Chapter 723
Chapter 723
“The State of Liang is the Great Yan Dynasty's loyal dog, so they will be the first to submit to the Empire. However, Liang is merely a duchy, not a kingdom. Among the six states, besides Ning Qi, who else would be the first to kneel to the Empire and reduce their nation from a vassal state to a dependency?”
At Shen Lang's continued questioning, the King of Chu remained silent. At present, not a single one of the six states could be taken lightly. The young King of Wu had been defeated in the last battle, and in this war, he had temporarily withdrawn his forces, so on the surface, it seemed he had accomplished nothing. But in truth, the King of Wu was no simple man; he could be called a brave and resourceful monarch. Ying Guang, the new king of the State of Jian, was the most despicable. Originally an abandoned child, the former king of the Great State of Jian had taken him in as an adopted son. He became the most trusted sworn brother of Prince Jiang Li and the greatest commander in the Great State of Jian. But at a critical moment, he betrayed the Jiang royal family and surrendered to the Great Yan Dynasty, after which he ascended the throne himself. On the surface, Ying Guang appeared to be the closest to the Great Yan Dynasty, but this man was exceedingly cunning and would likely be the most difficult king to tame.
“Besides Ning Qi, none of the six rulers will easily compromise and kneel!”
At last, Shen Lang stood six wooden blocks on the table. He pushed the first one, and the five behind it all toppled. A domino effect.
“Because Ning Qi compromised, it will trigger an avalanche. A second will follow, then a third, until finally, all six states will compromise and be devoured by the Great Yan Dynasty. Your Majesty, you must have seen clearly how the new policies were implemented in the State of Yue. Su Nan, as the leader of the old aristocracy, unconditionally surrendered to the King of Yue's implementation of the new policies, causing all the old noble families to lose their leader. As a result, nearly all the old noble families were defeated one by one by His Majesty, the King of Yue.”
Of course, there was much more to that story. Su Nan’s ambitions were so great that he had never set his sights on opposing the new policies in the first place.
“If Ning Qi compromises with His Majesty the Emperor, the consequences will be far more severe than anticipated. Originally, the six states were like a whole wooden barrel, but the moment Ning Qi compromises, it is as if a stave has been removed, and all the water inside will leak out. Like a sturdy embankment, a single hole can cause the entire structure to collapse. It is for this very reason that His Majesty the Emperor endured the world's condemnation to save Ning Qi. Furthermore, he heaped such vile filth upon the head of the former King of Chu, making him a laughingstock to the world even in death.”
Hearing this, the King of Chu’s brow twitched. Shen Lang had struck his most painful nerve. The blow the Emperor's actions had dealt to Chu was greater than the burning of the royal palace. The former King of Chu had been assassinated, yet not only was the truth not revealed, but a scandal was fabricated that his own son had murdered him, painting him as a king whose consort had an affair with his son.
“Only if the six states unite as one can they resist the Great Yan Dynasty. But I have never dreamt such a beautiful dream in my life. However, it is possible for the six monarchs of the world to at least hold fast to the will to protect their own nations, ensuring that no one is the first to kneel and thus preventing the avalanche. Your Majesty, if Ning Qi ascends the throne and becomes the Empire's Prince of Yue, a chancellor sent by the Emperor will enter the State of Yue's secretariat. Then, which state will be next?”
The King of Chu thought for a moment before answering.
“Wu or Chu.”
The nation with the weakest power would be next. In the current situation, Chu was weaker than Wu. In this war, the people of Chu had bled profusely, and the military casualties from the battles in the capital and Tiansi Province were close to two hundred thousand. Moreover, with the palace burned down, it was unknown how long the nation would need to rebuild to recover its strength.
“Therefore, you will be the next target, Your Majesty. Which path will you choose? Will you resist, or will you kneel?”
The new King of Chu closed his eyes. If he knelt this time, he would never have the chance to stand again. He would go from being the King of Chu to the Empire's Prince of Chu, and the chancellor of Chu would be an official appointed by the Great Yan Dynasty.
“But if Ning Zheng takes the throne, won't His Majesty the Emperor strike me first?”
“No! There is a saying: ‘The one who sets the first bad precedent will not meet a good end!’ This is something the monarchs of the world must request themselves—to change their status from vassal state to dependency. His Majesty the Emperor cannot be the one to initiate it. Unless Ning Qi starts it, even if His Majesty the Emperor were to use forceful means to pressure a monarch to kneel and compromise, he would be limited to acting against an adjacent state.”
The King of Chu nodded, acknowledging the sense in Shen Lang's words. When the Great Yan Dynasty sought to swallow the world, if it could not use political means, it would choose military ones. However, using military means was a cruder method and required paying a great price. Moreover, if they were to strike with force, they would naturally choose a nation adjacent to the Great Yan Dynasty. Among the six states, only the territories of Chu and Yue did not share a border with the Great Yan Dynasty.
“Your Majesty, think about it. If you become the Empire's Prince of Chu, you will no longer be addressed as 'Your Majesty,' but as 'Your Highness.'”
The King of Chu’s brow twitched again.
“Your Majesty, therefore, Prince Ning Zheng's ascension is not only advantageous to you, but the fate of Chu also depends on it. To be more direct, Prince Ning Zheng is firm and unyielding; he would rather break than bend. Perhaps he might even become the first state to be swallowed by the Great Yan Dynasty for resisting—isn't that something Your Majesty would wish for even in your dreams?”
“Resist the Great Yan Dynasty? The State of Yue would be destroyed in less than two months.”
“Even if the State of Yue were to be destroyed, with Prince Ning Zheng's character, he would retreat to the Qiang tribes and establish a government-in-exile to continue the fight. This time, when I led the army to raid the capital of Chu, half of my forces were borrowed from the Qiang. Your Majesty, Ning Qi is cunning and fickle. If you are to form an alliance, choose Prince Ning Zheng. Or someone like the Qiang would be a more suitable partner.”
“Shen Lang, you and Ning Zheng occupied our capital and burned our palace. If I do not kill Ning Zheng, how can I face the people of Chu?”
Shen Lang fell silent for a moment before speaking.
“Your Majesty, there is no way to satisfy everyone in this world. Where there is gain, there is also loss. In this war, if you defeat us and even kill Ning Zheng, your reputation in Chu will naturally rise. But can that gain offset the losses that Ning Qi's ascension will bring? If Ning Zheng ascends the throne, your reputation will be tarnished for the moment, but you will gain benefits later on. Will you choose immediate gratification, or the future security of Chu?”
“Future benefits are too hollow and insubstantial. The gains before my eyes are what is real.”
“Your Majesty, I must correct your thinking. I came to negotiate with you not for the present, but for the future. I certainly did not come here to ask you to spare me and Prince Ning Zheng. Frankly, we do not need you to spare us. We are not particularly afraid of your two-hundred-thousand-strong army.”
The King of Chu’s eyes narrowed.
“Shen Lang, are you not just bluffing?”
“Your Majesty, I know that in the current situation, you will inevitably fight this battle. Even if you do not wish to fight, your great generals and your army will. To avenge the nation's humiliation, your two-hundred-thousand-strong army will want to kill every last one of us. Therefore, I have come to discuss what happens *after* the battle. I never intended to avoid this battle in the first place. However, after this battle is over and Chu has suffered a crushing defeat, I ask that Your Majesty consider my proposal.”
“What proposal?”
“That you sign a truce with Prince Ning Zheng.”
“I have already signed one with Ning Qi.”
“That truce is a humiliating treaty that damages your national prestige. It requires our State of Yue to cede two hundred li of territory and deceive the people of Yue. Therefore, I hope that you will sign a new truce with Prince Ning Zheng and completely nullify the agreement made with Ning Qi. And in this new treaty, our State of Yue will not cede a single inch of territory.”
The King of Chu said angrily, “Are you not being too contemptuous? That is impossible.”
“However, in exchange, we will pay for the reconstruction of your palace.”
“How much?”
“Two million gold taels. Of course, not in cash, but in goods of equivalent value.”
This was a condition with great potential for mutual benefit. The goods worth two million gold taels could indeed be exchanged for that much by Chu, while Shen Lang's cost to provide them would be less than two hundred thousand gold taels.
“I guarantee they will be the kind of goods that can be immediately exchanged for gold, like hard currency. We plan to pay these two million gold taels over a period of five years. Not only will we provide two million gold taels' worth of goods for free, but we also plan to invest over five million gold taels in Chu over five years in the name of the Celestial Way Society.”
The King of Chu remained silent.
“Your Majesty will need to rebuild the palace, so please take a look at this jade brick.”
Shen Lang took out a piece of ceramic tile, something that did not exist in this world. The King of Chu took it and saw that it was as smooth as jade, with an ornate pattern drawn upon it.
“Is this not more beautiful than white marble, more opulent-looking than regular marble? How about using this to build the outer walls of your new palace halls? When you rebuild the palace, we will supply these jade bricks unconditionally at half the price of white marble, and include them in the list of freely provided goods in addition to the two million gold taels. However, in exchange, we wish to sell these jade bricks openly in the State of Chu.
Furthermore, we can provide not only these jade bricks but also a very novel building material. Using it, you can completely forgo wood, not only saving on the cost of building the palace but also preventing it from burning down. Not only that, the efficiency of palace construction will increase severalfold, allowing you to complete a new palace within even a year or two.”
Shen Lang took out a sheet of transparent glass and continued.
“Your palace will no longer need to use paper for its windows; you can replace it all with the glass we provide. Using this will make it look noble and grand, bright and warm, and it will never need replacing. We will also include all the glass needed for the palace construction in the list of supplied materials. Of course, in exchange, we wish to sell this transparent jade brick openly in the State of Chu.”