Chapter 352: Chapter 352

"This eastern wind seems to be strong enough to stir Hui Wenzu," Blind Bei said, munching on sunflower seeds.

Clearly, this wind was prepared not only for Zheng Fan but also for Hui Wenzu. Zheng Fan warmed his hands on the teacup he was holding and nodded.

Hui Wenzu was a man with his own sensibilities, yet he didn’t lack ruthlessness. After aligning himself with the Earl of North Border and the Yan Emperor, he shed his past indecision. Such a person is truly terrifying when he sets his heart and soul on a task or on climbing the ranks—a highly capable bureaucrat. He could see further, allowing him to anticipate suitable positions to leverage and prepare accordingly.

"But I still don’t understand what this eastern wind is," Zheng Fan said.

Liang Cheng, who was sitting nearby, also remained silent.

Blind Bei spoke, "It’s perfectly normal, my lord. Hui Wenzu processes massive amounts of resources every day. Although these resources are confiscated from the nobility after they were suppressed, it’s not as if everything is mindlessly sent to the front lines in Yinlang County, regardless of its utility. There must be certain priorities. Although not immediately obvious, by grasping these subtle focuses, one can deduce the Yan Emperor’s true intentions. This is an information disparity. It’s quite normal for Hui Wenzu to discern things we cannot, given our lack of equivalent information resources."

Liang Cheng then said, "You’ve said so much, yet it amounts to nothing."

"I’m merely reassuring you," Blind Bei replied. "However, one thing is certain: the Yan State’s true southern campaign should commence soon, possibly in the very near future."

"Your reasoning?" Liang Cheng asked.

"First, the Naworth Army’s suppression of the influential families should be concluding. The subsequent clean-up can be handled by the Yanjing garrison or the Eldest Prince’s provincial troops. Neither the Earl of North Border nor the Yan Emperor would allow this blade, honed for a century in the desert, to be used only against their own people. That would be a desecration of the blade itself."

"Are you saying the Naworth Army is about to head south?"

"It should be in the coming days."

"And?" Zheng Fan prompted.

"Furthermore, if the war doesn’t begin soon, winter will pass. Based on the information I have, I’ve examined the geography from the Qian State’s imperial capital to the Three Borders. The Three Borders of Qian State are the primary defense line against the Yan State. Behind them lie Shu Prefecture, West Mountain County, and North River County. Beyond these, lies Bianzhou County, the capital region of Qian State. Like Tiancheng County in our Yan State, the prefectural seat of Bianzhou County is the imperial capital of Qian State.

Once the Three Borders are breached, many of the counties further south are predominantly paddy fields—a result of forced conversion many years ago to prepare for an invasion by Yan State cavalry. Moreover, at the border of Bianzhou County and North River County, the Qian people diverted the Qian River many years ago. They were determined to create a barrier—the Bian River—even at the risk of it frequently bursting its banks and flooding a hundred *li* of land. All these measures were preparations against a southern invasion by the Yan people. The most update n0vels are published on novel·fıre·net

It is currently winter, and the land has frozen solid, including the waters of the Bian River. If they don’t seize this opportune moment for war, then when spring arrives and the ice melts, all the preparations made by the Qian people to thwart the Yan cavalry’s southern advance will become effective."

After a brief pause, Blind Bei continued, "Unless the Yan Emperor is prepared to wait another year, which is highly unlikely. Oh, and one more thing. Once the war starts—though I don’t know what specific war plan the Yan Emperor intends to execute—let’s assume the campaign proceeds smoothly. In that case, Yan State cavalry could sweep across more than half of Qian State’s northern territory, from their imperial capital to the Three Borders. This would cause spring planting to be abandoned across half of Qian’s lands.

Given Qian State’s large population, abandoning the spring planting will lead to food shortages among the Qian people. This would significantly weaken Qian State’s war potential. Furthermore, although Qian State is wealthy, the living conditions of its populace may not be better than those of our people in Yan State. This is evident from the recent incidents of Qian people risking ’illegal crossings’ into Yan State. In recent years, peasant uprisings have occurred frequently within Qian State. If a food shortage is added to this, it will truly become a case of ’the officials driving the people to revolt.’"

Zheng Fan took a sip of his hot tea and said, "It’s not the barbarian skilled in martial arts one should fear, but the barbarian who is educated."

The ’barbarians’ he referred to were not tribal peoples, but the derogatory term used by the Qian people for the Yan people. It’s already difficult enough to defeat these ’barbarians’, but now they’re also playing mind games and engaging in political maneuvering.

Zheng Fan placed his teacup down and continued, "But Blind Bei, all your assumptions are predicated on the Yan cavalry achieving success in battle."

"Whether the Yan Emperor is adept at waging war, this subordinate does not know," Blind Bei responded. "Many who excel at politics are not skilled in warfare; after all, a person’s energy is finite. However, with the Earl of North Border and Lord Jingnan—who have earned the Yan Emperor’s complete trust—responsible for devising the war plans, this subordinate believes the outcome will be highly effective. In all worldly matters, if tasks are handled by those with specialized expertise, they are seldom difficult. This subordinate acknowledges that Qian State has some capable generals, but they certainly do not possess the same degree of autonomy as those in Yan State."

Zheng Fan nodded, stretched, and said, "I won’t take the 1,500 barbarian soldiers out this time. You handle their ideological instruction."

Blind Bei nodded, signifying his understanding.