Xie Yi was taken aback, staring at Jiang Yimian for a long time before realizing she wasn't joking, and then said, "Those river bandits used to cause trouble in small groups."
Groups of three or five can hardly be considered bandits; at most, they are bullies.
Even if they were successfully subdued now, they couldn't possibly grow to a large scale, so Your Highness needn't worry.
He assumed that Lu Cijian had gone with Zhao Zuo and the others, but Jiang Yimian was worried.
They had dealt with those river bandits many times before. Although they were treacherous and cunning, they were nothing more than a mob that could never amount to anything.
If they could find the bandits' hideout, they would have wiped them out long ago.
Jiang Yimian simply looked at the person in front of her and said seriously, "I'm not joking. Those river bandits might have been specially trained by the King of Chu."
The King of Chu is a treacherous and cunning man with a very deep mind; he would never do anything in vain.
If those river bandits were just a rabble, he wouldn't have gone to such great lengths.
Now, A-Jian's 20,000 garrison troops are not enough. If I don't go to help now, those 20,000 men will surely be wiped out.
At that time, not only the soldiers guarding the city, but also the people of Weizhou City will suffer.
"Your Highness, I know these words may be hard to believe, but now is not the time to hesitate. If we are even a step too late, it won't just be those 20,000 people who die, but also the people of Weizhou City."
Since the King of Chu has been planning this for a long time, he must have some significant schemes in mind.
If it weren't for sending Aguzan back to Tuyuhun this time, they wouldn't have come to Weizhou in a short period of time, let alone discovered what the King of Chu had hidden.
Now, before anything happens, there's still room for redemption.
Xie Yi remained silent for a long time, staring at the person in front of him for a long while before saying, "This is just your guess. How can I believe a guess without evidence?"
There are now fewer than 30,000 soldiers guarding the city, which is already a struggle to protect Weizhou. Not to mention the covetous Xiliang people outside, who will only be wary of Weizhou City for the time being because they have run out of supplies.
This is only temporary; we don't know when they will attack the city again.
If they choose to attack the city during the time you've taken away the city's garrison, what will happen to the city's inhabitants?
Tonight, whether we go to suppress the bandits or burn the grain supplies of the Xiliang people, it's already a risky endeavor.
If Jiang Yimian were to take another 20,000 soldiers with her, there would be less than 10,000 people left in the city.
Those people from Xiliang aren't fools; they'll definitely notice the anomalies in the city. At that point, Weizhou City will be nothing more than fish on a chopping board for the Xiliang people.
Jiang Yimian sighed deeply, "Your Highness, I hope you understand what I mean. We are facing not only the Xiliang people outside."
There were also bandits or elite soldiers whose numbers were many times greater than the twenty thousand.
If A-Jian's entire force is wiped out, the river bandits will surely seize the opportunity to flood into the city. At that time, they will be caught between the Xiliang army in front and the river bandits behind.
What use do you think the prince has for the 30,000 people in the city?
Rather than waiting to die, Your Highness, why not trust me this once?
Xie Yi just stared at Jiang Yimian, trying to see if there was anything wrong with her or if she had any ulterior motives.
Jiang Yimian looked at him calmly and said seriously, "I know you may doubt my motives, but I want to say that I do have selfish motives."
My selfish concern is for A-Jian and my friends; I don't want them to die in vain. I don't want them to sacrifice themselves when they had a chance to live.
The common people and the city guards—is Your Highness sure you want to watch them die like this?
Xie Yi took a deep breath and said after a long while, "Okay, if what you said is true, those river bandits are not just a rabble of 20,000, but if you transfer another 20,000 troops from the city, there will be less than 10,000 people left in the city."
What should be done about Weizhou City? At this moment, Weizhou City is a ghost town.
If those Xiliang people discover something is wrong and seize the opportunity to attack the city, Weizhou City will have no chance to fight back.
Weizhou City will fall just the same way, only this time it will be trampled by the iron hooves of the Xiliang people.
"Princess, think it over carefully. As a prince, should I gamble on your uncertain guess, or should I refrain from making any rash moves for now?"
He didn't know how to believe Jiang Yimian's unfounded guess.
Jiang Yimian stared at Xie Yi and said firmly, "Your Highness, believe me, Weizhou City will not fall, and the 20,000 men who went to suppress the bandits will not be wiped out. I will bring them back with me."
I can do it.
She knew that any promises she made now would seem too weak, but she couldn't just watch as A-Jian, Liu'er, Lin Yan'an, and the 20,000 city guards went to their deaths in vain.
Knowing that the bandits outnumbered them several times over, they were sent to fight for their lives.
She dared not think about what the price would be.
Xie Yi frowned slightly, looking at the dark sky above.
The sky was unusually dark tonight, with too many clouds obscuring the moon and stars.
He couldn't see the future of Weizhou City clearly, and he truly didn't know how to save it.
He used to think that as long as everyone in Weizhou could live a life where they had enough to eat and wear, that would be enough.
But then bandits suddenly appeared.
Fortunately, those pirates only hijacked merchant ships and did not harm ordinary people.
He simply dispatched the city's garrison to clear out the inhabitants, intending to guide them onto the right path.
But then suddenly someone appeared and gathered all the pirates together, and they started committing murder and robbery at sea.
He joined forces with the garrison troops of other cities to suppress the bandits, but they did not know where the river bandits were hiding.
The river bandits also learned to wage guerrilla warfare against them.
When the city's garrison was patrolling the sea, the pirates were unusually quiet and never showed up.
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