Supreme Golden Palace

Chapter 185 Taking Advantage of the Situation (Part 1)

The bronze chariot rolled over the gravel road in front of the palace wall. Wu Wenhe lifted the blue silk curtain and looked up to see the vermilion palace gate wide open, with two rows of armored soldiers holding halberds standing in formation.

Upon reaching the palace gate, the carriage stopped. At Wu Wenhe's signal, the driver announced loudly, "Wu Wenhe, the Prime Minister of Xu, requests an audience with Jiao Bo."

Upon hearing the sound, the armored soldiers holding halberds in front of the palace gate straightened their backs. The brigade commander in charge glanced at the bronze chariot, and after confirming the identity of the person who came, he immediately turned around and went into the palace to report.

After a moment, a palace maid, supporting a candlestick, came out and said, "Prime Minister Wu has arrived late at night; His Majesty is already waiting in the Mingtang Hall."

Upon seeing the palace attendants come out to greet him, Wu Wenhe helped the carriage driver down and got out of the carriage. After getting out of the carriage, he raised his hand to adjust his hat and sash.

"Prime Minister Wu," a palace attendant bowed after Wu Wenhe had finished tidying his clothes.

"please,"

Wu Wenhe nodded and followed the palace attendants into the palace. The two walked through the winding corridors, and the copper bells on the eaves of the palace swayed in the night breeze. The vermilion doors of the main hall in front of them slowly opened, and warm yellow candlelight spilled out from inside.

Inside the Mingtang Hall, Jiao Bojiang Xia, dressed in a black robe, frowned upon seeing Wu Wenhe and said, "Prime Minister Wu, your arrival so late at night, could it be that something has happened in Xuchang?"

Wu Wenhe stroked his beard, his gaze sharpening slightly, and said in a loud voice, "Uncle Jiao, you are wise; something has indeed happened."

As he spoke, he took out a jade slip from his sleeve and presented it to Jiao Bo with both hands. The jade gleamed in the candlelight. He said, "A message from the Azure Bird: The four regional governors of the Ji clan—the Governor of Nan Yan, the Governor of E, the Governor of Qi, and the Governor of Yin—have formed an allied army and are stationed at the Ju River, intending to invade our country."

"The four-nation allied forces were utterly defeated by my lord at the gates of Xudu."

"Oh?"

Jiao Bojiangxia looked surprised. After taking the jade slip, he lowered his eyes and stared at the cinnabar characters on it.

"Amazing, truly amazing!"

After reading the jade slip, when he looked up again, a smile had appeared on his lips. He exclaimed in admiration, "To be able to defeat the four kingdoms of the Ji surname, Uncle Xu is indeed a young hero!"

Although the State of Jiao was located west of Henan and did not border the states of the Ji clan, it was aware of the power of the Ji clan states.

Of the two hundred states in Henan, the states with the surname Ji are the most powerful, a fact unanimously agreed upon by the two hundred states.

The fact that Xu Guo was able to defeat the four-nation coalition led by the Ji clan with the strength of a single nation was indeed beyond Jiang Xia's expectations.

Wu Wenhe said in a deep voice, "Uncle Jiao is too kind. However, the Ji clan and other powerful states are not willing to give up easily even after this defeat."

"Um,"

Jiang Xia nodded, her fingers tracing the edge of the jade slip. She looked directly at Wu Wenhe, somewhat troubled, and said, "Since Prime Minister Wu has said that the woman surnamed Ji is unwilling to settle this amicably, why has she entered the palace so late at night? Could it be that she has come to borrow troops from me?"

Wu Wenhe, with a respectful expression, bowed again and said, "Lord Jiao is extremely perceptive; this humble subject dares not presume to ask for your esteemed nation's military assistance."

"However, the foundation of the Xu Kingdom is weak. After four generations of chaotic rule, although the previous and current rulers have made efforts to govern and the country has recovered somewhat, there is still a huge gap between it and the four other kingdoms."

"Although the four kingdoms have been defeated, the Ji clan is still strong and its vitality remains. If the Ji clan were to start another war, the current strength of the Xu state would be insufficient to withstand the military might of the Ji clan states."

Jiang Xia seemed to be thinking for a moment, and said, "It is indeed not easy to fight against many people alone."

Wu Wenhe sighed, "Not only is it difficult, but the Ji family can easily gather eight thousand armored soldiers and three hundred chariots. Such resources are truly formidable." "Eight thousand armored soldiers and three hundred chariots,"

Jiang Xia muttered to herself, somewhat alarmed by the strength of the Ji clan states.

As the ruler of a country, Jiang Xia naturally knew the significance of eight thousand armored soldiers and three hundred chariots.

Among the four major states in the western part of Henan, led by Jiao, Dongliang, Xia, and Xi, apart from Jiao and Dongliang, the other two states would find it difficult to defend their ancestral temples and altars in the face of such military might without the help of foreign allies.

This is clearly not the true strength of the Ji clan states. If the Ji clan states were to raise an army again, it is uncertain whether the Xu state could withstand them.

The states of Henan were inherently stronger in the east than in the west. If the state of Xu were to fall, without Xu's restraint in the east, the states of the Ji clan would inevitably expand westward.

If the states of the Ji clan expand westward, the western states such as Jiao, Dongliang, Xia, and Xi will be the first to be affected.

Thinking of this, Jiang Xia's expression turned somewhat gloomy, and she said, "Minister Wu, you might as well speak frankly, what exactly do you want from entering the palace?"

"Since Uncle Jiao has spoken, then I will speak frankly."

Wu Wenhe's eyes burned with fervor, his fingers clenching slightly beneath his sleeves. He said, "The people of Xu dare to fight, and we need not send a single soldier from Jiao Bo to assist us. However, the foundation of the Xu state is too weak. If we want to resist the military might of the Ji clan states, we lack sufficient armor, weapons, chariots, and medicine."

"I wonder if Uncle Jiao could lend me something?"

The warriors of the Great Wilderness are all masters of the Yi Jin Jing (Muscle/Tendon Strengthening and Bone Tempering) technique. Their armor, chariots, and powerful medicines are all vital strategic resources.
Although the State of Xu has thirteen brigades of armored soldiers, it lacks sufficient armor, chariots, weapons, and medicine to maintain their fighting strength, which is a disadvantage for the State of Xu.

After pondering for a moment, Jiang Xia said, "Minister Wu, do you know that although Jiao Kingdom has a stockpile of weapons, they are not bricks and tiles that can be given away casually? If I were to lend you a hundred chariots and two thousand armors, how would Xu Kingdom repay me?"

Wu Wenhe said solemnly, “Your Majesty, I dare not speak falsely. Xu State is poor and barren, and has no precious treasures to repay you with. However, the principle of ‘if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold’ is something that Jiao Bo understands better than I do.”

"If Xu survives, the Ji clan's military might will point eastward, and Jiao can be assured of safety in the west. If Xu falls, the Ji clan's iron cavalry will surely trample through Xiaohan Pass, and Jiao will be the first to bear the brunt."

Jiao Bo was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter, his voice shaking the beams of the hall. He tapped the jade slip with his fingertips and said, "What a perfect analogy! Prime Minister Wu's mouth really makes the poor and shrewd people of Xu sound more precious than pearls and jade."

He leaned forward and said, "I ask you, if your lord is willing to cede a thousand households of his people, I will lend you two hundred chariots and three thousand armored soldiers, how about it?"

Wu Wenping said calmly, "Uncle Jiao, you are wise. Although the State of Xu is small, it regards its people as its own limbs. If we were to cut off our people to foreign lands, it would be no different from cutting off our own arm."

As he spoke, his gaze was intense. He said, "The hearts of the people are the foundation of a nation. If Jiao Bo causes the State of Xu to lose the hearts of its people, even if we gain chariots and armor, how will the State of Xu defend itself against the enemy?"

Jiang Xia raised an eyebrow, pointed at Wu Wenhe, and said, "Prime Minister Wu, you have neither family members nor valuable treasures, you're all talk and no action, yet you want to borrow half of my armory?"

Wu Wenhe took a half step back, bowed deeply to the ground, and said, "This humble subject dares to present the advantages and disadvantages to you. The armory of Jiao State is ultimately just a collection of inanimate objects. If we lend it to Xu State, allowing Xu State to contain the Ji clan states on the eastern front, Jiao State will be free from the threat of war in the west."

"Xu State is located on the eastern border of Henan and controls a vital passage. If the Ji clan expands westward, they will inevitably have to cross Xu State. With Xu State in front, Jiao State can simply sit back and watch the outcome."

Jiang Xia stared into Wu Wenhe's eyes, then suddenly slammed her hand on the table and stood up. Her robe sleeves caused the candlelight to flicker, and the copper bells on the beam of the main hall swayed with the sound.

He walked around the desk twice with his hands behind his back. Seeing Wu Wenhe looking down and remaining expressionless, he suddenly stopped and sighed, "What a fine way to sit back and watch the outcome!"

(End of this chapter)