Conspiracy! This is a conspiracy!
The realization that he had been deceived left the ruler of Zhongshan feeling suffocated, as if in a vacuum. He immediately issued an order to halt the transport of grain to Yan!
However, when the granary official entered the palace to meet the emperor, he informed the ruler of Zhongshan that the last batch of 100,000 dan of grain prepared for the Rouran army's "invasion of Yan" had already been delivered across the border between the two countries that morning...
Upon hearing this, the King of Zhongshan coughed up a mouthful of blood, staining the table red!
In matters of national importance, supplies must be prepared before troops are mobilized.
In his letter to his brother-in-law, the King of Zhongshan, 'Young Master Luo' clearly stated: First, transport the grain and fodder over so that it can be used when the Rouran army attacks Dukang. Then, continue to penetrate deep into Yan territory without delaying either task. The main objective is a blitzkrieg!
What a brilliant idea of "not delaying either"!
What a brilliant blitzkrieg!
......
Enraged, the ruler of Zhongshan had the granary official boiled alive to vent his personal anger!
Then, he immediately mobilized all the troops in the country, and all men from 14 to 60 years old had to enlist!
He planned to take advantage of the terrain and fight Jiang Ming to the death!
In addition, he also ordered all the Zhongshan troops in the Qi allied forces to withdraw!
With the nation in peril, there's no time for any "befriending distant states while attacking nearby ones" tactics; saving our own lives is the most important thing!
Besides, three months have already passed.
The commander of Machú, Le Yi, was like a turtle shell, stubbornly blocking the advance of 400,000 troops!
The allied forces could not achieve the desired effect of "besieging Wei to rescue Zhao" at all!
Instead of leaving 30,000 men stranded on the front lines of Maiqiu, spouting nonsense every day, they should hurry back and save the country!
The Zhongshan Kingdom was able to stand firm in the Central Plains for a century not only because its people were united and adept at navigating complex situations, but also because of the easily defensible and difficult-to-attack terrain of the Taihang Mountains!
Wei Wushang, a minister of the Jin state, once commented that in order to conquer the Zhongshan state, the army should be at least 4 to 5 times larger to make up for the disadvantage of terrain!
However, it is impossible for the State of Jin to mobilize 500,000 troops just to destroy Zhongshan.
Otherwise, the Qin state to the west and the Chu state to the south are not to be trifled with, and they would definitely betray it.
The State of Zhongshan took advantage of this, sending many gifts to the States of Qin and Chu every year to maintain their close "friendship".
Right now, the enemy is coming from the north.
It's simply impossible to rely on the states of Qin and Chu!
The State of Zhongshan is fighting a desperate battle and has no choice but to bear it alone! Hopefully, the Qi-led coalition forces in Maiqiu can make a breakthrough!
......
Gu County, the prefectural governor's office.
Jiang Ming was studying the map... pondering how to conquer the Zhongshan Kingdom.
Ancient maps were like elementary school students' simple line drawings—completely inaccurate!
Jiang Ming, a special forces soldier and a top student at the National Defense University, meticulously redrawn a precise operational terrain map based on the geographical information he remembered.
He discovered that taking Gu County in Zhongshan State and conquering Zhongshan State were completely different things!
Although Gu County previously belonged to Zhongshan, it was located on the North China Plain and had virtually no natural defenses.
Further in, they would face the majestic and treacherous Taihang Mountains, as well as the easily defensible hills and valleys...
It can be said that the cost of destroying Zhongshan is extremely high, and if one is not careful, the whole game could be lost!
Therefore, we cannot use ordinary methods to destroy Zhongshan; we must find a method with the lowest cost...
Although Jiang Ming used Young Master Luo's name to extract as much grain as possible from Zhongshan, he also knew that the grain reserves in Zhongshan were enough to last for more than a year.
When the autumn harvest comes, we can replenish our supplies.
Therefore, the starvation tactic is useless...
The ruler of Zhongshan has probably realized the truth by now, so it will be difficult to deceive him again!
If we don't completely expose this bastard and let it hinder our actions, then assisting Le Yi in attacking Qi will be a real headache!
"Great Khan..." Dugu Yan suggested from the side, "Why not... unite with the Jin Kingdom and attack from both the north and south? This might prevent the Zhongshan Kingdom from coordinating its attacks from both ends, which would greatly reduce our army's losses!"
Jiang Ming ignored her, his expression showing some impatience...
Firstly, he was very angry with Dugu Yan!
This woman acted arbitrarily and actually killed all the Rouran people, young, old, women, and children...
With such a bad reputation attached to him, his success rate in "diplomatic warfare" against other countries in the future will be much lower.
Moreover, it instilled in the people of Zhongshan the determination to fight a desperate battle, making this war of annihilation a bitter one!
If it weren't for the fact that it brought back those 100 beauties that the Zhongshan Kingdom had 'given' to the Rouran... Jiang Ming would definitely have punished Dugu Yan severely!
Moreover, disobeying military orders is a serious crime in itself...
On the other hand, Jin had been defeated by Qin time and time again. At this time, it would be a pipe dream to expect Jin to help Yan attack Zhongshan!
Just as Jiang Ming was feeling extremely troubled, a servant came to report that Zhao Yong, a special envoy from the Jin Kingdom, was requesting an audience with the Prime Minister.
Upon hearing that Zhao Yong had arrived, Jiang Ming was very surprised. He immediately told Dugu Yan to retreat to the inner courtyard, and then personally went out to greet Zhao Yong.
That old fellow Zhao Yong, as a high-ranking official of the Jin state and the head of the Zhao family, didn't sit comfortably at home; instead, he spent his days running around, maneuvering among various states...
Jiang Ming never expected that he would come all the way to Gu County to find him!
Upon seeing Jiang Ming again, Zhao Yong beamed with joy and respectfully stepped forward with small, quick steps, bowing deeply to Jiang Ming!
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