Chapter 1046: Compassion

Peter the Great looked at this scroll, this Technology Tree, once again.

It was still shocking, and something to be envious and jealous of.

Quietly.

It was completely quiet; while their Tsarist Russia was developing rapidly, while their eyes were fixed on Europe, right beside them, such a powerful Empire had developed quietly...

This Technology Tree.

A Technology Tree that made people red-eyed, that made people envious. Which country wouldn't drool over it? Even Britain, which had grown strong by relying on industrial technology, was like a child playing house compared to the technology of Yintan City at this moment...

"This..."

"My God..."

"Your Majesty, this, this, this, is this real?"

Everyone, at this moment, was dazzled.

Everyone had a look of disbelief, of incredulity.

If this were really true... then this Longyan was already too powerful now, powerful to the point that...

Peter the Great gave a cold laugh: "This is information I spent a year and countless efforts to scout out. However, because the confidentiality work in Liangzhou is too strong, we only obtained some names of their technologies; as for the actual substance, no matter how hard we tried, not half a bit leaked out..."

"Do you understand?"

"Do you understand!"

Peter the Great finally roared it out.

In his eyes, a dazzling light flickered: "If we could seize this tree from Liangzhou..."

He looked around the circle: "Eight hundred thousand, what does that count for?"

"What does an even greater price matter?"

The whole room fell silent at once.

Everyone was speechless.

At this moment, they finally truly knew the real goal of Peter the Great for this war.

Technology!

This thing that made people's eyes burn with greed—as long as they held it in their hands, they could completely realize it, realize a corner-overtaking of Europe! For this, they were willing to pay any price!

For a time.

While everyone was marveling at the advanced technology of Longyan, they were simultaneously admiring the vision of Peter the Great.

Vision!

Far-sightedness!

"Your Majesty! Liangzhou... must be taken!"

"Your Majesty, I am willing to send one hundred thousand troops!"

"Your Majesty, regarding the funding, we can discuss it again... as long as there is sufficient return."

The group of people no longer had the resistance from just before, but instead became enthusiastic and excited.

If they could really get these technologies...

How much more money could they make?

Peter the Great then smiled slightly.

"Eight hundred thousand..."

When Liu Zheng received this news, his pupils also contracted sharply.

What did Peter want to do?

If it were just because of the border dispute between the two countries, Liu Zheng would still feel it was nothing. But clearly, this time, Peter the Great wanted more than just that...

His heart trembled along with the thought.

One must know that in his previous life, Russia did not actually have excessive covetousness toward Longyan; they had always had a paranoia toward Western culture. The border disputes were also just to knock the Huaxia of that time down a peg, to make them listen obediently. But now...

"Eight hundred thousand..."

Liu Zheng was a later arrival.

He knew that, unintentionally, he had changed history again. Of course, one couldn't say changed; it should be said that this world was not the previous world to begin with, at most it could be considered a parallel space, only the development trajectory of humanity was the same.

Then...

He had indeed changed the trajectory.

He suddenly felt a bit restless.

While developing, he had always avoided meeting with such a peerless powerhouse as Peter the Great.

But at this moment, it seemed there was no way to avoid being noticed by Peter the Great.

Thinking of this, Liu Zheng suddenly shuddered all over.

Noticed?

That's right.

Why would Longyan receive Peter's attention?

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration appeared in his mind.

Liangzhou!

Peter's target was Liangzhou!

Thinking of this, he felt a chill all over his body.

"Young Master, Young Master!"

Just at this moment, Jiang Xuan, who was currently responsible for temporarily taking over the guard work for Liu Zheng, ran over.

"The Emperor summons you!"

Liu Zheng was stunned, his eyes narrowing slightly.

It was already nearing noon, which meant that this group would officially arrive at Lishan, the tomb of the Crown Prince, around dusk. In other words, the time for the Crown Prince's grand funeral, burial, and sealing of the coffin was drawing ever closer. The Bitter Remonstrance for the succession would also soon reach a conclusion. At a time like this, Xie Tianyao had suddenly summoned him.

Could it be...

Is he failing?

Liu Zheng perked up and hurriedly followed Jiang Xuan through the crowd; during this time, he naturally attracted many gazes of attention, but Liu Zheng did not care.

Indeed.

At this moment, being summoned by the Emperor was already considered a rather sensitive matter.

Along the way, he was watched by eyes and pointed at by fingers.

"Your Majesty..."

Arriving beside the imperial carriage, Liu Zheng was about to speak when he was pulled up by Grand Eunuch Zhou, who whispered in his ear: "Vice Minister Liu, do not make a scene; just come in."

Liu Zheng took a deep breath.

It seemed his guess was quite accurate. At this time, Xie Tianyao already needed Grand Eunuch Zhou to speak for him; it appeared the situation was not very optimistic.

Sure enough, as soon as he entered the imperial carriage, a pungent medicinal odor rushed into his nose.

Seeing several imperial physicians busy around Xie Tianyao, Liu Zheng's heart sank instantly.

"His Majesty is..."

Xie Tianyao's condition was indeed not very good.

It should be said that he had truly reached the point of a deathbed struggle. He, who was once majestic and full of imperial bearing, was now gaunt and skeletal, having lost all his former vigor and spirit.

At this moment, Xie Tianyao must have just taken a large dose of painkillers, his mind still in a trance, his hollow, turbid eyes already filled with the aura of death... that weak, wheezing breath made one feel tense to the extreme, as if he could pass away at any moment... As soon as Liu Zheng arrived on the carriage, the entire space was tightly controlled by several Secret Guards.

The atmosphere.

Was tense to the extreme.

The Horse Carriage was still moving, and the sound of the wheels made one's heartbeat begin to accelerate.

Passing away...

Liu Zheng's mind suddenly became dazed as well. He vaguely remembered the first time he met Xie Tianyao, when this most powerful man in Longyan possessed an aura that made one tremble involuntarily, eyes like lightning, and a presence that made one unable to help but submit...

In the blink of an eye.

Several years had already passed.

The Xie Tianyao of today.

Was just an old man nearing his end, a human struggling to survive, a soul about to depart.

Liu Zheng admitted that his initial nervousness was gone.

The nervousness of someone who had lived two lives facing the passing of an emperor for the first time had vanished in an instant.

In his heart, only pity remained now.

Pity for this old man.

Xie Tianyao's hollow eyes slowly opened, his pupils seeming to tremble powerlessly as he looked at Liu Zheng; his parched, chapped lips were also moving, as if he wanted to say something, but he could not get it out.

Liu Zheng understood.

He did not have many days left.