Chapter 857: Seeking Help from Others Is Worse Than Seeking Help from Oneself!

The middle-aged cultivator steadied his spirit and bowed, saying: "The Great Qian has launched its army; the border has fallen. Now, the Great Qian's forces have fully invaded Fengxian Prefecture. Before I left, five cities had already been lost..."

With these words, the atmosphere in the room erupted into chaos!

Some clenched their fists, eyes flashing with sharp brilliance, visibly thrilled!

After all, hadn't they been planning for years, just to wait for this moment?

Even the composed Jiang Shan could not suppress a flicker of excitement on his face upon hearing this news.

He took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the joy within him.

Then he turned, facing everyone, and said gravely: "Comrades, it seems the time has come..."

Jiang Xuanji crossed his arms and chuckled lightly: "The Great Qian's advance is so swift, they clearly don't intend to give the Great Qin any time to react. By the time this news reaches the royal capital, the entire Fengxian Prefecture will likely already be lost, won't it?"

"But the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. No matter how swiftly the Great Qian moves or how perfectly they plan, they will never suspect our existence!"

Here, Jiang Xuanji paused slightly.

He raised his head to gaze at the map of the Great Qin's terrain on the wall and said gravely: "Now that the border has fallen, to weaken the Great Qin's destiny, the Great Qian will not let slip Fengxian Prefecture—the closest target. No, not just Fengxian Prefecture; even the neighboring Mingya and Jining Prefectures are two morsels already at their lips, and they certainly won't let them go..."

"By tying down the Great Qian's advance with these three prefectures, when news spreads, the surrounding five prefectures will surely send reinforcements. But even if two of them are medium-level and one is high-level, they still cannot withstand the Great Qian's assault!"

"The two nations have long harbored deep grudges. Faced with such a perfect opportunity, if the Qian King is not a fool, he will understand: if you strike, strike to kill!"

"I suspect the scale of this campaign far exceeds our imagination—it's not an exaggeration to say it's the entire nation's strength!"

Zhao Hu, beside him, frowned and said: "Then how do we position ourselves? In terms of troops, territory, and the number of Gao Jie cultivators, we are vastly inferior to both Qin and Qian. If we make even one misstep, we may face a pincer attack from both nations—then the situation will be dire."

"Or are you planning to ask the Clan Lord for help?"

In his view, all it would take was for the one stationed at Cangwu Mountain to act.

Whether it was the Great Qin's elite or the Great Qian's iron cavalry—even the national beast, comparable to a Primordial Spirit cultivator—were nothing but clay chickens and paper dogs, utterly insignificant.

As Zhao Hu spoke, many turned to Jiang Xuanji, waiting to see what plan he had.

Under their gazes, Jiang Xuanji's expression shifted slightly—but remained strangely calm.

He shook his head: "Can we not resolve the affairs of these two nations ourselves? Why trouble the Clan Lord?"

"Besides, the Clan Lord may help us once, twice—but can he help us every time?"

"Only when the young eagle leaves its parents and faces the trials of the world alone can it grow into a mighty bird soaring through the nine heavens!"

"Even beasts understand this. I believe everyone here understands it too."

"Thus, we of our generation must strive unceasingly. Rather than yearning for others' aid, we must strengthen ourselves. This war between the two nations is not just a trial—it is a forging!"

"I have the confidence to overthrow the Great Qin, swallow the Great Qian, and emerge victorious from this war. What about you?"

Jiang Xuanji faced the crowd, his voice firm and resounding!

Yes, asking the Clan Lord for help would surely win this battle easily.

But what about next time? What about after that?

Will we always rush to beg the Clan Lord whenever danger arises?

How can we ever grow that way?

Would we not be nothing but a screaming, helpless giant infant?!

Seeking help from others is worse than seeking help from oneself.

This is Jiang Xuanji's guiding principle!

As Jiang Xuanji's voice echoed, the entire room fell silent.

Some even lowered their heads, daring not to meet Jiang Xuanji's gaze.

They had indeed harbored the thought: whenever danger struck, they would beg the Clan Lord to act.

But now that Jiang Xuanji had exposed it, they suddenly felt overwhelming shame!

Some were ashamed—but more were stirred by Jiang Xuanji's words, cheering loudly, their blood burning, their hearts surging with passion!

Seeing this, Jiang Shan, standing behind Jiang Xuanji, nodded slowly.

With such unwavering conviction, he is indeed worthy of the position of Supreme Commander I personally appointed him to.

Not to mention the effort I took to journey to Zi Xuan Heaven myself and take you from the hands of the Garrison Commander...

Then, under the gaze of all in the room,

Jiang Xuanji extended his finger and pointed again at the map on the wall.

"Though Tiandou Prefecture is remote within the Great Qin, precisely because of this, we are spared from the initial chaos of war."

"While the two nations fight and exhaust their strength, we shall fortify our walls, stockpile grain, and delay proclaiming ourselves king!"

"With the front line under pressure, the rear will continuously draw troops to reinforce it."

"At that time, when the rear prefectures are depleted, seizing them will be effortless for us!"

Hearing this, everyone in the room's eyes lit up.

The current situation: the enemy is visible, we are hidden.

Under these conditions, Jiang Xuanji's plan is entirely feasible—and the success rate is certainly high!

At this moment, Jiang Xuanji ignored the crowd's excitement.

He calmly turned to Ding Xuan: "Please convey a message to the other Prefects, Ding Prefect."

Ding Xuan immediately bowed: "Speak."

Jiang Xuanji said gravely: "The time has not yet come. We must still lie low. If the imperial court orders you to send troops to reinforce the front, remember only one word: delay!"

"Delay?"

"Yes. Since each Prefect has already decided to abandon darkness and embrace light, your troops naturally belong to us. If they are rashly sent to the front and wasted, won't that mean we suffer losses for nothing?"

"But what of the imperial court?"

"Now is a time of crisis. With the Great Qian as a distraction, one wrong move means total defeat. The Prefects have not raised rebellion—what excuse does the Qin Wang have to punish them? Refusing an imperial order? Ha! While the external enemy remains unvanquished, internal strife will only bring self-destruction."

"Such a simple truth—how could the Qin Wang not understand? Even if he resents the Prefects, he can only punish them after the war ends. So, all you need is to make them remember one word: delay!"

"Delaying the imperial decree, waiting until Da Qin shows signs of decline, until its interior grows hollow—then, when we launch our troops, a single rallying cry will suffice, with several prefectures as our base, enough to swallow Da Qin in the shortest time!"

"Capture the capital of Da Qin, establish a new dynasty, forge the national destiny, then turn our blades straight toward Da Qian!"

"The Zhengshang Guild has already opened branches widely across Da Qian during this time; once war breaks out, we can coordinate from within and without, seizing cities while Da Qian's interior is vulnerable, completely severing the supply lines of Da Qian's armies!"