Sanctioning the Balk Kingdom

At this moment Xue Ye looked toward Jin Hao standing off to the side, then spoke up to ask him:

"Qinghe, what do you think?"

Hearing those words, Jin Hao stepped forward. Regarding Xue Ye's question, Jin Hao certainly did not want the Heaven Dou Empire and the Balk Kingdom to go to war. Leaving aside the fact that if the empire and the Balk Kingdom went to war, it would completely alter the landscape of the Douluo Continent and diverge entirely from the original work, nobody knew what would happen next.

If that happened, his omniscient advantage as a time-traveler would be gone, and Jin Hao naturally did not want that.

Furthermore, if a war broke out, Spirit Hall, which was situated close to the Balk Kingdom, would inevitably make a move, and Jin Hao did not dare to imagine what that crazy woman Bibi Dong would do by then.

However, Jin Hao also knew that Xue Ye currently wanted very much to deal with Kundera and the Balk Kingdom, and it would not be good if he stood up to oppose him.

Therefore, Jin Hao spoke up and said:

"Imperial Father, the Balk Kingdom must definitely be dealt with, and moreover, this kingdom must be abolished, restoring the whole area to the direct rule of the empire. Furthermore, it is not just the Balk Kingdom—the other three kingdoms and that duchy must be treated the same way and all reabsorbed."

"Right now, they have all forgotten their original intention from back when the empire enfeoffed them with land, and they have all given rise to rebellious hearts."

Hearing these words, Xue Ye was also taken aback. He had merely wanted to deal with Kundera and the Balk Kingdom, yet this son of his actually wanted to directly clean house across all three other kingdoms and the duchy, and even take back all of their land.

Likewise, upon hearing those words, those several ministers were also shocked by Jin Hao's remarks. Even Xue Ye wanting to deal with a single Balk Kingdom might cause the Heaven Dou Empire to struggle to recover its vitality, and now His Highness the Prince wanted to tackle all five at once.

How could this do? Wasn't this courting destruction? They were still waiting for Jin Hao to ascend the throne so their descendants could become ministers of founding merit—with a stunt like this, what would be left?

Therefore, before Xue Ye could speak, those ministers hurriedly spoke up to address Jin Hao:

"Your Highness, this will not do! To go to war with five enfeoffed states is for the Heaven Dou Empire to court its own destruction."

"Indeed, Your Highness, this cannot be done. We cannot court our own destruction."

At this time, Xue Ye also spoke up:

"My son, you have seen it too. Imperial Father acknowledges that this idea of yours is very good, and Imperial Father also wishes to take back all of their territories, but the Heaven Dou Empire truly lacks the strength right now. Dealing with one is manageable, but taking on five at once is truly courting our own destruction."

Hearing these words, Jin Hao continued to speak:

"Imperial Father, and several ministers, you have misunderstood my meaning."

"My wish to take back all of their land is true, but I am not planning to go deal with these enfeoffed states right now."

"Imperial Father, what I am thinking is to wait another few decades. During these few decades, I will strive to cultivate and not waste my mutated martial soul, striving to become a Title Douluo. Meanwhile, Xiao Ao can also grow over the course of these decades, and by then he will likewise be a Title Douluo. Moreover, the empire must train its troops throughout these decades, and this way we can wipe them out all at once when the time comes."

Hearing these words, Xue Ye and the several ministers finally snapped back to their senses.

When those ministers heard Jin Hao's words, they caught a key message: namely, that even if Jin Hao wanted to make a move, it would not be until a few decades later. As long as there was no action taken now, it was fine.

Therefore, they immediately spoke up and said:

"Your Majesty, what His Highness says is right! Striking now might vent our hatred, but it would also have a massive impact on the empire."

"As His Highness said, decades from now when His Highness and Viscount grow up, coupled with the empire beginning to train troops from now on, by then our forces will be formidable, and with His Highness and Viscount existing, those several enfeoffed states will be a piece of cake."

Hearing these words, Xue Ye's heart was also somewhat moved, but thinking of how Kundera had provoked him just now and yet he could not retaliate immediately, Xue Ye felt very uncomfortable in his heart.

Therefore, Xue Ye asked:

"Could it be that I must swallow this insult this time?"

"If I swallow this insult this time, what shall we do if the other four follow suit later on?"

Hearing Xue Ye's words, the ministers understood in their hearts that Xue Ye had relented at this point and was inclined to agree not to deal with the Balk Kingdom.

Thus, the several ministers voiced the plan that the group had originally prepared.

"Your Majesty, isn't the Balk Kingdom formidable right now? Relying on its strong army and robust horses, it doesn't put the empire in its eyes. In that case, we will cut off the empire's military funding to the Balk Kingdom and let the Balk Kingdom figure out on its own how to feed those armies."

Hearing this, Xue Ye spoke up:

"Is this the only solution you have? If we cut off his military funds, what shall we use to deal with the Star Luo Empire? Are we supposed to rely on the Star Luo Empire attacking us? Or force him to defect to the Star Luo Empire?"

Regarding Xue Ye's words, those ministers spoke up:

"Your Majesty, these matters are all within our plans. Even if we do not provide military funds, the current Balk Kingdom is still capable of supplying those military funds itself, except that it will cause Kundera a great deal of heartache. This is also a disguised weakening of the Balk Kingdom's strength."

"As for the Balk Kingdom defecting to the Star Luo Empire, that is quite impossible. The hatred between Kundera and the Star Luo Empire is extremely deep. Even if Kundera hollows out the Balk Kingdom, he will still fight the Star Luo Empire to the very last moment."

"Moreover, we must issue an order forbidding all merchants of the entire empire from trading with the Balk Kingdom. Salt and iron resources will not be allowed to be sold in, nor will we buy their grain. Don't they have money? After doing this for a period of time, coupled with having to maintain an army, the kingdom will be out of money by then."

"Therefore, by that time, even if Kundera of the Balk Kingdom is unwilling to bow his head, the subjects and citizens within the kingdom will put pressure on the royal family because of these problems, and may even leave the Balk Kingdom. By then, the economy of the Balk Kingdom will collapse, and at that time Kundera will come to Heaven Dou City to plead guilty."

Hearing these words, Xue Ye nodded, then spoke up:

"Then do as you have said."

"Since Kundera of the Balk Kingdom harbors such intentions, we will sanction him, cut off his trade routes and military funds, and see how arrogant he can still be."

Then Xue Ye looked toward the several ministers below and continued to speak:

"Since this is the method you came up with, it shall be handed over to you to carry out. I hope to receive good news after a period of time."

In response, the several ministers spoke up:

"Your Majesty, this subject understands and will make arrangements right now."

Hearing that everything was arranged, and thinking that such an arrangement was also beneficial to himself, Jin Hao said nothing more and spoke to Xue Ye:

"Since it has all been decided this way, Xiao Ao and I will head back to cultivate first, Imperial Father."

To this, Xue Ye also spoke up:

"Good, you and Xiao Ao go back and cultivate."

He then let Jin Hao lead Oscar away from here.