"All of us share this judgment, and even if they have such intentions, they won’t act immediately. Waiting for the right opportunity and gaining a deeper understanding of us is the right approach. Behind us, the Central Plains, there will inevitably be a conflict between the Liu, Cao, and Sunx families!" Zhang Song said with a bitter smile.

Yan Yan was taken aback, he already understood Zhang Song’s meaning.

"Let’s put it this way, if we achieve a minor victory or a stalemate, Kushan won’t make a move for the time being, but they will definitely covet the Central Plains. It won’t be long before the northern war ends, and as the Liu, Cao, and Sunx families’ cooperation concludes, when Kushan grasps the true state of the Han Dynasty, how do you think Kushan will choose?" Zhang Song looked at Yan Yan and asked rhetorically.

"If I were in Kushan’s position, once I learned that the Han Dynasty is divided into three, I would surely launch an all-out attack on the Han Dynasty, seizing the chaos to plunder land and people." Yan Yan said with a solemn expression. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"Exactly, and once the Liu, Cao, and Sunx families turn against each other, without any deep-seated hatred between Kushan and us, the Cao and Sunx families might even invite trouble when they can’t hold up, considering how far things could deteriorate in the Central Plains." Zhang Song sighed deeply.

"And if the Cao and Sunx families get into trouble, Grand Commandant Liu alone cannot hold the fort, and once the Central Plains war begins, it won’t be easy to stop, and a considerable number of civil and military officials will suffer losses." Zhang Song said, looking at Yan Yan.

"That distance seems a bit too much." At this point, Zhang Ren interjected suddenly.

"Actually, not far. If the trees along the road are felled, the road paved, and soldiers have warhorses for transport, it would take less than a month to reach. Our marching speed now is significantly different from what was recorded in the military books of the past." Zhang Su explained on behalf of his brother.

"In the past, it was said in military strategy that advancing a hundred miles for profit would topple the commander, fifty miles would mean half the army arrives. But now, General Zhang, you can force march over a hundred miles in one go. With the rejuvenation of the Heaven and Earth Essence, we are very different from before." Zhang Song shook his head and explained.

"Perhaps back then, our Han Dynasty had lost absolute control south of Jianwei Commandery, but now, with roads improved from Yizhou to here, it takes less than a month, or even less than fifteen days if stationed in Yongchang and roads are repaired." Qin Mi said slowly.

"If we build roads like Mount Tai’s direct paths and have enough horses, our actual control territory can extend three thousand miles west and south, and the border can be pushed nearly ten thousand miles further." Wang Lei sighed deeply and said, "The times have changed."

"So if we give Kushan a chance, the possibility of Kushan coming to plunder is very high. To prevent this, our only choice is either a great victory or a great defeat." Zhang Song looked at Yan Yan without any further disguise.

"Great victory! Or great defeat?" Yan Yan frowned. A great victory is easy to explain, but why a great defeat?

"A great victory needs no further explanation. If we win a great victory over Kushan, even if they later discover chaos in the Han Dynasty, they might hesitate to act. With the Thirteen Provinces of the Great Han, even just the power of one province, Yizhou, could defeat them badly. So even if there’s chaos in the Han Dynasty, they would be cautious." Zhang Song explained. Yan Yan nodded, indicating he understood this point.

"As for great defeat," Zhang Song looked at the military generals present; all the generals awaited further explanation.

"In the event of a great defeat, Kushan will surely invade the Han Dynasty. At that time, with hundreds of thousands of troops pressing the borders and numerous Inner Qi Manifestation forces approaching the Han Dynasty borders, the Liu, Cao, and Sunx families would definitely come to clean up the disaster we’ve caused." Zhang Song slowly explained.

"Currently, the three families have a foundation for cooperation, and although there have been conflicts, they worked together against the Northern Huns, haven’t parted, or sacrificed at the Grand Ancestral Temple yet flipped. Once Kushan appears, they will certainly face the same Han Army formation that the Northern Huns faced." Zhang Song said, looking towards Yan Yan.

"So, General Yan, do you have any other doubts?" Zhang Song asked, looking at Yan Yan.

"None. We’ll proceed as you said, a great victory or a great defeat." Yan Yan nodded, and all the military generals understood the thought process of the civil officials.

This battle cannot end in a minor victory or draw, only a great victory or defeat. This battle concerns the national destiny of the Han Dynasty for years to come.

Seeing Zhang Ren and others with serious expressions, Zhang Song clapped his hands to draw everyone’s attention.

"You don’t need to bear too much psychological burden; the other side is certainly pondering how to respond to our army. Unlike us with strong support behind us, their confidence is surely not as strong as ours." Zhang Song said with a face that carried soothing intent.

"They are close to us, and no matter how they want to develop, they can’t avoid us. This battle affects only the national destiny impact for a few years for us, but it may affect a country’s century-long strategy for them, so their pressure is greater." Zhang Su said with a smile to the group.

In fact, as early as delivering the challenge book, Wang Lei and others made some guesses. They thought that if Kushan accepted the challenge, then Kushan might use this battle as a reference to devise strategies for decades or even a century to come.

In other words, this battle might determine whether Kushan will establish relations on equal footing with the Han Dynasty or remain as a junior partner like before or seize an opportunity to surpass the Han Dynasty.

For an ordinary commoner, he can endure hunger, plant crops, and ensure he won’t go hungry the next year.

For an aristocratic family, it can lie low for decades, waiting for the perfect opportunity to shine.

For an empire, it can spend a generation or two, investing a century to strive for a goal.

Zhang Song and others believed that the Kushan Empire had the ability and the qualification to do so, and with the Han Empire as the opponent, it also held value. Since all conditions matched, Zhang Song and others directly assumed this battle might influence Kushan’s century-long strategy.

This is a terrifying fact. The result of this battle will directly impact an empire’s strategy for nearly a hundred years to come.

So in this battle, Zhang Song and others unanimously believed that battlefield victory or defeat was no longer important. The crucial point was how to turn Kushan Empire’s century-long strategy into a choice favorable to the Han Empire, regardless of victory or defeat.

With this foundation, Zhang Song and others shifted their focus, placing importance not on victory but on influencing Kushan’s strategy, which was more valuable to the entire Han Empire.

Similarly, with this foundation, Zhang Song and others understood that Kushan might employ some tricks, but generally, it wouldn’t prevent the Han Army from showing their combat power.

Because for them, victory or defeat was similarly unimportant, but the combat power of the Han Army was the significant factor influencing their strategy. They needed accurate assessments of the Han Army’s fighting capacity.

No matter how many kingdoms they’ve engaged with, Kushan couldn’t gauge its power level since for an empire, anything below their level could be easily wiped out; only by engaging with old powers could they understand their positioning.

Currently, Kushan needed such positioning. Over a hundred years ago, when Emperor Yano Gaozhen of Kushan founded the empire, he used the Han Empire as a benchmark to determine its strength, suffering a significant defeat at the hands of the Han Empire south of Onion Ridge, resulting in the complete abandonment of Onion Ridge and retreat south.

Now, over a hundred years have passed, and the Kushan Empire is far stronger than before, to the extent that ordinary kingdoms can no longer serve to verify their strength. They likely want to know how much their power has grown.

Now that the force which, a century ago, had overpowered their founding Emperor Yano Gaozhen, with Ban Chao being the only one unbeaten, stands before them, even if the Han Army doesn’t invite them, they would seek a challenge!

Because the Kushan Empire definitely wants to know how much they’ve grown over the century, using the Han Empire as their benchmark.