That damned bastard, he seizes every opportunity to smear me. I'll kill him when I get the chance.
It's like nobody's ever been defeated.
Ashley sneered. If eyes could kill, Aksu would be riddled with holes by now.
"Alright, alright!"
Seeing the two men locked in a tense standoff, Bill III was immediately exasperated and said angrily, "This is not the time to discuss this. I'm afraid the Great Liang is about to attack the Western Regions. What should we do?"
Although seven kingdoms in the Western Regions have been lost, there are still nineteen. If all of them were lost, the loss would be enormous.
At this moment, an advisor stepped forward and solemnly said, "Your Majesty, the strength of the Great Liang is extraordinary. The fact that they could destroy the Jackal Kingdom in a single day is enough to demonstrate their astonishing power!"
The advisor was a confidant of Bill III and also a military advisor, so he saw the key point at a glance.
That's the fighting strength of the Great Liang.
The fact that the Frostwest Empire could annihilate the troublesome Jackal Kingdom in a single day demonstrates that the individual strength of the Great Liang army was actually superior to that of the Frostwest Empire.
This is a big problem.
"That's right, this Great Liang has just been established. Who would have thought their fighting power would be so strong? We must not be careless!" Ashley, who had suffered a setback earlier, couldn't help but show joy when he saw the advisor speak, and immediately echoed.
Others were also discussing it animatedly. The Jackal Kingdom was renowned for its strength, and as professional troublemakers, they had stirred up trouble all the way, even launching surprise attacks on some countries in the Western Regions.
To be instantly Great Liang shows their incredible strength.
"Hmph, how dare someone from Great Liang be so arrogant? We must teach him a lesson, or he'll really think that the Frostwest Empire is as easy to bully as its ministers!" A general stepped out from behind Aksu and said with a sneer.
"You!"
Ashley's face turned green instantly; he'd been mocked again—this was incredibly embarrassing.
However, seeing Aksu's arrogance, he finally chose to shut his mouth. Since you're so damn awesome, let you try it yourself this time, so you don't really think you're All Under Heaven.
Seeing him back down, Aksu's eyes flashed with a cold smile, then he looked at the king.
He said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, the Western Regions have now united fourteen countries and gathered an army of 500,000. We only need to mobilize another 500,000 troops to defeat the Great Liang!"
"An army of 500,000?"
Upon hearing this, Bill III's lips twitched. Did they really think that an army of 500,000 was nothing to be trifled with? Just throwing out 500,000 like that.
This troop movement would reduce the West's army by 500,000, potentially allowing them to be easily overthrown.
He shook his head and said in a deep voice, "The situation in Great Liang looks very strong now, but in reality, it is all bark and no bite. They have experienced a series of major battles, and even their food reserves are a problem."
Therefore, if they want to launch an attack, they will probably have to wait several more months until the grain is ripe.
We now have the Great West Empire on our borders, as well as the newly emerging Black Skull Army. The empire faces great pressure from the west and south, and mobilizing 500,000 troops is somewhat unsafe!
However, the Zhennan Dynasty borders the Great Liang Kingdom. Perhaps we can leverage their strength, combining the resources of the three regions, to suppress Great Liang without firing a single shot!
As long as the Frostwest Empire controls the Western Regions, and with the added strength of the Zhennan Dynasty, even if the Great Liang is strong, it wouldn't dare to take on so many countries at once; that would result in deaths.
"Your Majesty is wise!"
The ministers all nodded in agreement. The East was in a heated struggle, but the West was no less so, and neither side was having an easy time.
Sending 500,000 troops there now is completely unreliable. If other areas are lost, that would be a major disaster.
Upon hearing his words, Aksu's face instantly darkened. He had been quite pleased with suppressing Ashley, but he hadn't expected His Majesty the King to directly reject the battle plan, which greatly displeased him.
However, the Emperor's considerations are reasonable. If this matter can be resolved without losing a single soldier, it would undoubtedly be the best option.
It's a pity I won't get any credit this time.
Ashley, seeing Aksu's expression as if he'd eaten shit, suddenly smiled and exclaimed joyfully, "Your Majesty is wise! We can completely use the Zhennan Dynasty and the Western Regions to directly suppress the Great Liang!"
"Hmm, not bad!"
Bill III nodded slightly, then looked at his advisor and said in a deep voice, "Advisor, send someone to contact the Zhennan Dynasty. They now directly border Great Liang, while we still have more than a dozen countries to go!"
"Understood!" The advisor nodded and accepted the task.
As Your Majesty said, the Frostwest Empire still has a buffer zone, but the Zhennan Dynasty has nowhere to retreat; any further advance would mean a real fight.
Compared to the anxiety of the two countries, Great Liang seemed much more relaxed, with all departments proceeding in an orderly manner. Emperor Lin Yi was actually the most leisurely person.
Each day, all I need to do is review some memorials and make decisions on some important matters.
And so Zhang Fei came knocking on their door.
Behind him was a large group of people dressed in strange clothes, clearly his clients.
"Greetings, Your Majesty the Emperor!"
Upon seeing Lin Yi, the envoys from these small countries immediately knelt on the ground, but their postures varied, clearly indicating that they were not on the same page.
Zhang Fei handed over a stack of official documents, which were proof of these small countries' allegiance.
"Your Majesty, recently more than ten countries have expressed their willingness to submit to our Great Liang, but they are all small coastal states. There are also some countries in the Western Regions that are willing to pledge allegiance to us, but they dare not offend the Frostwest Empire and hope that we will provide them with support!"
"Oh, not bad!"
Hearing his words, Lin Yi's eyes lit up. It seemed that Great Liang's tactic of making an example of someone was quite effective, as more than ten countries were willing to submit to them.
It feels pretty good to have people surrender without losing a single soldier.
Looking at the stacks of documents in his hands, as well as the gifts and sovereignty bestowed by these countries, he was quite satisfied; these countries were indeed sensible.
Small countries have no reason to exist, and such insistence is cruel to their people; they have no dignity in the face of large countries.
His gaze swept over the crowd, and he said in a deep voice, "Very good, you have made the right choice. You will enjoy unprecedented peace, and no one will dare to bully you."
There's one thing I didn't say: no one but me dares to bully you.
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Everyone's eyes lit up. Being accepted by the Emperor was naturally a great thing. They had been worried from the beginning that the Emperor might kill them in a fit of rage.
Zhang Fei pointed out several people and said with a smile, "Your Majesty, these five are envoys from the Western Regions. They want to pledge allegiance to us, but they are worried about the Frostwest Empire, so..."
Holy crap!
Upon hearing this, Lin Yi's expression darkened. This was truly hypocritical!