Can I have it right now?
The two places are hundreds of thousands of miles apart, yet they are both considering the same talisman. It seems like a very worthwhile deal, with clear conditions and explanations of the costs involved. However, both the emperor in the capital palace and the princess in Jiangnan are uneasy at this moment.
Both of them knew very well that with this batch of goods, they could quickly make a breakthrough; however, once the contract was signed, many uncontrollable consequences might occur!
Inside the palace, the emperor hesitated for nearly an hour, staring at the talisman. As time ticked by, his subordinates kept bringing news from outside, none of which were very encouraging. It was either that a prominent figure from a powerful family had been lured to a Buddhist temple, or that many lower-ranking members of another family had gone to a Buddhist temple together.
It has become increasingly difficult to stabilize the situation in the capital.
"Your Majesty," Yunyue bowed slightly, "I know it's not appropriate for me to urge Your Majesty from your position, but if you continue to hesitate like this, there may not be many soldiers left in the capital. As long as the Buddhist temple remains, it will inevitably continue to lure your men. You have no choice but to fight your way out and destroy the temple; otherwise, the longer it drags on, the more disadvantageous it will be for you."
"The envoy is right," the emperor said, taking a deep breath. "I would like to trouble you to step out for a moment, envoy. I wish to discuss something with the King of Qin."
Yunyue showed no displeasure upon hearing this, smiled slightly, bowed, and then said to Ziyue, "Your Highness Ziyue, I urge you to make a decision as soon as possible. The Evil Corpse's methods are more troublesome than you imagine. What I mean is that you should recover some of your strength and supernatural abilities as soon as possible."
Ziyue glanced at her. Even though she had produced the credentials representing the Daoist School, she still felt uneasy. In the end, she shook her head and said, "I need to think about it some more."
"Then I shall take my leave." Yunyue bowed again and slowly withdrew.
After the other party had completely retreated, the emperor closed his eyes, and Ziyue casually waved her hand, creating a barrier that enveloped the hall.
" Chen Qing, do you think she's reliable?"
Chen Qing frowned upon hearing this. "Your Majesty, it sounds plausible, but I still have a feeling there's a catch."
"Haha." The emperor laughed, "I think so too, but..." He glanced outside, "Just now, intelligence kept coming in, and more than half of the noble families remaining in the capital have already been misled. If we don't take swift and decisive action to eliminate them, I'm afraid..."
Chen Qing remained silent upon hearing this. He understood what the other party meant. There was one Buddhist temple inside the capital and several others on the outskirts. If they were to take action, they would inevitably face strong opposition from those who had already defected. At this point, they would have to use swift and decisive measures to purge them.
The emperor is an iron-fisted ruler, and normally he wouldn't hesitate, but the current situation is extremely special.
The Buddha Kingdom is extremely alluring to living beings, and many at the lower levels have probably already heard about the past lives. At this time, if the emperor only uses iron-fisted suppression without offering sufficient benefits, it may very well cause a mutiny.
With a large number of people already betraying the city, and some even instigating mutinies, even if the suppression is successful, the city will be severely weakened. If the Buddha Kingdom launch another attack, can the capital city hold out?
The gifts sent by the Daoist School this time were a timely help. Putting aside everything else, they directly took out pills and told those who had been rejected before that there were special pills that could enhance their potential, allowing them to join the Ghost Army, possess Transcendent power, and live to be tens of thousands of years old.
This temptation is far more real than any vague and ethereal past life. At least it can win back the morale of most of the troops. If we have that thing and then carry out the reckoning, the losses will be greatly reduced, and we might even have the opportunity to launch a direct attack and take down those Buddhist temples on the outskirts of the capital first.
But is it really that simple?
"I understand Your Majesty's difficulties. If Your Majesty makes this choice, I will fully support you. During my stay here, I will do my utmost to defend the city and lend Your Majesty a helping hand!"
"The plan you mentioned before, if I delay it now, will it alleviate my predicament?" the emperor said in a low voice.
"No." Chen Qing shook his head. "Supercomputers can only create a batch of super life forms, and can only unleash Your Majesty's potential. At most, it can add one King Xiang. Once Your Majesty unlocks your potential, there is a high probability that you can control the Dragon Vein and become an object that the Heavenly Dao can trust to entrust with the Earth Dao Fruit. This would be a huge breakthrough for you personally, but not for the power. Previously, we only intended to let Your Majesty..."
"Let me hold this place and fight them to the death, then you can figure out a way to escape, right?" the emperor said quietly.
"Yes," Chen Qing nodded. "Once the plan succeeds, the burden on my body can be resolved in a short time, and then we will have a way to return. At that time, we can combine with His Majesty's army in Jiangnan to support His Majesty. This is the path I had thought of before."
"If Your Majesty feels that the chances of success are slim, you may accept the Daoist School's invitation."
"If I don't accept it, can I really defend this place on my own?"
"Actually, there is a chance," Chen Qing said in a low voice, "But... many people might die. If His Majesty forces a crackdown without offering any benefits, he might face widespread resentment and alienation in the capital. It all depends on which path His Majesty chooses."
"If we follow our own path, then the Kingly Dao will not be bound by the Daoist School, but we may lose the hearts of the people. Your Majesty, you are the ruler of Human Dao. If the hearts of the people are lost, then it is very likely..."
Chen Qing didn't say much. He had to objectively explain the pros and cons. If the emperor insisted on holding on, he might indeed be affected. The Buddha Kingdom's influence on people's hearts was terrifying. The capital was already suffering from immense terror, and people were increasingly distrustful of the court. The scions of noble families were also in the same boat, most of them living in constant fear. If he couldn't return quickly after that, the Imperial Capital be able to wait for him to arrive before he was abandoned by everyone and ultimately abandoned by Heavenly Dao.
This is not impossible.
"Which path do you want me to take?" the emperor asked Chen Qing.
Chen Qing was taken aback, not expecting the other party to ask so bluntly, but he immediately replied, "Of course I hope Your Majesty will believe me. The contents of this talisman are problematic, and most of the things from the Daoist School are also problematic. If Your Majesty agrees to the Daoist School, it will only cause more trouble in the future. But this concerns Your Majesty's life and death, as well as the survival of the Great Jin. I cannot completely guarantee Your Majesty that I will definitely be able to return before Your Majesty falls."
His reply was also very straightforward: if he completely trusted him, then he would have to rely on himself to hold on. Whether he could lead his soldiers back to fight immediately after returning to Jiangnan was indeed a false proposition.
First, can I do it? And even if I can, will I actually do it?
Since the imperial army is all in Jiangnan anyway, they are deliberately delaying until the emperor dies, at which point they can completely absorb the imperial army!
This is tantamount to handing over one's fate entirely into one's own hands.
If the other side chooses to accept the Daoist School, they have a good chance of pacifying the capital, carving out their own territory with their own troops, and then forcefully reclaiming their own troops outside Jiangnan. This choice is obviously more proactive.
To be honest, even someone as suspicious and independent as the emperor, if it were me, I probably wouldn't choose to hand over my fate to someone else.
" Chen Qing," the emperor stared intently at Chen Qing with his golden eyes, "Should I believe you?"