Chapter 1518 (1517): The Grand Finale (Twenty) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]
"Pshaw—isn't that right?"
The person who responded to this statement was not Zhai Le.
Zhai Le merely glanced coldly at the other party, who remained unfazed.
Lin Feng secretly pondered that for Zhai Le to act this way, this person must be either Zhai Le's confidant or a member of the Zhai clan. Indeed, as Lin Feng guessed, this person was a member of the Zhai clan, and a cousin of Zhai Huan's who had a grudge against Zhai Le but had been imprisoned by Zhai Le for years to reproduce. This person had recently been driven nearly mad by confinement and had learned to be docile, which was why Zhai Le was willing to release him for some fresh air.
They usually keep a low profile.
Seeing that Zhai Lejiang's position was in jeopardy, he jumped up in excitement.
If Zhai Le is having a hard time, then he's having a good time.
Lin Feng was deliberately provoked on this occasion because he didn't want Zhai Le to surrender. It wasn't that he was particularly principled and advocated for war, but rather he feared that Zhai Le would surrender and continue his life of luxury and superiority, always looking down on him. A duke with a fief of ten thousand households—why should Zhai Le so easily obtain that?
The thought of this makes me so jealous that I'm twisted and insane.
Zhai Xiaofang is so lucky!
Back then, Zhai Huan bypassed all his brothers from the same father and insisted on handing over the throne to his cousin from the second branch of the family. Now, Shen Tang is also tempting Zhai Le with the title of Duke, a fiefdom with ten thousand households. What he himself could never obtain in his entire life, Zhai Le can get easily by simply standing on tiptoe.
Is this fair?
His features gradually became ferocious, and a fierce look appeared in his eyes.
Lin Feng said, "Of course it's not that superficial. If one were to use the power of words to conjure soldiers from beans, creating thousands of troops, it would be like water without a source or a tree without roots. Though it might display its might for a time, it would be difficult to sustain a long war. The common people would appear respectful but be resentful in their hearts. A nation is founded on its people, and the people depend on food for survival. As long as the sky doesn't collapse and the earth doesn't crumble, who among the myriad people of this world wouldn't be a soldier? Who wouldn't be willing to go through fire and water for the great cause of a prosperous nation?"
Her tone was calm, but her presence was imposing.
Although he was responding to the mockers, his gaze remained fixed on Zhai Le: "Even the people of Qu can serve as elite soldiers for Kang!"
Zhai Le couldn't possibly be unaware that Kang State had the ability to feed its starving populace, which was the cornerstone of Kang State's rise to power. Kang State's foundation wasn't just grain, but also the countless populace yearning for food. What could a mere Qu State possibly offer to shake it?
Zhai Xiaofang was destined to lose.
Whether it's public sentiment or national strength.
After Lin Feng finished speaking, a minister from the Qu Kingdom stepped forward.
She was rebuked for her malicious intentions and her attempts to bewitch people.
"Whether I am the one bewitching people and spreading falsehoods, or whether you gentlemen know the truth but are deceiving yourselves, you can tell for yourselves."
Zhai Le: "Is this all you're confident of winning?"
Lin Feng: "From the farmers in the fields to the merchants in the marketplace, at the command of our lord, they are all willing to lay down their hoes and plows and abandon their goods. Kang State has grain, soldiers, and the hearts of the people. Does the King of Zhai think this is not enough?"
Zhai Le is destined to lose this game.
One of them stepped forward, drew his sword, and aimed it at Lin Feng.
Lin Feng remained unmoved, flicking his finger to deflect the sword blade that gleamed with a chilling light. His handsome eyes flickered, and he asked with a light laugh, "Do you have any doubts?"
She wasn't panicked at all; she wasn't even a little bit afraid.
It was as if what was pointed at her now wasn't a deadly sword, but a harmless wooden stick in the hand of a mischievous child. This realization infuriated the man, his face contorted with rage: "Undoubtedly, but did Your Majesty consult the almanac before going out today, to calculate your year of death?"
Lin Feng: "I haven't looked into it. I only know a little about physiognomy."
Everyone inside the hall held their breath.
Their attention was all focused on the sword.
"My skills are not refined enough to predict my own fate, but I do know—" Lin Feng pressed down the sword tip easily without using any force, "The sword of a gentleman is meant to slay the wicked and protect righteousness, not to put the cart before the horse and go against the will of the people."
That's incredibly infuriating.
The man was so angry that his hand holding the sword trembled.
He had merely drawn his sword at her; how could that be putting the cart before the horse, how could it be going against the will of the people? Lin Feng was young, but his skin was thick enough to utter such shameless words! He cursed inwardly, but his hand remained limp, as if the ornate sword, weighing only a few pounds, had suddenly gained immense weight. He sensed an invisible aura emanating from Lin Feng.
It was precisely this imposing aura that instilled fear in him.
He had only been distracted for a moment when he heard the sound of a sword being sheathed.
The youthful spirit is out of control and disorder.
For no other reason than that my blood pressure spiked from anger.
Taking advantage of his distraction, Lin Feng brazenly grasped his hand and slowly but firmly returned his sword to its sheath at his waist.
He added, "Now is not the right time to draw this sword."
The young man stumbled backward, his steps faltering so badly he could barely stand.
"You...you're shameless!"
Lin Feng chuckled inwardly.
Is that shameless?
She has an even more shameless and unsolvable trick up her sleeve that she hasn't yet revealed.
Lin Feng gracefully bowed, and under the incredulous gazes of the crowd, he revealed his trump card: "Our lord values loyalty and righteousness and is reluctant to abandon the friendship of our youth. He also knows that the King of Zhai is resolute and unyielding, and ultimately cannot bear to put him in a difficult position. No matter what choice the King makes, whether he surrenders now or after the two countries have gone to war, the promise made by our lord will always stand."
These words put Zhai Le in a very difficult position.
Zhai Le was secretly amused and annoyed.
He asked, "Did Shen Youli really say that?"
Lin Feng lied without batting an eye, stating confidently, "My lord's promise is as good as gold, Heaven and Earth bear witness, how could it be false?"
This despicable idea was certainly not Shen Tang's idea.
Lin Feng had no idea that Shen Tang had returned.
This was actually added by Lin Feng himself before he went on his mission.
When she revealed this plan, you could hear a pin drop in the camp.
Her colleagues looked at her with a mixture of fear and dread—poison, it was truly deadly! Lin Feng/Vice Minister Lin wouldn't normally lick his lips, would he? She had a deadly poison on her lips!
Upon hearing this, Zhai Le was practically roasted alive.
What does it mean that "a promise made always stands"?
Zhai Le is being treated this way now that he has surrendered, and he will receive the same treatment if he leads his men to fight Kangguo to the death. At first glance, Kangguo's Shen Tang seems to be extremely lenient towards Zhai Le, and cherishes their childhood friendship. However, a closer analysis reveals a hidden murderous intent.
Zhai Le's treatment remains unchanged, but what about the others?
War between two countries is no child's play; it involves not only the loss of money but also the loss of lives. At the command of those in power, those below must take up arms and fight to the death. Zhai Le can preserve his wealth and status regardless of the outcome; whether the war goes on or not doesn't affect him. But what about their lives? Can the dead be brought back to life?
A person only has one life.
Zhai Xiaofang's wealth and status, however, will never be recognized.
Coupled with Lin Feng's grandiloquent words in the palace, the morale of the Qu Kingdom had already collapsed before the war even began. No matter how they tried to mobilize, from the officials to the soldiers, they would all be thinking about one question—if this battle was truly destined to be lost, was there any point in fighting at all?
This battle is no longer about defending the country, but a farce.
A childish game that could have been avoided but was not.
Putting themselves in Zhai Le's shoes and analyzing the situation, everyone gasped. Lin Feng had driven Zhai Le into a corner with just a few words, leaving him with no way out. Lin Feng didn't care about the looks from her colleagues; she was, after all, a strategist with sharp insight.
If you offer advice and strategies that don't target the enemy's vital points, what's the point?
Qi Shan: [Aren't you afraid of provoking Zhai Xiaofang to kill you?]
Sending someone on a diplomatic mission is inherently risky. Lin Feng's direct and blatant taunts, coupled with her inherent value, mean that if Zhai Le is determined to wage war, killing Lin Feng would be his only option to stabilize morale and establish his authority. Even so, is Lin Feng really going to take the risk?
Lin Feng said, "As long as he has the guts."
Qi Shan: [What if he really does?]
Lin Feng smiled: "I, too, possess a heart full of courage!"
If she were afraid of being killed as a sacrifice and thus considered retreating, she shouldn't be standing here; she should be in someone else's backyard, managing household affairs and cooking. Because she felt no fear, she remained unfazed by any number of fierce gazes directed at her. Not only was she unafraid, but she practically wore her sincerity on her sleeve.
A laugh escaped Zhai Le's throat.
It wasn't the hearty, carefree laugh of his youth, but a sinister laugh, laced with chilling murderous intent. The officials knew the malicious intent behind Lin Feng's words, and Zhai Le, as the target of her scheme, understood it even more deeply: "Envoy Lin, is this truly Shen Tang's intention?"
Lin Feng replied, "Yes."
After enduring a long and suffocating period of oppression, Lin Feng finally emerged from the main hall with her limbs intact, her steps light, leaving those malicious gazes far behind. However, she knew that this silent confrontation was not yet over: "Be extra careful tonight. Although my words shook the hearts of some, they also aroused the murderous intent of others. They will not remain inactive."
Once Lin Feng is dead, Zhai Le's choice will no longer matter.
Luo Sha asked, puzzled, "Would they carry out an assassination?"
Lin Feng took off his own water pouch: "How could I not?"
Luo Sha: "But Zhai Xiaofang is already in a difficult situation."
Lin Feng scoffed and offered no comment.
The most insidious part of her scheme was not sowing discord.
"How did you offend Shen Youli back then?" Yu Hai rushed over immediately after receiving the news following the court session. He had already overheard the details of what had happened during the day and, after a moment's thought, knew the situation was perilous. "Or did you offend Lin Lingde?"
Zhai Le has now surrendered readily, and everything is fine.
But if he refuses, the road ahead is full of pitfalls.
Lin Feng said his promise was valid, thus sowing discord between Zhai Le and the pro-war faction, and also preventing the Qu Kingdom's pro-surrender faction from contributing. Aside from irreconcilable conflicts, most wars are about interests; why fight a war that yields no benefit? Whether they fight or not, Zhai Le's interests won't be harmed. His group wouldn't benefit from fighting, and by not fighting, they could preserve their existing interests.
Before the war even began, morale had already crumbled.
Zhai Le wants to break the deadlock if he wants to fight.
The only way to break the deadlock—
That would be cutting off your own escape route.
Unless Zhai Le is willing to sacrifice his own life and that of his entire family, issuing a proclamation to the world that he will not surrender, that he will fight this battle, that he will refuse to accept the investiture from Kang, and that if he is defeated, he will atone with his death, preferring to perish with his entire family rather than give Shen Tang the opportunity to bestow investiture upon his descendants. This is a desperate tactic; by displaying such a resolute stance, Zhai Le can not only restore the morale shaken by Lin Feng, but also inspire and uplift the hearts of the entire Qu Kingdom, portraying this matter as a malicious humiliation by Kang, which the Qu Kingdom's ruler will not accept.
This is why Yu Hai asked Zhai Le if he had offended anyone.
That was a vicious scheme.
On second thought, the person leading the army in Kangguo was Qi Shan, and he might have misunderstood Shen Tang and Lin Feng. It was more likely that such a despicable idea was a malicious scheme. Zhai Le said, "Why does it have to be me who offends them? If our positions are opposed, there is a way to die."
When enemies are at odds, it should be a fight to the death.
Naturally, they went for the ruthless and merciless way possible.
Yu Hai asked, "So what are your plans?"
He carefully explained the pros and cons to Zhai Le.
When he mentioned that Zhai Le needed to regain morale to fight, and that regaining morale meant cutting off his own and his entire family's escape route, Zhai Le's calm face finally showed signs of distress, like a flower about to wither on a branch, revealing a hint of confusion and vulnerability. He sighed, "Of course I want to fight. My brother didn't leave behind many things. This Qu Kingdom was, after all, his life's work, and yet it has declined to its current size..."
Zhai Le wasn't afraid of death.
He just felt too ashamed to go down and see his brother.
Looking at Zhai Le, who was unusually bewildered, Yu Hai felt as if he had returned to that chaotic night, with the bloodstains on the palace road that could not be washed away, the nauseating stench in the air, and the young man who only wanted to assist his brother being forced to take on a burden he did not want to bear without any preparation.
well--
If Zhai Huan, that scoundrel, knew what was happening today, would he regret his decision back then? If he hadn't been born in the same era as Shen Youli, perhaps Zhai Le, as the ruler, could have protected Qu Kingdom for decades or even centuries, allowing the common people of this land to experience fewer hardships.
Compared to other eccentric rulers who are either somewhat humane or completely inhumane, Zhai Le is undoubtedly a normal and qualified ruler.
Unfortunately, Shen Youli is an excellent ruler.
Even someone like Qi Yuanliang would consider him a saint.
When a sage appears, the world is at peace.
"Xiaofang, think it over carefully..." Yu Hai sighed. "Now it's your decision, and you're the ruler. It's no longer Zhai Yuewen. Don't let him influence your decision. Whatever you decide, I will support you to the end."
Zhai Le asked in surprise, "Returning Dragon?"
He rarely heard Yu Hai express his stance clearly.
Yu Hai stayed in Qu Kingdom to assist him, largely because of Zhai Huan's life-saving grace from years ago. But honestly, if Zhai Huan were him, he probably couldn't have done the same. Such a tremendous life-saving grace should have been repaid after so many years of painstaking service.
Although Guilong became prime minister in Qu State, he regarded it more as a means of making a living than a way to practice his ideals and morality.
When it comes to work, you reap what you sow.
They only discussed political matters, not personal feelings.
Yu Hai said, "Are you moved?"
Zhai Le: "..."
Yu Hai clicked his tongue: "What else can we do? If Kangguo really wants to unify, everything under the sun and moon will be its territory, which is also the place controlled by Qi Yuanliang's evil claws. How can I have a place to stand?"
Zhai Le: "..."
Guilong would rather die than be subservient to others.
He felt an inopportune moment of curiosity—
What deep-seated grudge does Yu Hai have against Qi Shan?
Zhai Le gently rubbed his temples: "Guilong, send someone to keep a close eye on Lin Lingde. No matter what choice we make, she can't die now."
We must neither let her die nor give her any leverage to trigger her attack.
Zhai Le needs time to think about what path to take next.
After much deliberation, Zhai Le changed into casual clothes and, bathed in moonlight, went alone to his father's secluded dwelling. Since the palace coup, his uncle had lived in seclusion in the mountains, detached from worldly affairs, and Zhai Le's father had followed his elder brother. Zhai Le hadn't seen his elders for many years; even when he sent visiting cards, they were always returned unopened. Zhai Le understood his elders' intentions, but this time he only wanted to see them one more time.
"Father, Mother, please let me see your son!"
|ω`)
(End of this chapter)
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