As the saying goes, know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.
The factor that determined the outcome of a war was not only the military strength of the two parties, but also the battle of information between the two parties.
Why were strategists so highly regarded in ancient times?
That was the key.
Those who were good at strategizing could accurately predict the enemy's mind, grasp the initiative, and determine victory from a thousand miles away, even with scant information.
In Jiang Pengji's opinion, these people not only had abnormally intelligent brains, but their analysis and deduction of the surrounding situation were also impressive. Others had only just seen the beginning, but their brains had already deduced the ending. That was the difference between ordinary people and strategists.
But what if there was detailed, accurate, and real-time information?
Even ordinary people could see some clues, and strategists were like tigers that had grown wings.
Therefore, if Jiang Pengji wanted to use Chongzhou as a foundation and then plot to conquer the northern borderline, she had to understand all aspects of the northern borderline in detail.
"I will personally write a letter to my father and ask him to send people to collect information about the northern borderline in advance …" Jiang Pengji said, "The royal family of the northern borderline and Dongqing have been united by marriage for almost three years. It's long past the honeymoon period. Next, it's time to reveal the true intentions."
The princess of the northern borderline, An Yina, married into the royal family of Dongqing. She did not have any good intentions.
Jiang Pengji was a witness to how she fooled around with the fourth prince, Wuma Jun, under the rockery before marriage.
If she sincerely wanted to unite by marriage and ease the relationship between the two countries, would she have cheated on her future brother-in-law?
She married the second prince and became his princess consort. She had stirred up a lot of trouble over the years.
It was a pity that the residence of the count of Zhenbei became the biggest cannon fodder.
Princess An Yina was indeed the pearl of the three tribes of the northern borderline. She was quite intelligent. After becoming the daughter-in-law of the royal family, she quickly grasped the position of the second prince, whose mother's family did not have a high status. She coaxed him into submission and turned him into her mouthpiece in the Dongqing court.
When Nansheng borrowed troops from Dongqing to repel the enemy, the second prince followed Princess An Yina's plan and recommended the residence of the count of Zhenbei.
Their reasons were also very legitimate and even irrefutable!
The descendants of the count of Zhenbei were good at war, and the old duke was a general who had never lost a battle. If they sent the elite troops of the count of Zhenbei to help Nansheng repel the enemy, not only could it show Dongqing's sincerity towards Nansheng, but it could also promote the might of Dongqing in front of other countries.
There was nothing wrong with recommending the residence of the Count of Zhenbei.
The problem was that the person who prepared the supplies was the Second Prince, and the military supervisor was a eunuch who had a deep grudge against the Count of Zhenbei!
The soldiers were fighting at the frontlines, but the rations at the rear could not be supplied.
The reinforcements who were supposed to cooperate with the operation were always late, the injured soldiers did not receive the care they deserved, and there was often a shortage of rations and horses …
The elites of the Residence of Northern Marquis were tormented by such a sinister little trick, causing them to be extremely exhausted.
In the last battle, the military intelligence was delayed, and seven or eight out of ten elites were lost!
The Count of Zhenbei, who had suffered a great loss, was not only reprimanded, but also demoted and stripped of the commander's seal.
Without the elite troops to rely on, and the commander's seal that even the officials were afraid of was taken away, the current residence of the Count of Zhenbei was already at the edge of a cliff, in imminent danger. Although it would fall at any time, it would be smashed to pieces.
If it weren't for the fact that the officials were afraid of their reputation, the residence of Count Zhenbei would have completely disappeared from Dongqing.
From this point of view, it seemed that Princess An Yina had done nothing, but Jiang Pengji did not underestimate her.
The princess's contribution to the current situation in Dongqing's court was indispensable.
Xu Ke furrowed his brows, leaving a few shallow wrinkles.
"The real intention is revealed?"
Jiang Pengji smiled coldly. "Isn't it? Most of the elites of the Count of Zhenbei have died in the battlefield of Nansheng, which is equivalent to cutting off 30 to 40 percent of Dongqing's military strength. The remaining military strength is concentrated in the hands of the officials, the Meng family of Cangzhou, and Prince Changshou. The three of them are not of one mind. "
"Langjun is right. Lao Ai has misunderstood."
Xu Ke sighed and raised his hand to rub his forehead. He followed Jiang Pengji's train of thought and analyzed.
"There are many internal conflicts in Dongqing. If there is a scuffle, the three tribes of the Northern Borderline can reap the benefits. At the same time, there is the threat from the south. Back then, the four countries rushed to Nansheng's aid. The four factions of Nanman took the opportunity to negotiate for peace and won two to three years of recuperation. Now that they have recovered, Nansheng ceded land to seek peace and lost a large piece of land. They have yet to catch their breath. How can they withstand the strong invasion of the four factions of Nanman? "
The four factions of Nanman had enough recuperation. Now that they had a strong army and strong horses, Nansheng was still struggling at death's door. The destruction of the country was close at hand.
If Nansheng fell, Dongqing would definitely face a pincer attack from the three tribes of the Northern Borderline and the four factions of Nanman.
There were many external threats and endless internal troubles.
With such a situation, anyone could imagine that Dongqing would be the next Nansheng!
It was a dead end with almost no solution, but Jiang Pengji wanted to find a way out of it!
"This is our chance, Xiaoyu," Jiang Pengji said calmly. "Success or failure depends on this."
Who said that the three tribes of the Northern Borderline would reap the benefits in the end?
To open up the situation, the only way was to destroy the three tribes of the Northern Borderline. This was the only way out.
It had to be said that this idea was extremely bold, but since Jiang Pengji said it, she naturally had the confidence to accomplish it.
The hinterland of Dongqing was mostly flat and suitable for cavalry battles. Overall, it was easy to attack and hard to defend. The three tribes of the Northern Borderline had many horse farms and cavalry. Once Chongzhou fell, the cavalry of the three tribes of the Northern Borderline would rush into Dongqing. Based on the current situation, Dongqing would have almost no power to resist.
If Jiang Pengji wanted to conquer the world, the three tribes of the Northern Borderline would be the best springboard.
Conquer the Northern Borderline, destroy Dongqing, resist Nanman, and even destroy Nanman, then contend with the other three countries.
To achieve this goal, she still needed an extremely important chess piece.
This chess piece must have the ability to help her restrain the nail that the three tribes of the Northern Borderline had planted in Dongqing — Princess An Yina.
"Everything is ready. The only thing left is the wedding of the fourth prince, Wuma Jun."
Jiang Pengji smiled mysteriously, but Xu Ke did not understand.
What did this have to do with the wedding of the fourth prince, Wuma Jun?
Just as he was about to speak, Jiang Pengji's eyes turned cold, causing him to subconsciously swallow the words in his throat.
After a while, footsteps were heard from outside.
"Langjun, everything is ready."
Taxue's gentle voice came from outside the door.
Xu Ke silently raised his eyebrows at Jiang Pengji and gave her a look.
His Langjun was really amazing. The footsteps were so far away, but she could actually hear them.
"Yes, I'm tired. Go and prepare some hot soup and clean clothes. I want to take a bath later."
Taxue bowed and said meekly, "Yes."
Jiang Pengji's eyes darkened. She stood up and took a box from the shelf in the study.
"Let's stop here. Next, it's time for private matters."
Jiang Pengji pushed the box in front of Xu Ke and gestured for him to open it.
Xu Ke opened it according to her instructions. There was no gold, silver, or jewelry in it. There was nothing valuable either. There were only two dark yellow bamboo slips.
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