Wasteland Commander

After Wang Dashan returned, he truthfully reported the situation of the Dawn Army.

Upon hearing Wang Dashan's report, the families in the Survivor Alliance exploded with anger.

They hadn't expected that right under their noses, a Dawn Army had somehow emerged.

This Dawn Army had hidden itself well, quietly establishing a large city without contacting any member of the Alliance.

This clearly showed they didn't regard the Alliance highly and had no intention of forming an alliance with them.

Immediately, two families proposed to send troops and capture the city of the Dawn Army, showing them the consequences of offending the Alliance.

However, the Wangbei Army did not agree with this proposal.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Wangbei Army, Zhang Zhiguo, had been unwell recently and didn't manage affairs much, leaving his brother Zhang Zhijian in charge.

Zhang Zhijian thought it was better to avoid unnecessary trouble, and according to Wang Dashan, the Dawn Army was not to be trifled with.

The other Alliance members had to consider the stance of the Wangbei Army, and since Zhang Zhijian had spoken, they decided to hold back.

Wang Dashan had mentioned the Dawn Army's strong defense works; without the Wangbei Army leading, they wouldn't stick their necks out.

Thus, after intense discussion, the Alliance reached a consensus.

Which was to follow Wang Dashan's initial plan, taking a dual approach.

Secretly send people to join the Dawn Army.

Publicly form an alliance with the Dawn Army.

Several members of the Alliance sent people posing as survivors, slowly advancing towards the Dawn Army's territory.

Some of these people brought gold and silver, and some did not, to avoid arousing the Dawn Army's suspicion.

The advantages of forming an alliance were clear: allies could enter each other's camp.

The hidden people would quietly arrange everything, choosing the right moment to attack together from inside and outside, to completely take down the Dawn Army.

Especially after the Dawn Army's broadcast, they felt the time had come.

The Alliance quickly responded in the broadcast, hoping the Dawn Army could consider the overall situation, think of the survivors, and join the Alliance.

In the apocalypse, unity is strength; uniting all possible forces to restore a civilized society is the Alliance's purpose.

They heaped big accusations on the Dawn Army, suggesting that refusal to unite would be their fault, and most people in Huacheng who heard the broadcast heard the Alliance's speech.

This was a battle of public opinion, taking the moral high ground first.

Thinking they held the moral advantage, Wang Dashan and a few others arrived confidently.

The Wangbei Army alone did not send anyone because they held their status high and couldn't proactively visit Ye Fan.

Even if a visit were necessary, it should be Ye Fan visiting the Wangbei Army to see the Zhang Brothers.

However, the other few Alliance members brought the Wangbei Army's goodwill, offering gold and silver should Ye Fan agree to join the Alliance.

The Huacheng Survivor Alliance had one hundred thousand people, scattered around Huacheng, making it easy to gather hundreds of kilograms of gold and silver by collecting most of the women's jewelry in the Alliance.

********

The vehicle arrived outside the city.

The members of several survivor factions sized it up for a while.

Seeing the Dawn Army's large city, they understood Wang Dashan's insistence on allying first, then attacking.

Attacking this city by force would be a tough nut to crack, likely even breaking their teeth.

This made them a bit envious.

Why could the Dawn Army, with so few people, build such a good city?

Each of the Survivor Alliance's six families had over ten thousand people.

The Wangbei Army had forty thousand people, making it the largest force in Huacheng.

Their territories might be considerable, but they paled compared to the well-planned city of the Dawn Army.

"You've all seen it, this is Dawn City, with their flag as a symbol, which their soldiers also have embroidered on their uniforms, making it very official,"

Wang Dashan introduced to the few survivors.

"It seems we're early; if we were even a month later, their outer city's walls might be fully built."

"Hmph! So what if the city is big, soon enough, it will be ours."

"Let's go down and have a look, it's our time to perform; although the Dawn Army seems impressive, they only have a strong city, lacking compared to us in other ways. Let's not undermine our Alliance's prestige."

The vehicle stopped in the construction area outside the Dawn Army's outer city.

The group got off one after another.

Wang Dashan approached the guarding soldier.

"I'm Wang Dashan of the Survivor Alliance, here today to invite your Dawn Army to join the Alliance. Is your Leader Ye Fan here?"

"Wait while I report."

The guarding Army Soldier turned and left, returning a moment later.

"You currently don't have an alliance relationship with the Dawn Army, so you can't enter the city. Wait here; our leader will come out soon."

The group tried to peek inside from the gate, but it was tightly closed; only a small gate opened occasionally but wouldn't let them near, so they couldn't see inside the city.

A few minutes later, the small gate opened.

A team of engineers came running out.

These people worked efficiently, quickly setting up a canopy outside.

With a table and chairs in place, a temporary negotiation venue was ready.

Then Ye Fan came out.

The guard platoon cleared the way, and today, everyone was not wearing camouflage uniforms, but regular uniforms instead.

Wearing regular uniforms felt more formal. Although it wasn't as casual as camouflage gear, it added a sense of formality.

The guard platoon stood around the negotiating table, and after a tight protection was formed, Ye Fan sat down in front of the table.

Wang Dashan and his companions simultaneously sized up Ye Fan.

A very young Commander-in-Chief.

But he wasn't an Evolver.

This made them somewhat look down on Ye Fan.

Probably a soldier who survived somewhere, perhaps a guardian of the armory?

Found some weapons to gather a group of people and now wants to reign and dominate here?

They should at least ask if the Survivor Alliance agrees.

Ye Fan spoke at this moment.

"Everyone, I am Ye Fan. It's been hard for you to come from afar, but after all, we are not yet in an alliance, so for now, you cannot enter the city. Whatever you have to discuss can be addressed here. Feel free to speak openly, and once we reach a conclusion, I will broadcast the results to all survivors in Huacheng to signify the agreement's effect."

Wang Dashan chuckled: "Leader Ye is indeed young and promising, straightforward. I enjoy dealing with people like Leader Ye. Since that's the case, let me get straight to the point."

Wang Dashan said bluntly, "From what we've gathered, the Dawn Army needs gold and silver, right?"

"That's correct, we need gold and silver jewelry."

"Alright, then our Alliance has decided to offer the Dawn Army one hundred kilograms of gold and jewelry, with the condition that the Dawn Army joins our Alliance."

Ye Fan nodded, "I agree in principle, but you haven't finished speaking. What else do we need to do?"

"Hehe, indeed, the gold and silver aren't free. Since you've joined the Alliance, you must abide by the Alliance's rules."

As he spoke, Wang Dashan took out a piece of paper.

"There are a few items here, Leader Ye, please listen."

"First, the Huacheng Survivor Alliance will give the Dawn Army one hundred kilograms of gold, and the Dawn Army will join the Alliance."

"Second, open Dawn City, allowing other Alliance members to conduct trade and commerce here."

"Third, because Dawn City is at the junction of three municipalities and the source of the Star River, due to its strategic location, the Alliance will dispatch no fewer than six hundred troops to help the Dawn Army secure the city's defenses."

"As long as the Dawn Army agrees to these three conditions, we guarantee that the Dawn Army's status in Huacheng will be stable, and Leader Ye's position will remain unchanged."

Wang Dashan's plan was clear. The most critical point was to send troops to assist in defense.

As long as they could send people in, his plan could be smoothly implemented.

With both overt and covert strategies, quietly controlling Dawn City shouldn't be difficult.

After listening to Wang Dashan, Ye Fan smiled: "Oh, send troops to help us secure the city's defenses?"

"Yes."

"And what if you can't accomplish this, say, under certain circumstances, you abandon the city and leave?"

Wang Dashan waved his hand: "That would absolutely not happen..."

"I said if," Ye Fan interrupted him.

Wang Dashan didn't expect Ye Fan to agree so quickly, so he immediately said, "Then Leader Ye, you say."

Ye Fan pointed to the third item: "This item needs to be modified."

He pointed behind him, towards a front city wall.

"You can send people to assist in defense, but they are limited to this front city wall and the Water Gate. Other areas are not under your jurisdiction."

Wang Dashan squinted his eyes slightly.

Ye Fan was too naive.

Did he think that by not opening the land gate, he would be free from worries?

The Water Gate was already sufficient to quietly transport weapons inside, and there were many in the Alliance proficient in water combat.

Young people indeed lack some seasoning.

"Alright, we can agree to that."

Ye Fan nodded, "Good, there's one more thing. If you ever abandon the city and leave, it would mean breaching the agreement. In that case, the Alliance must compensate us with five hundred kilograms of gold!"

"As long as you dare to agree and the first batch of gold is in place, I can announce to everyone in the Huacheng region that the Dawn Army is joining the Alliance."

Ye Fan leaned back in his chair, waiting for them to reach a conclusion.

Wang Dashan and his companions quickly deliberated.

Sending six hundred soldiers was just the surface plan.

In these few days, there would be over a thousand people infiltrating as survivors.

When they acted, they would quietly open the Water Gate, transport a large number of weapons inside, and their troop numbers would suddenly rise to nearly two thousand!

Occupying the front city wall, Ye Fan and his people would, in fact, be under their control.

Could Ye Fan really build another city wall behind them to hide?

As for his talk about abandoning the city, that was even more absurd and ridiculous.

They went through great efforts to come in, why would they abandon the city?

Did those foreign bandits dare to attack Dawn City?

Wang Dashan had seen those bandits before, a few dozen people, attacking Dawn City would be suicidal.

As for Ye Fan demanding five hundred kilograms of gold as compensation, they did not believe he would ever have that chance.

It seems this deal is done!