Ding Wei smiled slightly and said, "From what I understand, the 'hundreds of thousands' of troops the Prince Jiang boasts of include laborers, logistics support, and auxiliary units. The actual number of combat-ready soldiers likely does not exceed one hundred and thirty thousand."
Le Jinru asked again, "But what if Prince Qi, Prince Dai, and their Xinjian Army join the fight?"
Ding Wei analyzed the situation: "If they commit all their forces and leave their rear bases undefended, they would only be playing into the hands of the Jin State and the Wei State. I don't believe the Xin Dynasty would be so reckless. Even if the Xin Dynasty truly reached an agreement with the Jin and Wei states, this concerns the survival and national interests of those states. Given the chance to see the Xin Dynasty fall, neither Jin nor Wei would be foolish enough to adhere to a so-called gentleman’s agreement. In the face of national interests, morality is worthless. Between nations, there is no such thing as morality, let alone friendship—there is only mutual interest."
Chapter 333