Jiaohua

Chapter 1653 Nie Huimo finally understands her

This doesn't sound like the truth.

No ambitious politician can be without the idea of ​​unification. Moreover, if her new policies in Ha-kyung are to develop in a long-term and healthy manner, the only thing that can be eliminated is Jin Hongkang, who is just across the mountain. She will not leave him unpunished.

But it's not that she's lying.

She has limited energy right now. The Northwest, Yong'an, Hejing, and Hengxiang all need her. Maintaining the current situation with Jin Hongkang is indeed the best solution.

She might have her own ideas, but she didn't want to tell him them.

And the word "politician"—

Nie Huimo scrutinized her closely; she was not even twenty years old, yet she had already risen to her current high position.

When he first met her, she was just a young girl. Now, he has watched her grow up step by step.

Because he had been watching her closely, Nie Huimo knew exactly what a remarkable person she was.

This was far more amazing than the stunning impression he had of her appearance, figure, and temperament back in Guzhao Gorge.

But does she really want to be a politician?
Too many people in this world start with lofty ambitions, only to fall into the quagmire of fame and fortune, their original intentions tarnished, and they become unrecognizable. But her eyes remained clear and bright, and even with absolute power in her hands, she did not ascend to the throne.

If she wanted to become emperor, no one would find it strange at all; on the contrary, they would think it was a natural thing to do.

The room fell silent.

Xia Zhaoyi looked at Nie Huimo with great patience and didn't say a word.

Zhili also looked at Nie Huimo, waiting to see what else he wanted to say.

Nie Huimo was wondering what to say—

Ask her where she's going next, ask her about her future plans, ask her why she doesn't want to be emperor?
Due to their identities and positions, none of these are appropriate.

He wanted to ask more about personal matters.

What is your relationship with Shen Lie? How far have things progressed between you? Do you have any plans to get married in this lifetime?

Obviously, that's even less appropriate.

Nie Huimo always felt conflicted and struggled with her.

Reason told him that there was no possibility between the two.

However, as a general, he couldn't help but pay attention to her every move.

Once he starts paying attention, the emotional thread he wants to sever will never be severed.

Nie Huimo suddenly thought of Shen Lie again. If it were Shen Lie, would he and Ali be able to talk about anything?

The tea has gone cold.

Nie Huimo finally gave up.

Despite all the ingenuity and cleverness, not a single word could be uttered.

Nie Huimo stood up: "General Ali, I have to go back. You've worked hard in the Northwest war, please take care of yourself."

Xia Zhaoyi nodded: "Alright, General Nie, have a safe journey."

As he stepped out of the study, Nie Huimo paused, turned back to look at Xia Zhaoyi: "...Ali, if I hadn't challenged Jin Hongkang, what would you have planned to do?"

Xia Zhaoyi paused for a moment and said, "The Yannan Army and the Hengping Army will split into two routes to attack Muye's Shuizhiyu County."

"What benefits did you promise Yun Bozhong that made him do you such a big favor?"

"No, I was just analyzing the situation with him; he's in a bad situation right now."

Nie Huimo was somewhat surprised and raised an eyebrow, saying, "Is he in trouble?"

Compared to Jin Hongkang, Nie Huimo regarded Yun Bozhong as a rival.

Although Yun Bozhong did not have a large army or territory, his troops were elite, capable of fighting wherever they were told, and extremely loyal.

Moreover, Yun Bozhong is not without the ability to expand, but he has not done so in recent years. He has only guarded his territory and managed it to make it prosperous and wealthy.

Yun Bozhong's strategists are all top-notch minds; not a single one is a reckless fool.

Even though Yu Zhenyao was a perennial loser, he was still a remarkable person with outstanding management skills.

Yun Bozhong's tactics should be conservative when necessary and aggressive when appropriate. He has the ability to win and the confidence to lose.

Such an opponent made Nie Huimo even more wary.

"Didn't General Nie notice it either?" Xia Zhaoyi asked.

Nie Huimo felt no shame and nodded generously: "Please enlighten me, General Ali."

Xia Zhaoyi looked at Nie Huimo, her gaze deepening, and slowly said, "Alright, then I'll start by talking about external matters."

She looked at Zhili: "Come here."

Zhili was not happy, and got up sullenly to help Xia Zhaoyi pull the vertical board over.

Nie Huimo's heart skipped a beat when she looked at him just now, but he quickly caught the fleeting glint in her eyes.

This brightness both pleased him and inexplicably frightened him.

Xia Zhaoyi pasted a map onto the vertical board and drew it with charcoal: "Song Zhiyi is dead, Yong'an is lost, and Jin Hongkang has suffered a great loss. His first priority is to regain his honor and boost morale. Everyone thinks that he will immediately attack Hejing, but in reality, Hejing is not easy to take. If he calms down a bit, he will find that if he attacks Hejing, he will not have the advantage of favorable timing, location, or popular support."

Zhili said, "That's right. If Hejing were so easy to take down, the dog emperor of Daqian back then wouldn't have chosen it as a hiding place."

Nie Huimo looked at the line she drew smoothly and said in a deep voice, "I understand now. Jin Hongkang only needs one victory, not necessarily Hejing."

Xia Zhaoyi: "Hmm, he won't target your Huazhou, because you can abandon it at any time. If he succeeds, rebuilding it will require a lot of effort. Tian Dayao, Jiao Jinhu, and Yun Bozhong are right between them. If he uses enough heavy troops to suppress Yun Bozhong and catch him off guard, do you think it will work?"

As she spoke, Xia Zhaoyi drew a circle above Yan Nan and Heng Ping with her last stroke of the pen.

Looking at the open space, Nie Huimo finally understood: "Yun Bozhong is extremely resilient. If Jin Hongkang launches a surprise attack on him, he will retreat immediately, but after regrouping his troops, he will turn around and fight back. However, the places Yun Bozhong can run to were originally the territory of the Daping Dynasty, but are now guarded by Shen Lie's Yan Army. Jin Hongkang was initially wary of Yun Bozhong invading Daping, but now he can kill two birds with one stone, letting Yan Nan, Hengping Army and Yan Army fight each other first."

Xia Zhaoyi nodded: "If Yun Bozhong runs towards Muye, Jin Hongkang only needs to send someone to Tian Dayao to spread rumors, which will be enough to make Tian Dayao take action against Yun Bozhong first. At that time, Yun Bozhong, who has lost Yannan and Hengping's rear base, can only try to survive between Tian Dayao and Jin Hongkang, and will eventually be swallowed up."

No one in this world understands Tian Dayao better than Nie Huimo. Given a chance, Tian Dayao can be so reckless that everyone is afraid of him.

Nie Huimo said in a low voice, "The Great Ping Dynasty belongs to Song Zhiyi. Now that it no longer has such a large territory, Jin Hongkang can act more freely and is no longer bound by constraints."

Xia Zhaoyi smiled: "Yes, like a caged beast being released from its cage."

With that smile, her eyes, dark and bright, shone brilliantly, making Nie Huimo's heart skip a beat again.

Even Ji Liang, who initially looked down on Xia Zhaoyi, had to take a closer look at her.

Nie Huimo said, "You just mentioned external affairs, so is there also internal affairs?"

“Yes,” Xia Zhaoyi redraws on the vertical board with her charcoal pencil, “this is also Shen Lie’s.”

The circle she made was originally for Ying Jinliang's fellow traveler.

The incompetent Ying Jinliang was removed from office and placed under house arrest by Shen Lie. Tongdu has now become the territory of Yan Jun.

Nie Huimo frowned: "The Yan army doesn't have that many troops, so they can put them in Tongdu."

"Yes, Yan Jun's forces in Tongdu are not a threat, but many people want to go to Hengxiang and Hejing. They are my two trump cards."

Nie Huimo understood once again.

In recent years, a large number of people have flocked to Hengxiang.

In some places with strict household registration management, many former scholars, even at the risk of being beheaded, would secretly leave their hometowns in the middle of the night to go to Hengxiang. Now, there is another place called Hejing.

Jin Hongkang's rule was strict, and with the mountains blocking the way, his people were trying every means to cross the mountains. Tongdu, which was so close to Yun Bozhong's territory and had open terrain, was hard for the people under Yun Bozhong's rule not to be tempted.

Nie Huimo sincerely said, "With these external factors, internal factors, and your eloquence, it would be difficult for Yun Bozhong not to be persuaded."

"He was also acting in self-preservation, taking the initiative rather than being passively attacked."

"So what about the future? You're allied with him now, how will you divide the world in the future?"

Xia Zhaoyi laughed: "Is the world like a watermelon, that you can just cut it in half with a knife and divide it up?"

"Otherwise what? Can you bear to watch the world fall apart? There will always be a need for unification."

Xia Zhaoyi put down the charcoal pencil: "I won't do anything to him, I want him to see how I do it, and the whole world can see how I do it."

Nie Huimo asked, puzzled, "...What do you mean?"

"Peach and plum trees do not speak, yet a path is formed beneath them. I manifest my virtue, and the world admires and follows my example."

Nie Huimo remained silent, staring intently at her.

Xia Zhaoyi's eyes were still bright and sparkling, and she was smiling.

Nie Huimo then realized why she had looked at him that way earlier, and why he was afraid.

She directly used a calculated strategy on him, completely open and honest.

These things will not only be useful to Yun Bozhong, but will also inevitably affect him in time.

The world and its phenomena are ever-flowing forward, and no one can resist the ever-changing allure of history.

Better paper, better ink, better fabric, better house-building techniques...

Water flows eastward, and people climb upwards. Looking at the long line of history, although there are ups and downs, there is never a complete downward trend; it only keeps climbing higher.

Nie Huimo looked at the girl in front of him. She was standing on that high place, waiting for Yun Bozhong, waiting for him, and waiting for Tian Dayao to go up as well.

Those who don't go up will be eliminated; she won't even need to lift a finger...

Nie Huimo suddenly felt that the trip had been worthwhile, and he was deeply moved.

After the initial shock came confusion.

Her scheme worked, because he had no idea what the future held for him.

Nie Huimo collected his thoughts and said to Xia Zhaoyi, "Ali, you are truly amazing."

Her world was far more expansive than he had imagined.

In such a vast and free world, could Shen Lie keep up with her every beat?

Thinking about what Shen Lie had done over the years, Nie Huimo felt a little sad. Shen Lie could do it, and he had always followed him.

Nie Huimo smiled, a light smile: "Ali, I have never admired anyone in my life, but you are the first."

Xia Zhaoyi smiled but didn't reply.

“I’m going back now,” Nie Huimo said. “Jin Hongkang has been busy lately, so I can’t stay away from the camp for too long.”

"Alright, General Nie, take care on your journey."

"General Ali, take care on your journey north."

Nie Huimo left decisively this time, without looking back. The lingering gloom in his heart seemed to be swept away by a gentle breeze.

This gentle breeze is none other than her.

Before riding away, Nie Huimo reined in his horse and looked back, taking one last deep look at the inn behind him.

Ji Liang and Jiang Yang remained silent, also gazing at the inn.

Nie Huimo suddenly said, "Ji Liang, why aren't you saying anything?"

After a long pause, Ji Liang said, "I don't know what to say."

Jiang Yang asked, "General, does Miss Ali have ambition, or not?"

Ji Liang looked at her husband: "What do you mean by that?"

"Isn't being an emperor all about enjoying yourself? If not, who would want to be an emperor? Being above everyone else, doing whatever you want, with no one daring to disobey—how exhilarating! That's why everyone in this world wants to be an emperor. But I think this girl, Ah Li, has chosen the most difficult path for herself."

Ji Liang seemed to be deep in thought, then turned his gaze to Nie Huimo.

Nie Huimo's dark eyes deepened. He paused for a moment, then slowly said, "This path may not be the one she chose."

Jiang Yang: "What?"

“I finally understand why, with her skills, killing Li Ju would have been a piece of cake, yet she didn’t do it back then…” Nie Huimo pulled on the reins and looked ahead. “Let’s go, let’s head back!”

Ji Liang and Jiang Yang exchanged glances, puzzled. They looked back at Nie Huimo and spurred their horses to catch up.

The next day, Xia Zhaoyi left only after all her subordinates had slept well.

She took all of Wen Baixi's portraits with her, looking at them whenever she stopped to rest along the way. After arriving in Ningzhou, she would have her subordinates send them to Hengxiang to have a large number of copies made.

Zhili and she were on different routes, although both were heading northwest, but they were on different county roads.

Li Xinya also left with Xia Zhaoyi.

After learning that Xu Fei was a female soldier in the Falcon Battalion of the Xia Family Army, she was so excited that she couldn't speak for half a day.

She was originally a woman from the Northwest who fled south due to the war and was repeatedly trafficked. During her journey, she had long heard of the Xia family's Falcon Battalion and yearned to join it.

Xu Fei reported this to Xia Zhaoyi, who agreed to let her join, but only allowed her to go to Ningzhou. She would have to go to Hengxiang first.

Because they were already skilled at horseback riding and had good stamina, Li Xinya, who had no training whatsoever, could not keep up with them and could not lead them.

After traveling for several days, they soon arrived in Ningzhou. On the night before they were to part ways, Li Xinya finally told Xia Zhaoyi what she had been holding back for the past few days.

Xia Zhaoyi had just finished bathing and was sitting on a large rock outside the back gate of the courtyard, drying her hair.

After hearing Li Xinya's words, Feng Ping, Yan Ziyan, Liu Qiaoyun, and others standing nearby all frowned.

Feng Ping said first, "General, why does this person's name sound a bit strange?"

Li Xinya whispered, "Once... I called her Ali, and she got really angry with me..."

"Pah!" Yan Ziyan cursed, "She doesn't even deserve to have that name."

Xia Zhaoyi said, "There are many people with the name 'Ali,' so don't be angry."

Feng Ping said, "General, Ding Shali, could it be that... this 'Sha'... is the 'Sha' in 'killing'?"

Yan Ziyan was furious: "Are you sure you want to kill Ali?"

After saying that, she slapped herself hard across the face: "Pah, what was I saying!"

"I told you not to be angry," Xia Zhaoyi chuckled, "You don't feel the pain, but I will feel it for you."

She looked back at Li Xinya: "She lied to you. Her name isn't Ding Shali; it's Chen Yunqi."

Li Xinya was stunned: "...What?"

Yan Ziyan and the others asked, "Who is this person?"

Xia Zhaoyi lowered her hand and said, "A girl who hates me to the bone."