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Fang Tianxi was stunned for a moment, and asked with a strange look on his face, "Are you asking me for advice?"
Cheng Xi said, "That's right."
Fang Tianxi pointed at himself and said, "Do you still remember that I am from the Suoyi Gang?"
"Sir, you are not in the Suoyi Gang now." Cheng Xi was calm and did not feel embarrassed at all about asking for advice from other advisers.
Fang Tianxi was speechless for a moment. Apart from anything else, this man was really thick-skinned and was more than qualified to be a "lord".
But since she dared to ask, he didn't want to give the answer so easily.
With a snort, Fang Tianxi threw his hands up and said, "I'm not from the Red Flag Gang, so I'm afraid I can't help you."
Cheng Xi nodded: "This matter is indeed difficult to handle. It's not surprising that you are unable to do so."
Fang Tianxi glared at her immediately: "Girl, do you think provoking me will work?"
"What if it's not provocation?" Cheng Xi sighed lightly. "I've thought about this for a long time, but I can't find a way to crack it. The Long Whale Gang can gain a foothold in the South China Sea and monopolize the pepper trade. Its power must be considerable. The Red Flag Gang currently has only a little over a thousand soldiers and less than fifty large and small ships. Even with the addition of the boat people, they can't compete. And once the Long Whale Gang occupies Qiongzhou, they will block the road out of Southeast Asia. Lu Jian's base is in Hepu and Jiaozhi. For his food supply, he might negotiate with the Long Whale Gang. At that time, the Red Flag Gang's food supply will be cut off. Even if I clean up the wealthy families in Dongning and return the land to the people, the food supply of Dongning County will not be enough to supply the army. Then we will be trapped both internally and externally and it will be difficult to deal with."
These words were so well-reasoned and clear that Fang Tianxi couldn't help but ask, "Have you ever thought about seeking external help?"
"The Suoyi Gang's forces aren't at sea, and the Qingfeng Gang is too busy to get involved. Those merchants who want to get involved in pepper are hard to trust, and might defect to the enemy if they see the situation getting bad." Cheng Xi's tone darkened. "I'm afraid we'll have to face this vicious enemy this winter at the latest."
There are storms on the sea in summer, and the wind direction is wrong, so it is difficult to send troops from Qiongzhou to attack Luoling Island.
But when the wind season is over and the monsoon changes direction, the Long Whale Gang will probably not sit idly by, and there will be a battle between the two sides.
This is an imminent issue that may even determine the life or death of the Red Flag Gang.
The person in front of him must have deduced these things more than once, racking his brains to save the lives of more than a thousand people.
What a heavy burden is on her shoulders. How does a girl who is seventeen... no, just turned eighteen, deal with the anxiety in her heart?
Fang Tianxi was about to speak, but Cheng Xi turned his head and looked over at him. "I've only read a few military books and know a little about economics, but I'm not good at these maneuvers. The gang leaders are either fishermen or people like Tian Yu and Yan Yuan who are not good at conspiracy. It's really hard to find a strategist who understands the overall situation and can discern the situation. Life and death are at stake. If you have any good advice, please let me know."
Those eyes were full of earnestness, as well as some worry and expectation.
She was clearly exposing her own shortcomings and weaknesses, which was extremely dangerous for a woman in power! Yet she didn't think there was anything wrong with saying these things. Was this because she trusted his character as a counselor, or was it because of her nature, knowing how to appoint people to the right positions?
However, even Fang Tianxi had to admit that he was wrong.
For counselors, the most irresistible thing is not the willingness to ask questions from those in high positions, nor the blind obedience without thinking, but the honesty of those who are obviously smart, wise and brave enough to ask questions when they are in trouble.
She believed that he had a solution, and she also believed that she could make the most of his plan. As a counselor, what more could she ask for?
However, facing those extremely clear eyes, Fang Tianxi still shook his head with difficulty: "As long as the gang leader does not reveal your identity and does not let the world know that you are a woman, I will not be able to give you any advice."
This rejection made Cheng Xi frown slightly, and then she sighed softly: "Then why did you come here, sir?"
Unexpectedly, the other party did not ask any further questions or continue the previous topic. Fang Tianxi felt a little disappointed.
However, he quickly recovered and coughed dryly, "The Gang Leader said before that the Lu family hates the Red Flag Gang to the core. This old man's visit is related to this matter. During the previous prison break, in order to get Lu Jian's help, Xiao Sun promised him to cause chaos in Jiangdong and destroy the Lu family's foundation. However, simply rescuing Chief Yan is far from enough. Only by harassing Jiangdong and conquering a few counties can his foundation be considered solid."
It turned out that Lu Jian mentioned "Jiangdong" during that meeting and asked Sun Yuanrang to do this. This guy was really persistent in hating the Lu family.
After a moment's thought, Cheng Xi said, "Attacking Jiangdong would be beneficial to me, but it's not so easy for the Red Flag Gang to bypass Jiangdong. It's a long way off, and the Red Flag Gang excels at naval warfare, not inland. How can they be of any help? Besides, Lu Jian hasn't mentioned this to me, so I'm afraid he has some ulterior motive."
Lu Jian's cleverness is obvious. If he could play a role, he would be eager to find the Red Flag Gang, but now he doesn't even mention it. There must be a reason.
As for distance, although I don't know where "Jiangdong" in this world is, according to common sense, it should be near Jiangsu and Zhejiang, right? Wouldn't this mean we have to pass through the Qingfeng Gang's base? The other side is still fighting, which doesn't seem very safe.
Fang Tianxi laughed and said, "You don't know this. Although the Lu family is a prominent family in Jiangdong, most of their land is in Tingzhou. From Chaozhou Prefecture, you can go straight up the Yin River without any obstructions. It just so happens that you also have a salt ship. You can pretend to be salt merchants from Songmen and go straight to Tingzhou via the river."
The distance wasn't far, but Cheng Xi continued, "But what good would it do us to go there? There are many checkpoints along the way. If we bring too many people, we might not be able to return safely. If we bring too few people, it won't be of any use to the overall situation. In this case, wouldn't it be useless?"
"What if we just want to rescue people?" Fang Tianxi asked. "Sending one or two ships to get them out of Tingzhou when the chaos breaks out, that wouldn't be too difficult for you, right?"
Cheng Xi raised an eyebrow: "Are you planning to make a feint to the east and attack in the west?"
Fang Tianxi chuckled, "Not really. I just plan to send some men to attack before the rice fields start to ear. If things get tough outside the city, there will probably be some wealthy people gathering in the city, causing some chaos, which will definitely be beneficial to the military."
The heading period is the critical period for rice planting. Even if the fields are not damaged, delaying topdressing can lead to a large-scale reduction in rice yield.
If a few more granaries were looted or burned, the Lu family would be in big trouble.
In this case, the new grain road set up by Lu Jian in Panyu will come in handy.
But these are not the key points. Cheng Xi asked: "Why did you choose the Red Flag Gang?"
"Before in Panyu, you were able to kidnap people right under my nose. Your ability should not be underestimated. This time Sun Yuanrang also wants to enter the city. For his safety, we have to choose a reliable person." Fang Tianxi did not hide it and said it bluntly.
The Red Flag Gang's actions during the prison break in Panyu were just right. Not only did they deceive Sun Yuanrang and others, but even he, the mastermind behind the scenes, couldn't guess how they did it. This skill can be called amazing.
Cheng Xi accepted Fang Tianxi's praise calmly. When it comes to rescue and raid, no one in the world can compare with her.
What good would it do her to just take such a huge risk to implement such a rescue plan?
Therefore, Cheng Xi also asked directly: "Brother Sun is only a lieutenant colonel of the Suoyi Gang. Even if you value him, it will take time for him to gain power. Moreover, even if he gains power, he probably won't be able to help the Red Flag Gang for a while. What is the point of us spending so much energy?"
Fang Tianxi seemed to be waiting for her to ask this question. Upon hearing this, he immediately said, "Of course it is very useful. The Lu family is one of the most powerful families in Tingzhou, but the most powerful local family is the Ye family."
"The Ye family that's currently embroiled in a war with the Qingfeng Gang?" Cheng Xi realized. If Tingzhou fell, wouldn't the Qingfeng Gang have the upper hand? This way, they'd done Shen Feng a favor, giving them something to lean on when communicating with them in the future.
More importantly, once the Qingfeng Gang is able to free up, the possibility of them joining forces to deal with the Changjing Gang will greatly increase, which is definitely good news for the Chiqi Gang.
Although Fang Tianxi's plan was still aimed at Sun Yuanrang, he helped her without making a sound.
Was this something he had planned beforehand, or was it a temporary change in response to her question? However, either way, it was crucial for the Red Flag Gang to break free.
It can even be said that after Lu Jian knew about this, he had to owe her a favor. However, the possibility of their cooperative relationship being torn apart by the Changjing Gang would be reduced.
This is really a useful talent.
However, looking at the somewhat sloppy old man in front of her, Cheng Xi sighed in her heart. She really couldn't subdue him now.
Fang Tianxi said that unless her identity was exposed, he would not be able to get along with her, which Cheng Xi could actually understand.
After all, his identity is a time bomb. Once exposed, it will be a question whether the Red Flag Gang can survive.
Even if she talked about it, no one could be sure of the outcome as long as it didn't happen.
As a strategist, how could Fang Tianxi take such a risk?
But on the other hand, the other party is not without intention.
At least her identity as a woman was no big deal to Fang Tianxi. This meant that the other party recognized her abilities and was interested in seeing how the Red Flag Gang would develop. The only obstacle was this "woman disguised as a man" scam.
Although this matter is difficult to expose for the time being, Cheng Xi has already made arrangements and has made preparations step by step for stability when his identity is exposed.
Once her identity was completely exposed and the Red Flag Gang was stabilized, there would be no obstacles for General Qiu's former aide to switch sides.
It seems that at least her efforts were not in vain.
With a plan in mind, Cheng Xi said, "I'll take this job. When are you going to start?"
"About a month." Fang Tianxi replied.
He guessed that Miss Qiu would agree to this request, but he didn't expect her to be so straightforward.
But I think, without this determination, she wouldn't be able to build such a large fleet.
Cheng Xi nodded slightly: "In that case, I need to take care of the chores at hand first. Sir, would you like to leave immediately, or come with me when the time comes?"
Fang Tianxi was unwilling to miss the opportunity to observe, and hurriedly said, "I have already explained everything that needs to be explained. Just go there a few days in advance. Just go ahead with your work and take me with you when you leave."
Knowing Fang Tianxi's plan, Cheng Xi didn't care. Now that the fish was hooked, it would be better to let him swallow the bait deeper.
Cheng Xi smiled and said, "Then I'll have to trouble you to wait for a few more days."
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