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Territorial expansion? The North is entering the game?

Wei Gongcheng was startled, then a surge of excitement welled up within him.

Jiangnan had developed rapidly over the years, with its military might constantly growing.

Although their strength had been increasing day by day, they had always been on the defensive.

Was it finally time to bare their fangs to the outside world?

"Territorial expansion?" The first and most significant reactions came naturally from Xu Hu and Tian Heng, who currently commanded the largest number of troops!

"Where does His Majesty plan to strike?" Xu Hu was initially excited, but then frowned and said, "If we are to fight the Eastern Sea, then diverting troops here would be too scattered!"

Tian Heng gave Xu Hu a disdainful look. Compared to Xu Hu, this upstart general who knew only about warfare, he, a battle-hardened Duke Qi, naturally understood the overall situation better.

"Based on the current intelligence, if the Imperial Court is shrinking its forces, we would only need to act under the pretext of exterminating demons for the Imperial Court, and we could rightfully take over some of the adjacent lands, such as the Jade Forest area.

However, if we aim for a larger scope, that would be troublesome, especially the areas close to Tiandu. "

Tian Heng pointed at the map and said, "We can obtain the intelligence of the Court’s troop withdrawal, and so can Tiandu.

Tiandu has been accumulating strength for twenty years, and they won’t be unprepared.

It’s very likely they will seize the opportunity to emerge and occupy the Tiannan region.

If they advance all the way to Tianxiang City, they will be directly across the river from us.

If we also expand in that direction, we will need to secure the river basin of Tiannan, which would require a greater amount of resources and manpower. "

"Then there’s the Southeast. The Imperial Court is colluding with the Southern Barbarians.

With the Court pulling back its forces, it’s possible that the Southern Barbarians might take the initiative to attack.

The intelligence on that front is unclear, so I can’t make an accurate judgment.

However, the Southeast, being mountainous, is well-suited for us to raise new Mountain Gods.

But with numerous forests, there are many hidden demons, and whether it’s worth it or not will require careful consideration. "

"Lastly, there’s the territory of the Four Seas.

Jiangnan is adjacent to the West Sea. West Sea City is already under our control, and no one is contesting us for the multitude of islands in the West Sea.

The lands across the sea are vast, and even if we were to settle all the refugees from the North, there would hardly be enough.

Actually, our land resources are sufficient; there’s no need to expand into the sea territory.

After all, the lands of the Four Seas are currently guarded by major powers.

Instigating disputes easily would not be beneficial to the current situation. "

Chen Qing nodded repeatedly, agreeing that it was indeed necessary to have recruited a general with a sense of the bigger picture.

Tian Heng’s arrival greatly eased the internal conflict between the descendants of powerful lineages and the civilian military descendants.

When discussing major directional issues, his advice was naturally more comprehensive than that of Xu Hu and the like.

Sure enough, Xu Hu scratched his head and gave a simple-minded smile, seemingly unable to interject anything substantial.

Zi Yue then looked at Chen Qing: "What did you mean by ’the North entering the game’ just now?"

Upon this topic, Chen Qing straightened up and explained, "Some intelligence has already come from Murong Yunji’s side.

Several forces hidden in the shadows are using the influence of the Celestial Serpent Palace to secretly control the Northern Wasteland Country.

Currently, including the Snow Eagles, four Northern Wasteland Countries have been decided in their battles.

One force known as the Solaris Messenger has already taken over three countries, while another called the Black Lotus Messenger has occupied the Northern Abyss Domain. "

"Now, several forces are converging on the Northern Wolf Country, evidently to contest for control of it."

"Northern Wolf Country borders the Northern Sea and has the largest grasslands of the Northern Wasteland. Northern Wolf Pass is near the Yanyun Region in the Northern Territory. The geographical position is excellent, making it strategically the most important among the countries of the Northern Wasteland. Originally, if we were to dispatch troops, the front would be too extended, making supply difficult, and it would be hard for us to reach out. But now, there’s an opportunity to drive a wedge in the North! "

"Does His Majesty also wish to participate in this so-called proxy war?" Tian Heng’s brows furrowed tightly after hearing Chen Qing’s description of the situation in the Northern Wasteland Country: "Those forces His Majesty speaks of in the shadows, they are reliant on the Celestial Serpent Palace. Although I don’t know how they managed it, they indeed can make the Giant Serpents within the Celestial Serpent Palace obey their command.

We’re not part of the Celestial Serpent Palace’s forces.

Even if it ends up being a family we control that emerges victorious, would those giant serpents close to the North really sit idly by and accept all this? "

"When the time comes, we’ll still need to send in troops to hold the ground. With such an extended front, sending troops across the sea isn’t going to be as cost-effective as expanding into the Central Plains."

Zi Yue also nodded in agreement that, although the Northern resources were plentiful and the Arctic Land would later become a key area for blood essence extraction, from Jiangnan’s current standpoint, embarking on long-line warfare in the Northern Wasteland wasn’t really worth it.

And going there as an external enemy, it’s true that currently several powers are in a state of confrontation.

But if they intervene, perhaps the others will band together to oppose them, which might make things even more troublesome later on.

"We must strive for a foothold in the North," Chen Qing stated firmly.

"With the melting of the Arctic Land, over the next two years, numerous large demons, freshly awakened yet unable to fully regain mobility, will appear. They are excellent raw materials for blood essence extraction. If the North monopolizes them, within three years, the number of giant serpents in the North could increase by more than tenfold. When they sweep in afterward, that’s when the real trouble starts. "

"This...." Everyone looked at each other upon hearing this, their brows furrowed, unsure of how to respond.

"I was also thinking about how to gain a foothold in the North at the least cost. Having the War God Army guard the North over the years was to get them used to fighting the giant pythons from there, because we might need to expedite at any time. But now it seems there’s an even more convenient method. "

"You’re thinking of collaborating with that bastard son of the Duke of Wei?" Zi Yue directly exposed Chen Qing’s thoughts.

"Yes!" Chen Qing nodded.

Zi Yue’s face turned sour upon hearing this. Based on Chen Qing’s earlier description, the Wang Family’s bastard was definitely a reincarnated gamer. Confronted with these pioneers who had been oppressing them, she had no fondness for them whatsoever.

But she didn’t protest either, because she was very clear in her mind that under the current circumstances, if they wanted to intervene in the North, cooperation... was the only path!

"That Black Lotus Messenger is probably from the Demon Buddha Sect, so they likely can’t be cooperated with..."

Zi Yue nodded slightly. The Demon Buddha Sect was a group of lunatics. Though the other ancients were also a bunch of disgusting beings, at least.... they weren’t as extreme as the Demon Buddha. They were only after greater power and pleasure, but the Demon Buddha Sect was different.

They were a bunch of mentally disturbed beings. The designer who had created this force had been found to indeed have anti-human tendencies, and the authorities banned the Demon Buddha dungeon as soon as they could.

Anyone in reality who chose this legacy was definitely deranged from the start.

"As for that other Solaris Messenger, judging by the fact that she was able to take down three nations, her advantage is very large. The likelihood of her cooperating with us is very small, and we also haven’t had any contact with her before.

We don’t know their strategy, whereas Wang Shiyu and his forces haven’t made any notable achievements in the North.

Now they must be having a hard time reporting to their superiors.

No wonder they took the initiative to invite me to cooperate before.

The losses in the Northern Wasteland must also be a significant reason.

Since that’s the case, then let’s cooperate with the messenger. "

"If we cooperate, how will we deal with the conquest of Northern Wolf Country?" Tian Heng asked, frowning.

"We’ll split it evenly!" Chen Qing laughed.

"With her power, her subordinate families can either choose their cultivation techniques from her or from my Jiangnan.

As for which side those family members will ultimately lean towards, that will be a matter to be settled after the victory over Northern Wolf Country. "

"It might be difficult to handle such a big matter with just Murong Yunji and Yuuchi. We need to send more people," Tian Heng reminded.

Hearing this, Chen Qing turned to look at Zi Yue, "Will you go or should I?"

Zi Yue blinked in surprise and then shook her head, "Jiangnan needs you more right now. I’ll go..."

"Okay..." Chen Qing nodded. Zi Yue was crowned as Empress Ziwei, taking at least thirty percent of his followers’ faith. Now her power at least on a basic level, did not fall short of someone like Ao Zhen’s caliber.

As for actual combat strength, Zi Yue was a top-notch Magician killer.

He believed that her improvements over the past half-year should be considerable.

With her experience and understanding of those guild gamers, she was the most suitable candidate aside from him.

"I need to bring someone with me!"

"Who?"

"Ali!"

"Hm..." Chen Qing frowned slightly upon hearing this, "Her emotions are not very stable at the moment. Do you really think she’s fit for this mission, to accompany you on that task?"

Chen Qing was confident in Zi Yue’s self-preservation abilities, but it was different when it came to taking Ali along. Although Ali had impressive capabilities, if they ran into danger, she would be a top-class encumbrance!

When Zi Yue heard that Chen Qing was first and foremost concerned about Ali’s emotional state, her expression softened a great deal, "I’ll talk to her.

Actually, the best way to heal is to keep moving.

Some things she’s afraid to face have to be confronted sooner or later, so.

.. I want Ali to undergo Dragon Transformation! "

Chen Qing: "....."