Xue Shengjing said, "If that really happened, which side would Shajia take?"
Huo Ge said, "Naturally, Western Sichuan's!"
Xue Shengjing nodded. "In terms of sentiment, certainly!" Then his tone shifted. "Great Kang launched numerous campaigns against Shajia in the past, and countless people died in those wars. If I remember correctly, it was Commander-in-Chief Li who blocked Shajia's advance eastward."
Huo Ge said nothing, merely glancing at Xue Shengjing. The man was plainly tearing open wounds that had only just scabbed over for the Shajia People. Still, he was right about one thing: without Li Tianheng guarding Western Sichuan, Shajia's cavalry might already have reached the heart of the Central Plains.
Although Huo Ge had not revealed his purpose, Xue Shengjing had already grasped his intentions. The Shajia People's desire to advance eastward had never abated for a moment. In this respect, the Shajia People were astonishingly similar to the Black Hu people: equally ambitious, equally eager to gallop through Jiangnan and hunt the stag of supremacy in the Central Plains. Deep down, Xue Shengjing loathed these crude barbarians, but he had to admit that, under the present circumstances, they had their uses. He said, "A true alliance never sacrifices one side's interests to accommodate the other. Both sides must obtain what they want from it. Only then can their relationship remain firm. Great Yong has never intended to ally with Western Sichuan."
Doubt filled Huo Ge's face. "Oh?" To him, Xue Shengjing was hypocrisy incarnate. Everyone knew Great Yong wanted to annex Great Kang. Hadn't he come to Western Sichuan precisely to drive a wedge between it and Great Kang, ally with Western Sichuan to attack Great Kang from both sides, and carve up its territory between them? Yet now he claimed he had never considered such an alliance.