Under one person: I, Zhang Zhiwei, the arrogant Zhang.

The Grand Master's words greatly surprised Matsui Iwane.

Although he had already vaguely guessed that Prince Fushimi's personal visit to the front lines might be due to some kind of trump card, or even a legendary artifact.

But hearing it with my own ears at this moment still deeply moved me.

But then the terrifying image of the lightning incarnation during the battle at Tiantong Church flashed through his mind, slaughtering everyone as if they were nothing.

In this light, deploying such a powerful weapon is quite reasonable.

Faced with such an inhuman being, without the aid of a divine artifact, he truly couldn't imagine which expert from Japan could reliably defeat him.

"Lord Miyaji, when do you plan to take action against the Tentong Church?" Matsui asked respectfully.

Although Matsui looked down on Prince Fushimi, this naval idiot, he still respected the Grand Master.

It wasn't just because of the high religious status of the Grand Master of Ise Grand Shrine, but also because this old man was once a highly decorated army general.

Matsui believed they were from the same system, and that the Grand Master was his senior, so he should respect him.

The Grand Master waved his hand and said calmly, "No rush. We've come here with the power of the divine artifact, so we can't possibly fail. Therefore, this battle must be fought in full view of everyone, and we must utterly defeat that little celestial master."

"Now, that little celestial master is the pinnacle of the extraordinary people in China. Many people are watching his every move and regard him as a guiding light in their hearts."

"If we can kill them in front of everyone, it will be a devastating blow to the world of supernatural beings in China. At that time, their nascent alliance will crumble and disintegrate completely."

Matsui was thrilled by what the Grand Master said.

The battle that day left him with considerable psychological trauma.

After all, if even a clone has such devastating power, who could withstand the arrival of the Little Celestial Master's true form?

What if he stormed into the headquarters and tried to take his own life? Would he simply have to offer his neck for execution?

So these days he doesn't dare stay in the headquarters, but hides like a mouse in some hidden underground bunkers, just in case a bolt of lightning strikes down from the sky and turns into a little celestial master to take his head.

Now, the words of the Grand Master have put his mind at ease.

He immediately said that if the chief priest had any requests, he would do his best to fulfill them.

He might outwardly comply with Prince Fushimi's orders but inwardly defy them, but he would still obey the orders of the Grand Chancellor without question.

The Grand Master looked at him and slowly said, "There's an old saying in Shenzhou: 'Soldiers against soldiers, generals against generals.' This is a battle between extraordinary beings; ordinary troops shouldn't be dragged into it unnecessarily. As a soldier, your battlefield..."

He turned to face the sea, his finger pointing towards the direction of China:
"Your war is over there! The most important thing you should do next is to tell your soldiers and your superhuman subordinates that I, as the High Priest of Shintoism, have personally arrived!"

"I will dispel the thunderclouds hanging over their heads! Now all they have to do is launch an attack without hesitation and with all their might!"

Matsui froze for a moment, then abruptly stood up straight, bowed his head, bent over, and shouted:
"Hai! Lord Gongsi, I will intensify the offensive and strive to completely dismantle the Shenzhou army's defenses within ten days, utterly crushing their will! Then I will capture their capital and bring about their downfall within ninety days!"

Upon hearing this, the Grand Master looked into the distance and remained silent.

The Grand Master's words caused Prince Fushimi Yasuhito, who was standing to the side, to frown.

He was still thinking of using the army's incompetence, after all, their Marine Corps had suffered such heavy losses in dealing with that little celestial master, while these army incompetents had just stood by and watched, even gloating.

He was not worried about scarcity but about inequality; how could he possibly accept that?

He had originally wanted the army to shed some blood to alleviate the pressure. However, before he could even voice his suggestion, his cousin rejected it.

He couldn't help but say, "If the army doesn't participate, how can we lure out the true form of that little celestial master? In my opinion, we should do what we did last time: directly attack the Tiantong Diocese, exterminate everyone inside, and force that little celestial master to reveal himself through bloodshed. Of course, this time the main attacking force should be the army."

Seeing that his foolish cousin, who had always been so subservient to him, dared to contradict him, the Shinto High Priest shook his head and said bluntly:

"Your Highness, if I may be so bold, your suggestion is not very good?"

"Why?" Prince Fushimi asked.

The Grand Master said bluntly, "It's because your vision is not long-term enough, which has always been your shortcoming. You can only see the petty gains in front of you and can't see the big picture."

Prince Fushimi's face darkened, and he cursed inwardly: This cousin of his, who came from an army background, is as disgusting as ever, always putting on a condescending and lecturing attitude.

Grand Master glanced at his foolish cousin and continued, "No, I'm not targeting you specifically. This weakness isn't unique to the Navy; the Army has it too."

"You are all too narrow-minded. You only take things one step at a time and find it difficult to have a complete and grand overall perspective. Your so-called victories are, in my opinion, extremely naive."

"I am very disappointed with this battle. It's not that I'm disappointed in the bravery of the soldiers on the front lines; they are good soldiers of the Empire. I'm just disappointed in you decision-makers."

"Even now, there is still no consensus within the military. One side wants to advance south, while the other wants to advance north, and the arguments continue."

"Among these people, there are several factions. Doiyu, Muto, and others believe that they are strong enough and want to quickly destroy China and directly seize the greatest benefits."

"Honjo, Ishihara and others felt that the time was not right. China was a vast and resource-rich land with too much strategic depth. If they ventured in rashly and could not achieve a quick victory, they would easily drag themselves down."

"So they want to occupy the Northeast, focus on developing it for twenty years, acquire enough mineral and oil resources there, use those resources to support the local population, and migrate people there to absorb the land. Once they have enough strength, they will move south and take over the whole of China."

"After arguing back and forth, there was still no resolution. Suddenly, those below rebelled and took unauthorized action."

"Then the two sides, who were arguing fiercely, saw that the fighting was going so smoothly, and with a speculative mentality of trying it out, they hastily entered the battlefield without any long-term strategic plan."

Just like the two of you!

The chief priest looked at Prince Fushimi, then at Army General Matsui, and spoke sternly.

"One of them is clearly on a huge battlefield that will determine the fate of the nation, but he can't see the big picture. He only has eyes for the small area of ​​Tiantong Diocese, as well as his own insignificant face and hatred."

He said this to Prince Fushimi.

Prince Fushimi opened his mouth, but couldn't refute it. Because he was indeed only focused on the Tenshou Church, determined to take it over, kill the little celestial master, and avenge the Navy's previous humiliation.

As for the overall battlefield, that's the responsibility of the army's fools; it's none of his business.

Seeing Prince Fushimi being scolded, Matsui Tadashi secretly rejoiced. The next moment, the Grand Priest's sharp gaze fell upon him:
"The other one, despite being on such a large battlefield, still hasn't seen the situation clearly enough and is spouting nonsense!"

"What do you mean, take this place within ten days? Judging from the current situation and the intelligence the Special Higher Police gave me, troops are being frantically reinforced here from all over China."

"The Chinese military force here will be no less than 50! Judging from the current situation, their will to resist is higher than ever before. How can you take it within 10 days?"

"If the resistance in every part of China were as fierce as it is here, how could you possibly conquer the entire country in 90 days? That's just wishful thinking!"

“Sometimes soldiers are fanatical, and that’s a good thing. They’re just tools, and tools don’t need brains. All they need to do is charge forward with fanaticism.”

"But you are different! You are the decision-makers, and you must have a full and rational overall perspective! You must never let your emotions get the better of you, deceive yourselves, and then say some nonsensical and stupid things!"

"To laymen, you might think you're very bold, courageous, and spirited. But to me, it's utterly foolish!"

The Shinto priest was once an army general, so he naturally knows everything about the current military system.

He used to be just as radical and reckless as they were.

But after leaving the military system and taking charge of the Ise Grand Shrine, he found that he could view the conflicts between the navy and the army, as well as some of the fatal mistakes made by their decision-makers, more objectively and calmly.

However, he has already stepped out of this system. Even though he is the Grand Master, holding a high position and wielding great influence, he still cannot directly interfere with the specific command of the Navy and Army.

He even had reservations about starting this all-out war so quickly.

It wasn't that he felt the fighting shouldn't have been done this way, but rather that it shouldn't have been done so quickly and hastily.

When the soldiers below cause trouble, those above see the huge benefits and start gambling everything, betting the fate of the nation on it.

Although Japan has made a fortune through several all-in bets over the past century, he still considers it a very risky move.

We should gamble with a more comprehensive approach, make more precise plans, and then advance rapidly in the form of a blitzkrieg, emulating the previous dynasties of China to occupy the entire territory.

Of course, given the current situation, he couldn't say anything more; he could only try his best to cooperate.

As an alien, he is currently unable and finds it difficult to interfere with the military's decisions.

He can only help them overcome the toughest challenges at the level of extraordinary individuals, such as the young celestial master from Shenzhou.

Neither Prince Fushimi nor Army General Matsui offered any rebuttal to the Grand Priest's reprimand.

Of course, their silence wasn't because they genuinely agreed with what the Grand Master said.

It's simply because the Grand Master is no longer serving in the military and has become a priest of Shintoism.

To put it bluntly, in their eyes, he was just an outsider.

They're just laymen; no matter what you say, they don't care.

But if someone from the Navy or the Army said that, they would immediately turn hostile.

So even though they disagreed, they didn't say much.

An old man of high seniority who only knows how to perform sacrifices rambles on and on about nonsense. We, as the younger generation, should just listen and give him face.

Having said all this, the Grand Master pondered for a moment, his gaze becoming deep and cold, before continuing:
"Therefore, I don't want this battle to be like the battles you fought before, where you just slipped around and fought wherever you could, without any strategy."

"I need to devise a plan, a comprehensive operational plan. And eliminating that little celestial master is just one part of this grand plan."

"I don't want people to say that we went all out this time, even using divine artifacts, just to wipe out that mere minor Taoist master."

"We need a victory, and a decisive one at that. Destroying the Little Celestial Master is just a small victory within that great victory."

"My plan is very simple and straightforward."

The chief priest's gaze swept over the two generals before him, his voice deep and powerful.

"First, there is the main battlefield."

He took out a map and traced his finger heavily along several key defensive lines, emphasizing Jin Wei.

"Matsui-kun, I need you to gather your forces and land here."

He then looked at Prince Fushimi: "Your Highness, your fleet is to escort the army to complete this landing. You will form an iron barrier to ensure that our army can set foot on the southern land without any hindrance. At the same time, the main fleet will provide naval gun support to the troops attacking the front in Wu and Bao, and continue to apply pressure."

He drew a huge arc on the map with his hand, stretching from Jinwei in the south all the way to Baoshan in the north. A massive and vicious pincer attack was clearly laid out before the two men.

"One force moved from south to north, cutting off all their retreat routes. The other force moved from north to south, overwhelming them head-on and pinning them firmly to their positions."

"We will use these giant steel pincers to crush their lives, along with their will to resist! We don't want to occupy a city, but to annihilate their entire fighting force!"

"We must create an atmosphere of despair, with a massive army pressing in and the entire front collapsing, so that the whole of China is shrouded in the shadow of death. Only in this way can we force them to surrender."

"As for the Tiantong Church... it is merely a nail in this great war, and I will remove that nail."

"This time, it was no longer a foolish, forceful attack by 5,000 troops, but a precise, surgical strike."

"I will personally lead an elite squad to raid the Tiantong Church."

“My goal is not to kill, but to lure him out and then kill him.”

"We must let the world know that the so-called Heavenly Tong Cult Leader is insignificant. We don't need to specifically target him; a normal large-scale war, with just a small squad, would be enough to wipe him out." (End of Chapter)