CMWKSD -Chapter 259 Water Can Carry a Boat, but It Can Also Capsize It

Zhuo Mu was taken away.

Both the Crown Prince and Emperor Fengyuan were furious beyond measure.

Even Jiu Yue—who rarely grew angry on behalf of others—was seething this time.

Especially when she thought of that infant still wrapped in swaddling clothes, fair and chubby.

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became.

Emperor Fengyuan was so enraged that his head felt like it was about to split.

Jiu Yue glanced at him and took his pulse. “Your Majesty, you really shouldn’t be this angry. It’s bad for your health.”

Emperor Fengyuan did his best to steady his breathing.

He had always regarded the people of Great Qi as his own children.

That was why he had ruled conscientiously for more than twenty years, never once doing anything that would deliberately harm the common folk.

Though he sat upon a lofty throne, Emperor Fengyuan possessed a compassion that many other emperors lacked.

To suddenly learn that the Northern Barbarians’ royal family used young children as medicine—

It was absurd, and beyond that, utterly infuriating.

Children were new life, hope itself…

They were the very foundation for a country and a people to continue and endure.

The Northern Barbarians were truly devoid of conscience!

Jiu Yue casually inserted two needles into Emperor Fengyuan.

Seeing both the emperor and the crown prince so furious, her eyes rolled—

She hadn’t even opened her mouth yet when Emperor Fengyuan, having just caught his breath, flicked her on the forehead.

“You are not allowed to go to the Northern Barbarians!”

The Northern Barbarians lived up to their name—each and every one of them wild and untamable.

Within Great Qi, Emperor Fengyuan could let Jiu Yue do as she pleased.

But in the Northern Barbarians’ territory, he always felt his reach was too short. He was afraid something might happen to her.

“Then are we just going to let Prince Hui and the Northern Barbarians emperor continue committing evil like this?” Jiu Yue asked.

Emperor Fengyuan choked.

To put it bluntly, that was another country’s affair—why should it be his business?

But when he thought of those children, and of all the filthy things the Northern Barbarians had done over the years…

Emperor Fengyuan felt that this war had to be fought.

“No matter what conditions the Northern Barbarians put forward this time, this war—I will fight it no matter what.”

The Crown Prince stood up and cupped his hands toward Emperor Fengyuan. “Father Emperor, this son is willing to lead the troops.”

Though the Northern Barbarians and Great Qi had maintained a façade of peace for many years, in truth, resentment had long been festering.

And if they could incorporate the Northern Barbarians into Great Qi’s territory—

The Crown Prince was very interested indeed.

Emperor Fengyuan had long intended for the Crown Prince to gain experience on the battlefield, so he was not strongly opposed.

It was just that this matter required careful planning.

War was no joke.

“This matter needs to be discussed at length.”

As he spoke, Emperor Fengyuan rose. “Li Feng, summon the Six Ministries, the Grand Secretariat, all military generals of third rank and above…”

Before he could finish, he saw Jiu Yue at the side, once again looking dazed.

He paused, then added, “And summon the Ji brothers as well.”

Li Feng acknowledged the order.

Jiu Yue stood up. “Then there’s nothing for me here anymore, right? I’ll head back first.”

Emperor Fengyuan waved his hand.

Leading three to five hundred men—Jiu Yue could manage that with ease.

Any more than that, and she was out of her depth.

Those things she had mentioned before—three-man cells, various combat methods—

Emperor Fengyuan could tell she spoke in a rather muddled way.

Jiu Yue truly didn’t know how to command large armies.

He had plenty of capable people under him; there was no need to exhaust her like this.

…

After listening to the Crown Prince’s account, all the ministers in the Imperial Study were dumbfounded.

“Your Highness the Crown Prince, is what you said truly real?”

The Crown Prince nodded solemnly.

In an instant, the hot-tempered ones cursed outright.

Even the more refined officials couldn’t help but speak up indignantly, calling it utterly inhuman.

After all, several senior ministers present were well aware of the Chu family’s curse back in the day.

But even when the Chu family had been driven to the brink of extinction—

They had never once thought of using such crooked, evil methods to save themselves.

Moreover, whose family didn’t have children?

And then look at the Northern Barbarians—

Simply insane, committing acts that outraged both heaven and humanity!

General Shen cupped his hands. “Your Majesty, now that the Northern Barbarians’ weakness is in our grasp, why don’t we seize this opportunity to wipe them out in one fell swoop, and rescue the Northern Barbarians people from their suffering?”

Emperor Fengyuan lifted his gaze and glanced at General Shen.

Since when had this old fox learned to speak in such high-sounding terms?

But rescuing the Northern Barbarians people wasn’t wrong, either.

“I summoned you all here to discuss this,” Emperor Fengyuan said. “Who will lead the troops? Logistics? Grain supplies? Weapons? Armor…”

All of these were issues.

Though Great Qi’s treasury was ample, a war was not something that could be concluded in three or five months.

It would certainly require an enormous amount of silver.

Troops? Grain? Generals? Money?

All of this required concrete plans.

Ji Yiqing and Ji Chaomian exchanged a glance.

One was a minor official in the Ministry of Personnel, the other a minor official in the Court of Judicial Review.

No matter how one looked at it, a war against the Northern Barbarians shouldn’t have anything to do with them.

So why were they summoned?

Seeing the Ji brothers quietly “slacking off,” Emperor Fengyuan recalled how these two had come up with one scheme after another to clean up after Jiu Yue.

He cleared his throat. “The two Ji lords—do you have any thoughts?”

At his words, everyone stopped arguing and turned to look at the Ji brothers.

Everyone knew these two were favorites before the emperor.

But war?

What could these two youngsters possibly say?

Still, since the emperor had spoken, no one dared openly object.

Ji Yiqing and Ji Chaomian stepped forward and cupped their hands in salute.

“Your Majesty, I, Yiqing, have never experienced war. As such, I truly cannot offer any thoughts on the matter.”

Ji Chaomian echoed the same sentiment.

Only then did Emperor Fengyuan remember that both brothers were still young, and had been officials for only a short time.

He was indeed asking too much.

Just as he was about to say to forget it—

Ji Yiqing cupped his hands once more. “However, regarding another matter, this humble official does have a few words to say.”

Emperor Fengyuan and several ministers exchanged glances. “What is it?”

“Earlier, His Highness the Crown Prince mentioned that the abduction of Northern Barbarians children is something known to all among their people. As a result, whenever they have children, they either send them deep into the mountains or watch over them day and night without rest.”

The Crown Prince nodded. There were all kinds of records confirming this.

“We can make use of this point,” Ji Yiqing continued, “to make the Northern Barbarians people lose faith in their royal family.”

General Shen asked, “And what good is losing faith?”

Ji Yiqing smiled. “After they lose faith, we then send people to spread word among the Northern Barbarians populace about Great Qi—for instance, how much land one receives upon registration, how much tax is exempted…”

Ji Yiqing spoke at length.

Though everyone listened in a haze, just hearing about those Great Qi policies—

The officials from the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Personnel, in particular, immediately grasped their significance.

But what was the point of all this?

Just as someone was about to ask, Ji Yiqing continued.

“To speak somewhat irreverently, the common people don’t actually care that much about who becomes emperor. What they care about is who can let them eat their fill and keep them warm.”

Irreverent indeed—this was truly an irreverent statement.

Some people instinctively glanced at Emperor Fengyuan’s expression.

Yet they saw Emperor Fengyuan and the Crown Prince nodding in agreement at the same time.

The Crown Prince looked at Ji Yiqing with delight. “You mean that if we first win over the Northern Barbarians people, then when Great Qi’s army arrives, the people won’t resist with all their might, and casualties will be greatly reduced?”

Ji Yiqing smiled. “Exactly as Your Highness says. What’s more, since Great Qi is determined to take the Northern Barbarians, those vast lands and forests will need people to farm and manage them. If the common people suffer too many deaths…”

No one was a bloodthirsty butcher.

If it were truly possible to achieve victory without bloodshed, who would willingly choose war?