Chapter 2225

He Lingchuan also smiled: "Baoshu Kingdom sent only three thousand men to the campaign, causing dissatisfaction in the court."

Baoshu Kingdom is, after all, the largest vassal demon state in Beijia by area, economically developed and militarily strong, yet this time in the punitive expedition against Mou Kingdom it dispatched only three thousand men — clearly unwilling to exert real effort, merely going through the motions.

"The King of Baoshu is a supporter of the Demon Emperor, echoing him in court and moving in step with him in action." He Lingchuan continued, "After Qiyang lost power, the Demon Emperor's influence in the court suffered a heavy blow; he no longer carries the absolute authority he once did. Beijia's massive invasion of Mou Kingdom this time seems impulsive, unlike the Demon Emperor's usual style."

You Huan is also a clever man; he grasped it at once: "It is the Heavenly God."

"The more unfavorable and prolonged the Mou-Beijia battlefield, the faster and more intensely Beijia's internal contradictions will erupt." He Lingchuan smiled, "With Mou Kingdom's strength, holding out for a year or a year and a half should be no problem, right?"

You Huan replied without hesitation: "That is only natural."

"The second word is 'ju' — to uphold." He Lingchuan raised a second finger: "You must also strive to fully uphold the domestic economy. While the war proceeds, if Mou Kingdom's domestic economy and people's livelihood can still flourish day by day — meaning the war does not hinder development or livelihood — then Beijia, watching helplessly, will lose heart sooner and cease hostilities sooner."

You Huan sighed: "This round of heaven-and-earth spiritual Qi revival's dividends, our Great Mou Kingdom also does not want to miss."

Let Beijia discover it cannot gain any advantage, while the opponent grows better and better; only then will it lose confidence the more it fights, and run out of steam the more it fights.

This principle is simple to state, but not easy to carry out.

"A great power's war is not just that bit of winning or losing on the battlefield; in the end, what is often compared is the people's livelihood." He Lingchuan said leisurely, "Want to fight a sustainable war? Then you cannot cut yourselves off from the outside. You have been doing business with Baoshu Kingdom and Chiyan Kingdom all along, haven't you? The more frequent such exchanges, the greater the dissatisfaction within Beijia."

"Yes."

"If you want to protect the people's livelihood and the economy while at war, then do not sever your exchanges with the outside world — even with Beijia — both civilian and commercial." He Lingchuan smiled, "Your trade with Beijia goes mainly through the Yangshan Archipelago, correct?"

The moment the four words "Yangshan Archipelago" left his mouth, You Huan's gaze sharpened, then comprehension dawned!

Why did the Nine Nether Great Emperor drag him out for a one-on-one clarification? The purpose lay here.

The Nine Nether Great Emperor's words were indeed every sentence a pearl, of great reference value for You Huan's governance policies. The Mou Emperor would never say these things to You Huan; whether he did right or wrong, he could only gauge it himself.

The Nine Nether Great Emperor's guidance also made You Huan more confident in his original strategic guidelines.

But the Nine Nether Great Emperor simultaneously also had to warn Mou Kingdom through You Huan:

Do not touch the Yangshan Archipelago!

This archipelago's position and function are too special; as the war between Mou Kingdom and Beijia deepens, Mou Kingdom might well move against Yangshan — either blockading and cutting it off, or sending troops to seize it!

In fact, such voices have repeatedly surfaced in the Mou court; every few days someone brings it up.

However, the Yangshan Archipelago is one of Cangyan Kingdom's important channels for foreign trade. Once closed, at least half of Cangyan's goods could not be shipped out — that is no joke.

The Nine Nether Great Emperor spoke pleasantly, asking Mou Kingdom to do business while fighting, preserving the Yangshan Archipelago as a channel of exchange with Beijia; the subtext is this:

I have specially warned you today. Later, if Mou Kingdom still moves against Yangshan, don't blame Cangyan for being impolite!

Earlier in the main hall he was chatting and laughing with the Mou Emperor, their aspirations in perfect accord, yet that did not stop him from turning around and giving You Huan a hard time, issuing harsh words.

Releasing goodwill on one hand, issuing a warning on the other.

A clever man understands at a hint; You Huan's heart chilled, but his face revealed not the slightest change, still the picture of warm, respectful humility.

These words would be unsuitable coming from Du Shan; his status is equal to You Huan's. Only the Nine Nether Great Emperor, from his lofty height, can admonish You Huan into compliant obedience.

"The Great Emperor's golden words of wisdom, You Mou will keep in mind!"

Their statuses are unequal; snapping back on the spot would serve no purpose. Besides, the Nine Nether Great Emperor also knows that tonight the Mou Emperor will certainly listen to the conversation between You Huan and him.

You Huan knew the Nine Nether Great Emperor's time was precious; he asked his questions and stopped, then saluted him once more and respectfully took his leave.

Watching his back disappear into the Elegant Gathering Hall, the Soul-Capturing Mirror then asked:

"You won't let Mou Kingdom deal with Yangshan, but Beijia has recently been closing its borders too — won't it close this golden shipping route of the Yangshan Archipelago as well?"

"It won't. Beijia itself needs foreign trade." He Lingchuan was certain, "On the contrary, because it closed other borders, the vast majority of goods cannot be shipped out and can only take the route through the Yangshan Archipelago and Daofeng Port, these free ports — isn't that even more advantageous to us?"

The Soul-Capturing Mirror let out an "oh": "No wonder you kindly guided this surnamed You."

"Can't put it that way either." He Lingchuan reined in his smile, "Mou Kingdom is the strongest shield between us and Beijia. The steadier it resists Beijia, the better for us. After all, Beijia is the common enemy we two states both oppose."

International diplomacy lies in grasping a sense of proportion.

At this moment, Dong Rui in the banquet hall had also eaten his fill, wiped his mouth, and walked over.

"When did you get back?"

"Just three shichen ago." Dong Rui leaned on the railing, "Seeing you busy and bustling with joy here, we didn't dare come disturb."

He Lingchuan casually set up another barrier: "Did this trip go smoothly?"

"Passable. That ghost place had strict defenses; we waited until a hurricane day to act. The hurricane then handled the cleanup for us."

"Volcanic eruption?"

"True Person Jieshui." Dong Rui chuckled, "That place sits on a volcanic crater to begin with; it's due to erupt soon."

True Person Jieshui's original form is a giant lizard living in the magma pool of a volcanic crater, after all. It does have some innate talents.

He Lingchuan smiled and asked no more, changing the subject: "The entrance to the Thousand-Eye Cave is underwater; how did you dive in?"

"Good luck, I suppose. The hurricane struck the Nantao Archipelago head-on that day, waves raging like fury; the formations at the entrance were all damaged, the alert measures all failed." Those formations were hard put to withstand heavenly might, "The Blood Demon seized a giant croaker, and we all crouched inside the fish's mouth, crashing in just like that. At the time the Thousand-Eye Cave's entrance was also beaten by the waves into a chaotic mess; large and small fish were constantly swept in by the breakers. The Beijia people were just cleaning up the entrance, and when they saw our croaker surface, they were scared out of their wits. After that..."

He shrugged: "Later we heard that two demon puppets took advantage of the chaos to break out of their cages and escape, injuring people everywhere; the Thousand-Eye Cave was already in utter chaos."

He couldn't help complaining: "The management of these experimental sites is really nothing much. Before, Xiao An also escaped from Cao Wenda's Red Hut."

He Lingchuan was not surprised in the least: "Where there are many people, management is always a stubborn problem."