On the outskirts of the imperial capital, the manor that Bai Zhizhan had come to at the beginning of the month.

When Xue Yuanzheng got out of the car, several Ouchi bodyguards guarding outside immediately stood in a circle, but then retreated one after another.

Xue Yuanzheng went upstairs alone, except for a personal bodyguard, all of them stayed downstairs.

Although they are nearly twenty years younger than Zhu Shijian, they are really a generation.

At the end of the last war, Xue Yuanzheng was already an army general, and Zhu Shijian had just been promoted to admiral. If Xue Yuanzheng stays in the army, he will have more opportunities for promotion, and he will definitely be able to succeed Ma Zhongyi as commander-in-chief of the army after the end of the war.

In addition, the two can be regarded as close friends.

More than forty years ago, Xue Yuanzheng, who was still an ignorant teenager, received a letter of recommendation to study at the Naval Academy and went to the Imperial Naval Academy. It's a pity that he was color blind during the physical examination, and Xue Yuanzheng missed the opportunity to become a naval officer.

Of course, Xue Yuanzheng did not feel sorry for this.

After that, the Imperial Navy entered the era of Zhou Kuande and Zhu Shijian, and if Xue Yuanzheng went to the Navy, maybe it would be buried.

The age gap of 20 years cannot be bridged by ability.

In peacetime, countless outstanding officers have been buried, and the vast majority of officers have not waited for the opportunity to display their ambitions until they retire.

In Xue Yuanzheng's words, no matter how good he is, he can't compare to Zhu Shijian.

Although these words are somewhat complimenting Zhu Shijian, they also reflect from one side that in Xue Yuanzheng's heart, Zhu Shijian has a transcendent status.

Even if he later became the first assistant of the empire, Xue Yuanzheng still valued Zhu Shijian very much.

The affairs of the army, Xue Yuanzheng can handle it on his own.

The affairs of the navy must rely on Zhu Shijian.

In the twenty years after the war, at least from the day Xue Yuanzheng lived in the Shoufu Mansion, it was Xue Yuanzheng and Zhu Shijian who pushed the empire to gradually enter the war track and complete the war preparations.

Without Zhu Shijian's assistance, Xue Yuanzheng couldn't play alone.

They were the same ones who drew up the war plan.

Comparatively speaking, the former commander-in-chief of the army, Marshal Ma Zhongyi, was actually an ornament, mainly used to unite and encircle the traditionalist generals of the army.

Outside the door of the study, Zhu Shijian's secretary had been waiting for a long time.

"Did Zhu Lao sleep?"

"Not yet, I'm waiting for Shousuke-sama."

Xue Yuanzheng didn't say anything, and nodded to the personal bodyguard who followed him when the secretary opened the door, and let the bodyguard stay outside.

This is the official residence of the commander-in-chief of the navy, and it is usually guarded by Ouchi's bodyguards, so there must be no problem with security.

Besides, more than a dozen bodyguards are downstairs and can rush up at any time.

In the room, Zhu Shijian was still sitting in a wheelchair, but he was not reading, but was flipping through a newspaper, to be precise, he was flipping through the newspaper before.

"I wish my brother."

"Coming?"

Xue Yuanzheng pressed his hand towards the secretary, then picked up a stool and walked to Zhu Shijian's side.

"How are you going to deal with it?" Zhu Shijian was very sincere, and after Xue Yuanzheng sat down, he didn't ask anything else, and directly started the topic.

has cooperated with Xue Yuanzheng for more than ten years, there is no need to ramble.

"I came here today to ask what you think."

"Me?"

"Commander Ma's condition has been recurring, and it has become more and more serious during this time." Xue Yuanzheng sighed before continuing: "The current situation is really too different from what we originally imagined. There is a worrisome atmosphere in both the cabinet and the military. ”

"Underestimating the enemy?"

"Not yet," Xue Yuanzheng paused for a moment before saying, "Speaking of which, it's more like victory comes too easily, so everyone thinks that as long as they continue to fight like this, they will soon be able to defeat all enemies, including the Newland Federation, so there is no need to strictly follow the plan." ”

"In that case, victory came too easily."

Xue Yuanzheng sighed first, then shook his head with a wry smile, looking like he had something to say but was not easy to say.

"As you said at the beginning, the current situation is far from what was originally envisaged. Who would have thought that in just four days, we would turn defeat into victory after being attacked first, and almost completely annihilate the narrow navy. Who would have thought that in less than a month, the army would defeat the Ice Storm Peninsula, which had not been able to be conquered for two years, and wipe out hundreds of thousands of narrow defenders in one fell swoop. ”

"I don't know if I should be happy about it."

"Shouldn't you be happy?" Zhu Shijian glanced at Xue Yuanzheng before saying, "We know that no matter how good the plan is, it can't catch up with the changes. When the strategic plan was formulated, we did not expect the situation to develop according to the plan, and there would definitely be deviations. Could it be that if you develop on the bad side, you should be happy? ”

When Zhu Shijian said this, Xue Yuanzheng didn't know what to say.

It is true that no one expected to develop according to the plan, and a backup plan was drawn up, but all the backup plans were aimed at the situation when the combat operation was in trouble and the progress was seriously lagging behind. I really didn't expect a situation like now, where the combat mission was completed ahead of schedule and the speed of advance far exceeded expectations!

"However, the problem is also very serious. If you advance too fast and can't keep up with it, it will definitely be disjointed, and then it will be a mess. ”

"So, you have to slow down."

"And what are you worried about?"

When Zhu Shijian turned his gaze, Xue Yuanzheng had already figured it out.

The victory came too quickly, there must be a problem.

This is not a battle, but a war of countless battles, so winning one, or even many, is nothing. If the early victory comes too quickly and the preparations in the later stage are not in place, you will lose the later battle.

In the words of the table: the first win is all paper, and the last win is money!

If you think of this war as a marathon, it's just getting started.

Obviously, this is what Xue Yuanzheng is worried about.

As for the solution, it is actually very much to increase the order, which is to slow down and spend more time preparing for the next battle.

As the saying goes: sharpen the knife and cut the firewood by mistake.

Only, it's easier said than done.

What Xue Yuanzheng was worried about was actually that Lofus jumped out at this time and proposed that the Liang Xia Empire negotiate an armistice with the Narrow Yi Empire.

What's the intention!?

Because he couldn't figure it out, Xue Yuanzheng came to Zhu Shijian.

After all, Zhu Shijian is a bystander, and he can see more clearly than Xue Yuanzheng of the authorities, and he is more able to see the essence through complicated performances.

It's just a matter of one sentence.

It was the beginning sentence that woke up Xue Yuanzheng.

The empire needs to slow down now, and if Lofus jumped out to propose negotiations, wouldn't it be tantamount to putting the opportunity to slow down in the hands of Xue Yuanzheng?

Lofos must have had his own little abacus.

This gives the Narrow-Razed Imperial Kingdom a chance to breathe.

Because of this, the other powers will look down on the Liangxia Empire and feel that the Nuland Federation is more appealing.

But what can it be?

To talk about it or not, how to talk about it, to what extent to talk about it, and even when to start negotiations, isn't that a matter of Xue Yuanzheng's words?

No matter how powerful Lofus is, he can't change the fact that the Narrow Yi Imperial Kingdom has launched an undeclared war and attacked the Liangxia Empire.

To say that this kind of strategy of calculating everything, Xue Yuanzheng must be able to think of it, but he didn't expect it at once, just because he was in Lushan.

After being woken up by Zhu Shijian, Xue Yuanzheng suddenly opened up, and suddenly became enlightened.