CHAPTER 721: CHAPTER 442: WHAT NONSENSE ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT?_2

They subconsciously felt that Tang Fei and the others were their vassals, destined to be either controlled or purged.

"Now, the situation still favors the Shen Family, with the Empire’s armies largely in your hands; what do we have to resist you with?"

"Fighting to the death doesn’t serve our interests, nor the interests of the citizens... Ultimately, it’s the Empire’s citizens who will suffer..."

"As a heartless man, I myself am unconcerned about this... but the kid beside me cares, deeming it unnecessary to let things get so messy... That, he inherits from his father..."

"So, we were thinking, once we have enough chips in hand, we’ll come to talk with you... After all, we all share the same hope for the nation’s well-being."

This indeed was the common aspiration.

Yet, it was not for the nation, but for themselves.

Neither the Shen Family nor the Tang Family wanted to drag the Empire into a brutal war.

At that time, it would be the Empire’s citizens who would suffer.

And all they would inherit would be one mess after another.

If the nation were destroyed, what point would there be in fighting for that position?

Worst still, the Aus Empire and the Kaman Federation were watching greedily from the sidelines, along with the natives of New Star who had been driven to the north of Ghost Mountain...

Who knew if they would take the opportunity to launch a counter-attack?

The mere thought of those savages’ fierce combat prowess was enough to give pause.

Raw-eaters, ignorant of any high-tech, yet able to rend heavy armor and powerful ships with their bare bodies, was truly unfathomable.

The Empire had to send a large number of Dead Pool soldiers to station at Ghost Mountain every year.

If they survived, they redeemed their crimes.

If they did not...

It didn’t matter, they were meant to die anyway.

Who in history hasn’t faced death? It’s either you or me.

"Since our goals align..." Shen Wuxiang put down his tea cup and looked squarely at the old man to ask, "Then, what is your request?"

"Didn’t I say? The Shen Family holds the power, so you name the price," said the old man with a chuckle.

Every trader knows that the one who speaks first is at a disadvantage.

Of course, unless one side holds overwhelming power.

With or without you, it doesn’t matter.

"Zhong Daolong steps forward to give a national speech, voluntarily abdicating the throne, with Zhong Tianque ascending, inheriting the rulership." Shen Wuxiang did not hesitate to state the decision they had long deliberated.

This was his bottom line, one that no one could cross.

"Of course, in return... I will help clear Tang Li’s name and recognize the Tang Family’s legitimate status."

"What constitutes the Tang Family’s legitimate status?" the old man retorted with a question.

Still with that greasy, mocking smile, he looked quite uncomfortable.

Shen Wuxiang furrowed his brows slightly and asked, "What status do you want?"

"All under heaven is the Emperor’s land; all within its borders are the Emperor’s subjects."

"No matter what status you grant to the Tang Family, if you decide to take it back, it will just be a matter of words."

Shen Wuxiang’s tiger eyes grew colder as he looked at the old man without expression and asked, "What do you want?"

"I have a suggestion; perhaps Lord Military Minister would like to hear it... What about putting Zhong Tianyi in power?"

"Zhong Daolong abdicates and Zhong Tianyi inherits the rulership... With the Shen Family’s immense authority, even if Zhong Tianyi ascends, it won’t affect your family’s transcendent status."

"This gives both sides a safeguard, what do you think?"

A mocking smile appeared on Shen Wuxiang’s lips as he looked at the old man and asked, "In that case, for whom are the Shen Family toiling and bustling?"

"After all our struggles, to put an opponent in the position of power... surely this would hardly be accepted by the brothers beside me?"

"Even if they were persuaded, I could not get past this myself... So I advise you to propose some viable suggestions. If you truly come to negotiate with sincerity, and not just to stall for time."

"I believe my sincerity is abundant. With Zhong Tianyi in power, the Shen Family would command a large army, almost equivalent to a Regent King... The military and national authority would still fall into your hands, would it not?"

"With the crown, you hold the people’s hearts... With this ebb and flow, who knows what kinds of complications might arise afterward?"

Shen Wuxiang was no idiot; how could he agree to such a thing?

Zhong Tianyi inheriting the rulership would possess the moral high ground.

Heaven knows the influence an Emperor of the Empire could wield...

If he fortuitously achieved some success, earned some public support, it would be even more difficult to unseat them later.

Raising a tiger invites calamity; the wise refrain from it.

"Therefore, your request cannot be accepted, and I can tell you now... absolutely impossible."

"That’s truly a pity," said the old man, spreading his hands as if to show he was ready to walk away from the table.

That sent a surge of irritation through Shen Wuxiang.

He detested this kind of belligerent, obstinate, all-or-nothing approach.

Was this an attitude for solving problems?

Had it been one of his subordinates, they would have been dragged off and executed by the law enforcement team by now.

Shot in five minutes.

"It seems we can’t reach a consensus?" Shen Wuxiang looked at the old man and asked.

"It appears so," the old man nodded and said, "That’s our misfortune."

"And the nation’s misfortune, the people’s misfortune."

If there’s no agreement, they’d fight until a resolution was reached.

Shen Wuxiang had already made a decision in his heart.

This was also the contingency plan previously discussed by the Military Affairs Office.

"It doesn’t matter, a man who has already died once..." The old man shrugged his shoulders and stood up from his chair nonchalantly: "From having nothing to losing nothing... what’s there to worry about?"