Chapter 91

It seemed as if Liang Ziyue had heard Zhang Weixin's inner thoughts. He had been deep in thought, head down, without voicing any opinion, but now he lifted his head, cleared his throat, and said, "I have a few words to say. First, I think Ba Ge's suggestion has some merit. If we only consider the current state of our team and our environment, it is indeed a good strategy. However, I believe we should look at things with a developmental perspective and think further ahead. Yes, we have made significant progress in Liangxiang, gaining support from local forces and the protection of the government, making it seem like we are thriving. But have we considered that although Liangxiang is good, its scale is too small, and the development space it can offer us has reached its limit.

"Let's not even talk about Liangxiang; even the entire Nanjing Youdu Prefecture is just a small part of Chinese territory. We must not confine ourselves to this limited space. In the future, we must expand outward and develop our cause throughout China. Within the scope of Youzhou, the local government and forces might still provide us with some limited support. But what about outside Youzhou? What about the areas controlled by the Han regimes to the south? In this era and society, it is impossible to operate a business, especially a large one, without the support of local forces and the government. A large business without a backing is like a fat and lonely sheep, always at risk of being slaughtered.

"Indeed, Liu Yunyan and her 'Feiyan Hall' are not organizations that can be easily taken seriously. However, from Yang Xiaojun's description, their scale is quite large, almost covering all the regions controlled by Han regimes, and they are now beginning to infiltrate the Liao territory. I believe that an organization of such scale must have a powerful backing, and I even suspect that it is an official secret organization of the Later Zhou court. Although Liu Yunyan's methods are somewhat despicable, her goal is to complete her mission, not to harm our team. Moreover, if she can use us, why can't we use her in return? If we can establish a connection with the official authorities of the Later Zhou through her, it will greatly benefit our future development.

"Regarding the concern that we might be targeted by the Liao government for participating in the Later Zhou's secret organization, I believe that as long as we are careful, there won't be any major issues. 'Feiyan Hall' has already reached its current scale, so they must have considerable experience in dealing with government inquiries. I think the reason Liu Yunyan is seeking our cooperation is not because she can't handle the Liao government, but because as a foreigner from an enemy country, she finds it difficult to establish a foothold here. She wants to use our connections with the local 'gangsters' to establish ties with local forces, making it easier for her to complete her mission.

"Even if we could eliminate Liu Yunyan and her few subordinates now, who can guarantee that another Zhang Yunyan or Li Yunyan won't replace her? At that point, we might become a thorn in the side of 'Feiyan Hall.' Being enemies with such a large organization would be very detrimental to our team's development. That's all I have to say. I hope everyone can think carefully about whether what I've said makes sense."

Liang Ziyue's words indeed had an effect, and a brief silence fell over the meeting. Then, Fan Wucheng, who had initially been opposed to the cooperation proposal, was the first to change his mind. As the head of the trade group, he was most concerned about the team's commercial development. The pros and cons that Liang Ziyue had mentioned would have the greatest impact on the commercial sector he was responsible for. Deep down, he was most unwilling to limit the team's development to a small area; his grand ideal was to expand business globally. After careful consideration, he found Liang Ziyue's arguments very convincing.

Thus, after consulting with Xie Tian, who was also attending the meeting, Fan Wucheng was the first to express his support for Liang Ziyue's suggestion. With Fan Wucheng leading the way, the atmosphere in the meeting began to shift, and more people started to agree with Liang Ziyue or Zhang Weixin's proposal. Seeing this change, Wang Xiaojun also timely expressed his support for Zhang Weixin and Liang Ziyue. With Wang Xiaojun's statement, the situation finally turned completely, and except for a few members, including Xu Shaowan, everyone agreed with Zhang Weixin and Liang Ziyue's proposal. This way, the proposal to cooperate with 'Feiyan Hall' was officially approved by the expanded committee meeting. However, considering the importance of this matter to the team's future development and its relevance to all members, at Zhang Weixin's request, the committee decided to refine and modify the proposal before submitting it as a formal motion for discussion and voting at the general assembly.

Subsequently, after notifying and contacting everyone, the committee gathered all the team members living in 'Qingyuan' and communicated with the留守组 (留守组 means "留守组" in Chinese, which can be translated as "留守组" in English, but it is better to use "留守组" in this context to maintain the original meaning) at Feilong Fort and those still on the road, such as Tang Chao and Wang Feng, via radio. They informed everyone about the content of the motion, allowing for thorough discussion and analysis before holding a general vote.

The voting results brought a great relief to Zhang Weixin. Although a few members still opposed it, the motion was successfully passed and became a formal resolution. According to the resolution, the committee officially named the cooperation with 'Feiyan Hall' as 'Expansion Operation No. 1' and established the 'Expansion Operation No. 1' Executive Committee, with Wang Xiaojun serving as the chief coordinator. Zhang Weixin, Liang Ziyue, Xu Shaowan, and Fan Wucheng were appointed as members of the executive committee, responsible for specific tasks. All functional groups within the team were obligated to support this operation. Additionally, Wang Xiaojun was responsible for approving the operation's funding, while Hong Yan was in charge of disbursing and auditing the funds.

The next morning, under the protection of Wu Peng, Zhang Weixin went to Huatian Tower to inform Liu Yunyan of the team's decision through Yang Xiaojun, so that both sides could quickly discuss the details of the cooperation.

Zhang and Wu didn't have to wait long at the base of Huatian Tower before they saw Yang Xiaojun's figure appearing in the distance, which relieved Zhang Weixin, who had been worried about Liu Yunyan harming his lover. Yang Xiaojun clearly saw Zhang Weixin and immediately quickened her pace to reach the tower.

Although Zhang and Yang had many things to say to each other, they both knew it wasn't the right time. Zhang Weixin didn't linger at the tower and took Yang Xiaojun and Wu Peng directly into Liangxiang City, to the same small restaurant where they had first met. They still booked the only private room. Wu Peng guarded the door outside the private room as he had done before, while Zhang Weixin took Yang Xiaojun inside and told her about the team's decision, proposing some preconditions for the cooperation, which she was to relay to Liu Yunyan.

These conditions were added during the discussion and modification of the resolution. The first was to establish direct contact with Liu Yunyan, rather than communicating through Yang Xiaojun. This would save time and deepen mutual understanding, reducing distrust. Zhang Weixin clearly stated to Yang Xiaojun that this condition was a prerequisite for their cooperation with Liu Yunyan, and if she refused, all cooperation would be off the table.

The second condition was for Liu Yunyan to lift the personal threats against Yang Xiaojun and her family and not to restrict their freedom of movement for any reason. Zhang Weixin emphasized that this was a test of Liu Yunyan's sincerity in cooperation. If she couldn't meet this condition, it would have a negative impact on future cooperation, possibly even making it impossible to proceed.

After listening, Yang Xiaojun said with some concern, "Brother Xin, based on my understanding of Liu Yunyan, she might accept the first condition. But the second one... she might find it very difficult to agree. After all, my family and I are her most valuable leverage. If she gives us up, and you and your brothers turn your backs on her, what can she do to you?"

Zhang Weixin smiled and said, "Sister, don't worry. Since we proposed these conditions, we have already considered Liu Yunyan's possible reactions. I can assure you that as long as we show our willingness to cooperate, she will agree to our demands. For her, using you and your family to pressure us is just a temporary measure, a last resort to establish contact with us. It's not a good strategy. Once we show our willingness to cooperate, she will find other ways to demonstrate her strength and build our trust in her and the organization she represents. After all, it is she who is eager for cooperation, not us, so she will make the necessary compromises."

Seeing Zhang Weixin's confident demeanor, Yang Xiaojun's worries eased, and her expression relaxed. She said, "Since Brother Xin says so, I have nothing to worry about. I only hope that this cooperation goes smoothly, so that I can soon be out of danger and stay with Brother Xin forever, never to be separated again."

Hearing this, Zhang Weixin pulled Yang Xiaojun into his arms, gently stroking her back, and comforted her, "Don't worry. No matter what, Brother Xin will save you this time. Even if it means facing a mountain of knives and a sea of fire, nothing will stop me. Even if Liu Yunyan refuses these conditions and abandons the idea of cooperation, I won't let you stay in danger. Although the organization behind Liu Yunyan is large, in Liangxiang, she doesn't have the final say."

Zhang Weixin's words were firm and powerful, and by the time he said the last sentence, Yang Xiaojun could sense a faint hint of killing intent. She was somewhat surprised, not expecting the usually gentle and refined Zhang Weixin to have such a strong side. However, she didn't dislike this strength; on the contrary, it made her feel more secure. At that moment, she leaned against Zhang Weixin, her head resting on his strong chest, listening to the strong beat of his heart, and her previously anxious heart finally calmed down completely.