Chapter 1921

"Yes!"

The officials also knew that Yan Wushuang and Chen Ping must have been plotting something, so they all retreated tactfully.

The palace doors were tightly shut, leaving only the monarch and his subject behind.

"Sir, do you have a brilliant plan?" Yan Wushuang asked, full of expectation.

"Naturally!"

"With such a heaven-sent opportunity, how could we waste it? This fire of resignation is burning... not yet fiercely enough!"

Chen Ping's eyes flickered, a cold smile playing on the corners of his lips.

"Not yet fierce enough?"

Yan Wushuang looked stunned. "Then how should we... add fuel to the fire?"

Chen Ping waved his feather fan lightly and said, word by word, "If Your Majesty sends an envoy with a fast horse into Da Qian, carrying a gift list of 100,000 taels of gold, ten bushels of North Sea luminous pearls, a hundred fine sweat-blood horses, and a hundred carts of Yanyun treasures, all just to invite Prime Minister Gao to enter Great Yan to be appointed as Imperial Preceptor, with a rank equal to a Prince of the Blood, what then should the Empress of Da Qian do?"

"Hiss!"

Upon hearing this, Yan Wushuang gasped, as if seeing a poisoned dagger stabbing straight into Wu Zhao's heart.

This plan... how could it be so vicious?

This was to put the Empress of Da Qian on a spit to roast, pinning her to the pillar of shame for being "callous and ungrateful, driving away the virtuous," causing her to lose all face!

"Brilliant! Sir, this plan is truly brilliant; it strikes straight at the heart of the Empress of Da Qian! But could it backfire, causing the Empress of Da Qian to go and beg that Living Yama, resulting in a counterproductive outcome?"

Yan Wushuang frowned slightly, feeling somewhat worried.

Chen Ping was confident, shaking his head as he said, "Your Majesty, you worry too much. Counting the time for the news to travel, if a real rift has occurred, even if our Great Yan envoys ride at full speed, by the time they arrive in Changancheng of Da Qian, the Empress's imperial decree will have already been issued."

"A monarch's word is final. By then, our Great Yan's 'generous gift exchange' will be like a heart-piercing blade, plunged into the chest of the Empress of Da Qian!"

"In this subject's estimation, since this matter was proposed by Gao Yang, and it erupted while Wu Zhao was completely unprepared, the Empress of Da Qian must be furious. This move will only add fuel to the fire, making the rift between her and her officials... as deep as a chasm!"

Yan Wushuang's eyes flickered, and he nodded repeatedly.

"And if the Empress of Da Qian truly agrees, what then?" A glimmer of excitement flashed in Yan Wushuang's eyes.

Chen Ping sneered, his eyes icy: "A single Living Yama is worth more than a thousand armies. The Empress of Da Qian will absolutely not agree. Even if she did, the Living Yama would never walk out of Da Qian alive."

"Whether it leads to his death or an even greater rift, it is all benefit and no harm to our Great Yan!"

Yan Wushuang was full of admiration.

"Good!"

"Very good!"

"Since that is the case, why not let this fire burn even brighter? If the Chu and Qi kingdoms also follow our Great Yan's example, each sending envoys with generous gifts to invite Da Qian, and even the Xiongnu invade the Da Qian borderlands, spreading rumors that without the Living Yama, the Empress is nothing—wouldn't that be even more interesting? Even more heart-piercing?"

Chen Ping smiled as well.

"Your Majesty is wise!"

"This chain of heart-piercing schemes will surely leave Wu Zhao... overwhelmed and burning with inner turmoil."

He shook his feather fan lightly, his murderous intent fully exposed. "Since there is no longer the Living Yama of Da Qian to hold us back... this subject's long-dormant 'lethal poison schemes' can also be... set in motion ahead of schedule!"

Xiongnu.

Mobei, Royal Court.

The bleak autumn wind swept across the withered yellow grasslands, carrying a bone-chilling cold.

Helian Cha wrapped his thick wolf-fur hat tighter, looking at the lead-gray sky, his brow shrouded in an inescapable sorrow.

"As autumn arrives, it is already this cold. This winter... I wonder how many cattle and sheep will freeze to death, and how many of our tribesmen will starve."

His voice was low, carrying a hint of exhaustion and an unspeakable desolation.

Behind him.

Batuer and a group of Xiongnu generals all wore solemn expressions.

To them, death was not terrifying; the long, cold nights of Mobei that swallowed everything, the howling winds like ghostly wails, and the despair of watching their tribesmen slowly die from lack of food... that was the true purgatory!

"How is the morale of our tribe now?"

Helian Cha asked again.

Batuer sighed and said, "Reporting to Father Khan, it is not good!"

"The might of the Living Yama is deeply ingrained in the hearts of every tribesman. Now, the very name of the Living Yama is enough to stop a child from crying!"

"Furthermore, with the fertile lands of Hexi lost, there are already sorrowful songs being sung in the tribe..."

Helian Cha's heart tightened, and he hurriedly asked, "What are they singing?"

Batuer steeled his heart, gritted his teeth, and as if using all his strength, said: "Lost is our Canglan Mountain, leaving our livestock unable to thrive; lost is our Yanzhi Mountain, leaving our women without their beauty!"

As soon as these words were spoken.

"Pfft!"

Helian Cha was struck as if by a heavy blow; his body swayed violently, and he nearly stumbled over.

The Hexi region, with its lush water and grass, was the spiritual totem of the Xiongnu. To have it taken by Da Qian was a massive blow, no less painful than having his heart gouged out!

But he never expected that the morale of his tribesmen had fallen to such a point!

"With military morale lost and spirits low, singing such mournful songs, I, Helian Cha, cannot lead the Tribe of the Heavenly God to recreate the glory of a century. I fear that one day, the Tribe of the Heavenly God will be destroyed at my hands!"

"Regret! I regret provoking that Living Yama!"

"Eternal Heaven! Why did I provoke him? Why did I force him to act?"