The meeting hall of the Prime Minister's Palace in the middle of Stanley Street in Budli City, the capital of the Kaman Empire, was full of joy. Prime Minister Gomez, who was always steady, picked up a bottle of red wine and raised his hand to signal, "Come to us. Let’s have a drink and celebrate the success of our plan!”
The three men beside him also picked up the wine glasses and drank them in one gulp, signaling to the servants to take the glasses away. Gomez smiled and asked the guests to take their seats. The three men also knew that the prime minister was about to get down to business, so they all sat back. respective seats.
"The capture of Jiayuguan this time was all due to the concerted efforts of everyone here. It is really a rare blessing for our Kaman Empire in hundreds of years. Now we can safely and boldly go south. It can be said that we send and receive with ease and ease!" Gomez His eyes seemed to be squeezed into two slits by the smile. Even the three men were surprised when he said these words. However, after thinking about it, who could suppress their excitement for achieving such a brilliant achievement? , even when I heard the news, wasn't I so excited that I couldn't sleep all night
"Well, the Prime Minister is right. Now that we control Jiayuguan, not only can we freely pass through the Zagros Mountains and go south easily, even if the Hessi Luo people want to enter the hinterland of the Tanghe people as quickly as possible, they need to use ours. Jiayuguan! I heard that the Sisluo people are very jealous now, so they desperately colluded with Sun Yuanhui to take Yinchuan Mansion and open their own south passage. Unfortunately, they still underestimated this guy Li Wufeng, and their success failed." The man who spoke With a proud look and a hint of coldness on his thin face, he is Basten, the intelligence minister of the Kaman Empire.
"Li Wufeng is a cunning guy and will become a serious problem for us sooner or later. Unfortunately, our current power is limited and we cannot eliminate him yet. But seeing this guy fishing in troubled waters to strengthen himself, I am really afraid of the consequences of raising a tiger." His face was red. After receiving the secret order from the Prime Minister, Duke Maili of Guang put down his military affairs and quietly returned to Budley City from the Jiama battlefield.
"Well, I have a hunch that this guy will eventually become our strong enemy." Duke Nick, who has always been taciturn, also made an exception to agree with Duke Miley's opinion.
"But now the battlefield in the east is thick with smoke, and the Jerok people have stabilized their position with the help of the Tanghe people. We really don't have more power to deal with this guy. Although the Baiin people in the north are not moving at the moment, I am very worried. I'm worried that someone might want to cause trouble in the middle." Gomez has returned to his usual calm appearance, and what he said also implies his own meaning.
The sensitive Nick and Miley immediately turned their attention to the Minister of Intelligence. The Minister of Intelligence shrugged and said that he was not aware of the situation. Gomez frowned and said calmly: "This is my hunch. There is no evidence. The Boyin people have always been unruly. Although we have taken some comfort measures, it is not enough to keep those guys quiet for so long. , Abnormality is often the beginning of a conspiracy, so I am very suspicious, Lord Basten, I hope you can strengthen the intelligence in this area, and don't capsize in the gutter."
The Minister of Intelligence nodded. Although he did not agree with it in his heart, the Prime Minister's arrangements must be implemented. Fortunately, the area where the Boyin people live has always been relatively simple, and if there is any abnormality, they can quickly detect it.
"Let's get back to our main topic. The Taiping Religion has sent news that they will start an uprising within one month and hope that we will provide some cooperation." Gomez calmly revealed this shocking news.
"What?" Even someone as calm as Nick could not help but feel shaken.
"Yes, the Taiping Sect is about to start an uprising." He emphasized again, but he was still so calm.
"It's finally here. Prime Minister, are we ready?" The Minister of Intelligence looked a little impatient.
"Everything is ready, all we need is the east wind." With a faint smile, Gomez said calmly, "The timing is really perfect. We control Jiayuguan and can hold back most of Li Wufeng's forces in the northwest, while the Tanghe people in the west and The northern army is trapped in Jieluoke, and it will take at least three weeks for their returning troops to arrive. Now the Guanxi region of the Tanghe people is completely blank, and the garrisons in the Heshuo, Beiyuan, and Yanyun areas are The military strength is also extremely weak, not to mention such a good thing, I don’t think the people of Poole will remain indifferent.”
"Then what does the prime minister mean?" Both Maili and Nick's eyes fell on Gomez's fat face.
"Prepare actively and wait for the opportunity. I judge that the war in the Kansai region should be ignited first. At that time, we will strengthen the pressure on the two battlefields of Jiama and Fanlin, forcing the Tanghe people to be unable to withdraw the reinforcements in Jeroke. Wait for these few days If the Taiping Religion has established a foothold in this region, we will let them go. Once they retreat, we will concentrate our forces to capture the entire Jerok in one fell swoop." Gomez's plan was extremely ruthless, as he wanted to make the Taiping Religion impossible for the empire. To pacify the great danger, they also want to take this opportunity to annex Jerok in one fell swoop, which can be said to kill two birds with one stone.
Maili and Nick's eyes couldn't help but light up. It was obvious that the Prime Minister's huge appetite was exactly what they had in mind. It seemed that the armies led by them were getting ready again. They exchanged glances with each other. After decades of friendship, the two had already cooperated quite tacitly, and they could understand each other's meaning without any unnecessary words.
"As long as we take Jerok, the door of the Tanghe people will be completely open to us. At that time, we only need to let the Taiping Religion and the Tanghe Empire's army fight to the death, and we can sit back and watch the tigers fight leisurely. , just sit back and enjoy the benefits of being a fisherman." Gomez's face has a bright light, obviously he has been thinking about this plan for a long time.
For a moment, the three people in the audience were speechless, and only the heavy breathing of a few people could be heard. After a while, the Minister of Intelligence broke the silence, "Prime Minister, it would be good if what you said can be carried out according to the plan, but in the opinion of the lower officials, then The leaders of the Taiping Religion are by no means mediocre. In addition, we have provided them with considerable support. Now their armed forces are developing quite rapidly. However, the Tanghe Empire's army in the west and north is already quite weak, and the local government It's on the verge of collapse. Once the Taiping Sect gains power, I'm worried that we may not be able to control it at that time. Wouldn't we become wedding clothes for others?"
Basten is worthy of being a veteran in intelligence work. Not only does he have a very clear grasp of intelligence, but he also has his own unique insights into analyzing the development of things. His words also touched the hearts of Miley and Nick, who were standing aside. As the religion grew stronger, they had already become a phenomenon in several counties in the east and west of the empire. If they set off a storm, the comrades in the north and west of the empire would most likely fall apart. If the Taiping Sect seizes the opportunity to immediately To secure a foothold and squeeze oneself out, wouldn't it mean that we have to face a powerful regime and army
Slowly shaking his head, Gomez said with confidence: "Don't underestimate the strength of the Tanghe Empire. It is true that their rule in the north and west is quite decadent. In these areas, it should be said that the Taiping Religion has In order to replace the Tanghe Empire’s rule, the Centipede Insect is still alive and dead, and the Tanghe Empire still retains considerable military strength, especially their regular army.”
After a pause, Gomez continued, "The reason why I want to spare no effort to support the Taiping Religion, especially in terms of military support, is because their military strength is not enough to compete with the Tanghe Empire. Confrontation. At present, some of the Tanghe people's troops have not yet returned to their base, and some of the troops have been dragged by us in Jierok. This is really a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The Taiping people also saw this, so they chose this opportunity. We just want to help The Taiping people have temporarily gained a foothold, allowing them to have the strength to fight against the Tanghe Empire. Only in this way will they lose both sides. Otherwise, no matter which side wins easily, it will not be a good thing for us, because we need a certain amount of Time to deal with Zerok."
The three people sitting here were all convinced by Gomez's eloquence. While admiring him, they were also shocked by the prime minister's ambition. They could all hear that behind the Prime Minister's words was the greed for the entire Tanghe Empire territory, which surprised the three people who were also eager to conquer and expand. In their hearts, it was quite satisfactory that this operation could successfully swallow up the Jerok Principality. As for the Tanghe Empire, without Jerok as a barrier, their good days would be over, and it would be difficult to deal with them. I was in a hurry, but I didn't expect that the prime minister had already arranged all the follow-up goals.
"Of course, what Mr. Basten said is not unreasonable, but after we control Jerok, we can free up our hands and try to keep the balance of strength between them. In the end, no one should have an absolute advantage. In this way , is in our interests, I think on this point, the position of the Puer and Hesero people should be consistent with ours, and they should also coordinate with us in terms of actions." Gomez added .
"Master Prime Minister, do you think Li Wufeng will participate in this operation?" Duke Mailley finally asked the question he had been worried about, "If he also sends troops into the Kansai region, how should we respond?"
"Duke Miles asked a good question. This is also a question that has been bothering me. Li Wufeng is too cunning. Once the Central Plains is in chaos, with his character, he will not fail to intervene. The question is how deep is he prepared to intervene? Is it to gain a certain amount of reality? What about interests, or taking the opportunity to compete in the Central Plains? I have analyzed this for a long time, and feel that under the current situation, as long as the orthodox dynasty of the Tanghe Empire has not collapsed, he will not take over the Central Plains in a large scale. After all, the Situ family has been established for hundreds of years, and the Central Plains The people, especially the upper class, still have a certain affection for the Situ family. Moreover, if he wants to really march into the Central Plains, his strength is still a bit weak. And we have occupied Jiayuguan and the Jiama area is also in our hands. We can also contain his strength at any time. Now that the Sisluo people have stationed troops in the northern part of Yinchuan Prefecture, they will also hold back part of his troops, so I think that once the war breaks out, he will not be able to influence the entire Central Plains war situation for the time being."
Obviously, Gomez has deeply considered Li Wufeng's actions and made various arrangements. In addition, he still has some thoughts that he has not said out loud. Li Wufeng is like a tiger coming out of the gate. If he doesn't pay attention, he will end up hurting himself. If it causes serious damage, he must prepare more hands to deal with it.
But people are counting on tigers, and tigers are counting on people. Can Li Wufeng stay in the northwest? Will the few chess pieces available to Gomez be useful? This can only be proven by the wheel of history.