Chapter 763: Economic Blockade Traps Barbarians, Great Wall Drinks Blood to Slash Smugglers

This endless ten‑thousand‑li Great Wall, its core and true strategic purpose is not to fend off those four‑legged barbarian cavalry, but to guard against our own internal rats, to prevent smuggling.

He swung the Horse Whip in mid‑air as his tone grew harsher, and the whip's shadow left a black streak in the sunlight.

The purpose of building the Great Wall is to physically erect a forced trade barrier, to completely cut off the economic lifeline the Grassland barbarians rely on for survival, and to use trade to trap them alive in that barren, bird‑sh*t‑free grassland and desert!

The generals hearing such beyond‑their‑time shocking words were like struck by a blinding thunderclap in broad daylight, their brains buzzing.

The entrenched strategic mindset in their minds, which only valued blade‑to‑blade combat and city sieges, was instantly torn apart by Chen Yan's far‑ahead "economic warfare" dimensional‑reduction theory, and countless fragments of border trade scrambled wildly in their thoughts.

Chen Yan coldly extended two slender fingers, pinching the red bone piece representing the Rouran force on the Shupan like crushing an ant.

He did not discard it; instead, with a flick of the wrist, he casually yet meaningfully moved it to the edge of the black sand representing the Turkic territory, letting the two bone pieces press tightly together.

"Think with the heads on your necks: if we now seek a quick, violent triumph and mobilize troops to wipe out Rouran completely…"

Chen Yan's gaze swept across the faces of the generals like two cold‑glinting short blades.

"The Turkic wolf, now licking its wounds behind Jinshan and poised to rise and swallow the grasslands, no longer has any restraints; it can freely absorb all the remaining pastures and population base of Rouran."

He used the tip of the Horse Whip to carve a deep Gouhe along the line between Rouran and Turkic, the fine sand splashing onto the wooden frame.

"Only by keeping Rouran in this half‑dead, barely‑surviving state can they become like maggots on rotting flesh, clinging to Turkic's skin and flesh for the last scraps of resources, continuously dragging down Turkic's recovering foundation!"

In Chen Yan's bottomless eyes flickered a chillingly rational and calculating light.

"The more the alien tribes on the grassland waste each other, bodies strewn everywhere, even dogs' brains turn inside out, the more solid Great Zhou's Northern Border defense becomes—like Mount Tai—this is the supreme strategy of gaining maximal strategic depth for minimal cost!"

The generals in the hall breathed rapidly, absorbing the logic like desiccated sponges, their awe of the lord rising to an untouchable peak.

Chen Yan's tone grew even colder; his ruthless analysis was like a scalpel, slicing open the blood‑soaked core of border trade.

"As long as we rely on this Great Wall defense, cutting off any smuggling trade beyond the passes, the grasslands will be unable to buy our southern salt, obtain raw iron for forging weapons, or even get cloth for winter protection."

He sneered, tossed the black‑leather Horse Whip onto the Shupan's wooden frame, producing a crisp "snap".

"Those barbarians proud of their hundreds of thousands of string‑pullers can't even get a salty meal; their swords are dulled, they can't even find an Iron Plate to patch a pot. When winter's heavy snow blocks the mountains, what will they use to challenge Great Zhou's fully‑armed elite?"

This dissection of inter‑state rivalry down to oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, etc., a high‑dimensional strategic logic, was like a blade that peeled away layers of history's fog, utterly subduing all the warriors present.

Gu Yu Ci and Lu Ming blushed with shame; the haughty arrogance that had just moments ago filled them vanished completely, and the two, in perfect sync, bent their knees, smashing their proud heads against the cold Qingshi board, reverently saluting the young lord's transcendent scheming.

While this cognitive metamorphosis concluded in the Zongguan Fu hall, the dual‑timeline wheel mercilessly shifted to a hidden pass beyond Great Zhou's Great Wall defense.

It was a moonless, wind‑howling night on the frontier; the massive gate that should have been bolted shut and barred to all suddenly opened a wide enough gap for a carriage to pass.

A massive caravan bearing the banner of a centuries‑old Central Plains merchant house was loaded with mountain‑high piles of premium iron ingots wrapped tightly in oilcloth, snow‑white contraband salt, and barrels of liquor exuding a strong aroma.

The draft horses struggled through the deeply pressed ruts, the axle creaking under the load; the convoy, brazen and unrestrained, prepared to cross the border to trade with the grassland contacts.

The leading smuggler swelled his belly like a ten‑month‑pregnant belly, his face plastered with nauseating flattery, and deftly pulled a heavy cloth sack full of goods from his wide sleeves.

He shuffled in tiny steps to the Great Zhou guard's horse, smiling broadly as he shoved the sack of red‑gold ingots into the officer's calloused hand.

The guard unhesitatingly untied the sack, glanced at the glittering gold bars in the torchlight, tossed them lightly in his hand, and a look of greedy satisfaction spread across his face.

The officer slipped the gold bag into his chest, raised his arm and forcefully waved, signaling the gate soldiers to move the massive blocking horse aside, allowing the treasonous smuggling convoy to exit.

The smuggler and the officer exchanged a glance, and in the silent night let out a greedy, vile, maniacal laugh that only they understood; the rotting smuggling cancer in Great Zhou's border defense was laid bare.

The view pierced the endless night and swiftly returned to the still‑tense council hall of the Xiazhou General Command.

Chen Yan's words suddenly took a sharp, unanticipated turn, and his already cool tone instantly overflowed with a chilling, skin‑stripping murderous intent.

"But now, at this critical moment, on Great Zhou's border defense, a group of parasitic aristocratic merchants and gold‑and‑silver‑blinded greedy guards have taken hold."

He planted both hands on the wooden edge of the Shupan, leaned slightly forward, and the wolf‑like eyes ignited with raging fire.

"They collude, feeding on the blood‑stained copper coins they stash in their waists, continuously siphoning Great Zhou's national vitality that sustains the realm, treating it as smuggling flesh for the grassland beasts to replenish."

Zhang Wenqian, Gao Jiong and other civil officials well‑versed in the nation's mechanisms heard such worm‑like deeds, a hundred‑fold worse than foreign invasion, and their breathing grew ragged, shoulders shaking uncontrollably.

The two almost simultaneously stepped out of the ranks, raised the Jade Hu Tablet high above their heads, knelt together and shouted in unison, pleading for the Chancellor to issue an order to investigate this treasonous crime against the nation.

Chen Yan abruptly straightened, sweeping his massive hand across the Shupan, flattening a miniature sand hill.

"Zhang Wenqian, Gao Jiong, dispatch the Bright Mirror Office's Hidden Agents immediately, leaving no trace behind."

Chen Yan issued the ultimate killing order, each word dripping with a blood‑laden, ice‑cold blade forged between his teeth.

"Lu Ming, Gu Yu Ci, lead all Elite Cavalry of Xiazhou to pour out, take my General's Order, seal every pass and trail leading outside the gate, not even a single bird may be let out."

A slow, blood‑thirsty curve formed on his stern face, the long‑suppressed fury in his eyes exploding fully.

"Those aristocratic merchants love using Great Zhou's iron ingots to earn black‑hearted money on the grasslands stained with our border troops' blood; this time I'll show them a generous mercy, letting them taste the flavor of hopeless survival."

Chen Yan turned, leaving his back to the hall, his voice, imbued with absolute life‑and‑death authority, resonated long in the hall, pronouncing countless death sentences.

"Trace the vines to the fruit, root out these blood‑sucking smuggling merchants parasiting Xiazhou and even Great Zhou."

"Anyone daring to betray the nation's fortune need not stand trial; I will execute them on the spot, exterminating all nine clans, using their blood to stain the Great Wall's bricks!"