Chu Chen felt completely petrified. What did Her Royal Highness the Princess want?
Could it be that she had discovered his affairs with His Majesty or Li Mengdie, and was doing this to win him back?
Chu Chen sighed, feeling utterly helpless.
Then again, it didn't seem likely.
How could Her Royal Highness, so proud and arrogant, possibly compromise?
But if not for that, what reason would the Princess have for acting this way?
It couldn't be to trap him, could it?
The two were already engaged; everyone in Yunyue Kingdom knew that. Moreover, this Prime Minister's mansion was his residence. It seemed highly unlikely that she would act against him.
"Your Royal Highness, I can assure you that while I am away on campaign, I, Chu Chen, will absolutely do nothing to betray you. I implore you to trust me, alright?"
"Hmph, I don't care. I'm going with you. Believing a man's words is worse than believing a lie... Hmph."
Hearing this, Chu Chen felt his head spin. He could only smile wryly and say, "Since that is the case, then Your Royal Highness, do as you please."
This matter could only be put aside for now and discussed after three days.
Chu Chen could not influence Li Xinyue's thoughts. What he needed to worry about now was the upcoming campaign.
Chu Chen called for a servant and asked him to find Wei Lixuan and the others, telling them to come quickly.
Chu Chen needed to quickly formulate a battle plan. Although his mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, it was not easy to translate them into a complete plan.
Although he had already decided to attack Wei, Wei was no pushover and would surely counterattack.
Therefore, he had to design the route more cleverly, so that before the enemy could react, Chu Chen would have already entered their capital.
Chu Chen had the servant bring a map and place it upright on a board, which he took outside the main hall to examine.
From Yunyue Kingdom to Wei, there were two or three routes. Two of them were relatively wide but easily noticed.
Furthermore, these two routes were guarded by Wei soldiers, making a surprise attack difficult and likely to be detected.
However, if he took another route, it would be relatively more concealed but difficult to traverse, and the road was relatively narrow.
But this route represented an opportunity for Chu Chen, allowing him to capture Zhao and Wei without shedding a drop of blood.
Although he intended to attack Wei, he had to put on a good show beforehand, so that no one would discover his true target was Wei. Otherwise, all his subsequent schemes would be ruined.
Chu Chen looked at the road leading to Handan, the capital of Zhao. It overlapped partially with the three routes to Wei, saving him some time.
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck Chu Chen, and his heart filled with joy.
He already had a mature idea, but he was still pleasantly surprised by his new inspiration.
"That's right! I can feign an attack on Zhao, create a grand spectacle, and make the enemy truly believe I'm attacking Zhao. Then, under the cover of night, I can send people in batches along the smaller, less conspicuous route to attack Wei. Once several waves of troops have passed through the smaller route, I can quickly launch a surprise counterattack."
"During the few days of my feigned attack, I will have attracted enough attention. The armies of Zhao and Wei will surely be drawn in. Wei, in particular, might even send more troops to conquer Zhao's Handan after defeating me. At that time, attacking Wei will be effortless."
With this thought, Chu Chen became extremely excited. If this plan worked, the rewards would surely be greater than he imagined.
"Reporting, Master. The generals have arrived outside the Prime Minister's mansion. Shall I invite them in?"
The servant's voice suddenly broke in, and Chu Chen snapped back to reality, stunned. "Oh, quickly invite them in."
Chu Chen looked at Li Xinyue beside him and said, "Your Royal Highness, I need to discuss some important matters with these warriors. If you feel bored, you can go rest elsewhere."
Li Xinyue, however, shook her head and said, "No need. I'll just listen here. I don't have anything else to do anyway. Since I don't need to oversee the state affairs, there aren't that many things to do."
Chu Chen nodded and said, "Since Your Royal Highness insists, I naturally have no objections."
Chu Chen shook his head helplessly. He had originally intended to discuss some deeper arrangements with Wei Lixuan and the others.
However, with Li Xinyue present, there were many things he could not explain clearly.
Of course, he still had great faith in his subordinates' understanding.
He would explain it to them after the campaign, and they would surely understand.
The subordinates were soon brought before Chu Chen by the servant, and they respectfully saluted the Princess and Chu Chen.
Chu Chen waved his hand and said, "Alright, alright, get up. I've called you here today for an important matter."
The men quickly stood up and looked at Chu Chen respectfully.
"Prime Minister Chu, where are we attacking? Just tell us. We'll fight wherever you point."
Wei Lixuan said respectfully.
An Yong nodded, "Yes, my lord. We have been looking forward to this for a long time, waiting for your command."
Zhu An also couldn't help but say, "My lord, just tell us. We are all waiting for your orders."
After the rebellion was quelled, these men had indeed received merits. However, what they desired more than merits were opportunities to fight.
Yunyue Kingdom was now quite stable. If there was to be a war, it would inevitably be external. These men were already prepared.
Chu Chen nodded, stood up, and said with a serious expression, "You are correct. We are indeed going to war, and our opponents will be Zhao and Wei."
Upon hearing this, their eyes widened. "Prime Minister, are we sure about fighting two countries simultaneously? Shouldn't we consider it more carefully?"
They all nodded in agreement, "Yes, my lord. Shouldn't we consider this matter carefully? They are two great nations. We might not be able to deal with them."
"Prime Minister, although Yunyue Kingdom is stronger than before, we are not yet that powerful, are we?"
They couldn't help but glance at Li Xinyue beside them, and said no more.
Chu Chen smiled and stood up, saying, "What you say has some truth to it, but many things are not as simple as you think."
"Although we do not wish to go to war with two great nations, if we are forced to this point, we must fight even if we don't want to."
"I have called you here today to prepare for war."
"His Majesty has agreed that I will lead you and ten thousand soldiers on this campaign, along with twenty thousand logistics troops."
"As the saying goes, 'When troops are on the move, provisions must go first.' They are already on their way."
"These ten thousand troops will depart with us."
Upon hearing this, their faces lit up with joy. Their guesses were correct; war was indeed imminent.