Fire Nation, Guang Yin County.
This was the capital of the Fire Nation. However, the people in Guang Yin County were in a state of panic, and there were even signs of fleeing. Because during this period of time, there had been news that the Fire Nation had lost the battle with Xia Xia and that Xia Xia was going to attack.
In the imperial palace.
Chen Can sat on the throne with a cold and solemn expression.
His face was full of worry.
He had already arranged for Lan Jiuzhen to go to the Southern Nation for an alliance, but until now, there had been no news. Chen Can was also worried. Especially recently, there was suddenly news that Xia Xia was preparing to attack the Fire Nation. This made Chen Can a little worried.
The strength of the Xia Country was very strong.
It would not be easy for the Fire Nation to resist.
If it was in the past, Chen Can would be full of confidence and feel that he could fight with Du Qi. However, after the battle of Green Ox Mountain, Chen Can had seen the combat power of Xia Xia's army. He had lost his fighting spirit and was now filled with fear.
Thud! Thud!
A series of hurried footsteps were heard.
A chamberlain hurried in and reported, "Your Majesty, the Grand General requests an audience."
"Summon him!"
Chen Can ordered.
The chamberlain went to pass the order, and not long after, a general walked in.
This person was called Zhong Kui, a general under Chen Can. Chen Can had recently promoted him to the position of Grand General and held great power in the military. Because Lan Jiuzhen had left, government affairs were reported directly to Chen Can for the time being, while military affairs were reported by Zhong Kui.
Zhong Kui would also report some other matters.
Zhong Kui stood still after entering and reported, "Your Majesty, I just received news that Prime Minister Lan is dead."
"What?"
Chen Can immediately stood up when he heard the news. His face was full of anger as he said, "The Prime Minister was on a diplomatic mission. Why did he suddenly die? What's going on?"
Zhong Kui said, "The news I received was that the Prime Minister went to the Southern Nation in hopes of forging an alliance. But in fact, the Southern Nation directly detained the Prime Minister and then brought him to Xia Xia to ally with Xia Xia. Therefore, the Prime Minister was handed over to Du Qi. As a result, the Prime Minister was directly killed by Du Qi. "
After a pause, Zhong Kui continued, "This is the news that this subject has received from the streets. There was no official news for the time being. I just don't know if this news is true or false. "
Chen Can's face was filled with anger.
He was furious.
This was because Lan Jiu was really his strategist and someone he relied heavily on. All along, Chen Can's Fire Nation had very few civil officials, and the ratio of strategists was very small. Therefore, Chen Can hoped to strengthen the civil official system.
Chen Can was happy that Lan Jiu was capable enough to take charge of government affairs. But now, Lan Jiuzhen was actually dead. One had to know that envoys were not to be killed when two countries were at war. However, the Southern Nation's actions were too vile.
"Reporting!"
At this moment, the head steward of the Imperial Palace entered. He quickly came to Chen Can's side and whispered something to him.
It was the news of Lan Jiuzhen's death.
Chen Can waved his hand to dismiss the Minister of Internal Affairs. He then looked at Zhong Kui and said, "The news that I just received has already spread like wildfire in the city. Everyone is saying that Lan Jiuzhen has been killed. Furthermore, Xia Xia has formed an alliance with the Nan Nation and is planning to attack the Fire Nation. As the saying goes, there's no smoke without fire. Since the news has spread, it can't be fake. It must be true. The problem we're facing now is the pincer attack of the two nations. "
Zhong Kui said, "This King of the Nan Nation is really abominable. He's actually so treacherous. Your Majesty, if the two nations really attack us, it'll be very unfavorable for us. The pressure will be great. "
Chen Can said, "I know that too. General Zhong, what do you think we should do?"
Zhong Kui said, "Your Majesty, if we leave the Fire Nation to fight, it'll be difficult for us to deal with the pincer attack from both sides. But now, we can solve this problem. The reason is simple. We're fighting on our own land, so we can mobilize the local people and incite all the big families. We'll call on everyone to resist with all our strength. As long as they can eliminate the invading enemies, they'll be rewarded handsomely. Under such circumstances, even if the enemy comes menacingly, we can block them. "
Chen Can frowned slightly and said, "This strategy is not very good."
Zhong Kui was immediately speechless.
He had no problem with fighting a war. But he was not good at coming up with strategies.
Chen Can thought for a moment and ordered, "Men, inform Jiang He to come here."
"Yes!"
The chamberlain received the order and immediately went to summon him.
Jiang He was the Fire Nation's Minister of Personnel. He was in charge of the Ministry of Personnel and could be considered the smartest among the civil officials. But compared to Lan Jiuzhen, Chen Can felt that Jiang He was still a little lacking, so he directly appointed Lan Jiuzhen as the Prime Minister.
Jiang He was somewhat unconvinced by Lan Jiuzhen. But Chen Can supported Lan Jiuzhen, so Jiang He could only accept it. But Jiang He did not expect that Lan Jiuzhen would be killed on a diplomatic mission to the Southern Nation.
This was a good thing.
Without Lan Jiuzhen, he, as the Minister of Personnel, was the highest civil official.
He was the head of the civil officials.
Jiang He received Chen Can's summons and hurriedly entered the main hall. He bowed and said, "This subject, Jiang He, greets Your Majesty."
Chen Can waved his hand and went straight to the point. "Minister Jiang, I just received news that Xia Xia and the Southern Nation are about to join forces to attack our Fire Nation. How are we going to deal with the menacing two sides? "
Jiang He's eyes flashed and said, "Your Majesty, this subject has some thoughts about this matter."
Chen Can said, "Let's hear it. We need you to analyze the situation."
Jiang He said in a deep voice, "When this subject entered the palace, I heard rumors that Xia Xia and the Southern Nation are joining forces to attack. Obviously, there must be spies from Xia Xia or the Southern Nation in Guang Yin County. That's why the news spread all over the place in such a short time and countless people know about it. "
"So, it's very likely that someone will be secretly communicating with Xia Xia's people after the news spreads."
"We'll have to ally with Xia Xia or the Southern Nation early on to find a way out. So, we've chosen to beat them at their own game. We'll directly arrange for the local big clans to pretend that they're willing to submit to Du Qi. Once we go to war with Xia Xia or the Southern Nation, we'll have these people launch a surprise attack and deal with the enemy with us. "
Jiang He said, "We'll definitely be able to win if we work together from the inside and the outside. Of course, the most important thing is that we'll scheme against whoever arrives first and launches the attack. As long as we can work together from the inside and the outside, the Fire Nation's safety will naturally be alleviated. Nothing will be a problem. "
Zhong Kui said, "Minister Jiang's analysis does make some sense. But I think it's not easy to implement. After all, the battlefield is extremely complicated."
Jiang He flicked his sleeve and said, "What's so complicated about it, General Zhong? What we need to do now is to arrange for the local big clans to submit to us. We'll even arrange for them to deal with Du Qi's people first. When Xia Xia's army arrives, we'll let the big clans go and surrender. We'll take advantage of the situation and when Du Qi's army attacks, the big clans can directly submit and pretend to help the other side or open the city gates. In fact, they'll help us defeat the enemy. "
Zhong Kui listened and pondered for a while. He felt that this was the case. But when he thought about it carefully, the feasibility was very difficult. It was not easy to implement at all.
Zhong Kui said, "Your Majesty, this subject still thinks it's not worth it. It's even difficult to implement."
Jiang He glared at Zhong Kui and said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, there's nothing difficult to implement. Right now, it's definitely not suitable for us to go out and fight. Because we don't have enough military strength to resist the attack of two countries. So, the best way is to defend Guang Yin County and wait for Xia Xia's army to attack. Then, when Du Qi attacks, these people who have submitted to Xia Xia will pretend to open the city gates and lure Du Qi's army into the city. At that time, we'll ambush Du Qi's army and end the war in one battle. "
"Bullshit!" Zhong Kui said.
He directly stood up and looked at Chen Can, saying, "Your Majesty, this method is just bullshit. There are so many places and places in our Fire Nation. How can we just give them up? Once we withdraw and defend Guang Yin County, it's the same as giving all the local forces to Du Qi. At that time, if Du Qi fights steadily and surely and isolates us in Guang Yin County, we'll just be digging our own graves. So, in this battle, we still have to set up checkpoints at the border and resist at the border. "
Jiang He snorted and berated, "Zhong Kui, you're still a Great General in the army. Don't tell me you don't know Du Qi's military strength? Don't tell me you've never seen it with His Majesty. Oh, I forgot. You really didn't participate in it and just stayed in the country. You only had the chance to become a Great General after His Majesty was defeated at Green Ox Mountain. "
Zhong Kui was furious and said, "Jiang He, don't push it too far!"
"How am I pushing it too far, Zhong Kui?" Jiang He said. "You keep saying that you want to resist Du Qi's army and fight with Du Qi's army in the wilderness. The problem is, can you win by setting up your own camp? Du Qi's military strength is well known by everyone in the army and the country. It's impossible to resist it head-on. "
After a pause, Jiang He continued, "The most important point is that we not only have to consider Du Qi in the current situation, but also the Southern Nation's attack. If we send our troops to the border to resist Xia Xia's army, how can we resist when the Southern Nation's army comes? It's impossible to resist both sides at the same time. "
The more Jiang He spoke, the angrier he got.
He paced back and forth in the hall and then continued, "You, Zhong Kui, only want to show off your courage and not be a good-for-nothing. But you forgot that we can't be careless or willful in the current situation. "
Zhong Kui's cheeks twitched.
He was not a talkative person, to begin with. After being attacked by Jiang He's words and forced by the rapid barrage of words, Zhong Kui was rendered speechless and could only snort and say no more.
Chen Can heard Jiang He's words and sighed inwardly, feeling somewhat helpless.
Jiang He's words were to boost his opponent's morale.
The problem was that he had witnessed the Battle of Green Ox Mountain with his own eyes, so he knew how powerful Du Qi was. He also knew that it would be difficult to resist him in the wilderness. If the Southern Nation's army was not there, he would have taken Zhong Kui's advice and set up camp at the border to block them.
Even if Du Qi's army was powerful, he would still have to block them.
The problem was that the Southern Nation's army was still there.
It was impossible for Chen Can to fight in the wilderness and resist the attack of the Southern Nation's army and the Southern Nation's army. Therefore, Chen Can could only accept this matter.
Chen Can coughed twice. Zhong Kui and Jiang He stopped talking and just stood there.
Chen Can said, "The dispute between you two is for the future of the Fire Nation. There's no need to talk about it anymore. The dispute at the moment is nothing. There's no need to take it to heart. I think about it and agree with Minister Jiang's analysis. Now, we don't have the conditions and strength to fight against the State of Xia outside the city. If we want to resist the attack of the State of Xia and the State of Nan at the same time, we can only withdraw our forces and temporarily give up our local forces. Then, we can stabilize our forces in Guang Yin County. "
Hearing this, Jiang He glanced at Zhong Kui smugly.
He was very excited.
He was like a cockfight that had just won.
Zhong Kui snorted but didn't say anything. He was a soldier. Although he had made a suggestion, Chen Can didn't accept it, so he could only follow the arrangement and obey Chen Can's orders.
Chen Can continued, "Minister Jiang, you're familiar with the situation in Guangyin County. You'll be in charge of contacting the big clans in the city. You'll personally contact them and arrange everything properly. You have full authority to decide the terms of the promise. Even if you give a lot of benefits, it's fine. As long as we can get through this difficulty, everything is negotiable. "
Jiang He said, "Yes, Your Majesty!"
Chen Can was also a little tired at this time. He waved his hand and said, "You can all leave."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Jiang He and Zhong Kui walked out of the main hall together.
After leaving the main hall, Zhong Kui looked at Jiang He and said, "Minister Jiang, your suggestion and plan absolutely won't work. You'll only be lifting a rock and smashing your own foot by doing this. You'll be the sinner of our Fire Nation. "
"Hahaha …"
Jiang He couldn't help but laugh.
His laughter was very arrogant.
There was even mockery in it.
After Jiang He stopped laughing, he glanced at Zhong Kui and said, "Zhong Kui, Zhong Kui, I said you're a blockhead, and you're really a blockhead. I said you don't know anything, and you really don't know anything. I've already made the current situation very clear. Our Fire Nation has no choice but to borrow the strength of the big clans. Without this strength, it's impossible to resist Du Qi. "
"You think it's good to hold them back step by step, but the problem is that doing so will only consume our strength. Even if Du Qi eats away at our military strength bit by bit, it's absolutely not feasible. "
"I won't allow you to adopt this suggestion."
"Therefore, the most suitable strategy at present is to defend Guang Yin County and resist them. You're just a rash fool who can't see the situation clearly, so I won't bicker with you about it. "
"Let's wait and see," said Jiang He. "You'll know that this official's consideration is the most suitable strategy after we defeat Xia Xia and the Southern Nation's attack."
"You think too highly of yourself," said Zhong Kui.
"Since you don't trust me so much, why don't we make a bet?" said Jiang He.
"What kind of bet?" asked Zhong Kui.
A smile appeared on Jiang He's face and he said in a deep voice, "As long as this official can defend Guang Yin County and repel Xia Xia and the Southern Nation's army in this battle, you'll come to my place and apologize. If this official is wrong, then this official will apologize to you. "
"Alright!"
Zhong Kui directly agreed.
He raised his head and said in a powerful and resonant voice, "I hope this general will be the one apologizing to you."
After saying that, he left without looking back.
Jiang He looked at Zhong Kui's departing figure and smiled coldly. To him, he believed that as long as he acted according to his plan, he would definitely be victorious. It was impossible for him to fail.
Jiang He also left the palace.
He didn't go home, but went directly to the Pan Family in the city.
Guang Yin County's Pan Family wasn't a prominent family in the Great Qin Empire, but a hundred years ago, when the Great Qin Empire was rising, the Pan Family's ancestors took advantage of the situation and helped the Great Qin Emperor. Although he wasn't a prominent figure, he eventually retired from his position as the Minister of Rites and returned to his ancestral home, Guang Yin County.
Although the Pan Family no longer had an official, their influence was still second to none.
After all, they were a prominent family with a hundred years of history.
Jiang He led his people to the Pan Family's residence. The attendant knocked on the door. When the gatekeeper came out, the attendant said that the Minister of Personnel, Jiang He, had come to visit. The gatekeeper didn't dare to delay and led Jiang He into the residence's main hall, then went to the backyard to report.
Jiang He stood in the main hall with a confident expression.
Jiang He was confident that he could persuade the other party to stand on Chen Can's side.
After all, he was prepared to reward him handsomely.
At this moment, the Pan Family's Patriarch, Pan Xisheng, was sitting across from a young man in the backyard.
The young man was none other than Luo Binwang.
After arriving at Guang Yin County, he had been plotting to get more people to defect. At this point, Pan Xisheng was already on Luo Binwang's side and had been persuaded.
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