My hotel is full of emperors throughout history.

Chapter 145 Peace will prevail if we seek it through struggle.

After Lao Zhu left.

Everyone sat down again and the dinner continued.

However, Liu Che's mind was far from at peace.

He ate a couple of bites of food without really tasting it, but finally couldn't resist. He leaned closer to Chen Mo again, lowered his voice, and asked with resentment:

"Manager Chen, is it really true that... there's absolutely no way to get ahead in your later generations?"

"Is it absolutely impossible for ordinary people to obtain such advanced firearms?"

Chen Mo smiled helplessly as he looked at Liu Che's unwilling expression.

"Forget about it in China."

"They're incredibly strict. Anyone who dares to cross them is doomed. This is a red line within a red line; whoever steps on it will die."

"I'm not some department head!"

"Besides, even if I were the director, I couldn't mobilize a large number of weapons without a reason."

Chen Mo changed the subject, pointed in a direction with his chopsticks, and said leisurely.

"But... the world is very big."

"Once you go abroad, the situation is completely different. Especially in places that are constantly at war and quite chaotic, like the Middle East..."

Li Shimin, Zhu Di, and Ying Zheng all pricked up their ears, but they were puzzled when they heard about the Middle East.

Seeing the puzzled looks on their faces, Chen Mo explained.

"It's a place further west from the Western Regions, where there's a lot of a dark, precious thing called petroleum, but it's also a place where they fight fiercely."

"Weapons are cheap and easy to get in that area!"

Chen Mo said casually.

"After all, the amount of weaponry that was released after the collapse of the Soviet Union was enormous!"

"Like the AK I mentioned before, it's ridiculously durable and reliable. Even if it's buried in the desert for years, it can still fire away!"

"On the black market over there, even those of average quality cost a few thousand dollars... oh, that's probably just a few taels of silver, enough to carry away a bunch!"

"If you buy a lot, we can even sell it to you by weight!"

"Bullets are as cheap as candy! If you have strong connections and connections, getting your hands on heavy machine guns, rocket launchers, or even armored vehicles isn't a dream!"

"Several thousand dollars?! That's so cheap?"

Liu Che's eyes widened instantly, and his breathing became rapid.

The Han Dynasty spent countless amounts of money and grain to build its elite cavalry.

And these revolutionary weapons, capable of changing the nature of warfare, are ridiculously cheap in some overseas locations?!

If we could buy them and ship them to the Han Dynasty...

Hiss!

Not only Liu Che, but even Ying Zheng and Zhu Di, who were listening intently, were moved!

The reason is simple: it's just too damn tempting!

"middle East?"

Liu Che muttered to himself, his eyes gleaming with intense longing.

"How do we get there?!"

Seeing his eager look, Chen Mo quickly waved his hand.

"Stop! Stop! That place is not only a hundred and eight thousand miles away from here, but it's also very chaotic, with all sorts of forces mixed together."

"You're unfamiliar with this place and don't speak the language. Forget about buying guns; you'll probably be slaughtered as soon as you disembark!"

He patted Liu Che on the shoulder, speaking earnestly.

"Buying weapons isn't difficult; there are tons of arms dealers out there, and we even sell them ourselves!"

"But the difficult part is how you get it back!"

"It's almost impossible to transport even a small amount, let alone a large quantity."

Chen Mo sighed.

"So don't even think about it, the chances of success are practically zero!"

Liu Che remained silent for a moment, though his eyes still gleamed.

He turned his head and found that Li Shimin and the others also had a glint in their eyes.

"Alright! Alright! Let's eat, or it'll get cold."

……

"Phew! I must say, the food you're planning to cook in the future smells amazing!"

Li Shimin lay on a recliner, picking his teeth with a toothpick in hand, looking exceptionally relaxed.

The others were also lying on the deck chairs, looking on with agreement.

Just then, Chen Mo finished washing the dishes and came out.

Li Shimin glanced at him, and his eyes lit up.

"Hey Chen, since you're free anyway, why don't we continue talking about the conflict you mentioned last time?"

"contradiction?"

The others were slightly taken aback and pricked up their ears.

Li Shimin chuckled, looking as if to say, "You guys don't know this, do you?"

Chen Mo pondered for a moment, and seeing that everyone was there, he simply spoke up.

"Since we talked about contradictions last time, let's talk about another aspect today."

"That is... struggle."

"struggle?"

The group looked surprised.

Li Chengqian glanced at Chen Mo.

Brother Chen, you know about these things?

The little Sizi, who was playing with Li Lizhi on the side, immediately dropped the doll when it heard that Chen Mo was going to give a lecture, and ran to the corner with its two short legs.

She picked up a small stool, wobbled over to Chen Mo, climbed up on it using both hands and feet, sat down, looked up at him, and said in a childish voice.

"I want to listen to the little cystic fungus's lecture too!"

"Little cyst! Tell me, the rhinoceros is ready!"

Chen Mo looked at the enthusiastic little Si Zi with a mixture of amusement and exasperation.

He hesitated for a moment before speaking.

"As mentioned before, everything in the world has contradictions. So how should we deal with these contradictions?"

"A great man here proposed a solution—struggle!"

"As the saying goes, peace is achieved through struggle, while peace is lost through compromise."

Upon hearing this, Liu Che and the others immediately dropped their relaxed expressions and became serious.

This kid's got some skills!

Chen Mo took in their reactions and continued speaking.

"This statement applies to everything from personal conduct and the balance of power in the court to international diplomacy."

He first looked at Li Chengqian.

"For example, in a matter of great importance, as the crown prince, if he were to retreat and endure in the face of his own shortcomings and external doubts, and always attribute the blame of others to his own incompetence, then that would be compromise."

"And what compromise brings is only a more precarious position and an endless inner turmoil."

"In modern terms, it's about getting internally conflicted because of what others say."

"So how do we change this? Only through struggle!"

"Father values his second son? Fine, then I'll just go and do it myself—I'm not going to be the crown prince anymore! You can let him be the crown prince!"

"If he really wants to ruin you, he will naturally find a reason, but if he doesn't, then this can actually make him realize his mistake."

Chen Mo glanced at Li Shimin.

"But if you don't say anything or resist, and just endure it, you'll eventually run into trouble."

"Anyway, life is only once, so there's no need to make yourself unhappy by finding excuses for others!"

"On a smaller scale, when you buy something, people will force you to weigh more than you need; when you run errands, people will be impatient with you; and at school, you might be unfairly treated by your teacher..."

"These kinds of things happen far too often. If you give in, people won't remember how good you were; they'll just think you're easy to bully!"

"Then they'll only bully you more!"

Chen Mo's gaze swept over the crowd.

"And on a larger scale, what did the country ultimately gain from appeasement through marriage alliances, ceding territory and paying reparations, paying tribute, and making concessions?"

"A brief respite and the opponent's deeper covetousness won't make others think you're any more powerful; they'll just think you're easy to bully!"

"Today we cede five cities, tomorrow ten, and then we can have a night's rest. But when we rise and look around, the Qin army is already here."

"Only by daring to unsheathe our swords and resolutely fighting to inflict pain and subdue the enemy can we secure decades, or even centuries, of peace! This is clear proof that peace is achieved through struggle!"

Chen Mo's voice was firm and resonant.

Therefore, peace is never something that can be begged for or obtained through compromise.

"This applies to both individuals and nations. Weakness only invites more humiliation!"

"Only by daring to fight and being good at fighting can we win true respect and lasting peace."

"A single punch can ward off a hundred!"

"As for using a princess for a political marriage?"

Chen Mo scoffed, his tone filled with undisguised sarcasm.

"That's a compromise within a compromise, an utter incompetence!"

"To sacrifice a woman's lifelong happiness for a brief and fragile peace is the greatest denial of one's own martial virtue and national dignity!"

"How absurd it is to tie the safety of the nation to the fate of a single woman!"

"If you send a princess today, what if tomorrow her appetite grows and she wants your entire kingdom? Will you give it to her?"

"Compromise has no end! If you take one step back, the enemy will dare to take ten steps forward!"

"True peace is won through war!"

"It's about making the enemy tremble with fear and feel the pain of losing their life at the mere thought of being your enemy, making them unable to afford the price!"

"Snapped!"

Liu Che slapped his thigh suddenly, standing up abruptly with excitement, his face flushed red.

"Well said! Absolutely right!!"

His chest heaved violently, as if he had found a kindred spirit.

"I have said it before! The only way to deal with the Xiongnu is through war! Only by defeating them thoroughly, until they are terrified, subdued, and never dare to look south at our Great Han again, can we achieve true peace!"

"Give them women? Give them money? Those barbarians will only think you're easy to bully, and they'll come back to rob you next year!"

He became more and more agitated as he spoke.

"Only when I show them the price of angering the Great Han will they dare not continue!"

He looked at Chen Mo with intense, burning eyes.

"Manager Chen! No, Mr. Chen! Your words resonate deeply with me! Let's drink a toast!"

Li Lizhi looked at Chen Mo with a strange look in her eyes.

Li Shimin stood to the side, his expression somewhat complicated.

"But how can we maintain relations between the two countries then?"

Chen Mo looked over and chuckled.

"You could say a marriage alliance isn't out of the question. Why don't you send the Empress—I mean… the Princess—over? Wouldn't that count as a marriage alliance?"

"Why should our people be treated unfairly?"

"Besides, compared to your harsh environment, isn't sending the princess here a blessing for her?"

Zhu Di grinned, revealing his gleaming white teeth.

"Hehe, that makes sense!"

Although Xiao Sizi didn't quite understand those grand principles, seeing Chen Mo's passionate expression, she felt that what Xiao Nangjun said must be right.

She nodded her little head vigorously and raised her hand as well.

"Struggle! Peace! Beat the bad guys!"

Chen Mo nodded.

"So, everyone, remember this."

"Whether in personal conduct or in national competition, one must always have a strong backbone!"

"Don't cause trouble if there's nothing wrong, but don't be afraid of trouble if something happens."

"On matters of principle, we will not yield an inch!"

"Core interests, resolutely fight!"

"Only in this way can we earn the respect of our opponents and preserve our own dignity!"

Only then can we achieve true and lasting peace and development.

Chen Mo paused.

"Of course, there are methods to struggle; it's not about blindly rushing in. We need to unite the majority and strike at a small minority. We need to exploit contradictions to divide and weaken them. We need to... well, these are too complicated; we can talk about them another time."

In short, it all comes down to the same thing!

Chen Mo's gaze swept over the crowd, his voice clear and powerful:

"Peace will prevail if we seek it through struggle!"

"Peace sought through compromise will lead to the demise of peace!"

"If you're not happy about it, then fight!"

"You'll only realize they're all just paper tigers when you actually try to do it!!!"

"Well said!!!"

Liu Che immediately clapped his hands and cheered.

Zhu Di and the others also strongly agreed.

"That's absolutely right!"

Although Ying Zheng largely agreed, however...

"But I really want to know—what does it mean when they say 'The Qin army is coming again'?"