"Nonsense!"
Lin Yi rolled his eyes at him and said irritably, "Since you can easily storm into the Zhennan Dynasty, why force them to fight to the death? Wouldn't it be better to just catch them off guard?"
In the past, the Great Liang might have needed to kill people to establish its authority.
However, having learned from the experience of the Western Regions, the Great Liang is now only left with its prestige. If it tries to establish its prestige again, the Zhennan Dynasty will have to relocate. It's better to be more pragmatic.
Hehe, I like it!
Jia Xu smiled broadly and said smugly, "The saying goes, 'All's fair in war.' Completing the battle at minimal cost is His Majesty's mercy towards my Great Liang soldiers. How can it be called a lack of martial ethics?"
I'll take the blame. The Emperor will just say it was my idea, and then we'll see who dares to say a word."
After saying this, he couldn't help but feel very proud. This was taking the blame for the emperor, something not everyone gets the chance to do. He was a man of principle.
Wow, so satisfying!
Depend on!
Seeing his smug look, Lin Yi glared at him and sneered, "What a joke! How can I be emperor if I need you to take the blame for me?"
I am completely innocent in this world. Anyone who dares to tarnish my reputation is courting death. Without my permission, no one in history dares to write anything wrong, and no one dares to say that I lack martial virtue.
I have always Win People Over with Virtue, how could I possibly disregard martial virtue? Anyone who says otherwise is slandering me, and that is a capital offense!
What's this talk of a black pot or not? Anyone who dares to spout nonsense will have to experience the might of the Great Liang and see what it means to defy destiny.
How could the Emperor be wrong? The only mistake is that the ministers failed to grasp the true meaning.
Holy crap!
Jia Xu's lips twitched. He had been too hasty and forgotten that once the emperor became shameless, he was All Under Heaven.
Fine, Win People Over with Virtue's just Win People Over with Virtue then.
You are the emperor, you are the greatest.
You are invincible!
He said sheepishly, "Your Majesty is truly humbled. It is Your Majesty's strategic brilliance that has led the Zhennan Dynasty into your trap. It is all thanks to Your Majesty's divine grace."
"Hmm, that's more like it!"
Lin Yi nodded in satisfaction. At least he hadn't made things up and spoke very sincerely; it was clear he was telling the truth.
"His Majesty's strategic brilliance in conquering the Zhennan Dynasty from a thousand miles away will surely become a legendary tale." Everyone nodded in agreement. Old Jia was right; his words were reasonable and well-founded.
Lin Yi was already immune to their flattery.
He waved his hand and said in a deep voice, "Go and rest. These Western countries are always causing trouble; I doubt we'll have a peaceful day in the coming days."
"We take our leave!"
Everyone sighed, their faces showing some displeasure. These countries were making a fuss over nothing. If they wanted to fight, they should just fight. Why did they have to make such a fuss?
Court of Diplomatic Reception!
Ashley, the envoy from the Frostwest Empire, looked extremely unpleasant, even downright grim.
Looking at Morandi across from him, he felt an urge to unleash a torrent of profanities. This scoundrel, acting all high and mighty, dared to show off in front of him.
Relying on his previous friendly relationship with Great Liang, this fellow even received an audience with the Grand Master of Ceremonies, the highest-ranking official in the Court of Diplomatic Reception, which made him feel very uneasy and gave him an ominous premonition.
He took a deep breath and said in a low voice, " Abucha, what stage have the cooperation talks between the Great Liang and the Great West Empire reached? Why did they only meet with Morandi and not approach us?"
This was something that greatly annoyed him. If the Great Liang Empire truly allied with the Great West Empire, then all the previous efforts of the Frostwest Empire would have been in vain.
"Rest assured, sir," Abucha quickly explained, "The reason the Grand Chancellor met with the people from the Great West Empire first is because they have initiated trade. The Great Liang Empire previously gave the Great West Empire a lot of things, and now it is natural for them to receive their reward."
Although both were envoys, his envoy was worlds apart from Ashley's.
Ashley is the third in command, no joke, he's definitely the boss.
Hearing his words, Ashley's expression softened considerably, but he was still somewhat worried that the Great Liang and the Great West Empire might be engaging in ambiguous relations, which would not be a good thing.
We need to test the waters a bit more; otherwise, I really can't rest easy.
He set his sights on Zhang Fei, Zhang Fei, according to his understanding, was the highest-ranking official of the Court of Diplomatic Reception in the Great Liang Dynasty, responsible for handling diplomatic affairs between countries. Therefore, Zhang Fei's attitude could largely represent the attitude of the Great Liang Emperor.
Thinking of this, he couldn't help but say in a deep voice, "What is the character of this Grand Chancellor, and how can we find his weaknesses?"
To test someone, you must find their weakness; otherwise, Zhang Fei probably wouldn't have slipped up in this situation.
"Flaw?"
Abucha shook his head and frowned, saying, "This guy has a very volatile temper and will resort to violence at the slightest provocation, which is a weakness. However, he's a formidable fighter; calling him a fierce general wouldn't be an exaggeration, so this weakness is probably not a weakness at all."
He had personally experienced Zhang Fei's ferocity before; this man could easily defeat them, so it was best not to provoke him lightly.
"A fierce general who resorts to violence at the slightest provocation?"
Upon hearing this, Abucha's face immediately darkened, and he said in a deep voice, " Great Liang is deliberately stirring up trouble, which is why they've put someone in charge of diplomatic affairs. It seems this emperor is not easy to get along with!"
This situation is completely unreasonable!
Even their own emperor knew to choose a more moderate person as an envoy, but when it came to the Great Liang, they actually chose a troublemaker as their foreign minister. This clearly shows they weren't prepared for proper negotiations.
They resort to violence at the slightest disagreement; how can we negotiate like this? Are we supposed to have a dozen people gang up on him?
If they win, they'll probably be directly suppressed by the Great Liang.
Losing would be even more shameful.
What a hot-tempered Zhang Fei! This guy's going to be tough!
At this moment, Cha'er was standing to the side, thought of a flaw and excitedly said, "Sir, I've thought of a flaw in the enemy. He likes to drink. We can get him drunk and then ask him anything."
He had drunk with Zhang Fei before; that guy really loves to drink, which is a huge weakness.
Ashley's eyes lit up upon hearing this.
Yes, people speak the truth when they're drunk, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.
He said excitedly, "Bring up our fine wine! It's not too strong, but once you're drunk, it's not so easy to sober up. It'll be perfect for dealing with this hot-tempered Zhang Fei."
Although wine is mild, getting drunk is no joke; it has a strong aftereffect. We'll see if Zhang Fei can handle it.
"Haha, Your Excellency is wise!"
Abucha. It was just drinking together; even if something went wrong, they could easily shift the blame, so it was definitely not a problem.
We are well-prepared and confident that we can capture Zhang Fei and teach him a lesson about fine Western wine.