Dark Sand: My Players Are All Actors
Chapter 446 - 254: A New Attempt at Chu Song (8000 words)_5

Chapter 446: Chapter 254: A New Attempt at Chu Song (8000 words)_5

However, Emperor Gaozong of Qi was still not satisfied.

He hesitated for a long time before speaking again, "But at this time, although our dynasty has gained the upper hand in the war, the consumption of provisions and supplies is enormous, and the people are suffering greatly; it’s already difficult to sustain.

"If the war continues, it will further exhaust the people and deplete wealth, and it’s uncertain whether we can recapture Yan Yun. Instead, ceasing military action and negotiating peace would be better for both sides.

"I sympathize with the hardships of the people and do not wish to see more lives ruined. Yet the Jin insist that General Han Fuyue must be killed before they will negotiate. Li, what should be done about this?"

Chuge countered, "May I ask your Majesty, although our dynasty’s provisions and supplies are heavily consumed, do you think the Jin’s provisions and supplies are conjured from thin air?

"Our dynasty is winning, and the Jin are losing, and the battleground is still our former territory. It’s obvious which side has more difficulty obtaining supplies and which side receives more help, isn’t it?

"As for whether General Han can recapture Yan Yun, even General Han cannot guarantee success. But whether it’s feasible or not, we need to fight first. If we cannot succeed after a long time, then it won’t be too late to negotiate peace. Why rush to negotiate with Jin immediately after a major victory?

"What’s more, even if we cease fighting and speak of peace, it should be our dynasty imposing conditions on the Jin. How can we let the Jin impose conditions on us?

"The Jin can say: ’General Han must be killed before peace can be achieved.’ We can equally say, ’Wanyan Sheng must be killed before peace can be achieved.’

"If the Jin refuse peace, then we just keep fighting.

"Even the two saints negotiated peace only after losing. Why does your Majesty think of negotiating peace when we are winning? Even if our dynasty truly cannot capture Yan Yun, it shouldn’t be the Jin who set the conditions for peace talks, should it?"

Emperor Gaozong blinked bewilderingly, at a loss for words.

The words spoken by Chuge made too much sense, and he was somewhat speechless.

Because historically, Emperor Gaozong’s desire to kill Han Fuyue was based on an incomprehensible thought process.

Because at that time, the revitalizing generals could be described as ’unquestioningly following General Yue.’ General Han Fuyue was the only Divine General who could decisively confront the Jin in field battles and win despite being outnumbered. While other generals could also win, they could mostly only fight defensive battles.

That is to say, General Han Fuyue was a powerful weapon held by the Qi dynasty.

With General Han Fuyue, the Qi dynasty always had the ability to actively counterattack the Jin; by killing General Han Fuyue, the Qi dynasty could only struggle to protect itself and would never again pose a threat to the Jin.

The normal thought process would be: Since this is the case, I should definitely treasure General Han Fuyue and keep challenging the Jin, placing demands on them. As long as I have General Han, I can rest easy; if the Jin do not comply, I can always fight again.

But Emperor Gaozong’s thought process was: Since only General Han Fuyue can threaten the Jin, if I kill General Han Fuyue, wouldn’t the Jin feel secure enough to negotiate peace with me?

Emperor Gaozong was both foolish and malicious, and Qin Huizhi was purely malicious. Only by reaching an accord could they commit the heinous act of wrongfully killing General Han Fuyue.

This folly of Emperor Gaozong was thoroughly exposed after Chuge abruptly debunked it.

At this point, Emperor Gaozong’s expression was obviously conflicted and complex.

He might have realized that his thinking was foolish, but he was not willing to admit his folly and instead harbored a more intense rebellious mentality.

Suddenly, Emperor Gaozong in front of Chuge burst into a rage.

"Li Hao!

"I summoned you to seek your advice, not to have you lecture me!

"I don’t care whether Han Fuyue has the capability to rebel, nor do I care whether my throne will remain secure after the two saints return. I just want to cease fighting and stop the war now!

"The two saints must not return to the court, and Han Fuyue must come back! The peace agreement with the Jin must be signed immediately!

"If you can handle this, then go and do it; if not, I can replace your position as chancellor with someone else!

"Go draft the decree for Han Fuyue to return to court now!"

Chuge was briefly stunned, then he sneered internally.

Oh, dropping the pretense, are you?

Clearly, the real test for him in this instance had arrived.

If the historical situation had unfolded as Chuge was doing, then there was a high probability that General Han Fuyue could truly have survived.

After all, killing General Han Fuyue would be a heinous crime against the entire world, and both Emperor Gaozong and Qin Huizhi, to some extent, had their hesitations. The extremely infamous act was the result of their combined malevolence.

If one of those malevolent influences turned into a counteracting force, then this matter would mostly likely not come to pass.

But evidently, in this instance, if Chuge were simply to convince the emperor, that would be far too easy.

This instance forced Emperor Gaozong into an irrevocably more foolish and malicious character.

Of course, it’s also possible that the real historical Emperor Gaozong was just like that, which remains unknown.

In any case, a dilemma now laid before Chuge.

If Emperor Gaozong insisted on using the twelve golden tablets to recall General Han Fuyue and also insisted on killing him...

Then what else could Chuge, playing Li Hao, do?

Watching the enraged Emperor Gaozong, Chuge instantly had an answer.

He set aside all previous emotions and solemnly paid his respects, "Your servant obeys the decree."

As he turned to leave, Chuge sighed softly.

Well then, since His Imperial Majesty doesn’t want to solve this the easy way, it seems I must resort to a more complicated method.

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.