Chapter 1156 - 1097. Information Of Qinghai Plateau
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(A/N: Don’t forget to give those power stones to Skyrim everyone!)
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"Lords Yan Xing and Cheng Li," Chen Deng began, his voice smooth as polished jade, dripping with a diplomatic courtesy that barely concealed his underlying command. "Welcome. We have summoned you here to formally commend you. You have both done a truly magnificent job. By choosing the path of wisdom and siding with the Hengyuan Dynasty, you have saved tens of thousands of lives and secured a prosperous, peaceful future for your commanderies. The Emperor is deeply pleased with your swift integration."
Yan Xing kept his head bowed, his eyes flickering toward Cheng Li for a fraction of a second before looking back at the desk. He forced a wide, utterly fake smile onto his face, adopting the posture of a devout sycophant.
"It was not a difficult choice, Master Chen Deng," Yan Xing lied smoothly, his voice dripping with forced reverence. "It was entirely because of the Emperor’s profound, divine enlightenment that we decided to accept the offer. When we saw the brilliance of Your Majesty’s vision for a unified world, our eyes were opened. We realized that our previous alliance was foolish, and we eagerly sought to bathe in the glorious light of Hengyuan."
Cheng Li, unwilling to be outdone in his display of loyalty, immediately chimed in, bowing slightly deeper. "Indeed! The sheer majesty of His Imperial Majesty’s grace reached us even in the deep mountains. We were compelled by his righteousness. It is our greatest honor to serve the true mandate of heaven, and to bring order to this province in his glorious name."
Behind the mahogany desk, Fa Zheng and Chen Deng maintained perfectly composed, serene expressions.
Internally, however, both strategists were rolling their eyes in profound, cynical amusement. They knew exactly how Chancellor Jia Xu had operated.
They knew that ’Emperor’s enlightenment’ translated directly to ’the sheer, suffocating terror of being crushed by trebuchets and heavy cavalry while an assassin whispered threats in the dark.’ Yan Xing and Cheng Li were proud desert wolves who had been beaten into submission, and now they were wagging their tails simply to keep their heads attached to their necks.
But in the game of empire, maintaining the polite fiction was essential.