Mythical Three Kingdoms

”I hope so. Anyway, after you have some dealings with them, you’ll know just how troublesome this country can be. But I’ve already exposed myself this time. I wonder if they’ll cause any trouble.” Gan Ning said quite casually. However, it didn’t matter, if the Kushan wanted to stir up trouble, then let them. Gan Ning expressed that he and the Han Dynasty were not afraid of trouble at all.

”Rest assured, unless they want to directly start a war with us, they definitely won’t uncover this matter. Instead, the possibility of exchanging diplomatic letters is much higher.” Zhou Yu pondered slightly before speaking.

In fact, Zhou Yu’s judgment was very accurate. Here in Kushan, a batch of their envoys vanished without a trace while with Li Jue, completely losing contact, leading Kushan into conflict with Yizhou, getting taught a lesson in the process, and then when causing trouble in the Central Asian region, they were educated by Li Jue and Guo Si.

A series of lessons finally made Vasu Deva I realize that although the Han army’s marines were weak, on land, the Han army was exceptionally formidable. Therefore, Vasu Deva I organized another diplomatic mission, traveling from the southwest to Chang’an, prepared to negotiate with the Han Dynasty.

Although there wasn’t much sincerity in this negotiation, after all, Vasu Deva I was already preparing an alliance with Rome and was just making a courtesy call to the Han Dynasty. This was merely to inform the Han that they still remembered them due to the many events that had happened previously.

Of course, this wasn’t the most important issue. The key point was that he somewhat brazenly wanted to marry a princess. If the Han was willing to marry off a princess, then Vasu Deva I was willing to sit down and have a proper discussion with the Han, clarifying past conflicts.

After all, for Kushan, the most reckless act committed by the strongest emperor in history was to ask Ban Chao, ”Can I marry a princess from your Han Dynasty? Uncle wants to marry a princess. Will you marry off your princess?”

Vasu Deva I expressed his desire now to marry a princess, not concerned with her beauty or ugliness, only her status as a princess. For Kushan nobles, that past disgraceful incident was deeply etched in their memory. If once they could marry a princess, it would be a significant historical event.

After all, it is a symbol of status and prestige. Now, as the Kushan Emperor, if Vasu Deva I wanted to further elevate his status, plotting within his own country was of little significance. The only comparisons he could make were with his predecessors.

Therefore, after preparing the diplomatic mission, Vasu Deva I personally wrote a proposal letter, also prepared a massive collection of treasures like ivory, beautiful jade, and rare beasts.

In essence, the core message was: marry me a princess, quickly marry me a princess. After marrying a princess to me, our two houses will form an eternal bond. I promise not to betray.

Needless to say, this statement is obviously worthless. If a Han princess really came over, Vasu Deva I would definitely be even more excited. Achieving something that even the founding emperor didn’t, would, without a doubt, earn Vasu Deva I a greater approval from the nobles.

In conclusion, this event could be seen as highly beneficial, with Vasu Deva I’s scribe officer also deeming it worth the attempt. Even if the Han refused to marry a princess, they would still have the initiative.

Of course, this time Kushan seemed to have understood the situation, realizing the differences between a princess, a Grand Princess, and a Great Grand Princess, daring not to write frivolously. After detailed research, they indicated only a princess was needed, as long as she was a princess, nothing else mattered.

Subsequently, Vasu Deva I dispatched an entire diplomatic mission to head southwest, traversing through Yizhou of Sichuan and Shu to Chang’an to present their letter of intent. Meanwhile, he stayed in Baiwasha, waiting for a reply from Rome and the Han Dynasty princess, a classic fence-sitter move.

Currently, the diplomatic mission is still en route to Yizhou, while Zhang Ren and others are settling scores with the small countries in the southwest, tallying up their national treasuries, calculating how much it would cost to build a road.

Speaking of that, eventually the business guild agreed to take up the project, as Yizhou lacked someone as astute in calculations as Chen Xi. Liu Zhang was on the verge of claiming, ’If you guys are willing to fund the construction yourselves, you can build it all, and whatever profit you earn afterward will be yours.’

However, before he could finish saying that, Wu Yuan suppressed it. She remembered Chen Xi reminding her well that even if Liu Zhang said so, while they could justify such actions, once Liu Zhang became aware, he’d be furious, potentially leading to unexpected reactions.

Liu Zhang naturally couldn’t foresee future outcomes, always hoping the business guild would foot the whole bill, allowing him to reap the benefits for nothing. Unfortunately, Wu Yuan maintained a clear head, understanding what could and couldn’t be accepted, eventually striking a deal with Liu Zhang to use future revenues as collateral for road construction.

In reality, Liu Zhang still didn’t put forth any funds, with the business guild continuing to pay the entire amount. Liu Zhang simply couldn’t comprehend how this is any different from the guild directly investing money.

But none of that matters. What’s important is that Liu Zhang learned a trick this time, that is, to use the future profits from what I’m doing now to invest in what I’m currently doing. Who cares if the chicken came before the egg? As long as I can do that, I’ll build a few more roads and also renovate those areas in southern Yizhou.

Although Liu Zhang totally doesn’t get the principle behind this trick, principles and whatnot don’t matter, as long as it works. So after confirming that this trick can indeed build roads and rebuild cities, Liu Zhang became particularly arrogant, like he’s loaded, immensely loaded.

Of course, not many dare to take on such tasks. On one hand, Liu Zhang is quite dangerous; if he finds out the truth later, things could easily go wrong. On the other hand, the job itself is risky. Also, if Liu Zhang finds out later, he might just deny everything. But there are people who are absolutely fearless, like Yuan Shu.

Yuan Shu is not afraid of anything. As long as money can be made, he’s not afraid of any danger. Daddy Shu says, ”Daddy loves you, Daddy’s not afraid of you turning your face.” So during that time, it often happened that when Liu Zhang wanted to start something, Yuan Shu would lead the money-raising and the road construction soared.

However, once Chen Xi discovered what was happening with Liu Zhang, he decisively cut off the loans to Yuan Shu and Liu Zhang. Spending future money? No way, get lost. You trash who don’t even know the basic principles dare to recklessly spend money. If it weren’t for the current situation’s impossibility of a loss, your randomness would have bankrupt you two long ago.

Then Liu Zhang suddenly found out that it seems like he can’t continue using these means. He was pretty upset at the time, but with Chen Xi blocking you, no matter how much Liu Zhang yells, it’s useless, so this matter came to an end.

Several years later, when the roads Liu Zhang built in the past finally started to bring him profit, Liu Zhang calculated the annual money he received and nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. At that time, he wanted to kill those people headed by Yuan Shu, who made him do future investments.

Others were afraid of Liu Zhang, but Yuan Shu wasn’t. If you make trouble, I’ll even sue you. In the end, Liu Zhang ended up in an embarrassing situation and nearly died of anger.

Afterward, Liu Zhang sold off his share in the highway arteries and the surrounding mountains of Yizhou to the state, as an exchange for territories abroad, and it was at this time that Liu Zhang’s sinister intentions were revealed.

Wherever Yuan Shu managed to obtain a plot of land, Liu Zhang would quickly register a plot around it, encircling Yuan Shu’s land with his own, even setting up toll gates, charging one cent per entry.

One cent isn’t expensive, considering entering the city costs more, but since the money goes to Liu Zhang, someone as face-conscious as Yuan Shu naturally wouldn’t pay, resulting in the two of them continuously entangling with each other, each wrapping the other in layers, trying to out-annoy one another.

In any case, ever since Liu Zhang began road construction, it was inevitable that he and Yuan Shu would clash. Both belong to the category of wealthy individuals who aren’t afraid of trouble. For them, it doesn’t matter what anyone says; face must always be maintained. And so, two individuals who both insist on maintaining face have now found themselves stuck together...

Yet, the current Liu Zhang doesn’t know this. He’s still really intrigued by the concept of investing future money in future roads and then waiting to collect money. He believes it to be a very worthy subject of research, even though he still doesn’t understand the principle.

Meanwhile, Li Youu had just sent off a whole bunch of aristocratic clans, causing a huge stir. He sent out a whole book of accusations he confiscated and then had Xun Yue and Mann Chong, who had completed other matters, compare these accusations and sentence the deceased.

Not to say these accusations were true, though even if they were false, those people were already dead, and there was no way for them to argue. Therefore, the sentencing wasn’t so much about punishing the dead as it was to be heard by the living.

After all, the dead can’t argue back; it served as a warning to others. After all, the households of the aristocratic clans and the lists of their private slaves were all in Li Youu’s hands. While aristocratic families were still aristocratic families, without the means to hide populations and private soldiers, they lacked the capital to resist.

Although some populations could still be hidden, without the means to roll out tens of thousands of men under one clan, the aristocratic families lacked the capital to oppose the state. This time, it essentially suppressed the latent danger that had been growing ever since Guangwu’s time due to the rise of aristocratic families.

Similarly, the things Mann Chong and Chen Xi always wanted to do could finally be carried out after this incident. Responsibilities and obligations, law and justice, were no longer empty talk; with the aristocratic families caught in an already prepared net trap, the final puzzle piece needed for unity was ready.

Reaching this point, there wasn’t much more for Chen Xi to do. The plan he had plotted for years was finally at the implementation stage. Even though there were still certain contradictions between various forces, compared to forcibly conquering the world, staying as a unified country was still an option!

No division into Wei, Shu, and Wu; no tri-powers inter-military conflict. While they did engage in battles, it never reached a death-or-nothing level. The Han Dynasty was still in place; the faces of the three sides hadn’t been torn apart, and everyone’s ambitions could still be made to serve the Han Dynasty.