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墨書 Inktalez
Suicide by hanging? Dead? Leaving a Silk for me, hoping I won't kill his entire family?
The Langya Prince angrily took the Silk from Che Chengming, his blood boiling as he suddenly threw the handkerchief to the ground.
He erupted in fury, "You encouraged the Heir to gamble against Jiang Han, and now you've lost two Ten Treasures! Now, you choose to die without even having the courage to face me! And you still hope that I will spare you?"
"Someone, bring me the entire family of Wang Lao and have them executed!"
Jiang Jiang responded promptly and quickly headed towards the inner courtyard of the palace. The families of Jiang Jiang and the Retainer all resided within the palace grounds. There was no need to leave Langya Wangfu to carry out the execution.
Che Chengming was terrified and instinctively took a few steps back. He didn't even dare to look at his father. Two Ten Treasures! That was equivalent to two One Hundred Thousand Taels of Gold!
Jiang Han, what kind of game are you playing? I will never give in!
The Langya Prince was filled with rage; he didn’t want to part with a single coin. This wasn’t just a few hundred taels of gold; it was a guaranteed two hundred thousand taels! Equivalent to two hundred One Hundred Thousand Taels of Silver! These treasures could be taken to the Xia Kingdom and exchanged for substantial amounts of gold and silver.
"My lord, if we don’t give these treasures..."
His retainer warned, "I'm afraid that Jiang Han will resort to his previous tactics. Our businesses across various regions could suffer severe blows."
The retainer continued, "The current dilemma is that if we give in, we incur heavy losses; if we don’t give in, we still face heavy losses! The merchant caravans under Langya Wangfu rely on their reputation for business. If you, Langya Prince, lead by example and disregard credibility, then families across various states will surely lose faith in you!"
The vast palace housed thousands of people, along with tens of thousands scattered across different regions, including mid-level and senior officers from the twenty-six Wan Dajun. All relied on these finances for sustenance and even had to pay more to the court's Civil Officials and Military Officers.
Controlling half of the Civil and Military Officials could only be achieved through power intimidation and financial support.
Not giving in? Or giving in?
The Langya Prince pondered silently.
He looked at Che Chengming once more, wishing he had never had this son. He had thought that Che Chengyun, being the legitimate eldest son, would be the one to inherit his legacy. Little did he expect that this boy would come in and throw everything into chaos right from the start.
"My lord, as for our current strategy, I have nothing much to say!" The retainer beside him spoke up. "I can only offer three plans: upper, middle, and lower!"
Seeing the retainer's confident demeanor, the Langya Prince couldn't help but ask, "Sir, please share your three plans!"
"The upper plan is to pay the two Ten Treasures in full; we must at least maintain the reputation of our Langya Wangfu!"
"The middle plan is to withhold the two Ten Treasures. However, we will have to bear the backlash of a tarnished reputation, which could cost us over a hundred thousand taels of gold!"
"The subsequent losses are also estimated to be around a hundred thousand taels of gold!"
"The last resort is to eliminate the creditor and wipe out Jiang Han!"
The old minister sighed and said, "As for the mysterious forces behind Jiang Han and how those instant noodles are being delivered, we don't need to consider those matters right now. We should focus on how to get through this immediate crisis!"
Upon hearing this, the Langya Prince understood why ancient tyrants often chose the last resort. Clearly, it was the most cost-effective option, but it came with significant consequences. Not only would they not pay the money, but they would also have to eliminate the creditor. However, if managed well and information was kept under wraps, Langya Wangfu could avoid a complete loss of reputation.
"What you say makes sense. In my view, only the last resort is viable! Jiang Han wants two Ten Treasures; I will not give them." The Langya Prince was resolute—he would not pay, even if it meant a tarnished reputation and bankrupt merchant caravans.
Once reputation was lost, there might still be a chance to repair it; however, if those treasures were given away, they could never be reclaimed.
"Delay! As long as Jiang Han comes here, no matter what the circumstances are, we will tell him that our treasures are scattered across various locations! It will take time to transport them!"
The Langya Prince decided to employ his old tactic of dragging things out—he wouldn't outright refuse but also wouldn't specify when they would be delivered.
"Yes, my lord!" Jiang Jiang acknowledged.
The Langya Prince glanced at Che Chengming again and thought for a moment that his abilities were still somewhat lacking.
"Yes, Father!" Che Chengyun's voice rang out.
"You?" Che Chengming looked at Che Chengyun who had just arrived. "Aren't you already castrated? How did your wound heal so quickly?"
Despite losing to Jiang Han several times, I have not lost treasures as you have in just one defeat!
Che Chengyun directly retorted to Che Chengming, reminding him of his status. Although he was the eldest son, he was merely the second legitimate son! In the Langya Wangfu, Che Chengming was the firstborn child, but his mother was only a concubine, making him the second son. Meanwhile, Che Chengyun was the second son, but his mother was the princess, thus he was considered the legitimate eldest son.
Faced with this identity pressure, Che Chengming chose to lower his head, muttering to himself. You eunuch, still coming out here to chatter away. If it weren't for my recent misfortune, you'd be lying in bed for the foreseeable future.
Father, based on my suggestion! We should still give Jiang Han three or four treasures to stabilize him! If we drag this out any longer, otherwise we won’t give him a single treasure, Jiang Han will surely go mad and retaliate against us!
Che Chengyun expressed his thoughts further: Now that the Xia Kingdom Army is about to attack, we also have our chance! Throughout history, war has always been an opportunity! As long as Su Qianxue's Royal Guard suffers heavy losses and we can defeat part of the Ninth Princess's army, we will not only regain some military power but also seize some territory!
Father, don’t get caught up in the matter of the Ten Treasures. Just give Jiang Han two or three to hold him off. We need to think about how to fight. As long as Su Qianxue faces pressure and suffers defeat or makes significant strategic errors, if we seize the opportunity to strike back, we can turn the tide and gain benefits far exceeding those from two Ten Treasures.
The Langya Prince couldn’t help but nod in agreement, sighing: Such a strategy is worthy of being called my heir of Langya Wangfu; what a pity. Che Chengyun, it’s unfortunate that you are a eunuch. Otherwise, this position would be yours.
Just at that moment, a servant rushed in to report: My lord, bad news! The Xia Country Emperor has issued a decree! He ordered the Ninth Princess to cease her attack on the Great Zhou Dynasty and commanded Prime Minister Mu of Xia Kingdom to personally lead an army of two hundred thousand for peace negotiations towards our Great Zhou!
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