“He’s naturally irritated that you snatched his prize,” Yun Ya said casually. “But with Yao territory now belonging to New Xia, it likewise cannot be used against Wei Kingdom. At least the main objective of this war—eliminating the eastern threat—has been achieved.” Next, the Wei people could focus fully on interfering with the war on the Southern Continent, whether by supporting Xi Kingdom or pinching Yan Kingdom from both sides, they temporarily held the initiative.
It’s worth noting that even if Wei had conquered Yao, there would still be numerous Yao military units that hadn’t surrendered. In the future, they might have turned to guerrilla warfare, harassing Wei, just like in the former An Xia region. But now, constrained by the Wei-Xia agreement, the military and civilians of Yao could no longer attack Wei. In a sense, this turn of events had more thoroughly eliminated the potential threats along Wei’s borders.
However, the Wei Kingdom had paid too high a price.
Not to mention that the Giant Spirit Cannon wasn’t something money could buy, yet it had been expended in this great battle.
Feng Miao Jun admired that he could understand this logic even in his fury, but she didn’t believe his words in the slightest: “You’re not such a magnanimous person.” This fellow should be thanked profusely if he wasn’t bullying others. To suffer a loss and not retaliate, but instead be willing to help her—was the sun going to rise from the west?
Yun Ya shrugged: “Naturally, Wei Kingdom also has one condition.”
She displayed an “as expected” expression: “I’m all ears.” She noticed that he said “Wei Kingdom.”
“In the future, when dealing with Yan Kingdom, New Xia must stand on the same battle line as Great Wei.”
Feng Miao Jun raised an eyebrow: “Wei and Xia have an agreement; we already can’t help Yan Kingdom.”
How cunning! Yun Ya patiently said: “You understand my meaning.”
Feng Miao Jun’s face finally turned serious: “There are still unsettled accounts between Wei and New Xia. If I dispatch New Xia troops to fight alongside former enemies, how do you think they will react?”
“As you said, they are ‘former’ enemies.” Yun Ya shrugged. “Haven’t Wei-Xia relations significantly improved these past two years? By the time New Xia people once again despise Wei and vow never to coexist, that would be at least a decade away.”
Feng Miao Jun was startled: “Why?” Why a decade later?
“When food and clothing are sufficient, then one knows honor and disgrace.” Yun Ya said lightly. “There’s no such thing as eternal hatred. When stomachs are empty, hearts only yearn to be full. Only when comfortable and prosperous do people have the leisure to pick up old hatred and magnify it.”
This statement left Feng Miao Jun pondering for a good while, though outwardly she looked at him with a smile: “State Preceptor Yun has indeed studied human nature thoroughly.”
Yun Ya pulled at the corner of his mouth: “Try it once or twice, and you’ll know I’m telling the truth.”
The tens of millions of taels Wei had agreed to pay New Xia as compensation had indeed injected vitality into the domestic economy, propelling New Xia’s rapid development. Although trade had to go through the Pu Ling Kingdom, commercial exchanges between Wei and Xia developed quickly, with momentum far surpassing New Xia’s trade with other countries, even including the Jin Kingdom.
Previously, the old Wei King Xiao Ping Zhang coveted New Xia because its resources far exceeded those of Wei. However, after conquering New Xia, although they occupied vast farmlands and mines to supply their homeland, the New Xia people were unruly and constantly rebelling. Commoners frequently slacked off work, and various guerrilla generals repeatedly harassed and obstructed them, making the management and maintenance costs consistently very high.
This was also one of the important reasons why Xiao Yan abandoned the An Xia region after becoming king.
In contrast, after Fu Ling Chuan and Feng Miao Jun established their kingdom, various resources produced in New Xia were also transferred to Wei through Pu Ling Kingdom. Although spirit stones were no longer exported, the prosperity of border trade could completely compensate for this deficit. Most importantly, now the New Xia people willingly offered good products for business. The Wei people didn’t need to fight or plunder; hundreds of merchant caravans traveled daily on the roads leading to the Pu Ling border trade office.
Conversely, the New Xia people also gained tremendous benefits from this bilateral trade. People are such pragmatic creatures—when using products from Wei and spending silver earned from Wei, would their resistance still be so intense?
Feng Miao Jun knew it would.
But that would be in the distant future. When the New Xia people lived in comfort and abundance, without worrying about food and clothing, they might revisit old accounts from years past, remembering the blood they and their loved ones had shed, the hardships they had endured, and the humiliation of losing their country, gritting their teeth once more.
This is called sentiment.
But those were matters for later. What Yun Ya wanted was the present.
A leaf fell from the treetop, twirling in the wind. Feng Miao Jun caught it in her palm: “Are you so certain that the great war between Wei and Yan will happen within these ten-plus years?” Before she came to this world, overall peace had been maintained on this continent for quite a long time, although regional conflicts weren’t excluded.
“Who knows?” Those peach blossom eyes seemed more hazy than usual, hiding meanings she couldn’t fathom. “Perhaps ten years, perhaps a hundred years… or perhaps it won’t take that long at all, with victory and defeat determined within a few years.”
However, this war was inevitable and would break out sooner or later. When that time came, the human realm would once again become a purgatory, so where should New Xia go? Feng Miao Jun secretly took a breath: “Who will win, who will lose?”
“Unclear,” Yun Ya was matter-of-fact. “That’s why we need New Xia to fight alongside us.”
“What if I don’t agree?” She crossed her arms. “Offending Yan Kingdom brings me no benefit.”
Yun Ya said softly: “You’ve already offended them.”
Feng Miao Jun scoffed: “If you’re referring to my signing the Wei-Xia agreement and disrupting the Yan King’s original plans, although he might have been angry at the time, once war breaks out, he’d likely not dwell on it. He governs a vast country—if he lacked even this degree of magnanimity, how could he sit on that throne for long?”
To be above thousands, or millions of people, one must possess a breadth of mind and strategy that others cannot match regardless of their efforts. No matter how dissatisfied the Yan King was with the Wei-Xia agreement, once at war with Wei, he would have to prioritize. He wouldn’t casually provoke New Xia, unnecessarily creating another enemy.
A great nation is still a great nation, with a vision incomparable to commoners. Affairs are ranked by importance and urgency, and she believed the Yan King would grasp this.
Yun Ya gazed at her, the smile on his face gradually widening. Seeing this, she suddenly felt uneasy, as if something unfavorable was about to occur.
“I’m afraid it’s not just this matter,” Yun Ya said methodically. “He also has an account to settle with you.”
She was all vigilance: “What account?”
“The vengeance for a slain son!” She turned pale with shock as Yun Ya continued, enjoying the change in her expression: “Prince Zhao Yun, the nineteenth prince of Yan, died outside Yinzi City.”
Feng Miao Jun exclaimed involuntarily: “When did this happen? How do you know…”
Being clever herself, she suddenly realized midway, her face immediately darkening: “It was you! You killed him?”
These last few words were squeezed out between her teeth.