A Plan to Kill Three Birds with One Arrow

Li Xinge looked at Wu Ren. His gaze was like a deep, still well, betraying neither joy nor anger.

Everyone held their breath.

The great hall was frighteningly quiet.

Wu Ren knelt on the floor, his official robes soaked through with cold sweat.

He regretted speaking, but the words were out. Spilled water could not be gathered up again. All he could do was grit his teeth and hold firm.

Just as everyone thought Wu Ren had angered the Governor and would be punished, perhaps even cut down on the spot, Li Xinge suddenly smiled.

"Prefect of Linjiang Commandery, Wu Ren."

Wu Ren trembled.

"You spoke your mind instead of telling me what I wanted to hear. That courage..." Li Xinge paused, his gaze sweeping over the crowd. "I admire it greatly."

Wu Ren froze and raised his head in disbelief.

"State... State Governor..."

Li Xinge's smile faded. "Prefect Wu Ren says the Eastern Ridge Land is barren, its mountains and waters treacherous, its air rife with pestilence, and its people little better than beasts. Taking it would bring no benefit, only drain our money and grain. Does anyone agree?"

Not a soul spoke. Many lowered their heads without thinking.

"No one?"

Li Xinge rose slowly and paced to the center of the hall with his hands behind his back. His voice turned sharp. "Then I'll tell you! Precisely because that land is barren, because its people are like beasts, and because it has Divine Mansion Realm cultivators guarding it, Eastern Ridge is a threat to Yang Province's very heart!"

He turned abruptly toward Wu Ren. "Prefect Wu, you see only Eastern Ridge's poverty. Can't you see that it holds the throat of Yang Province's route east?"

"You see only that its people are like beasts. Can't you see that