Qin Ze slowly stood up and continued:
"That day I was thinking, what will you barbarians do after I overthrow the Jin family and unify the world?"
"The Hu horses of Beiku have never submitted to our country. Over the years, they have entered the pass to burn, kill, and plunder, committing all kinds of evil deeds. It is justifiable to wipe them out."
“But your barbarian tribe has submitted since the Battle of Red Sun Valley many years ago, and has not caused any trouble since. Now we live on the same land and consider ourselves fellow countrymen.”
“Killing them might prevent future unrest.”
"But now that we've come to this point, it's truly a dilemma. The Jin family is gone, and it's not appropriate to start another war on this vast land."
At this point, Qin Ze lowered his head and looked at Wu Li.
"Among the barbarians, there are many brave men. Whether it was back then or in the Battle of Yanluo Mountain last year, those men all died in battle. No one was afraid to fight and surrendered."
"Wu Kui came out with hundreds of thousands of troops with great ambition. It is not only to cooperate with Jin Fengluan to suppress me. He should also want to achieve a great hegemony."
With tears welling up in his eyes, Wu Li no longer wanted to hide it. He nodded tremblingly and said, sobbing uncontrollably:
"yes."
"Your Majesty's military expedition is also aimed at conquering the world."
Qin Ze nodded slightly:
"If it weren't for me, perhaps he could have really accomplished something, but without a doubt, your barbarian tribe would eventually perish."
"They either die at the hands of Jin Fengluan's Divine Machine Battalion, or in the war of foreign invasion."
"Many ambitious people want to control this world, but after all the fighting, it is the ordinary people who suffer in the end."
"Barbarians are mostly brave people. They might laugh off things like risking their lives, but it's the ordinary people who suffer."
"Get up."
Qin Ze stepped forward and reached out his hand to the old man whose face was full of sorrow.
Faced with the outstretched hand, Wu Li knew that the barbarians would be safe, but now he didn't know whether to cry or laugh.
Are you happy? Yes, you should be happy. You've honestly spoken your mind and it's yielded a good result.
But it is also sad, because it is another experience of heart-wrenching grief. From Chiyang Valley to Yanlu Mountain, these two lessons have brought me to today's clarity.
But the sun will rise as usual tomorrow, and the barbarians will set off again.
He then reached out his hand and staggered to his feet.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Tears streamed down Wu Li's face as he bowed deeply in sincere gratitude.
Qin Ze nodded, then suddenly asked:
How old are you this year?
“I am seventy-six years old,” Wu Li replied, wiping away her tears.
"Hmm, he's not young anymore." Qin Ze turned and walked towards the palace gate, with Wu Li following behind.
"Take care of yourself and strive to live to be a hundred," Qin Ze said as he walked.
"Thank you for your kind words, Your Majesty, but I..."
Before he could finish speaking, Qin Ze stopped in his tracks, turned to look at him, his expression particularly solemn:
"You are the clan leader, you should live as long as possible."
“It’s important to me, but even more important to you barbarians.” After saying this, he continued walking forward.
Wu Li was taken aback, but quickly understood what he meant:
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"There's no need for further words; we both know what's going on. Now, I'm going to take my army to your barbarian tribe."
"To be honest, it's much better that you brought your people to Nanze on your own initiative than that I brought my people to Nanze."
"Yes, Your Majesty, I understand."
They had already left the palace, where horses were already prepared outside. Qin Ze mounted his horse, and Wu Li also got on a warhorse.
On the way, Qin Ze said again:
"Jin Pingwu, you caught me. You did a good job."
"It saved me some trouble, but Jin Weizun is still nowhere to be found. He must have escaped from Nanze long ago. I can't stay here for long. After I get to your Guiyun City, I can only rest for one night and leave the next day. I will leave some troops behind to continue to pursue the escaped Jin family. The Nanman land is adjacent to Nanze, so you should also help me in the pursuit."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" At this moment, Wu Li's expression softened considerably, and his voice was no longer so weak.
"I don't need to tell you what should happen to the barbarians in the future. You already know it all in your hearts. The world is at peace now, and we should not start any more conflicts. However, your barbarians are different from other peoples. Although you live on the same land, you are too close together and have a strong sense of ethnic identity. It might work if we dispersed you, but your people would definitely not want to do so."
Wu Li didn't know how to answer, but he knew that what Qin Ze said was true.
"Don't worry, I won't do that."
"From now on, you will govern yourselves."
Upon hearing this, Wu Li was taken aback.
"autonomy?"
"Yes, the affairs of the barbarians should be governed by themselves. Of course, important official positions, including the chieftain, must be approved by the imperial court. Moreover, you must make sure that all your people remember one thing: the name 'barbarian' is important, but the country is the most important!"
"You are a barbarian, but more importantly, you are a citizen of the Yan Kingdom."
"Everyone must understand what is more important and what is less important. This task is arduous and lengthy. Changing people's ingrained ideas is very difficult and requires the guidance of generations."
At this point, Qin Ze looked up at the clear blue sky.
"But I believe that one day,"
"After all, no one would not want to live a peaceful and stable life."
Wu Li was deeply moved and immediately replied, "Yes, Your Majesty!"
As they approached the city gate, Wu Li earnestly said, "Your Majesty, it will be evening before we reach Guiyun City."
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