A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

Even though Xia Jie killed many people for this, he still couldn't change the minds of these people.

Now Xia Jie finally understood why the Great Xia had such a large population, even comparable to the Divine Continent Empire, yet its military strength was so scarce.

The only way to recruit soldiers is from the descendants of the Chinese bloodline. These natives are only suitable to be slaves, not to be commoners, and even less suitable to be soldiers.

"Damn it!"

Xia Jie immediately swore; these natives were too damn difficult to deal with.

This is just one of the bizarre things that happened on the battlefield; countless even more bizarre things have happened in daily life.

He now deeply admires the emperors of the Xia family's direct lineage for governing such a country so well.

"And that damned Tang Dynasty actually betrayed the alliance and got involved with that traitor in the court."

"I haven't even lost my temper yet, and you've already done it first! You deserve to die!"

Xia Jie hated Li Jing to the core. He hated not Li Jing for turning his back on him, but for turning his back on him before he was ready.

If Li Jing hadn't betrayed the alliance and gotten involved with Zhai Hong, he would have already swept across the area north of the Heng River, occupied the most populous and fertile region of the Chinese nation, and, with his strong foundation and strength, directly conquered the world, reunified the country, and ascended the throne as emperor.

Then we'll drive Li Jing out, launch a counterattack against the Tang Dynasty, accomplish what no previous Xia emperor had been able to achieve, conquer the Divine Empire, and become the strongest emperor in Chinese history.

"Someone, please bring Zhang Wuji here."

After venting his anger, Xia Jie ordered someone to invite Changsun Wuji. He needed to find a way to become stronger as soon as possible, otherwise, if the two of them joined forces, he really wouldn't be a match for them.

He will likely be the first of the three to be eliminated.

"Sir, you've arrived. Please have a seat."

Upon seeing Changsun Wuji enter, Xia Jie adopted a courteous and respectful demeanor, warmly inviting Changsun Wuji inside.

"Sir, please have some tea."

Xia Jie personally poured tea for Changsun Wuji and handed it to him.

"Your Highness is too kind."

Changsun Wuji stood up, flattered and surprised.

But Xia Jie failed to see the hint of mockery hidden deep in Changsun Wuji's eyes.

"Sir, given my current predicament, what advice do you have for me?"

Xia Jie looked at Changsun Wuji with expectant eyes, hoping that Changsun Wuji could give him a satisfactory answer.

After a moment of contemplation, Changsun Wuji slowly said, "Your Highness, I believe we should cooperate with the Tang Dynasty."

Xia Jie frowned upon hearing this, and said unhappily, "Sir, are you perhaps unaware that after the Great Tang and I signed the alliance, you turned around and joined forces with that traitor Zhai, betraying me?"

"Times have changed."

Changsun Wuji spoke slowly, his tone calm and composed, as if everything was under his control.

"Your Highness, look, the world is now almost divided between Your Highness, Zhai Hong, and the Tang Dynasty."

Changsun Wuji pointed to the map hanging in Xia Jie's room and said.

"Your Highness knows what kind of people the natives of Great Xia are."

When Changsun Wuji mentioned the natives of Daxia, his tone was also unusual. After all, he had learned a lot about such a peculiar ethnic group.

"Ahem, of course I know."

Xia Jie said in a strange tone.

"Does Your Highness think that since they are unfamiliar with this place, the Tang army, who are new to the Great Xia, can subdue these people?"

A smile played on Changsun Wuji's lips, a smile that was hard to tell whether it was disdain, helplessness, or mockery.

In any case, Changsun Wuji's feelings are quite complicated right now.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

Xia Jie declared resolutely, "No one, no one in this world, can save this nation!"

Changsun Wuji nodded in agreement. He felt the same way, as did many people throughout the history of the Great Xia Dynasty. In a sense, this nation was already invincible.

"Therefore, the Tang army will eventually have to withdraw from this land."

"It is impossible for the Tang Dynasty to cross thousands of mountains and rivers and spend a lot of resources to help the poor here, and they are still helping a group of natives who have no use or ambition."

"The only one truly qualified to compete with His Majesty for this land is Zhai Hong."

"Therefore, I suggest that Your Highness first contact the Great Tang and join forces to destroy Zhai Hong. At that time, Your Highness can subdue the enemy without fighting, and with the help of the Great Xia natives, drive him away and make him withdraw voluntarily."

"At that time, Your Highness will be able to unify the Great Xia and retain enough military strength to expand outwards."

"Killing three birds with one stone!"

Changsun Wuji used a seductive tone to entice Zhai Hong, and Zhai Hong's ambition was indeed aroused by Changsun Wuji's words.

However, he still had a lingering concern: the Tang Dynasty's potential breach of the alliance.

"But why would the Tang Dynasty want to ally with us? What if they betray us after forming an alliance, selling us off to Zhai Hong?"

Xia Jie hesitated.

"Benefit."

"In this world, only alliances based on shared interests are truly reliable."

"The Tang Dynasty initially allied with us because we offered them sufficient benefits. By allying with us, they could carve out a piece of Zhai Hong's flesh to serve as the Tang Dynasty's initial foothold."

"Later, the Tang Dynasty broke the alliance and chose Zhai Hong because at that time Zhai Hong could give them greater benefits, allowing them to have a righteous cause, coexist peacefully with the strongest lords around them, and conquer those weaker lords to continuously expand their territory."

"Now that the Tang Dynasty has a firm foothold and occupies half of the most important regions of the Great Xia, its strength has greatly increased."

"At this time, our former ally Zhai Hong became a bit of an eyesore. If the Tang Dynasty expands southward, it will inevitably face our strong resistance. Moreover, there are many native people in the south. After the Tang Dynasty conquers them, it will have to spend a lot of manpower and resources to appease them."

"We also cannot recruit soldiers locally, so it's not worth the effort."

"On the contrary, if they ally with us to attack Zhai Hong, they will be able to continue to annex the core areas of Great Xia, and most of the people in the core areas of Great Xia are descendants of the Yanhuang people."

"One piece of land is entirely the essence of the descendants of the Yan and Huang peoples, while the other piece is an extremely abstract and backward land of indigenous peoples. It is obvious which is more important."

"If it were Your Majesty, what would you choose?"

Changsun Wuji asked.

"Naturally, we should choose the most fertile land where the descendants of the Yan and Huang peoples reside."

Xia Jie blurted out, a look of sudden realization on his face.

"Sir, you are truly my Zhang Liang, strategizing within the tent and winning battles a thousand miles away. I admire you greatly!"

"Hahahahahahahahaha!"

Xia Jie laughed heartily.

"Without Emperor Gaozu, even Zhang Liang would probably only be able to live in seclusion in the mountains to cultivate Taoism."

"King Chungmu once said: 'A thousand-mile horse is common, but a discerning eye is rare.' This statement is indeed true."

"Without the old prince and the prince as patrons of civil officials, what use would a civil official be, even if he possessed extraordinary talent?"

Changsun Wuji cleverly attributed the credit to Xia Jie, making Xia Jie even more satisfied.

"Then let us appoint you as our envoy to the Tang Dynasty on my behalf. Would you be willing?"

Changsun Wuji lowered his head slightly, trying his best to hide the smug smile on his lips.

"Your humble servant obeys the decree."