Upon hearing the elder's words, the ministers nodded in agreement, with most expressing their disapproval of Ximen Fusu's eastward expedition.

Ximen Fusu remained calm, a smile still on his face, and said, "Grand Preceptor, what do you think?"

Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes fell on Aragas's face.

Aragas nodded slightly to Ximen Fusu before saying, "Judging from the current situation, Wen Jin has swept through Guliang County with its entire army and arrived at Qingxia Valley with the force of tigers and wolves. Zhao Han's situation is very dangerous. However, Zhao Han has already destroyed Southern Zhou and is gradually recovering Southern Zhou's territory. The intelligence I received yesterday stated that while the Han Emperor was heading north, Xiao Luofeng, who was left in Zhou territory by the Han Emperor, recovered all the counties of Southern Zhou at an extremely fast pace, and all of them surrendered voluntarily without bloodshed."

"In the short term, even if the Jin army breaks through Qingxia Valley and even takes Changsui, the Han emperor can still move south to Zhou and cannot be destroyed. But in the long term, if Qingxia Valley is held, the Jin army will be forced to withdraw, but the Zhao Han, which has recovered Zhou, will become stronger and stronger. With this ebb and flow, it will only be a matter of time before Zhao Han destroys Wen Jin."

"This time, the Han emperor has devised a brilliant plan to seize this opportunity to destroy Wen Jin's stronghold and catch them off guard. If we help, the Han army will have a much greater chance of success, and we will reap the benefits we desire. If we stand idly by, we fear that when Zhao and Han destroy Wen Jin in the future, they will not be friendly to us."

Aragas raised his head slightly and said in a more serious tone, "No matter how you look at it, it's worth the gamble."

The Grand Elder said unhappily, “Grand Preceptor, this is just your personal judgment. Who can say for sure what will happen in the long term? What if the Jin army takes Changsui and Zhao Cheng is then rebelled against by the various counties of Southern Zhou after moving south? At that time, Wen Jin will become stronger and stronger, and with the ebb and flow, it will be Zhao Han that will be destroyed!”

Aragas calmly said, "We are in this position, and we rely on our personal judgment to influence the fate of countless people, but my personal judgment has always been quite accurate."

As he spoke his last words, Aragas glanced at Simon Fusu.

The elder's expression immediately turned rather unpleasant.

Because Aragas said his judgment was accurate, the Grand Elder could not refute it.

If my judgment were inaccurate, would I have given up my position as the Grand Preceptor of Abira to be labeled a traitor and help your Great Yue?

If my judgment is inaccurate, what supreme emperor of the Western Regions would there be?

Seeing that he could not win the argument with Aragas, the Grand Elder leaned closer to Ximen Fusu and softened his tone, saying, "Your Majesty, I am worried that if the situation I described really occurs, Wen Jin and Dayue are neighboring countries and will take their anger out on us, affecting our westward expedition strategy. Zhao Han is different; it is far from us, and even if we do not help them this time, they will not be able to defeat us."

"That's precisely why Dayue must go all out to help Zhao Han and seize this opportunity to destroy Wen Jin." Aragas slammed his staff on the ground and immediately said, "Only when our neighboring country becomes Zhao Han can we unleash our full power to unify the Western Regions!"

The elder asked doubtfully, "You trust the Han Emperor that much? I've heard he's a treacherous, vicious, despicable, and shameless person."

Aragas retorted, "Wenhu is a dragon slayer, isn't he!"

“There’s no need for you two wise men to argue,” Ximen Fusu said gently, raising his hand. “Both of your opinions are very meaningful.”

"Generals, why don't you two speak as well?" Ximen Fusu looked at Beido and Yelü Yan.

Bei Chong patted his chest heavily, his blond hair trembling, and said, "Who cares about east or west? Wherever His Majesty points, I'll shoot!"

Ximen Fusu smiled.

Yelü Yan bowed to Ximen Fusu and said, "I have never met the Han Emperor, but I tend to agree with the Grand Preceptor's opinion. Wen Hu is truly ruthless; he is capable of murdering the emperor, and now that he has seized control of the court, he is even more capable of doing so. As for the Han Emperor... although I have never met him, I am on good terms with Zhou Chuan. I trust anyone who can make Zhou Chuan serve him wholeheartedly."

Ximen Fusu laughed even more heartily, as if hearing the name Zhou Chuan brought him immense joy.

"The Emperor of Han sent President Yuan to see me in person, but he didn't actually come to discuss anything with me. I believe that President Yuan has already brought the Emperor's plans, and all I need to do is cooperate with him."

The Grand Elder immediately felt he had seized an opportunity and quickly said, "This is utterly unreasonable! Both His Majesty and Zhao Cheng are emperors, why should they take orders from him?!"

"Your Majesty, you are the supreme emperor of the Western Regions, you should refuse!!"

"Get Yuan Fei out of here!!"

Several officials agreed, but only a handful did.

Ximen Fusu put his hands behind his back and took a few steps toward the outside of the hall, saying, "Actually, I have already made a decision in my heart. The reason I asked you to express your thoughts is so that you can see the situation more clearly, because this is a matter of state."

"As for the personal matters involved, I must help."

The Grand Elder said in a trembling voice, "Your Majesty! The affairs of the state are of paramount importance!!"

Ximen Fusu said, "I am as close as brothers with Achuan, but do you think that my assistance to Zhao Han is solely for Achuan's sake?"

"The fact that Dayue was able to destroy Abil and Terentu, aside from my own abilities, is largely due to the contributions of the Grand Preceptor and Achuan. But Achuan's choice of me back then was not his own decision. The one who truly chose me and helped me was Zhao Cheng."

“He sent Yuan Fei because he firmly believed that I would agree, because this is something I owe him.”

"He treated me with trust, so of course I should reciprocate with trust."

"His Majesty……"

Just as the Grand Elder was about to speak, Ximen Fusu turned around and interrupted him: "The emperor's private affairs are matters of state, and there is no need to discuss this matter further."

"Aragas, Bedor, Yelü Yan."

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