Chapter 1855: What are the Odds of Success?

On one side, there is the carefree prince who holds military power in his hands.

On the other side, there is the emperor who holds the power of life and death, looking down upon the world...

Imperial power is truly very tempting, but it is just too difficult to obtain.

Taking Jinghua City was merely the first step completed on his journey to contend for the world; entering Jinghua in such a manner, without name or status, the various princes of the world would certainly not submit, and for two hundred thousand troops to sweep across the world, it is estimated that even in eight or ten years, it might not be achieved.

The road to imperial power is fraught with difficulties; one careless move, and the whole game is lost.

Moreover...

The Longyan of today has long since been turned into a constitutional monarchy by Liu Zheng...

How many of the Royalist Faction remain?

How large is the market for imperial power still?

These are the things Xie Chao is considering.

Of course...

For the sake of the throne, he could throw the entire Longyan into chaos.

Although the price of such a thing is high, it could allow him to snatch victory from the chaos!

"Military Advisor, once the bow is drawn, there is no turning back. Once this war begins, we will become rebels, and at that time, we will face pressure from the entire world."

Xie Chao took a deep breath and said.

"Is His Highness afraid?"

Meng Zan asked with a smile.

"This prince is not afraid, it is just that the risks of doing this are too great."

Xie Chao sighed and said.

In truth, Xie Chao had never had this psychological preparation; for him, these things were too sudden.

Their original plan was that when the Mongolian Army attacked the city, their Qinwang Army would defeat the Mongolian Army, then enter the city with the praise of the entire city, and subsequently control the Emperor Xie Ming, holding the Son of Heaven to command the princes, and slowly plot for the world.

But what they did not expect was that the Jinghua garrison would be so tenacious, holding the city with almost no great cost.

The Mongolian Army must have seen that there was no hope in attacking the city, so they retreated quickly, but this directly left them without an excuse.

There is no justification for the troops to move...

Assisting in defense?

Protecting the King?

The Mongolian Army has already retreated; is there still a need for you to assist in defense? Is there a need for you to protect the King?

"Then, Your Highness, what do you intend to do? Take a step forward, or take a step back?"

Meng Zan asked.

"Military Advisor, look, how much chance of winning do we actually have?"

Xie Chao asked.

It was obvious that in his heart, Xie Chao did not want to give up this opportunity; he just needed a shot in the arm right now.

"Thirty percent."

Meng Zan was straightforward.

"What? Only thirty percent?"

Hearing this, Xie Chao's expression changed, feeling somewhat desperate.

"If Your Highness can govern diligently, the chance of winning can be increased to fifty percent."

Meng Zan smiled.

A fifty percent chance of winning made Xie Chao feel somewhat moved; Xie Chao was not a playboy, and governing diligently was not a difficult thing for him.

He wanted to give it a try now.

"Could the Military Advisor elaborate on where this fifty percent chance of winning lies?"

"The Longyan new administration has just begun, the political situation is unstable, and the one in charge, Liu Zheng, is not in the country; this is ten percent."

"Jinghua is a thousand-year-old capital, and Your Highness is a descendant of the Xie surname, occupying an advantage in legitimacy; this is the second ten percent."

"The geographical location of Jinghua is excellent, easy to defend and difficult to attack, and furthermore, it backs onto the Northeast; as long as we take Jinghua, we can control the passage into the Northeast. Given time, the Northeast will fall into our hands. The Northeast of today is the 'Beidacang', and fighting a war is all about food. Once we have a sufficient supply of food, we naturally have the capital to continue fighting; this is the third ten percent."

"With this thirty percent as a foundation, Your Highness can then implement benevolent governance, support the people's livelihood, and let the commoners live a good life of peace and contentment. Once we have the support of the people, the hearts of the world will turn toward us, and at that time, we will be in an invincible position!"

Meng Zan explained slowly.

At first, everything within Xie Chao's sight was dim, because he simply did not know how to win after rebelling.

But after hearing these words from Military Advisor Meng Zan, he suddenly saw the light.

Meng Zan was truly too conservative!

Especially the third ten percent!

With the "Beidacang", the chance of winning was already close to half!

What is fighting a war about? It is about logistics, it is about food!

Just like the Battle of Guandu, Caocao had gained such a great advantage in the beginning, yet Yuan Shao still had several times more troops than Caocao.

Why? It was because he had hoarded a large amount of food in Wuchao!

As long as there is enough food, he can afford to wear the enemy down. Furthermore, the distance between Jinghua and Nanzhili is very close, and what kind of place is Nanzhili? That is a populous province of Longyan!

Nanzhili is the Central Plains region of Longyan; this place nurtures one-tenth of the country's population.

With people, food, and territory, this is only a fifty percent chance of winning? This is a guaranteed victory!

Not to mention...

The Liaodong of today is not only a granary, but its development in industry is also taking off like a flight.

As long as Liaodong is taken, why worry that the world will not be in my hands?

"Rest assured, Military Advisor. I, Xie Chao, will become a great emperor who surpasses all throughout history! And when that time comes, Military Advisor, you shall be the Prime Minister of my dynasty!"

Xie Chao followed suit, becoming excited as well.

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Meng Zan cupped his hands in delight.

After the "monarch and subject" discussed for a while, they decided to take action; however, they did not make it public, intending instead to take them by surprise.

Although the gates of Jinghua City were wide open, it must have considerable combat power to have withstood the charge of the Mongol Army. Furthermore, there was also a "Qinwang Army" here that looked quite formidable. If this ten-thousand-strong Qinwang Army were to stab them in the back while they were attacking, they would not be able to endure it.

Now, the initiative was in their hands; they would only take action when they were one hundred percent certain!

"General Wang, lead thirty thousand troops to keep an eye on this Qinwang Army. If they cause trouble when we make our move, annihilate them immediately!"

Xie Chao ordered.

"Yes!" General Wang replied, then led his troops to take action.

At this moment, the Youzhou Army had already begun preparing siege equipment.

Soon, large-scale equipment such as Scaling Ladders and Battering Rams appeared in the field of vision of the Jinghua City soldiers.

"My lord, look quickly!"

Upon hearing this, Yu Qian hurriedly stood on the city tower and looked into the distance. Seeing those massive Scaling Ladders, his heart instantly turned cold.

Why would the Qinwang Army bring Scaling Ladders? It was obvious: they were here to loot a burning house!

"These treacherous rebels!"

Yu Qian clenched his fists tightly and cursed in anger, but at this moment, besides cursing, he did not know what else he could do.

Now, a large number of Youzhou Army soldiers were already watching General Zhao Yan's troops outside the city. Once the battle began, Jinghua City could not count on Zhao Yan's troops.

And what was happening outside also alarmed the common people within the city.

The mood in Jinghua began to become unstable again.

They had just beaten back the Mongol Army, and now the Youzhou Army had come?

Run!

These high-ranking officials and nobles still had the same idea: run!

Jinghua at this time was no longer the pinnacle of the world! It was the place under heaven most capable of attracting gunfire!

Chaos.

Once people's hearts were in chaos, Yu Qian had an even worse headache.

"My lord, hurry and close the city gates. If we delay any longer, it will be too late."

The City Guard Official urged.

"No, we cannot close the city gates. Once the gates are closed, the fall of the city will not be far off."

Yu Qian shook his head and said.

Yu Qian knew very well that the reason Xie Chao had not attacked the city immediately was because he was unsure of the situation inside Jinghua City. If they closed the city gates now, it would be equivalent to telling him that the defensive forces in Jinghua City were empty, and at that point, he would certainly launch a full-scale attack.

The disparity in strength between the two sides was vast, far from something that could be compensated for by a city gate.

Now, they could only delay for time. Every extra minute they delayed, the possibility of other Qinwang Armies arriving in time increased by one point!

However, Yu Qian would not be so passive. Watching from above, the Youzhou Army's ranks were orderly, and they had dispatched three times the enemy's strength to monitor Zhao Yan; from this, it could be seen that there were capable people in the Youzhou Army.

If he did nothing and let the opponent see his intentions, then the opponent might just attack directly...

Yu Qian had to think of a Method to stir them up and disrupt their train of thought.

The enemy was strong and he was weak, and the disparity in strength was vast; to hold them off, there was only one Method.

Surrender.