Forgotten Legend of the Bloodied Flower

"I want to volunteer myself to go for the second method," amidst the discussion, Shangguan Xian spoke up after being asked for their opinion.

"Reason." Prime Minister Xian looked at Shangguan Xian calmly.

"My army is familiar with Shi Long Kingdom's method and I have dealt with them for years. Even if my role is to defend, but I have taken a few cities. The first methods will definitely take much longer and required so many soldiers. However, the second method is not the same. I don't need so many soldiers, just 200,000 will be enough to conquer Shi Long Kingdom." Shangguan Xian's eyes were sharp.

"200,000?" General Feng frowned. He had also fought against Shi Long Kingdom and commanded more than 50,000 soldiers for many years. But it was not easy for him to go against Shi Long Kingdom over the years. "I don't think that will be enough. At least 600,000 will be required."

"General Feng, you're too conservative. If so many soldiers are needed, how is it possible for Fei Yang Kingdom to maintain the current state?" Shangguan Xian disagreed.

Assigning too many soldiers to fight against Shi Long Kingdom would only put the overall balance to be broken. Right now, they still needed a lot of forces to conquer the remnants from Zhang Xu Kingdom, which was the main reason why this meeting was held.

The number of soldiers that can be assigned by Fei Yang Kingdom was indeed limited.

Great General Long listened calmly. To be honest, he thought of not coming here before, but after seeing the devastation that his son had created on the north, he realized that there was no point in staying there for the time being. Anyway, participating here could also allow him to have some insight about this Prime Minister Xian.

The tactics and many other letters sent from Prime Minister Xian contained many things that he himself didn't expect, so he was a bit interested to hear more from this prime minister.

"In my opinion, it's indeed requiring to have 600,000 soldiers." Great General Long said from the side. "But if it's handed to me, I'll wait until next year before waging a war against Shi Long Kingdom."

General Feng heard Great General Long's words and looked at the great general gratefully.

Prime Minister Xian heard Great General Long's words and felt headache. It was not like they couldn't wait until next year, but why do they have to wait for another year to pass before moving towards Shi Long Kingdom?

He was analyzing based on the data and information given, but he still needed the feedbacks from these people who had been there personally.

"Why next year?" Prime Minister Xian asked.

"Because it's impossible to gather that many soldiers at this point of time. Even if I commanded more than 100,000 soldiers myself, but they're all stationed at the north in order to face Fan Yi Kingdom. Until Great General Wei is done with the remnants of Zhang Xu Kingdom, I will not move my soldiers." Great General Long was calm.

Waging war was not as simple as saying the word and everything could be done in the next second. The preparation and many others required a lot of attention and also resources. He didn't want to start a war at this juncture because he felt Fei Yang Kingdom was not ready.

"We're pressed by time." Prime Minister Xian shook his head.

It was not like he himself also wanted to hurry so much, but it was because there was a time limit to how long they needed to conquer other kingdoms. Four year had passed since the total war state that Emperor Yang Zhou declared.

Fei Yang Kingdom needed resource.

And the best place for them to replenish the resource would be to conquer Shi Long Kingdom. The kingdom was vast and had a lot of arable lands and food. Coupled with the number of people in Shi Long Kingdom, the conquest will also earn them a lot of resource that could help their needs.

So the faster they could conquer Shi Long Kingdom, the better it would be.

"That's only my suggestion." Great General Long raised his hand. If Prime Minister Xian didn't think it was suitable, he didn't mind to just wait at the side. Anyway, if Shangguan Xian was truly capable, then he hoped this youth knew the consequences of failure.

With his merits so far, he might not be removed from position. But it was inevitable that he would not be used for any important position in the war anymore. It would be quite unbearable for a young general to be subjected to such treatment.

"If we opted for the second option, talk to me about your suggestion, General Shangguan Xian." Prime Minister Xian finally looked in Shangguan Xian direction.

…

Old Master Nan listened to their debates and also how everything concluded in the end. Emperor Yang Zhou chose to listen to Shangguan Xian and ordered him to march in summer along with 200,000 soldiers.

If this meant that Fei Yang Kingdom could conquer Shi Long Kingdom faster, he chose to listen to the young general.

At the same time, a few 5000 men commanders were promoted to become a general in this meeting to follow Shangguan Xian to conquer Shi Long Kingdom.

'There are so many generals now.'

Old Master Nan listened to their surnames and shook his head. Some of them belonged to the nobility and the others were those of lower status who managed to rise up after a few years.

He hoped these new generals would be able to play their roles.

'General Bo, General Bu, and General Di.'

Temporary generals with a lot of soldiers under them.

After listening to the meetings, Old Master Nan walked back to his own residence. After all, there was no role for him in the war next. He himself was already old and had no intention to roam on the battlefield with his battered body anymore.