Chapter 1221 - 300: Military Calculus 5

Chapter 1221: Chapter 300: Military Calculus 5

Lord Zheng drank some water, swallowed the pastry in his mouth, and continued:

"Also, that pretentiousness of yours should just be let go, the Emperor is your father, pleasing your old man is a son’s duty."

"That sounds strange."

"Anyway, that’s the point, don’t overthink it, thinking too much is futile."

"As a member of the Ji Family, I only..."

"People who have that kind of thought usually die very heroically at the end, do you want to die heroically?"

"No."

"Then just do what you should, don’t oppose the Emperor, seriously."

The carriage came to a halt outside the palace gates.

Ji Chengjue followed the civil and military officials into the court,

while Lord Zheng, led by a palace attendant, went to the side hall outside the Imperial Study.

As soon as he sat down,

a young eunuch with freckles on his face proactively approached him, solicitously saying:

"Lord, would you like some breakfast?"

Such good treatment?

The young eunuch quickly said, "This was instructed by Eunuch Wei in advance, later when the Emperor and the officials return from court, they will also need to eat."

"Do you have noodles?"

"Yes, just need a word to instruct."

"Thank you then."

Lord Zheng handed over two gold nuggets and put them in the hands of this young eunuch.

"Oh, the servant thanks Lord for the reward."

Soon,

a bowl of noodles arrived, but it was vegetarian.

Lord Zheng sighed at how expensive palace food really is, but he ate it anyway. At least, it was tastier than the pastry on Ji Chengjue’s carriage.

After drinking all the noodle soup, Lord Zheng finally shook off the grogginess of his early awakening.

Standing up,

he walked from the side hall into the Imperial Study, the two places were adjacent anyway.

On the wall of the Imperial Study, a brand new map was hanging, marking Yan and Qian, Jin, Chu, along with the central zone of small countries surrounding the four major nations.

Presumably, later when the court ends, the Emperor along with the high officials returning to the Imperial Study will undoubtedly discuss the next military strategy.

Lord Zheng, with hands behind his back,

looked at the big map of Yan and Qian,

realizing he was standing on the stone slabs of the Imperial Study, the power hub of the Yan Empire.

Here,

orders would be dispatched,

the Earl of North Border would march toward the desert,

Lord Jingnan would obey the command to start a war,

the common people of Yan and the Three Jin regions would become the lifeblood of the war machine, countless resources and manpower mobilized to serve the will here.

This is power, supreme power.

Having just eaten a bowl of vegetarian noodles, Lord Zheng,

at this moment,

felt somewhat dazed,

as if gold-armored horsemen and endless ranks of civilian laborers were already appearing before him.

Ji Chengjue advised Zheng Fan twice,

Zheng Fan refused twice too,

later,

when the Emperor asked for his opinion, Zheng Fan was already prepared to suggest starting a new round of war soon.

The people’s recovery and livelihood,

were of no concern to him, Lord Zheng.

Lord Zheng’s vision was poor, he only cared for his little plot under the Snow Sea Pass; whether the people of Yan and the Three Jin suffered from the war, the saying ’prosperity and downfall both bring suffering to the people’, had no impact on him.

Yet clearly,

from the perspective of Snow Sea Pass, continuing farming here was actually the most correct choice, building high walls and amassing grain, diligently focusing on a five-year plan.

North to tidy up the snowy fields, manage the basic province nearby, even if Yanjing had any upheaval later, whether Ji Chengjue took the throne or not, Zheng Fan could sit comfortably.

But he also wanted to start the war early.

The Emperor’s health was poor, though the specifics were unclear, he definitely couldn’t enjoy his twilight years peacefully;

the Earl of North Border had been injured in his youth, couldn’t practice martial arts, his health wasn’t good either.

These two people had actually been living day by day racing against time since a long time ago, trying to borrow as much lifespan from heaven to fulfill their lifelong wishes.

But there was still one other person, who was in his prime, had a robust warrior’s physique, strong vitality, at the zenith.

That person was Tian Wujing.

Yet Zheng Fan remembered that day with light rain in Fengxin City,

walking alongside Tian Wujing under an umbrella on the desolate street of Fengxin City.

The Yan Emperor and the Earl of North Border, needed to live one more day, stand one more day;

but for old Tian,

standing one more day,

was actually another day of suffering.

Once the war started, he could abandon everything, wholeheartedly throw himself into the battlefield.

But once the war paused,

with silence all around,

only God knows what he was enduring.

Originally, Zheng Fan didn’t know he had this opportunity, so he didn’t think much of it.

But upon entering the capital this time,

he discovered,

the situation greatly diverged from what he previously estimated.

This divergence was something neither he at the Snow Sea Pass nor the blind ones foresaw, even Ji Chengjue never anticipated it.

That was the Yan Emperor’s eagerness to restart the war, more urgent than anyone imagined.

And the extraordinarily grand and splendid celebration upon entering the city,

the so-called prince leading a horse, the crown prince receiving him,

along with the thousand imperial guards lined up in the palace to congratulate,

within it,

actually contained the intention of the Yan Emperor.

It could even be said that the purpose of summoning him to the capital was not merely to have him flaunt his achievements with the princess, to promote the valor of Yan’s men and inspire the masses.

But to use him as the foremost young generation commander of Yan, acting as a blade in the Emperor’s hand, forcefully helping the Emperor sweep away all obstructions ahead, just to expedite the warfare.

Fight,

then fight.

————

Lately need to organize thoughts, writing has been a bit slow.

Good night.