Empire Conquest
Chapter 254 - 250: Seeking Advice

Chapter 254: Chapter 250: Seeking Advice

On the outskirts of the Imperial Capital, it was the estate Bai Zhizhan had visited at the beginning of the month.

When Xue Yuanzheng got out of the car, several Imperial Guards standing outside immediately formed a circle, only to disperse shortly afterward.

Xue Yuanzheng ascended the stairs alone, with only one personal bodyguard accompanying him while the rest stayed on the ground floor.

Although he was nearly twenty years younger than Zhu Shijian, they could be considered contemporaries.

By the end of the last war, Xue Yuanzheng was already an Army General, and Zhu Shijian had just been promoted to a Naval Admiral. If Xue Yuanzheng had remained in the Army, he would’ve had more opportunities for promotion and would’ve certainly succeeded Ma Zhongyi as the Army Commander after the war.

Moreover, the two were also close friends.

Over forty years ago, a young and naïve Xue Yuanzheng received a recommendation letter to attend the Naval Officer Academy and went to the Imperial Naval Officer Academy. Unfortunately, during the medical examination, he was found to be colorblind, which prevented him from becoming a naval officer.

Of course, Xue Yuanzheng did not regret this.

Thereafter, the era of the Imperial Navy was dominated by Zhou Kuande and Zhu Shijian. If Xue Yuanzheng had joined the Navy, he might well have been overshadowed.

A twenty-year age gap cannot be compensated for with ability alone.

In peacetime, countless excellent officers are buried in obscurity, the majority retiring without ever having the chance to realize their ambitions.

In Xue Yuanzheng’s own words, even though he was excellent, he couldn’t compare to Zhu Shijian.

Although this statement flattered Zhu Shijian to some extent, it also reflected Xue Yuanzheng’s deep respect for Zhu’s extraordinary status in his heart.

Even after he later became the Imperial Chief Minister, Xue Yuanzheng still valued Zhu Shijian highly.

He could handle the matters of the Army by himself.

But the Navy matters, he had to rely on Zhu Shijian.

For the twenty years after the war, from at least the day Xue Yuanzheng moved into the Prime Minister Mansion, it was he and Zhu Shijian who propelled the Empire gradually onto a war footing and completed the preparations for war.

Without Zhu Shijian’s help, Xue Yuanzheng couldn’t have managed it alone.

They also both worked on formulating the war plans.

Comparatively, the Army’s previous Commander-in-chief, Marshal Ma Zhongyi, was more of a figurehead, mainly used to unite and win over the traditional leaders of the Army.

Outside the study, Zhu Shijian’s secretary had been waiting for a long time.

"Is Elder Zhu asleep?"

"Not yet, he’s been waiting for the Prime Minister."

Xue Yuanzheng didn’t beat around the bush and nodded to his personal bodyguard when the secretary opened the door, signaling the guard to stay outside.

This was the Navy Commander’s residence, normally guarded by the Imperial Guard, so there were certainly no safety issues.

Besides, a dozen guards were downstairs, ready to rush up at any moment.

Inside the room, Zhu Shijian was still sitting in his wheelchair, not reading but leafing through a newspaper, or more precisely, he had been leafing through it earlier.

"Old Brother Zhu."

"Arrived?"

Xue Yuanzheng signaled the secretary with a hand and then picked up a stool to sit beside Zhu Shijian.

"How do you plan to deal with this?" Zhu Shijian was straightforward, eschewing pleasantries after Xue Yuanzheng sat down and getting right to the point.

There was no need for small talk after working together for more than a decade.

"I came over today to ask for your opinion."

"Mine?"

"Commander Ma’s condition has been fluctuating, and it’s gotten more serious recently," Xue Yuanzheng sighed before continuing, "The current situation is far from what we initially envisioned. There’s a concerning atmosphere in both the Cabinet and the military."

"Complacency?"

"Not quite," Xue Yuanzheng paused slightly before continuing, "It’s more like the victory came too easily, so everyone feels that if we continue fighting this way, we will quickly defeat all enemies, including the Newland Federation, and therefore there’s no need to strictly follow the plan."

"So you’re saying that the victory indeed came too easily."

Xue Yuanzheng sighed and then reluctantly shook his head with a bitter smile, looking like he had something to say but was hesitant to articulate it.

"Just like you said at the beginning, the current situation is so far from what was originally envisioned. Who could have predicted that within a mere four days, after being ambushed first, we would turn defeat into victory and nearly annihilate the Saiyi Navy? And who could have expected that the Army would capture the Ice Storm Peninsula, which we couldn’t take in two years, in less than a month and eliminate hundreds of thousands of Saiyi defenders?"

"I really don’t know if I should be happy about this."

"Shouldn’t you be happy?" Zhu Shijian looked at Xue Yuanzheng and said, "We know that even the best-laid plans can’t keep up with change. When devising our strategic plans, we didn’t expect things to develop according to plan, knowing there would be deviations. Are you saying we should be happy if it evolves toward a worse scenario?"

Having been challenged by Zhu Shijian’s words, Xue Yuanzheng suddenly didn’t know what to say.

Indeed, no one was expecting things to progress according to plan, and backup plans had been drawn up, but all those backup plans were for scenarios where military operations encountered trouble and progress was severely delayed. They had not anticipated the situation where the battle objectives were achieved ahead of schedule and the pace of progress far exceeded expectations!

"However, the problem is very serious. Progressing too fast will leave support struggling to keep up, inevitably leading to disorganization and chaos."

"So you’re suggesting we need to slow down."

"Then what are your reservations?"

When Zhu Shijian shifted his gaze, Xue Yuanzheng had already figured it out.

Victory that comes too swiftly is bound to have issues.

This isn’t a single battle, it’s a war composed of countless battles, so winning one, even many battles, isn’t much. If the preparatory work for later stages isn’t in place because of too swift victories early on, subsequent battles could be lost.

To use a gambling analogy: earlier wins are just paper; it’s the later wins that count as money!

If this war is seen as a marathon, it has only just started.

Clearly, that was what Xue Yuanzheng was worried about.

As for the solution, it was actually quite straightforward—slow down and spend more time preparing for the next battle.

As the saying goes, "Sharpening your axe will not delay the work of cutting wood."

But it’s easier said than done.

What Xue Yuanzheng was really concerned about was Rofuss stepping in at this moment to propose cease-fire negotiations between the Liangxia Empire and the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom.

What’s his true intention!?

Unable to figure it out, that was why Xue Yuanzheng had come to Zhu Shijian.

After all, Zhu Shijian, as an observer, could see the situation more clearly than Xue Yuanzheng himself and was better able to peer through the complexity to grasp the essence.

It all came down to a single point.

It was that initial remark that enlightened Xue Yuanzheng.

The Empire now needed to slow its pace, and Rofuss’s suggestion for negotiations was essentially handing the opportunity to slow the rhythm over to Xue Yuanzheng, wasn’t it?

Rofuss certainly had his own ulterior motives.

The Saiyi Imperial Kingdom would get a chance to catch its breath.

The other Great Powers would start looking down on the Liangxia Empire, thinking the Newland Federation had more clout.

But so what?

Whether to negotiate or not, how to negotiate, to what extent, and even when to start—weren’t all these matters that could be resolved with a single word from Xue Yuanzheng?

No matter how formidable Rofuss was, he couldn’t change the fact that the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom launched an undeclared attack against the Liangxia Empire.

To say, employing such a stratagem was something Xue Yuanzheng could think of, and the reason it hadn’t occurred to him immediately was simply due to temporary confusion.

After Zhu Shijian’s prompt, Xue Yuanzheng had an epiphany; it all became clear to him in an instant.

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