knife

Chapter 576 New Ideas

Han Zheng knew very well that joining forces with the Beiting Protectorate was the best option for them at the moment.

Because Beiting is still very far away from them.
This ensures that they will have more power and more initiative in the upcoming cooperation.

If they perform well enough and possess sufficient strength before the Northern Protectorate completely defeats Linghu Ye, they will have a greater say in the process of unifying the world in the future.

As for joining Linghu Ye, it's hard to say. Linghu Ye is too close. Once He Zudao falls, the two sides' control will be connected. Although they can have stronger support to fight against the Chu army's conquest, Linghu Ye will also have to divide and infiltrate them. If he doesn't handle it well, they will be swallowed up as a force and left with nothing.

As for joining forces with He Zudao, that's out of the question, because that would be courting disaster.

Don't be fooled by the fact that He Zudao seems to be doing well now. Once Linghu Ye or Li Dachui achieves final victory, He Zudao will have nowhere to stand.

He Zudao couldn't even control his own destiny, so what was the point of allying with him?

Only by uniting with the Beiting Protectorate can they gain the most advantage.

Besides the benefits mentioned above, another advantage is that they can use the navy to obtain what they need from Shu County.

Although Xiang Ying and his men used Chen Yan to gain control of a portion of the Chu navy, the navy under Wang Dao's command is no less powerful than Chen Yan's.

However, Shu Commandery also has a navy. Wang Dao clashed with them this time and did not gain any advantage, which shows that Shu Commandery's navy is also very powerful. With a powerful navy that can control the waterways, the military supplies and even food that Yong'an Commandery and Ruyin Commandery lack can be sent down the river.

If the two prefectures are in dire need, the military forces of Shu Prefecture can come to their aid.

Han Zheng said this to Li Dachui simply because he didn't want to appear weak before the negotiations began.

Even if you feel incredibly guilty inside, you must pretend to be exceptionally tough.

This way, we can gain more advantages in the subsequent negotiations.

"Empress Dowager!" Han Zheng bowed deeply in respect.

Jiang Qian waved her hand: "I'm not the Empress Dowager anymore, Han Zheng. I was worried you wouldn't come! Seeing you, I finally feel a little relieved! I didn't misjudge you after all."

Han Zheng smiled and said, "After the Empress Dowager escaped danger, she went to He Jiong's place first instead of mine. I was a little jealous!"

Jiang Qian laughed loudly: "We came here first to stabilize the Tiger Army here! I'm worried that if the news gets out and the Tiger Army becomes unstable, we'll have far fewer bargaining chips!"

"Your Majesty's concerns are absolutely correct. In the current situation, the army must first stabilize. As long as we win a few more battles, everything will be much easier!" Han Zheng said.

"Did you enter the city with Li Dachui today?"

"Yes, it was quite a coincidence, we ran into each other outside the city!" Han Zheng said. "We chatted for a while, and he truly lived up to his reputation."

"First he brought down the Northern Yuan, then he scattered the Qin state, and now he's causing internal strife in Chu. This man is a scourge; wherever he goes, he brings chaos!" Jiang Qian said irritably. "My biggest regret now is that trip to Luoyang. If I hadn't met this man and made his acquaintance, I wouldn't be in this predicament now!" Han Zheng looked at Jiang Qian. The usually composed Empress Dowager was now somewhat flustered. Clearly, this Li Dachui had left a deep psychological scar on her.

“This man’s cunning and scheming are indeed terrifying!” Han Zheng said. “But I heard He Jiong talk about the Cloud Mist Mountain incident. Your Majesty, the failure in this matter was not because you are not as good as this man, but because of fate! Who could have imagined that what Qingfeng left behind hundreds of years ago could become the key to Li Dachui’s reversal of defeat? This is probably what they mean by ‘Man proposes, God disposes’.

Jiang Qian sighed: "There's something else He Jiong hasn't told you, right?"

"What's going on?"

"I'm no longer some kind of innate master!" Jiang Qian said.

"Huh?" Han Zheng was taken aback.

"All my cultivation has been destroyed in an instant! It all benefited that Li Dachui!" Jiang Qian said, "This person has cultivated the Qi of Heaven and Earth, which completely suppressed my Phoenix Fire. In our battle inside the mountain, all my Phoenix Fire cultivation was absorbed by him!"

"It was sucked away?" Han Zheng was utterly shocked. "This, how is this possible? How did they do that?"

"Because the Phoenix Flame was separated from the Qi of Heaven and Earth. The reason why Ancestor Qingfeng separated the Phoenix Flame and the Moon Essence Weak Water was for this very reason!"

"Is it really that strange?"

"It's not so strange. Although my cultivation was absorbed, the Phoenix Flame still left behind a seed!" Jiang Qian said, "It's a seed that has been tempered by the Qi of Heaven and Earth. Do you know how fast I am cultivating now? In a year at most, I can recover to my previous level. Moreover, that door has already been opened. The rest is up to my accumulation!"

"So, it seems that the Empress Dowager will be able to travel to the heavens in just a few years?" Han Zheng was both surprised and delighted.

“You don’t need to be so happy, because Li Dachui will most likely be faster than me!” Jiang Qian said.

Han Zheng sighed, "I truly didn't expect that you and Li Dachui would have such a connection? In that case, you and he have mutually benefited each other. Once two Divine Travel Masters appear in our ranks, haha, I'm afraid our opponents will truly surrender at the mere mention of their names!"

“Becoming a master of innate abilities is easy, but reaching the Divine Travel Realm is something that can happen quickly or it can take a lifetime!” Jiang Qian shook her head and said, “Major national affairs can never be based on the level of an individual’s martial arts. Wasn’t He Qingqiu besieged and killed back then?”

Han Zheng smiled bitterly: "Look at what the Empress Dowager said. It's easy to reach the innate level, but I haven't even reached the ninth rank of the Profound Origin level yet."

“You are not known to the world for your martial arts!” Jiang Qian comforted her with a smile. “For you, martial arts is just a way to strengthen your body. Think about Wei Zhengdao and Xiong Yi. They were also not familiar with martial arts, but they were still among the top people of this era!”

"If possible, I would still like to do both things well, but I'm currently powerless to do so, so I can only give up one of them. I'll just console myself with that thought!" Han Zheng laughed. "Your Majesty, when I entered the city with Li Dachui today, I was questioning him about what kind of guarantees he could offer us if we wanted to join him. Now it seems I was overthinking it! Since Your Majesty has such a connection with him, I have another idea!"

"What are your thoughts?" Jiang Qian asked.

"Since the Empress Dowager is no longer the Empress Dowager, is it possible for her to form a marriage alliance with the Northern Court?" Han Zheng asked in a low voice.

(End of this chapter)