Pei Zhiyuan stared at the water with cold eyes, and said in a calm tone, "If we can overthrow the Yanyang Kingdom through lobbying alone, isn't that too unrealistic?"
Jiang Yulou simply stared at him with interest, and after a while, he spoke: "Lobbying certainly won't overthrow a country, but internal strife will. Your Highness's plan to persuade the attack on Nanguan to submit a letter of surrender is a conspiracy against the Liu family.
Although I don't know what Your Highness intends to do, the Liu family is a century-old family in Yanyang Country.
Once the foundation is shaken, the very foundation of Yanyang Kingdom will also be shaken.
The division of the North Sea Kingdom is the bait set out by His Highness. No matter who takes the bait, the Haoyue Kingdom will be the one that benefits.
You want us to send troops to help you attack the North Sea Kingdom. Or you want us to fight among ourselves and weaken the strength of our Yanyang Kingdom.
Pei Zhiyuan turned to look at Jiang Yulou and said with a smile, "Marquis Guangcheng's analysis seems to make sense. Has your Majesty ever considered that perhaps I am trying to help the Southern Territory?"
Jiang Yulou chuckled contemptuously, "The Southern Territory is already at the end of its strength. After two years of fighting, the army of 300,000 is now reduced to 120,000. Tingnan Hou is old and now seriously injured, blocking the news. It's hard to say whether he has already died.
That kid from the Fu family and the Chamber of Commerce only know how to do business, and don't know how to march and fight, so they will never amount to anything.
Not to mention the 400,000 Western Wilderness troops pressing into Nanguan City, even if my son's 200,000 Black Sail Army were to attack, they might not be able to resist.
If Your Highness places all his bets on the Southern Territory, he will lose everything."
Pei Zhiyuan looked up with a bright smile, "Who does Marquis Guangcheng think Young Master Liu will bet on?"
Jiang Yulou smiled without saying anything, and gave him a look that said, "You understand it yourself."
"Speaking of which, Lord Marquis, you are the adoptive father of my princess's brother, so we are related. Regardless of who Young Master Liu will bet on, I would like to bet on Dongyi City."
Jiang Yulou was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "This Marquis does not like to make deals with greedy people."
"Jiang Yulou, more than twenty years ago, refused to be the guest of the Princess of Yanyang Kingdom, married a legendary local female general, inherited the title, and became the Lord of Dongyi City.
Before long, he used the local prominent Li family to kick out his wife, reorganized the Black Sail Army, and took sole control of the military and political affairs of the Dongyi.
Unfortunately, the Li family gradually became more powerful. Three years ago, you relied on the current emperor to wipe out the powerful Li family and take control of Dongyi City again.
Haven't you been making deals with greedy people, and you've always gotten rich, haven't you?"
The smile on Jiang Yulou's face gradually froze. It was obvious that he was very bothered by others exposing his secrets in this way.
Pei Zhiyuan sat down on the bench by the lake without caring, and said lazily:
"Marquis Guangcheng, the reason you stayed in Yong'an City is because Dongyi City, a small place the size of a palm, is no longer worthy of your attention.
This king loves to make deals with greedy people."
......
Nanguan City front line.
Song Lin and Ye Fan had just reorganized their army. They had captured several important ambush points outside the Nanguan City Walled City. Now they only needed to make a decisive move to break through the Nanguan City Walled City.
"Report, General, Fu Yi has rebuilt Qiyun City, thirty miles west of Nanguan City.
The city wall has been raised several feet, and the scenery at the city gate has been changed to resemble that of Nanguan City. Even the nameplate on the city tower has been changed to read Nanguan City.
Song Lin and Ye Fan were leading several Black Sail soldiers in the big tent to discuss launching a general attack. When they heard the report from the scouts, they immediately became confused.
"Could it be a trap?"
Several Black Sail generals also started discussing. Now that Nanguan City was in danger, and Fu Yi had spare strength, why didn't he just send troops to garrison Nanguan, but instead chose to build another city far away and disperse his troops?
Song Lin stood in front of the sand table, his amber eyes staring at the Nanguan City with a small flag on the sand table.
Ye Fan said, "This must be a deception. The siege plan for tonight remains unchanged. We will try to capture Nanguan City before dawn."
One of the generals advised with a hint of uneasiness, "General Ye, we know very little about Fu Yi. He's acting so strangely, it's definitely a trick. We should find out the truth before attacking the city."
Song Lin nodded calmly, "Well, if something is out of the ordinary, there must be something fishy going on. It's better to be cautious."
Everyone whispered to each other and pondered the intentions of the Southern Border.
At this moment, a messenger from the army came to report that the military report sent to the capital was intercepted halfway.
Upon hearing that the military report had been intercepted, several generals dared not act rashly and advised to postpone the siege.
Ye Fan, however, felt that the Southern Border Army had just suffered heavy losses in the ambush outside Nanguan. While they had no time to reorganize their deployment, now was the perfect time to capture Nanguan City in one fell swoop. He suggested that Song Lin not miss this opportunity.
Several generals advised him not to act rashly and to investigate further.
Fu Yi built another city thirty miles west of Nanguan City. What was his intention?
When the two sides have similar military strength and food supplies, a rash attack is not a good idea.
Song Lin finally gave up the attack on the city and ordered: "Explore the military situation again and keep an eye on Fu Yi's movements. Suspend the attack on the city tonight."
Several soldiers received the order and left the command tent.
…
Song Lin sat down at the desk, spread out the map, picked up the pen and began to think.
Ye Fan walked over and sat down at the side of the table. He said anxiously, "Brother Lin, this is a perfect opportunity to break through the southern border. Why don't you order an attack on the city?
Moreover, news has come from the capital that the Liu family has secured Liu Zhang. The Liu family is now at its peak, and if we can't make a contribution to counter them, avenging our father will be incredibly difficult."
Song Lin lowered his eyes and replied, "Although Fu Yi is a businessman, he is very cunning. He must have a purpose for building another city. We must be on guard."
"I think the Southern Territory has reached its end. Even if we build another city, it will only be a feint."
"Since we are at the end of our strength, it would be safer to fight again after we have found out the truth."
Ye Fan did not insist much. He had full confidence in Song Lin's ability in marching and fighting.
Moreover, Fu Yi went to such great lengths to change Qiyun City into Nanguan City, he must have his own intentions.
Song Lin looked at the mountains and rivers on the map and ordered the scouts to gather information about the area near Nanguan and Qiyun City.
Soon, news came from the capital again.
It was said that Young Master Liu had been released and was willing to make meritorious contributions while serving his sentence. He handed over the military defense map of Nanguan City and wanted to personally lead the troops to capture Nanguan City.
Lord Prime Minister Liu allocated 50,000 Western Wilderness troops to him, and they have already set out from the capital.
Upon hearing the news, Ye Fan could no longer sit still and was anxious to attack Nanguan City.
During this period of time, they have been fighting a war of attrition with the Southern Border Army. They are about to take the city in one fell swoop. How can they let Liu Zhang snatch all the credit?
"Brother Lin, order the attack. If Liu Zhang takes Nanguan City before us, won't all the credit belong to him?"
Song Lin's expression turned worse. How could the capital city safely hand over the military power to Liu Zhang and let him be the commander-in-chief to attack Nanguan City?
What if Liu Zhang turns against us and attacks from the south? Wouldn't the Black Sail Army be doomed to die without a burial place?
Thinking about the military report they sent to Yong'an City being intercepted midway, Song Lin suddenly felt that the situation had become complicated.
Could it be that the Liu family wants to take this opportunity to eliminate the Black Sail Army?
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