Chapter 897: The Greater Situation Comes First

Take offense?

What was there left to take offense at now?

Wasn't saying something like that simply rubbing salt in the wound?

Huang Lie cursed inwardly, but on the surface he repeatedly apologized instead.

"In the end, it was our side that lacked vision. Elder Niu's ambitions were never confined to this. Why would you haggle with us over the gains and losses of one Nanzhou? If we acted improperly in the past, I hope Elder Niu will be magnanimous."

"It's all in the past."

Niu Youdao waved a hand.

"Keeping Dachan Mountain squeezed into Nanzhou forever would be unreasonable too. What do you think of Guangzhou, in the former territory of Zhao?"

He pointed to Guangzhou's position on the map.

"Guangzhou?"

Huang Lie looked surprised and uncertain, unable to understand what Niu Youdao actually meant.

"This Huang is slow. I ask Elder Niu to explain clearly."

Niu Youdao said, "Dachan Mountain must feel constrained staying crowded into Nanzhou. How about moving Dachan Mountain to Guangzhou to hold that province instead?"

Dachan Mountain had already been unhappy with Niu Youdao's backing in Nanzhou.

Now that Niu Youdao had become an Elder of Zijin Cave, Dachan Mountain would inevitably be suppressed until it could barely breathe.

If another place was available, Huang Lie would naturally be delighted.

But he did not believe Niu Youdao had only just arrived at Zijin Cave and could already decide a matter this large—the disposition and status of an entire province.

So he asked cautiously, "Is this Zijin Cave's intention?"

Niu Youdao replied, "Whose intention it is doesn't matter. So long as Dachan Mountain is willing, there won't be much of a problem."

"This..."

Huang Lie still did not dare believe it.

"Elder Niu, this isn't something one can joke about."

Niu Youdao withdrew his hand and rested both hands atop the pommel of his sword.

"After a great war, every state's cultivators have suffered losses. Yan has campaigned east and west, and after fighting until now, its cultivator losses are even heavier."

"Suddenly there is all this additional territory, yet for the moment there isn't enough manpower to guard it properly."

"More importantly, there are people inside Zijin Cave who do not want my authority becoming too great. If they get an opportunity to split away some of my strength, I doubt they'll be stingy about it."

"So long as Dachan Mountain asks, there should be no great difficulty."

He said all this in front of someone outside Zijin Cave without the slightest effort to conceal it.

Huang Lie felt somewhat alarmed.

He also worried that Niu Youdao might be deliberately testing him, so his answer remained guarded.

"Whatever Elder Niu wishes Dachan Mountain to do, Dachan Mountain is willing to follow your instructions."

Niu Youdao moved his gaze away from the map and looked back at him.

"Go to Zijin Cave and ask for it yourself."

"Tell them that back then Dachan Mountain secretly plotted to overthrow me and made me unhappy. Say I summoned you here this time because I intended to settle old accounts."

"Use that as your excuse for wanting to move somewhere else. Choose Guangzhou."

"The three great sects are dividing the interests of this large block of newly occupied territory among themselves. Zijin Cave's allotted area here is contiguous."

"If someone who has conflicts with me asks to be stationed in one part of it, Zijin Cave should be quite willing to assign that piece."

Huang Lie still did not dare agree too easily.

"Elder Niu, would doing this really be appropriate?"

Niu Youdao had no intention of circling around the subject endlessly.

He lifted the sword in his hand and pointed its scabbard toward Nanzhou.

"Nanzhou. I call the shots there."

The scabbard shifted toward Jinzhou.

"Jinzhou. I call the shots there too."

"Sect Leader Huang has no objection to that, I presume?"

Huang Lie nodded and forced out a smile.

"Everyone knows that. With one word from Elder Niu, those two provinces would naturally go through fire and water."

Niu Youdao's scabbard moved again, pointing toward Guangzhou.

"Guangzhou sits at the strategic corner between those two provinces."

"Once Dachan Mountain goes there, I hope Sect Leader Huang thinks carefully about which side you should stand on."

"I won't guarantee other things, but there is one thing I can guarantee."

"If I want Nanzhou and Jinzhou to create friction with Guangzhou and manufacture excuses to move against it, that will be no problem at all."

"Whether Guangzhou can withstand the military edge of Nanzhou and Jinzhou is something Sect Leader Huang presumably understands perfectly well."

"To put it in one sentence: whether Dachan Mountain can establish itself securely in Guangzhou is for me to decide."

"So long as I support Dachan Mountain, no one among Yan's three great sects can kick Dachan Mountain out of Guangzhou. If someone else goes there, they won't be able to sit securely in that position."

The naked dominance in those words made Huang Lie's smile stiffen.

He understood.

At last, he fully understood what this fellow intended.

Niu Youdao had already begun fighting for power and interests inside Zijin Cave.

He was already laying out his position.

He wanted Dachan Mountain to go help him hold territory.

Under that combination of coercion and inducement, however, Dachan Mountain seemed to have no real choice.

If a better road was available, it could hardly insist on remaining in Nanzhou and refusing to leave.

Niu Youdao's expression softened into a smile.

"Sect Leader Huang needn't worry. I, Niu Youdao, am not an unreasonable man."

"Normally, I won't make things difficult for you. I don't want to create trouble for myself either."

"In ordinary times, we can simply behave as though we never deal with one another."

"But once Dachan Mountain moves to Guangzhou, if there comes a time when I need something, I hope Dachan Mountain will lend some support."

Huang Lie nodded with a strained smile.

"I understand Elder Niu's meaning. Elder Niu can rest assured. Dachan Mountain knows what it should do."

"Good!"

Niu Youdao nodded in satisfaction.

At the side, Guan Fangyi smiled brilliantly, her bright eyes gleaming.

When Huang Lie left, he could not resist looking back once.

Seeing Niu Youdao wave farewell, he forced out another smile.

Inside, however, he was filled with emotion as he remembered the past.

He thought of the first time he had hurried through wind and dust to Ice and Snow Pavilion and met this man.

How imposing he himself had been before Niu Youdao then.

In the blink of an eye, Niu Youdao had leapt above Dachan Mountain, while Huang Lie now had to lower himself and flatter him carefully.

He suddenly remembered what Shao Pingbo had said all those years ago.

It seemed Shao Pingbo truly had seen farther than he had.

Why had he not listened back then and directly eliminated this fellow?

After another glance back, Huang Lie followed Niu Youdao's instructions and went to find Zijin Cave Sect Leader Gong Lince.

Guan Fangyi moved over beside Niu Youdao, who stood leaning on his sword.

"Master Dao, when are we going back to Maolu Villa?"

Niu Youdao sighed.

"Can we still go back?"

"If I return now, I'm afraid a whole crowd of people will want to chop me to pieces."

"Never mind Xiaoyao Palace and Lingjian Mountain. We don't even know where the experts from Zhao's three great sects are hiding while watching us like tigers."

"We won't be able to return in the short term. We'll see how things look after this storm blows over."

Guan Fangyi said, "Then should we move our people here?"

"Passing intelligence back and forth through multiple hands is troublesome, and it's inconvenient not having our people nearby."

"I just don't know whether Zijin Cave will allow all those people of ours to enter and establish themselves here."

Niu Youdao said, "Wait a little."

"Now isn't the time to ask."

"If I ask now, they're already looking for chances to make things difficult for me. They'll definitely refuse."

He lifted his chin toward the direction Huang Lie had gone.

"Soon."

"Once Huang Lie makes his request and they come looking for me, the timing will be right."

Guan Fangyi looked at him suspiciously, unable to understand.

...

The next day, Wen Mo'er came over with a message.

As expected, Gong Lince wanted Niu Youdao to come discuss matters.

Niu Youdao tidied himself up briefly and went.

Inside the council hall, the Elders who needed to leave had already left.

Yue Yuan had returned to oversee the Gongzhou forces.

Qiao Tianguang had gone to oversee the Bozhou forces.

Shen Baochun had returned to the imperial palace in Yanjing.

Only Yan Li, Yuan An, Fu Junrang, Yin Yide, and Mo Lingxue remained.

After Niu Youdao finished exchanging courtesies, Gong Lince beckoned.

Everyone, Niu Youdao included, gathered before a map hanging in the hall.

Gong Lince pointed at the map and explained, "Junior Brother Niu, the eleven provinces of newly acquired territory will be placed directly under the control of the three great sects."

"Because the trouble created by the Cangzhou rebellion left Zijin Cave in the wrong, we made concessions on the Cangzhou side."

"As a result, among the newly occupied territory on this side, including Jinzhou, Zijin Cave has been allotted four provinces."

"Yan's territory has expanded on a large scale, and manpower is somewhat insufficient. That's why I specifically called you over to discuss the matter together."

Niu Youdao smiled cheerfully.

"Wasn't I forbidden from participating in decisions?"

Gong Lince did not bother disguising his answer.

"This involves Nanzhou. We need to hear your opinion."

"Otherwise, when things aren't explained clearly, you'll start jumping around and making trouble again."

Niu Youdao stood with one hand on his sword and rubbed his nose with the other.

"Sect Leader, the Nanzhou forces achieved extraordinary military merit."

"Which of these newly occupied provinces will be given to them as expansion and reward?"

The moment he said it, the others exchanged glances, their expressions varied.

Yuan An said, "After our discussions, we believe it would be best for the Nanzhou forces to remain where they are."

Niu Youdao raised one brow.

"What does that mean? Merit without reward?"

Yuan An replied, "There will be rewards. Reward does not necessarily mean territory."

Niu Youdao's face darkened.

Mo Lingxue spoke.

"Junior Brother Niu, this decision was made only after careful consideration."

"The Nanzhou forces are elite troops of Zijin Cave and elite troops of Yan itself. They need to remain in a central strategic position."

"Then, no matter where a disturbance occurs, the Nanzhou forces can move out quickly."

"If their troops are dispersed, gathering them again in an emergency will be inconvenient."

"They will not be treated unfairly."

"We will notify the imperial court and have Nanzhou exempted from one year's taxes. Those revenues can be used to reward the soldiers according to merit."

Niu Youdao said, "Only one year's taxes?"

Mo Lingxue replied, "Naturally, we'll do our best to secure several more years."

Gong Lince sighed.

"Junior Brother, the greater situation must come first!"

Niu Youdao answered in a strange tone, "Since all of you have already decided everything, why did you bother calling me here?"

Yin Yide said, "Junior Brother, there's another matter as well."

"At present, manpower truly is insufficient. You know yourself that after such a long campaign, the losses among cultivators have not been small."

"Considering Nanzhou's strong troops and horses, no one dares casually offend it."

"That being the case, we want to transfer Dachan Mountain's manpower from Nanzhou to nearby Guangzhou to hold that province."

"As for the manpower shortages in the other provinces, we'll find solutions elsewhere."

"What do you think?"

Niu Youdao asked, "Am I allowed to object?"

Fu Junrang sighed.

"Junior Brother, at a time like this, you cannot think only of yourself."

"The greater situation comes first."

Niu Youdao gave a cold laugh.

"What a fine phrase, 'the greater situation comes first.'"

"Once that great hat comes down, it certainly weighs enough."

"No matter how I look at these arrangements, they seem an awful lot like you're trying to hollow out my position in Nanzhou."

Gong Lince replied, "Nothing of the sort."

"We're also considering your interests."

"Dachan Mountain has never gotten along especially well with you. Moving them away may actually be better."

"As for replenishing manpower afterward, we can discuss that slowly."

"For the moment, the greater situation comes first. We need to mobilize nearby manpower and stabilize the newly occupied lands as quickly as possible."

"At a time like this, we cannot allow disorder in the territories we just took. You agree with that, don't you?"

"I believe Senior Martial Uncle Zhong is a man who understands the greater situation. He would not oppose such an arrangement either."

Mo Lingxue added, "Exactly."

"Besides, we've already concentrated a large number of Zijin Cave experts around Shang Chaozong to guard him."

"We sent two Supreme Elders alone."

"You can rest assured. Nothing will happen."

Under everyone's gaze, Niu Youdao stood there with a taut expression and said nothing.

After a moment of silence, he suddenly said, "I want the people from Maolu Villa transferred here."

Everyone frowned.

Gong Lince hesitated.

"That doesn't seem appropriate."

"This is Zijin Cave. What would it mean for you to bring a large group of outsiders in here?"

"It doesn't conform to the rules either."

"What if spies slip in among them?"

Niu Youdao immediately shot back.

"With all this reshuffling of yours, never mind everything else, so many Nanzhou soldiers who earned merit cannot receive genuine rewards according to their accomplishments."

"Who can guarantee there won't be trouble?"

"If I don't move my own people here to assist me, then if something happens, how am I supposed to control the situation in Nanzhou quickly?"

"Use military force to suppress it?"

"This isn't allowed, that isn't allowed."

"What exactly do all of you mean?"

"Are you deliberately trying to make trouble for me?"

[End of Chapter 897]