Imperial warlords: Cannons are the only truth

"Huaiyu, I want to hear your thoughts now."

"Tell me—given the current situation, how can our Yongchang Independent State possibly hold out?"

After berating Zhu Gaoqi and Feng Dafei from beginning to end, Zhuo Yongwang posed this seemingly unsolvable question...

Nowadays, even a fool would know that trying to stop the Daqian Zhenguo Army from recovering the five provinces of Jizhou is basically a pipe dream.

Given the formidable fighting power displayed by the Daqian Zhenguo Army, let alone Zhuo Yongwang's more than five million troops, even ten million wouldn't be enough to defeat them.

The question is—facing the fighting style of the Daqian Zhenguo Army, how many people would be willing to risk their lives for Zhuo Yongwang in the end?

At that point, even taking these people's family members hostage might not be effective.

This could very well trigger a mutiny...

Although Zhuo Yongwang's troops stationed in Jicheng were all his most trusted and trusted cronies.

The commander of Jicheng's city defense was also personally appointed by his son-in-law.

But human nature is unpredictable. If the Great Qian Zhenguo army were to attack, facing a certain death, it's questionable how many people would be willing to defend Jicheng to the death...

Therefore, facing the current situation, Zhuo Yongwang truly has absolutely no confidence left.

Before this, Zhuo Yongwang still fantasized that no matter what, he still had millions of troops under his command, and even if the Daqian Zhenguo Army wanted to enter, it wouldn't be a matter of a day or two.

He refused to believe that his millions of troops couldn't afford to wait.

If the battle reaches a stalemate, there might still be room for negotiation!

But now, after witnessing the fact that the Liaofu defense line was held for only thirty-six hours, Zhuo Yongwang had essentially dispelled such unrealistic fantasies.

He finally realized how foolish it was to take this step and challenge the Daqian Zhenguo Army!

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"Just say it when I tell you to!"

Seeing Wu Huaiyu hesitate, Zhuo Yongwang frowned and said, "It's just the two of us here, what else do you have to worry about!"

"Speak! I don't trust anyone else. I want to hear your true opinion on the current situation and your proposed solutions."

"President, then I'll speak..." Seeing how much Zhuo Yongwang trusted him, Wu Huaiyu no longer hesitated.

"President! As you've seen, the fighting power of the Great Qian Zhenguo Army is far stronger and more terrifying than we imagined!"

"Looking back now—it was actually a wise move for the Yi and Saluo people to temporarily withdraw..."

Wu Huaiyu glanced at Zhuo Yongwang, whose face was gloomy, and continued with a forced smile, "President, I think if we have to fight to the death with the Daqian Zhenguo Army..."

"There's only one best solution left..."

"Oh? What's the solution? Tell me quickly!" Zhuo Yongwang perked up immediately when he heard that Wu Huaiyu had a solution.

"A brave man cuts off his own arm to save the king!"

Wu Huaiyu uttered the eight words he had summarized.

"What do you mean? How do you sacrifice a pawn to save the king?" Zhuo Yongwang didn't quite understand Wu Huaiyu's meaning.

"President, what I mean is—to proactively abandon the four provinces and concentrate all our forces to defend only Jizhou!"

"We will combine the forces from the five defense zones into one force to ensure the security of Kilju."

"In that case, with over five million troops guarding only one province, we can afford to wear them down!"

"We have no chance of winning if we divide our forces to defend five defense zones, but if we abandon four of them and only defend one, the situation will be completely different."

Wu Huaiyu analyzed in detail: "What we need to do now is to make tough decisions, to sacrifice pawns to save the king!"

"More than five million troops are concentrated in the defense of Jizhou, trying every means to delay this battle indefinitely."

"In short, we must not let the Daqian Zhenguo Army's plot for a quick victory succeed!"

Wu Huaiyu's thoughts became clearer and clearer: "President, didn't Shen Moshen just recently announce the abolition and rejection of all the treaties that the Great Qian Empire had previously signed with those powerful countries?"

"This is an opportunity for us!"

"If we can hold out in Jizhou until the economic collapse of the Western Luo Continent ends, and until the Western Luo countries resolve and stabilize their domestic situations so they can free up their hands to deal with the affairs of the Great Qian, then we can consider victory in this defensive battle within reach!"

"At that time, the Western Luo countries, having freed up their resources, will naturally intervene."

"The Great Qian Zhenguo Army is powerful, but no matter how powerful they are, they can never be a match for the entire Western Luo Continent!"

"We can't rely on the Yi people and the Salo people, but we can wait for the Western Luo Continent."

"After all, under normal circumstances, as long as they have the time and resources, they would never give up their interests in Qian."

Wu Huaiyu said confidently, "You should know that these foreigners are incredibly fervent in their desire for the Great Qian Dynasty."

"If it weren't for the fact that the Western Luo Kingdoms had their own agendas and kept each other in check for so many years, the vast Great Qian Empire would have been completely divided up by the Western Luo Kingdoms long ago."

“Now that Shen Moshen has appeared and wants to completely cut off this ‘financial route’ of the Western Luo Kingdoms, they will definitely not sit idly by.”

"That may be true, but the internal strife and instability in the Western Roman Empire are ongoing. Who knows when their crisis will be resolved!"

Zhuo Yongwang asked worriedly, "How long are we going to hold out?"

"One year? Two years? Or three or four years?"

"It will definitely not exceed four years!" Wu Huaiyu asserted firmly: "President, I think this crisis on the Western Continent will definitely end in two or three years at most."

"At the fastest, it will take a year and a half; at the slowest, it will take three years!"

"Therefore, we only need to hold out in Kedah for a maximum of thirty-six months, and our great undertaking will be accomplished!"

“Once the Western Luo countries intervene, the Yongchang Independent State can turn the tide.”

"Thirty-six months..." Zhuo Yongwang thought for a moment, still feeling unsure: "Thirty-six months... Huaiyu, do you really think we can hold out for thirty-six months?"

"President, splitting our forces to defend all five defense zones at the same time is definitely not going to work."

"Let alone thirty-six months, even thirty-six days would be tough."

"But with the defense of one region concentrated, and over five million troops only defending one Jizhou, I think it's still very possible to defend it for thirty-six months!"

"With the president personally overseeing the defense of Kilju, our morale has been greatly boosted."

"As long as the president is here, the flag of my Yongchang Independent State will never fall!"

"Furthermore, if the president agrees to this deployment, I have another supporting plan that can help us delay the defense as much as possible."

"Oh? What's the cooperation plan? Tell me quickly!"

"Isn't Shen Moshen always pretending to be all Chinese and saying that we don't need to make things like this?"

"Their attempts to persuade us to surrender have never stopped."

"Then let's just turn the tables on them—pretend to negotiate!"

Wu Huaiyu said solemnly, "On the one hand, we will withdraw our troops and give up the four provinces on the grounds of sincerity in peace talks, and on the other hand, we will send people to restart negotiations with the Daqian Zhenguo Army."

"Didn't they keep saying they didn't want internal strife?"

"Then let's go along with their wishes and talk to them!"

"If we negotiate for three to five months, or even half a year, we can buy that much time, right?"

"Perhaps, before we even finish our talks, the situation on the Western Continent will have already improved!"

"It's feasible! By voluntarily ceding four provinces under the guise of peace talks, we can avoid being harassed by the Daqian Zhenguo Army when we withdraw our troops. It's a win-win situation."

Zhuo Yongwang nodded thoughtfully: "With over five million troops concentrated in the defense of Jizhou, this battle is going to be tough!"

"Huaiyu, it's settled then, as you said."

"A brave man cuts off his own arm to save the king!"

Those who achieve great things must know how to choose and discard…

Zhuo Yongwang slammed his hand on the table: "Hmph! What we lose today, we will take back every last bit of in the future!"

"That's it!"

"While implementing a strategy of concentrated defense, they pretended to negotiate with the Daqian Zhenguo Army."

"President, in order to convince Shen Moshen of our sincerity in the peace talks, Huaiyu is willing to personally represent the Yongchang Independent State to make a trip to the capital!"

"You're going?" Zhuo Yongwang frowned. "This trip is fraught with danger..."

"Huaiyu, you need to think this through!"

"President, in the current situation, I'm the most suitable person to go!"

Wu Huaiyu said seriously, "Now everyone knows that I am the most trusted person by the president's side. If I go to the capital to talk to that Shen guy, he will not doubt our sincerity in the peace talks."

"Only in this way can the effect of using peace talks as an excuse to buy time be maximized."

With a determined look, Wu Huaiyu assured Zhuo Yongwang, "Please rest assured, President, Huaiyu will do his utmost to complete the mission."

"Even if Huaiyu doesn't return from this trip, as long as he can successfully buy precious time for the Yongchang Independent State, Huaiyu will have no regrets even if he dies!"

"Please take good care of my wife and children, President. Huaiyu is willing to use himself as bait to do whatever he can for the independent nation of Yongchang!"

"Huaiyu, if all our generals had your awareness and spirit, what would our Yongchang Independent State have to fear from the likes of Shen Moshen!"

Zhuo Yongwang was deeply moved by Wu Huaiyu's loyal actions.

As he spoke, Zhuo Yongwang stepped forward and patted Wu Huaiyu on the shoulder meaningfully: "Huaiyu, from today onwards, we will become sworn brothers."

"Officially we are superior and subordinate, but in private we are brothers and family!"

"Don't worry, from now on—your family is my family."

"Brother Huaiyu's trip is to extend the life of our Yongchang Independent State. I am deeply moved by this noble act."

Zhuo Yongwang held Wu Huaiyu's hand tightly and said with emotion, "If the Yongchang Independent State can eventually overcome this difficulty."

"Brother Huaiyu is the greatest contributor to the independent Yongchang Nation, without exception!"

"I only have one request for my brother—come back alive!"

"I'm waiting for your safe return in Jicheng..."