If you're made a fake emperor, why did you change the country's name?

As soon as Wang Zhang finished speaking, the hall, which had been silent for a moment, erupted into chaos.

"The Prime Minister's words are utter nonsense!!"

Minister of War Li Qiang was the first to jump out and loudly retort:

"Land is the foundation of a nation! With land, there can be people, and only then can money and food be generated! To abandon land and instead seek money and food is to abandon the essential for the trivial, and how is this any different from the petty people of the marketplace?"

"Exactly! Has Prime Minister Wang become senile?"

"What kind of logic is it to abandon the achievements of territorial expansion?"

The civil officials echoed their sentiments, their words full of accusations.

The Minister of Revenue stepped forward and questioned him sternly.

"Prime Minister Wang, have you perhaps been bribed by the Wolf Kingdom? You're giving up the territory you've already acquired, yet you're choosing those material possessions instead! This is clearly an attempt to exonerate the Wolf Kingdom!"

That's a strong statement.

The hall erupted in uproar, with countless questioning gazes fixed on Wang Zhang.

Many in the ranks of military officers also began to have doubts.

Meng Qianshan also frowned, but he did not doubt that Wang Zhang was a spy. After all, he was appointed by His Majesty, and he still believed him.

But in the eyes of these warriors, wherever their horses trampled, that was the king's land, and expanding territory was the highest honor for a military general.

Demanding money and grain is really beneath them.

Faced with the barrage of criticism from the court officials, Wang Zhang stood calmly and composed in the hall.

He turned to face Zhao Yu on the dragon throne and bowed deeply.

"Your Majesty, please allow me to explain in detail."

Zhao Yu was quite interested; he also wanted to assess the competence of the prime minister he had chosen.

"Please speak, Prime Minister. I would like to hear your insightful opinion."

Having received the promise, Wang Zhang slowly turned around and began to analyze the situation in a calm and unhurried voice.

"Gentlemen, the territory of the Wolf Kingdom is firmly planted there; it has no legs and cannot escape. If we do not take it today, we can take it tomorrow."

"But the internal strife within the Wolf Kingdom, and the struggle for succession among the nine princes, presents a once-in-a-century opportunity that will vanish in an instant!"

"Imagine, our Great Liang is surrounded by the Wolf Kingdom to the north, the Ying and Sun Kingdoms to the south, and the powerful Qin Kingdom to the west. It is truly a place where tigers and wolves swarm. Now, the Wolf Kingdom is embroiled in internal strife and unable to attend to its own affairs, the Ying and Sun Kingdoms are guarded by the Prince of Zhennan, and the Qin Kingdom to the west has not launched an attack for ten years. What a precious window of opportunity this is for our Great Liang, which has been engaged in years of war!"

"Instead of seizing this opportunity to strengthen the nation and enrich its people, we are wasting national resources on a mere fifty miles of barren land, which is truly putting the cart before the horse!"

The discussions inside the hall gradually subsided.

Many officials slowly relaxed their furrowed brows and fell into thought.

Wang and Zhang struck while the iron was hot.

"The most urgent task is to seize this opportunity to plunder the wealth of the Wolf Kingdom, replenish the treasury of our Great Liang, and nourish our soldiers and civilians! With this shift in power, when the Wolf Kingdom is defeated, our Great Liang will have well-trained troops, ample provisions, and a powerful nation. In this vast world, where can't we take what we want?"

He finally turned his gaze to the ranks of military officers, looking directly at Meng Qianshan.

"Commander Meng, I only have one question for you: now that we've taken those fifty li of land, can we hold onto it?"

"Which of the nine major powers of the Wolf Kingdom isn't eyeing us covetously? How many troops would we need to garrison there just to defend this fifty miles of wasteland? How much money and food would we have to expend? Even if we manage to hold it in the end, the strength of my Great Liang will inevitably decline to its lowest point. At that time, wouldn't Ying and Sun to the south, and the powerful Qin to the west, seize the opportunity to pounce and take a bite out of us?"

A series of questions struck everyone's hearts like heavy hammer blows.

Meng Qianshan looked at Wang Zhang with a hint of admiration in his eyes, and cupped his hands in greeting:

"Your Excellency's foresight is truly admirable."

The other military officers also bowed in respect.

They were both military generals, and they understood the principle of waiting for the enemy to tire themselves out better than anyone else.

A hint of admiration flashed in the eyes of the Prince of Zhennan as he looked at Wang Zhang.

But cold sweat broke out on Sarakaka's forehead.

He was no fool to become the number one person under the Howling Moon Golden Kingdom; he understood the significance of those words the moment he heard them.

If the internal war in the Wolf Kingdom ends, regardless of which wolf emerges victorious, the Wolf Kingdom's national strength will plummet.

Meanwhile, the Great Liang used this time to recuperate and strengthen its national power.

At that time, with the balance shifting, how will the Wolf Kingdom survive?

This is even more terrifying than directly ceding territory!

On the dragon throne, Zhao Yu nodded in satisfaction. It seemed he was lucky to have chosen such a talented scholar.

That's what makes a talented person; they always see the key points.

"Indeed, what the Prime Minister says is exactly what I was thinking. As expected of the trusted minister I chose, he always gets to the heart of the matter at a glance."

Wang Zhang bowed again, his face slightly excited after receiving Zhao Yu's praise.

"Your Majesty is wise and sagacious; I dare not accept such praise."

Zhao Yu's gaze swept over the civil and military officials below, each with a different expression, and finally landed on the Wolf Kingdom delegation.

"In that case, if the Wolf Kingdom wants to negotiate peace, that's fine."

"I present you with ten million taels of silver, one hundred thousand head of cattle and sheep, and ten thousand beautiful women!"

"Delegation Leader Sarah, if there are no problems, we can sign now."

After he finished speaking, the hall fell into a deathly silence.

Immediately, a collective gasp of astonishment filled the air.

Good guy!

This is even more ruthless than Meng Qianshan!

Ten million taels of silver! The annual revenue of the Great Liang treasury is only a million taels.

Even if the Wolf Kingdom is stronger than the Great Liang, ten million for two nights would take away at least eight or nine years' worth of the Wolf Kingdom's wealth!

There are still 100,000 head of livestock, which means countless people on the grasslands will starve to death this winter.

As for those ten thousand beauties... they don't believe that the appearance of the next generation of Wolf Kingdom's offspring won't decline after they're all sent away.

Meng Qianshan's mouth stretched from ear to ear as he listened.

Your Majesty's move was brilliant!

"impossible!"

Sarakaka turned pale and screamed.

"Emperor of Liang, you're asking for the moon! Ten million taels! Even if you sold the entire Wolf Kingdom, you couldn't raise that much!"

"Can't you get it out?"

Meng Qianshan immediately took a step forward, his tiger eyes wide open.

"Then let's fight! The iron cavalry of the Great Liang can flatten your grasslands at any time! At that point, forget about ten million, you won't even be able to save your lives!"

"You...you..."

Sarakaka was so overwhelmed by the murderous aura that she took two steps back, pointing at Meng Qianshan without being able to utter a single word for a long time.

He knew in his heart that the Wolf Kingdom was currently in turmoil and extremely weak. If the Great Liang really attacked, they probably wouldn't even be able to organize a decent resistance.

He could only turn to Zhao Yu in despair, his voice softening and pleading:

"Your Majesty, this condition is far too harsh. Our country has just experienced war, and the national treasury is empty... We beg Your Majesty to show leniency and grant the Wolf Kingdom a way out."

Zhao Yu was well aware that this number was forcing the Wolf Kingdom to its death.

If we push them too hard, and those nine factions actually unite and fight to the death, it won't be a good thing.

He pretended to ponder for a moment, then waved his hand.

"Very well, I am not an unreasonable person."

"How about this: five million taels of silver, fifty thousand head of livestock, and five thousand beautiful women. That should be acceptable, right?"

Upon hearing that all conditions had been halved, Sarakaka breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Although this number still pained him to the bone, he could still manage to come up with it by gritting his teeth and pooling the resources of the major powers.

Saving your life is the most important thing!

He immediately knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly.

"Thank you for your mercy, Emperor of Liang! Thank you, Your Majesty! This condition is acceptable to our country! Absolutely acceptable!"

Just when he thought the matter was settled, Zhao Yu's leisurely voice rang out again.

"However, I have one more condition."

"!!!"