The Time Traveler's Waterloo

A month later, news from Yehe's spies came back continuously, and it was already very clear that the Yehe tribe had given up attacking Youzhou this year.

While he breathed a sigh of relief, countless questions weighed on Gao Yi's mind, keeping him awake!

Well, if this commander-in-chief is truly the mighty ruler of Youzhou, capable of intimidating the borderlands, I'll follow him to the bitter end! At worst, once the one-year agreement is up, I'll have nothing to do with him anymore!

How did the commander's wife solve the Yehe problem?

…

Yanjing, the inner residence of the commander-in-chief of Youzhou.

Liu Buqi and Yue Lingxi, accompanied by Bai Tuo, who was recently appointed as the medical officer, and Wang Changling, the commander-in-chief and right general, are hosting a banquet to entertain Zhu Caicai, who has returned in high spirits!

Old Zhu had now begun to gradually adapt to the transition between his official and businessman identities. While drinking and chatting with his guests Zhang Xiruo and Wang Sheng, he was also talking about the customs and practices of the Yehe tribe!

A small businessman could burst out with such earth-shaking energy. Zhu Caicai never dared to think about it before, let alone do it!

Ever since he met Liu Buqi, he could definitely be considered lucky. From "The Legend of Yue Fei" to the tavern, and now to becoming one of the big figures in Youzhou, all of this was thanks to Liu Buqi!

Zhu Caicai generously "offers" the reputation of "defeating the enemy without fighting" and makes no secret of his determination to follow Liu Buqi and Yue Lingxi all the way to the end!

There were hurried footsteps outside the door. It was the guard at the door who came in to report that the general guarding the Great Wall was coming to visit overnight!

After exchanging a glance with Liu Buqi, Yue Lingxi took the lead and went out in person with all the people under the command of the Youzhou Commander-in-Chief to welcome Gao Yi's arrival!

High-standard reception will naturally bring high-standard returns!

As soon as everyone arrived at the gate, Gao Yi took the lead and knelt on one knee with a serious expression. "Commander of the Great Wall Garrison Army, General Gao Yi of the Great Wall Garrison pays homage to Lord Yue, Duke of Anguo and Commander-in-Chief of Youzhou!"

Wang Changling and others were confused and looked suspicious. Gao Yi was definitely a powerful general in Youzhou, so how could he be defeated by Yue Lingxi without any warning?

"General Gao is truly a sincere and trustworthy person, please stand up quickly..." Yue Lingxi took two quick steps and was about to help Gao Yi up with both hands!

Gao Yi did not stand up. Instead, he solemnly turned slightly to face Liu Buqi, "Madam, you have made great plans and a small trick to avoid a disaster. On behalf of the men of the Great Wall Garrison, Gao Yi thanks you, Madam!"

"General, you've got the wrong person to worship. The man beside me, Zhu Caicai, the Deputy Minister of Commerce, is the one who has made the greatest contributions!" Liu Buqi had long planned to "sell" Old Zhu out. No, it should be promoted.

"Oh! So it was Master Zhu who saved the day. Please accept my sincere greeting!" Zhu Caicai dared not accept Gao Yi's greeting. He hurriedly jumped over and shouted loudly! "General, please forgive me! How dare I take away your credit!"

Wang Changling, standing by, couldn't stand the constant bowing and kowtowed, so he grabbed Gao Yi and said, "We're all family from now on. It's annoying to keep bowing like this. Let's go inside and have a drink!"

Gao Yi was actually quite puzzled at the beginning as to why Wang Changling, who was as famous as himself, would appear here. But when he heard him say "one of us", he suddenly understood!

"General Wang?!" Wang Changling replied meaningfully, "I have always been a pawn of the Yue family!"

"Let's go drink!"

…

Yue Lingxi gently held Liu Buqi's little hand, looked at the people at the table, young and old, and suddenly felt infinite emotion in his heart!

Although these people are a little sparse in number, they include the two most powerful generals in Youzhou, the largest businessman in Youzhou, and the most famous doctor in Youzhou!

Of course! There is also a female Zhuge Liang who is unrivaled in Youzhou!

This is the capital for me to gain a foothold in Youzhou!

"General Gao, Old Zhu lost a lot of money this time. Can I give you an idea to thank Old Zhu properly?" Liu Buqi looked at Zhu Caicai, who was talking eloquently and making Gao Yi stunned, and suddenly an idea came to his mind!

"Madam, I'd like to hear the details!" Gao Yi was indeed shocked by the astronomical loss that Zhu Caicai inadvertently revealed!

Zhu Caicai did not refuse this time.

Just kidding! The Goddess of Wealth never fails to deliver, so having a good way to recover some of the losses is a great thing!

"The gold, silver, and copper coins that Lao Zhu lost this time are a waste if they are put in the hands of the Yehe people. What can they buy now?"

"General Gao, I wonder if you could show some leniency and allow our Deputy Commercial Envoy to privately deliver a batch of iron pots to the Yehe tribe to recoup some of the losses!"

Upon hearing Liu Buqi's "good idea", Zhu Caicai slapped his thigh and said, "Great, great! Let's go to Tai'an and get some clay pots and iron pans to sell in Yehe. We can earn back the money we sent to Youzhou! It's a good deal!"

"Old Zhu, remember that the pots we sell require bartering and additional payment to buy back! Tell them to bring their broken iron pots in exchange for our clay iron pots!" Liu Buqi said to Zhu Caicai with a smile.

Now, even Wang Changling and Gao Yi understood the trick.

Yehe's smelting technology was backward, and they could only rely on purchasing iron pots from Taiyue. When the war was intense, they could melt the iron pots to make weapons.

Liu Buqi's idea was to use the unmeltable clay iron pots, a specialty of Tai'an Prefecture, to exchange for the lost pure iron pots! This would earn him several times the profit while also reducing Ye He's war potential. It was a win-win situation!

Gao Yi laughed heartily and patted Zhu Caicai's shoulder. "Master Zhu, you can ship the goods out of the customs anytime. I'll send troops to escort you. This time, Ye He will lose both his wife and his troops!"

…

Gao Yi kept his promise for a year, which made Liu Buqi feel relieved! This winter was too cold. In the next month or so, Liu Buqi only occasionally helped Zhu Caicai with the "big deal" of selling iron pots to Yehe!

He would just sit in front of the fire, carefully studying the customs and habits of the other three prefectures and the anecdotes about the generals.

After all, only by controlling the three prefectures close to the Central Plains can Yue Lingxi truly rest assured and gain a foothold in Youzhou!

As for the Yehe tribe, which has been devastated by the "economic war", it is unlikely that they will make any major moves in the short term!

The grassland Khanate, which was living a good life, had little desire to conquer Youzhou this year. After the Yehe incident, it should have stopped its efforts early.

Liu Buqi is extremely confident in his own judgment. This confidence is based on his strategic planning, decisive victories and brilliant achievements in the past year!

But this was not blind confidence. Half a month before the Spring Festival, it was shattered by the sudden invasion of the Steppe Khanate!

"Report! Smoke is rising from the direction of the Great Wall!"

"Report! The Prairie Khanate successfully attacked the Great Wall overnight. Although General Gao Yi recaptured the area overnight, the Prairie Wolf Riders have already entered Youzhou territory, and their numbers are unknown!"

"Report! Zuojia Village, thirty miles outside the city, was massacred by grassland wolf riders!"

"Report! General Gao Yi is under attack from both sides, requesting support!"

…

One urgent battle report after another was sent to Yue Lingxi and Liu Buqi!

War comes suddenly at an unexpected time and when it is least expected!

But Liu Buqi was so angry that he fell ill in bed!

"It was my own carelessness! I ruined this great situation!"

Liu Buqi is about to fall into a passive position in helping Yue Lingxi plan a strategy to attack the Lord of Youzhou!