The most helpless thing in the world is to do something you don't want to do. Yan Sikong doesn't want to work with either Feng Ye or Chen Yi, but if he gives up easily when encountering obstacles, that is not what he wants to do. Even if the road is full of dangers and thorns, he will never give in.

He could still control a mere 19-year-old boy.

The next day, Yan Sikong pretended nothing had happened, put on the simple disguise that Yuan Nanyu had prepared for him - a beard, and went to discuss matters with Chen Yu.

After sobering up, Chen Yu calmed down a lot. When the two met, they were still polite to each other, but each of them had his own plans in mind.

"Did you sleep well last night, sir?" Chen Yu asked while secretly observing Yan Sikong's expression.

"Very good, your Highness's wine is not only sweet, but also helps me sleep."

"That's good. The twelve guards you brought with you have all been properly arranged at the inn, and the two personal guards will be arranged to serve nearby in the palace."

"Your Highness is so thoughtful. I am deeply grateful." Although Yan Sikong said this, he never looked at Chen Yi from the time he entered the room to the time he sat down, and his tone was a little cold. He wanted to let Chen Yi know his unhappiness.

Chen Yu indeed seemed a little embarrassed.

Yan Sikong took the initiative to ask, "Will it be a problem if Madam Qi knows my true identity last night?"

"Don't worry, sir. She knows the seriousness of the matter. I have also reminded her of it, and she doesn't dare to say anything nonsense."

"That's good."

Chen Yu asked again with concern: "I heard that you encountered bandits on your way to Zhongqing. Were they all very rude?"

"According to the description of the locals, it should be."

"They are extremely vicious and cunning. You are lucky to have escaped unscathed." Chen Yu said, "If you had informed me in advance, I would have sent someone to pick you up."

"Your Highness, thank you for your concern. I have no choice but to keep this a secret." Yan Sikong said, "Your Highness, can you tell me the situation in Yunnan in detail?"

Chen Yi nodded and stopped daydreaming. Instead, he talked about business. He explained to Yan Sikong the military, political and civilian conditions in Yunnan and the surrounding prefectures in great detail. The reason why he explained it in such detail was, on the one hand, to let Yan Sikong understand the situation so that he could help him, and on the other hand, to show Yan Sikong that he had not wasted his knowledge, nor had he been content with pleasure, but had been secretly accumulating strength.

Yan Sikong was very pleased to see that Chen Yi was well aware of the local situation. He always believed that Chen Yi was a talent for an emperor, which had something to do with Chen Yi's talent and his own teachings. There was no one more suitable than Chen Yi who could help him realize his ideal, so he was so angry at Chen Yi's ridiculous thoughts.

After Chen Yu finished speaking, he looked at Yan Sikong quietly.

Yan Sikong praised and complimented Chen Yi at the right time, and Chen Yi was very pleased.

"Your Highness's accumulation is still too weak, whether it is financial or military strength. If you reveal your true intentions now, the court will easily dispatch troops from the surrounding prefectures and provinces to destroy us."

"That's true. I can only recruit soldiers secretly now. If I hadn't dealt with the officials of Zhongqing, this matter would definitely not be kept secret."

"According to the law, the number of armored guards in the prince's palace cannot exceed 200. No matter how careful Your Highness is, you won't be able to keep it a secret for long."

"What should I do?"

"Find a reason to ask Governor Qian and General Hou to recruit soldiers."

"Qian Feitong and Hou Ming have been my men for a long time, so this is not a problem. However, conscription requires the consent of the court, and the money must be allocated by the court."

"As long as they don't ask the court for money and have a suitable name, they can kill first and report later. This remote place is beyond the reach of the court. Besides, the court is currently overwhelmed by the chaos between the Jin Kingdom and the Wolf King and can't handle it."

"A suitable name?"

"Yes, we want to wipe out the Duzhangman."

Chen Yu frowned, "Sir, you are new here, so you may not know how powerful the Du Zhang Man are. This tribe hides in the mountains. It can be traced back to the previous dynasty. Although Emperor Taizu unified the country, the Du Zhang Man never submitted to the court. They are barbaric and uncivilized and cannot be negotiated. Everyone of them is good at archery and climbing, and they are as agile as monkeys. With their familiarity with the mountain terrain, they have no fixed place to live and are difficult to capture. The court has suppressed the bandits seven times, but suffered heavy losses. Gradually, no one cares about them anymore."

"The Duzhangman often comes down from the mountains to harass and rob the people. They are brutal, tyrannical, and greedy. How can we just leave them alone? It is precisely because these wild monkeys are so hard to get rid of that the people suffer greatly. Some have abandoned their land and moved away with their families, while others have simply become bandits. This is why banditry in Yunnan is so rampant. As long as we get rid of the Duzhangman, we can scare off other mountain bandits and restore peace to the people. Moreover, it is justified to recruit soldiers on this basis."

Chen Yu sighed, "That's true, but with the current military strength... No, we have sent more troops to suppress bandits in the past, but they all ended in failure."

"That's because I didn't come." Yan Sikong said expressionlessly, "Now that I'm here, the death of this gang of barbarians has come."

"Sir, how do you plan to eliminate the Duzhangman?"

"The Duzhangman mainly operates in the Yazui Mountains. They will first relocate all the people living under the Yazui Mountains."

Chen Yu was surprised: "That's tens of thousands of people."

"These tens of thousands of people live in fear of being robbed and killed by the barbarians every day. It is a good place to recruit soldiers. After relocating them, all adult men can be recruited into the army, and their families can be exempted from taxes and supported with salaries."

"...What happens next? Hou Ming can mobilize at most 20,000 soldiers and horses."

"We don't need that many. We recruit soldiers to fight for the world, not for a bunch of wild monkeys."

"What are your plans, teacher?"

"When spring comes and the weather is dry, I will prevent fires from burning the mountains." Yan Sikong's eyes were cold.

Chen Yu's expression changed: "This..."

"Eliminating the barbarians will give us a reason to recruit soldiers, restore peace to the people, and scare those scattered bandits. We only need to send people to call for peace, and they will not dare to refuse. In this way, we can add another batch of armored soldiers. If this plan succeeds, I estimate that Your Highness will have at least 60,000 soldiers and horses."

Chen Yu said worriedly, "Sir, fire attacks have been used to suppress bandits in the past, but firstly, the bandits have no fixed place to stay, so it's hard to find a place to burn them. Instead, some soldiers will be trapped in the sea of ​​fire and die innocently. Even if some bandits are burned to death, they will come back to life. Secondly, if a large area of ​​the mountain is burned, it will definitely affect the people living at the foot of the mountain."

"That's why we have to relocate the people. If we have to burn it, we have to burn the entire Yazui Mountain thoroughly, and burn the whole city to ashes all at once."

Chen Yu was shocked by the coldness in Yan Sikong's eyes and the boldness of his words.

Yan Sikong looked at Chen Yu and continued, "To deal with this group of wild monkeys, a brute force attack will inevitably result in heavy losses, and it is impossible to eradicate them completely. As long as there are fish that slip through the net, they will surely come back again. Only a fire attack can get rid of them once and for all."

Chen Yu remained silent. Over the past four years, he had witnessed and heard countless brutality and evil deeds of the local barbarians, which had made him wary of this tribe. Yan Sikong was so confident, but he had no idea at all.

"The usual methods won't work. As Your Highness said, the Duzhang barbarians have no fixed place to stay. If we send soldiers to burn them, they may not be able to kill the barbarians, but burn themselves first. If we want to burn them, we have to set the whole mountain on fire. There are soldiers guarding the mountain to catch the fish that escape, so that the Duzhang barbarians have nowhere to escape and we have to kill them all!"

Yan Sikong did not hate these bandits because he was robbed and nearly killed by them. He knew very well that in order to change the poverty in Yunnan, the banditry must be eradicated, and to eradicate the banditry, the biggest and most ferocious bandits must be sacrificed to the gods.

Chen Yu asked, "How would you like it cooked, sir?"

Yan Sikong smiled coldly: "Your Highness, do you know the Kongming Lantern?"

Chen Yu was startled.

"Even if Your Highness did not personally release Kongming lanterns among the people, you should have seen them in the sky on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival. The imperial court has issued an order prohibiting the release of Kongming lanterns in the city because they can easily cause fires."

"...Sky lantern." Chen Yu murmured. Yan Sikong's plan made his hair stand on end.

"There is no snow in Yunnan this year, so the spring will be particularly dry. We just need to wait for a strong southerly wind and release tens of thousands of sky lanterns on Yazui Mountain. A fire will spread all over the place, burning Yazui Mountain to the point where not a blade of grass will grow."

Chen Yu took a deep breath and said, "Sir, this plan is really crazy."

"To be able to survive the crackdown by two dynasties is truly remarkable. Extraordinary methods are used to deal with extraordinary enemies. Your Highness, do you think there is anything wrong with this?"

"...No." Chen Yu's eyes were cold, "Just do as you say, sir. I will go find Qian Feitong and Hou Ming right now."

"Your Highness, wait a minute." Yan Sikong said, "Even if we have solved the bandit problem and recruited soldiers, we are short of silver and food. The wealthy merchants in Yunnan must at least 'contribute' 500,000 taels of silver so that we can send troops to the Central Plains and join forces with the Wolf King."

Chen Yu nodded: "I understand."

"These are far from enough. We still need to raise more military funds." Yan Sikong looked at Chen Yi, "There are five princes in the prefectures around Yunnan. Among them, Prince Li, Prince Cheng, and Prince Wu have princesses of the right age. If Your Highness can marry one of them, then the troops, food, and funds will be well taken care of."

Chen Yu's face darkened: "I will marry whoever the master tells me to marry. I'm just afraid they won't want to marry their daughter to me."

"Don't worry, Your Highness. When Your Highness raises an army in Yunnan and responds to the Wolf King, their influence will be overwhelming. They will make a choice. As long as they are sensible and smart, they will definitely choose Your Highness."

Chen Yu stood up and said coldly: "Then listen to what the master says."

Yan Sikong sighed secretly.

Chen Yu walked to the door and turned back: "Sir, I have only been preparing for four years. I am weak and alone. Once I start an army, there will be no turning back. Sir, do you really believe that the Wolf King can help me move into the capital?"

Yan Sikong stood up and said, "Looking at the whole world, only the Wolf King can help Your Highness regain the throne that belongs to Your Highness. The day when the Wolf King conquers Datong is the day for us to start the rebellion."

Chen Yu whispered, "Sir, have you ever thought about this? The Wolf King helped me to sit on the throne. Where should I place the Wolf King?"

Yan Sikong knew that Chen Yu was not easy to fool, so he could only answer cautiously but vaguely: "When Your Highness reigns over the country, you can place him wherever you want. Otherwise, Your Highness can only spend the rest of his life in this remote and poor countryside."

Chen Yu secretly clenched his fists: "Okay!"