Please call me Your Majesty!

Chapter 205: A clever plan for food and supplies, turning enemies into friends and securing border crossings
The general guarding the pass said worriedly: "Your Highness, the enemy is coming fiercely. Although we are fighting hard, the current situation is not optimistic."

"Moreover, the enemy seems to be well prepared, and we know very little about their troop deployment and battle plans."

Chu Shizhao nodded: "Thank you for your hard work, General."

"I came here this time to find a way to resolve this war."

"You arrange the personnel first and collect intelligence on the enemy. I need to grasp their movements as soon as possible."

Under Chu Shizhao's arrangement, the soldiers began to collect intelligence everywhere.

Not long after, Chu Shizhao learned that the enemy's invasion was due to a severe drought and food shortage in their country, and they wanted to alleviate the domestic crisis by plundering supplies from the border of the Great Zhou.

Originally, Chu Shizhao was worried that this trip to the border would be delayed for a long time.

I never thought it was just such a small problem.

If that were the case, it would be too simple.

Thinking of this in his mind, Chu Shizhao immediately dismissed his attendants.

If the enemy this time was really just suffering from food shortage, perhaps he wouldn't even need to take action to resolve the crisis.

However, in order to ensure that everything was foolproof, he decided to do a simulation to avoid any mistakes.

[Chu Shizhao wrote a letter and sent it to the enemy camp, inviting the enemy general, Dawa, to come and negotiate peace.]

[After receiving the letter, Dawa hesitated.]

[He had always heard that the people of the Great Zhou were cunning, and was worried that this was a trap, but he also wanted to hear what Chu Shizhao would say.]

[Finally, he decided to lead a team of personal soldiers to the meeting place designated by Chu Shizhao.]

[After the two sides met, Chu Shizhao said straight to the point: "General, I know that your country invaded our Great Zhou border this time because of the drought and food shortage in the country."]

[“But war will only cause suffering to the people of both countries and will not bring any benefit to your country.”]

[Xuan Dawa snorted coldly: "Then what do you say we should do? If we don't plunder supplies, the people in the country will starve to death."]

Chu Shizhao smiled and said, "General, I have a suggestion."

[“We, the Great Zhou, can lend a certain amount of food and supplies to your country to help it through this difficult time.”]

[“However, your country needs to withdraw its troops and sign a peace agreement with our Great Zhou, guaranteeing that it will not invade our Great Zhou borders in the future.”]

【After hearing this, Dawa was moved.】

[This is indeed a good way to solve the problem, but he is worried that there is a trick involved. ]

[“How can you guarantee that your Great Zhou will keep its promise and really provide us with supplies?” asked Dawa.]

Chu Shizhao said, "Don't worry, General. I will guarantee it as the prince of the Great Zhou Dynasty."

[“Moreover, we can sign a detailed agreement and both parties will abide by it. If our Great Zhou violates the agreement, your country can raise an army to punish us at any time.”]

【Xu Dawa pondered for a long time and finally decided to accept Chu Shizhao's proposal.】

【After some discussion, the two sides signed a peace agreement. 】

[Chu Shizhao also arranged for people to deliver food and supplies to the enemy camp as agreed.]

【The border war was thus quelled. 】

[Chu Shizhao successfully resolved the border crisis and his prestige in the army increased greatly. ]

[When the news reached the capital, Emperor Yongjin was overjoyed and became more convinced of Chu Shizhao's abilities.]

[“Shi Zhao performed well at the border this time. Not only did he resolve the border war without bloodshed, but he also won peace for our Great Zhou.”]

[“What a good son of mine!” Emperor Yongjin praised Chu Shizhao in public in the court. ]

After several rehearsals.

Now Chu Shizhao has a general understanding of this Dawa.

Although Dawa looks like a fierce and brave general on the surface, he is actually a guy who pays attention to etiquette at heart.

According to Chu Shizhao's analysis, it is not difficult to control such a person as long as he can be given enough benefits.

With this confidence.

Next, as long as he firmly grasps the other party's emphasis on profit, the final result will definitely develop as he has deduced.

After some analysis, Chu Shizhao immediately walked out of the tent and found the general in charge of guarding the border.

Chu Shizhao roughly told the other party what he was thinking.

Out of the traditional principle that the guest should follow the host's wishes, he pretended to ask for the other party's opinion.

In his opinion, although he is the fourth prince of the Great Zhou Dynasty, this is not the capital for him to "use power to suppress others".

You have to know that although you are of noble status, this border is someone else's territory after all. If you go too far, although the other party will not say anything on the surface due to the difference in status, you can't guarantee whether this guy will criticize your actions in private.

He will become the crown prince or even the emperor of the Great Zhou in the future.

He doesn't want to be known as a bully.

However, when the general learned of Chu Shizhao's thoughts, his face instantly darkened.

"Your Highness, I'm afraid your plan..."

Perhaps it was because he was concerned about Chu Shizhao's identity, or perhaps it was because he had only had a short time with Chu Shizhao and didn't know the usual character of the Fourth Prince in front of him.

The guard was obviously hesitant when he spoke at this moment.

Seeing that the other party was a little hesitant.

At this moment, Chu Shizhao, who was sitting in the center of the big tent, stood up with a smile on his face, walked to the guard and patted him gently on the shoulder.

"General Zhang, if you have any ideas, just tell me directly."

"There are no outsiders in this tent. Besides, I asked you to come here just for a private discussion between the two of us."

"Don't be nervous. Don't treat me as the Fourth Prince, and I don't treat you as a general."

"Let's just chat about family matters and gossip. Just say whatever you want to say."

After Chu Shizhao said this, the opposing guard Zhang Gan couldn't help but subconsciously look up at the Fourth Prince in front of him who had no airs at all.

Zhang Gan joined the army at the age of sixteen, and he thought he had seen many imperial envoys, princes and nobles, both big and small.

But he had never seen anyone so polite to him.

You have to know that the person in front of you is the current Zhou Prince of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Even though he has been stationed at the border all year round, he has heard more or less about what is happening in the capital.

Ever since the current Crown Prince was imprisoned by Emperor Yongjin for treason, many people in the capital have been saying that if the Fourth Prince had not already been enfeoffed, the future Crown Prince position would have belonged to the Fourth Prince.

But even such a person was so polite to a mere guard like him.

If it were any other imperial envoy, prince, or king, let alone asking for my opinion.

Even if you just doubt it a little.

I estimate that he will be beaten with dozens of military sticks at least and given a long lesson.

But the Fourth Prince in front of him was not angry at all, but had a sincere look on his face.

This way, Zhang Gan couldn't do anything. However, after a mental struggle, Zhang Gan finally decided to give it a try.

You know, as a border guard, guarding the border is his job. If something goes wrong, the Fourth Prince can just walk away, but he can't.

If Emperor Yongjin blames him at that time, his whole family might suffer.

Compared to losing his head, even if this guy in front of me is just acting, the worst that can happen is that I will be punished.

He still knows clearly what is more important among these.

"Your Highness, you have just arrived at the border and may not be particularly familiar with the enemy."

"I have to say, Your Highness, you are considerate of the original intentions of us soldiers. I admire you very much."

"However, if you want to end this war through peace talks, I think it is still somewhat inappropriate."

"You may not know that this fellow, Dawa, is extremely greedy. If we back down this time, given his character, he will definitely ask for a lot more!"

"If the other party's demands are too excessive, we..."

"I feel that cooperating with such a guy is like raising a tiger to cause trouble!"

"Once the tiger is fattened up, then ..."

After listening to the other party's concerns, Chu Shizhao shook his head slightly.

How could he not have thought of Zhang Gan's concerns?

He had long been aware of the greed of Xi Dawa, but if it came to greed, ten Xi Dawas would probably not be as greedy as himself.

At this moment, Zhang Gan did not know that, in fact, Chu Shizhao had already predicted all possible outcomes of the peace talks with Chen Dawa in his previous simulations.

If he was not absolutely sure, he would never propose peace talks with the other party.

Now that he has said so, it proves that he will definitely not suffer any loss in this peace talk.

However, judging from Zhang Gan's expression, if he didn't explain the pros and cons clearly to the other party, given this guy's straightforward character, he would never agree to his plan of peace talks.

Thinking of this, Chu Shizhao no longer held back and directly analyzed the pros and cons to the other party.

"General Zhang, don't be so quick to deny it."

"In fact, I have already thought about your concerns."

"The reason why I am still determined to negotiate with the other party is that I must be fully confident."

"I wonder if General Zhang has thought of something?"

"whats the matter?"

Zhang Gan looked at Chu Shizhao with a puzzled look.

"General, you have been guarding the border for so many years. Have you ever thought about why you are repeatedly frustrated when our soldiers far outnumber the enemy in terms of numbers, armor, weapons, and fortifications?"

"This one……"

When Chu Shizhao said this, Zhang Gan on the opposite side couldn't help but blush.

"This is all my fault for being incompetent. I have failed your majesty's grace. Your Highness, rest assured. Once this border rebellion is quelled, I will..."

As he said this, Zhang Gan was about to kneel down and apologize.

However, before the other party could kneel down, Chu Shizhao took the lead and helped him up.

"General Zhang, don't misunderstand!"

"I have no intention of raising an army to accuse you."

"I've said before that we're just chatting today. You're not a general guarding the city, and I'm not the fourth prince of the Great Zhou."

"We are just chatting."

"General, have you ever thought about what the difference is between us and the enemy?"

Seeing that the other party really had no intention of blaming him, Zhang Gan's heart, which had been hanging in the air, finally relaxed a little.

"Your Highness, I have actually been thinking about this matter, but I have just been transferred to the border, so I haven't figured it out for the time being."

"Otherwise, we wouldn't have allowed these guys to wantonly invade the borders of our Great Zhou."

Hearing the other party say this, Chu Shizhao couldn't help but raise the corners of his mouth slightly.

"General Zhang, to be honest, before I came here, I had already reviewed several of your previous battles."

"Based on my combat experience over the years, I think the main reason why you have failed repeatedly in previous battles is that you have not mastered the enemy's combat experience and strategies."

"Fighting these guys is different from the opponents the general has faced before."

"You know, these guys basically eat, drink, defecate and urinate on horseback all day long. This is exactly what our Great Zhou soldiers lack."

"In addition to these, another point is mobility."

"Kenwada and his guys basically rely on cavalry every time. They must be more experienced than you, General, in overall mobility."

"I roughly summarized their battle strategy. Basically, it can be represented by sixteen words."

"When the enemy advances, we retreat; when the enemy is stationed, we harass; when the enemy is tired, we attack; when the enemy retreats, we pursue!"

"Your Highness, your analysis makes so much sense. It feels as if you have participated in every battle."

"I was troubled by this problem before you came!"

Looking at Zhang Gan opposite him, who seemed to have been enlightened and regarded himself as a god-like existence, Chu Shizhao's mouth corners slightly raised.

I just borrowed some of the guerrilla warfare tactics from my memory, but I didn't expect that the opponent could be controlled so easily by me.

"Since Your Highness knows so much about the enemy, I wonder if Your Highness has any way to defeat them?"

"Of course I have a way to crack it."

"First, we can adopt a division and encirclement strategy, dividing the area where these guys are active into small pieces, and then gradually encircling and eliminating them."

"Another is to implement strict military control and material blockade to cut off the enemy's supply lines and limit their ability to move and survive."

Listening to the response plan proposed by Chu Shizhao, Zhang Gan nodded frequently.

"Your Highness, this is wonderful!"

"Such a good idea, why did I..."

However, before Zhang Gan could finish his words, Chu Shizhao interrupted him again.

"General Zhang, don't rush to confirm it!"

"To be honest, although this method seems to be effective, it is not so easy to actually implement it."

"Just think about it, if we really follow this method, do we have to send people to surround the entire northern grassland?"

"Even if we really have enough troops to do this, General, have you ever thought about how much food and supplies we will consume during this period?"

"This one……"

Chu Shizhao's rapid-fire barrage once again left Zhang Gan speechless.

(End of this chapter)