Only at this moment did the King of Gaochang realize that the clown had always been themselves.
He always believed that it was his Gaochang Kingdom that dragged the Ming Dynasty into this mess, forcing the Ming Dynasty to choose to help them and solve their problems.
But now I finally realize that it wasn't like that at all.
The reason why the Ming Dynasty agreed was entirely to play them, and the Ming Dynasty did not even consider whether it would provoke the anger of the Chechi Kingdom.
The King of Gaochang looked at Zhu Yunwen with some disbelief and said:
"So...so the Ming Dynasty just wanted to annoy our Gaochang Kingdom? And they weren't even afraid of offending the Chechi Kingdom?"
Zhu Yunwen squinted at the king of Gaochang and said:
"Don't you understand yet? In the eyes of the Ming Dynasty, Gaochang Kingdom is nothing. Chechi Kingdom poses no threat to us either. We don't care about offending Chechi Kingdom while toying with you."
The King of Gaochang's expression froze completely.
He realized that he had come to the Ming Dynasty only to humiliate himself, and he also realized how ridiculous his previous behavior had been.
He wanted to use some tricks and schemes to manipulate and exploit the Ming Dynasty, but in the end, the Ming Dynasty didn't fall for it at all; they just regarded him as a ridiculous person.
However, the king of Gaochang paid the price of losing his entire country.
Thinking of this, he slowly knelt on the ground, something he had never imagined.
He never imagined that he, as a king, would kneel before others.
But now he has no choice but to do this because he needs the help of the Ming Dynasty.
Although it seemed unlikely, he had to try; it was his last chance.
Faced with such a powerful, confident, and unyielding dynasty, all he could do was truly set aside his humble pride and sincerely request the Ming Dynasty's help.
If any further tricks or schemes are employed, the consequences will be severe.
"We beg Your Majesty the Emperor of the Great Ming and His Highness the Crown Prince to help our Gaochang Kingdom. From this day forward, our Gaochang Kingdom is willing to follow the Great Ming forever, to respect the Great Ming and to acknowledge the Great Ming as our master."
A cold smile appeared on Zhu Yongtong's lips as he slowly spoke:
"It seems you still don't understand. You still think that our Great Ming would really interfere in your affairs, right? How ridiculous. It would be too easy for our Great Ming to intimidate some countries and make them our vassal states."
There's no need for us to send troops to help you and then make you our vassal state, is there? Besides, even if our Great Ming really did send troops and help you conquer Gaochang, why don't we just take Gaochang over to our territory ourselves?
Why should we give it to you? As the king of Gaochang, you are so naive and laughable. It seems there's a reason why Gaochang has reached this state.
Upon hearing Zhu Yunwen's words, the King of Gaochang opened his mouth, but could only feel bitterness and could not refute them.
He knew Zhu Yunwen was right, so what reason did he have to refute even a single word?
Knowing that the Ming Dynasty wouldn't help him, the King of Gaochang was somewhat embarrassed and angry, and couldn't help but say:
"But the Ming Dynasty has to admit that you have indeed offended the Chechi Kingdom, and the Chechi Kingdom will definitely treat you as an enemy."
Zhu Yunwen asked, "So what?"
The King of Gaochang said:
“You promised to deal with Chechi Kingdom before, but now you haven’t taken any action. In Chechi Kingdom’s eyes, you must be afraid.”
In this situation, the fact that Chechi Kingdom conquered our Gaochang Kingdom would give them immense confidence, making them feel that they are very strong.
The Ming Dynasty, however, was incredibly weak, which only fueled their growing arrogance.
Considering that the Ming Dynasty had previously declared its intention to deal with their Chechi Kingdom, I think that when all these factors come together, they might impulsively take action against the Ming Dynasty.
He originally thought that by saying this, he could make Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Yunwen think it made sense.
Then they would be willing to send troops to deal with Chechi Kingdom, so that Gaochang Kingdom would have a chance to revive.
However, he was wrong. Zhu Yunwen was not so easily provoked.
He calmly began to speak:
"What you said makes sense, but so what? If Chechi Kingdom is really angry because the Ming Dynasty once said it would deal with them, or if Chechi Kingdom thinks the Ming Dynasty is easy to bully because the Ming Dynasty didn't actually take action against them in the end."
If all of this is combined and they really want to take action against the Ming Dynasty, wouldn't that be giving the Ming Dynasty an opportunity? If the Ming Dynasty were to take the initiative to attack the Chechi Kingdom, it would leave a bad reputation.
You should understand this principle. Some people may think that our Great Ming is too arrogant and has overreached itself, which will make the Western countries realize the danger and may cause them to band together against our Great Ming.
But as you said, if we anger Chechi Kingdom this time, make them look down on our Great Ming, and thus provoke them to launch an attack, then wouldn't it be perfectly justifiable for our Great Ming to wage war against them?
So it wouldn't be considered that we attacked Chechi Kingdom. That way, if our Great Ming Dynasty wins, we won't face any criticism. After all, Chechi Kingdom attacked us first, so we're in the right.”
The King of Gaochang was shocked. Only at this moment did he suddenly understand what kind of thoughts and schemes this seemingly young grandson of the Ming Dynasty possessed.
Thinking of this, the King of Gaochang looked at Zhu Yunwen in despair and asked:
"So... what do you want to do with me?"
Zhu Yunwen shook his head and said:
"Why should we punish you? You are already a deposed ruler, a homeless dog. Although you once plotted against the Ming Dynasty, so what?"
You have already reaped what you sowed, so naturally we will not do anything to you, the king. However, the Ming Dynasty will not spare your life. As for where you go from here, that is your own business.”
The King of Gaochang sighed helplessly, then slowly turned around and staggered away from the Ming Dynasty's palace.
After the King of Gaochang left, Zhu Yuanzhang smiled and said to Zhu Yunwen:
"To kill someone is to destroy their spirit. You always manage to use this technique so skillfully. I'm afraid the King of Gaochang's mentality has completely collapsed."
Zhu Yunwen smiled and said, "He deserved it."
Zhu Yuanzhang then asked, "As you and he said before, if the Chechi Kingdom is truly at a loss and wants to oppose our Great Ming, what will you do?"
Zhu Yunwen said, "Didn't my grandfather want to expand the territory of the Ming Dynasty? Our Ming Dynasty is unwilling to bear the reputation of invading others, but if others take advantage of their greatness and attack our Ming Dynasty, then it is only natural to kill them in return."
Zhu Yuanzhang looked expectant and said:
"In that case, I would rather that Chechi Kingdom be so foolish as to provoke my Great Ming. My Great Ming has already basically taken control of the east, northeast, and south."
If we can further expand our territory westward, the future size of our land will be unimaginable.
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