Clashing Blades and a Backup Plan
"This was my oversight; I never imagined that Daoist's destination in Chang'an City would be Pingyang!"
After escorting Kong Ning to Chang'an City, Zhang Xuezhou, as usual, had to report to the new emperor.
Moreover, he also needed to obtain a set of formation materials from the new emperor for practice, which involved familiarizing himself with the Mount Tai patrol members who could be mobilized.
During the handover, Zhang Xuezhou also mentioned Princess Pingyang, who had just recovered from her illness and returned to her residence.
Zhang Xuezhou, like a cunning rabbit, had three burrows to hide in; the new emperor concealed himself by his unfamiliar face and the code names he used; the empress dowager, clad in armor, was equally inconspicuous; among the crowd, only Tian Fen was somewhat blatant.
Among the many rehearsals, Tian Fen Tian Fen the most dangerous, and an ambush was set up around him to lure the enemy out.
But no one expected that Daojun only came to Chang'an City to see Princess Pingyang.
No method of sending messages can compare to Daojun's ability to fly. If we cannot be one step ahead of Daojun, the way we communicate will further expose the location of Marquis Pingyang.
It was indeed difficult to find the Marquis of Pingyang, who was frequently used by the new emperor to impersonate him and lived a secluded life. His appearance was also difficult to distinguish normally, even after Princess Pingyang revealed his location.
This matter ultimately took on a degree of reliance on fate, a gamble between Daojun's ability to find people and Pingyanghou's skill in concealing himself.
"Defense will never solve the problem," the new emperor said. "Only by attacking Northern Kuru Continent, forcing them to fight to maintain their ruling position, can this threat be resolved once and for all!"
"Your Majesty is right!"
Zhang Xuezhou watched as the composed new emperor made his statement.
He had to admit that the emperor's ideas were radical and his methods were the most practical; the emperor possessed some qualities that Zhang Xuezhou lacked.
Let alone comparing Zhang Xuezhou to others of his age who were constantly wandering around, even now he is somewhat inferior in this respect.
For example, in the real world, all the countries know that the capital of Qin Meng is the lair of ferocious beasts, and may also contain the factors that lead to the destruction of Qin Meng, and even involve a possible survival crisis, but so far no one has announced that they will go deep into Qin Meng.
Even when the Aomeijia Alliance encountered a spider swarm, it was only a small squad of Sequencers that probed the Sequence Holder; there was no incitement for the entire population to mobilize and wipe it out.
"I have been making adjustments as best I can, aiming to launch a large-scale war within the next two years, until we achieve numerical superiority and annihilate them," the new emperor said with piercing eyes. "If we can use the Immortal Court to contain Zhu Jiuyin, our chances of victory will be even higher. If we can defeat one of them, the remaining two will find it difficult to support each other, and even if we don't take action, other forces will covet them!"
"Your Majesty is right!"
Zhang Xuezhou in.
Compared to the Great Han Dynasty's past defensive strategies, the new emperor was clearly not satisfied with being attacked and decided to take the initiative.
War involves many aspects and its losses are beyond what ordinary people can bear.
The new emperor did not immediately launch a military campaign regardless of the cost, but rather specified a timeframe, which clearly required extremely thorough preparation.
He doesn't oppose your plan to proactively attack the Xiong State!
The exchange and handover at the Weiyang Palace took quite a while; Zhang Xuezhou didn't leave until almost an hour later.
After the main hall doors closed again, the Empress Dowager emerged from the rear hall area and gave her comments on Zhang Xuezhou.
Following the ambush at Mayi, the Xiong State launched unprecedented frequency and scale of harassment and attacks on the border.
This meant a complete break with the Xiong State, and the court maintained a war-like attitude towards the Xiong State. However, there was still a distinction between the conservative faction and the radical faction within the court.
Some, like Han Anguo, believed that the city walls were the only means to continuously eliminate the Xiong State's forces, while the younger generation, including Wei Qing, believed that it was necessary to launch a proactive attack on the Xiong State.
The attitude towards the Xiong State has changed, and the peace faction dares not show its face, but the controversy has not been eliminated.
This is not just a matter of words; supporting one side may require personal involvement, and the level of risk involved will be completely different.
Zhang Xuezhou's lack of objection implies that he will also join the attack. If the new emperor has a need to control the Imperial Shuttle, the other side will inevitably cooperate.
This attitude pleased the Empress Dowager.
Putting aside any personal motives Zhang Xuezhou might have had, this cooperation was enough to make up for his mistake.
Few civil and military officials in the court had the courage to cooperate with the new emperor in attacking the Daoist ruler, and even fewer had the ability to do so.
"He's never confused about the big picture," the new emperor said. "When I raised the issue, he didn't utter a single word of objection or dissuasion; he completely agreed!"
"Daojun is a very dangerous cultivator," the Empress Dowager said worriedly. "I've tried countless methods, but I can't defend against his flying knife technique. Is it really worth it for my son to do this?"
"Only through the clash of swords can we know who will survive to the end," the new emperor said. "If I die, the grudges arising from the death of an emperor will be irreconcilable. As long as the Great Han Dynasty exists, someone will avenge me. Moreover, I have life-saving elixirs. Even if I am hit by a flying knife, there is a high probability that I will survive. I should be able to use the method of incarnation that Mother Empress mentioned to survive!"
"This method is good, but the cultivation level of the avatar will drop significantly. Only by mastering the fusion method mentioned by Dongfang Shuo can the cultivation level of the physical body be completely transferred," the Empress Dowager said. "The avatar cannot consume elixirs and constantly consumes its Law Power. Only by carrying the spirit jade at all times to continuously restore the avatar's magical Law Power can it maintain its vitality!"
"The need to wear spirit jade isn't a drawback," the new emperor said. "Although our royal family has fallen on hard times, we can still afford over a hundred spirit jade ornaments. The problem lies in the method of fusion!"
"Dongfang Shuo said that only Xiao Huo has mastered the fusion method so far, but Xiao Huo's cultivation level is too low. He is currently only at the level of the Body Control Realm and can only refer to the fusion methods of the first three realms," the Empress Dowager said.
"With the release of the Qi and Blood power of Mount Tai, the sick child has already stepped into the True Spirit Realm. With proper nurturing, the sick child should have no problem reaching the Middle Three Realms. As for the Divine Ability Realm will need to guide and instruct him," the new emperor said.
"Young Huo started his cultivation too early. Trying to force him to grow too fast will only make it harder for him to reach great heights. His comprehension is far from sufficient, and it will be much more difficult for him to attain Divine Ability than for ordinary people," the Empress Dowager said with a headache.
"This sick child has a strong ability to understand!"
The politics of the court were always a tangled mess that was difficult to untangle, and spiritual cultivation made one feel powerless to climb to higher levels. The new emperor only showed some ease when discussing Huo Qubing.
Although he was someone else's son, the new emperor raised Huo Qubing almost like a prince.
He was not Emperor Jing's eldest son, and there was another crown prince, which resulted in a lack of education for him. When the former crown prince's incident came to light, the new emperor was summoned to Chang'an City for short-term training.
After Emperor Jing was traumatized, this kind of training became even more focused on quick results.
The new emperor felt like a wild, overgrown weed; his growth lacked both nuance and sufficient guidance.
This led him to try to make up for this regret by training Huo Qubing, wanting to see if the latter would have any different experiences from receiving a more detailed education.
The new emperor gave Huo Qubing many preferential treatments, even making him the youngest member of the Imperial Academy.
As for Huo Qubing's involvement in the method of fusion, that was an accident.
The Empress Dowager did not have a high opinion of Huo Qubing, while the new emperor had some confidence in him, believing that Huo Qubing would definitely not be limited to the Divine Ability Realm in the future.