Chapter 762

Chen Yan's deep and dark gaze patrolled back and forth over the heads of the generals below for a long time, until everyone felt their knees going numb from kneeling on the blue stone slabs, before he let out a sigh that could barely be heard.

Looking at Gu Yuci, Lu Ming, and the others below who were still sticking out their thick necks, their battle intent not yet dissipated but daring to be angry but not daring to speak, Chen Yan's sharply defined face not only lacked the relief of seeing high spirits, but instead slowly pulled open a cold and mocking sneer.

"The feat of destroying a nation, an unparalleled hegemony for all eternity!" Chen Yan placed the mutton-fat jade tea cup in his hand steadily on the purple sandalwood desk beside him, the porcelain and wood surface colliding to emit an extremely crisp sound.

He sat in the broad back of the chair, his fingers tapping the armrest in boredom, his words, carrying a bit of indifference, were like a basin of bone-chilling cold water mixed with countless ice shards, mercilessly poured over their heads.

"You rough embryos who only know how to swing blades and kill on horseback all day long, you still think too simply and naively!"

Gu Yuci and Lu Ming exchanged a quick, bewildered look upon hearing this, their chests filled with confusion and grievance at this belittlement.

Chen Yan stood up from the grand master's chair extremely lazily, smoothed out the few subtle wrinkles on the hem of his dark casual clothing, and casually picked up a long horsewhip made of top-grade cowhide from the weapon rack.

He stepped in those exquisitely crafted black leather boots, accompanied by extremely steady and powerful footsteps, and walked slowly down the steps to the front of the giant northern military sand table in the center of the hall, which occupied a huge space and was meticulously piled with fine sand and yellow earth.

Chen Yan held the handle of the horsewhip in reverse, folded the soft yet extremely resilient whip tip in his hand twice at will, and then he raised his arm and pointed the end of the horsewhip heavily at the landmark of the continuous yellow earth defensive line on the sand table that represented the Great Zhou Great Wall.

The dull poking sound was exceptionally clear in the quiet hall; Chen Yan tilted his head slightly, swept his peripheral vision over the generals behind him, and threw out a question that seemed completely unrelated to the military meeting about destroying the Rouran today, and was extremely abrupt.

"Since you all boast of being good generals who are well-versed in military strategy and can fight well, then I will test you today..." Chen Yan's tone did not show a trace of impatience, but rather like a teacher examining a young child in a school.

"The dynasties of the Central Plains have spent countless amounts of the people's fat and cream, and worked to death who knows how many laborers who left their homes, to build this continuous ten-thousand-mile Great Wall on this bitter and cold border line. What is its true purpose?"

This question, which seemed simple to the point of being almost ridiculous, instantly plunged all the generals in the hall into a brief collective bewilderment.

Lu Ming scratched the prickly short hair on the back of his head; he really couldn't understand why the Pillar of State would solemnly bring up such a common-sense question that even a three-year-old child knew at this moment.

He was the first to press the saber at his waist, straightened his iron-tower-like body, and answered loudly in a muffled voice: "Replying to the Pillar of State, does the purpose of this Great Wall need to be thought about? Naturally, it is to resist the iron hooves of those grassland barbarian cavalry from going south to plunder!"

Lu Ming's thick fingers gestured forcefully in the air, his tone filled with the certainty of taking it for granted.

"Our Central Plains infantry's two legs can't outrun the barbarians' four legs. Only by relying on this towering city wall can we block those grassland beasts who only know how to rob and kill outside our national gates, and use bows and crossbows to defend the dangerous terrain, so that we can protect the commoners within the pass from the suffering of war."

Xiazhou Chief Clerk Gao Jiong wore a civil official's robe; his long, narrow eyes darted rapidly in their sockets, keenly sensing that Chen Yan's question definitely had deep meaning.

Gao Jiong thought for a moment, tidied up the broad sleeves of his official robe, stepped forward, cupped his hands, and bowed, adding a layer of political consideration to Lu Ming's purely military view.

"The subordinate believes that Commander Lu's words are only a shallow view at the military level. The emperors of past dynasties built the Great Wall, besides this passive defense against foreign enemies, even more to manifest the supreme national might of our Central Plains great nation that cannot be violated!"

The calculating light unique to civil officials flickered in Gao Jiong's dark eyes, and his voice echoed in the hall unhurriedly.

"This ten-thousand-mile majestic pass stands here just to make the various grassland tribes look up and feel awe as soon as they raise their heads, constantly reminding them that there is a difference between north and south, superior and inferior, and to plant the seeds of awe in their hearts so they dare not easily cause trouble at our borders."

Xiazhou Deputy Governor Zhang Wenqian and the temporarily acting Governor Ye Zhuxi nodded in agreement after hearing this view, and successively spoke to give some similar answers.

All the generals and civil officials failed to jump out of the limited categories of "military defense and interception" and "political geopolitical deterrence" that had been written to death in the military books of past dynasties.

Chen Yan listened patiently to these seemingly perfect standard answers, and a look of extreme arrogance suddenly bloomed on his cold face, followed by a burst of unscrupulous laughter.

The laughter with immense penetrating power rebounded between the beams and pillars of the empty hall, causing the few swaying sheep-horn palace lamps to tremble slightly.

The long black leather horsewhip in his hand lashed out forcefully in mid-air, the whip tip tearing through the air and exploding with an extremely ear-piercing and sharp sonic boom.

This whip sound was like an invisible and heavy slap, mercilessly lashing out at the self-righteous cognitive blind spot of all the generals present.

"Wrong! You all completely failed to mention the core point!" Chen Yan stopped laughing, the terrifying cold light gathering again in his abyss-like eyes, and the horsewhip in his hand pointed straight at the direction of the Great Wall on the sand table.

"If this Great Wall built of yellow earth and blue bricks could really completely block those grassland cavalry who come and go like the wind, then you explain to me why the Rouran iron cavalry have been able to repeatedly find flaws in the passes and drive straight in over the past hundred years?"

He took a step forward, staring at Gu Yuci, who was closest, his words like sharp blades scraping against the other's eardrums.

"Those barbarians even fought their way to the hinterland of the Central Plains several times, plundering the money, grain, and population of our Central Plains border counties as if entering an uninhabited land. Is that so-called Great Wall really an insurmountable natural chasm in front of the iron hooves of their concentrated superior forces?"

This series of chain-reaction counter-questions, which directly lifted the fig leaf of history and subverted everyone's military common sense, plunged the entire hall into a deathly silence that was even more oppressive than before.

Gu Yuci only felt his throat go dry, and Lu Ming opened his wide mouth, unable to spit out a word for a long time; a layer of extremely fine cold sweat instantly seeped out on the foreheads of the generals, and they discovered that the set of military theory they had regarded as a golden rule in their minds actually had a huge crack that could not be self-justified at this moment.

Chen Yan's eyes, flickering with the cold light of insight into the affairs of the ages, locked tightly onto the pass checkpoints marked on the sand table.

"The reasons for military defense and political deterrence you mentioned were indeed considered by past dynasties, but that is only the extremely superficial fur, and it cannot be counted as the most core true function of this ten-thousand-mile Great Wall!"