"Long ti no see, Teacher," said Jiang Lu, now middle-aged. Strategies of war could neither prolong life nor preserve youth.
Moreover, he was overworked with official duties, handling major affairs, and the stress of deep thought accelerated his aging.
"You’ve aged quite a bit, haven’t you? I’ll fix you up with so tonic when I get the chance," Gu Shanhai remarked, observing his appearance, thankful that his own disguise over the years allowed him to age as well.
"Thank you, Teacher," Jiang Lu sighed inwardly, realizing that Gu Shanhai had also aged.
At that mont, he realized that Gu Shanhai was already not young when he started his uprising and now appeared fairly old. He suspected that it was a side effect of shortening his life span back then.
"Teacher, this way, please." Although Jiang Lu had not t Gu Shanhai in person for a long ti, their correspondence had never ceased. Jiang Lu, having many queries, always sought advice from Gu Shanhai.
Once they entered the private hall where there were fewer people, Jiang Lu could finally set aside his burdens, feeling much more relaxed. Elsewhere, he had to maintain his dignity all the ti, but with Gu Shanhai, he could rely on soone.
"Let get straight to the point. I have co back this ti to help you eliminate Yan Country; otherwise, it might be too late," Gu Shanhai said gravely. He knew that if the montum of Yan Country’s developnt was allowed to continue for another decade or two, Long, Xi, and Zhou would only fall further behind.
Gu Shanhai alone could not forcefully advance Long Country; issuing, implenting, and promoting policies all required ti and cost. Unlike Yan Country, which seed to be cheating, Gu Shanhai even suspected they had a system.
However, Jiang Lu took his words differently, thinking that Gu Shanhai ant it might be too late for himself, possibly hinting at an imminent death.
"Teacher, you..." Jiang Lu’s feelings were complex, realizing that for the sake of his great endeavor, Gu Shanhai couldn’t even retire peacefully.
"?" Gu Shanhai looked at Jiang Lu puzzlingly, wondering why he had suddenly beco emotional, but soon he moved on and said, "Compared to you and Luo Chuan, Zhou Ding has one weakness—his personal strength."
"From the intelligence, his Daoist Soldiers are less than a million. His strength lies in his overall national power, hence we can go ahead with a decapitation strike."
"Zhou Ding has such grand strategy and bold vision, his offspring, right, it seems he has none."
At this mont, Gu Shanhai realized another blind spot; the Emperor of Yan had no heirs, no wife, nor concubines, truly focusing solely on his career.
Like Jiang Lu, Luo Chuan, and Xu Bu, others had nurous offspring, usually starting from the double digits.
Offspring here symbolized stability; indeed, Jiang Lu had even established a Crown Prince, his eldest legitimate son, initially learning from Gu Shanhai and now assisting Jiang Lu in governance, being grood as his successor.
"So as long as Zhou Ding dies, Yan Country will collapse, and then Xi Country and Zhou Country will not pose a threat, even if they form an alliance," Gu Shanhai analyzed the situation for Jiang Lu.
After thoughtful consideration, Jiang Lu said, "But Teacher, even if Zhou Ding’s Daoist Soldiers are fewer than a million, he is surrounded by layers of protection. If we were capable of reaching Zhou Capital amidst the encirclent of nurous Daoist Soldiers and under the saturated attack of aircraft and artillery, we would not need a decapitation strike."
Assassinating a ruler of a country is not so simple, especially when the opponent, despite having fewer than a million Daoist Soldiers, is not an undefended Daoist Soldier that could be easily killed.
"I will go and kill him. With my power, combined with so specially made military equipnt, there is still a chance of winning." Gu Shanhai wasn’t suggesting the plan for others to implent but was planning to go himself, a plan anyone could think of but only a few had the capability to execute.
"No, this absolutely cannot be done," Jiang Lu imdiately refused, thinking that if it were soone else attempting the assassination, he might consider how it could be executed.
"Teacher, you are also of advanced age now. What if sothing goes wrong? I think it’s better for you to stay here, enjoy so peace. Let’s forget such a dangerous idea."
After Jiang Lu’s rebuttal, he began to subtly advise against it.
"If you think this plan is feasible, I can arrange for soone else to carry it out. You can simply oversee it."
He then suggested that it wasn’t a matter of not executing the plan, but that the executor should not be you.
"The problem is, except for , no one else can do it," Gu Shanhai understood Jiang Lu’s concern, but Jiang Lu didn’t understand him.
The whole of Long Country was his investnt and interest, and now he was watching his investnt about to collapse, which would be a huge loss. Fortuitously, he could save it.
Death? He wasn’t afraid at all. When the ti ca, he’d just plant so Heart Demon Dao Soldiers within Long Country; if he died, he’d resurrect through the Heart Demon Dao Soldiers.
Besides, he had his ultimate state and World Tree form, which offered a significant chance of resolving the issue and escaping unscathed.
"Let’s discuss it again," Jiang Lu continued along Gu Shanhai’s line, adamant not to let him go.
"Discussing it again will only lead to delay. You’ve seen that Yan Country has started a full-scale war. After I wiped out Xuanzhou’s Navy, they won’t return soon, but what about the other fronts?"
"The war reports show more losses than wins, right? How many cities did we lose yesterday, and how many today?"
Gu Shanhai’s tone beca sowhat aggressive. When he received reports these days, he effortlessly noticed any tampering, now confirming that on the frontlines, Long, Xi, and Zhou were not performing well against the opponent who had a crushing advantage in military capabilities.
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