knife

Chapter 622 A Grand Scheme
Han Zheng was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, pacing back and forth outside.
He would occasionally peek inside the room to see Li Dachui, Jiang Qian, He Jiong, and the others quietly discussing things over the sand table.

He couldn't help but be anxious.

Because he had just received another message from Ruyin County today.
The situation at the front is quite unfavorable.

Xiang Ying's attack was divided into three routes.

The northern route was the main force, led by Na Wei with 40,000 southwestern wolf soldiers and nearly 20,000 county soldiers, as well as more able-bodied men, to attack Ruyin from Luling County, which was the territory of Han Zheng's father.

On the southern front, Xiang Ying led 20,000 elite Chu troops to attack Yong'an.
The other force was Chen Yan's navy.

The situation is perfectly clear.

Na Wei, the main force on the northern front, occupied Ruyin and then attempted to connect with He Zudao's territory.

Xiang Ying on the southern front is a diversionary tactic.
Chen Yan, on the other hand, must win by water.

And now, He Zudao is finished.

Chen Yan also suffered a crushing defeat and fled for his life.
However, Ruyin County was in grave danger under Na Wei's fierce attack.

Therefore, Han Zheng believed that the next priority should be to concentrate forces to save Ruyin first. Xiang Ying, who came from Tongan County, should be thinking about how to protect Tongan from being taken over by the enemy.

But now, what he sees, hears, and participates in is telling him one thing: that's not how things are arranged above.

"Han Zheng, you're making my eyes dizzy!" Jiang Qian scolded from inside the house, "What is it? Come in and talk!"

Han Zheng hopped into the room and bowed with his hands clasped. He said in a hurried tone, "Your Majesty, Protector Li, I was rude. But I received news today that the situation in Ruyin is truly dire!"

He Jiong glanced at him and said unhurriedly, "Little Han, judging from your tone, you think we're not as well-informed as you. Do you think we don't know what you know?"

Han Zheng opened his mouth, then stood there dumbfounded.

Of course not.

The problem is, now that you know, why don't you do anything about it?

People are dying every day in Ruyin!

He Jiong looked at Han Zheng, whose face was turning red and white, and said, "Prefect Han put you here so that you could learn something from Protector Li and Miss. Putting everything else aside, at least you need to learn to be calm and composed. No matter what happens, you must be able to stay calm. If you can't stay calm and panic first, what can you accomplish?"

"Uncle He is right, I know I was wrong!" Han Zheng swallowed and said softly.

Li Dachui smiled and smoothed things over: "Xiao Han, we need to look at things from a longer-term perspective. If we only focus on the present, we won't achieve anything great. Ruyin is indeed tense right now, but why haven't your father and Kang Zhen said anything yet?"

"I am foolish and ignorant, please enlighten me, Protector!"

Li Dachui waved to him, "Come here!"

Han Zheng walked up to the sand table, which was filled with colorful flags, representing the distribution of power between the two sides, making it dazzling to look at.

"Why should we abandon Nanyang?" Li Dachui asked. "Because we cannot deal with a simultaneous attack from two sides!" Han Zheng said, "By relying on the strategic location of Xiangfan, we can hold off the enemy with very few troops. Our focus now is on dealing with the imperial court's attack."

“That’s right, the conflict between us and the State of Chu is irreconcilable!” Li Dachui said. “After Li Guohua of Luoyang occupies Nanyang, he will definitely launch a probing attack on Xiangyang. If the attack fails, he will back down and turn back to manage Nanyang. They will be watching this battle between us and the State of Chu with the mindset of sitting on the sidelines and watching the tigers fight! Who wins or loses is actually irrelevant to them. They would prefer both sides to be severely injured!”

Han Zheng nodded, but still felt a little awkward hearing Li Dachui refer to Chu as "Chu Kingdom".

“Defeating Na Wei is not difficult!” Li Dachui continued, “Chen Yan has fled, and the remaining Chu navy is no longer capable of competing with us. Winning this battle is easy, but what’s next? Xiang Ying will surely regroup and come again. As long as Jiang Jiang is still around, Xiang Ying will keep launching attacks against us.”

"Yes! That's why we must eliminate their fighting force!" Han Zheng said. "Strike them so hard they won't dare come back!"

Jiang Qian shook her head: "A person like Xiang Ying will only become more courageous after setbacks. How could he be afraid of difficulties and not move forward? Moreover, given the size of the Great Chu, although he failed this time, it won't be long before he organizes more troops to attack again!"

“He might even collude with Linghu Ye and Li Guohua, ceding Ruyin and Yong'an to them in exchange for a two-pronged attack! If that happens, we’ll have a hard time dealing with it!” Li Dachui added.

"Cease land?" Han Zheng's eyes widened. "Xiang Ying is a hero, would he do such a thing?"

"Compared to the harm Jiang Jiang poses to the State of Chu, what do these two counties mean to him?" Li Dachui laughed.

"So we should concentrate our efforts on eliminating Xiang Ying first?" Han Zheng pressed. "Once Xiang Ying is dead, we'll be safe."

The current deployment in Yong'an is aimed at striking at Xiang Ying's forces.

“Xiang Ying is a master of innate level, how could he be killed so easily?” He Jiong laughed.

"so what should I do now?"

"Easy, defeat Xiang Ying and significantly weaken his strength!" Li Dachui said with a smile. "But as for Na Wei, we will only defend and not attack. Once Xiang Ying is defeated, will Na Wei still dare to challenge us in Ruyin?"

"Of course not, he'll definitely run away!" Han Zheng shook his head.

“Yes, once they all return to Danyang, Xiang Ying’s strength will have been greatly diminished, while Na Wei’s strength will remain formidable!” Li Dachui looked at Han Zheng and asked with a smile, “Then do you think, given Na Wei’s character, he would still be willing to be bossed around by Xiang Ying?”

Han Zheng's eyes widened suddenly: "You mean, they'll fight for power and have internal strife!"

Li Dachui nodded and said, "That's human nature. Now that Na Wei has entered the inner circle, he's naturally unwilling to be subordinate to others, especially when he has a chance to control the government. Faced with Na Wei, who has become too powerful to control, what will Xiang Ying do?"

"It's hard to say!" Han Zheng said. "Besides, wasn't it said that Na Wei was going to become the emperor's father-in-law? But now the young emperor is dead!"

“The young emperor is dead, but a new emperor can be established!” Jiang Qian said, “However, once the new emperor is established, Na Wei will definitely force Xiang Ying to fulfill his previous promise. But at this time, Na Wei’s military strength is already superior, and he has become the emperor’s father-in-law. It will be even more difficult for Xiang Ying to control him. So I’m afraid the new emperor will be difficult to produce!”

Han Zheng finally realized: "If the new emperor is not established for a long time, then Xiang Ying's intention to usurp the throne will be confirmed invisibly. Within the Great Chu, the undercurrents opposing him will probably grow more and more! Brilliant! This is a grand strategy. Even if Xiang Ying and his men know that we want to do this, they still cannot change the course of events and can only move forward step by step."

Li Dachui laughed loudly: "That's roughly how it is. In this way, Danyang will be too busy to bother us, so we can concentrate on dealing with Li Guohua in the north while working hard to manage the six towns in Jiangnan and Yong'an and Ruyin. If there's an opportunity, we might as well try to expand southward."

"Understood!" Han Zheng nodded and said, "However, Ruyin has suffered a great loss this time!"

"There's nothing we can do about it!" He Jiong said. "You can't have it all. If you gain something, you'll inevitably have to give something in return."

(End of this chapter)