After Shen Feng invited the ragged man into the conference room, he had the door closed and began to converse with him alone. The bodyguards were uneasy, worried that the City Lord might be assassinated, and if such a situation occurred, they would be gravely negligent.
However, Shen Feng then said, "Rest assured, do you doubt my strength? While my strength cannot be said to be unprecedented, it is certainly unparalleled. Ordinary people cannot harm me. This gentleman is clearly an ordinary person; how could his strength be a match for mine? You may all leave!"
Shen Feng held the title of the strongest human. If he were to be afraid of an ordinary person at this moment, it would truly be unbecoming.
Thus, after Shen Feng explained the situation, the bodyguards responsible for protecting him left. They were also aware of the City Lord's strength; without it, he could not have reached this position. Furthermore, what the City Lord was about to discuss with this disheveled fellow was not something ordinary people should hear, so it was best for them to leave. Many secrets should not be known by ordinary people.
When only two people remained in the conference room, Shen Feng finally said, "Mr. Xie, after reading the contents of your letter, I immediately understood one thing: you are definitely a hidden master. Otherwise, such a plan would not exist."
Upon hearing Shen Feng's assessment, Xie Mu'an slowly replied, "You flatter me, City Lord. I merely offered my opinions on the matter. After all, there are many wise individuals around you; otherwise, many policies could not be implemented. It is just that your strategic vision is too short-sighted!"
This was the first time Shen Feng had heard such words, so he subsequently asked, "The strategies we formulate are made after considering the actual situation. Under normal circumstances, they are maintained for four to five years. We all believe such plans are suitable and can maintain stability. Moreover, four to five years is not a short period; is this still considered short?"
After Shen Feng's inquiry, Xie Mu'an said, "For other powers, a plan of four to five years is indeed good. However, if you, City Lord, wish to sweep across the land, you need a more long-term plan!"
This was the first time Shen Feng had heard of such a thing, so he asked, "Sir, for how long do you believe a plan or strategy should be maintained to be considered appropriate?"
Seeing Shen Feng's inquiry, Xie Mu'an directly said, "City Lord, I see that you have the ambition to sweep across the land. However, without long-term foresight, this matter will be difficult to succeed. I have already stated two general methods in my letter. If you do not find me objectionable, I am willing to formulate strategies for you, and also to avenge myself!"
Shen Feng quickly replied, "That would be ideal. If you can help me, I will certainly strive to meet your expectations. For now, let us discuss future plans. I still have a question in my heart, and if this question cannot be clarified, I dare not use your plan!"
Xie Mu'an asked, "Is there anything you need me to explain?"
Shen Feng took out the letter from his person and asked, "Regarding the matter of weakening the forces in other regions, I find it unreasonable. Previously, Wang Ao Ye said I was too conservative. Now that we are facing a great crisis, everyone should help each other. They have also provided a large amount of supplies for me to build production bases. However, if I now plan to weaken them, isn't that going too far?"
"City Lord, your thinking is incorrect. If I am not mistaken, you have been deceived by Wang Ao Ye's sanctimonious words! Because they need food, they deliberately speak with great righteousness. If you don't believe me, look at the past; were any powers not in a state of mutual suspicion? Power and wealth are the most attractive to people; no one will stand by and watch their power be snatched away by others," Xie Mu'an analyzed.
"What you say seems to have some truth to it. Perhaps I was too emotional before and was manipulated by his talk of the fate of all humanity and the future of the entire Chinese region. But generally speaking, they did act according to our previous agreement, providing us with a lot of plastic and glass, and also occupying Jiuquan, the rocket launch center. Weakening them now seems somewhat unjustified!" Shen Feng still had some psychological burden, as doing so would make him feel ungrateful.
"City Lord, this kind of thinking should be discarded. Because to truly control all regions, one must have a ruthless heart. Now, it is merely weakening them, not taking their lives. However, if you do not even possess the thought of weakening them, what will you do when you truly sweep across the land? In at most 10 years, the great ice age will end. If meteorites are found then and launched into the sky, there will be human conflicts in the Chinese region, ultimately leading to the selection of a king. Currently, although everyone is at peace, they are all accumulating strength. It is precisely during this period that we should weaken the forces of other regions and strengthen our own. In this way, when the peaceful years end and conflict erupts again, we will have an absolute advantage," Xie Mu'an said earnestly.
"Weaken the strength of others, enhance our own strength, and then await the opportune moment to sweep across the land!" Shen Feng murmured these words.
Seeing Shen Feng still hesitant, Xie Mu'an could not help but say, "Lord Fengshen, although you are now the nominal ruler of China, in reality, you can only control the core areas of the southwest region under your command. You have no control over other regions; they merely call you their leader in name. To truly end the chaos, it is not only necessary to send the meteorite in the sea into space, but also to have a stable society. And only you can achieve this, which is to occupy all regions by yourself! Then the wars will end, and people will have a better life. If the meteorite is merely sent into space, human wars will still occur!"
Shen Feng naturally understood this logic. After all, humans are a very warlike species. Over the past millions of years, humans have driven to extinction various animals that threatened their survival. Even lions and tigers dared not provoke humans casually, and thus humans continued to expand. In this process, humans found no rivals and eventually turned their own kind into enemies, attacking each other.
Therefore, even if the meteorite is found and launched into space, a peaceful situation across the land is impossible. This is because there are still many ambitious individuals who want to sweep across the land to gain greater power, and humans will engage in prolonged wars!
"So, the decision I made to weaken the forces of other regions is for the sake of all humanity? Not only to truly end the apocalypse but also to end wars, thereby creating a world of peace!" Shen Feng murmured.
"Precisely, that is the meaning. If City Lord Shen Feng wishes to hear my strategy, I can introduce it to you!" Xie Mu'an said with bright eyes.
Shen Feng hesitated for a moment and said, "You can tell me the plan now, but this plan will ultimately need to be discussed in the meeting. We will all deliberate on countermeasures together before making a final decision. For now, you are merely stating your ideas, and I cannot approve them directly!"
"That is only natural. After all, a mature plan requires multiple discussions; ideas cannot be conceived with a clap of the head and acted upon with a pat on the backside. That is irresponsible. If you wish to hear my plan, I will now explain it. My plan essentially has two aspects: strengthening the core and weakening the periphery!" Xie Mu'an nodded.
In many places, there are local proverbs that people enjoy quoting, such as "an idea conceived with a clap of the head, approved with a pat on the chest, gone wrong with a slap of the thigh, and then departed with a kick of the backside!"
This refers to many leaders acting irresponsibly and carelessly, without thinking, and acting on any whim without considering the consequences. When things go wrong, they try to leave. This attitude is simply shameful.
"Please elaborate, sir. I will listen attentively!" Shen Feng quickly asked.
"The concept of strengthening the core and weakening the periphery was already proposed by people in ancient times. In simple terms, it means weakening local powers and strengthening central authority. The three southwestern provinces under your command, City Lord, are considered the core region, forming the main trunk. Other regions are the branches and leaves. By weakening the branches and leaves of other regions and strengthening the trunk, we can ensure our own overwhelming advantage!" Xie Mu'an said earnestly.
"The principle of enhancing our advantage is actually very simple: continuously demand supplies from other regions that need our food. Let them exchange various materials for it. However, people will starve if they don't eat. Under duress, they will certainly provide various materials, and during this period, we can gain various advantages. We can demand missiles, or even nuclear warheads, from them to enhance our own strength. It doesn't matter if we give them more food. The most important thing is to obtain the advanced weapons in their hands, letting them exchange weapons for food. This is also a way to weaken their strength!" Xie Mu'an spoke eloquently.
"Demand various materials and weapons from them, I understand!" Shen Feng nodded.
"As for the idea of weakening the periphery, it is even simpler. Since we are the ones providing food, the actual distribution rights are still in our own hands. If we want to weaken the strength of others, doing it ourselves is too inefficient and might even provoke a backlash. My suggestion is to specifically allocate food to each city, distributing it in fixed quantities, and personally delivering this food to each of the other cities. In this way, large cities will want the stored grain in small cities to control the distribution power, and small cities, wanting to obtain this grain, will develop hostile feelings towards large cities. As a result, they will become estranged from each other!" Xie Mu'an said.
"This plan, if proposed, seems feasible because, in the end, it is a transparent scheme. Others can only respond directly but cannot break it. However, in my opinion, this plan is a bit insidious!" Shen Feng commented on the plan.
"To weaken the strength of others without expending too many resources, there is only such a method: to cause them to engage in internal strife. In this way, their infighting will weaken their own effective strength, and we can sit back and watch the tigers fight," Xie Mu'an replied.
The so-called transparent scheme is the opposite of a conspiracy. The concept of a conspiracy is to scheme against others behind their backs, which is called a conspiracy. A transparent scheme, however, is different. A transparent scheme can openly present the plan, and others cannot break it, which is a transparent scheme.
Previously, Yuzhou provided food to other regions by delivering it directly to their capitals, such as Jinling, Yangcheng, Pudong, or Yanjing, and then letting these powers distribute the food. In this way, the efficiency of food distribution might be higher, but it was inevitable that some people would embezzle food.
However, now, after Xie Mu'an presented his plan, the distribution of food would be handled by their side. They only needed to send people to escort the food to other places, which would avoid the环节 of distribution by major cities.