Chapter 7160 Each Other's Focus

Chapter 7160 Each Other's Focus
Well, this kind of question is probably only something a nobody like Zhang Zhong could ask. Even if the high-ranking officials in the court had some ideas, they probably wouldn't ask such a question.

After all, everyone present knew the situation in the five northern provinces. They were Liu Bei's stronghold, so it was only natural for Liu Bei to mobilize these people to destroy the Kushan Empire. Especially since everyone thought that destroying the Kushan Empire was inevitable, choosing the five northern provinces was itself a reward.

In this situation, none of the ministers who understood this point would specifically ask about it—both thunder and rain are the emperor's grace. How could Liu Bei tolerate others interfering when he was rewarding his own people?

Therefore, the more politically savvy someone is, the more they understand that they shouldn't speak up on such matters.

On the contrary, it was a nobody like Zhang Zhong who was able to openly ask questions that everyone wanted to ask but dared not ask in the imperial court.

After all, it's often difficult to hide one's true intentions from others.

What were the high-ranking officials in the imperial court thinking when they said these words? What were the thoughts of Zhang Zhong, a man from the wilderness, when he said these words? Even a wise fox knows the answer.

In some matters, it is necessary to distinguish right from wrong, judging by intention rather than actions. Zhang Zhong, however, had no ulterior motives, only his true intentions!
“Our veterans from Yuzhou are no less capable than those from other places. In recent years, many of the soldiers who went to fight on the Ganges have been from Yuzhou. Why are we not allowed to participate in the final battle?” Zhang Zhong bluntly stated, “The actions of the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat are somewhat discriminatory. If we’re talking about strength, then we should select based on the results of the grand competition and directly divide the provinces into five. This is not right!”

Zhuge Liang nodded slowly upon hearing this, but before he could speak, Zhang Zhong continued, "Even if it's not for any merit, but just for seeing things through to the end, why are we excluded from the final battle? Even if the veterans from the five northern states are stronger, are the veterans from other places not even qualified to participate? They are all stronger than us."

Zhang Zhong's words were somewhat harsh, even bordering on questioning Zhuge Liang, but they garnered support from many veterans who attended the court assembly.

After all, besides the five northern states, there are ten other states in the world. Even the Qiang people of Tibet, who are holding their rice bowls, will think about how well they have been doing lately and whether they can satisfy the higher-ups in Chang'an. For this reason, they are even willing to fight Fuwode to the death at all costs.

To be honest, these people don't have much ambition to make a name for themselves. They're just people who eat the country's food and enjoy the country's treatment. So when the decisive battle comes, I have to go and fight for the country. I'm not doing this for anything else, but just to be worthy of the treatment the country has given me.

It's such a simple yet sincere feeling.

As for fiefdoms, these guys who returned to their hometowns and became county or prefectural commanders didn't really have any deep feelings about them. On the one hand, most of the guys who chose to return to be officials knew in their hearts that they couldn't manage their fiefdoms well. On the other hand, these veterans who returned to their hometowns to be officials were more in line with the idea of ​​returning home in glory.

As the saying goes, those who don't hold grudges will surely forget kindness. If you can forget the good others have done for you, don't expect them to remember the good you've done for them.

Similarly, most people who choose to return to their hometown in glory, wanting to show their hometown people their success and do something for their fellow villagers, have basic moral principles and are mostly the kind of people who are full of emotions and remember the kindness shown to them by their fellow villagers.

Of course, this doesn't mean that such a person will never make mistakes, but rather that such a person will remember the kindness shown to them and is always ready to help others repay it.

Therefore, Zhang Zhong, the archery instructor from Yuzhou and concurrently the military commander of Runan, directly stated that Zhuge Liang's actions were putting them in an unjust position. He said that the people of Yuzhou were very dissatisfied with Zhuge Liang's ridiculous proposal and that they also wanted to participate in the great battle between the Han Dynasty and the Kushan Empire.

Zhuge Liang looked at Zhang Zhong and said to be honest, it was only thanks to Chen Xi that he had given this to him in advance. He had thought about it, and if he had really followed Chen Xi's method, there would probably be trouble now, because Chen Xi had not considered that the veterans from other prefectures and counties would directly ask this question.

Because of his mindset, Chen Xi always approached the worst-case scenario, viewing most problems in the world from the perspective of the wickedness of human nature. Therefore, Chen Xi had previously considered that the major families might test him on this matter, but he did not consider how veterans like Zhang Zhong and Tao Tong, who were purely driven by inner justice and had no self-interest, would view this issue.

Fortunately, Zhuge Liang had considered this issue beforehand. Unlike Chen Xi, who had seen too much in historical records and witnessed how later generations gradually descended into moral decay, Zhuge Liang was different.

Therefore, Chen Xi does not have a high opinion of human morality when it comes to important matters.

Zhuge Liang was the kind of wise man who also knew that people's hearts could fluctuate, but he viewed the people with a certain morality. So when he announced this matter, Zhuge Liang had considered this possibility. In fact, in Zhuge Liang's view, it would be a problem if a mid-level official like Zhang Zhong did not stand up at this moment—that would mean the overall failure of the Han Dynasty's moral education.

"That's not the case. This is a test of troop deployment in the five northern provinces, not a large-scale battle against the Kushans. In the subsequent battle against the Kushans, troops will not be deployed from the five northern provinces, but rather the elite forces from across the land will be conscripted and sent to the Ganges, not just the backbone of one region," Zhuge Liang replied calmly. "This is a test of the military expenditure, manpower, logistics, and related marching efficiency that need to be considered when mobilizing a million troops."

"Then could we participate when the large-scale troop deployment verification is carried out in the five northern states? Even if we can't participate on a large scale, at least we should participate simultaneously." Zhang Zhong was somewhat defiant at this point, but since they were already in the imperial court, he had to say what needed to be said, otherwise how could he face his brothers in Yuzhou?

“That’s acceptable,” Zhuge Liang said calmly. “However, the eleventh year of Yuanfeng was just a test of troop deployment, not a so-called expedition. The more important task for the southern states at present is to complete the paving of roads at all levels to prepare for subsequent troop deployments.”

These words reassured the governors of the five northern prefectures and the major clans. This was entirely in line with their understanding. After all, this was a million-strong army. How could they be mobilized so easily? They would definitely need to verify the situation back and forth. And the time spent on verification was their opportunity to accumulate strength.

In response, Zhuge Liang could only say that the major clans had really thought things through too much. When Zhuge Liang saw the plan, he was terrified by Chen Xi's lack of humanity.

Consider this: in official history, it took Zhuge Liang three whole years to mobilize 60,000 troops for a Northern Expedition. Even considering the rugged and dangerous mountain roads in Sichuan and Hanzhong, and the weak foundation of Shu Han, the fact that it took three years of preparation to mobilize 60,000 troops speaks volumes.

Therefore, when Zhuge Liang first met Chen Xi and he explicitly stated that he wanted to mobilize three million elite troops and use nearly ten million able-bodied men to ensure logistics, Zhuge Liang's first reaction was that Chen Xi had gone mad.

However, after Chen Xi explained the details in detail, Zhuge Liang realized that with Sun Qian and Jian Yong having developed roads and logistics to this level at this stage, it was not impossible for Chen Xi to mobilize his three million elite troops. More importantly, many subsequent operations would indeed require these three million troops to go to the Ganges for a training trip.

After all, whether it's building roads in the Indochina Peninsula, laying the foundation for subsequent fiefdoms, distributing merits, or filling state-owned factories and mines with workers, such a process is necessary.

Although Zhuge Liang somewhat felt that Chen Xi's actions did not regard the destruction of Kushan as the ultimate goal, but rather as a step in the process, considering that Chen Xi had all the weapons and equipment in place and the mobilization of supplies was almost complete, and that the three million-strong army could indeed be mobilized to the Ganges in a very short time, Zhuge Liang felt that Chen Xi was indeed qualified to regard the destruction of Kushan as a step in the process, rather than the goal.

"Thank you, Minister of the Imperial Secretariat." After receiving this reply, Zhang Zhong's originally arrogant expression quickly turned into a submissive one. He even bowed deeply to Zhuge Liang, which made Zhuge Liang's eyebrows twitch. He felt that these people from Yuzhou were indeed quite quick-witted and cunning.

"Brother Zhang is awesome!" Tang Tang, the captain of the security team at the Jiaozhou coconut processing plant, immediately transmitted his voice after Zhang Zhong sat down. After all, he thought the same thing as Zhang Zhong: why could the guys from the five northern states go while they couldn't? It was definitely regional discrimination. However, he wasn't as straightforward as Zhang Zhong, who stood up and asked directly.

"No problem, no problem." After sitting down, Zhang Zhong showed no sign of his back being soaked. He raised his hand to the brothers on either side, acting as if he were some kind of high-class person.

"I'll treat you to a drink later." Tao Tong cupped his hands in greeting to Zhang Zhong. He had thought the same thing before, but he wasn't as outrageous as Zhang Zhong, who went straight for the jab. After all, anyone with a brain knows that you can't just talk nonsense in this place, or you'll easily get into trouble. Didn't you see how Si Liang carried everyone from Yanmen away before?

After all, most of the mid-level officers who can sit here, even if they climbed up from the ranks, have some brains. Creatures like Erxiong and Siliang who don't have much brains are relatively rare. Generally speaking, if someone's brain is really that bad and they can still brag to them, then you should consider whether the other party is a bit too strong.

"Are you scared?" Lu Kuan asked Zhang Zhong telepathically after Zhang Zhong finished speaking. After all, Zhang Zhong was someone he had trained, so even if they weren't officially master and disciple, they were in reality master and disciple. So after the others finished talking, Lu Kuan asked Zhang Zhong telepathically.

"Damn, I wasn't afraid when I impulsively went for it, but now that I think about it, my back is soaked with sweat." Zhang Zhong looked apprehensive. "But thankfully, it turned out well."

"You say you're the best archer in the five northern states?" Lu Kuan asked, somewhat displeased.

“Including you, brother, I’m number one now.” Zhang Zhong said very seriously. Three years ago, he and Lu Kuan were probably evenly matched, but now Lu Kuan is old. Having failed his oath, Lu Kuan is basically no longer able to sit at the table and has to go home to retire.

Even with their experience, elite talent structure, unique troop type, and extremely strong combat power, they are still outmatched by Zhang Zhong, having been crushed by the wheels of time.

Lu Kuan looked rather grim, but in the end he didn't say anything.

“Si Liang might surpass you,” Lu Kuan said, glancing in Si Liang’s direction.

"It's hard to say, but I can maintain this for at least another ten years. Maybe if I'm lucky and my Oath of Talent succeeds, I can stay at my peak for even longer," Zhang Zhong said with a hint of confidence, glancing at Si Liang who had finally realized what he had done.

“I have connections with the Southern Army. I heard from the brothers there that the Imperial Guard is going to strengthen its management of the Southern Army. So if you want to forge your Oath Talent, you should do it now, otherwise there will definitely be a lot of unnecessary procedures later.” Although Lu Kuan felt that Zhang Zhong was a bit pretentious, the other party was, after all, someone he had trained. It wasn’t too bad that the title of his strongest archer had fallen into Zhang Zhong’s hands, so he gave him a few more instructions. “Hmm, you know Jie Yun, right? You can ask him for help.”

Zhang Zhong recalled for a moment, then remembered an old thing he had only seen a few times from a blind spot in his memory, and said he would look into it.

While Lu Kuan and Zhang Zhong were talking privately, they did not notice that the Imperial Guard Commandant Ruan Gong's eyes had fallen over. Because of the shady nature of the Southern Army, Ruan Gong was somewhat wary of people like Lu Kuan and Zhang Zhong, who had previously served in the Imperial Guard and were now in their late twenties.

As for the "unnecessary procedures" that Lu Kuan mentioned, those were added by the Nguyen Communist Party to strengthen management. These weird things require registration for everyone who comes to learn them. Anyone who spreads them will be punished. All the Imperial Guards who survived the previous era will be screened!
Because Nguyen Cong recently discovered a very outrageous fact: every member of the Imperial Guard who was still alive in the previous era possessed the Oath Talent. Putting aside whether they could be forged, the fact that everyone possessed it was just a damned operation. What were the previous Imperial Guard Commandant and Zong Zheng doing?

Therefore, the most important point that Nguyen Cong, as one of the Nine Ministers, would raise at the Grand Court Assembly was to conduct a general survey of all the veterans of the Imperial Guard from the previous era. This would not only improve their records but also take into account their past contributions to the country and ensure their livelihood.

Okay, all of this is nonsense. The core issue is that the Nguyen Cong needs to shut up these veteran Imperial Guards who can keep quiet. They shouldn't spread rumors about talent without understanding its essence. What's worse is that some people can actually learn from this completely unscientific teaching method!
The Nguyen Cong said it was outrageous.

Meanwhile, the Romans listening to the lecture remained relatively calm. After all, Ganassis had seen it all before. When Rome conquered Parthia and destroyed the country, the Roman army, including the barbarians they mobilized, was definitely over a million strong.

So when Ganassis heard that the Han Dynasty was preparing to launch a massive attack on the Kushan Empire with a million-strong army, his first thought was that the Han Dynasty was finally going to have a major showdown with the Kushan Empire.

Even so, Ganassis did not consider that the Han Dynasty could truly destroy the Kushan Empire, because the Kushan situation was very different from that of Parthia. Parthia had great internal contradictions, which prevented it from exerting its national strength. Although the Kushan Empire had north-south contradictions, the Han Dynasty did not accept the surrender of Brahmins, but only the surrender of northern Kushans. As a result, those who wanted to surrender could not surrender, and those who did not want to surrender could not be forced by the Han Dynasty.

As a result, the Kushan Empire remained relatively stable, with no obvious signs of collapse. Therefore, judging from the situation, Ganassis believed that the Han Dynasty's million-strong army could at most severely damage the Kushan Empire, but there was no hope of killing it.

After all, even the Parthian Empire, which had been battered by Rome for over a century and was plagued by internal conflicts, held out for three years against Rome's total war, with a total scale exceeding one million. Could the Kushan Empire be any worse than Parthia?
So don't panic. Once the Kushan Empire is badly beaten, they'll definitely sell you more stuff. To be honest, the Kushan Empire's treasury is indeed full of treasures. Putting aside everything else, the Roman Empire is really eyeing that strategic secret technique and the supermodel cloud architecture.

However, considering the expressive power of the Kushan Empire's supermodel cloud formation, it was clearly a top-secret strategic defense system of an empire with a Mediterranean ideal. No matter how much Rome wanted it, it couldn't just ask for it directly, because asking for the other party's strategic defense system could easily lead to a falling out.

But if the Kushan Empire were to be severely beaten by the Han Dynasty, and Rome were to provide assistance in an emergency, then it would be very likely that they could obtain this item.

So let's fight, let's fight quickly. The Romans, who are currently in internal strife, are just hoping that the Kushans and the Han Dynasty will fight each other to the death. It would be best if both sides were exhausted and wounded.

However, the Romans' thoughts did not represent those of the Kushan attendees at the court assembly.

After the verification plan for the mobilization of the million-strong army was released, Zena and Anada both looked rather grim. After all, the Han Dynasty was currently discussing how to deal with the Kushan Empire, and if they had any integrity left, they wouldn't be in a good mood.

Moreover, the more the Han court spoke, the worse their expressions became. The things Zhuge Liang presented seemed somewhat outrageous to them, but considering that this was a grand court assembly and the other party was giving a public address, they figured he wouldn't be making empty promises. So the more they listened, the less confident they became.

Especially the Han Dynasty veterans who knew their identities were now rubbing their hands together in anticipation of their attack. As the saying goes, Zena and Anada are indeed superhuman, but there are no normal people around them. Anyone who dares to show malice in front of these two is not afraid of them causing trouble.

"Old Huang, aren't you going to speak?" Jiang Guang asked Huang Tao.

"Brother Zhang has said everything I wanted to say, so what do I need to say?" Huang Tao shook his head and said, "But one thing is very true: why are you five northern states conducting this verification without including us? If we're talking about the core area of ​​the Prince of Jin, our Xuzhou is also a core area, okay!"

The author is currently staying indoors and plans to travel south to escape the cold in a couple of days.