The Demon Lords

But now the Chu people won’t make that mistake again,

At Town South Pass,

The defending force numbers tens of thousands,

Behind it and on both flanks, there are more than a hundred thousand imperial troops of the Chu royal family stationed.

Once the war starts, the reinforcements of Chu will continuously gather at Town South Pass.

Thanks to your father’s decisive actions against the factions, the Chu aristocracy will never allow Yan to take over the Chu region; actually, the situation in the Chu State is very similar to our Yan in the past, they are constrained in foreign wars but extremely proactive in self-defense.

Therefore,

To take Town South Pass,

We need to build extensive camps and have a vast number of siege weapons,

Just for auxiliary troops and laborers, not less than three hundred thousand are needed, and this is on the low end of estimation, and the battle will surely be protracted; the requirements for surrounding and besieging the city are a massive expense every day.

This is unlike the two marquises in the past who fought over a thousand kilometers and consecutively broke through the Helian and Wenren families within ten days; the Chu people will use their best defensive skills and the advantage of their Chu infantry to wear us down.

To capture Town South Pass,

Our Yan must mobilize a force greater than that used for the attack on Jin, with national strength fully committed, to gamble.

After all, behind Town South Pass is the Shanggu County of the Chu people, it’s an open expanse; the Chu people also understand the importance of Town South Pass.

If it could be fought, Lord Jingnan would have already fought; it’s because this battle requires fighting to the last breath, any abandonment in the middle will render all previous efforts and sacrifices futile.

Therefore,

I’m sorry,

Unless His Majesty is determined to attack Chu first, making an early large-scale mobilization against Chu, the war against the Chu region simply cannot proceed."

Ji Chengjue sighed and said:

"It is precisely because Chu is hard to fight that we must deal with Chu first; because defeating Chu will be time-consuming, it’s even more necessary to fight Chu.

Firstly, to completely stabilize the world and unify Zhuxia, naturally deal with the hard before the easy;

Secondly,

I’m afraid Qian State won’t withstand a fight."

"Qian State, indeed doesn’t withstand well, even though I’ve heard they’ve trained new armies."

The Zu family army, the Zhong family army, and all newly appointed commanders by the Qian State are those who shone during Yan’s invasion when fighting.

But Qian State’s borders and the entire northern terrain remain, unless Qian State can suddenly produce twenty thousand elite troops to contend with Yan in battlefield engagements, the passive situation of being beaten cannot be changed.

Ji Chengjue replied: "But Qian State is resilient, especially in Qian State’s Jiangnan, it’s densely populated and extremely prosperous, easily turning into a quagmire."

Lord Zheng chuckled,

Pulled out his iron box, took a peppermint candy and tossed it into his mouth,

And said:

"Why not just say if, accidentally, Qian State collapses, your hopes of reigning are extinguished."

"One always needs an excuse, right? It’s not for the throne, I’m also considering the bigger picture."

"Hypocrite."

"Learned from you."

"Enough, enough, let’s not talk about state affairs for now." Ji Chengjue reached into Lord Zheng’s iron box, picked a peppermint candy and popped it into his mouth, and while chewing said:

"When do you plan to have children?"

Lord Zheng shook his head and said, "You’re bragging."

"Have a child, Old Zheng; once a man has a child, he becomes completely different."

"Soon enough."

Siniang has already agreed; once I return this time, Siniang will surely have recovered from her injury.

"When you have children, it’s hard to resist wanting to give them the best of everything."

"I can understand."

"Once you have children, it’s like having a real attachment in this world, like having a root."

Upon hearing "having a root,"

Lord Zheng suddenly opened his mouth slightly,

And slowly said:

"Trust me, I need a root more than you do."

The atmosphere,

Began to become warm,

Previously, the two men were talking about state and military affairs,

Now, they’re discussing domestic matters.

Yet the two transition seamlessly, and they might become even more accustomed.

"Promise me, for the sake of your godson, treat him well; you can follow your brother-in-law’s example, become a regent, and strive to provide him dignity."

"Yes, later, when you’re preparing to strip my military power and imprison me, let my godson deliver me a meal; the dishes should be rich, alcohol is unnecessary, but there must be tobacco."

Ji Chengjue nodded,

And said:

"I will."

"Scoundrel."

"Hehe."

"Okay, then I’ll imitate Dorgon."

"Who is Dorgon?"

"A king from the west, who also became a regent."

"Then what happened?"

"He was whipped after death."

"That’s inevitable."

At this moment,

He Sisi personally carried the dishes in, placing them on the coffee table.

Dorgon Zheng instinctively glanced at He Sisi several times.

Then,

Quickly turned away, blaming himself for being too immersed.

"Do you want a drink?"

Ji Chengjue nodded and said: "Bring up all my cellared fine wines, today, I want to drink to oblivion with him; tomorrow I deliberately won’t attend court, let them all understand the relationship between me and Lord Pingye."

"Okay."

He Sisi went to get the wine.

Ji Chengjue handed chopsticks to Lord Zheng and said: "Try it, my wife’s specialty braised pork."

Lord Zheng picked up a piece with his chopsticks and said: "Delicious."

"Isn’t it? Does your woman cook?"

"Better than this, let’s not compare women; yours falls short."

"Is the princess that talented?"

Lord Zheng shook his head and said: "Not the princess."

"Ha, you’re good, keeping one at home and going out to snatch a princess."

"She helped me snatch; she entered Chu with me together."

When bragging about wives, no man retreats a step, never admitting loss.

Moreover,

Siniang is perfect in Zheng Fan’s heart.

Ji Chengjue frowned,

And said:

"I’m jealous."

"Yes, you should be jealous."

"But I have a son; my son will soon learn to walk!"

"Generally, faster arrows are easier to hit the target."

"This is jealousy."

"Sorry, I really can’t be jealous of this, keep feeling proud yourself."

"Honestly, Old Zheng, let me say something sincere, lend your ear."

"So all the previous words from you were nonsense?"

"Listen carefully, you married the princess of Chu, how about this; in the future, let my son bestow you the title of King of Chu?"

Lord Zheng heard this and immediately shook his head saying:

"No."

"Why are you so greedy!"

"Let me say something sincere too, listen."

"Okay, go ahead."

"In the future, I will make your son the King of Yan."