"General must have made some arrangements in Lanzhou then, so I am indeed speaking out of turn. Let me stamp this and get these supplies to where they belong without delay."
Chen Lin stamped the document with both his generalissimo's seal and his own monitor’s seal before handing it over to an assistant.
Chen Lin was aware that Huur had entered Lanzhou, and he even dispatched a secret team there. This time, it wasn’t a covert operation; instead, he openly warned Huur to quickly withdraw from Lanzhou in accordance with the agreement between Great Song and Western Xia, which prohibited any military presence in the city. Otherwise, they would face Great Song’s most intense retaliation.
Though this was empty talk, such words had to be said; otherwise, it appeared that Great Song was abandoning Lanzhou. With Cloud Zhong having operated there for four years, his mind was put at ease.
Cloud Zhong had operated in the Western Grassland for ten years and thus acquired a vast, fertile plateau without spilling blood. He had longed for the Qingtang Plateau for ten years, which now saw its people fighting to their deaths. No matter how formidable the heroes were, they ended up becoming mere nutrients.
Now, Cloud Zhong had operated in Lanzhou for four years. Without saying anything more, everyone knew that an unexpected battle was brewing there... It would be better not to disrupt his plans at this moment.
After handling his official duties, Cloud Zhong sipped some tea and said to Chen Lin, "Fu Bi wants to intimidate Mie Chan E pang from the Qingtang Plateau. I don’t think this is a good idea. Let’s not disturb Mie Chan E pang’s plan for now; we can intervene when he has already committed regicide."
"Those without parents or rulers deserve death by a thousand cuts!"
Cloud Zhong smiled and said, "He killed the Western Xia emperor, so let's give him a bit of leniency. Once he commits regicide, and if our interests are satisfied, we can denounce his actions."
"Regicide is always a grave offense!"
Cloud Zhong looked at Chen Lin’s angry face helplessly and said, "I didn’t kill the emperor; why are you glaring at me? Although I almost killed the Western Xia emperor too for Great Song's sake!"
Chen Lin retorted angrily, "It doesn’t matter who the target is. You’re using this to manipulate things, which shows that you have no respect for imperial power. You shouldn’t even consider it!
Do you know why, despite your many merits and achievements, you're still not well-liked by anyone?
Not because of your cruelty or envy of your military successes. When we first met, you were already involved in regicide and sowing discord between the crown prince and the emperor. No one in Great Song could be as vicious as you.
Even when you were a lowly official, you dared to do such things. Now that you’re a general, who knows what other atrocities you might commit."