Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 1391 - 1384: Internal Division

Chapter 1391: Chapter 1384: Internal Division

Taking a deep breath, Zisu continued, "Initially, our fear of the Dongsheng troops establishing a foothold in West Outer Heaven stemmed from the fact that they represented the Dongsheng Empire, possessing a unified and well-organized command system. Therefore, we could not allow them to root themselves in West Outer Heaven. But we must also understand that not all organizations have such capabilities. Now that we have driven away the Dongsheng troops, what’s left are only the private soldiers of the three major aristocratic families. With their limited abilities, it’s very unlikely they can pose a serious threat."

"Since they can’t pose a serious threat, why not consider a temporary truce? Once our strength has increased, we can deliberate further on how to proceed," another Cabinet member proposed his solution again.

"Treaties should not be promised lightly. Once promised, they should not be broken lightly," Ziyun said lazily, in a measured tone. "As Zisu just mentioned, the legitimacy of the Southern Yao Race’s governance comes from resisting the invaders. Making peace with the invaders, whether through a long-term or short-term agreement, will undermine our position in the eyes of our people."

"Once a government is formed, we should not squander the government’s credibility carelessly," Zisu interjected. "Luo’er once told me a story from their world, where some countries misused their public trust, and the end result was that no matter what the government wanted to do, the people would do the opposite, leading to complete chaos in society."

"Do we really need to follow the suggestions of an outsider on matters that concern the future of the Demon Clan?" one Cabinet member said with a sceptical tone, arms crossed and leaning back, his posture conveying his dissatisfaction.

"Mind your language," Zisu hadn’t started to speak when Linglan first lashed out, speaking sternly, "Mr. Luo’er is a consultant we have invited. The Southern Yao Race Confederation has benefitted greatly from the help provided by guests from the Western Continent. You are allowed to question their perspectives, but I expect you to keep any prejudice to yourself. Otherwise, I will have to consider removing you from the Cabinet."

Her words carried significant weight, suggesting that anyone with prejudices could be expelled from the Cabinet, which was undoubtedly incomprehensible for these members.

As mentioned before, Linglan did not want Luo’er to have too much contact with the other Cabinet members, and Luo’er had dutifully abided by this rule. This meant that Luo’er and these members were essentially strangers to each other, and disagreements could quickly escalate into discrimination and bias.

After all, Linglan was the supreme ruler, and her words held great deterrent power. Warned in such a way, the Cabinet member, still dissatisfied, became much more subdued and stopped smirking and speaking out.

After glaring at that Cabinet member, Linglan turned to Luo’er with a softer expression and asked, "May I ask for Mr. Luo’er’s esteemed opinion on this matter?"

Now that these people were dissatisfied with Luo’er’s attendance, Linglan hoped that Luo’er would take initiative to show his abilities and prove his worth through action. Linglan was well aware of Luo’er’s deep insights into the essence of things; otherwise, he wouldn’t have noticed the propaganda that others had overlooked and succeeded in unifying the Southern Yao Race through persistent advocacy.

Taking a deep breath, Luo’er knew he could no longer remain silent. He stood up and looked around before pursing his lips and said, "I think war is inevitable, but the question is how to wage it. With the aristocratic families amassing an army of one hundred thousand, I do not believe our Demon Clan’s forces can match them."

"Isn’t that stating the obvious..." Luo’er had barely finished speaking when murmurs broke out from the audience.

Linglan shot a stern glance towards the source of the murmurs, then turned back to Luo’er and earnestly asked, "So, what should we do?"

"In my homeland, there is an old saying, ’To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.’ The direct translation means that if you can make your enemy surrender without a fight, that is the best strategy," Luo’er said.

"How is that possible?" The one who spoke was Zisu, her eyes widened with curiosity as she looked at Luo’er, hoping he would elaborate.

"Heh," Luo’er chuckled lightly at Zisu’s skepticism and then seriously asked, "May I be so bold as to ask, for what purpose do we fight?"

"To defeat the enemy, of course," Zisu replied matter-of-factly.

"No!" Luo’er immediately shook his head.

"Then what for?" Zisu was taken aback.

"Let me rephrase that," Luo’er took a deep breath, looked at Zisu, and asked, "If the Demon Clan could through diplomatic negotiations persuade the Dongsheng Empire to give up all the occupied cities and strongholds, would there still be a need for the Demon Clan to go to war with the Dongsheng Empire?"

"This is impossible!" Zisu repeatedly shook his head.

"Don’t worry about whether it’s possible or not right now, I’m asking you, if we could retake the land of West Outer Heaven in this way, would the Demon Clan and the Dongsheng Empire still need to go to war?" Luo’er continued to ask.

"Of course not, although it might be somewhat uncomfortable, but if they are willing to return the land, we have no need to be confrontational with them," Zisu answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Very good," Luo’er nodded with satisfaction, turning his gaze to Linglan and said with a smile, "Then, may we consider this: war is actually a continuation of politics and diplomacy, isn’t it? Because the Demon Clan is unable to make the Dongsheng Empire give up its invasion through politics and diplomacy, they have no choice but to go to war."

"It can be understood that way," Linglan nodded gently.

Unknowingly, the previously reticent Luo’er had somehow become the focus of the meeting, with all eyes gathered on him.

"So, why does the Dongsheng Empire invade West Outer Heaven? For the economy, and what is the essence of the economy? It is interest, right?" Luo’er looked once more at Linglan.

This time Linglan didn’t answer him but simply nodded slowly.

"That is to say, interest is the driving force behind everything, including wars," Luo’er said, squinting his eyes.

"What exactly are you trying to say?" a member of the Cabinet asked impatiently, dissatisfied with Luo’er’s long-winded speech.

"My apologies, in discussing this concept, I may have gone off-topic a bit," Luo’er said with a hint of regret.

"I’ve gained a lot from this, Mr. Luo’er, no need to blame yourself," Ziyu spoke in his usual slow and calm manner.

"Having clarified this point, we now have a general understanding of the three great aristocratic families. Why they have taken root in West Outer Heaven is ultimately for interest. Since their origin is interest, they will also be constrained by interest."

Taking a deep breath, Luo’er continued, "The three great aristocratic families have banded together, mustering a hundred thousand elite troops, for the sake of protecting their interests. At this time, they face a common enemy, which is the Demon Clan’s army. My personal view is that the best way to deal with them is to divide their interests."

"I’ve learned something new!" Linglan’s eyes lit up with excitement upon hearing Luo’er’s words.

"But how exactly do we divide their interests?" Zisu asked curiously.

"It’s simple," said Luo’er, "the three great aristocratic families are like three pillars supporting a huge boulder. If the three pillars are firm, the boulder naturally cannot fall. So, what happens if we remove one of the pillars?"

"Mr. Luo’er means," Linglan said, somewhat excitedly, "that we should not confront all three aristocratic families at once, but try to divide them, for instance, by negotiating with two and fighting the other one. This would lead to an uneven distribution of interests among the three aristocratic families, causing their alliance to collapse."

"Exactly," Luo’er nodded and said, "We’d better try to make contact with individual aristocratic families, then spread the word that we will spare that family while attacking the others. This way, we can isolate them from each other and eliminate them one by one. I believe that no matter what, this should be much easier than confronting all three great aristocratic families at the same time."

"What a brilliant strategy, Mr. Luo’er!" Linglan got excited and stood up from her seat, clearly exhilarated upon hearing his suggestion.

"You flatter me," Luo’er bowed his head modestly and said, "I owe it to Zisu’s help."

"Eh, what does this have to do with me, how did I help?" Hearing Luo’er’s words, Zisu was instantly perplexed.