"Great Zhao doesn't have many troops left. Most are in the hands of Shan Hao and the others, but killing Luo Jing ahead of time weakened their forces considerably."
Shen Hong picked up the discussion, looking at the others as he spoke.
"Other than the experts of the Directorate of Celestial Observations and the imperial family, Great Zhao has little strength left under its command. There should be Great Powers among the Directorate and the imperial family, but I doubt there are many.
With our current strength, dealing with them shouldn't pose any major problems."
Great Zhao's greatest obstacles now were the Directorate of Celestial Observations and the imperial family.
The Directorate was mysterious.
The imperial family had deep reserves.
Leaving those two aside, Great Zhao had little strength remaining.
As for the other officials...
Frankly, most were fence-sitters who would never firmly commit to either side. Besides, having ruled their prefectures for years, they could not possibly have remained entirely uninvolved in court affairs.
Thus...
They also had their own factions and followers within the Imperial Court.
Those connections were simply more discreet, escaping others' notice.
"Why think so much? Does the situation leave us any room to choose?" Du Chengwu shook his head indifferently. "We advance or we die. Even if we don't act, Xi Yang won't let us live once he catches his breath.
The longer we delay, the worse things become for us.
Our five prefectures have already surrounded Central Province. Just send in the troops. Who cares about the Directorate or the imperial family? If they had the ability, they would have destroyed us long ago. Why wait until now?"
As Du Chengwu saw it...
If Great Zhao possessed sufficient strength, how could it have ended up in its current predicament? It would have sent