305 A 21-kilometer-long mountain road (1/2)
The troops that Qing Zhen and Luo Lan controlled were only two brigades originally. But with Luo Lan's troops hidden where nobody knew, the Qing Consortium couldn't incorporate them into their own forces.
As such, for the entire frontline troops, there were not many true supporters of Qing Zhen as one would imagine. A portion of the troops supported Qing Zhen while a portion supported Qing Yun. Most of them were neutral and only followed orders and fought battles.
This was also the reason why Qing Zhen wanted to get rid of Qing Yun's supporters in the organization. If he didn't chase away the people who harbored other motives, his orders could end up getting secretly disobeyed.
But even after Qing Zhen finished \”cleaning up\” those elements, he still could not defy the orders of the Qing Consortium's Board of Directors. They were the true core of the Qing Consortium, after all.
If they gave Qing Zhen more time, he might even be able to turn the entire frontline army into his own people. However, the Qing Consortium's Board would definitely not give him that time.
As a matter of fact, the timing of the Board was just right. There would not be too much of an adverse effect if they changed the leadership at the front lines at this time. And Qing Zhen had fulfilled his final role for them.
It was still Secretary Zhou who had come to escort Qing Zhen. Secretary Zhou stood at the entrance of the camp while Qing Zhen turned around and looked at the snowy mountains behind him.
Some of the soldiers wanted to stage a mutiny to save Qing Zhen, but they were stopped by him with a smile. \”Don't be rash. Your families are still in the stronghold.\”
This was also the reason why the Board still had control over the military. If the entire military camp were to act rashly at this time, their families would probably die horrible deaths on that very night. So even though Qing Zhen had Qing Yun killed, the Board remained fearless of him. In their opinion, Qing Zhen was not so charismatic that he could make these soldiers abandon their families and children. But even if he did, Qing Zhen would not allow it.
It seemed like the Board already had Qing Zhen in the palm of their hands.
\”Sir,\” an officer said, \”let us return together with you.\”
Qing Zhen was amused. \”Don't be silly. Fight the war well with Qing Yi. I'll still say the same thing: Don't embarrass me.\”
All the frontline troops had been taken control of by a commander named Qing Yi. This Qing Yi was also a core member of the Qing Consortium. However, as he had still been being groomed for a leadership post, the Qing Consortium had not really allowed him to step onto the battlefield yet.
\”What about Mr. Luo Lan? He's still at the Yang Consortium,\” the officer said. \”Last night…\”
Qing Zhen waved it off and said, \”I'm already prepared for that, don't worry.\”
After saying that, Qing Zhen followed Secretary Zhou into the car. Secretary Zhou ordered someone to put Qing Zhen in handcuffs. Qing Zhen smiled and said, \”Are you that afraid of me? I'm not a supernatural being, so I won't do anything to you.\”
Secretary Zhou snorted in disgust and did not say anything. This time, he had even brought along many troops with him to escort Qing Zhen.
If Secretary Zhou had not been ordered by the Board to come, he would not have been willing to come here and face Qing Zhen, to be honest. The previous time when Qing Zhen killed someone at the command center without warning seemed to have given him bad trauma.
Secretary Zhou sat in the car and said calmly, \”Qing Zhen, should I praise you for being smart? Or should I say that you're stupid?\”
Qing Zhen smiled. \”What do you mean?\”
The driver in the car did not dare to even blink and just stared straight ahead at the road.
Secretary Zhou said, \”Well, you're really smart; there's no argument about that. A war that Qing Yun wasn't able to win was turned around the moment you joined forces with the Yang Consortium at the front lines and destroyed the Li Consortium. Even I admire you. You're truly a genius.\”
Qing Zhen smiled. \”You flatter me.\”
\”But if I say that you're stupid, it's not wrong either. If you didn't attack the Li Consortium, the Board wouldn't have dared to make their move on you so quickly. That's why you're only good at military affairs and don't know how to handle politics.\”
Qing Zhen laughed and said, \”Then is Secretary Zhou implying that I should have allowed the Li soldiers to live and made them into my own mercenary troops at the front line?\”
Secretary Zhou looked at the driver. \”I didn't say that.\”
\”Look at how cowardly you are. You dared to say that but you won't admit it?\” Qing Zhen said, \”Even if I didn't attack the Li Consortium, they would have come and attacked us all the same. When that happens, would I have to sacrifice my troops' lives just to carry on with the act? That's something that I, Qing Zhen, cannot do.\”
On the battlefield, putting on an act would require people to sacrifice their lives.
And what Qing Zhen wanted was to incur the least casualties possible and fight the perfect battles. Then the surviving soldiers would be able to return home.