The capital city.

Wuying Hall.

Li Xin, sitting on the imperial couch, held a memorial in his hand with a bright smile on his face.

Mr. Zhao,

Li Xin said with a smile, "The news from Guiling and Lingnan is truly wonderful! Yuan Weiwen, Gu Shisan, and Zhao Shuisheng have actually taken over Guiling and Lingnan provinces in such a short time. It's really unexpected!"

"That's really unexpected!"

Zhao Bingzhang nodded slightly and replied with a smile, "However, all of this was expected! After all, Li Ming's army is entirely concentrated along the Jianghuai line to defend against our Daiyue Province's army advancing south. Therefore, the forces in the southern provinces are extremely weak. This also benefits us in opening a second front in the rear and completely defeating Li Ming's army!"

"Nowadays,"

Zhao Bingzhang thought for a moment and continued, "We have already gained ground in Guiling Province and Lingnan Province. If we continue to send militia to various parts of the south, it will probably not be long before we occupy Fujian, Hubei and Hunan. The time for Li Ming's troops to be destroyed will be even faster!"

"No rush, no rush."

Li Xin waved his hand and said, "Guiling Province and Lingnan Province have just been recovered, and there are still many things to deal with. We must firmly grasp these two provinces before slowly advancing. Right now, Li Ming's troops and the Dian King's troops are like grasshoppers in autumn. How long can they keep jumping around?"

"That's true."

Zhao Bingzhang nodded slightly.

In fact, they all knew that it was only a matter of time before a major war broke out in the country.

The Li Xin of today is not the same Li Xin who was in Dongning back then!

Li Xin now commands a fully armed army of hundreds of thousands!

There are also hundreds of thousands of militia members!

And tens of millions of people who support Li Xin!

This is the source of Li Xin's confidence!

More importantly, Li Xin also possessed new weapons and equipment, steam engines, trains, and other new technologies.

These are all key to advancing technological development and enhancing our own strength.

With such a significant advantage, no matter how many alliances or united forces the remaining powers within the Great Gan Kingdom form, they are no match for Li Xin.

The only thing currently restraining Li Xin is the bandits on the northern grasslands, who are still lurking and fighting a major battle with his troops.

It was precisely the grassland bandits that tied down the energy of the Divine Might Army, Divine Resolute Army, Divine Protection Army, Divine Machine Army, Divine Strategy Army, Valiant Cavalry Army, and Flying Cavalry Army.

This prevented Li Xinteng from taking action and allowed him to focus all his efforts on dealing with the various southern tribes.

However, Li Xin was not in a hurry.

After all, the tactics of the militia and local garrison forces have already proven remarkably effective.

It is conceivable that as long as Yuan Weiwen, Gu Shisan, and Zhao Shuisheng continue to consolidate their power in the local area and gradually erode the south, one day, Li Ming's forces and the Dian King's forces will be completely wiped out!

"Over there in the south,"

Li Xin stretched and said, "We don't need to worry about it for now!"

During this period, just continue to draw militia from various parts of the north; leave everything else to Yuan Weiwen and his team!

After giving their instructions, Li Xin and the others continued to examine the other memorials.

Just then, a staff officer carrying a document strode into the Wuying Hall.

"Your subject Zhang Jingzhi pays his respects to Your Majesty!"

Looking at Zhang Jingzhi, the staff officer in front of him, Li Xin waved his hand and said, "Get up."

Zhang Jingzhi was an old man from Dongning. He came from a wealthy family and was educated. After joining the army in Dongning, he rose through the ranks. Because of his command and staff skills, he was selected by Li Xin and served by Li Xin's side.

Such a person is also the candidate for the organization that Li Xin plans to establish next.

General Staff Headquarters!

Currently, Li Xin commands a large army operating on multiple fronts and independently in various aspects. Naturally, a coordinating body is needed to comprehensively plan strategies and military operations across different regions.

"Jingzhi, come sit down and let's talk."

Looking at Zhang Jingzhi, Li Xin asked, "What's going on?"

"His Majesty,"

Zhang Jingzhi handed the document to Li Xin and said, "I just received news that a messenger from the King of Dian has arrived with a document. He says he wants to negotiate peace..."

"Peace talks?"

Upon hearing these two words, Li Xin couldn't help but chuckle. "Heh heh, this King of Dian really dares to dream! Doesn't he even consider the current situation before coming here to negotiate peace? He's truly indulging in wishful thinking!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Zhang Jingzhi smiled and said, "Our army in Guiling and Lingnan is advancing very quickly. The King of Dian is feeling the pressure! Especially Gu Shisan and his men, who annihilated more than 30,000 of the King of Dian's troops in one battle and expanded their forces to 50,000 or 60,000. I'm afraid the King of Dian is worried about his defeat, which is why he came up with this plan."

"His Majesty,"

Looking at Li Xin, Zhang Jingzhi continued, "We have a huge advantage and we must not leave any hidden dangers in various parts of Daqian. I think we can refuse the request from the Dian King's troops."

"We must refuse!"

Li Xin nodded and said, "Jingzhi, you'll handle this matter..."

"His Majesty,"

At this moment, Zhao Bingzhang, who was standing to the side, spoke up: "I don't think we can refuse directly."

"oh?"

Li Xin was stunned, and frowned slightly as he asked, "Mr. Zhao, what do you mean by that?"

"His Majesty,"

Zhao Bingzhang explained, “This matter is not merely about the surface appearance of peace negotiations; more importantly, it's about morality. The fact that the Dian King's forces have come to negotiate peace puts them in a morally superior position. If we were to flatly refuse their request, it would likely alienate the people. Therefore, I believe we can negotiate with the Dian King's forces regarding peace. If we accept their request, the moral high ground will be on our side. As for the negotiations, once we've presented our terms, whether the Dian King's forces accept them is their own business! Even if they reject our terms, it will be seen as a lack of sincerity on the part of them, and the people won't blame us!”

"oh?"

Li Xin frowned slightly upon hearing Zhao Bingzhang's words.

Suddenly, he remembered some things from later generations, and then nodded and said, "Mr. Zhao is right. We cannot flatly reject their request for peace."

"Jingzhi,"

Looking at Zhang Jingzhi, Li Xin instructed, "Then we will accept the peace request from the Dian King's forces and spread it through local newspapers, especially the Jiangnan Daily. We will also put forward our peace terms."

"Um,"

Li Xin thought for a moment and said, "As long as the Dian King's troops lay down their weapons and surrender, and accept our reorganization, and also hand over Dianchi Lake, Sichuan, and Guizhou provinces, and accept our takeover of their territories, we guarantee the safety of the Dian King and his family. That's it, send it out!"

Zhang Jingzhi quickly replied, "Yes!"