"Once at war with the Dongyi Kingdom, it will inevitably burden the entire nation. By then... it will be necessary to gather more provisions. As for the cities in the Yan Kingdom currently implenting the new laws of the Zhou Kingdom, Your Majesty, do you think... should we mobilize them?" Dong Qingping spread his hands. "If we don’t mobilize... the Yan court will be dissatisfied! If we do... the people of the Yan Kingdom have yet to see the benefits of the new laws of the Zhou and instead have to surrender provisions, they will harbor resentnt towards the new policies. In the future, will they still cooperate with our Zhou officials? Your Majesty... it’s not worth the loss!"
Commandant Lu also nodded: "Your Majesty, a single move will affect the whole situation. This old minister agrees with Minister Dong’s words. I know that Your Majesty is not willing to swallow this. We can first send an envoy to the Dongyi to retrieve the body of the Hancheng King and demand an explanation from the Dongyi Kingdom... If the Seventh Prince is in our Zhou, we will definitely return him. We must warn the Dongyi Kingdom to be restrained and tell them outright... Our Zhou is currently unwilling to cause trouble, but should the Dongyi Kingdom remain unruly, our Zhou doesn’t mind extinguishing this tiny nation first. What do you say, Your Majesty?"
Commandant Lu pondered for a long ti and finally proposed a compromise.
"Indeed!" Dong Qingping nodded repeatedly. "If they wish for peace, or to be obliterated, as long as the Monarch of the Dongyi isn’t insane, they will choose!"
"Elder Sister, I’ll go to destroy Dongyi..." Bai Qingyu spoke up.
"A Yu!" Dong Qingping widened his eyes, as if thinking that at such a critical mont, Bai Qingyu should be persuading Bai Qingyan, not fanning the flas by suggesting to destroy Dongyi.
Bai Qingyan looked steadily at his elder sister, understanding her anger... her grief, and her guilt.
If the Dongyi Kingdom isn’t destroyed, his sister’s anger and guilt will be hard to quell, especially... as Dongyi dared to stab the Zhou Kingdom, just as she said, they ought to face the wrath of the Zhou Kingdom.
Bai Qingyu raised his eyes to look at his uncle and spoke softly: "Uncle, Commandant Lu, now the Dongyi Kingdom is actively provoking. If our Zhou endures it, it’s equivalent to having Dongyi grip our weakness, thinking that our Zhou, currently engaged in a gamble with the Yan Kingdom, dares not wage war against them, hence their growing arrogance!"
Bai Qingqi also agreed with Bai Qingyu’s statent, nodding: "And having tasted the benefits, the Dongyi Kingdom will certainly push further!"
"In addition to pushing further, the Dongyi Kingdom will fear that once our Zhou wins this gamble, after annexing the Yan Kingdom, we’ll then seek trouble from them..." Bai Jinxiu spoke softly, half-drooping her eyes. "Naturally, the Dongyi Kingdom will beco closer to the Yan Kingdom, doing everything in their power to prevent Zhou from winning this gamble!"
"Therefore, since in the end we’ll have to fight, why suffer... this ti, why send an envoy to Dongyi to endure humiliation? We should send soone to demand the return of Minister Liu and all the treasures he brought!" Bai Jinzhi could no longer hold back. "Otherwise, who knows if the Dongyi Kingdom will use the treasures we sent as military funds, joining forces with the Tianfeng Kingdom and Yan Kingdom to deceive our Zhou!"
Both Commandant Lu and Dong Qingping understood that the princes made valid points, but they thought... the safest course was still to stabilize Dongyi and win the gamble first!
Otherwise, if this war destroys Dongyi and gives us satisfaction, losing the gamble would only dress up the Yan Kingdom for marriage!
At that ti, Bai Qingyan would be recorded as the first emperor in history to gamble away the nation due to a bet!
Dong Qingping, being Bai Qingyan’s uncle, and Commandant Lu, being Bai Qingyan’s most trusted minister, naturally couldn’t stand by and watch such a thing unfold.
Bai Qingjue, who had been silent, knew in his heart that the best way was to subdue or even destroy the Dongyi Kingdom. But... he also worried that a single war could lead to losing the gamble, staining his elder sister with the infamy of being a ruler who lost her country. His elder sister... might not be the best emperor in the world, but she certainly is the one who cares most about the people. He didn’t want to see this outco.
"Your Majesty, Minister Wei Bugong has arrived..." Wei Zhong stepped into the hall, quietly reminding.
Bai Qingyan raised her eyes and said: "Let Wei Bugong co in..."
Upon hearing that Bai Qingyan wanted to call Wei Bugong in, Commandant Lu knew that Bai Qingyan was determined to fight the Dongyi Kingdom, likely to have Wei Bugong gather provisions.
Commandant Lu tightened his fist, knowing the princes also clearly stated that there were disadvantages to not fighting. Therefore... since the emperor had already made a decision, then let’s fight!
Dong Qingping had also listened to Bai Qingyu’s words and those of the other Bai family children, who initially supported not fighting, was now wavering.
Soon, Wei Bugong hurried into the hall. Seeing the princes, Commandant Lu, and Minister Dong all present, he paid his respects and was then invited by Bai Qingyan to sit beside her.
Although Wei Bugong was also a significant minister of the Zhou, it was his first ti experiencing such a situation where the emperor casually sat with his ministers to discuss affairs, leaving him a bit uneasy.
"I believe what A Yu and the others said, both Commandant Lu and Uncle have understood!" Bai Qingyan saw her siblings had clearly stated their views, so she picked up the imperial edict she had just written from the table and first handed it to Commandant Lu, "Commandant Lu and Uncle are rely worried that after the war begins, transporting provisions, affecting the region of the Yan Kingdom promoting Zhou law, would impact the gamble."
"Zhou Kingdom Bonds?" Commandant Lu looked at the imperial edict, puzzled. He knew those four words, but combined, he didn’t know what they ant.
Upon hearing "Zhou Kingdom Bonds", Wei Bugong imdiately perked up. This was... sothing he had discussed with the Emperor several tis, although in his mind and the morials presented to the Emperor, it hadn’t been nad. Now... the Emperor had nad it Zhou Kingdom Bonds, which was indeed quite apt.
Zhou Kingdom Bonds, as the na suggests... are debts of the Zhou Kingdom. It allows individuals within the country with surplus money to purchase bonds, like lending money at interest, loaning money to Zhou... In due ti, Zhou will return the principal and interest to the bond purchasers.
"Once, when Minister Wei Bugong was sent for disaster relief, to prevent widespread famine, he wrote promissory notes between cities for grain. This gave significant inspiration. Consequently... I discussed with Minister Wei Bugong whether, should the Zhou Kingdom face ergencies and tax revenues fall short, such promissory notes could be issued within Zhou, borrowing money from private individuals with surplus funds!" Bai Qingyan’s voice was gentle. This matter had been discussed multiple tis with Wei Bugong, and he had already submitted several implentation proposals.
Originally, Bai Qingyan wanted to deliberate further, but now, if they were to go to war with the Dongyi Kingdom, there was no more ti for deliberation.
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