My brother entrusted his child to me, and I livestreamed raising the baby, making the Empress cry wi

On the first sunny day after the rain stopped, inside the council hall of the Western Regions Royal Palace, the atmosphere seemed even more damp and stifling than when it was raining.

Water dripped intermittently from the roof tiles, pattering onto the stone steps with a persistent thud.

The sound was like an invisible pendulum, keeping time steadily.

The sounds struck the empty stone steps in front of the hall, then dispersed, echoing faintly between the high walls.

The air was heavy with moisture, carrying the cool, slightly fishy smell of damp earth.

Sunlight streamed in obliquely through the high windows, several beams of light like golden blades cleaving through the dimness of the hall, illuminating every detail of the swirling dust in the air.

But the light couldn't penetrate the thick silence within the hall.

Ashina's fingers no longer tapped the armrest, but rested lightly on the red agate, his five fingers slightly curled, his fingertips pressed against the round gemstone, motionless.

The agate was warm to the touch in his palm, turning a deep red like blood.

His gaze was fixed on the person below, his eyelids half-closed, and a thin ray of light reflected in his pupils.

Dashiman stopped twirling his beard, turned his face, and shifted his gaze from the throne to Fujiwara no Tsuruhito opposite him, the two vertical lines between his brows squeezing together.

Everyone was waiting for him to continue.

Fujiwara no Shujin paused, first glancing at Ashina on the throne to confirm that the man's head was slightly bowed and his gaze was fixed on him, before continuing:

"perhaps--"

He took a breath, his chest rising and falling slightly.

"We could contact the tribes on the northern grasslands and consider cooperating with them!"

As he spoke, he raised his head, looked up at Ashina who had instantly fallen into deep thought, and at Dashiman opposite him, and explained loudly:

"The grassland tribes possess the best warhorses, and almost everyone in the tribe is skilled in riding and archery. Those warhorses and light cavalry will be a great help to Shi Yan."

He paused, straightened his back slightly, and his voice echoed in the empty hall, full of confidence, each word pronounced clearly and crisply, carrying the composure of deep thought:

"In addition, the Flame Devourer's own heavy cavalry—heavy cavalry to break through enemy lines and light cavalry to harass—complements each other perfectly."

Fujiwara no Shūjin pointed to himself and his companions, his fingertips tracing a line across his chest before pointing to the Javanese lord and the Yamato lord on his left and right.

Those shrewd eyes gleamed in the candlelight: "And now that we've joined the Flame Devourer, naval warfare is a piece of cake."

His tone was extremely confident, and a hint of arrogance appeared in his eyes.

Naval warfare.

That's the kind of fighting they excel at in the South China Sea! It's the source of their confidence for survival!

They become familiar with water as soon as they can walk, and those who grow up on boats have an innate ability to judge water flow and be sensitive to wind direction.

"The rivers and lakes of the Great Flame have swelled dramatically after the torrential rains, making previously navigable places now navigable. In this battle, the navy will be of great use!"

His voice was lowered by half an octave, yet it carried more weight and was more convincing.

Those rivers and lakes that the Great Flame People considered dangerous and unpredictable were just ordinary waterways in their eyes.

"So what if Wang Meng has a divine weapon? Your Majesty must have seen it before."

Fujiwara no Shujin's tone softened: "It's just a blunt club in hand; it can indeed cause great damage to infantry, but if—"

He raised an eyebrow, a smile appearing on his lean, gaunt face: "If facing agile cavalry or underwater combat, its effectiveness will be greatly reduced."

A breeze had picked up outside the window, causing the beam of light cast through the high window to sway as if touched by an unseen hand.

The rhythm of light and shadow alternating inside the hall was disrupted for a moment, but then it returned to normal.

In the distance, the faint sound of flags being struck by the wind against flagpoles could be heard, muffled yet rhythmic, like the somber beat of a drum.

Ashina pondered to himself for a moment, his left thumb unconsciously rubbing the red agate on the armrest, his fingertip circling the smooth stone again and again.

He then realized that Fujiwara no Shujin's words made sense.

Grassland light cavalry harass, Flame Devouring heavy cavalry break through formations, and the South China Sea navy blocks the waterways...

Several lines intertwined, piecing together a strategic map more complete than any plan he and Dashiman had previously devised.

Surprisingly, he was actually able to give a reasonable explanation. As expected of the king of Japan, the largest country in the South China Sea, he does have some ability.

Ashina raised his eyelids, his gaze sweeping over Fujiwara no Shojin's entire body before finally settling on those shrewd eyes.

Then, with a slight twitch of her lips, she nodded at him and praised, "Well said."

Fujiwara no Shūjin bowed slightly in respect. His gaze fell on the spots of light on the ground, but his mind was racing.

This is just the first step...

He must gradually increase his role so that Ashina cannot easily abandon him.

Only then did his position as prime minister, which had seemed like a child's play, become truly secure.

Ashina then posed a new question.

"But which tribe should we contact...?"

He clasped his hands together, elbows resting on the armrests, and began to ponder, "First, the tribe can't be too small, otherwise it won't be effective. And it can't be a tribe affiliated with the Great Flame Tribe or a peaceful tribe..."

Ashina turned his head and his gaze fell on the huge sheepskin map hanging on the left wall.

The territory of the Western Regions on the map is outlined in red, the red borders are thick and conspicuous, like dried bloodstains.

To the right lies a vast expanse of fiery territory, with mountains and rivers densely packed together, and cities connected by thin lines, resembling a spider web covering the earth.

Further north, however, the landscape is almost entirely blank, with only the outlines of a few winding rivers and a few colored blocks labeled "grassland," with very little detail.

Their Western Regions do not border the northern grasslands; instead, several cities in the northern border of the Great Flame Kingdom separate them, forming a winding border wall between the Western Regions and the grasslands.

Therefore, they did not have much contact with the Western Regions and the northern grasslands.

After unifying the Western Regions last year, he devoted all his energy to observing and looking for opportunities to attack the Great Yan. He himself knew almost nothing about the grassland tribes in the north.

Ashina knew that, like in the Western Regions before, the area was mostly governed by tribes, but he didn't know the names of those tribes, how many people they had, or who their leaders were...

They in the Western Regions knew virtually nothing about this information.

So how to distinguish them is a big problem.

The person on the throne sat up straight again, unclasped his hands and placed them on his knees, his gaze lingering on the empty space in front of him for a moment.

He murmured, "But how do I determine which tribes I can cooperate with..."

He suddenly realized something and chuckled, "We can't exactly send envoys to the grasslands, where they'll run into a large tribe and ask if they want to fight the Great Flame, can we?"

After saying that, he shook his head first: "Wouldn't people think I'm crazy?"

"and……"

Ashina's gaze fell through the window onto the steps outside the palace; the rain in the Western Regions had stopped last night.

The sunlight shone there, coating the still slightly damp stone surface with a pale golden film, and the water shimmered on it.

The flames are intense, and it's unclear how long they will continue to burn.

"Our time is running out."