Although it was funny, everyone in the hall probably understood that his first two statements were used to attract attention and guide the topic. The highlight that I really want to say is the last one.
This is actually a common tip.
Guo Kang himself knows that this "strategic choice" lobbying method is actually an option that he prefers, plus several obviously unreliable options, presented to the audience.
Other options can give the audience the illusion that "I am making a choice," making them more psychologically acceptable. Introducing and explaining the absurdity of these options can also help eliminate erroneous thinking. That's why he did it on purpose.
This technique, Theodora and others should also be able to see - by deducing absurd conclusions and proving the error of the point of view, this is Zeno's reductio ad absurdum, which can be regarded as a debate technique commonly used by the Greeks in the classical era.
"Then please come up with the third plan." The Queen Mother couldn't wait any longer and urged: "You left the most reliable one for last, right?"
"Whether it is reliable or not is up to you to judge, but as I said, this plan is the most complex and requires the most patience and execution. The first thing it will test is ourselves." Guo Kang replied.
“As for the opportunity for this program, I can tell a story.”
"The Cathedral of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem is a common holy place for various sects of worshiping God. Each church has divided the ownership of the church. Even a staircase and a door have specific allocations, and they are arguing with each other. Saladin re- When they captured Jerusalem, they found that they were still arguing."
"So, Saladin simply appointed a Tianfang believer to manage the door of the church. This way, everyone would not fight over this most troublesome administrator position. In the end, all the factions accepted it. Until now, the cathedral still remains The descendants of this Tianfang cultist open the door every day."
"I've heard this story too." Mrs. Elena thought for a while: "You mean, we have to be the 'gatekeepers' in Egypt?"
"That's right, madam, you really have a vision." Guo Kang praised, "That's it."
"Our religion is considered an 'outsider' in Egypt. But outsiders also have benefits." He analyzed: "The current situation in Egypt is a tripartite state, so we don't need to rush to eliminate one party. On the contrary, let It is most advantageous for them to exist at the same time and fight with each other.”
"Calif Mustaine has the shallowest foundation and the weakest military strength. He is currently trapped in Alexandria and can only barely protect the surrounding areas. However, although everyone knows that he is just a puppet, he has no influence on the lower-class believers and other Tianfang religious world. , still has religious appeal. Moreover, he has a good relationship with businessmen and scholars. We control Egypt to enter the Indian Ocean trade, and he can help us a lot in this regard."
"Syria's Emir Hafez, who has a medium military strength, is currently recruiting allies and trying to fight other enemies. He often communicates with us, and he often uses us to scare other emirs. This is a force that can be exploited, because His influence in Egypt is far less than that of his hometown, and he must rely on our cooperation to have the strength to repel the Turkmen tribes who covet his hometown, and then use the excess troops to fight for power in Egypt."
"Finally, there is the Egyptian warlord Sheikh. He is the most powerful and controls most of Egypt on paper. He is also the target of our battle this time. But he also has a major problem, and that is the Mamluk regime. It is very loose, and many emirs in various places obey orders only because they are afraid of his own military strength."
"We brought the caliphate and the Syrians to show that this is not a war to annex and destroy local forces. The local emirs will also have the attitude of sitting back and watching the tigers fight. They will not risk their lives for Sheikh and risk their own families. Going in will reduce our combat pressure this time."
"That's what Elizabeth told me before, we just need to beat this Sheikh?" Mrs. Elena asked.
"We don't even need to announce that we are going to fight him." Guo Kang shook his head: "Because, even Sheikh is not fighting us to the death."
"What do you mean?" Cao Xun also became interested.
"I heard that those who cannot realize the harm of using troops cannot realize the benefits of using troops; those who cannot plan how to stop a war cannot plan how to start a war." Guo Kang said: "Our strategic concept should be based on On the basis of how to end the battle. We must first determine what state we need to put Egypt in after the war to best serve the interests of Rome."
"The problem now is that destroying Sheikh or even hitting him too hard does not meet our needs. Hafez cooperates with us a lot, but we must be wary of him. Because once he wins with our support, If he annexes other rivals, he will also try to squeeze us out in order to achieve his goal of controlling the caliphate and monopolizing Egypt."
"I just heard the Queen Mother recount the words of Khan Basil a few days ago, and I was very moved. A person's ambition is determined by his situation and strength, and it can also change at any time." He reminded: "Even if he behaves submissively , we cannot give him this opportunity to dominate Egypt. Therefore, unless we are prepared to send a large number of main forces to maintain the occupation, other forces will be needed to target him and curb his ambitions."
"We have too many enemies. I don't think we can send a large army to stay permanently." Cao Xun nodded: "Your idea is reasonable. So you think Sheikh is the most suitable for this position?"
"Yes. He and Hafez have a feud, and we can use military means to prevent them from uniting." Guo Kang said.
"Let's talk." Cao Xun looked more and more eager to chat.
"We need to defeat the Sheikh in a decisive battle and deprive him of his ability to regain control of the Caliphate. But we don't need to weaken him to the point where he is weaker than Hafez. Instead, I recommend keeping the areas of Upper Egypt out of his control Instead of carrying out a strike, we should leave him a nest and allow him to maintain a stronger military than Hafez."
"In this way, they will not be able to unite. They will also consider what to do after defeating us. If Sheikh is still stronger, then after expelling us, he will still want to annex Hafez, which will be harmful to Hafez. Saying that this is equivalent to inviting us to fight in vain is obviously unacceptable. Their direct common goal will make the two of them wary of each other and unable to cooperate. "
"The advantage of this is that we can move in and out quickly." Guo Kang analyzed: "After the first round, the main force of the expeditionary force can go home. After that, we can just leave some garrison troops in Alexandria, which can save a lot of money. of military strength."
"Similarly, as a supporting package, we do not need to formally declare war, but publicize it in advance, saying that this is not a war against the Mamluk country, but a military operation to help the Caliphate restore its status. In this way, we can also leave a step in advance for both parties. , after winning, it will be convenient for subsequent negotiations.”
(End of chapter)
