CHAPTER 1455: CHAPTER 1455: UNITING SHU TO RESIST CAO

Chu Feng and his group exchanged glances, their drinks untouched.

Ji Wanrong furrowed her brows and said, "What you’re mentioning, General Lei also brought up before. At that time, we hadn’t established ourselves firmly yet, and we had our armored fleet on the river, so I never considered this issue. Looking at it now, Jingzhou is indeed a threat."

Chu Feng asked, "What’s the origin of Jingzhou?"

Ji Wanrong replied, "The Lord of Jingzhou is named Ji Ruohuo, who was granted the title King of Han River by the Old Emperor. He’s of our Ji family lineage. His temperament is fiery and he’s very hot-tempered. I saw him twice as a child, and each time he scared me to tears."

Everyone was drinking, unable to hold back their laughter.

Ji Wanrong blushed slightly and continued, "This Uncle has a straightforward character, he’s not inherently bad. But he is a bit arrogant, seeing none of the heroes of the world in his eyes. He looks down on the New Emperor and even more so on me. The last time I reached out wanting to form an alliance, he said I’m shallow-minded and asked me to give him South Yangtze Prefecture so he could manage both Jingzhou and South Yangtze Prefecture to thwart the New Emperor’s southern advances."

"What a presumptuous man!"

Long Fei laughed upon hearing this and asked, "What does this Uncle of yours rely on?"

Ji Wanrong replied, "The Jianghan Army, fifty thousand strong, is just like the New Army of South Yangtze Prefecture. Besides, he has been cultivating relationships with the major sects within Jingzhou for years, forming mutual interests now. The Wudang Sect, Southern Hengshan Sect, Shennong Sect, Nine Palaces Mountain, Yellow Robe Mountain, Cloud Mist Sect, and several others have all explicitly stated their allegiance to him."

Long Fei raised his brows and said, "Sima Qingcang practiced at the Mount Heng Sect?"

Ji Wanrong nodded, "Yes, after you killed Sima Qingcang, Mount Heng Sect has stirred up several times wanting to come here to take your life!"

Chu Feng clapped his hands and said, "Well, negotiating is impossible. Wudang Sect, Mount Heng Sect, we have blood feuds with both."

Ji Wanyu said, "My uncle is such a proud person, wouldn’t he conspire with the New Emperor?"

Long Fei shook his head and said, "Don’t be too optimistic. The conditions offered by the New Emperor are irresistible to anyone. With the resurgence of the Demon Race, the Land of Rebirth is viewed as the last refuge by the Human Race. If we were alone, we might resist, but others with families and businesses, who wouldn’t want their relatives to enter this Land of Rebirth? I reckon even Wudang and Mount Heng might be unable to resist such temptation."

Others listened with furrowed brows and silently nodded in agreement with Long Fei.

The common folks are muddled about the Demon Race, feeling nothing.

But the upper echelons know the power of the Demon Race; should these clans rejuvenate, the world would indeed be rivers of blood.

Then, anyone finding a Peach Blossom Land to escape to would likely choose to enter.

These famous sects are not immune to trends, likely preparing for both eventualities.

Ji Wanrong asked, "What do you mean? Are we going to seize Jingzhou while sick and weak?"

Chu Feng slapped the table excitedly and shouted, "Let’s go for it, no point babbling with them!"

"Second Brother, calm down, don’t get excited!"

Wang Jie and Murong Chong laughingly held him, afraid he’d jump onto the table.

Long Fei said, "As the saying goes, a justified expedition is necessary, and we currently have no reason to attack them. If we hastily deploy troops, we might alarm the other lords, which would be disadvantageous for us."

Chu Feng asked, "So why have you been talking for so long? If not fighting, are we supposed to do like Uncle Liu, go and ask for help?"

Lin Shanshan corrected, "Chu the Second, we’re Eastern Wu now. If anyone is borrowing Jingzhou, it’s others borrowing from us."

"You guys talk in circles all day, I just don’t like discussing serious matters with you!"

Chu Feng pointed at her, grabbed the wine jug, and started drinking, keeping silent.

Long Fei laughed and said, "The highest strategy is to defeat plans, followed by defeating alliances, followed by defeating soldiers, and lastly attacking cities. Aggression is always the last resort; use only when necessary. We should be thinking about how to defeat enemies without fighting!"

Proposing this, he leisurely sipped his drink.

Chu Feng was anxious as a cat and grabbed his bowl, shouting in frustration, "Get to the point, are you trying to drive us anxious?"

Others felt similarly impatient, all wanting to beat up Long Fei.

Long Fei tapped the table slowly and said, "Everyone, don’t be anxious; allow me to explain in detail."

He pointed at the map and indicated to everyone, "Jingzhou isn’t without vulnerabilities; please look here."

His finger pointed at a spot.

Lin Shanshan listened intently, genuinely treating Long Fei as a storyteller, even pulling out popcorn while staring at the map, exclaiming, "Xiangyang?"

Ji Wanyu was beside Lin Shanshan, her little hands clinging to popcorn, excitedly saying, "I know this place, Guo Jing, Huang Rong, Little Dragon Maid! In your world, TV stations air this drama all the time."

Chu Feng grew increasingly confused and hurriedly asked, "Xiangyang is north of the Yangtze, we’re talking about Jingzhou, why are you bringing up Xiangyang?"

Long Fei laughed, "Look at the map, the Han River Plain is flanked by mountains on both sides. From North Yangtze, one must pass through Xiangyang, hence the old saying, ’Occupy Xiangyang, and one can rule.’

From Xiangyang northward through Nanyang, one can reach Luoyang directly, northwestward military movements can head straight to Chang’an, northeastward advance to Xuchang can seize the Central Plains, westerly connection can access the key region of Hanzhong in the southwest, moving southward can reach Jingzhou, and eastward along the Great River can descend upon our Southern Capital.

Jingzhou’s weakness lies here. Historically, guarding Jingzhou meant guarding Xiangyang. Once Xiangyang is occupied, invading south to take Jingzhou becomes possible. Now the New Emperor is advancing on two fronts, one threatening Yangzhou, the other targeting Xiangyang."

Chu Feng furrowed his brows, asking, "You want to use Xiangyang to make a move?"

"You guessed right this time!"

Long Fei drank and arrogantly brandished Feng Qinghong’s Banana Fan with the appearance of a seasoned strategist.

Ji Wanrong raised her eyebrows and said, "Xiangyang’s position is crucial, but it’s thousands of miles away from us. Besides, it’s guarded by Uncle’s trusted aides, what can we do?"

This world is not the outside world.

Jingzhou and South Yangtze Prefecture, separated by vast mountains and miles apart, are tens of thousands of miles away; ordinary people might never traverse the distance in a lifetime.

Long Fei said, "Currently, the New Emperor and Ji Ruohuo’s stance is ambiguous; they disagree politically but neither wants to provoke a major conflict. The New Emperor wishes to first deal with us, seizing the grain depot and taxation hub of Great Xia Country. This would allow him to pillage resources to store in the so-called Land of Rebirth. Unless absolutely necessary, he won’t initiate a battle for Xiangyang. Moreover, because of this Land of Rebirth, Ji Ruohuo might likely ally with the New Emperor. What we need to do is create disturbances in Xiangyang, sow discord between them, making them clash first. Should Ji Ruohuo find no retreat, he can only collaborate with us. This is called ’Ally with Shu to resist Cao!’

"Good!"

"Good strategy!"

Lin Shanshan and Ji Wanyu applauded enthusiastically without fully understanding.

Ji Wanrong was exasperated and asked Long Fei, "I understand the rationale, but how do we execute this plan?"

Chu Feng also frowned, saying, "Didn’t you mention that Ji Ruohuo might consider allying with the New Emperor due to the Land of Rebirth. Unless absolutely necessary, they wouldn’t clash, right?"

"Everyone, don’t be impatient; let me drink and then explain carefully!"

Long Fei disregarded the anxious looks from everyone and pretended to drink with profound mystery.

"You wretched kid, deliberately teasing us?"

"Boss, are you pushing us to hit you?"

Chu Feng and his group jokingly stood up, rolling up their sleeves ready to fight him.