A family of loyal martyrs, starting with nine wives to continue the family line.

Han Dashan pushed the commander's seal on the table toward Liu Suan.

The tent fell silent instantly.

Old Zhou's hand holding the knife froze in mid-air, and the rebel king's envoys were all dumbfounded.

No one expected that Han Dashan, who was just cursing people, would actually put this mysterious Tianlong Hermit on the table.

This is not a guest.

This is the strategist.

Han Dashan stared at Liu Suan, and finally managed a smile on his thick face.

"it is good."

"I'll trust you this once."

As he spoke, he emphasized the area next to the commander's seal.

"From this day forward, you are the strategist of the Black Mountain Army. Whether the Eight Kings' Alliance retreats, how they retreat, and what to say afterward—it will all be done according to your plan."

Liu Suan cupped his hands in greeting.

"Thank you, King Han."

He didn't smile much, but he was already halfway to a calmer state of mind.

It became.

Han Dashan is a rough, fierce, and greedy man, but he is not stupid.

What he fears most now is not failing to capture Golden City, but rather that if he fails, he will lose all face and be unable to hold onto Bianzhou.

If you can grasp this fear, he will obey.

Liu Suan knew these rebel kings all too well.

They talk about the world, but all they care about is their own territory, troops, granaries, and reputation.

Do you want them to genuinely join forces?

dream.

They have to threaten him with a knife.

They must use fame as bait.

They need to feel that if they don't cooperate, they'll die, but if they do cooperate, they can still fight for their dignity.

Liu Suan looked at Zhou Laodao and said.

"You thought that with Wei Zhao gone, Golden City was only filled with wounded soldiers and refugees. But what is the truth? Huo Qingluan returned to the city, the old soldiers of the Wei family held the line, and Xiao Heng, the Prince of Kao Shan from the previous dynasty, took charge of the formation. The new military merit system has united the refugees, the new army, and the surrendered soldiers into one force."

"This city is not an empty city."

"This is the Achilles' heel of Wei Zhao's system of establishing military merit."

Someone inside the tent twitched their eyelid.

The vital point.

Those two words are so accurate.

They originally came for the vital point.

But no one expected that this vital point, instead of being crushed, would bite them back and draw blood.

Liu Suan continued, "Prince Zhou misjudged the city, so the other princes followed suit and hit a wall. If we continue fighting now, it will only allow Wei Zhao to reap a great victory."

"When the time comes, if we hold onto Golden City and then lose Huainan, Wei Zhao will be able to tell the world."

"The new military and new army can defend cities, kill enemies, and seize land."

"Think about it, gentlemen, by then, will the able-bodied men under your rule still be able to stand firm?"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the tent paled.

What's more terrifying than losing troops is losing morale.

They can requisition grain, conscript men, and kill deserters.

But if every tenant farmer, salt worker, boatman, and mountain dweller starts thinking about taking land from the Xinwu military camp, then what's the point of fighting?

Han Dashan's heart tightened as well.

This is the most insidious aspect of Wei Zhao.

He didn't just kill people.

He put a price tag on the lives of the poor, and in a way that was incredibly tempting.

Three mu of land.

Han Dashan felt annoyed just thinking about those three words.

He can't give it to me.

If he gave it to them, the local landlords and powerful families in Bianzhou would turn against him first. He could use the Black Mountain Army to suppress them for a while, but he couldn't suppress everyone.

Therefore, they must cooperate.

We must unite the eight princes together, at least to stop Wei Zhao from retaliating.

Old Zhou's face darkened considerably.

Of course he understood.

Being able to understand doesn't mean being able to tolerate it.

"Then tell me, how do I get a refund?"

Liu Suan smiled.

"It's not a retreat."

Old Zhou gritted his teeth.

"A strategic shift?"

Liu nodded.

"right."

The envoys inside the tent twitched at the corners of their mouths, but none of them dared to laugh.

That word sounds shameless.

It works well.

Han Dashan slammed his hand on the table.

"Summon the envoys of all the kings to the main tent for a meeting!"

Half an hour later, the tent of the Eight Kings Alliance was full of people.

Han Dashan sat in the middle, while Zhou Laodao sat on the right, his face looking as if he had just been dug out of a pile of corpses.

Qin Lie, Ma Chengyi, Xu Zhongmou, Xue Feng, Sun Qing, and Feng Wanjun themselves did not arrive, but each of them sent trusted confidants who could speak with them.

Liu Suan stood behind Han Dashan.

This is a great spot.

Without overshadowing Han Dashan, she let everyone know that what she was about to say was not something a rough man like Han Dashan would come up with.

Han Dashan started smashing things as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Golden City can no longer be attacked."

A soft rustling sound came from inside the tent.

Some people changed their sitting posture, some looked down at their teacups, and some finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Han Dashan observed all these reactions.

He sneered inwardly, but his expression remained serious.

"I am not afraid of Huo Qingluan, nor am I afraid of Wei Zhao."

"If we fight for another ten days, the Black Mountain Army will be able to get up there as well."

No one refuted this statement.

To refute it would be to slap Han Dashan in the face.

Han Dashan was somewhat satisfied and continued:

"But as you all have seen, Golden City is not a city; it's a malignant tumor that Wei Zhao has fostered using the military merit system. If we waste all our troops here, Wei Zhao can easily conquer Huainan from Guiping."

"Once Du Heng dies, the Huai River will belong to Xinwu, the salt route will belong to Xinwu, and the water fortress will belong to Xinwu."

"By then, who will stop us?"

The messenger of Du Heng, the King of Huainan, turned pale.

"King Han, the other kings promised to save Huainan!"

Han Dashan looked at him, his eyes filled with a knife.

"I am saving them right now."

The messenger's lips trembled.

"How... how can this be considered a rescue?"

Liu Suan then spoke.

"If Huainan wants to survive, it must hold out until after the Eight Princes' Alliance."

"To rescue Huainan alone is to send troops into the line of fire for Wei Zhao. Only when the eight princes form an alliance can Huainan be truly saved."

That's a well-said statement.

But everyone understood.

Du Heng was sold.

At least for now, it's been sold.

The envoy from Huainan turned pale, but dared not utter another word.

Because he also knew that if the Eight Princes' Alliance were to be exhausted in the Golden City, Du Heng would die even faster.

Zhou Laodao suddenly sneered.

"In short, it all boils down to retreating."

This is exactly what Han Dashan was waiting for.

He turned to look at Zhou Laodao, his voice suddenly rising.

"I was forced to retreat by you!"

Old Zhou slammed his fist on the table and stood up.

"Fatty Han!"

Han Dashan also stood up.

"Who said the Golden City was undefended? Who said Wei Zhao would surely return? Who said the city would fall in three days and the capital would be besieged in seven?"

"You old Zhou!"

He grabbed the battle damage report and slammed it onto the table.

"The Black Mountain Army suffered 60,000 casualties, the Red Blade Army suffered even heavier losses, the three armies at the South Gate were cut apart like flesh by Huo Qingluan, and the Iron Ridge Army at the West Gate burned 27 siege engines!"

"Whose fault is this?"

No one spoke.

Old Zhou's face grew increasingly dark.

He wanted to kill someone.

But he couldn't draw his sword and kill Han Dashan here.

Once the killing actually happened, the Eight Princes' Alliance would scatter on the spot. Before Wei Zhao even arrived, they were already in chaos.

Liu Suan stood behind Han Dashan, his eyes calm.

Correct.

That's it.

We need to keep Zhou Laodao in check; we can't let him immediately turn hostile. We need to set the blame, but we can't push him to the point of rebellion.

Otherwise, the Eight Princes Alliance would not have happened.

Liu Suan spoke up, "Prince Zhou is eager to break through the city in order to give the other princes a head start, not because he intends to harm them."

Old Zhou turned his gaze to him, his murderous aura terrifying.

Liu Suan seemed not to see it.

"But a misjudgment is a misjudgment. Now the King of Han is willing to step forward to clean up the mess, and advise the other kings to strategically shift their focus, store up military strength, and then hold another alliance meeting in Bianzhou to jointly resist Xinwu."

He paused.

"This is not a question of who wins or loses."

"It's a question of whether the kings want to live or not."

These words quelled the anger inside the tent.

Do you want to live?

Too straightforward.

That's too real.

Qin Lie's envoy spoke first.

"The King of Liangzhou believes that the siege of Huangjin City has dragged on for too long and should not be prolonged. If the King of Han is willing to preside over the alliance meeting, the Tieling Army is willing to retreat to the outer line of Bianzhou, regroup, and discuss the matter again."

Once someone starts, the rest will follow quickly.

"The Hedong rebels agree."

"The Azure Dragon Camp agrees."

"The White Deer Army agrees."

"Haidong Army agrees."

"The Baiyue army...agrees."

The envoy from Huainan turned pale and finally bowed his head.

"The Huai River Alliance is willing to listen to the grand discussion of the kings."

Old Zhou sat back down, slowly inserting the short knife in his hand into the table.

it is good.

They all agreed.

If I disagree, it will ruin the whole situation.

Those bastards have completely blocked the road.

Han Dashan felt extremely pleased.

He looked at Liu Suan and for the first time found the Taoist priest agreeable.

capable.

That's really impressive.

With just a few words, he not only forced the Allied Forces to retreat, but also pinned Zhou Laodao down in the mud and then lifted Han Dashan onto the stage.

Liu Suan felt Han Dashan's gaze and bowed his head in greeting.

It's not cooked enough.

Just one more hit.

He said softly, "King Han, it's time to appoint a leader for the alliance."

Han Dashan's eyelids twitched.

Several messengers inside the tent also heard it.

Qin Lie's envoy frowned.

"Who will sit on the throne of the alliance leader?"

Liu Suan didn't look at Han Dashan, but only at everyone in the tent.

"The one who advised the kings to retreat and conserve their strength when the situation was at its worst was the King of Han."

"Bianzhou is located in the center, and the grain transport route can connect to Chenqiao, Liangzhou, Hedong, and Jingxiang."

"The Black Mountain army has the strongest forces, and King Han is willing to bear the infamy of retreating."

He raised his hand in a gesture of respect.

"I believe that the leader of the Eight Kings Alliance must be none other than the King of Han."

The tent was quiet for a moment.

The sound of the cup hitting the table was exceptionally clear.

Qin Lie's envoy was the first to stand up.

"The King of Liangzhou is willing to acknowledge the King of Han as the leader of the alliance."

Envoy Ma Chengyi then stood up.

"Hedong is willing to accept."

Xu Zhongmou's men were a beat slower and also bowed.

"Jingxiang is willing to comply."

One by one.

Bailu, Haidong, Baiyue, Huaishui.

In the end, only Zhou Laodao was left.

All eyes were on him.

Old Zhou's fingers pressed against the hilt of the knife, and his eyes twitched.

Refusing to comply?

Then he is the one who sabotaged the alliance.

奉？

From now on, Zhou Laodao will be half a head shorter than Han Dashan.

This is worse than being stabbed.

After a long time, he squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth.

"The Crimson Blade Army recognizes King Han as its leader."