Chapter 997: The City Above A Lake
“Do you know what counts as a greater matter to a country, Joyless?” Feng Qingyou turned to look at Ye Qing.
“‘The great matters of the state lie in sacrifice and military affairs’,” Ye Qing quoted from Zuo Tradition.
“That’s right.”
Feng Qingyou said indifferently, “Only a war can show off Chu’s strength, and only a sacrifice can rescue Chu’s reputation.”
“From Chu’s perspective, Yan to the north, Wei to the west, and Qi to the east are all vicious tigers. None of them are good targets to start a war against. On the other hand, Nanjiang to the south is a pushover in their current state. Assuming Chu wants to start something, if Nanjiang is their best—maybe their only—option.”
“Besides that, the Nanjiang Royal Court is like the maggot in one’s bones even in their declined state. Time and again, they have proven to be a great source of disturbance to Chu. Chu had long since wanted to remove this thorn in their side. In fact, this plot to utterly annihilate the Nanjiang Royal Court and pacify their southern borders had been in the brewing for decades.”
“Guo Ximian’s trampling of Nanjiang over a decade ago is in fact, just a test. It is to trick the Nanjiang Royal Court into lowering their guard thinking that the Nanjiang Pacification Army has suffered such tremendous losses but they would not start a new war in the short term. Unfortunately, the Nanjiang Royal Court underestimated Chu’s ambition and ruthlessness. It might look like Chu has been resting and recuperating for the past decade, but they were really raising an army and brewing plots in secret.”
“Even if you hadn’t killed Chu Wangsun and Fang Muyun and inadvertently accelerated their plan, they would have attacked the Nanjiang Royal Court in a year or two.”
Feng Qingyou added after a pause, “What you did provided Chu an opportunity to launch their campaign ahead of time. For one, Chu was desperate for something to rescue their damaged reputation. Two, everyone’s eyes are centered on you and the Four Seas after your killing of Chu Wangsun and Fang Muyun, and no one was paying attention to Nanjiang, which made it easier for Chu to operate under cover as well.”