Joy of Life

“Since His Majesty has made up his mind to raise the strength of the entire nation on a Northern expedition, the Northern Camp is nothing more than a vanguard. In front of such a murderous invasion, even someone as powerful as Shang Shanhu can only choose to be on the defensive. This is dictated by national strength. It has nothing to do with the talents of individual generals.”

After all, Deng Zi Yue was an official of the Overwatch Council. Compared to Shi Chanli, he had a better grasp of the recent battle situation between the two great powers, Northern Qi and the Qing Kingdom. He looked worriedly at Fan Xian and said, “The Northern Camp has left Cangzhou. Northern Qi has retreated 300 li, but the blade direction means there will eventually be a great battle on the wasteland. Presently, the Northern Camp is temporarily resting its troops and gathering its strength, but there is frequent mobilization of troops inside Yanjing. It looks like the second attack is close at hand. Although Shang Shanhu has the taken the favorable location with that city, if Yanjing and the Northern Camp attacked from the west together, Shang Shanhu will probably have to be dragged into the battlefield.

“I don’t understand war, but I know that if the Emperor has truly made up his mind, no matter how talented Shang Shanhu is, in the end, he can only be worn down on the battlefield.”

Fan Xian lowered his head and looked at the silent cities on the map. In a slow voice, he said, “It’s very clear that although Northern Qi has prepared for this battle for many years, they are still no match of the Qing Kingdom in military matters. They can only hope to stall until the Qing Kingdom is tired. Shang Shanhu can wait, but the Emperor does not want to keep him company. Even if he does wait, the Emperor will be the final victor.”

Deng Zi Yue and Shi Chanli glanced at Fan Xian. The worry was abundant in their eyes. They were traitors of the Qing Kingdom, but they were Qing people, part of the third faction in the world. At this time, battle had been initiated between the two sides. Their position and identity were truly awkward. Furthermore, they still didn’t know what Fan Xian thought of this matter. Thus, the faction belonging to Fan Xian still made no move.

Fan Xian furrowed his brows slightly and used his finger to gently strike the position of the unnamed city. Thinking of the fact that Shang Shanhu was probably making preparations right now in the city that nominally belonged to the Song Kingdom, a powerful unease suddenly surged in his heart. He said, “If I was the Emperor, if I was truly short on time and did not want to wait with Shang Shanhu, the simplest way would be two send in two powerful groups of soldiers and choose one to go around behind the Song Kingdom. No matter how much Shang Shanhu wants to keep his knife sheathed…”

“But, if we want to go around behind the Song Kingdom, that is essentially asking for passage through Dongyi. Although Dongyi belongs to the Qing Kingdom in name, if the military were to enter into Dongyi territory…” Deng Zi Yue glanced at Fan Xian and said, “Presently, the Great Prince and the Black Knights are not in Dongyi. They’re on the border of the Liang and Song kingdoms. If the Qing military were to ask for passage, they would probably be met with a sudden attack.”

These words did not explain clearly because everyone in the secret room knew that Dongyi belonged to Fan Xian. As for what kind of attitude Dongyi would demonstrate in this battle that implicated the world and whether the Emperor would forcefully send soldiers into Dongyi, it was, in the end, a matter between the Emperor and Fan Xian, father and son.

“If, in the beginning, the Emperor did not send soldiers to attack Dongyi, this means he knows I’m not dead. He won’t choose this path in the future.” Fan Xian sighed and rubbed his worried brows. “Let’s not speak of this. it’s not something I can sort out. I only care about the situation in Jingdou and Jiangnan.”

As for those situations, they were all in the files Deng Zi Yue had brought. However, there was too much content, and Fan Xian didn’t have time to read through everything carefully.