After receiving Ying Zheng's affirmative reply, the crowd stopped and continued drinking and watching the dance, and the atmosphere returned to its lively state.
Undeterred, Yang Duanhe sidled up to the wicked husband and whispered, "Commander, tell me, don't you feel any envy for these young ladies?!"
The wicked husband wanted to appear profound, but these foreign women were so alluring that he couldn't lie to Yang Duanhe.
"What can we do if we're envious? These are all for the King. Are we going to steal the King's treasures?!"
Yang Duanhe's eyes lit up immediately, and he whispered, "Commander Wei, you really have a bad memory. Have you forgotten about Zhang Han and the other two?"
Upon hearing this, the wicked man was stunned. He had been busy destroying the states of Han and Wei lately and had hardly paid attention to the movements of Zhang Han and the other two. If Yang Duanhe hadn't brought it up, he would have forgotten about it altogether.
"Hmm, I wonder how those three are doing now?"
"Now that Han and Wei have been destroyed, we can summon the three of them back."
The wicked man took a sip of wine and muttered a few words to himself.
Seeing that the wicked man was deep in thought, Yang Duanhe knew that his words had worked. He chuckled and said in a very lewd manner, "Commander of the Guards, those three aren't far from the western region that Wu Shilu mentioned, are they?"
The wicked man nodded. "The small country that Wu Shi Luo mentioned is located in the Western Regions, and it's not too far from the three of you."
"You mean..." The wicked man pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said, "The three of them have been leading their troops in a long-standing battle against the three clans, and their lives have been filled with hardship and displacement. How can we let some women cause trouble for our soldiers?"
"Women are like bone-scraping knives, eroding your vitality and spirit, only slowing down your ability to draw your blade. To tell you the truth, although these women are stunningly beautiful, I haven't really taken them too seriously."
At this point, the wicked man suddenly became serious. "What I'm thinking is to destroy these small countries and leave a trading post in the Western Regions that belongs to my Great Qin, so that my Qin caravans can travel further and make supplies."
Upon hearing this, Yang Duanhe couldn't help but look at the wicked man with new respect. He had originally thought the wicked man was just a crude brute, but he never expected him to have such profound wisdom.
He suppressed his lewd smile and said seriously, "What the Commandant of the Guards said is absolutely right. We serve the Great Qin, how can we let momentary pleasure ruin our great cause?"
The wicked man nodded, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes. He continued, "We are both subjects of the Great Qin, and should prioritize the nation. These women may be beautiful, but what do they amount to compared to our great cause?"
"When the world is unified in the future, and all are under the rule of my Qin state, what kind of woman wouldn't you have?"
"I can find you even those with skin as black as charcoal!"
"Skin as black as charcoal, what kind of demon or monster is that!" Yang Duanhe didn't know what image appeared in his mind, and his body unconsciously shuddered.
Seeing this, the wicked man laughed and said, "The world is a big place, and there are all kinds of wonders. I will think about this matter carefully tonight, and I will bring it up at the court meeting first thing tomorrow morning!"
Yang Duanhe wholeheartedly agreed. He raised his wine cup and toasted the wicked man, saying, "The Commandant of the Guards has great foresight; Yang Duanhe admires him. Come, drink this cup!"
The two drank their wine in one gulp, and as the alcohol took effect, they stopped talking about the women and began discussing military strategy and tactics.
As the dancers gracefully performed, the night gradually deepened.
After the banquet ended, the wicked man dragged Wu Shiluo, Bao Yuan, and others to his own mansion.
Inside the study.
The wicked man cut to the chase, asking, "Wu Shi Luo, tell me about the situation in the Western Regions. How many countries are there? How many people are there? Who is the strongest? Who is the weakest?"
“The Western Regions? That’s a fitting name.” Wu Shi Luo pondered for a moment, gathered his thoughts, and slowly said, “The Western Regions are home to many large and small kingdoms, among which Loulan, Kucha, and Yanqi are the most powerful. Although these kingdoms are small, their geographical locations are important, situated on the main trade routes. As for population, they vary from country to country, but overall, none can compare to our Great Qin.”
The wicked man nodded, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes. "So, what are the relationships between these countries? Are there any alliances or hostile relationships?"
Wu Shi Luo continued, "The relationships between the countries in the Western Regions are complex, sometimes forming alliances and sometimes becoming enemies. But overall, they tend to maintain friendly relations with our Great Qin, after all, they have all heard of the prestige and strength of our Great Qin."
"Good!" The wicked man slapped his thigh, a glint of light flashing in his eyes. "In that case, we can take advantage of this and start with the weaker countries. We can use swift and decisive measures to destroy one of them and expand the influence of our Great Qin in the Western Regions."
Bao Yuan interjected, "Lord Weiwei, why attack them? What's the point of attacking that remote little country?"
“You don’t understand!” The wicked man frowned. “If we want to usher in peace, relying solely on self-production and self-consumption will ultimately have its limitations. Before we can sweep across the world, we need to rely on resource exchange with them to quickly become rich.”
"The common people engage in production, while caravans conduct trade, exchanging the goods produced by the people for money and other goods. As the people's pockets become fuller and their lives improve, the country's coffers also become fuller."
"With money, the remaining four countries... aren't they just a piece of cake?"
After listening, Bao Yuan nodded thoughtfully. He was new to the place and didn't know much about some things. Seeing that Bao Yuan had a plan, he stopped interrupting.
Wu Shilu had a keen business sense, and a glint of shrewdness flashed in his eyes. "Lord Weiwei, you... want to go further and earn more?"
The wicked man nodded slightly, then slowly said, "The Western Regions are filled with small countries, but none of them are extremely powerful. Their populations are not very large, and their market size is ultimately too small."
"If you want to accumulate enormous wealth quickly, you must go further and extend this trade route."
Upon hearing this, Wu Shiluo couldn't help but admire the wicked man's foresight once again. He stood up and bowed deeply to the wicked man: "Your Excellency is wise, and Wu Shiluo is willing to serve you faithfully."
No one present knew the extent of the wealth better than him. Even the wicked man who offered the suggestion only knew that there was a lot of wealth, but had no idea exactly how much could be obtained.
He alone knew all about the various sources of income!
He even came up with many ideas on how to make money from this market based on the words of the wicked husband.
Although the others had endless doubts, they could also tell that this matter was of utmost importance, and immediately said in a deep voice, "Commander, just tell us what to do, and we'll do it!"
The wicked man pinched the bridge of his nose, pondered for a long time, and then exhaled a breath of turbid air. "Let me think about it carefully. I will ask the King to discuss this matter at the court meeting tomorrow."
"We've drunk quite a bit tonight, so please rest at my residence!"
"Tomorrow morning, Wu Shi Luo will also enter the palace!"
The group exchanged glances, stood up, and said, "Then we'll take our leave first. Commander, you should also get some rest. You've had quite a bit to drink."
The wicked man waved his hand, "It's nothing, you all go and get some rest!"
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