Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress-Chapter 1474 - 1469: Maximization

He looked up at his uncle: "I thought that Bai Qingyan would at least wait three years until the end of the gamble between the Zhou Kingdom and Yan Kingdom before taking any action. By then... either our Yan Kingdom would have dealt with the Dongyi Kingdom, or the Zhou Kingdom would have done so!"

But just when Murong Li thought... that their Yan Kingdom already had the advantage, Bai Qingyan unexpectedly decided to destroy the Dongyi, and also launched the Zhou Kingdom’s bonds, which... not only won over the naval forces but also captured the hearts of Daliang’s old citizens.

An emperor who doesn’t let his people and generals grow cold-hearted is one that even Murong Li admires, let alone others.

Xiao Rongyan set aside a cloth, picked up the teapot, and poured a cup of hot tea for Murong Li: "So you supported the second prince of Dongyi known as ’that madman’ to ascend the throne, even persuading people beside him to incite a war against the Zhou Kingdom! You even provided food and weapons to Dongyi despite our shortage?"

Murong Li’s hand on his lap tightened, he nodded and lowered his eyes: "The King of Hancheng died in battle, his corpse was taken back. Originally, those Dongyi soldiers took it back intending to use it for negotiations for benefits later! But the people I sent to Dongyi, along with the people of Tianfeng Kingdom, had the newly appointed Dongyi naval commander say they would feed the King of Hancheng’s corpse to dogs, and when these words were heard by the Zhou’s naval soldiers and the Daliang’s old citizens, if Bai Qingyan still chose to swallow her anger and deal with Dongyi after the gamble, it would have caused troubles in Daliang. But choosing to fight now... would also be troublesome! Both outcomes... whether to fight or swallow their anger to placate Dongyi, were advantageous for our Yan Kingdom!"

"You want the Zhou and Dongyi to fight, then you support Dongyi from behind, hoping to drag the Zhou into a war for three years!" Xiao Rongyan replaced the teapot, his profound eyes looking at his nephew, "But you didn’t anticipate that this time the Zhou sent troops to destroy Dongyi and took advantage to launch Zhou Kingdom’s bonds, turning their disadvantage into an advantage, establishing credibility for the Zhou in the Yan territory."

Murong Li looked down at his clothes: "Uncle... I know compared to Bai Qingyan’s methods mine are somewhat unscrupulous, but... I don’t regret it, this is a struggle for survival between two countries, if unwilling to sacrifice soldiers’ lives or see the people homeless, then it’s up to each leader’s methods!" 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

In Murong Li’s heart, he truly admired Bai Qingyan. No matter the situation, she always exuded a righteous aura, using open strategies yet she could always turn the tides, making weakness into strength, a skill no one else possessed.

Xiao Rongyan nodded: "Your uncle does not blame you. One is the emperor of the Zhou Kingdom, the other of the Yan Kingdom, only then are they an aunt and nephew, just as with me and her... the country comes first, personal feelings come later! Uncle came today to ask you, since you made your move... and the Emperor of Zhou also acted, turned the obstacles you designed for the Zhou into their advantage, what other methods do you have to recover?"

Murong Li pressed his lips tightly, after a while he said: "At this time, it is unwise for us to send troops to assist Dongyi, it will drag down our Yan Kingdom. If we follow Zhou in promoting these bonds, the people will think we’ve lost to Zhou politically! Thus, we can only launch policies that Zhou hasn’t. I’ve thought about this for days, but no matter how I change the method, it feels like imitating clumsily, which is not favorable for uniting our Yan Kingdom’s people’s hearts, and will surely make the people feel that even without defeat... we have already lost."

"So, we have to brace ourselves and continue to support Dongyi secretly!" Murong Li straightened up and bowed to Xiao Rongyan, "Uncle, you understand Bai Qingyan the best, I want to ask you... to help Dongyi resist Zhou."

"You want me to go to Dongyi, to strategize for them against Zhou?"

Seeing Murong Li nod, Xiao Rongyan continued: "Do you know that the longer the Zhou fights, the more they issue national bonds, or... the more the people of Yan buy those bonds, the easier it will be for Zhou to win when the two countries finally settle accounts, yes?"

Xiao Rongyan did not directly provide solutions to Murong Li but guided him to solve the problems step by step himself.

Murong Li’s palm tightened: "I’ve thought of this too, I... want to drain Zhou’s treasury!"

Xiao Rongyan picked up his tea cup and shook his head: "You cannot think about Zhou’s treasury like ours. Although our spies often report the Minister of Revenue crying poor, the Zhou is certainly not genuinely poor, this is something you should know! Besides the Jin Kingdom’s previous accumulations, Zhou also has resources from the Rong and Xiliang! Moreover... the Emperor of Zhou is not a lavish emperor. Since her ascension, have you ever heard of her wanting to build an imperial mausoleum or have grand spectacles? Zhou’s treasury is certainly far beyond our imagination!"

Murong Li was still a child after all. Listening to his uncle, his back slightly sagged.

"After Zhou destroys Dongyi and takes it as their own territory, that can be considered enough. But what if they support a puppet emperor to specifically trouble our Yan Kingdom, or drag us into a war? What if the Emperor of Zhou, just as you’ve done today, supports Dongyi with food and arms from behind, even providing all the support Dongyi needs..." Xiao Rongyan fixed his gaze on Murong Li, "Then, do you think our Yan Kingdom could muster the same resolve to fight Dongyi?"

"In this way, the dilemma you created for Zhou becomes a dilemma for our Yan Kingdom!" Xiao Rongyan understood Bai Qingyan and knew she would do this, using one’s own tactics against them, which was Bai Qingyan’s forte.

Moreover, back when the Jin Kingdom was around, when the Bai family was in trouble... Xiao Rongyan experienced firsthand that when Bai Qingyan made a move, she always had further plans, interconnected, never giving her opponent a chance to breathe.

Now, Yan and Zhou are opponents, and it was Yan that acted first. Bai Qingyan will surely not show mercy when it comes to national affairs.

From Xiao Rongyan’s understanding of Bai Qingyan, she would certainly support a puppet emperor to target Zhou specifically, thus eliminating the need to overtly drain the treasury, Zhou would support Dongyi in secret.

Murong Li straightened his spine, bowed to Xiao Rongyan: "Uncle, teach me!"

"Since it’s come to this point, we must consider how to maximize the interests of our Yan Kingdom in this matter!"