Shen Qianxue's sharp gaze met the official's. "I know it's difficult, but what have you done? Because it's difficult, everything you do is difficult, so you simply don't do anything!"
Shen Qianxue had emphasized the importance of managing the post-war situation countless times and had considered many measures, but the results were always unsatisfactory. The reports always stated how difficult it was and how impossible it was to do.
Shen Qianxue was on the front lines, spending nine out of ten days on the battlefield or on his way to the battlefield. He was all alone and couldn't be in two places at once. He could only assign tasks, but there were very few people he could actually use.
Shen Qianxue had also told Zhou Ji to take charge of the aftermath, but Zhou Ji said he had to stay at the front line to resist the emperor's personal expedition.
Shen Qianxue could only fight the war while dealing with various problems that were reported to her.
I don't know when it started, but he has to make decisions on everything, big or small.
Apart from the attack on Zhuangjun.
The reprimanded official lowered his head, but his expression was indignant. He admitted that he had many difficulties. It wasn't that he didn't want to do it, but he had never thought about how to solve these problems.
Zhou Ji sighed, “I know there are still many problems with the post-war governance, but our food and supplies are relatively scarce, so it is indeed difficult to do so. We can’t just blame them. We’ll gather all the people in charge of post-war governance another day to discuss this matter. Today, we mainly need to decide on the direction of our attack: should we continue to attack the imperial court, or should we attack the Zhuang army?”
"Qianxue's words make sense, but just because we don't fight Zhuang Jun doesn't mean they don't want to fight us. Once they occupy the Northeast, their next plan will be to take over the Central Plains, right?"
"The Zhuang army was originally just a small rebel army that we and the court didn't care about, but now it has grown so strong, which is enough to prove that King Zhuang's ambition is very big. Just as Qianxue said, they have a million soldiers, how can they just guard that little place in the east? King Zhuang will definitely come to conquer the Central Plains, and at that time we will be completely passive!"
Zhou Ji easily dismissed what Shen Qianxue had just said with just a few words.
Shen Qianxue had a sullen face, and no one else dared to speak, for fear of angering him and being rebuked.
Zhou Ji glanced around and continued, "I know that Su Jinxia is Qianxue's fiancée. You have feelings for her and don't want to confront her directly, which is only natural. You've always been like this. But when it comes to the bigger picture, I have to say a few words to you. Romantic feelings will only cloud your judgment. Have you forgotten how she treated you in the battle of Fanping?"
Shen Qianxue believed that attacking the court and taking over the capital was the best course of action, based on the situation, but Zhou Ji's statement made Shen Qianxue appear to be acting out of personal favoritism.
Shen Qianxue frowned and said coldly, "I have long since severed all ties with her and have no connection with her anymore. I would never joke about war. Your Highness's words have chilled my heart for no reason."
"If you are truly heartless towards her, why did you go to the Northeast last time?" Zhou Ji's face also darkened.
Shen Qianxue's eyes changed slightly. Going to the Northeast was a secret operation, and she only took a few trusted guards with her. How did Zhou Ji find out?
Suppressing her doubts, Shen Qianxue looked directly at Zhou Ji and said, "I knew that Prince Zhuang's trip to the Northeast was related to the Hulin Army's expedition to Lishui, so I went to find out what was wrong with that."
“But I heard that you saved Su Jinxia in the snow mountain.” Zhou Ji said something surprising again. “Su Jinxia is the pillar of Zhuang Army. If she were dead, Zhuang Army would be vulnerable, and we wouldn’t be facing such a predicament now.”
The crowd stirred. Now that they heard this, it didn't seem like they had completely severed ties; they were clearly still connected.
Moreover, it seems that Su Jinxia no longer takes Shen Qianxue seriously, but Shen Qianxue still can't forget her!
"What are we going to do? What does the commander mean?" everyone whispered among themselves.
The bearded general, who had been holding back for a long time, suddenly stood up and shouted, "If the commander-in-chief is truly innocent, then we will immediately send troops to Lishui. She's just a woman, isn't she? I want to see just how capable she is!"
"Yes, let's send troops sooner rather than later."
“If we don’t take the initiative, Zhuang Jun will attack sooner or later.”
"As far as I know, not a single person from Lishui came out to attack the Northeast. So what were the troops from Lishui doing? Were they just preparing to fight us?"
"It's possible, it's very possible!"
Calls for sending troops to Lishui are growing louder.
Zhou Ji looked at the situation with satisfaction, his gaze indifferently fixed on Shen Qianxue. Now he had nothing to say.
Shen Qianxue remained calm and composed, like still water. He stood up and glanced at everyone, who immediately fell silent.
"Since you suspect that I still have feelings for Su Jin, you won't feel at ease even if I send troops to fight. In that case, I will stay out of it. Whether to fight or not, and how to fight, is up to you. I won't say a word more."
After saying that, Shen Qianxue lifted her foot off the table and walked out of the hall.
The crowd looked at each other in bewilderment. Of the more than one hundred battles fought by the Ji Army, nine out of ten were fought by Shen Qianxue. If he didn't fight, then who else could defeat the Zhuang Army?
Among the soldiers, there were several of Shen Qianxue's confidants who only recognized her. Now they finally found an opportunity to say something, "General Hu, why don't you go and fight?"
General Hu, the burly man with the thick beard, immediately felt guilty. "I... I don't know Su Jinxia's style of doing things either..."
"She's just a woman, General Hu doesn't need to take her seriously. We believe General Hu will definitely be able to conquer Lishui!" The man chuckled and lifted General Hu up.
General Hu's face flushed with anger. "I'll fight if I want to! I refuse to believe it! Even if Su Jinxia is the Lord of the Glass, she's only capable of one person. Fighting a war relies on military strategy. My Ji Army soldiers are all veterans of countless battles. How could we be afraid of them?"
"Your Highness, I am willing to request troops to attack Lishui!"
Zhou Ji looked at the figure that had already disappeared at the door and sighed, "Let's disperse for now. General Hu and I will discuss the rest privately."
Shen Qianxue strode back to her courtyard and stopped at the door, calling out, "Qu Yi."
Qu Yi appeared.
"Come in with me."
Shen Qianxue pushed open the door and entered, followed by Qu Yi.
Shen Qianxue went to the desk, ground the ink and laid out the paper. Then she wrote a letter, put it in an envelope, sealed it with wax, and handed it to Qu Yi. "Go in person and make sure to deliver this letter to Su Jin."
A short while later, Qu Yi came out of the room and summoned the guards.
"I'm leaving for a few days to deliver a letter to Lishui. Five of you will come with me, and the rest of you will stay with the lord." Qu Yi casually gestured to five of his trusted confidants and gave them instructions.
"When are you leaving?" one of them asked.
"We'll leave first thing tomorrow morning!" Qu Yi replied, then added, "The six of us will rest tonight so we can set off tomorrow."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
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