When the news reached the Zhennan Dynasty, the entire royal palace breathed a sigh of relief.
King Nan Ke, a rare smile appearing on his old face, exclaimed excitedly, "I never imagined that the Yamata Nation would have so many islands! It seems that most of the Great Liang's energy will be consumed by the Yamata Nation!"
He's been under a lot of pressure lately, making it hard for him to sleep.
The strength of the Great Liang is growing day by day, and its deterrent power over its neighboring countries is becoming increasingly terrifying. If only they were truly as peace-loving as they claim, but the Great Liang is a quintessential warrior nation.
Moreover, the actions of the Great Liang on the border have become increasingly high-profile recently, which makes him feel extremely threatened.
Several times, Nan Ke had nightmares in which his country was conquered by the Great Liang, he was hung on the city wall, and the harem was filled with horrific scenes, the tragic state of which was beyond description.
So he had been very anxious until he heard the news, and then he immediately let his guard down.
Finally, I can have some peace of mind for a while.
"I never expected that such a small Yamata Nation would have over four thousand islands. This is going to be interesting." The eldest Nan Yiming, couldn't help but feel a little smug. He figured the Great Liang would probably be at war for half a year.
After half a year, the Zhennan Dynasty will surely have greatly increased its strength.
Even if Great Liang takes action, it won't matter; we can handle it.
Minister Zan Rihong shook his head and said in a deep voice, "The other side dares to provoke Great Liang, so they must have some strength. However, it is unrealistic to expect the Yamata Nation to withstand Great Liang."
We need to speed things up, unify the territory on the south bank, and extend our territory to the other side of the mountains so that we can better resist the Great Liang.
Even if you rely on others, they may crumble; you still have to rely on yourself.
Only when the Zhennan Dynasty becomes truly powerful can it be unafraid of the Great Liang; otherwise, all of this is just empty talk.
The Zhennan Dynasty has now annexed thirteen small kingdoms, and its military strength has surged to 1.2 million, a force no small matter. Given some time, the Zhennan Dynasty can completely conquer those kingdoms and thus achieve its full rise.
Even if we face Great Liang head-on, we will not be intimidated at all.
"Hmm, not bad!"
Nan Ke nodded slightly. This suggestion was quite reasonable, as he had been making the same decision all along.
The fact that the Great Liang Kingdom is now focused on the Yamata Nation has given me an opportunity, a chance to act freely.
He pondered for a moment and said in a deep voice, " Yiming, accelerate the annexation of the surrounding areas. Those who submit to me will prosper, and those who oppose me will perish. Anyone who dares to block the rise of my Zhennan Dynasty will be killed without mercy!"
The path to the rise of a great power is inevitably bloody; those small countries can only blame themselves for not being strong enough.
If the Zhennan Dynasty conquers these small countries, it may well be able to participate in the overall world situation and become a powerful world ruler.
He turned his gaze to his eldest son, deciding to entrust the matter to him.
"Your subject obeys!"
Nan Yiming nodded solemnly. He couldn't let such a good thing pass him by; his father was paving the way for him.
"Yes, I trust you to handle things!"
Although Nan Ke was occasionally a bit harsh on his eldest son, he was mostly satisfied with him. After all, the son had won many battles and was quite experienced, making him a good fit for the task of leading campaigns.
By handing over his elite troops, he could quickly consolidate the surrounding forces and thus become even stronger.
The Great Liang is too powerful right now, so it's better for me to play it safe and develop my strength cautiously.
However, relying solely on this is too risky; a more reliable approach is needed.
He looked at Zan Rihong and said in a deep voice, "Minister, what is the current attitude of the Emperor of the Frostwest Empire? Does he agree to our alliance?" Only by uniting with the Frostwest Empire can we have an ally in times of crisis.
If it's one against two, I should have a pretty good chance.
" Bill III has agreed, but he's currently doing business with Great Liang, so I'm afraid there's little hope of dealing with Great Liang through him!" Zan Rihong sighed and said with a wry smile.
Nan Ke remained silent!
He knew perfectly well that it was normal for the Frostwest Empire to be interested.
Since the Western Regions War, the retreat of the Frostwest Empire has made the world aware of a powerful and wealthy Great Liang, which is also actively promoting economic development. Therefore, the West has turned its attention to this newly emerging and vast empire.
According to incomplete statistics, in less than two months, the trade routes in the Western Regions have developed to an astonishing level, with an economic throughput of nearly 100 million.
This is an absolutely enormous number, so enormous that it even makes his heart flutter.
He said in a deep voice, "We can't control business matters, but they must remain united in dealing with the Great Liang, or we'll become the next Western Regions!"
He wanted the money, but survival was also very important.
The fighting strength of the Great Liang has been tested; underestimating the Great Liang will result in a very ugly end.
As long as they join forces with Great Liang, I will have no worries and can focus on development; these are not major issues.
At this moment, an official in the crowd couldn't help but step forward and whisper, "Your Majesty, recently a large number of unidentified individuals have infiltrated our territory, and some unusual activity has been detected at the border. Could it be that the Great Liang is about to take action against us?"
He was usually in charge of security, but the recent infiltration of a large number of unidentified people made him feel that something was very unusual, and this was clearly a sign that something big was about to happen.
"A large number of unidentified people?"
Upon hearing this, Nan Ke's heart skipped a beat, and his brows immediately furrowed.
This is definitely not good news.
The only one around who could possibly harm me is Great Liang. If he sends people over, then the situation is rather dire; it's not a good sign!
He glanced at his son, Nan Yiming, and then said in a deep voice, " Yiming, have you noticed any movement in Great Liang?"
"They haven't made any big moves, but they've transferred 100,000 troops to the Yamata Nation. The rest of Lü Bu and his men have been playing polo and cuju lately, making quite a splash!"
Upon hearing this, Nan Yiming couldn't help but show a strange expression, feeling that the Great Liang army was really too good at playing games.
It's one thing for you not to train all day, but you spend your time playing polo and cuju (ancient Chinese football). Why don't you just open a brothel here? You're a bunch of useless people wasting food.
If the Emperor of Great Liang knew this, he would probably be ready to kill.
"Playing polo? Playing Cuju?"
After hearing his son explain what polo and cuju were, Nan Ke was completely dumbfounded and felt like he was questioning the meaning of life.
He couldn't help but mutter, "What's going on? Tiandu. Does this mean Lin Yi has no designs on our Zhennan Dynasty, or do they simply look down on us?"
They're having a blast, they're practically ignoring us!
Forget it, just send someone to keep an eye on them. Let's focus on annexing other countries first. Once we're strong enough, we'll definitely wipe out these arrogant guys.
Hopefully, the Yamata Nation can hold out for a while longer!