Vol 4 Chapter 35 (2/2)

When I finished, Ben Chu turned and made to leave immediately.

“Ben Chu! What are you going to do?” I hurriedly called out to her and grabbed her sleeve when I saw this.

“Is there a need to ask!” Ben Chu swung her hand vigorously but was not able to shake me off.

I stared into her anxious and irritated eyes and after a moment, she calmed down and lightly pulled her sleeve. When I saw this, I let go.

“I’m going to send in troops to dismember Cai Mao.” Her voice was calm but those words made my hair stand on end.

Dismember huh… I actually feel joy from these words.

I do not think that Ben Chu ever realised Xuan De’s potential to be a hero but I also never expected the aloof Ben Chu to become this emotional.

Xuan De, if you had not died, how interesting this world would have been…

But now, all I can do is put these aside and do what I need to.

“Ben Chu, I understand how you feel from the bottom of my heart. I too feel sad at Xuan De’s pa.s.sing.” I did my best to remain as calm as possible so my words would not hurt myself, “Ben Chu, how many troops do you have garrisoned by the Yangtze?”

When I finished, Ben Chu did not reply immediately and looked up at the rafters.

“Meng De, what are you trying to say?” After a moment, she turned around, “We agreed back then when we entered into our alliance that we would keep our troop command rights separate. It’s not too good to ask a question like that, no?”

Ben Chu might have suffered a dire blow from Xuan De’s death but it seems like she’s still very cautious. So that Ben Chu would understand what I meant, I chose to respectfully salute her.

“Ben Chu, please a.s.sist me!”

“a.s.sist you? In what?”

“To conquer the south.” I continued speaking in the respectful tone, “I need your troops to lay waste to Jing state.” I bowed before I continued, “My troops have begun to mobilise but the troops stationed south need more time before they are ready. The enemy to the south is numerous and strong–”

“Don’t say any further!” Ben Chu yelled as she looked up at the rafters. Seems like her anger from before has not subsided.

“I, Yuan Shao Yuan Ben Chu, am your, Cao Meng De’s, mortal enemy. Though we are in an alliance now, this does not mean that we can sit around and do things harmoniously. Naturally, this extends to military expeditions.” Ben Chu said and slowly lowered her head as she looked at me, “You go first or I will. If one side loses, the other will continue. That, is our fate.”

Hai… As expected huh–

“But!” Just as I was about to sigh and give up, Ben Chu unexpectedly continued and she turned around with a resolved look on her as she continued, “This time is an exception! I will fully support Meng De’s southern expedition!”

When she finished, she began to walk towards me. When I looked at her eyes, I saw that the usual dazzling gleam was back. Though tear streaks were still there, her strength and resolve were back.

As expected of Ben Chu huh?

“Meng De, of the troops you are mobilising, who is at the front now?”

“My sister Cao Ren, and General Li Dian.” I immediately replied respectfully.

When I finished, Ben Chu suddenly raised 1 hand and stuck out 3 fingers.

“The generals I have deployed to the north of Jing state are Lu Xiang and Lu Kuang. My Lead Attendant, Shen Pei Shen Zheng Nan, is currently heading south to support them.” As she said so, she put down 1 finger, “The troops they have under their command are 20,000. Is that enough?”

“That is indeed enough for a vanguard force.” I objectively admitted this and saluted her once more, “Many thanks to Ben Chu.”

I thought that Ben Chu was only going to reinforce my vanguard with about 5,000 or so. Cao Ren and Li Dian only have about 10,000 under their command currently after all.

“If you have any further manpower requests, you need not go through me. Just send someone to Ju Shou and Tian Feng. For supply matters, look for Feng Ji. I will let them know about this arrangement ahead of time so just proceed with your plans.” As she said so, she blinked and came over as she took out her small fan, “All I want is more control over the negotiation process. I leave the overall strategy and deployment operations to you. But you must take the entire state. How to divide it up between us will depend on how things end up then.”

“Ah~ That’s perfectly fine.” I replied meaningfully. Ben Chu ignored me and began fanning herself.

Ben Chu’s words were really surprising. I never thought she would ever give me full access to her troops.

*Pa* *Pa*

Just as I was thinking about this, Ben Chu tapped my shoulder with her fan.

“Remember this, Meng De.” Ben Chu said as she shook her head, “The reason why I’m doing this, is not to help you, but so I can answer to Xuan De in the netherworld. All this, is so I can right the wrong of Xuan De’s death.”

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