Imperial warlords: Cannons are the only truth

"According to reliable sources, long before Zhuo Yongwang held the secession ceremony in Jicheng, the Salo people and the Yi people had actually reached a secret agreement without Zhuo Yongwang's knowledge."

Chen Guyan continued, "In this secret agreement, Zhuo Yongwang and his so-called 'Yongchang Independent State' are nothing more than puppets of the Saluo and Yi Kingdoms."

"All that Sharo and Yi Kingdom need is this 'ally' status with the 'Yongchang Independent State'."

"With this identity, the Salo and Yi Kingdoms have a reason to send troops."

“Taking advantage of the internal dispute between the court and Zhuo Yongwang, the Shaluo and Yihui countries continuously send more troops into Qian under the pretext of helping the ‘allies’, in order to achieve the sinister goal of eventually dividing up Daqian.”

"Therefore, the Salo people and the Yi people are eager for the conflict between the capital and the five provinces of Jizhou to break out quickly."

"Zhuo Yongwang has signed an offensive and defensive alliance agreement with Shaluo and Yiguo."

"In other words, once we launch a military campaign against the five provinces of Jizhou, the Saluo and Yi Kingdoms can immediately send troops to intervene!"

As he spoke, Chen Guyan introduced the latest military developments of Shaluo and Yi Kingdom to everyone: "The Yi Kingdom's fleet has begun to move towards the waters of Honghai Province."

"The Salo people are even more direct—at least two divisions of Salo troops have secretly entered Liaozhou territory."

"And Zhuo Yongwang is determined to do this."

"Intelligence indicates that Zhuo Yongwang had already prepared an escape route for himself."

At this point, Chen Guyan couldn't help but show a hint of disdain on his face: "Once the situation in the five provinces of Jizhou becomes unfavorable and Jicheng is confirmed to be indefensible, both the Shaluo side and the Yi Kingdom side are willing to provide Zhuo Yongwang with safe haven."

"Zhuo Yongwang's two sons were sent to the country of Saluo and Yi in advance under the pretext of studying abroad."

"Therefore, Zhuo Yongwang, who claimed to live and die with the five provinces of Jizhou, had actually already made arrangements for his escape route."

"According to information from our inside sources, Zhuo Yongwang has said more than once in private that he would rather hand over the five provinces of Jizhou to the Sharo people and the Yi people than not make the capital unhappy!"

"Listen to this, what a 'tough guy' Zhuo Yongwang is!" Shen Moshen sneered. "It seems our timing in launching our attack on Youzhou was really perfect!"

"Fortunately, we managed to drive Zhuo Yongwang out of the capital."

"Otherwise, it wouldn't just be the five provinces of Jizhou that would suffer!"

"If a traitor like Zhuo Yongwang, with no scruples whatsoever, replaces Xie Kangnian, who knows what our Great Qian Dynasty will be like after a few years..."

"Because of Zhuo Yongwang's traitorous act, the wolf has been brought in ahead of time."

“The Salo people and the Yi people will certainly not let this rare opportunity slip by.”

"They have demonstrated this fully through their actions."

Shen Moshen stood up and walked to the huge map of the Great Qian Dynasty hanging on the wall: "The current situation is one where the Great Qian Dynasty has no choice but to fight."

"Chen Guyan has already explained the situation very clearly."

"The combined regular army of the Salo and Yi Kingdoms numbers as high as 900 million!"

"Moreover, this is only their standing army."

"Once war breaks out, they can mobilize for war at any time and rapidly expand their military strength."

"Although our Great Qian has no shortage of people, the quality of the soldiers we can mobilize in a short period of time is definitely far behind that of these great powers."

"Moreover, the morale of the people of Qian is also a major problem."

"If we were to encounter a foreign invasion, I wonder how many people would be willing to become its lackeys."

"Zhuo Yongwang and his ilk are a perfect example!"

Shen Moshen looked around at the senior generals of the Zhenguo Army with a solemn expression and said seriously, "Therefore, regarding this battle of defense that has come ahead of schedule..."

"While maintaining a positive fighting spirit, we must never underestimate the enemy!"

"High morale is important, but arrogance must be avoided."

"This time we are facing the military threat of two great powers, as well as the traitor Zhuo Yongwang acting as our guide."

"This is a considerable test for the Daqian Zhenguo Army outside."

"If this battle is fought well, it will not only enhance the prestige of our Great Qian, but also completely change everyone's perception of Great Qian, making those ambitious people who think about dividing up and coveting Great Qian every day wary."

"But if we don't fight well, the vast empire will inevitably be divided up by foreign enemies, and the Qian people will never have a chance to rise again!"

"Therefore, we have no way out in this battle! To retreat means the destruction of our nation!"

As more and more intelligence information was reported by the Secret Intelligence Bureau, Shen Moshen gained a more detailed and in-depth understanding of the overall situation of Shaluo and Yi Kingdom.

This forced Shen Moshen to confront a problem.

That is—his previous assessment of the military threat posed by the Sharo and Yi Kingdoms was indeed somewhat overly optimistic..................

On the surface, this time, the capital's side, led by Shen Moshen, did indeed demonstrate its toughness and confidence in front of the Salo people and the Yi people.

Moreover, this is the first time in decades that the Great Qian Empire has responded in such a domineering manner in international diplomacy.

The Daqian side proved with its actions that their previous warnings were not just empty words!

When the Salo and Yi people ignored the warnings and went their own way, the Great Qian decisively fulfilled its warnings—declaring hostility and ordering the Salo and Yi people's diplomatic personnel in Qian to leave the country within a specified period!

It seems that everything that needs to be done has been done in safeguarding the sovereignty and dignity of the Great Qian Dynasty.

However, the Daqian side, which seemed to be all-powerful and had the upper hand, was not actually as dominant and in complete control as it appeared.

On the contrary—in fact, from the moment Zhuo Yongwang decided to collude with the Saluo people and the Yi people to seize the five provinces of Jizhou from the Great Qian Dynasty.

The initiative had already been seized by the Salo people and the Yi people.

As the intelligence intercepted by the Secret Intelligence Bureau shows—this time, whether the Daqian side is tough or as submissive as ever, it doesn't matter.

The Salo people and the Yi people are determined to invade Qian by force.

In fact, long before the capital sent a note to the Salo people and the foreign ambassadors in the capital ordering them to leave the country within a specified period, the Salo people's army had already entered the territory of Daqian, and the foreign fleet had already set off.

They wanted to seize the opportunity while the Western Luo states were preoccupied with economic collapse and domestic instability, leaving them unable to attend to the Great Qian.

Although the Sala and Yi kingdoms were also affected by the economic collapse.

However, the impact on Salo and Yi Kingdom is far less severe than that on countries like Gelian, Dunli, and Lanxi.

At the very least, the situation in both the Kingdom of Shaluo and the Kingdom of Yi has not yet developed to the point where the president has resigned and the power of the state is seriously unstable.

Moreover, the fact that the Saluo and Yi Kingdom chose to divide the Great Qian Kingdom by force at this time was also a good way to divert internal conflicts.

Advancing into the Great Qian Dynasty would be a win-win situation for both the Shaluo and Yi Kingdoms.

With so many benefits right there, what reason would the Salo people and the Yi people have not to do so?