To achieve immortality, I cultivate using Qi Luck

Chapter 836: Chapter 358 The Way of Moderation_2

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Yet as Shen Qiu said, it was a more moderate and prudent approach.

“Your Majesty is wise and insightful, to conceive such an extraordinary strategy.”

“If this plan succeeds, the downfall of Chu thieves will be at hand.”

“in the days to come, when Chu State is destroyed, it will all be due to Your Majesty’s strategy today.”

Inside the great hall, some ministers inclined toward prudence, or already confidants of Shen Qiu, began praising and exaggerating the merits of this plan once again.

Bai Yian, who was among the ministers not offering flattery, watched the scene unfold with growing disappointment in his heart.

As an old general who had followed his grandfather for over a decade in military campaigns, deeply influenced by his teachings, how could he not see that the so-called moderate strategy proposed by His Majesty was too presumptuous?

It was as if discussing military tactics on paper.

All sorts of plans seem feasible, and surely, if everything went as His Majesty said, without a hitch, the Chu thieves would indeed be doomed.

But the question is, can things really go as smoothly as that?

Or rather, would the Chu thieves really be so foolish as to act exactly as Shen Qiu had envisioned?

The first step of Shen Qiu’s proposed strategy involves dispatching two Martial Marquises to lead large armies to attack the prefectures of Luyang and Hengyang in Chu State.

There’s no saying whether a Martial Marquis with an army of fifty thousand can take a city defended by a hundred thousand men.

Even if they could, wouldn’t the Chu thieves dispatch reinforcements when in dire straits?

At Dongting, the Chu thieves indeed only have a barbarian princess to command.

But in the Lingnan Region, especially in Su Country, the Chu thieves have assembled more than two hundred thousand troops, commanded by no less than four Inborn Grandmasters.

In contrast, it’s mainly Su Xuange leading several thousand demoralized troops within the city, and barely a hundred thousand soldiers led by Xie Ning from Su Country who managed to flee back to their homeland.

Combining forces from both States, their strength is already inferior to the local Chu army.

Thus, the Chu thieves have the capacity to withdraw a portion of their forces from this battlefield, along with one or two Inborn Grandmasters, to reinforce the conflict at Dongting.

If those reinforcements are brought back, all of Shen Qiu’s claims would become a joke.

The two Marquises sent to capture Luyang and Hengyang wouldn’t stand a chance of breaching the cities.

Instead of being annihilated by the Chu thieves who might seize the opportunity to encircle them, they would have to be grateful to escape with their lives.

As for the plan to hold out for a few years, waiting for the Zhou People and the Southwest Barbarians to make a move, it’s utterly ludicrous to pin victory on such fleeting hopes placed in others.

The Zhou People, attacked yearly by the Wei people and Barbarians, behave even worse than Ning Country. Bai Yian wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to hear of Zhou Country’s demise within a couple of years.

How can one in such dire straits themselves expect rescue from the Zhou People?

And the Southwest Barbarians? They are but stray dogs with broken spines, felled by the Chu thieves.

Every one of them is paralyzed by the mere mention of Chu. If they take action, Bai Yian doubts they could stir up much trouble.

So, if you can’t even save yourself, how can you expect others to save you? Do you really think everyone is a good Samaritan?

Or to put it another way, are the rescuers really that reliable?

The so-called moderate strategy is just a joke.

That’s why Bai Yian, from the very beginning, never considered relying on others to win against Chu State.

Even if he truly needed to use the help of others, it would only be to leverage them minimally, without ever having placed real hope in them.

For Shen Qiu to pin all hopes on the ethereal assistance of others, it was somewhat incomprehensible to Bai Yian.

‘Alas, when our ancestors crossed the river and headed south, establishing the capital in Jinling and clearing obstacles along the way, it took thousands of years to carve out the prosperity of present-day Yangzhou.

Yet in our generation, faced with formidable enemies, today’s ruler in Jinling does not consider how to fight with vigor and vanquish the foe.

Instead, he indulges in these crooked schemes, and the court ministers also agree, taking them as sound strategies.

The descendants of my Coastal Aristocratic Family have fallen so low?

Is the legacy of our ancestors going to be destroyed in my generation?’

Filled with these thoughts, Bai Yian’s heart was filled with great sorrow, and now, hearing this hall filled with sycophantic and complacent talk, it seemed even more unbearable to him.

Although he was filled with discontent and sorrow, he didn’t voice his concerns or try to refute Shen Qiu’s so-called “moderate strategy.”

Because he knew that when the entire Aristocratic family community has chosen to degenerate and evade reality,

Standing up against them in opposition, exposing the irony of their perceived strength and peace, would not only draw their hostility and irritation, but be completely futile as well.@@novelbin@@

Rather than weaken ourselves in an internal conflict between the advocates of war and the decayed peace party,

It might be better to let them do as they please for now.

When they finally crash and burn, shattering all their illusions,

Perhaps then the corrupted and conservative factions will recognize reality, understanding that one cannot harbor the slightest hope of fortune in the struggle against Chu thieves.

At that time, if Bai Yian takes command in a crisis, he might be able to unite the nation’s strength, converge all forces, and fight Chu State with all their might.

Then, facing a Chu State that will certainly have become stronger, maybe his Coastal Aristocratic Family, along with the six and seven clans, can still preserve the foundation in Jiangdong, without letting the Ancestral Temple and Altars of Soil and Grain perish.

As long as Jiangdong’s foundation is preserved, maybe, just as His Majesty said, if they can hold out for a while, a turning point will come.

Of course, that time is not a year or two from now, with a revolt from the Zhou People or Barbarians.

It’s after a hundred years, when a calamity that sweeps through the Nine Provinces and affects all beings descends from Heaven and Earth.

Then, facing this disaster that affects every living soul, Chu State naturally won’t be able to contend with Ning Country over a piece of land doomed to destruction.

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