Chapter 18: Xun Yu's Strategic Deployment

"My Lord, ever since you told me the truth about Crown Prince Xue Qinghe, I have been drafting our subsequent plans. We need a legitimate status to participate in the affairs of the Heaven Dou Empire."

"We can turn Xue Qinghe's own plan against him. When his scheme is nearing success, we shall sabotage it, but do not kill him. Keep him in the Imperial Palace; he can do many things for us. For instance, before retreating to the Spirit Hall, he can slaughter the Heaven Dou Imperial Family!" Xun Yu's voice was incomparably cold.

Nan Feihuang's hair stood on end. Wasn't this idea of Xun Yu's the very method Qian Renxue used in the original story?

When the palace coup failed, she slaughtered the entire Heaven Dou Imperial Family. If it weren't for the fact that Xue Beng was by Tang San's side at the time and Xue Ke was at Yuexuan, the Heaven Dou Imperial Family would likely have been wiped out.

"You want to use a borrowed knife to kill, and then have me rule Heaven Dou in the capacity of the Heaven Dou Empire's prince consort?" Nan Feihuang perceived Xun Yu's future plan.

"Correct, my Lord. In today's world, the two great empires of Heaven Dou and Star Luo stand side by side, with the Spirit Hall above them both. If 'tyrannical' describes Star Luo, then 'corrupt' describes Heaven Dou. Although Xue Ye can be considered a ruler who maintains his borders and has a kind nature, he is nearly pedantic. Crown Prince Xue Qinghe is wise, but he is an impostor from the Spirit Hall. As for Xue Xing Prince, his lustfulness goes without saying. Even if Prince Xue Beng is only pretending to be a wastrel, his notoriety has long spread throughout the world, and his reputation among the people is extremely poor."

"How are people like them fit to occupy such a vast empire?"

"After using the power of the Spirit Hall to slaughter the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, the family must be left with only Xue Ke as the sole bloodline. When that time comes, she will have to become Empress whether she wants to or not. As her husband, you will be able to manage the world under the legitimate title of Regent, just like my former lord: holding the Emperor hostage to command the vassals. At that time, my Lord can ally with the distant and attack the near, maneuvering north and south to integrate the power of the four kingdoms at the fastest speed, only then can you contend for the world against the Spirit Hall and the Star Luo Empire!"

"Heaven has sent the Heaven Dou Empire to you, my Lord; it is like sending a great banner to a gale, or a precious sword to its scabbard. If you do not take the Heaven Dou Empire, what are you waiting for? And if you do not marry Princess Xue Ke, what are you waiting for?"

"Haha, Gou Huo, Prime Minister Cao truly was not wrong when he said that listening to you speak is like drinking fine wine—it is simply a pleasure. Every word and sentence hits the mark in my heart," Nan Feihuang laughed. "I will firmly remember the strategy you have set for me today and execute it to the end. In the future, I ask that you continue to teach me, sir!"

"It is my honor, Xun Yu, that my Lord is willing to approve of my strategy," Xun Yu said, cupping his hands. "However, my Lord, could you find time to practice more? Others aside, you must at least overcome the curse of my name and learn to pronounce it correctly."

"Uh, I will try my best! How about I call you Wenruo first?"

In truth, Xun Yu did have a courtesy name, Xun Yu, courtesy name Wenruo. Although Douluo Continent did not have this custom, it did not prevent Nan Feihuang from calling him that before overcoming the curse of 'Gou Huo'.

"That will do as well, my Lord. There is another matter, which concerns your safety. You possess the Ghost God Body and can sustain war through war; closed-door cultivation is not suitable for you. You will inevitably shine and show your brilliance on the continent. At that time, being too outstanding will inevitably arouse the jealousy of those with ulterior motives who will attempt to strangle you in the cradle. Therefore, your subordinate suggests that you go and deceive that Qian Renxue, pretending to be her little fanboy. Princess Xue Ke is the breakthrough point; it is rumored that she is Xue Qinghe's biggest fan."

"You want me to use her to prevent assassination attempts by the Spirit Hall or other forces?" Nan Feihuang understood.

Xun Yu nodded. "Exactly so, my Lord. According to our plan, the Queen will certainly be able to break through to Title Douluo in the future. At that time, with her protection, ordinary petty forces will not be worth fearing."

"The only ones who pose a threat to you are the Spirit Hall and the Upper Three Sects. After all, they have a history of hunting down geniuses who do not join them. The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family is fine; that Yu Yuanzhen hates evil as much as he hates a personal enemy, and since he took power, such things have become much rarer. Plus, their family does not meddle in affairs, so they are not too much of a threat."

"The Clear Sky Sect has also gone into seclusion, so we only need to focus on the Spirit Hall and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect."

"Yet, Qian Renxue has two identities. The public one, Xue Qinghe, is the Heaven Dou Crown Prince and Ning Fengzhi's disciple. If you befriend this identity, Ning Fengzhi will not lose his mind and come after you. After all, you have no conflict of interest, and you are both supporting the same person. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect will not do such thankless work that also offends people."

"As for the secret identity of Qian Renxue, my Lord, you must achieve one thing: like Xue Ke, express to her that you admire her as a person, not as the Heaven Dou Crown Prince. Whether she is who she is or not, you admire her all the same. In this way, Qian Renxue should develop the idea of brainwashing you into her die-hard loyalist. My Lord is still young; is this not the best time for brainwashing? After all, the Spirit Hall has long coveted the Gu Lei Kingdom. Obtaining you is like obtaining the Gu Lei Kingdom. Thus, Qian Renxue will naturally not let the people of the Spirit Hall come after you."

"By the time she realizes something is wrong, I fear my Lord will have already grown up, and she will be unable to touch you even if she wants to."

Nan Feihuang's expression was somewhat complex. "Good fellow, Gou Huo, you really are a 'dog-goods' (scum). You are asking me to act like a scumbag and PUA that Qian Renxue, and when I no longer need her, just say, 'This woman, I've used her up!', right?"

This method was despicable enough. As expected, the hearts of strategists are dark. However, he agreed—who told him he wasn't a good person to begin with?

No one knew that on this small night, in this room, two six-year-old children were making a plan that would one day stir up such a massive storm on the Douluo Continent.

Several days later, Nan Tianchen returned.

The events that occurred during this time were almost exactly as Xun Yu had predicted.

He had gone to the Heaven Dou Empire to pay respects to Great Emperor Xue Ye and discuss the supply of materials for the next year. In recent years, the weather had been favorable, and under his governance, the grain production of the Gu Lei Kingdom had increased year by year.

Since the Gu Lei Kingdom did not have many people or soldiers, the surplus grain would just rot if left unused.

Thus, he proposed to Great Emperor Xue Ye that for next year's grain, in addition to the tribute, he was willing to provide an extra forty percent—ten percent as a free gift, and the other thirty percent sold to the Heaven Dou Empire at fifty percent below market price.

Great Emperor Xue Ye was naturally delighted to agree to such a good deal, warmly entertaining Nan Tianchen and even having him stay in the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace for several days.

Nan Tianchen took advantage of these few days to visit various major forces near the Tiandou Capital, and he naturally did not let the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect off the list.

Just as Xun Yu had said, he enthusiastically introduced his son to Ning Fengzhi and praised how cute his daughter, Ning Rongrong, was. His words and implications were all about matchmaking the two, though he did not say it explicitly.

Ning Fengzhi was a master of human nature; how could he not hear the subtext in Nan Tianchen's words? He quickly declined politely, leaving Nan Tianchen feeling incredibly awkward.

Originally, Nan Tianchen had been somewhat confident. After all, everyone knew his wife's aptitude. He did not understand why Ning Fengzhi would refuse to form a marriage alliance with a future Title Douluo.

Could it be that he felt he had too many Title Douluos? But his Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect only had two.

Moreover, it wasn't as if Ning Fengzhi didn't have a son; he wasn't lacking an heir. Marrying off a daughter to form an alliance with a kingdom seemed beneficial in every way.

It could only be said that he had underestimated Ning Fengzhi's 'daughter-complex' psychology.

Contrary to Nan Tianchen, who favored boys over girls, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was a classic example of favoring girls over boys from top to bottom.

Helpless, Nan Tianchen had no choice but to leave. Fortunately, he had been cautious enough to test Ning Fengzhi's attitude first, rather than swaggering in to propose marriage directly.

Otherwise, if Xue Ye had known about this, he certainly would not have agreed to marry off Xue Ke.

As for Xue Ye, Nan Tianchen did not play such games; he prepared generous gifts and directly requested the marriage alliance.

Because with Ning Fengzhi, he only had a certain degree of confidence that the other party would agree, whereas with Xue Ye, he was almost one hundred percent certain of success.

The Heaven Dou Empire was far too lacking in Title Douluos.

Sure enough, upon learning that Nan Feihuang's innate soul power was at the peak of level eight and that he had inherited his mother's top-tier Tool Spirit.

His talent, status, and the backing of Lan Xue, a future high-level Title Douluo, made him a match for Xue Ke in every aspect.

If Xue Ke could become the Queen of the Gu Lei Kingdom in the future, it would also be of great benefit to the Heaven Dou Empire.

With sufficient marriage alliance benefits, how could Xue Ye have any thought of refusing? He immediately accepted the betrothal gifts and expressed his consent.

It was just that the two children were still young, both only five or six years old, so they only set the engagement.

They would marry after the two children graduated from the academy and the Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament had concluded.

In short, Nan Tianchen was quite satisfied with this trip to the Heaven Dou Empire.

Nan Feihuang somewhat suspected that Xun Yu had installed a tracker on Nan Tianchen; every move Nan Tianchen made was exactly as he had predicted.

The strategists of the Three Kingdoms period were truly formidable, one and all.

If Xun Yu was like this, then one could only wonder about the brilliance of Zhuge Liang, Sima Yi, Zhou Yu, Guo Jia, Pang Tong, and the others.

Moreover, strategist work was not even what Xun Yu was best at; what he was truly best at was internal affairs, logistics, and the like.

Of the three Nan Feihuang had brought over, although Dian Wei was the strongest and Lv Lingqi was the most beautiful, in terms of greatest value, it was indeed Xun Yu.

Following Xun Yu's instructions, Nan Feihuang did not express any dissatisfaction regarding the engagement to Xue Ke and directly thanked his father the King.

With Xue Ke's status, she was indeed a very useful functional figure for Nan Feihuang; his next plan could also make use of her.

(End of chapter)