CHAPTER 368: CHAPTER 368: MOCKING THE USELESS

Thinking about the overall national power between the two countries and the final battle situation that might occur during wartime, the Bei Xia envoy suddenly became more arrogant.

He looked at the Eldest Prince next to him, and the eyes he cast toward General Guide were full of disdain and provocation.

Presumably, if Emperor Yongning were not the Emperor, had not been tempered by sitting in that position, and lacked a bit of imperial demeanor, he would also be looked upon with such provocation by the Bei Xia envoy.

The Eldest Prince felt a great surge of anger within him, directed both at General Guide, whom he considered a useless person, and at the Bei Xia envoy. However, with Emperor Yongning beside him, he dared not act on it.

His fist, hidden in his sleeve, clenched tightly enough to creak.

Emperor Yongning glanced at him, finally fixing his gaze on the Bei Xia envoy, "Envoy, what do you want? Just speak directly."

"What do I want, haha..." The Bei Xia envoy sneered continuously, "Emperor Yongning, what is this supposed to mean? I am the envoy of Bei Xia, a dignified envoy, here representing Bei Xia. Are you looking down on me by saying this?"

The Bei Xia envoy raised three fingers, speaking confidently, "In life, I belong to Bei Xia; in death, I am Bei Xia’s ghost. No matter what kind of things you offer to tempt me, so that I do not expose your East Chu’s preparations for war, I will not be moved. I am loyal to Bei Xia."

For this statement, Emperor Yongning did not express approval or disapproval but simply said, "Ten thousand taels of gold, a thousand-acre fertile land, golden carriages, and beauties... Envoy, are you truly unmoved?"

What do ordinary people strive for all their lives?

Isn’t it just to possess everything they desire and to live a life of dignity, thoroughness, and satisfaction?

Those who claim to live for inner beliefs and faith are exceedingly rare... so rare that they can be overlooked...

The majority of people find it hard to move their steps in the face of interests.

Emperor Yongning precisely grasped this point, which is why he offered such temptations.

However, the Bei Xia envoy refused, "...I... am not moved."

"And what about power?" Emperor Yongning asked, "You may not be moved by external wealth and glamour, but are you not swayed by power?"

The envoy fell silent.

Seeing this, Emperor Yongning seized the moment and continued, "Envoy, I can promise you a city."

"If you possess a city, you are the king of that city... Everything in that city belongs to you. Aren’t you even swayed by this?"

"And I"

"Envoy, please think carefully."

"At this moment, I am willing to offer so much to buy your silence, but not necessarily the next moment will I still be willing!"

After all, this is national territory!

Every inch of land and blood; everything East Chu possesses now has been paid for with the blood of ancestors, but now, to save the entire East Chu nation, Emperor Yongning has no choice but to sacrifice a small part of it.

Under such enormous temptation, the envoy clearly began to waver; he truly couldn’t resist such temptation.

He did not respond to Emperor Yongning for a while, but he was already considering.

After a while of consideration, he opened his mouth, "Your Majesty, wouldn’t one city be too little?"

Emperor Yongning asked, "Then what do you want?"

The envoy raised three fingers and said, "I want three cities, and furthermore, you must personally kneel down and kowtow to me. Then I will agree to all your requests."

This demand is not exactly excessive, but does East Chu have any choice right now?

If the envoy can’t be convinced to keep East Chu’s preparations for war a secret, Bei Xia will learn of this information tomorrow and then declare war.

Even though Bei Xia lost to East Chu once before, over the years, with restoration and development, the unity between monarch and ministers, their army has become strong, and talent has emerged.

In recent years, they have recovered many surrounding cities and further expanded their territory.

The soldiers’ morale is very high.

Compared to the currently scarred East Chu, where ministers only care about their own interests, acting overly cautious and circuitous, combined with the death of Qi Qin, surrounding countries invade East Chu every day.

From major battles to minor skirmishes, East Chu fights wars every year, depleting the national treasury and causing countless casualties.

If another war breaks out, especially without preparation, East Chu will truly face a national crisis; this is indisputable.

And directly killing the envoy won’t help, as it’s said this envoy communicates with Bei Xia daily; if he dies or communication breaks off one day, Bei Xia will surely notice something amiss.

Therefore, Emperor Yongning has no choice in this matter.

He could only grit his teeth and agree, "...Alright."

The Eldest Prince panicked, "Father emperor, it is not acceptable!" How can a dignified monarch kneel to a mere envoy? Only an envoy, what does it matter?

"Eldest, it’s okay!" Emperor Yongning was not worried about kneeling to someone; he gave the Eldest Prince a glance to signal him to keep calm.

In Emperor Yongning’s view, if his kneeling would bring hope for East Chu’s survival, then this kneeling would be immensely valuable and meaningful.

He was willing to kneel and delighted to do so.

"No..." The Eldest Prince refused to agree; he looked toward the Bei Xia envoy, "I will kneel on behalf of my father emperor? Not just kneel and kowtow, if you ask me to kneel for three days and nights, I can do that too. What do you think?"

The Eldest Prince showed an indifferent face.

He had the same heart as Emperor Yongning; as long as there was hope for East Chu’s survival, he was willing to kneel.

However, he couldn’t bear to see his already white-haired old father kneel.

"No can do," the Bei Xia envoy said, "Having a monarch kneel for me sounds great when it gets out—Eldest Prince, you kneeling for me would have no meaning, people would just think this kneeling prince is a useless fool... haha..."

The word ’useless’ was enunciated particularly strongly by the Bei Xia envoy as he mocked the Eldest Prince willing to kneel for being useless, and wasn’t he also mocking Emperor Yongning about to kneel and beg?

—

The line "I kneel, it sounds great when passed around—Eldest Prince, you kneeling for me has no meaning, people would just think this kneeling prince is a useless fool... haha..." was repeated several times throughout, emphasizing the mockery.