Liu Zhang was not angered by her blunt statement that she wanted to deal with the Liu family. Instead, he smiled calmly and said, "I have never understood why the princess would go to such great lengths to deal with the Liu family and build another city.
Qiyun City is easy to explore and attack, and even if it is used to interfere with the Yanyang Army's baggage train later, the effect will definitely not be very good.
Moreover, if the real Nanguan City is lost, the northern part of the southern border will be paralyzed, and the loss of resources will be incalculable.
It is really puzzling that the princess would spend so much manpower and financial resources to build such a city."
"Master Liu, when you ask me these questions, don't you already have the answers in your mind?"
Liu Zhang walked to the table, picked up a pen and paper, and drew a topographical map of the area near Nanguan City.
Shen Xu followed him and lowered his eyes to watch him mark out cities and fortresses with a pen, and finally drew a cross on the mountains near Nanguan City.
"The history of the Southern Territory originated in the Xuchuan River Basin."
Liu Zhang pointed to a river on the map and said, "This is the Xuchuan River. It originates in the Western Wasteland and runs through the entire southern border. Nanguan City is a crucial hub connecting the Xuchuan River and the Xuchuan Mountains."
Shen Xu nodded, "So Nanguan City has always been a battleground for military strategists."
"But Nanguan City is also a very dangerous place. The princess's use of this double-city strategy can be said to be a double-edged strategy.
Firstly, the princess used the two cities to come up with a pretext to make Murong Yao, who was originally suspicious, determined to deal with the Liu family.
If the Liu family captures Nanguan City, there will definitely be someone who will stand up and call a horse a zebra, confusing right and wrong, intending to undermine their edge and cover up their achievements.
This caused dissatisfaction among the Western Wilderness Army, intensified the conflict between the emperor and his subjects, and hindered the pace of the conquest.
If the Liu family rebels immediately after conquering the southern border, their military strength will be weakened by the southern border. By then, the Black Sail Army, Lucheng Army, and Xiling Army can all come from behind and gain the upper hand, but it will still be a dead end.
If the Liu family fails to capture Nanguan City, then the danger to Nanguan City will be alleviated, and someone will definitely use this to hold the Liu family accountable, which will still weaken the Liu family as the main force of the expedition."
Shen Xu chuckled, sat down on the chair, and looked at him with interest, "What if the Liu family takes over Nanguan City and then recuperates and takes care of themselves?"
"The Southern Territory still has a chance to catch its breath. At the current rate of development, in a few years, Yanyang Nation will be like Yun Nation, destroyed by backwardness."
Shen Xu held her chin with her hand, a hint of admiration in her eyes. She retorted, "But using the double-city strategy to contain the Liu family won't solve the situation where the enemy outnumbers us. If a war really breaks out, the Southern Territory will still be at risk of defeat."
"I was puzzled before, until I saw this assassination list, then it suddenly became clear." Liu Zhang took out a piece of paper, which was the assassination list that Shen Xu gave to Lu Qian that day.
Her eyes lit up, and she asked with a faint smile, "What did you think of, Master Liu?"
"The deputy director of the Imperial Observatory, the director of the Ministry of Revenue, the doctor of the Ministry of Works... These people seem to have no connection, and their lives and deaths are insignificant to the party struggle between Xu and Liu. But what if we put them here?" Liu Zhang picked up his pen and circled several villages and towns outside Qiyun City.
"I found the place names outside Qiyun City very interesting: Ningxu Village, Pingxu Village, Anxu Dam, Taiping Beach, Fuchuan Town..."
"What's so special about it?"
"These place names were changed nineteen years ago, after the great victory in the attack on Yun State by Tingnan Hou. Their names seem to be a prayer for the calming of the Xuchuan River."
Chen Xu raised an eyebrow. "The area around the Xuchuan River has been free of disasters for over a decade, and is considered a fairly prosperous area in the southern border. Lord Liu, have you heard that a boat capsized in the river?"
Liu Zhang shook his head and replied, “Because after the war, someone opened three canals and built dams and dikes in these locations, solving the flooding problem of the Xuchuan River.
The people you want to kill include the officials of the Imperial Observatory who know the rise and fall of the tides, the head of the Agricultural Science Department who is responsible for recording, and the head of the Ministry of Works who is responsible for digging canals and building bridges...
The princess's double-city plan was to stir up conflict between the monarch and his ministers, causing Xu and Liu to fight each other and delaying the Yanyang army's attack on the southern border.
Regardless of whether it was the Liu family that captured Nanguan City, your two-city strategy would delay the attack on Fengming City. This is because everyone has a misunderstanding that capturing Nanguan City is equivalent to strangling the throat of the southern border.
Murong Yao thought that if he took over Nanguan City, the threat from the southern border would be smaller than that from the Liu family, and he would shift most of his attention to the Liu family.
So secondly, the princess killed these officials who were primarily responsible for climate, agriculture, and water conservancy in order to take advantage of the weather and delay the war until early summer next year, taking advantage of the rainy season to block the river, destroy the dam, and flood the army."
"Lord Liu is indeed the youngest Dali Temple Minister in history. His knowledge of astronomy and geography is truly impressive." Shen Xu clapped his hands in admiration and admitted, "I do intend to use the advantages of time and place to defeat the Yanyang Army."
Liu Zhang frowned. "But this Anxu Dam was built by your mother, who sold nearly 70% of her fortune and mobilized hundreds of thousands of people. It would be a shame to destroy it! Moreover, if the Xuchuan River bursts its banks here, all the villages and towns along the way will suffer, and the casualties will be incalculable!"
"The rainy season is not conducive to marching. Both the Black Sail Army and the Western Wilderness Army understand this principle, so how could they fall into the trap so easily? Blocking the river and destroying the dam, flooding the three armies is the worst option. You drew a cross here, and I thought you had already guessed it." Shen Xu raised his hand, took the pen in his hand, and circled the mountain range where Liu Zhang had drawn a cross.
Liu Zhang lowered his eyes and stared at the enemy circled by Shen Xu, puzzled.
"Qiyun City is called Qiyun City because of its unique geographical phenomenon. Whenever the weather turns cold, the city is often shrouded in smoke and clouds, hence the name Qiyun City. Did you experience the same feeling when you attacked Nanguan City some time ago?"
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