Sun Wen despised the fourth prince in his heart, but his expression remained calm and composed. It was as if he would remain unfazed even if Mount Tai collapsed in front of him.
The fourth prince seemed to have realized that he should not speak in front of Sun Wen and leave a frivolous impression, so he quickly changed the topic.
However, Sun Wen controlled the tempo and successfully led the topic to the border.
"Master Sun, in your opinion, how should we deal with the Liu family of Chongzhou?"
The fourth prince coveted Jiang Pengji, but he wanted to use his male identity to gain a sense of superiority and boost his confidence.
Returning to reality, he was only the son of a female slave. He had no right to speak to Jiang Pengji as an equal.
Sun Wen raised his eyelids and said calmly, "Does the fourth prince think that the most important thing now is to deal with the Liu family?"
The fourth prince's expression froze, and he looked puzzled.
"The Liu family has stationed troops at the border and looks like they're going to attack. Isn't that enough? Or do you think that we should first deal with internal strife? "
The fourth prince asked in a subtle manner.
Was it more important to deal with Liu Xi or to get rid of his brother who was competing with him?
Sun Wen smiled and asked the fourth prince, "If the Liu family sends troops now, how will the Northern Borderline respond?"
The fourth prince was speechless.
"She won't do that."
Even if the Northern Borderline was a starving camel, it was still much bigger than a horse like Liu Xi.
She was just a small duke, and she dared to attack the Northern Borderline?
Who gave her the courage?
Sun Wen asked again, "What if the Liu family does?"
The fourth prince said proudly, "If she dares to come, we'll accept her!"
Sun Wen smiled coldly, and the corner of his mouth curled into a mocking arc.
"Wrong. If the Liu family arrives, the Northern Borderline will be the one retreating."
The Fourth Prince flew into a rage when he heard this.
He was about to lose his temper when Sun Wen said calmly, "A horse plague destroyed most of the Northern Borderline's military strength. Wu Liba offered a plan to buy the mares from Cangzhou at a high price, hoping that the Northern Borderline would recover quickly. It's a good idea, but he forgot that buying the mares at a high price gives the Northern Borderline a chance to be reborn, but it also puts them in an irrecoverable situation! As long as the feudal lords of the Central Plains realize that the Northern Borderline is strong on the outside but weak on the inside, they will gather their troops and have another Huangshui Meeting. What will happen to the Northern Borderline then? "
The fourth prince's face darkened instantly.
Even though he was in the North borderline, he knew that the Huangshui Meeting had gathered 23 feudal vassals of Dongqing, totaling more than 400,000 troops.
Given the current situation in the north borderline, they really could not afford to offend them.
As the prince of the Northern Borderline's royal family, the Fourth Prince knew the internal situation of the Northern Borderline best.
Even though he kept telling himself that the cavalry of the Northern Borderline was invincible, after the horse plague, the cavalry had indeed been destroyed by seventy to eighty percent.
Without their cavalry, the advantage that the Northern Borderline had over the Central Plains would be greatly reduced.
In order to realize their ambition of conquering the Central Plains, the royal family of the Northern Borderline had put in a lot of effort for several years.
Now that he was at a critical juncture of recovering his vitality, he could not afford to make any mistakes.
'If word gets out at this time …' The fourth prince secretly clenched his fists.
"Liu Xi wouldn't dare to do that, and the other feudal vassals might not respond to her call."
Sun Wen poured a bucket of cold water on him. "That's not necessarily true. There's an old saying in the Central Plains — those who are not of the same race are bound to have different intentions. The threat that the north borderline posed to Dongqing could be seen just by looking at the four factions of Nanman and Nansheng. In order not to follow in Nansheng's footsteps, there will definitely be feudal lords who will respond. "
The Fourth Prince's face was as pale as a sheet of paper.
He followed Sun Wen's train of thought, and the more he thought about it, the more he broke out in a cold sweat.
Liu Xi was not a feudal lord who acted according to common sense. A few years ago, she had begun to station troops in Chongzhou, stocking up the fields and provisions, and was ready to fight.
It was hard to say if this madwoman would risk her life to fight to the death with the Northern Borderline.
Even though he was unwilling to admit it, the Han people did not lack madmen, nor did they lack the righteousness to sacrifice their lives for justice.
With their pride and integrity, even if the Northern Borderline respected the Han culture, they still could not understand the foolish idea of sacrificing themselves for others.
The Fourth Prince hurriedly asked, "Mr. Sun, you must teach me!"
Sun Wen smiled. "Of course."
He wore a smile on his face, but in his heart, he had cursed Wei Ci hundreds of times.
Wei Ci was a lunatic who even exploited the labor of an old man to the limit.
First, he had asked him to sow discord among the nine princes of the Northern Borderline. He had worked hard and lost who knew how many brain cells, but he finally saw results.
Before he had time to enjoy the fruits of victory, Wei Ci sent him another message.
This time, the content was even more outrageous. He was asked to help Liu Xi recapture more than half of Shangyu County, which had been occupied by the Northern Frontier for more than twenty years.
When the Northern Frontier invaded, the entire Shangyu County fell, and all six cities were lost.
Although Master Yuanjing went to the North borderline and took back three cities, there were still three cities in the North borderline's hands.
If they couldn't even take back these three cities, how could they talk about reclaiming the northern border?
When Jiang Pengji was worried, Wei Ci naturally tossed and turned restlessly in bed.
As a result, this big hat was placed on Sun Wen's head.
Go, Sun Zaidao!
(* * □ ′) * *
"Wen has a plan. We can sacrifice the rook to save the king, killing several birds with one stone." Sun Wen smiled meaningfully.
Killing several birds with one stone?
Fourth Prince bowed deeply and said, "Please enlighten me, Mister Sun."
After listening to Sun Wen's analysis, the Fourth Prince felt as if he had seen the sun.
Chongzhou had many soldiers and generals, and every one of them was an elite. There was even a rumor that this batch of elite soldiers had been trained for more than three years.
What did three years mean?
Regardless of whether it was the Central Plains or the Northern Borderline, soldiers who had been carefully trained for three months could be considered elite soldiers.
Soldiers who had been trained for more than three years, what should they be called?
The Liu family of Chongzhou was indeed a troublesome enemy.
If they were not eliminated, it would be difficult to rest easy.
"Fourth Prince, you also know that it is not advisable to start a war in the Northern Borderline now, but we cannot let Chongzhou see any clues." Sun Wen's deep voice traveled into his ears, like a teacher of an academy teaching earnestly. The Fourth Prince subconsciously straightened his back and listened attentively. "If that is the case, we might as well take another path and sacrifice the rook to save the king. Aren't the three cities of Chongzhou and Shangyu County the best candidates to be discarded? "
After hearing this, the Fourth Prince felt a wave of displeasure. He looked at Sun Wen with a suspicious gaze.
This Sun Wen before him was also a citizen of the Han family.
"Are you saying that we should abandon the three cities?"
Sun Wen acted as if he did not see the Fourth Prince's suspicion and wariness. He smiled mysteriously and said, "No."
The Fourth Prince's heart sank. He pestered him and said, "Please don't tease me. Just say what you have to say."
"To the Northern Borderline, the three cities are not even of any value."
The Fourth Prince interrupted him. "How dare you say that?"
A murderous intent emerged in his heart.
Sun Wen said, "I'm afraid the Fourth Prince doesn't know the situation in the three cities? The Han people have either escaped or died. At the very least, they have been captured and sold as slaves. The fertile fields are idle and no one cultivates them. The houses leak and no one repairs them. The city walls are deserted and no one guards them. Among the people in the city, how many Han people are doing business properly? To the Northern Borderline, how is such a place different from the slums? "
The three cities were already deserted and had no value. Even their strategic value was greatly reduced.
The once prosperous cities were now just places where the Northern Borderline's horse bandits or criminals hid.
The Northern Borderline was the same as the Southern Barbarians. Their nature of destruction and plundering was far superior to governance.
They would rob, kill, and plunder. The only thing they would not do was run properly.
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