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

"Write to Xia Jie and tell him that in order to mislead Zhai Hong, we will first send troops to attack several key towns on his front lines."

"Once Zhai Hong is misled and his army marches south, we will attack his rear and cut off his escape route."

"Then, together with Xia Jie, we'll launch a pincer attack and annihilate Zhai Hong in one fell swoop!"

Li Jing said in a deep voice, his eyes filled with a desire for military merit.

Ma Zhou frowned: "Will Xia Jie listen to us? If we do that, most of the benefits will fall into our hands. I'm afraid Xia Jie will find that hard to accept, right?"

"Without the auxiliary machine, there will probably be a lot of wrangling, and we might even be exposed."

"But the assistant will persuade him."

Ma Zhou was persuaded by Li Jing, mainly because even if he failed, he wouldn't lose anything.

But if it succeeds, then we'll make a fortune.

They might be able to seize this opportunity to sweep across the entire area north of the Heng River and take control of the entire heartland of the Great Xia Dynasty.

We'll talk about heading south and joining forces with Xia Jie to attack Zhai Hong once we've secured all the land north of the Heng River.

Xia Jie will definitely scold them for not keeping the contract. Between countries, there are no fools who would believe in such a contract, right?

Isn't that just a piece of waste paper?

The empire is practically refusing to eat the meat that's been placed right in front of them? Are you kidding me?

"Gentlemen, let's muster our troops. The Great Xia Empire has existed long enough; it should not continue to exist."

Li Jing said domineeringly.

"promise!"

The generals were all in high spirits. Although they were not the commanders, they were the main generals who participated in the destruction of the empire. Based on this achievement alone, their status in the history books should be elevated by one or two levels.

If they perform exceptionally well, they might even be given a separate biography in the history books.

That would truly bring glory to one's ancestors, and make their graves emitting auspicious smoke.

……

Xia Jie frowned as he looked at the letter Li Jing had sent. The seven cities—Gold, Silver, Glazed Tile, Glass, Tridacna, Red Pearl, and Agate—were named after the seven treasures of the local sect of Henghe. He had spent a lot of resources building them specifically to defend against Zhai Hong and Li Jing.

Li Jing's demand for the three cities of giant clam shell, red pearl, and agate was simply outrageous.

Without these three cities, the Tang army could advance down the Ganges River, exposing nearly a quarter of his territory to the Tang army's might.

And what do you mean by letting him restrain Zhai Hong? So that the Tang Dynasty could launch a surprise attack on the Great Xia capital?!

Good heavens, he fought all the tough battles, but Li Jing reaped all the benefits. He's really got himself into a mess.

"This is absolutely outrageous!"

"Why should Your Highness bother arguing with a dead man?"

"If they want it, then give it to them."

"With the rear lost, Zhai Hong's army will inevitably lose morale. Your Majesty only needs to order people to spread this news widely among Zhai Hong's army, and you can defeat him in one battle. Without the rear, Zhai Hong's army will surely surrender."

"At that time, the prince will command troops from both sides. He can then use Li Jing's violation of the alliance as an excuse to march north directly. With surrendered troops familiar with the north leading the way, he will surely be unstoppable."

"Could it be that Li Jing, an outsider, could possibly withstand the massive army of the Great Xia, led by its new emperor, in the capital of Great Xia?"

"That's ridiculous!"

Even a three-year-old wouldn't tell such a joke!

Changsun Wuji mocked.

The civil officials around him all nodded in agreement. Changsun Wuji held an extremely high position, and few people were willing to offend him.

Moreover, they also felt that Changsun Wuji's words made sense. On their own territory, the Great Xia royal family, leading the army, could not possibly be defeated by Li Jing, who had not yet established a firm foothold.

Wouldn't that make them all look useless?

Are they useless?

They could never admit it.

"But what if they hadn't attacked Zhai Hong's rear from the west, but instead marched south directly after capturing the three cities?"

Xia Jie was still somewhat uneasy.

"It is more in the interest of the Tang Dynasty to move westward."

Changsun Wuji said with a smile.

However, Xia Jie was still somewhat uneasy. His intuition kept reminding him, giving him a sense of danger.

"But what if Li Jing loses his mind and insists on heading south?"

"Wouldn't that put us in a pincer movement?"

Changsun Wuji was brainstorming intensely, trying to come up with a good excuse.

Suddenly, a very clever man stepped forward and gave Changsun Wuji a defiant look.

"Your Majesty, I believe there is no need to worry."

"Has Your Majesty forgotten that after the three cities, we have another fortified city, a formidable pass that once blocked the Great Xia Emperor's southward advance for several years?"

"As long as Lord Zhang leads 100,000 troops to garrison the area, even if the Tang army launches a fierce attack, it will take at least several years to break through."

Changsun Wuji gasped. Where did this brilliant strategist come from?

This clever man thought that Changsun Wuji's expression meant he was afraid of him, and that he was a useless dog barking, excluded from the northern front and denied any military merit.

He felt that Changsun Wuji's analysis was correct; if the Tang Dynasty would not march south, then Changsun Wuji, who was stationed at the strategic pass, would not have any merit.

On the contrary, he, who followed Xia Jie northward, was able to make great contributions in the attack on Zhai Hong without the suppression of Changsun Wuji, given his abilities.

He will be Xia Jie's top strategist when Xia Jie unifies the world and revitalizes the Great Xia Dynasty. The position of prime minister will naturally be his.

Thinking that Changsun Wuji had worked hard for half his life and ended up as a dowry for him, the clever man trembled with excitement.

"Your Highness, regarding the selection of personnel to garrison the city..."

Changsun Wuji felt he should avoid mentioning it, otherwise it would arouse suspicion.

But to his surprise, Da Congming didn't give him the chance.

Da Congming quickly interrupted Changsun Wuji, "Besides Lord Zhang Wuji, no one can lead an army of 100,000 to firmly defend this strategic pass."

"The best candidate to garrison the city is none other than Lord Zhang Wuji."

While speaking, Da Congming also winked at the others.

Everyone else understood that, regardless of their abilities, those who could stand here possessed maximum political acumen.

Seeing that this was Xia Jie's most important battle to pacify the world, and that the merits of this battle would determine their official positions after the restoration of the Great Xia Dynasty, they could no longer sit still.

Wherever Changsun Wuji is, they have a chance to make their mark. Only by getting rid of Changsun Wuji can they have a chance to prove themselves.

Therefore, everyone worked together to persuade Xia Jie, praising Changsun Wuji as someone rarely seen in heaven and hard to find on earth.

It was as if without him, that formidable pass was as fragile as paper, easily breached by the Tang Dynasty.

Xia Jie was somewhat tempted by what he heard. Apart from Changsun Wuji, he didn't think anyone else seemed capable of defending the pass.

"teacher!"

Xia Jie looked at Changsun Wuji with expectant eyes. Changsun Wuji remained silent for a moment, his hands clenched tightly. Xia Jie suddenly smelled a bloody scent, looked down and saw that Changsun Wuji's fingernails were digging into his flesh.

The excruciating pain of his fingernails digging into his flesh allowed Changsun Wuji to suppress the smile that was harder to suppress than an AK. He slowly lowered his head, his figure appearing much more withered. "This old minister is willing to guard the pass."

"I'm sorry to have troubled you, sir."

Xia Jie naturally realized what these people were planning and did feel that Changsun Wuji had been wronged.