Gulp.
Chen Yu's throat constricted violently as he held the wine cup.
The war between the Batu Free Federation and the Tatu Kingdom was inevitable. Chen Yu had known about it for a long time and had made many considerations.
However, he had never thought of participating in the war.
His previous plan was to find the true victor between the Tatu Kingdom and the Batu Free Federation and then align himself with that kingdom to gain time for his own development.
Share the spoils?
He wouldn't even dare to think about such a thing.
What did he possess?
A city?
To put it nicely, it was a city with a promising future. To put it bluntly, he had merely taken over a desolate city and was developing it on his own without the kingdom's acknowledgment.
According to Su Zhan's theory, his city-state was just a large encampment.
Participating in a kingdom's war felt rather presumptuous.
Yet, Su Zhan had extended an invitation to him at this very moment, asking him to join in the annihilation of the Tatu Kingdom.
"You want me to participate in the war?" Chen Yu exclaimed with a self-deprecating laugh. "I'm at best a minor lord, with fewer than fifty thousand troops. You want me to join a cave nation's war, you think too highly of me!"
"A single spark can start a prairie fire."
Su Zhan, uncharacteristically, used a cliché. Chen Yu ignored him and curled his lips.
"Stop spewing nonsense at me. Your war between the Batu Free Federation and the Tatu Kingdom, if you make me participate, I'll just be cannon fodder. Besides, my city's territory is within the Tatu Kingdom. If I were to truly raise a rebellion, the surrounding city-states would likely crush me."
"Pretending?"
Su Zhan sneered, putting down his wine bottle.
"I understand your situation. Although you are surrounded by several city-states, your people are well-equipped, and those city-states are no match for you."
"I still won't participate."
Despite Su Zhan's questioning, Chen Yu remained unwavering.
If he were still alone, if he were still in his small camp at the beginning of his journey into the caves, he would have agreed to Su Zhan without hesitation.
The relationship between him and Su Zhan needed no further explanation.
The problem was that he was no longer the small camp he once was. He was now a town with hundreds of thousands of citizens. To rashly participate in such a vortex, what would become of the people in the city?
Although he was the lord, and the city was his to take, and everything in the city belonged to him.
He couldn't be so selfish.
The lives of hundreds of thousands of people were very heavy.
"Old Chen, I don't think you're a spineless person," Su Zhan said, his expression slightly displeased. "I know you feel your city-state is insignificant compared to a kingdom, and rashly participating is like throwing an egg against a rock. But didn't we learn that 'the common birds don't know the ambition of the swan'?"
Chen Yu fell silent.
He knew what Su Zhan was trying to say. By specifically mentioning "the common birds don't know the ambition of the swan," he was actually trying to use the example of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang's uprising.
At that time, their rebellion also started from humble beginnings.
But—
The circumstances were different.
The national sentiment at that time was one of seething resentment, with the masses rising up in unison. However, although the Tatu Kingdom was corrupt internally, the people living within its borders seemed to have already become accustomed to and accepted their situation.
Chen Yu was certain that if the Batu Free Federation attacked the Tatu Kingdom.
The resistance from the people within the Tatu Kingdom would be fierce.
If, under such circumstances, Chen Yu were to raise the banner of rebellion, let alone other city-states, even the people in his own town would likely voice their opposition.
Besides, did Chen Sheng and Wu Guang survive in the end?
They were more like the fire that ignited the rebellion.
Chen Yu did not want to be that fire.
"Fine, I can't persuade you," Su Zhan sighed with a frown, looking dejected. "This Tatu Kingdom is bound to lose. I wanted you to participate so you could get some benefits, and you don't even want them."
"Bound to lose?"
Seeing Su Zhan's relaxed and somewhat confident expression, Chen Yu frowned, his heart filled with suspicion.
Chen Yu's understanding of the Tatu Kingdom was not deep.
However, even with a little thought, the surrounding dynasties that had bordered the Tatu Kingdom for so many years had not managed to annihilate it, which proved that the Tatu Kingdom was not an incapable kingdom.
Otherwise, the surrounding kingdoms would have surely encroached upon it.
Compared to the years of existence and the deep foundations of the Tatu Kingdom in the caves, the Batu Free Federation was actually a newly established, young federation.
In Chen Yu's opinion, the Batu Free Federation might indeed win in the end.
But it would absolutely not be a crushing victory. Even with excellent equipment, it wouldn't be that simple for them to gnaw down the Tatu Kingdom.
This was also the reason for Chen Yu's hesitation.
Even though he leaned towards the Batu Free Federation, and knowing that Su Zhan was the lord of River Town made him lean even more towards the Batu side, he still couldn't make a direct decision, as he had to consider the duration of the war.
A war of annihilation!
It would take ten, even decades.
Where were the swift strikes?
"Why is the Tatu Kingdom bound to lose?" Chen Yu murmured, "The Tatu Kingdom's strength shouldn't be that poor, to crumble at the touch of your Batu Free Federation?"
"If you don't participate, what can I say to you?"
Su Zhan shrugged, tilting his head back to look at the hazy sky above.
"What I thought was, if you participate, then the dozens of cities in the Tatu Kingdom near you would all be allocated to you. Whether you become a self-governing nation or join our federation's autonomy would be up to you to decide. Either way, with dozens of cities, no one would dare to underestimate you."
"Wow, starting to divide cities for me now?"
"I promised you thirteen cities, and I'll give you thirty." Su Zhan's eyes were full of seriousness. "Even if you don't participate, it's fine. I will still fulfill this promise. It's just that what I give you might not be thirty cities then, perhaps only the thirteen you mentioned."
"Su Zhan, are you a lord or a king?"
"A lord."
"Then is the allocation of cities decided by you?" Chen Yu asked with a soft smile, patting his shoulder. "Alright, I accept your intentions. I'm not in a hurry to receive those cities, you can give them to me whenever you want."
"I can help you negotiate."
Su Zhan suddenly sat up straight, staring into Chen Yu's eyes.
"Don't you trust me?"
"I trust you, I believe everything you say," Chen Yu said with a calm smile. "But even dozens of cities, if thrown into my hands, I might not be able to manage them. My development from a small encampment to a city-state is already a huge leap. To directly give me dozens of cities would then cause problems due to my mismanagement. I truly don't have such a big appetite for such a large cake, I can't digest it."
"Then what about your tiger tally!"
Su Zhan, grasping the wine bottle, his expression changed drastically, and his gaze became sharp.
"Chen Yu, I'm trying to save your life, you understand?!"