang Xiao or with Gu Beifeng?"

Zhou Jian was startled, thinking, damn it, I’ve been deliberately not expressing an opinion to avoid suspicion, but Du Tianxing still specifically asked for my view.

Zhou Jian stood up and said:

"Although Yang Xiao and I are good friends, I am a man under Du Tianwang, and I shall remain loyal to Du Tianwang without a doubt."

Du Tianxing laughed heartily and said:

"I naturally trust you, otherwise, I wouldn’t have sent you to negotiate peace with Yang Xiao last time. I’m just asking for your opinion. Be bold, it’s fine. We have so many people here, some agree, some disagree, everyone has their own considerations."

"Alright, if we’re talking about the bigger picture, it’s naturally better to take out Yang Xiao and East King, and it would be best to get rid of Gu Beifeng along the way,"

"Ha ha....."

Everyone laughed heartily.

Zhou Jian smiled and continued:

"I have two concerns. First, if we join forces with Gu Beifeng to eliminate the East King and Yang Xiao escapes back to his own territory in Kongming City, and Gu Beifeng suddenly turns on us, refusing to agree to split the Eastern Province with us, what do we do?

As you know, the Eastern Province borders Gu Beifeng’s territory. He could direct troops from North City into Ning City and then take control of the entire Eastern Province. If this situation arises, how do we protect ourselves?"

Zhou Jian finished speaking, and everyone nodded their heads in agreement.

"And the second point is, if Yang Xiao flees to the Southern, he’s bound to seek revenge on us. At that time, Gu Beifeng will certainly not join forces with us to deal with Yang Xiao, but will let Yang Xiao fight us in a life-and-death struggle, and then he will step in to take advantage of the situation, the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. If this happens, we will be in danger."

Upon hearing this, Du Tianxing’s heart skipped a beat, and looking at Zhou Jian, he said:

"Zhou Jian, your analysis is not bad; this is indeed a big problem. Based on what I know of Gu Beifeng’s character, he might really do something like this. Sigh, it’s hard to advance, and hard to retreat. This Yang Xiao is really a headache!"

For two consecutive days, Du Tianxing was indecisive, unable to decide whether to ally with Gu Beifeng or with Yang Xiao. Even when Gu Beifeng later proposed a detailed meeting, he put it off temporarily with the excuse of feeling unwell.

On the third day, a guard reported that someone had entered Tuocang City from the border post of Luoying City and requested to see Du Tianxing. The person in charge of Tuocang City brought the visitor through the Transmission Array.

Upon hearing this, Du Tianxing smiled and said:

"This must be someone sent by Yang Xiao. Let him in; let’s hear what he has to say."

A moment later, a person entered Du Tianxing’s office.

"Greetings to Du Tianwang; I’m a guard under Yang Xiao. Our boss sent me to deliver a letter to you, and instructed to have you open it in person."

A guard behind Du Tianxing took the letter, opened it, and handed it to Du Tianxing.

Du Tianxing unfolded the letter and was stunned for a moment. The continuously furrowed brows suddenly relaxed, and he laughed heartily, saying:

"The one who knows me, Yang Xiao too. I’ve made up my mind, ally with Yang Xiao, fight against Gu Beifeng, and divide Wuji Mountain equally."