Chapter 432: If Commoners Can’t Do It, Then Use the Nobles
Someone suggested that they should show goodwill to the Xia State and quietly admit that the group of spies were from Chu State and not Xia State.
The Emperor of Chen was almost angered to death by this suggestion.
He said sarcastically: "You think the forces that Chen State has offended and the lands it has lost are not enough, right? Do you want to give Chu State an excuse to send troops to Chen State?!"
The man's face turned pale, he knelt on the ground in fear, and kept begging for mercy.
The Emperor of Chen looked at the other courtiers, and almost all of them lowered their heads when they met his gaze.
The Emperor of Chen scolded: "Apart from the envoys who are still in Xia, is there no more loyal minister in the court of Chen who dares to speak out?"
Chen State Courtiers: ...The guy who hit his head against the wall is lucky. Your Majesty is still thinking about him.
The Emperor of Chen State became more and more angry as he thought about it. He said angrily, "Go and bang your head against the wall. When will a loyal minister show up? When will you stop? Minister of Rites, let's start with you. Do you have anything to say?"
The Minister of Rites Xianxie Wang burst into tears: Why was he chosen to be the chicken that killed the chicken and banned the monkey? Was it because he had stood with the boy who hit the wall before and was of similar age? !
The more the Minister of Rites thought about it, the more he felt that this was the case.
He was very angry and said with a stiff upper lip: "Your Majesty, although Xia has occupied those territories, there is no clear way out. Chen's envoy happened to have not returned yet, why not let him preside over a new round of negotiations with Xia?"
The Emperor of Chen was stunned, but he did not get angry. Instead, he asked, "How do you think we should negotiate?"
The Minister of Rites was dumbfounded. He never expected that the Emperor of Chen would continue asking questions.
He racked his brains and said, "Your Majesty, it would be better to let the people in the occupied territories stir up trouble and prevent Daxia from successfully accepting these cities. When Daxia is in trouble, we will go to negotiate."
The Emperor of Chen State was furious again: "Where are you focusing on when you attend court?! You are a piece of crap! We used this plan last year, but soon after the common people started to make a fuss, Daxia suppressed them with some small favors. You are ungrateful and a traitor."
The Minister of Rites wanted to complain, but this was not within his scope of business, so it was normal that he didn't hear it or forgot it.
But seeing that the emperor was furious, he could only follow his words and said, "Your Majesty, ordinary people will be at a loss for a tiny profit, so it is better to let the nobles in the occupied territories make trouble. They have big families and great wealth, and in order to protect their property and titles, they will definitely obey the arrangements."
The Emperor of Chen was stunned again and did not say a word.
When the conversation reached this point, the old foxes in the officialdom immediately understood the vitals of Emperor Chen.
Your Majesty wants to take back the occupied land without bloodshed.
The officials of the State of Chen thought this idea was impossible, but considering that the emperor of Chen wanted them to bang their heads against the pillar to show their loyalty, they decided to follow the emperor's line of thought and give suggestions, such as how to get the nobles to evacuate.
The Emperor of Chen listened for a while and acquiesced.
…
The shameful event that occurred in Chen State and caused the loss of land naturally attracted discussion from Chu State and Shu State.
Like Shu.
They originally didn't care much about the Chen State being eaten by silkworms and the Xia State's secret workers being captured, and they were in a state of disarray.
But when Shu heard that there was a handsome man who was a member of the Shu noble family, and this noble family was suspected to be similar to the second prince of Daxia in disguise.
The regent prince of Shu was excited. He immediately sent an army to Chen, under the pretext of providing aid. In fact, he wanted to find something to hold against the second prince's relatives so that he could control the "relatives" and allow the "second prince" to get his white moonlight back.
Someone who was optimistic about the Second Prince reported the news. The Second Prince pretended to be calm and wrote a letter to Daxia.
On the other hand, the Chu State performed very well.