My Apprenticeship to Uncle Jiu: I Was a Warlord in the Republic of China

Chapter 354: Seeking to Seize Guizhou and Yunnan

So he immediately fell into silence, lowered his head and organized his words. Jiang Li did not urge him, but just sat aside and waited quietly.

After a long while, Yang Shen raised his head and started to flatter Jiang Li.

"Commander, I have also heard about your policies. You have publicly tried the landlords, gentry and wealthy businessmen, dealt with those black sheep according to the law, and then distributed the land and houses equally to the people. This can be said to have won the hearts of the local people. It is naturally a great act of kindness!"

"Plus, your soldiers are all energetic and well-trained. It's obvious that you are good at training soldiers."

"In addition, the weapons you equipped the soldiers with are also very sophisticated. It is obvious that you are willing to spend money. In this way, you can train a strong army."

"Since ancient times, those who win the hearts of the people will win the world. You have both the hearts of the people and a strong army. You will surely sweep across the world and create a great empire comparable to the Han and Tang dynasties!"

After praising him for a long time, he suddenly changed the subject and said, "But..."

After listening to him bragging for a while, I thought I had misjudged him. This guy is just a big talker and has no real ability at all.

So they planned to assign him to a civilian position. After all, Jiang Li had seen those soldiers before, and to be honest, they were just a bunch of rabble.

But this guy changed the subject and slammed on the brakes. He immediately understood that this was a way of first criticizing and then praising, as the main event was yet to come.

So he didn't expose him, and said along with him: "What's the matter, just say it directly!"

Seeing that Jiang Li's expression was calm and he showed no joy or anger at all, Yang Shen stopped probing and just told the truth.

"But there is a big problem with the commander's policy. That is, when the gentry and landlords know that the commander is coming, they will definitely support the local warlords with all their strength."

"It would be fine if the commander could just push forward with all his might, but if there is a stalemate, the pressure will be doubled. By then, the casualties and ammunition consumption will soar!"

"Also, the commander should also know that you have developed extremely rapidly in recent years. We, the warlords neighboring you, have secretly reached an agreement."

"That is, if you use troops again, we will immediately stop the fight and turn our guns around to deal with your threat first!"

Hearing this, Jiang Li was suddenly shocked. He knew that these warlords would definitely be wary of him, but he never expected that they would reach such an agreement in private.

But he changed his mind and thought that Yang Shen might have some support by proposing this at this time, or maybe he already had a solution to this problem.

So he relaxed his brows and looked at Yang Shen, "Then do you have any solution to these two points? If you can really solve them, not only will I not kill you, I will also let you take control of the military power again!"

When Yang Shen heard this, he immediately became excited. He knew that his chance had come. If he could convince Jiang Li, his turnaround would be just around the corner.

"Commander, you think highly of me. I don't have much knowledge about local governance, but I do have a somewhat immature opinion about the warlords uniting to deal with you!"

Jiang Li knew that he had a way, so he nodded and motioned for him to continue.

Yang Shen did not hide it, "Commander, you should also know that these warlords are not good people."

"The agreement between them is very fragile. As long as one of them violates the agreement, this so-called alliance will immediately collapse and will no longer pose any threat to you!"

"so what?"

Seeing Jiang Li asking the question, Yang Shen smiled and said, "Yang was once one of them. If I suddenly attack you from behind when you two are fighting, I think no one will believe in this so-called joint anti-enemy agreement, right?"

When Jiang Li heard this, he immediately thought of that scene: when there was a fierce battle in the front, the rear was suddenly attacked by their own people. In this way, the already loose alliance naturally collapsed in an instant.

But when I think about it, Yang Shen is a prisoner. If I continue to let him command the troops, after he leaves, instead of stealing from those warlords, he will stab me with a knife. That would be a lot of fun.

Yang Sen naturally knew that Jiang Li would have such concerns, so he knelt on the ground and said, "The commander is both civil and military, and is good at managing the army and the country. I, Yang Shen, know that I am not qualified to fight for the world!"

"I only ask the Commander to give me a chance to turn from darkness to light. I am willing to sneak into the enemy's rear as an insider and destroy their alliance unexpectedly!"

Hearing what Yang Shen said, Jiang Li was a little hesitant. After all, this guy had some truth in what he said. If he really allowed these warlords to join hands, they would cause trouble for him when he was expanding his territory.

Then he would be in some trouble. After all, as the territory became larger and larger, the distance his troops had to cross would become longer, and it would be more difficult for him to defeat the surrounding warlords and occupy their territory in a short period of time.

Therefore, division and disintegration is imperative, and Yang Shen seems to be the most suitable candidate at the moment, but is he trustworthy?

Jiang Li stared at him for a long time, and finally decided to believe him, so he took out the Schrödinger's Maoshan secret medicine again.

"This is the poison I got from the Dragon Slayer Taoist of the Three Ghosts Sect, a branch of Maoshan, when I was a Taoist priest at Maoshan. If you take this medicine, I will give you this chance!"

When Yang Shen heard that it was Maoshan and the Three Ghosts Sect, he immediately became extremely wary of the poison.

Seeing that he believed it, Jiang Li immediately explained, "This poison will not kill you immediately. It will stay dormant in your body for a month before slowly showing up."

"If you can take the antidote in time, it will delay the effects for another month. Of course, if you have made great contributions, I will also give you the antidote to help you completely get rid of the poison!"

Upon hearing this, Yang Shen knew that this was his only chance, so he gritted his teeth and took the pill and swallowed it in one gulp.

"Commander, rest assured. I, Yang Shen, will surrender to you sincerely and have no second thoughts. Just tell me who you want to fight next. I will immediately bring people to find a way to gain his trust and help you take the next city!"

Jiang Li shook his head and smiled when he heard this. "Don't worry, don't worry. Let's discuss the next plan first, and then you can act."

As he said this, he brought Yang Shen to the map and said, "Look, Guizhou is already sandwiched in the middle. I can swallow it up at any time!"

"So if you enter Guizhou, you will be wasting your talents."

Seeing his puzzled look, Jiang Li continued, "My next target is Yunnan!"

"When you go back, select your confidants, and then I will let the people below cooperate with you to escape the prison."

"I will send people to pursue me later. You will then go directly from Guizhou to Yunnan and try to gain the trust of the local warlord. Instigate him to send troops to harass me when I attack Guizhou."

"When we are fighting, suddenly attack him and stab him from the back, so that I can take both places. What do you think?"

When Yang Shen heard that Jiang Li actually wanted to take over two provinces in one battle, he immediately felt that Jiang Li had a big appetite. He wanted to persuade him but couldn't say it out loud because of his status.