Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

An Cui came from a noble background. Had he not harbored his own goals, why would he have been willing to join the ranks of the Red Lotus Group and become part of the motley crew within?

The flame tattoo drawn on his arm meant that he had already earned a position as the leader of a small group within the Red Lotus Group.

Feng Zhen couldn’t help but suspect that he was trying to make his way higher into the ranks of the Red Lotus Group, then take the opportunity to stage a coup and seize the manpower.

His suspicions were not without reason.

Wei Ci gave an affirmative answer. “He has ambitions and resolution, how could he possibly be content with being a nobody? Unfortunately, fate treated him poorly. He lacked luck.”

“Luck?” Feng Zhen laughed and said, “You are starting to resemble a fake psychic more and more. Are you going to tell me that you know this through physiognomy as well?”

Wei Ci avoided his question. “His luck is really quite bad.”

After all, Wei Ci knew the life story of the lord he used to serve very well.

Sometimes, luck was a component of one’s capabilities.

An Cui had no shortage of talent and ability, but he lacked timely opportunities. Every time things were improving as a result of him racking his brains, he always got pulled into the fights around him. All his efforts went to waste. He still hadn’t accomplished a thing after going back and forth for ten plus years.

He only had hundreds of aged soldiers under him. While he did have a few ferocious generals serving him, they were all born of low social standing. All fought with brute force, never using their brains to think.

While the world was in chaos, An Cui hopped from one faction to another.

He was 41 years old, in his middle age, yet he had neither occupied territory nor manpower. He was really in a bleak situation.

In the end, he’d wandered to Zhongzhao and pleaded for Wei Ci to come out of hiding and help him.

Even Wei Ci felt his head ache when faced with the fact that An Cui had almost nothing.

To be honest, Wei Ci had always paid attention to the worldly affairs, but he had no intention of leaving his hideout because he felt that no lord would dare to employ him.

He was born at midnight on the 22nd day of the eighth month of the year Kui You.

After looking at his birthdate, who would dare to employ him?

Even if they employed him as an advisor, they would be wary of him or leave him with no actual matters to attend to. Wei Ci was not going to put up with such humiliation.

So, when An Cui took the initiative to ask him to come out of hiding, the intelligent Wei Ci was actually fairly surprised.

He already clearly understood Wei Ci’s ambitions hidden beneath his aged appearance.

Wei Ci was rumored to be the reincarnation of the prime minister of the previous dynasty. The prime minister had helped the founder of the Great Xia Dynasty to progress from a nobody to the ruler of the world.

If someone had taken the initiative to ask him to come out of hiding, surely he was trying to emulate the founder of the Great Xia Dynasty, wasn’t he?

The person must be really bold to put a “crafty sycophant” who might “betray his lord and stage a coup” in an important position.

An Cui was determined to employ Wei Ci despite the latter refusing his offer on multiple occasions. He was so persistent that Wei Ci could do nothing but secretly escape out the back door while An Cui was at the front door.

But such actions provided a solution.

In the end, they had a heart-to-heart talk, and Wei Ci was convinced.

He thought that the man had ambitions to improve the lives of all worldly beings. He felt joy at having encountered the wise lord he sought to advise.

An Cui did have some obsessions, but hatred was also a form of motivation.

An Cui wasn’t young, even back then, and Wei Ci had been worried that he would lose his ambitions as he aged. Having hatred would motivate him.

Wei Ci toiled for An Cui, drafting plans, publicizing his campaign, seeking talent, managing internal affairs, training his troops, and scheming against other forces, be it through forming alliances or slowly nibbling up their territories… He slowly built up An Cui’s influence, step by step, and put in all his efforts to help An Cui progress from a nobody occupying no territory to a warlord controlling most of Nansheng.

Jiang Pengji exploited her employees and didn’t give them salaries, but she knew to sell them luxurious homes at the price of one cent and to provide various benefits after that to appease them.

All else ignored, one could see how good the meals provided were just from the fact that Yang Si had gained weight in winter despite being very busy with work.

But back when Wei Ci was helping An Cui, he was really using his own money to help instead of getting paid. He received no salary for a few consecutive years, yet he enjoyed it.

He was realizing his own dreams. He felt spiritually rich despite being physically poor.

However, never had he expected just how deep-rooted An Cui’s obsession with revenge was. The latter was so insane that it surprised him.

There was nothing wrong with resolving feuds like national enmity and family hatred with blood.

But Wei Ci was hoping to integrate the four factions of Nanman into the Central Plains. The effect wouldn’t be visible to the first or second generation, but after three or four generations, they would forget their ancestors, civilization, language, and customs, and be completely integrated into the Central Plains. The people of the four factions of Nanman were all human, and a country could only grow strong if it had a large population!

Back then, the fight to become the ruler of the world was incredibly intense. More than 10 warlords split up the territories of the original five nations, and the battles between them were neverending.

Wei Ci wanted to stabilize and cultivate the nation while the rest fought intensely, quietly developing all the while.

He felt that he couldn’t see the unification of the world in his lifetime, so he wanted to build a good foundation for the next generation to realize his dream.

But in the end?

An Cui exhausted all their resources building up military power and launched attacks against the four factions of Nanman for consecutive years, stubbornly insisting on wiping Nanman out. Countless civilians and soldiers died or were injured under his rule.

In the end, he did indeed destroy the whole of the four factions of Nanman, including the innocent and the not-so-innocent. Nanman did become history, but how many civilians and soldiers lost their lives in the process? Not only were lives lost, but Wei Ci’s cumulative efforts over many years went to waste as well!

To be honest, if not for An Cui launching attacks against the south several times and exhausting too much military, material, and manpower resources in the process, how else could Jiang Pengji swallow up An Cui’s forces at such a rapid pace!

Fortunately, Jiang Pengji did not have the habit of killing prisoners of war or slaughtering entire cities. If she did, the number of civilians who died indirectly because of An Cui would be even greater!

To put it bluntly, if An Cui could become the final winner, he would be praised as a dominant and assertive ruler for slaughtering and wiping out the barbarians for revenge.

But in the end?

A person who dragged his men and civilians to hell with him for the sake of revenge would be considered a tyrant, not an assertive ruler.

Despite so many years having passed, recalling that history still made Wei Ci so angry that his liver hurt.

Feng Zhen was far-sighted. He asked Wei Ci, “If this person is intending to stab the Red Lotus Group in the back, isn’t that just what our lord is hoping for?”

Wei Ci was momentarily silent, then asked, “Are you not worried that we might feed a tiger to our own detriment?”

Feng Zhen really loved to tempt death. What a “good” idea it was to help An Cui deal with the Red Lotus Group.

The fella even laughed and said, “How can An Cui be considered a tiger? If we use him wisely, we can even use this opportunity to get him to keep the forces in Nansheng in check.”

There were no eternal enemies in the world, only friends with their interests aligned and enemies with their interests in conflict.

Wei Ci sighed. An Cui was indeed a tiger, a huge tiger.

Once he met a suitable advisor, he could soar into the skies.

“Don’t take it too lightly. A thousand-mile embankment could be destroyed by an anthill, let alone a living person,” Wei Ci said.

Feng Zhen said nonchalantly, “You are too careful. At the moment, An Cui is just a stray dog that has lost his home. Furthermore, we don’t even know if this An Cui is capable enough to be of any use. We should observe him in secret. If he is capable, we can manipulate him.”

Wei Ci heard this and his expression changed.

After a while, Wei Ci sighed and said, “Indeed, I have overthought.”

Despite not wanting to be influenced by his memories from the previous incarnation, he still couldn’t help but be lead astray when considering matters.

The situation was different from the previous incarnation.

In the previous incarnation, An Cui’s forces were strong, while the lord he currently served, Jiang Pengji, was the object of everyone’s ridicule.

A mere woman wanting to be king, how ridiculous was that?

She had almost no money, and her subordinates had more muscle than brain. Even though she was good in battles, managing internal affairs was her weakness.

Without stabilizing one’s hinterland, how could one expand one’s forces?

However, in just a few years, An Cui’s forces, as well as the remaining of Nansheng, had all been swallowed up by this person.

Things had changed.

At the moment, Jiang Pengji had strong forces, and An Cui was by himself.

Jiang Pengji only needed to concentrate on stabilizing and developing her forces to keep her position secure despite the fierce battles going on outside.