"Please stand up, please stand up..." Yan Liqiang hurried forward, held Situ Feixing's arm, helped Situ Feixing up, and sat back in his previous seat.
"From now on, I and all the men under my command will follow our lord's lead and obey his orders!" Situ Feixing clasped his fists heavily towards Yan Liqiang, looked at Yan Liqiang with a firm look, and said word by word.
"Fu Changde did tell me about you before, but he doesn't know much about your current situation!"
"My lord, please feel free to ask me anything you want to ask. I will tell you everything I know!" Situ Feixing said straightforwardly. Seeing Yan Liqiang looking towards the stairs, he continued, "My lord, don't worry. When I came up just now, I asked the owner of this restaurant to temporarily close the stairs on this floor. Someone is guarding downstairs. The people who are dining are on the lower floors, and no one will come up!"
"Okay, then I'll ask you a few questions. How many troops do you have under your command now?"
"I claim to have more than 10,000 men under my command, but in reality, there are more than 8,000, less than 10,000!"
"More than 8,000 men, that's actually quite a lot, almost three battalions!" Yan Liqiang nodded, "How strong are these 8,000 men, how many cavalrymen are there?"
Situ Feixing said calmly and confidently, "Among these 8,000-strong troops, there are over 5,000 cavalry and over 3,000 infantry. In terms of combat power, they are not inferior to the Ganzhou army. Even among the infantry, almost everyone can ride a horse and can kill people as soon as they get on a horse!"
"Five thousand cavalry, wow!" Hearing Situ Feixing say that he had five thousand cavalry, Yan Liqiang was also secretly surprised at Yipianyun's strength, "How do you have so many cavalry? How do you feed so many people?"
"It's all accumulated bit by bit. My brothers and I are entrenched in the Wumeng Mountain area where Fengzhou, Ganzhou and the Black Jie people's territory meet. It's a no-man's land, a branch of the Qiyun Mountain. Ganzhou, Fengzhou and the Black Jie people can't control it. There are several large grasslands at the foot of Wumeng Mountain. We collect tolls from caravans and escort agencies, and raise horses on the grasslands. Occasionally, we take my brothers over Wumeng Mountain to the Black Jie people's territory to do something. When the Black Jie people come to attack the Han Empire's grasslands, we fight them. "We have the Jie people's grass valley. At the same time, if we encounter a caravan of Shatu people, we will not let them go. There is also a large copper mine and a small associated silver mine in Wumeng Mountain, which are also under my control. I can earn hundreds of thousands of taels of silver every year. It is with these that I have gathered a group of people and accumulated 5,000 cavalry. I am thinking that one day, I can fight back to Gulang Grassland and kill all those sons of bitches of Shatu Seven Tribes to avenge my former brothers!" Situ Feixing said murderously.
This Situ Feixing has endured hardships and is truly a rare talent. Yan Liqiang secretly sighed in his heart and continued to ask, "What are the origins of the people under your command? Are they completely reliable?"
"Most of my men are descendants of the Qiyun Protectorate who were driven out of the Gulang Grassland by the Shatu people. They are loyal to me and always want to fight their way back to the Gulang Grassland. I have also subdued several gangs of horse thieves and bandits. There are also many people who are unwilling to be mediocre and have nowhere else to go and come to join me after hearing about Yipianyun's name. However, there are not many of them, only more than 2,000 in total, and they are from all the states in the northwest. They can obey my orders and be under my control. Although they have some banditry, they are loyal. Unless they are at their wits' end, they dare not have any other intentions. In addition, I have several hundred black bandits under my command, and they are all obedient and dare not have any other intentions!"
"Bandits?" Yan Liqiang asked in surprise.
"These black bandits are people who escaped from the Black Jie people. The Black Jie people's territory is not peaceful either. There are frequent conflicts between tribes, and they are very cruel. It is common for the big fish to eat the small fish. These black bandits are losers who survived the tribal strife among the Black Jie people, or they are murderers wanted by the Black Jie people. They were hunted down and reduced to bandits. They can no longer survive in the Black Jie people's territory, so they took the risk and escaped over the Qiyun Mountain!"
“I see. I didn’t expect that you have Black Jie people under your command. That’s ahem… ahem… quite rare!” Yan Liqiang wanted to say that it was also an “international team”, but he quickly changed his words.
"If you want to retake Gulang Grassland and rebuild Qiyun Protectorate, as long as you give the order, I and my men will go through fire and water without hesitation!"
"Even if we add the troops under your command and all the people in my Archery Club, or even double the number of troops, do you think we can fight against the seven tribes of Shatu and have the ability to retake the Gulang grassland and restore the Qiyun Protectorate?" Yan Liqiang asked calmly.
Situ Feixing was silent for a moment, then shook his head and said bitterly, "The seven Shatu tribes have taken root in the Gulang grassland for decades, and their population has reached millions. With our limited number of troops, it would be difficult for us to fight against the weakest of the seven Shatu tribes alone, let alone fight against all of them!"
"That's it. Relying on the few troops we have now to fight against the seven Shatu tribes, it is just a drop in the bucket to take back the Gulang grassland and rebuild the Qiyun Protectorate. Even if we all die in battle, it is impossible to take the Gulang grassland back from the Shatu people, let alone take revenge!" Yan Liqiang said calmly.
"Has the lord never thought of taking back the Gulang Grassland and rebuilding the Qiyun Protectorate?" Situ Feixing asked excitedly.
"Of course I have thought about it!"
"Then when do you think the right time is? I heard that your manufacturing bureau is making a fortune and you can easily earn hundreds of thousands of taels of silver in a year. And your reputation in the northwest is at its peak. Could it be that you want to use the manufacturing bureau to raise a group of people in Ganzhou and then slowly make plans?"
"Haha, I would like to gather troops, but this is not something that can be done with money. It requires the cooperation of timing and the overall environment. If I want to compete with the seven tribes of Shatu, it is impossible without an army of 200,000 or 300,000. Do you think the court and the governor of Ganzhou will allow me to gather an army of 200,000 or 300,000 on Ganzhou's territory to fight the seven tribes of Shatu?" Yan Liqiang shook his head, "The archery club I am running now is close to the limit of the number of troops they will allow me to have!"
"Now the seven tribes of Shatu are in turmoil, the two major tribes have started a war, and the Gulang grassland is in turmoil. This is the best opportunity. If we miss this opportunity, it will be even more difficult in the future!" Situ Feixing sighed, his face looking a little depressed in sadness. "If this can't be done now, doesn't it mean that we will never have the opportunity to take back the Gulang grassland?"
"That's not entirely true!" Yan Liqiang shook his head and smiled slightly.
Situ Feixing raised his eyes and looked at Yan Liqiang with a sharp gaze, "Does the lord have any other ideas?"
"Of course there is a way!" Yan Liqiang's eyes suddenly became deep. "If we want to take back Gulang Grassland in a short period of time and fight against the seven tribes of Shatu head-on, it is definitely not enough to rely on our strength alone. We must get more people and power involved and let others take the initiative to help us take back Gulang Grassland. Only in this way can we have a chance!"
"Ah!" Situ Feixing stared at Yan Liqiang in amazement. Even though Situ Feixing usually prided himself on being resourceful, he felt that his IQ and brain were not enough in front of Yan Liqiang. "It is extremely dangerous to compete with the seven tribes of Shatu. It requires a huge investment. My lord, do you have any good ideas to let others lead the way for me and reclaim the Gulang Grassland?"
"The world is bustling with people, all for profit. As long as people know that taking back Gulang Grassland and driving away the Shatu people is profitable, and not just a small profit but a big profit, then there will be countless people who will beg me without me saying anything, offering money, soldiers and food, and wanting to help me take back Gulang Grassland and rebuild Qiyun Protectorate!"
Fortunately, it was Yan Liqiang who said this. If someone in a cloud had said this to Situ Feixing, Situ Feixing would have slapped the person in the face and made him look like a fool.
"What kills the most people in this world is not powerful martial arts or swords, but money and human hearts!" Yan Liqiang looked at Situ Feixing's incredible expression and said calmly, "As long as it is profitable, every blade of grass and every tree can destroy a country and a city. I can tell you today that what will destroy the seven tribes of Shatu in the future is none other than the endless green grassland on the Gulang grassland. The seven tribes of Shatu think that occupying that grassland will allow them to take root and reproduce, so they will do whatever it takes. But I will soon let them know that the grassland on the Gulang grassland can also become a death warrant for the seven tribes of Shatu in my hands, making them the target of public criticism..."
(End of this chapter)