Keeping Tuoba Zhen Was Dangerous Indeed, but He Decided to Take a Gamble! (Please Subscribe and Vote with Monthly Tickets)

"Absurd!" Another elderly minister immediately voiced his opposition. His beard was grizzled, but his spirit remained vigorous. "What dignity would we have left? Our Great Luo Dynasty has stood for thousands of years, reigning supreme over the Northern Frontier. When have we ever needed to offer captives to another nation and beg for peace?

"This would be an unspeakable humiliation! So what if they have the Heavenly Strategy Army? Had our dynasty not first needed to subdue the surrounding barbarian tribes and our internal duchies, we would have marched south long ago. How could we have allowed them to swagger along our borders?"

At that moment, a middle-aged minister who had remained silent, a shrewd gleam in his eyes, slowly spoke. "Your Majesty, esteemed colleagues, perhaps we can prepare for both eventualities." He drew everyone's attention, including Emperor Ivan's.

He continued, "On one hand, we can secretly encourage Tuoba Zhen, that ambitious schemer, and even provide him with certain 'conveniences,' letting him stir up trouble freely and provoke Heavenly Strategy. If he happens to succeed, creating enough chaos or even gaining the upper hand, our army can seize the opportunity to march south, claim their lands, and expand our territory."

"On the other hand," he said, shifting tack, "we can simultaneously send an embassy bearing lavish gifts to the Heavenly Strategy Dynasty's Imperial Capital to meet their emperor, Li Chen, and express our dynasty's 'goodwill' and 'desire for peace.' We could even propose a marriage alliance to foster friendship between our nations.

"That way, if Tuoba Zhen succeeds, we profit. If he fails, we can simply declare him a traitorous rebel who instigated a border conflict without authorization and defied national policy, completely severing any connection between his actions and our Daluo Imperial Court.

"Then, whether they kill him or