RPAGF Chapter 109 Going with the Flow
Chapter 109 Going with the Flow
After Li Zicheng finished speaking, everyone couldn't help but sigh.
No one expected that he, barely in his early twenties, had experienced so much and suffered so much over the years. Gao Yingxiang, in particular, looked at Li Zicheng with even more kindness and pity in his eyes.
As the uncle, he was overjoyed at the arrival of his nephew, but also heartbroken by what he had suffered over the years.
In truth, Gao Guiying and her siblings were closer to him by blood than Li Zicheng. But for some reason, Gao Yingxiang felt a little closer to the newly arrived Li Zicheng.
Perhaps this is because of the relationship between maternal uncle and nephew, especially since Li Zicheng's appearance was so similar to his deceased elder sister. Whenever Gao Yingxiang saw his face, he couldn't help but recall his childhood.
"Child, you've come to the right place!"
Gao Yingxiang said solemnly, "Being here with your uncle is like being at home. From now on, work hard for your uncle, and once we seize the Zhu family's empire, becoming a general or prime minister, or even being granted a fiefdom, won't be difficult. By the way, how many men did you bring this time?"
"In reply to my uncle, besides my nephew Li Guo, there are four fellow villagers who have been with me since Mizhi. In addition, seventeen of my comrades from the army have also come with me."
"So, including you, there are twenty-two people?" Gao Yingxiang did the math and quickly came up with the number.
He thought for a moment, then looked towards Zhou Lun and asked with a smile, "Brother Zhou, now that Zicheng has come to join us, what do you think is the best way to arrange things?"
Zhou Lun had remained silent, sitting quietly to the side listening, when Gao Yingxiang suddenly brought up this question. He instantly became wary.
Was Gao Yingxiang's question just a casual remark, or did he have ulterior motives? Ever since Li Wanqing's incident, his relationship with Gao Yingxiang had become distant, and Gao Yingxiang had also become somewhat wary of him.
Although he had been keeping a low profile lately and had even considered leaving, how easy was it to do so in the current situation? If he did, there was no guarantee that Gao Yingxiang wouldn't turn against him. So why was he suddenly asking this question now? Did he have ulterior motives?
Zhou Lun, wary, dared not answer casually, fearing that Gao Yingxiang would find a loophole and trick him. He just smiled and said, "It is my uncle's decision to make Zicheng's arrangements. How could I, his nephew, have the right to speak on such matters?"
"Haha, Brother Zhou, you're too modest."
Gao Yingxiang laughed loudly, "Who in my army doesn't know that your old camp, Zhou Lun's, is the most elite and the strongest force among the rebels? Since Zicheng has just arrived, although he is my nephew, as the King of Chuang, I can't just casually entrust him with important responsibilities, otherwise the brothers will be dissatisfied, and we won't be able to treat everyone fairly. If I let him lead the brothers to casually serve as a squad leader or captain or something, I would feel quite reluctant. After all, his status is different, and he has served in the border army, so he is familiar with military affairs. It would be a waste of his talents to use him like this."
"In my opinion, why not settle Zicheng and his brothers in your old camp first? They're all family, and with you, his brother-in-law, guiding him, he can quickly become familiar with our rebel army. After some time and they've made some contributions, I'll find a way to promote Zicheng and let him lead an army on his own. That would be a natural progression. What do you think of this arrangement?"
"That's a good idea..." Zhou Lun nodded with a smile, but inwardly he was cursing.
Gao Yingxiang's plan was brilliant; he was clearly deliberately stirring up trouble and using Li Zicheng's opportunity to seize power.
He was right. In terms of training, equipment, and even combat power, Zhou Lun's Old Camp, which he had built at great expense, was the most elite force in the rebel army. Don't underestimate the Old Camp just because it has only a little over 1,600 men. If they were really taken to the battlefield, they would not be afraid of facing other rebel armies of three or four thousand men.
With such an army now completely under Zhou Lun's control, does Zhou Lun not understand what Gao Yingxiang was thinking before and what he is planning now?
This was clearly an attempt to infiltrate the enemy forces by arranging for Li Zicheng, and even to pave the way for a future struggle for command of the old camp. If they eventually turned against each other, with Li Zicheng in the old camp, Gao Yingxiang could weaken Zhou Lun's influence, even if he couldn't completely control the troops.
Zhou Lun would never agree to such an arrangement, even if you killed him.
Once he hands over military power and loses his old camp, won't he be like meat on a chopping block, completely at Gao Yingxiang's mercy? Don't think that just because he married Gao Guiying, especially now that Gao Guiying is pregnant, everything will be fine.
Family ties are meaningless to those in power, especially since Zhou Lun is merely a nephew-in-law, not a biological son-in-law. Even if he were a biological son-in-law, so what? Those in power can be ruthless enough to sacrifice even their own sons; what difference would it make if he were someone else?
If Gao Yingxiang, a powerful and ruthless figure, truly intended to harm Zhou Lun, he wouldn't care about anything else. The meaning behind those words was very clear, and Zhou Lun understood their true purpose perfectly.
He first remarked that Gao Yingxiang's arrangement seemed good, then said seriously, "Brother Zicheng is clearly no ordinary man, and he was able to accomplish such a great feat during the mutiny, and even brought twenty-one men to join your uncle, which shows his decisiveness. How can such a hero be subordinate to someone else? Moreover, in terms of fact, I am only Brother Zicheng's brother-in-law. If word gets out that he is working under me, those who know your good intentions will understand, but those who don't might criticize me behind my back for suppressing Brother Zicheng."
"In my opinion, the saying goes, 'When recommending someone for a position, one should not avoid relatives.' Brother Zicheng is both capable and courageous. What does it matter if he is less experienced? Besides, when we started our rebellion, didn't we all start from scratch? Moreover, we are true relatives. It would be unreasonable for relatives not to help each other."
At this point, Zhou Lun smiled at Li Zicheng: "Let's not worry about what others think of Brother Zicheng for now, but I think it's safer for him to lead an army on his own. As for his subordinates, that's not difficult. Uncle, what do you think? I'll allocate five hundred men to Brother Zicheng, and you can draw some men from various units to form a battalion for him to lead. Wouldn't that be better than him being a captain or something under my command?"
Upon hearing this, Li Zicheng's face immediately lit up with joy, and he had a very good impression of Zhou Lun.
When Gao Yingxiang suggested that Li Zicheng work under Zhou Lun, he didn't say anything, but a hint of unease flashed across his face.
In his view, Zhou Lun was his brother-in-law, and he was Zhou Lun's brother-in-law.
Moreover, his uncle was Gao Yingxiang, the leader of the rebel army.
Before coming here, he had planned to make a name for himself and become a leader. But now he was going to work under Zhou Lun and be managed by him. This sudden change made him very uncomfortable.
In the blink of an eye, Zhou Lun spoke such a reasonable and well-founded argument, and he considered and planned for him in every way, which instantly changed Zhou Lun's impression of him.
He was especially excited when Zhou Lun offered to send him 500 men to help him form an army. With these 500 men, he would suddenly have a foothold in the rebel army. If Gao Yingxiang gave him another 500 men or even more, then an independent battalion would be within his grasp. As the saying goes, "Better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of an ox," Li Zicheng, a dignified and upright man, would never submit to anyone else. Of course, this excludes his uncle Gao Yingxiang.
"Uncle..." Overwhelmed with excitement and joy, Li Zicheng couldn't help but look at Gao Yingxiang.
Seeing the urgency and expectation in his expression, Gao Yingxiang couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Zhou Lun was right; Gao Yingxiang did indeed have the idea of infiltrating the military to seize power.
Although he was the leader of the rebel army, each of his units was relatively independent. The strongest force in the entire rebel army was naturally Gao Yingxiang's main force. Now that Li Wanqing's forces had broken away, the remaining forces were Wang Er, Zhao Sheng, and Zhou Lun.
Even if Gao Yingxiang became wary of Zhou Lun because of Li Wanqing and no longer trusted and relied on him as before, under these circumstances, as long as Zhou Lun did not do anything to betray him, Gao Yingxiang would not be able to directly take action against him.
After all, he needed to maintain his image as a fair and just leader, and Zhou Lun was, after all, his nephew-in-law. If he did this, and word got out that he was capable of being ruthless even to his own juniors, what would the other leaders think?
Once the morale of the team is low, it becomes difficult to lead them.
Therefore, the best approach is to take advantage of Li Zicheng's arrival to place him next to Zhou Lun, gradually gain control of a portion of the military force by entering the old camp, and then, with Zhou Lun's assistance, bring the old camp directly to his side.
Once Zhou Lun loses his elite old camp, he'll be like a toothless tiger, making it much easier to find a good opportunity to deal with him.
Gao Yingxiang never expected that Zhou Lun would be so slick. Not only did Zhou Lun see through his intentions at a glance, but instead of directly refusing him, he first praised his own arrangements and then, under the pretext of praising Li Zicheng and considering his needs, proposed a more "appropriate" plan.
Li Zicheng was clearly tempted, a fact Gao Yingxiang understood perfectly well. It wasn't entirely his fault; Gao Yingxiang had made this arrangement on a whim, without consulting him beforehand. Given Li's new arrival and eagerness to take command, it was understandable that he was tempted.
Given the current situation, if Gao Yingxiang continues to press the issue, he will only be at a disadvantage. Moreover, Zhou Lun has also made some concessions.
He offered to give Li Zicheng 500 men. These 500 men were not ordinary rebels, but the elite troops under Zhou Lun's command, which was equivalent to nearly one-third of his most capable troops.
With these 500 elite troops, as long as Gao Yingxiang can find a way to provide Li Zicheng with some more men, his troops will soon be able to form a fighting force and gain a firm foothold in the rebel army.
Gao Yingxiang knew this was Zhou Lun's bottom line. If he didn't agree and continued to pressure him, no one knew what Zhou Lun's attitude would be. Furthermore, since Li Zicheng had already been persuaded, Gao Yingxiang had no choice but to go along with it.