Chapter 1246 - 963 Lord Ji’s Great Strategy
At this moment, General Liu barely managed to steady his mind, holding back tears, and spoke to Ji Youze.
"Thank you, Lord Ji. It’s just that we’ve captured Wei Jiang, and Wei Heng will certainly send troops to attack. If I leave, this Yanyun Ridge..."
"I’ve captured Wei Jiang precisely to make Wei Heng afraid to dispatch troops against Great Han. Right now, Wei Heng is even more afraid of us deploying forces to Dongyue. You can rest assured and leave. Once your wife’s matters are resolved, don’t grieve. Return with me and we will enter Dongyue, unify the world, and ensure there is no more war in this land."
Upon hearing this, General Liu couldn’t help but widen his eyes.
"Lord Ji! Are you... are you serious about this?"
Ji Youze nodded.
"Dongyue truly doesn’t dare to invade?
Are we even going to attack Dongyue?"
General Liu was completely stunned.
"Well then, I initially intended to keep some things from you, but Suisui just said that you and your esteemed wife are virtuous and have likely saved countless lives, that you have rendered great service in defending the border, and are surely not treacherous. So I will tell you everything now!"
"Rest assured, Lord Ji. What you say today will be heard only by me; I will not tell a third person!"
"Very well, then listen carefully. As I set off, His Majesty has already ordered a secret decree, directing Grand General Dugu, who is currently returning to the capital with troops from Xiling, to reroute to Yanyun Ridge.
Also, I am to wed the Dongyue kingdom’s princess, and due to time constraints, the marriage is to take place in Yanhui City.
I captured Wei Jiang to buy time, waiting for His Majesty to mobilize troops.
Once they arrive, we will storm into Dongyue under the pretext of avenging Princess Pearl.
Of course, if in the meantime, Dongyue can’t sit still, and they don’t care about their own crown prince, sending spies to Yanhui City to kill their crown prince and framing us, deliberately provoking a battle between the countries, that’s another matter."
General Liu was completely dazed, his eyes barely moving.
"Lord Ji, your strategy is admirable. I must admit I am no match. However, there’s one thing I don’t understand and hope you can enlighten me."
"Please go ahead!"
"How can you be certain that once we’ve captured Wei Jiang, the new Dongyue emperor won’t dare to act?"
Ji Youze explained, "The pass ahead is already within Great Han’s borders. Wei Jiang couldn’t be unaware of this, yet he still risked pursuing Princess Pearl all the way to the walls of Yanhui City.
Why is that?"
"Because Princess Pearl is a princess of the previous Dongyue dynasty!
Isn’t it natural for them to exterminate members of the former royal family?
Moreover, it’s said that Princess Pearl is exceedingly capable, and some Dongyue generals and ministers secretly support her. But Wei Heng rebelled so suddenly, catching Princess Pearl off guard, forcing her into exile!"
"She’s just a woman, after all. Even if she were given countless troops, wanting to fight back and reclaim Dongyue, which has already changed hands, would be incredibly difficult.
Wei Jiang’s relentless pursuit of Princess Pearl, along with those disgustingly ambiguous words, was nothing more than to create a false impression of having unsavory intentions, hence his relentless pursuit.
In truth, they fear that if Princess Pearl reached Great Han and made a pact, or rather, if Great Han seized the opportunity to exploit Princess Pearl’s presence to dispatch troops against them, they would face dire consequences. That’s why they pursued Princess Pearl relentlessly."
"I see. Lord Ji, your strategizing is peerless indeed. Next, you only need to marry Princess Pearl, and then Great Han can justifiably wage war on Dongyue in the name of helping her restore her country.
Or, if Wei Jiang were to die in Yanhui City, and it wasn’t by our hands but rather by Dongyue’s spies, then Dongyue sends troops against us. In this case, we are acting in self-defense. If war erupts between the two countries and Princess Pearl steps forward to assist, familiar as she is with every detail of Dongyue..."
General Liu internally exclaimed "brilliant" several times.
Thus, he led Ji Youze to the study, handing over the defense map, seals, and some relevant personnel, completing the transfer. Then he ordered a carriage to be prepared, as he intended to take his wife on a long journey and also sent letters to his eldest son, who was studying abroad, and his second daughter, who was married.
Everything was unfolding precisely as Ji Youze had anticipated.
A few days later, Dongyue dispatched a vanguard, under the guise of escorting an envoy to Great Han.
They presented a state letter, requesting to enter the capital and meet with the Great Han emperor.
However, they made no mention of their crown prince being captured.
Ji Youze allowed the envoy to enter Yanhui City but stopped those escorting him at the pass outside Yanyun Ridge, where five thousand soldiers were stationed for defense.