The elderly man stepping forth from the ranks was Tongzhu Kingdom's Minister of War, Yu Zhong. Hearing the king's instructions, he calmly glanced at the Jade Gui in his hand, coughed, and said, "This old minister and the others have analyzed the circumstances of the four kingdoms. Gu Kingdom and Yifeng Kingdom were Confucian cultivator founded nations, Jiming Kingdom was a Daoist sect-founded nation, and Gaza Kingdom had recently been supported by the Buddhist sect. Judging from appearances alone, Tongzhu Kingdom should begin with Jiming Kingdom and Gaza Kingdom. Gaza Kingdom in particular lies extremely close to Tongzhu Kingdom and possesses limited national strength; it should fall in a single blow... However, General Hao Hu believed that Yifeng Kingdom was controlled by the You family, a seventh-grade aristocratic family, while Gu Kingdom had always been the territory of the seventh-grade Gu family. Aristocratic families below seventh grade posed no threat at all before Tongzhu Kingdom. Moreover, the Confucian schools of those two kingdoms were... Agriculturalist branches, carrying little weight among Confucian cultivators. The national strength of the two kingdoms was not much greater than Gaza Kingdom's. Yet although Gaza Kingdom was controlled by Buddhist cultivators and appeared weak, Buddhist statues now spread their influence throughout Cangxian Continent. We have never heard of a Buddhist kingdom being destroyed. If Tongzhu Kingdom were to provoke their sharp edge, we fear retaliation from the Buddhist sect. Your Majesty also knows that those monks are the most sinister, and they care deeply about face. Should Tongzhu Kingdom make one misstep, we might be besieged by several Buddhist kingdoms. The gains would not make up for the losses! I ask Your Majesty to decide..."
"What about Jiming Kingdom?" Seeing that Yu Zhong had not mentioned Jiming Kingdom, the king asked with great interest.
Yu Zhong