Chu Baxing couldn't help asking, "The murder of one's father is an unforgivable hatred. How could they still seek support from the Richard family?"
"Young Master Chu, do you think Yan Budong's children all grew up with their father's full love like you did? Do you know what an illegitimate child is? Do you know what it means when no successor is chosen? They probably fought each other in every possible way just to win Yan Budong's favor. Your father was truly your father. To them, their father was just their boss."
Chu Baxing's expression changed slightly.
Qin Siyang was right. Although he came from a military family, his position as heir had always been secure. He had never experienced the brutal competition that Yan Budong's children had.
But when he thought about those people possibly working with the ones who had killed their own father just to seize power, he couldn't help feeling uneasy.
Qin Siyang took a sip of hot water, gently set the cup back on the table, and looked around at everyone.
"Second, the Richard family can no longer become friends with any of us here."
"The Richard family's power is mainly divided into three parts: the Chamber of Commerce, the church, and the United Government. But now all three are in trouble at the same time. The Chu Legion took the Chamber of Commerce's goods. The church is fighting the Zephyr Church. And the officials in the United Government are locked in a struggle with the Zhao family. All three of their main pillars have run into problems. The Richard family's foundation has already been hollowed out."
He tapped the table lightly with his finger.
"Think about it. If they survive this crisis, the first thing they'll need to do to restore their former standing is prove their strength. So who will they attack first?"
"Us."
"Everyone here has, to some extent, damaged the Richard family's interests. If they get through this crisis, they won't go after the Yan Legion because the Yan Legion has the moral and legal advantage. Instead, they'll focus on the people who pushed them into this situation."
No one spoke after hearing that.
Qin Siyang continued, "Everyone, the Richard family is not some minor force. Even if we go all out, we still might not be able to wipe them out. Right now they're in their weakest state. If we give them time to recover, it'll be much harder to finish them later."
Hu Chan leaned back in his chair, narrowed his eyes slightly, and looked at Qin Siyang with a faint smile.
"President Qin, you've explained it clearly enough. But what if the Richard family gets cornered and decides to take us down with them?"
Zhao Longfei also looked at Qin Siyang, waiting for his answer.
Qin Siyang replied calmly, "Taking us down with them sounds easy, but it's much harder to do."
"The Richards aren't just one or two people. They're a family. They're more united than the Yan family, but they're not completely united either."
"The family has interests in many different areas, so the benefits inside the family can't possibly be shared equally. Unequal benefits create resentment. Resentment makes people think about cutting their losses. You're worried they'll all unite and die with us? That's worrying over nothing."
Gu Yunpeng asked again, "But President Qin, the ancients said, 'When surrounding an army, always leave an escape route.' If you leave the Richard family no way out, even if they can't unite now, sooner or later they'll be forced into desperate action."
"That's not entirely true," Qin Siyang slowly shook his head,. "The saying 'leave an escape route' only applies after you've completely surrounded the enemy and made them realize they have no chance of winning. We can first surround the Richard family and crush them. Once they've completely lost hope, then we'll give them a chance, a chance to surrender."
"Those willing to surrender can stay and serve us. Those who refuse will be executed. I believe that when the time comes, some members of the Richard family will choose to defect."
After Qin Siyang finished speaking, everyone fell into thought.
What had seemed like a situation where they could simply wait now looked like an illusion after his analysis.
Strike while they're down, break the enemy apart with decisive action, that was the real answer.
While everyone remained silent, Zhao Longteng spoke again from the other end of the phone.
["To be honest, Little Qin's thinking is almost the same as mine. I also believe we need to avoid dragging this out and gather our strength to crush the Richard family. But I still have one concern. The Richard family's influence inside the United Government may not be dealt with effectively."]
["If the United Government doesn't act, then the Richard family will always have somewhere to catch its breath. We won't be able to wipe them out completely. Little Qin, what do you think about that?"]
Qin Siyang nodded.
"That's easy. Just ignore their people in the United Government."
["What do you mean?"]
"Uncle Zhao, among all the major family forces in the Safe Zone, other than the Gu family, none of them have their foundation inside the United Government. Right?"
["Right."]
"That means the United Government isn't a place where family power can grow. For a family to take root and expand, it needs room to develop. The United Government would never allow one family to control an entire region or an entire department. That means families relying on the United Government can't develop freely."
"In other words, a family's influence inside the United Government can only make things easier for them. It can't become their safe haven."
Qin Siyang's gaze was steady.
"As long as we keep attacking their Chamber of Commerce and church, that's enough. Once both of those are completely destroyed, the Richard family's people inside the United Government will be left without any support. They'll be easy to deal with."
Zhao Longteng immediately replied, ["Little Qin, your insight is really sharp! That never even occurred to me."]
"That's because none of your brothers or sisters work in the United Government, Uncle Zhao. I deal with people there more often, so I understand these things better."
["Haha! No matter what, we owe this analysis to Little Qin! Then we'll continue with our original plan!"]
"We definitely should carry out the original plan, but I still have one concern."
["What concern?"]
Qin Siyang frowned.
"If I were the Richard family, at a time when my survival was on the line, I'd bet everything on breaking out."
"In other words, once our operation begins and the Richard family realizes things have suddenly turned against them, they'll cut off part of themselves to survive and put all their efforts into either the Chamber of Commerce or the church. But I don't know the Richard family well enough to tell which one they'll choose."
A few seconds later, Zhao Longteng answered.
["If that's really the case, then the Richard family will definitely do everything they can to protect the Trinity Church."]
Qin Siyang asked, "Why?"
["After what happened with the Yan Legion, do you think they can keep doing business? Who would still trade with them?"]
Qin Siyang nodded.
"That makes sense."
At that moment, Hu Chan, who had been sitting nearby listening to Qin Siyang and Zhao Longteng, froze.
"What? The Richard family is going to do everything they can to protect the Trinity Church?"
"Then what am I supposed to do?"
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