Chapter 533: Gripping the Poisonous Snake Seven Inches

Chen Yan's fingertip pause in rubbing the sleeve cuff, his eyes more playful, the curve of his mouth brighter, he does not rush to answer, instead leans back slightly, his seated posture relaxed yet respectful, his gaze falling on the rising sandalwood incense smoke on the desk, and he asks with interest: "Grand Preceptor, do you know what benefits he promised Great Zhou for asking us to dispatch troops?"

Yuwen Hu lifts the celadon tea cup on the desk, lifts the lid and gently skims off the froth, his fingertip rubs the entwined lotus pattern on the rim, and he pauses in thought, recalling.

The tea aroma mingles with sandalwood and spreads through the air; after a moment he raises his eyes and says slowly: "He is willing to first cede the two strongholds of East Jingzhou and North Yanzhou as hostages; after the campaign against Qi succeeds, he will also hand over the cities of Luyang and Changshe."

"In addition, the taxes of Yuzhou and Yingzhou in Henan will belong entirely to Great Zhou for the next three years, and he is willing to send a hostage son to Chang'an to show sincerity!"

"Oh?"

Chen Yan raises an eyebrow, a smile suddenly blossoms in his eyes, as if hearing the biggest joke, and laughs low, "East Jingzhou controls the north‑south waterways, North Yanzhou is the gateway to Qi and Lu, Luyang and Changshe are the throat passages of the Central Plains, plus the three‑year taxes of the two prefectures…"

He shakes his head, a hint of ridicule at the corner of his mouth, "How magnanimous of the Qi State, this Luoyang King truly spares no courtesy!"

Hou Wanjing's conditions are far more than Chen remembered…

Yuwen Hu can't help but smile at this, puts down the cup and says: "You are right; what he promised is not entirely within Hou Wanjing's full authority."

"Although Yuzhou and Yingzhou lie within his sphere, Qi officials still garrison there, and East Jingzhou is guarded by a trusted confidant personally dispatched by the Qi ruler; his so‑called 'ceding' actually means we Great Zhou must seize them ourselves."

The smile on Chen Yan's face gradually fades, a sharp glint flashes in his eyes, "Hou Wanjing has made a fine calculation!"

Yuwen Hu nods and says: "A Yan, in your view, how should we respond?"

Chen Yan's eyes dart within his sockets, that half‑smile deepens, his pupils flash with a keen light, full of unhidden scheming.

He suddenly stands, clasping his fists, bows deeply to Yuwen Hu, and says: "Grand Preceptor, I think we can first, with the highest standards, secretly entertain the envoys sent by the Luoyang King…"

"Provide them with sumptuous attire and food, with flawless protocol, so they truly feel Great Zhou's sincerity and strength!"

He steps forward half a pace, leans slightly forward, his voice lowers further, the cunning in his eyes almost overflows: "When the envoys are won over in heart and mind, we then agree to the alliance and troop dispatch, and immediately send senior officials to discuss every detail of the deployment…"

"How provisions will be supplied, how troops will be arranged, when to launch, even the post‑war city‑division rules, we must tease out each point clearly."

Speaking of this, his eyebrows lift, a playful smile at the corner of his mouth, his tone tinged with mockery: "As for the senior official to handle the talks, I think Grand Marshal himself is most suitable!"

"Grand Marshal has overseen military affairs for years, his prestige is deep, and handling such bargaining scenes is his forte."

"Moreover, letting him appear also shows Great Zhou's seriousness, making Hou Wanjing fully lower his guard."

Yuwen Hu blinks first, his face shows a hint of surprise, then he looks deeply at Chen Yan, a flash of understanding in his eyes, and in a probing tone asks: "Are you agreeing to ally with Hou Wanjing?"

This child heads the Mingjing Department; he could not be unaware of Hou Wanjing's treacherous nature!

And from Yuwen Hu's knowledge of him, he always feels something foul is being bottled up…

"Of course we must agree!" Chen Yan replies resolutely, his voice striking the ground.

But as soon as the words fall, the tone suddenly shifts, his eyes even more cunning, he says playfully: "Otherwise, without our support, how could Hou Wanjing truly decide to gamble on the anti‑Qi affair?"

"The more gladly we consent, the more thoroughly we entertain, the more we let a senior like Grand Marshal negotiate, the more Hou Wanjing will feel Great Zhou is sincerely cooperating, and his concerns will lessen."

"When he completely dispels his doubts and openly clashes with the Qi ruler, that will be the true opening of the drama!"

Yuwen Hu and Chen Yan exchange a glance, instantly understanding each other's thoughts, and both break into a knowing smile.

Then, raising his hand, eyes full of approval, he urges: "Continue!"

Chen Yan, hearing this, slowly sits back, his back straight yet not stiff, his gaze fixed on Yuwen Hu, the calculation in his eyes settling into a bottomless certainty, and meaningfully says: "We can give provisions, we can also give the old armor and blunt swords cleared out from the warehouses, even the confidence to raise troops he most needs—we can even double‑gift them."

He pauses, taps the desk heavily with his fingertip, and declares firmly: "But never the elite!"

"Give provisions?" Yuwen Hu first murmurs the phrase again, a hint of contemplation flashes in his eyes, then as if a joint is clicked, his eyes brighten suddenly.

He turns the Jade Ring with his thumb, the jade smooth slides over his fingertip, a approving smile spreads on his face: "Now that's a brilliant idea!"

He leans forward slightly, his tone unable to hide excitement: "Hou Wanjing rules Henan with a hundred thousand troops; it looks mighty, but what he needs most is provisions!"

"And what Great Zhou lacks the most is precisely those provisions!"

Raising an army against Qi, hundreds of thousands of mouths need food; the thing most lacking is money and provisions!

In Jinyang, to limit him, they gave almost no autonomy in this regard…

Speaking of this, Yuwen Hu's mouth curls a mischievous grin matching Chen Yan's, a flash of cunning in his eyes: "We give provisions, but we cannot open the floodgates."

"Each shipment's amount will be just enough for him to keep his army running, yet insufficient for him to stockpile too much."

"We must also keep the transport routes and dispatch authority firmly in our hands, so the supply can be cut off at any time, just like gripping a poisonous snake seven inches from its head!"

"Grand Preceptor, your wisdom!" Chen Yan clasps his fists, his tone full of sincere flattery.

He slowly extends his right hand, his five fingers snap shut, his voice heavy and powerful: "Thus, the lifeline of Hou Wanjing's great army will be truly in our grasp…"

The reason Chen can be so confident, even ignoring the role of the southern Liang Kingdom, is that…

Historically Hou Jing's defeat was largely due to Liang Kingdom's pervasive corruption…

Even though it sat on the fertile, prosperous Jiangnan lands spanning a thousand li, it had little surplus grain, unable to sustain Hou Jing's forces against Murong Shaozong.

And all this is the credit of the flourishing Buddhist teachings in the south!

Yuwen Hu hears this, nods slowly, satisfaction evident on his face, lifts his hand to stroke his long beard, and praises: "Excellent!"

He pauses again, then asks: "A Yan, any other schemes?"

Chen Yan blinks, a flash of cunning in his eyes, and loudly declares with a half‑smile: "The Qi ruler only granted Hou Wanjing the title of Luoyang King; that's truly stingy…"

"We Great Zhou should grant him the title of Qi King!"

"Brilliant!" Yuwen Hu exclaims, slaps the table, then points at Chen Yan, his eyes full of approving smile, "You kid are full of foul water!"

"Once this title is given, it works far better than provisions or weapons!"

In Yuwen Hu's view, A Yan is full of scheming throughout his being…

And that is precisely what A Ze lacks most!

Even learning just a tenth would satisfy him!

Chen Yan bows, his smile unchanged, his tone a bit innocent: "Isn't this showing our sincerity as allies?"

Yuwen Hu hears this, a deep flash in his eyes, his fingertip lightly taps the table, after a moment of contemplation he smiles: "Since we've already bestowed a king title, let's also add the bestowal of Chizhe, the appointment of Grand Tutor, Grand General, and Minister of the Secretariat!"

Chen Yan lifts the tea cup on the desk, takes a sip, his mouth corners lift slightly, and adds: "We can also covertly arrange personnel to create miracles and auspicious signs for this 'Qi King' throughout Luoyang and Henan!"

He sets down the cup, his tone becoming more playful: "For example, make the fields sprout double‑ear wheat, let the people whisper that at night they see the Ziwei star over Henan…"

"And compose some 'Heaven‑mandated Return to Marquis' nursery rhymes, so storytellers in the markets recount his 'strange phenomena'…"

These things may seem ethereal and insubstantial, yet they are the most capable of beguiling people's hearts; they can both help him win the loyalty of the people of Henan and further fuel his swelling ambition!

Make him feel that he truly is the one to whom Heaven's mandate returns, and that turning against Qi is bound to succeed!

The ancients believed this most, the so‑called heavenly decree...

Even President Yuan Da is no exception!

Yuwen Hu, listening to Chen Yan's plan, could no longer hold back the smile on his face, clapped his hands in amusement, his eyes and brows brimming with delight: "He really seems afraid that he won't act fast enough!"

Having said that, he rubbed the Jade Ring, a hint of slyness flashing in his eyes, his tone growing more playful: "Since we've decided to boost his momentum, we might as well do it thoroughly!"

Not only must we create miracles and compose folk songs, but also, while we're at it, put extra effort among the people of Henan so that the notion of 'Heaven's mandate' takes root in their hearts!

We can have the embroidered‑clad emissary disguise himself as a wandering Taoist or a learned Confucian scholar, spreading rumors in towns and villages, claiming that Qi's ruler Gao Ying is incompetent and unrighteous, and that the heavens' calamities are warnings to the Qi court...

Then lavishly praise Hou Wanjing's heroic talent and grand strategy, portraying him as the true savior of Henan's people from fire and flood, with even the movement of the stars heralding his imperial destiny.

The common folk are ignorant and most readily believe these obscure sayings; over time, public sentiment naturally shifts, and when he raises an army, he gains an extra veneer of 'acting in accordance with Heaven and the people,' allowing his actions to become even more reckless!

"Grand Preceptor Gao!" Chen Yan clasped his fists and bowed, flatteringly saying, "I admire you!"

Yuwen Hu, hearing this, smiled even broader, his fingertips turning the Jade Ring more briskly, and mused: "When Hou Wanjing raises his troops, just let A Heng send a few thousand frail, old and sick to reinforce!"

Chen Yan nodded, a knowing smile curling at the corner of his mouth: "All we need is to sit steadily on the fishing platform!"

He paused, the smile on his face gradually fading, his gaze suddenly sharp, his tone deepening a few levels: "When Qi State, Hou Wanjing, and Liang Kingdom are reduced to a mush, exhausted from fighting, both sides battered, we will then move to pluck the peaches and reap the fisherman's profit!"

Yuwen Hu listened and kept nodding, brilliance flashing in his eyes.

He and Chen Yan locked eyes, each seeing the same ambition and scheming in the other's gaze, unable to contain their delight, they simultaneously burst into hearty laughter: "Hahaha!"

The laughter echoed through the quiet side hall, shaking the sandalwood incense smoke on the table so that it quivered slightly.