Who Was Behind This?
Xu Xiao grew anxious when he heard this. He hurriedly said, "But we've already gotten most of the important people in Yongzhou on our side. It'd be such a shame to give up now."
Li Yishan listened to Xu Xiao's thoughts and calmly replied, "There's no need to rush. One day, the Liyang Emperor will naturally hand Yongzhou over to us himself."
Xu Fengnian heard what Li Yishan said and replied uncertainly, "Master, do you mean that Prince Jing'an and Prince Yan La aren't a match for Wang Yue?"
Li Yishan pointed to a few passes on the map, then said gravely, "Take a look. Wang Yue has stationed heavy forces at these passes. He's clearly only defending.
"Prince Jing'an has a deal with Wang Yue, so he'll certainly put on a show without committing himself. At most, he'll send the emperor's men out to die, so he can gain better control over Qingzhou.
"Prince Yan La is formidable, too, but as long as Wang Yue assassinates a few of his generals, there's little chance he'll break through the Xia Dynasty's defenses.
"Prince Yan La isn't stupid. He's surely afraid that Wang Yue and Cao Changqing will get involved, so at most he'll launch small-scale attacks. He won't commit his elite troops.
"So the Liyang Dynasty's campaign to wipe out the Xia Dynasty will probably be a protracted war. It could last a year or two, or even longer."
Xu Xiao furrowed his brow and said uncertainly, "You mean the Liyang Dynasty will be greatly weakened by the Xia Dynasty, making Northern Liang especially important to them. There's a good chance they'll hand Yongzhou straight over to us? If so, we should at least get Quanzhou as well."
Li Yishan smiled at this and replied calmly,