I am the villain in the book

From receiving Wei Changtian's order and departing from Shuzhou City to arriving at Liangzhou City, it took Chu Xianping exactly ten days.

This speed was not slow, especially considering that he brought a lot of "luggage".

"Young Master, here are three thousand barrels."

Pointing to a large area of carriages covered with black cloth on the official road, Chu Xianping said softly: "There will be another five thousand barrels delivered in succession in a few days."

"The Tiangong Bureau can now produce a maximum of about five hundred barrels per day. Dachu will keep 10%, and the remaining 90% will be sent to Liangzhou."

The long convoy stretched as far as the eye could see, and every few steps on both sides of the official road stood a solemn-looking Shu soldier.

That's right, what Chu Xianping brought this time was the new type of gunpowder newly developed by the Tiangong Bureau.

And the first batch "delivered" was eight thousand barrels.

"Good!"

Riding on a tall horse, Wei Changtian looked at the convoy transporting gunpowder for a while, and excitedly uttered a word of praise.

"With this thing, we have some confidence in this battle!"

"By the way, Brother Chu, you should know the situation in Liangzhou, right?"

"Yes."

On another horse, Chu Xianping nodded: "General Liang has told me everything."

"Young Master, I have been thinking all the way here, and I still think we are being too conservative now."

"Conservative?"

Wei Changtian was stunned: "What do you mean?"

"Young Master."

Chu Xianping did not answer directly, but instead asked: "Are you waiting for Dajue to come up with a result?"

"Yes."

Wei Changtian frowned.

"The Dajue side is in chaos right now. Some people advocate rescuing Yan Huanwen, and some advocate that Yan Huaiqing should succeed to the throne as the new emperor."

"I think it's best not to fight if we can avoid it, because this battle will be difficult."

"If they are really willing to withdraw their troops for Yan Huanwen, wouldn't that be even better?"

"."

The cold wind blew through the manes of the two warhorses, rising and falling like waves.

Wei Changtian briefly explained his views, but Chu Xianping shook his head slightly after listening.

"Young Master, what you said is not unreasonable. We should indeed avoid fighting if we can."

"We don't have much information about Dajue, and we don't know what result they will eventually come up with."

"But there are many ways to stop the war. Waiting like this is just the worst option."

"It's better to do something to make them take the initiative to talk to us."

"But this matter is not easy to talk about."

Wei Changtian sighed upon hearing this: "Alas, the Zhan Shifu has already sent envoys to see Yan Huaiqing, but they never came out after entering the palace, which shows that he is determined not to care about his father."

"If Yan Huaiqing really succeeds to the throne, how can he talk to us?"

"Young Master, that's not necessarily the case."

Chu Xianping said solemnly: "Even if Yan Huaiqing takes power, he may not necessarily be unwilling to withdraw his troops."

"For Dajue, there are advantages to fighting this war, and there are also advantages to not fighting it."

"The three countries of Qian, Hui, and Ji can put pressure on him, and we can also put pressure on him."

"Even, we can help him."

"Help Yan Huaiqing?"

Wei Changtian looked puzzled: "How to help?"

"It's very simple."

Chu Xianping narrowed his eyes: "Young Master, do you think Yan Huaiqing wants Yan Huanwen dead or alive?"

"Of course, dead..."

Subconsciously answering, Wei Changtian was stunned.

"And if we can execute Yan Huanwen in public, then we will be helping him remove this obstacle, and there will be no legal restrictions on him ascending the throne."

"With such conditions, I believe Yan Huanwen will be tempted."

"."

Damn!

As expected of you, Chu Xianping!

Wei Changtian's eyes widened slightly, and his thinking immediately turned around.

Previously, including Wei Zhaohai, Liang Zhen, and Han Zhao, they all felt that Yan Huanwen's value was that he could make Dajue withdraw their troops in order to "redeem" him.

But after Chu Xianping's reminder, Wei Changtian realized that sometimes dead people are more valuable than living people.

I will kill Yan Huanwen and help you rightfully ascend the throne.

And in return, after you become emperor, you will withdraw your troops and stop the war.

Such a deal will surely be very tempting to Yan Huaiqing.

But...

"Brother Chu, this idea is good, but Yan Huaiqing may not agree."

Wei Changtian frowned: "After all, a country cannot be without a ruler for a day, so regardless of whether Yan Huanwen is dead or not, as long as he does not return to Dajue, Yan Huaiqing should be able to succeed to the throne sooner or later."

"Young Master, but his reputation will be damaged as a result."

Chu Xianping explained seriously: "For an emperor, if there is a stain on his body, it will be criticized by the world for a lifetime."

"What's more, we don't just have this one bargaining chip."

"Yes, we do want to negotiate peace with him..."

Speaking of this, Chu Xianping paused slightly, his tone also carrying a bit of killing intent.

"But we must never negotiate in a humble manner!"

A quarter of an hour later, Liangzhou Prefecture Office.

The folding doors of the council hall opened and closed, and closed and opened again. Every short while, someone would enter the room.

Liang Zhen, Han Zhao, Du Chang, Wei Zhaohai...

The senior leaders of the 500,000 "Ning-Shu Allied Forces" were all present, preparing to jointly discuss the new battle plan proposed by Chu Xianping.

It is not very accurate to call it a "battle plan". A better summary should be "promoting peace through war".

In this new plan, they will no longer defend Liangzhou City to the death, but will take the initiative to attack while the Jue-Ji Allied Forces are still in the Tianshan Mountains, using the Tiangou Army and the new type of gunpowder to inflict heavy casualties on the enemy in a short period of time.

To put it bluntly, it is to scare the other party first, so that Yan Huaiqing knows that he may not be able to win if this battle continues.

Then, while he is still uncertain, propose negotiations and offer the condition of "killing Yan Huanwen and helping him succeed to the throne."

Under the pressure of the battlefield and the temptation of succeeding to the great統, Yan Huaiqing will most likely choose to accept the peace talks, go back and settle down to consolidate the court, and be his emperor.

And Da Ning and Da Shu will no longer have to use their remaining resources to fight a battle that is destined to be a lose-lose situation, and will be able to seize the time to recuperate.

As for the Ji State and Dajue armies, which only sent 200,000 troops, they will definitely run away after a withdrawal, so there is no need to deliberately arrange anything.

Compared with the previous plan of defending Liangzhou to the death, this plan is undoubtedly more reliable. Presumably, everyone should not have any objections after hearing it.

However, Chu Xianping has not yet begun to explain, so everyone's expressions are still somewhat puzzled, not knowing why Wei Changtian called them here so urgently, just sitting and drinking tea while waiting.

And the people they are waiting for are currently outside the council hall door.

"Brother Chu, this is Li Zimu. In the future, the two of you may work together a lot."

"Miss Li, this is Chu Xianping, who is my most trusted friend."

Smiling and pointing at Chu Xianping, and then pointing at Li Zimu, Wei Changtian briefly introduced the two.

"."

"Miss Li."

"Young Master Chu."

The two politely bowed to each other, their eyes thoughtful.

Although Li Zimu is better at "recognizing people" and Chu Xianping is better at "strategy", their emphasis is different.

But they are undoubtedly smart people, so even if it is only their first meeting, they have already seen something from each other.

"Alright, let's go in."

On the other side, Wei Changtian was too lazy to care about their psychological drama. After the introduction, he pushed the door and entered the council hall.

Li Zimu and Chu Xianping followed behind him, and exchanged glances again as they crossed the threshold.

The moment their eyes met, they naturally looked away, even the timing was almost consistent.

Such tacit understanding did not seem like a first meeting.

Instead, it was more like a pair of long-lost confidants.