I just reached the maximum level, and you want me to be a puppet emperor?

Chapter 417 Finding a Balance in Diplomacy? (Please Subscribe and Vote)
As Xu Zifeng and her son were talking, a shrill voice suddenly rang out: "The imperial edict has arrived!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Zifeng trembled and quickly knelt down, clenching his fists with a mixture of excitement and trepidation, quietly waiting for the eunuch to read the announcement.

Now that so many people have reported me for wrongdoing, is His Majesty about to punish me? Your Majesty, you must send me to the front lines!

Compared to Xu Zifeng, Ji Lianyu, who was also kneeling on the ground, appeared completely indifferent.

"Xu Zifeng is hereby appointed as the Vanguard General, leading 300,000 cavalry to march south in three days. Advance 1,000 meters per day, using the border as the boundary, without fail!"

Xu Zifeng was stunned after hearing the imperial edict. He respectfully accepted the edict, then secretly slipped some silver notes into Eunuch Cui's hand before smiling obsequiously and asking, "Eunuch, did His Majesty say why we only advanced one thousand meters?"

Since the imperial edict stated 1,000 meters, Xu Zifeng naturally had to ask for clarification; otherwise, advancing even a meter more or less would be disrespectful to Li Chen.

Without changing his expression, Eunuch Cui pushed the silver note back into Xu Zifeng's hand, and said with a smile, "Captain Xu, these are things that this old servant cannot understand."

Having been turned away, Xu Zifeng didn't dare to ask any more questions. After exchanging a few polite words, he let Eunuch Cui leave before turning his pleading gaze to Ji Lianyu.

She is the only person in the Prince of Zhennan's mansion who truly understands His Majesty's thoughts!
Ji Lianyu sighed, feeling gratified by Xu Zifeng's questioning gaze. Her son had finally grown up and was no longer as reckless as before, knowing to think things through before acting.

"Your Majesty should put pressure on the small countries in the south, otherwise these 300,000 iron cavalry would have been enough to wipe out most of them."

at the same time.

The system notification, both strange and familiar, rang in Li Chen's mind once again.

[Congratulations, host, on completing the mission 'The Orphan of Luoshui'. Reward: 10 Heavenly Grade Thunder Marrow Pills and 1 Thunder Bracelet.]

[Limited-Time Mission: Capture the Yin-Yang Gu.]

[Mission Requirements: Please raise your cultivation level to the late stage of the Void Realm, travel to the southern kingdoms to investigate clues, defeat the tomb-guarding monsters, and obtain the Yin-Yang Gu. Mission time limit: 200 days.]

These system rewards were still useless to Li Chen, and unsurprisingly, he gave them all to Li Sining.

Li Sining had recently reached a bottleneck in her breakthrough, and when she saw Li Chen casually toss her the Thunder Marrow Pill, she almost jumped up in excitement.

Eager to break through, Li Sining briefly asked Li Chen about things in the west before hurriedly going into seclusion to break through.

After bidding farewell to Li Sining, Li Chen asked Eunuch Cui if he knew anything about the Gu worms in Southern Xinjiang.

Eunuch Cui said that he did not know, but there was a general in the court named Ma Hei who came from the sacred land of witchcraft, and that he could be summoned.

Since Eunuch Cui was in charge of intelligence, he must have some knowledge of these people's identities.

When you're a subordinate, being clear about your responsibilities will earn you your boss's appreciation.

Li Chen nodded and then instructed Eunuch Cui to summon Ma Hei.

With a hunched back and a heart full of trepidation, Ma Hei followed Eunuch Cui into the palace, his timid and submissive demeanor resembling that of a mouse seeing a cat.

Li Chen, who was processing memorials, sensed Ma Hei's arrival and asked without looking up, "Have you ever heard of Yin-Yang Gu?"

"Yin-Yang Gu?" Ma Hei bowed while frantically searching for the word in his mind.

As someone from the sacred land of witchcraft, if His Majesty were to casually ask about a single type of Gu and we didn't know anything about it, wouldn't that be a disgrace to the sacred land?
Li Chen waved his hand, indicating that there was no need for formalities, and waited quietly for Ma Hei's reply.

After about ten breaths, Ma Hei remembered the record in a secret scroll in the Holy Land of Witchcraft and Gu: "Your Majesty, it is said that this Gu was created by a Gu cultivator with extraordinary talent three thousand years ago. Later, when this Gu cultivator died of old age, the Yin-Yang Gu was buried underground. It should be near the Holy Land of Witchcraft and Gu."

Li Chen understood the details after hearing this, waved for Ma Hei to leave, and then began to peruse the memorials again.

Seeing this, Mahei bowed and left with a sigh of relief. Upon closer inspection, it was clear that Mahei had been shaken by the dragon's might, and his forehead was covered in cold sweat. After Mahei left, Li Chen thought to himself, "The system must be sending me to the south. I might as well take this opportunity to check on the situation in the southern kingdoms."

After reviewing several memorials, Li Chen finally raised his head and said to Eunuch Cui beside him, "Go and summon Consort Zhu to see me."

Zhu Zhuying grew up in the southern kingdoms and must be very familiar with that place. She has also invited Li Chen to Xingluo Kingdom many times, so this is a perfect opportunity to travel together.

Starfall Kingdom.

"Your Majesty, Zhu Zhuying of the Zhu family has sent a letter from the Tian Ce Empire."

The Prime Minister of the Starfall Empire respectfully presented a letter to the King.

The king glanced at the letter and snorted coldly, "I vaguely remember that Zhu Zhuying seems to have entered the palace of the Tian Ce Empire, right?"

The king's name was Dai Wuchang. He had a smooth and lucky life, and he was able to turn bad luck into good luck no matter what he encountered. He also married the most beautiful woman in the country, Zhu Zhuying's sister.

The only regret was that at the time, her younger brother Dai Xiaoyao was pursuing Zhu Zhuying, and she was too embarrassed to accept him all.

As a result, the younger brother failed to win her over and was given to the emperor of the Tian Ce Dynasty.

Dai Wuchang secretly thought of Zhu Zhuying's beautiful figure and said to the prime minister beside him, "Read it."

"Zhu Jia, Zhu Zhuying, greets the King of the Starfall Empire."

"The Tian Ce Empire and the Xing Luo Empire have been neighbors since ancient times, and their relationship is as close as that of Qin and Jin. The Lin family and the Xing Luo royal family have been intermarried for generations. Now that I am the Imperial Concubine of the Tian Ce Empire, we are allies."

"Wang Wangwang"

"Hmph, does the Tian Ce Empire really think it can get me to form an alliance with them just by offering this letter?"

Dai Wuchang snorted coldly.

The Yongzhou Empire at least promised to lower tariffs and sell us some high-quality armor at low prices, but the Tiance Empire not only made no offer, but also claimed that not destroying other countries was the greatest favor.

In Dai Wuchang's eyes, Zhu Zhuying's letter was undoubtedly the sweet treat that came after a beating.

In the past, Dai Wuchang would have been uneasy, but just a few days ago, the envoy of the Yongzhou Empire promised that if he was willing, the Yongzhou Empire would send troops to be stationed in the Xingluo Empire to jointly resist the Tiance Empire!
Thinking of the mighty warriors of the Eternal Day Empire, Dai Wuchang felt a surge of excitement.

This isn't about resisting the Tian Ce Empire; it's clearly about stationing a powerful army within the Xing Luo Empire to protect its safety!

"Your Majesty, the old king left behind a precept that one should not completely submit to any one country, but rather seek a balance in diplomacy."

The prime minister, realizing that Dai Wuchang wanted to completely pledge allegiance to the Yongzhou Empire, raised an eyebrow slightly.

The survival strategy of small countries is to play both sides; no matter which country they ally with, they will face retaliation or being swallowed up by the main country.

For example, the Eternal Day Empire promised to station its elite troops in the Starfall Empire. Once their elite troops enter the imperial city, who will be in charge will depend entirely on the Eternal Day Empire.

Even if the Eternal Day Empire had no such intention, in the eyes of the Eternal Day Empire's citizens, the people of the Starfall Empire would still end up as one of the "three types of people".

This outcome is completely unacceptable to any nation with even a modicum of spirit.

"Alright, no need to say any more. That's because Father has no ambition! Once the Emperor of the Eternal Day Empire stationed his troops in our Starfall Empire, we can ensure our rear is secure. At that time, we can use the full strength of the nation to attack the other small countries that have not submitted to the Eternal Day Empire. Wouldn't we be invincible?"

Dai Wuchang waved his hand impatiently, then smiled and continued, "Since when have the Zhu family members had the right to speak to me like this?"

(End of this chapter)