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

Chapter 418 The Art of Ruling Emperors Has Always Been This Way! (Please Subscribe and Vote for Monthly Tickets)
Dai Wuchang was, after all, the king of Xingluo Kingdom. Since he had already spoken in such a tone, the ministers naturally dared not continue to speak.

Because the ministers all knew that there was no room for negotiation on this matter.

Dai Wuchang also had his own ideas; he was taking a big gamble, which was to choose sides.

No emperor could resist the temptation of expanding his territory, and he was no exception.

Rather than continuing to be subservient to smaller countries, it would be better to choose a better side to join, which would definitely bring benefits.

Nearby, a man hesitated to speak; that was Dai Wuchang's younger brother, Dai Xiaoyao.

Dai Xiaoyao used to cultivate at the Chensha Dao Sect in the western part of the Tian Ce Dynasty, so he knows how profound the Tian Ce Dynasty's foundation is.

He recently visited again and discovered that the Tian Ce Dynasty had become even more prosperous due to the construction of the railcar.

Moreover, the city guards of the Tian Ce Dynasty are not even assault troops, yet their weaponry and overall strength are enough to overwhelm other countries.

What's more, those large army groups that are warlike to death? In other countries, people are forced to join the army, but it's different in the Tian Ce Dynasty. You can't get in without some skills. Everyone is waiting to fight so they can make a name for themselves.

Most importantly, Dai Xiaoyao had also met Li Chen, the emperor of the Tian Ce Dynasty.

Actually, he harbored some resentment towards Li Chen because Li Chen had taken away the woman he loved.

To be fair, in Dai Xiaoyao's opinion, Li Chen was definitely a powerful overlord, decisive in his actions, and his strength was unfathomable.

At that time, Li Chen easily defeated two Saint Realm experts who were considered extremely sacred by Dai Xiaoyao, which was enough to show Li Chen's strength.

Dai Xiaoyao really wanted to tell his brother all this, but seeing Dai Wuchang's smug look, he wouldn't listen at all. So he simply kept quiet.

After the court session, Dai Xiaoyao met with several close ministers at his residence to discuss countermeasures.

"Your Highness, how about this, let's prepare for both possibilities?" a minister said cautiously.

This statement implies that they could secretly curry favor with the Tian Ce Dynasty so that they could protect themselves should the Tian Ce Dynasty attack them in the future.

You can't say these things directly, you have to imply them. Anyway, everyone here is perceptive and understands what he means.

Dai Xiaoyao frowned: "That's a good idea, but the problem is, what qualifications do we have to curry favor with Li Chen?"

Dai Xiaoyao felt that he could do that, but he had no right to bargain with Li Chen, or even to curry favor with him.

Despite his rise from prince of a small country to king, even Dai Wuchang is nothing compared to Li Chen.

The courtiers in the prince's palace looked at each other, their brows furrowed.

At this moment, Dai Xiaoyao noticed a minister in the corner who seemed hesitant to speak, so he asked, "Lord Liu, what are your thoughts?"

Lord Liu sighed and hesitated, then said, "Your Highness, I've heard that Zhu Zhuying is now the Imperial Consort of the Tian Ce Dynasty, and Zhu Yingxiong, the head of the Zhu family, is her father."

Lord Liu stopped there.

But everyone present understood his meaning: they could use Zhu Yingxiong to ease relations with the Tian Ce Dynasty.

Zhu Yingxiong was an important minister in Xingluo Kingdom and held a certain position in the country.

The reason why Lord Liu hesitated to speak was because Zhu Zhuying was once Dai Xiaoyao's fiancée, and Zhu Yingxiong was Dai Xiaoyao's prospective father-in-law.

Now that Zhu Zhuying has entered the palace as a concubine, Dai Xiaoyao is the one in the most awkward position.

Unexpectedly, Dai Xiaoyao just smiled wryly and said, "It's alright, this is indeed a solution."

He stood up, straightened his clothes, and said, "I'll go to the Zhu family now." As he left the palace, Dai Xiaoyao looked up at the sky.

Her former sweetheart is now the Empress of Tian Ce, while he, her former fiancé, has to humbly beg her father.

"What is this humiliation compared to the people of Xingluo Kingdom!"

Dai Xiaoyao muttered to himself as he walked towards the Zhu residence.

This statement seemed to be a way of comforting himself.

He's no longer that jealous child; now that he's a prince, he needs to shoulder the responsibilities of one.

The Zhu family mansion occupies a vast area in the capital of Xingluo Kingdom, demonstrating the Zhu family's prominent status.

As a general, Zhu Yingxiong made great contributions to helping Dai Wuchang ascend the throne.

After Dai Wuchang ascended the throne, Zhu Yingxiong's eldest daughter naturally became empress, and the Zhu family's power reached its peak.

However, this is the way of the emperor. Before ascending the throne, Dai Wuchang made a promise to Zhu Yingxiong that he would be "second only to the emperor and above all others." As long as Dai Wuchang lived, Zhu Yingxiong's position would be unshakable. Now that Dai Wuchang has become emperor, he has begun to fear the power of the Zhu family.

He dared not openly weaken Zhu Yingxiong, fearing it would alienate his meritorious officials and make him feel like a master who had used and discarded them, leaving no one willing to serve him in the future.

So he devised a plan to use someone else's knife to kill him, using the power of the Yongzhou Empire to suppress the Zhu family.

No matter how arrogant Zhu Yingxiong was, he wouldn't dare offend the people sent down by the behemoth that was the Yongzhou Empire.

Zhu Yingxiong is absent from court today due to illness, precisely because of the fierce argument he had with Dai Wuchang a few days ago.

Zhu Yingxiong firmly opposed allowing the Yongzhou Empire's army to garrison the territory, stating: "Your Majesty, the Yongzhou Empire harbors wolfish ambitions. If we allow them to station troops, we will become a thorn in the side of the Tiance Dynasty! When the Tiance Dynasty attacks, will the Yongzhou Empire continue to send troops to protect us?"

Having a powerful ally is good, but having a powerful enemy is disastrous.

But Dai Wuchang was blinded by his ambition to expand the territory: "General, you are overthinking it! With the Yongzhou Empire backing us, which of the surrounding small countries would dare to disobey us? When the Xingluo Kingdom expands its territory, won't your Zhu family also rise in status?"

He wanted to expand his territory because Xingluo Kingdom was relatively powerful among the southern countries. As long as the Yongzhou Empire had troops stationed there, no country in the surrounding area would dare to attack him, and he could attack other countries at will.

After the two parted on bad terms, Zhu Yingxiong claimed to be ill and stayed home.

He was reading a letter from his second daughter, Zhu Zhuying, in his study when a guard came to report: "Master, Prince Xiaoyao requests an audience."

Zhu Yingxiong frowned: "What's he doing here?"

Thinking of Dai Xiaoyao's past engagement with his daughter, and then of how his daughter is now the Imperial Concubine of Tian Ce, Zhu Yingxiong felt a mix of emotions.

But then I thought about it again. I've seen Dai Xiaoyao a few times recently, and he's definitely not as impetuous as he used to be. He's become much more composed. I guess there's something else going on.

"Please come in, Your Highness." Zhu Yingxiong straightened his clothes and strode towards the main hall.

As soon as Dai Xiaoyao entered, he bowed deeply: "Uncle Zhu, I apologize for my presumptuous visit."

Zhu Yingxiong quickly helped him up: "Your Highness is too kind to this old minister. I was unaware of your presence today."

Dai Xiaoyao glanced around and lowered his voice, "Uncle, this is a matter of great importance. May I speak with you in private?"

Zhu Yingxiong understood and led Dai Xiaoyao into the inner room.

(End of this chapter)