Imperial Statecraft
"It hasn't been that long since we entered the ćTimeline Save Fileć, right?" Dr. Lou couldn't help but sigh with emotion. "To think you could subdue a minister in such a short time in this era. ćYour Majestyć's imperial majesty is truly undiminished from the past..."
Hearing these words from Dr. Lou, ćYing Fuć's brows furrowed unconsciously, seemingly somewhat displeased.
"We have said it before, We are not the ćFirst Emperorć you speak of. You have mistaken Us for someone else."
Dr. Lou chuckled, "Then why does ćYour Majestyć speak with such a strong flavor of classical Chinese?"
"Our habit of speaking is a residual instinct in Our soul... Very soon, We will adapt to the language of this era." ćYing Fuć replied calmly, "The ćPath of the Sovereignć is a product abandoned by the era. The ancient order has already been eliminated by humanity. If We want to forge a new order, We must first adapt to the new world."
Seeing that Dr. Lou still looked unconvinced, ćYing Fuć spoke in a deep voice:
"We will say this one last time. We are not the ćFirst Emperorć ćYing Zhengć... Believe it or not, it's up to you."
"Who ćYour Majestyć is, isn't actually important. What's important is that we can cooperate." Dr. Lou smiled,
"In the short term, ćYour Majestyć needs this 'ćTimeline Save Fileć' that I copied for you, which requires my power of ćReshapingć. I also need ćYour Majestyć's power to clear the obstacles for me.
In the long run, ćYour Majestyć represents the king of the ancient era, while I represent the scientific peak of the new era. Our cooperation is a powerful alliance between the past and the present. Whether it's sweeping across Earth's ćGray Worldć or finding the source of the Red Star's power, it will be easily accomplished!"
Towards Dr. Lou's highly inflammatory words, ćYing Fuć's expression remained calm as water. He cast a faint glance at Dr. Lou. Those eyes, bearing the weight of a thousand years of history and dynasties, were like an abyssāunfathomable and impossible to see through.
Just this single gaze made the smile on Dr. Lou's face stiffen, and he slowly restrained it bit by bit.
"Cooperation is fine." After a long time, ćYing Fuć spoke calmly, "However, how Our people are used, is up to Us."
"That is natural. After all, they are ćYour Majestyć's ministers." Dr. Lou immediately replied.
"ćNie Yuć, did you hear that clearly?" ćYing Fuć tilted his head slightly, his deep eyes gazing into the eyes of the minister behind him.
After making eye contact with ćYing Fuć, the man called ćNie Yuć immediately dropped to one knee and spoke respectfully:
"ćNie Yuć obeys the decree."
He paused for a moment, then suddenly spoke again, "However, ćYour Majestyć, killing someone in this era is not easy. This humble minister is alone and lacks influence, I fear..."
ćYing Fuć wasn't surprised by ćNie Yuć's sudden interjection. He clasped his hands behind his back and leisurely replied:
"Oh? What else do you need? Just say it."
"I need money, a large amount of money! Money makes the devil turn the millstone. As long as we have money, the entire operation will be much smoother." ćNie Yuć answered without a second thought.
"We have just arrived, naturally We have no wealth." ćYing Fuć narrowed his eyes slightly, "What should be done about this..."
The air fell into a dead silence.
Feeling ćYing Fuć's gaze, the corners of Dr. Lou's mouth twitched slightly. He immediately chuckled and said:
"ćYour Majestyć is not familiar with this era, so naturally it is inconvenient to get money... Since that's the case, let me ease ćYour Majestyć's worries."
As Dr. Lou finished speaking, he bent down slightly and pressed his palm against the earth beneath his feet.
Following a faint flash of luster, the atomic structure of several massive boulders was instantly shattered and reorganized. The originally hazy gray stones unexpectedly began to shimmer with a golden hue visible to the naked eye. Moreover, the purity of the color and luster was constantly increasing. In just a few short seconds, several hundred kilograms of gold appeared in front of ćNie Yuć!
This scene completely dumbfounded ćNie Yuć. As a modern person, the phrase "turning stone into gold" only existed in ethereal stories... But now, he had witnessed this process with his own eyes.
Just by lifting his hand, he was able to conjure up high-purity gold worth hundreds of millions. Just who exactly was this guy?!
Seeing the shock in ćNie Yuć's eyes, Dr. Lou smiled slightly and immediately said:
"ćYour Majestyć, exactly as I said before... with the two of us joining forces, it's enough to overturn any era."
ćYing Fuć glanced at the gold at his feet, his expression remaining unchanged. He only replied noncommittally,
"Happy cooperation."
The smile on Dr. Lou's face grew even richer. He bid farewell to ćYing Fuć, casually patted the dust off his clothes, and then his entire person slowly levitated from the mountaintop. Like a magnetic pole repelling the Earth's magnetic field, he silently ascended into the clouds...
The next moment, he shot off at an astonishing speed, vanishing at the edge of the horizon in the blink of an eye.
Only after his figure had completely disappeared into the distance did ćNie Yuć speak up with a conflicted expression:
"ćYour Majestyć..."
"There are no outsiders here now. Speak your mind." ćYing Fuć's tone was slightly softer than before.
"ćYour Majestyć, I've been a mercenary abroad for over ten years, and I've seen my fair share of people... This ćLou Yuć's thoughts run too deep. On the surface, he appears respectful and accommodating towards you, but in his heart, he probably doesn't think so. If things go south in the future, he might even scheme against you." ćNie Yuć said in a deep voice.
ćYing Fuć's robes fluttered in the evening wind. He didn't answer. Instead, he turned around, slowly walked up to ćNie Yuć, and supported him up from his kneeling posture with both hands.
ćNie Yuć was taken aback, a hint of astonishment and trepidation appearing in his eyes.
"General Nie is both brave and wise, utterly devoted and loyal. You truly are Our trusted confidant." ćYing Fuć said slowly, "We have seen too many people with crooked minds... Although this ćLou Yuć is shrewd, in Our eyes, he is as tender and naive as a child. He is truly nothing to fear.
A double-edged sword, if used properly, can also be wielded by Us."
Hearing these words, ćNie Yuć finally realized how superfluous his reminder had been... The ancient imperial courts were filled with old foxes whose intelligence bordered on the demonic. ćYing Fuć had seen plenty of people like that. No matter how deep ćLou Yuć's thoughts ran, he was still just a modern man with some ideas and ambitions. When it came to scheming and statecraft, how could he outplay an ćEmperorć who was a master of imperial statecraft??
"I was overthinking things." ćNie Yuć smiled self-mockingly. "Then the people on this list... are we still going to kill them?"
"Kill. But skip the first one on the list, only kill the second."
"Only kill the second person on the list?" ćNie Yuć was puzzled. "Why?"
A sharp light flashed deep within ćYing Fuć's eyes. "This ćLou Yuć wants to use Our hand to eliminate his own stumbling blocks, while simultaneously pushing Us into an adversarial position with the ćNine Monarchsć, thoroughly tying Us to his war chariot... Naturally, We will not let him have his way.
This ćWu Tongyuanć, since he was listed as the first on the ćKill Orderć list, naturally poses an immense threat to him... The more this is the case, the more We must keep him alive. Only if he is alive can he suppress ćLou Yuć and prevent him from dominating alone. This is 'Checks and Balances'.
But since We need to temporarily borrow ćLou Yuć's power and maintain the cooperation, We must show some sincerity. Killing the second person can be considered giving him an explanation. This is 'Bestowing Favor'."
ćNie Yuć finally saw the light. He immediately knelt down and replied:
"ćYour Majestyć is wise."
ćNie Yuć's gaze fell on the second column of the list. A name leapt into his vision:
āāćSu Zhiweić.