Chapter 2001

Wang Xiao felt a wave of scalp-tingling dread.

He had not expected that Gao Yang's very first sentence would be to kill the diplomatic mission from the three kingdoms.

But if things were truly as Gao Yang said, the situation... really wouldn't be this thorny!

Gao Yang was truly so angry he laughed.

He had known about this problem beforehand.

At that time, the Great Chu army was already at the city gates, and they had sent envoys to humiliate them right to their faces; if they didn't kill those Great Chu envoys, what were they waiting for? A bunch of civil officials kept chanting, "Our Great Qian is a vast and mighty nation; when two countries are at war, one does not execute the envoy!"

This way of thinking was simply sick!

"The current situation in the world is already clear. Knowing full well that the three kingdoms are enemies and that a war is inevitable sooner or later, what is there to be polite about? Kill them and be done with it. The Great Chu has suffered heavy losses and cannot field an army, and Yan Wushuang's political position is unstable, so he wouldn't dare act rashly!"

"If the Qi Kingdom wants to send troops, they must borrow the path through Yan and Chu. In a superficial alliance, who would dare easily agree to let them pass?"

"And who would be willing to be the first to send troops, wasting their national strength for nothing, only to let the other two kingdoms reap the benefits?"

"Now, they are being humiliated right on the face in the Jin Luandian; is the entire court of civil and military officials just a bunch of trash?"

Gao Yang's voice carried a sense of fury.

He had thought about this long ago.

Once the news of his resignation spread, it would surely shock the world, and the three kingdoms would use this to stir up trouble.

He had even thought about their methods!

Using an astronomical price to trade for him, belittling Wu Zhao, and taking the opportunity to raise his own reputation for "respecting the wise and condescending to the lowly," all to gain some attention.

This was the most poisonous of open schemes.

But he never imagined that he would actually be humiliated right to his face.

Cui Xinghe was even finished off by a single tael of silver.

"After Cui Xinghe heard about the one tael of silver, he really didn't fight back?" Gao Yang was unsure and looked at Wang Xiao again to ask.

Wang Xiao shook his head awkwardly.

"No..."

"It is said that at the time, he was almost angered to the point of fainting..."

"Trash, absolute trash."

"From now on, whoever dares to say that Cui Xinghe is a formidable rival of this Young Master, just beat them up. I, Gao Yang, really cannot afford to lose face like that."

Gao Yang went on a rant.

But the anger in his heart was also rising rapidly.

"This chain scheme of Chen Ping's is truly vicious!"

"The diplomatic missions of the three kingdoms singing this act together has directly put me on a pedestal; they are clearly wishing for my death!"

"Even using one tael of silver to humiliate Cui Xinghe, specifically comparing it to my one hundred thousand taels of gold, they were terrified that Cui Xinghe wouldn't hate me to the bone and wouldn't take action against me!"

"Ruthless!"

"Ruthless enough!"

Chu Qingluan said hesitantly, "But they are elevating you so highly, doing it so thoroughly; aren't they afraid that Your Majesty... will be pressured into asking you to return to office?"

As soon as these words were spoken.

Wang Xiao stared fixedly at Gao Yang.

Gao Yang sneered and shook his head, "Return to office?"

"With what would I return?"

"Qingluan, have you ever heard that spilled water cannot be gathered back?"

"Chen Ping calculated the root of the explosion. His move will only make the rift between me and Her Majesty deeper, and the thorn in Her Majesty's heart will be driven in even harder!"

"If I were to return just because of this play, that would be a heaven-sized joke! The so-called rift would be fake!"

Gao Yang took a deep breath, suppressing the churning anger in his heart.

"Against an enemy, any method is acceptable! Dirty? This move is dirty! But for the interests of the two countries, this is a massive battlefield. On the battlefield, where is there any cleanliness?"

"Chen Ping's scheme is reasonable and logical!"

Gao Yang said with a sense of calm.

From the perspective of Chen Ping and Yan Wushuang, his threat was too great, so naturally, they had to find a way to kill him. Even if they couldn't kill him, they had to find a way to make the rift between him and Wu Zhao even wider.

This method was extremely normal!

But the fire in his heart was rising rapidly.

Finally, it erupted!

"Damn them!"

"Chen Ping and Yan Wushuang, that pair of old immortals, hypocrites, rotten-assed, horse-riding bastards, sons of bitches, plotting against their Grandpa Gao? If this can be tolerated, what cannot? If she can tolerate it, he cannot!"

"Seeing that I'm a tiger fallen on the plains, now that I've become an ordinary person, right? So you're bullying me without restraint, right? What's wrong with being an ordinary person? Are ordinary people easy to bully? Damn their mothers!"

"Marquis of Loyalty and Valor!"

Gao Yang was angry to the extreme and gave an order.

"Here!"

Wang Xiao stood up abruptly, his body standing straight.

"Do you remember Luo Cheng?"

As soon as these words were spoken.

Wang Xiao's eyes suddenly lit up.

"This subordinate naturally remembers."

"Does Prime Minister Gao mean..."

Gao Yang snorted coldly, his expression indifferent, "You go and present this scheme to Her Majesty, carrying the token from Luo Cheng's body. Don't say it was me who said it; just say it was your own idea!"

Wang Xiao said with some worry, "But Chen Ping's poisonous schemes are unparalleled. What if Yan Wushuang didn't kill Luo Cheng's entire family?"

Gao Yang glanced at him and said, "If he doesn't kill them, can't you take action? Afterward, just frame it on Yan Wushuang!"

"At that time, Yan Wushuang will have no way to defend himself! Even if Luo Cheng doesn't believe it, can Yan Wushuang still reuse Luo Cheng? Once the seed of suspicion is planted, it will be like a maggot on the bone!"

Wang Xiao's eyes lit up and he said, "Prime Minister Gao, this scheme is brilliant!"

Shangguan Wan'er and Chu Qingluan's eyes also lit up.

But this wasn't over yet.

Gao Yang's voice was even colder as he continued, "Additionally, you present another scheme!"

"Since Yan Wushuang is pulling this stunt, then treat him the same way he treats others. He uses heavy gold to trade for me, so Her Majesty can completely spread the word: trading people is fine, but that scoundrel Chen Ping has a blood feud with our Great Qian royal family. As long as Chen Ping's head arrives, Great Qian is willing to offer one hundred thousand taels of gold, plus... the secret formula for gunpowder!"

"Also, mention in passing that Yuan Xuanlin also has an old grudge with our dynasty. Considering his high position, Great Qian is willing to offer one hundred taels of silver to trade for him as well!"

"Although this scheme is a bit of an imitation and the traces are quite obvious, it doesn't matter, because this is the effect we want—we want the whole world to know!"

Gao Yang paused, his eyes carrying a coldness that pierced through the human heart, "This is just the lead-in; the most heart-piercing part is yet to come!"

"Don't forget, Yuan Xuanlin was the strategist who followed Yan Wushuang and came to Great Qian in person. After Yan Wushuang usurped the throne, he is now a noble Prime Minister, with a status even higher than Chen Ping's!"

"This person values his reputation but is narrow-minded. After this news spreads, order people to spread rumors in the Yan Kingdom, and praise Chen Ping to death for me!"

"Publicize that his plans are infallible, that he is a peerless national scholar, and that only he can compete with this Prime Minister! Then, trample Yuan Xuanlin to death, accusing him of being 'unworthy of his position' and 'jealous of the talented,' saying he isn't even worth a toe of Chen Ping's, that he is purely relying on seniority, while his actual ability is mediocre. Furthermore, spread rumors that the position of Prime Minister in the Yan Kingdom belongs to none other than Chen Ping!"

Gao Yang stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the bleak autumn scenery outside the window, his back like a drawn sword, his sharpness fully exposed.

"He, Chen Ping, wants to play with fire? Then I will add firewood and make this fire burn even brighter! Let's see how his Yan Kingdom court handles it!"