Chapter 354: Another Dead End?

"Hahahaha, let's see how you, Prefect Liu, plan to handle this!"

At this moment.

Far away in Pingzhou, the Third Prince, Xie Ling, was already laughing so hard he was rolling on the floor, tears streaming down his face.

While laughing, he kept gulping down wine.

The Prince of Lu sighed beside him, not daring to speak.

Once again...

He deeply regretted why, after remaining neutral for so many years, he had made the rash decision to stand on the side of the Third Prince. The Third Prince, whom he had previously perceived as humble, polite, gentle, and refined, with a profound hidden depth, had—after encountering this Prefect Liu—become increasingly irritable and less able to hide the darkness in his heart.

This time...

In order to retaliate against Liu Zheng for rebuking him in Liangzhou and confiscating the Zheng Family's assets, he had actually colluded with Xie Yang to bring in the Southern Barbarians, with the sole purpose of slaughtering the craftsmen digging the Grand Canal in Shuzhou!

He seemed to have gone mad.

Could it be that the Third Prince truly could not see the lessons from those who had come before him?

Take Chen Ping, for example; in order to strike at Liu Dahao, he colluded with the Xiongnu and spread a plague. In the end, how miserably did he die? This Third Prince, failing to take that as a warning, actually dared to collude with the Southern Barbarians...

Of course.

If the Third Prince succeeded this time, and Xie Yang succeeded in killing Xie Zhen to become the new King of Shu, then for the Third Prince, it would undoubtedly be a strategic victory—whether in his chess match against Prefect Liu or his struggle against the Crown Prince. After all, the reputation of Chuan Shu as the granary of the world was no lie.

If he could take Chuan Shu, it would be far better than taking a mere Liangzhou.

However...

As it currently stood, he was still going to lose.

He was still one move short, a step behind.

Therefore.

Upon learning that Shuzhou was lost, Xie Yang was imprisoned, and Prefect Liu had swept through everything to take Yong'an, Xie Ling had flown into a rage, utterly devastated.

He was likely completely bewildered.

Why was it a loss again?

Why was he the one losing again!

Was this Prefect Liu born to be his nemesis?

Therefore.

While the whole world was condemning the Southern Barbarians for slaughtering the craftsmen, he laughed happily.

Weren't they just three thousand lowly commoners?

What was there to be sorrowful about?

What made him happy was that these Southern Barbarians were truly sensible. They had used this very tactic to block the unreasonable, trampling, and heartless advance of the Liangzhou Army.

What now?

Contemporary Sage, let's see how you handle this!

"Young Master, let Jiang Xuan go!"

Seeing the others looking troubled, Jiang Xuan was incensed and volunteered: "I, Jiang Xuan, am not afraid of bearing this evil name!"

Upon hearing his words, the generals nearby also stood up one after another. Xiao Qi, Pei Qianyun, and others all wanted to go and tear those Southern Barbarians to pieces.

Liu Zheng waved his hand and smiled bitterly: "If only it were that easy. Could it be that you, Jiang Xuan, are not my brother, Liu Zheng? If the commoners die because of you, will it not be counted on my head?"

The crowd felt dejected once more.

Liu Zheng frowned slightly: "These Southern Barbarians may seem uneducated, but they are rough yet cunning. That army of one hundred and fifty thousand is actually stationed at Mang Mountain, neither advancing nor retreating. And here in Jiangzhou, they use the commoners as hostages, echoing each other perfectly; it seems there is an expert guiding them."

Xie Zhen's expression changed slightly upon hearing this: "Second Brother, that Xie Yang previously had a close friendship with the Third Prince, Xie Ling, in Jinghua. Could it be..."

Everyone was shocked to hear this.

Xie Ling?

The Third Prince?

Liu Zheng was stunned for a moment, then slapped his thigh and laughed: "So it's this guy again; he really is unwilling to give up!"

By the end, he was gritting his teeth.

What pained him at this moment were the commoners of Jiangzhou and the craftsmen of the Grand Canal! This Xie Ling, in order to strike at him, had actually stopped at nothing.

Liu Zheng had to admit.

This time, Xie Ling's methods were truly much more brilliant.

Now, he was caught in a dilemma.

Three hundred thousand...

He stood up and looked leisurely at the city of Jiangzhou on the sand table. The miniature version of Jiangzhou seemed to magnify infinitely in his eyes; the mountain city on the Yangtze River seemed to be filled with fresh blood, black blood, fear, and ferocity.

Three hundred thousand...

This number undoubtedly touched a nerve from Liu Zheng's past life.

Actually.

If he chose to advance his troops at this moment, it would be understandable. At worst, he would just lose the title of Contemporary Sage. After all, in this era, there was a saying: "Benevolence does not command troops!"

In the eyes of the ancients, sacrificing three hundred thousand people to reclaim a city and restore the majesty of Longyan was absolutely worth it.

But.

Liu Zheng could not do it.

Regarding this matter, Xie Zhen had even offered to bear the evil name himself. Liu Zheng had firmly refused. It was not just because he needed Xie Zhen to maintain the image of a benevolent ruler in Chuan Shu—an image that could not be broken. On the other hand, he truly could not bring himself to let those three hundred thousand unarmed commoners be slaughtered by the Southern Barbarians, one by one, in despair.

Yes.

He could not do it.

If he were to abandon three hundred thousand commoners for the sake of a single city, he would absolutely wake up from nightmares every single day for the rest of his life.

A dead end.

Is this a dead end?

Suddenly.

His eyes lit up, and his gaze slowly shifted from Jiangzhou to Mang Mountain.

Mang Mountain, this is the only chance!

……

"Offering a strategy?"

Qin Zhangfeng and the others all looked at each other in dismay upon hearing this.

Pei Yanran was a talented woman of Shu, overflowing with brilliance and well-read in the classics, but they had never heard that she had any involvement in military affairs.

Pei Yanran's beautiful eyes darted, and she gave Qin Zhangfeng a playful glare as if acting spoiled, saying, "What is it, General Qin, do you not trust this young woman?"

Once these words were spoken, the others held back their laughter.

Qin Zhangfeng gave a wry smile: "How could I dare, how could I dare? Miss Pei, whatever strategy you have, please feel free to speak!"

Qin Zhangfeng had been suffering from a headache at this very moment, wondering how he should deal with the Southern Barbarians of Mang Mountain.

Pei Yanran rolled her eyes at him and lightly hummed: "Since that is the case, why not serve tea to the Military Advisor?"

This number one talented woman of Shu being so playful made the atmosphere suddenly change from gloomy to much more relaxed. Cheng Kai laughed heartily and hurried off to brew tea.

Only then did Qin Zhangfeng invite Pei Yanran to sit down, and the two of them once again awkwardly faced each other.

Pei Yanran giggled: "General Qin is a world-renowned great hero, so why are you so ill at ease today?"

Qin Zhangfeng was left speechless.

At this, Pei Yanran enjoyed watching Qin Zhangfeng's embarrassed appearance even more; she rested her chin in her hands, looking at him, and said with a grin: "How about this: if Yanran helps Zhangfeng repel the enemy, will Zhangfeng come to propose marriage sooner? Yanran is getting a bit impatient!"

"Ah?"

As soon as these words were out, the mouthful of tea Qin Zhangfeng had just swallowed was sprayed right out.

The others were also nearly holding back internal injuries from laughter.

This...

Are the beauties of Chuan Shu truly all of such fiery temperament?

Just what on earth...

Who is proposing to whom?