#1080 - Chapter 1080: Kill the princes and shock the world
“I have traveled far and wide, and in the fiery lands of the north, I encountered a woman named Yaotao. Her skin is as white as congealed fat, and her beauty is like jade. What does Your Majesty think?” Cheng Bang asked.
“From your description, she does sound exceptionally beautiful,” Jin Ji nodded, unsure of what he was trying to express.
“If I were to tell you that this beautiful woman will lead the Jin Kingdom into a great calamity, what would you do?” Cheng Bang asked.
“Is what you say true, Elder?” Jin Ji was startled.
“Your Majesty can have someone divine it,” Cheng Bang said.
“Very well!” Jin Ji nodded.
Such a major national matter could not be taken lightly; he had to proceed with caution. Thus, he ordered:
“Summon the High Priest.”
“Yes!”
The attendant beside him acknowledged the order and left.
Twenty minutes later, an elderly High Priest walked in.
“Greetings, Your Majesty!” The High Priest bowed respectfully.
“High Priest, this Elder says that in the fiery lands, there is a woman named Yaotao. Her skin is as white as congealed fat, and her beauty is like jade, but she will soon bring great disaster to the Jin Kingdom. I ask you to divine whether this is true,” Jin Ji said.
“As Your Majesty commands.” The High Priest obeyed and began to use the Great Prophecy Technique.
He sat cross-legged, forming hand seals.
He closed his eyes and chanted.
Ten minutes later.
“Pfft~”
The High Priest spat out blood, as if severely injured.
“High Priest, are you alright?” Jin Ji asked with concern.
“Your Majesty, it is nothing. The Great Prophecy Technique greatly depletes life force, and I am old, making it difficult to sustain,” the High Priest said as he was helped up from the ground by an attendant.
“What did you see?” Jin Ji asked.
“He is right. This woman named Yaotao will indeed bring great disaster to the Jin Kingdom,” the High Priest said.
“This… is there a way to resolve it?” Jin Ji asked.
“Alas! Fate is such, it is difficult to resolve,” the High Priest sighed.
“Escort the High Priest back to rest,” Jin Ji instructed.
Two attendants obeyed and led the High Priest out.
“Elder, may I ask if you have a solution?” Jin Ji inquired.
“I have three strategies: superior, intermediate, and inferior. I wonder which one Your Majesty would like to hear?” Cheng Bang said, holding up three fingers.
“I would like to hear the superior strategy,” Jin Ji replied.
“For the superior strategy, you can marry her,” Cheng Bang answered.
“Marry her? I already have a wife,” Jin Ji said.
In this era, leaders would not marry multiple wives in order to showcase their character. However, it was common among the common people.
“What harm is there in marrying another?” Cheng Bang said.
“No! If I do so, the people of the world will criticize me,” Jin Ji immediately rejected the idea.
“If that is the case, you can divorce your current wife and then marry her,” Cheng Bang said.
“What is divorce?” Jin Ji asked.
“It means dissolving the marriage contract with your current wife,” Cheng Bang explained.
“Is it possible to do that? Wouldn't doing so be even more damaging to my character?” Jin Ji exclaimed in disbelief.
It seemed that the honest Jin Ji was about to be completely fooled by him.
“I have already said that if you prioritize your character, your people will suffer as a result. Now, if you do not abandon your character and marry Yaotao, your people will suffer because of it. The entire Jin Kingdom will suffer a great calamity because of her. May I ask, Your Majesty, is your character more important, or is the Jin Kingdom and its people more important?” Cheng Bang asked.
“This… this… this…” Jin Ji found it difficult to answer.
The logic was clear: sacrifice one for the happiness of millions. In that case, the sacrifice would be worthwhile.
“Does Your Majesty love his own character more than he loves the world?” Cheng Bang's question cornered him.
“Then what is the intermediate strategy?” Jin Ji was temporarily unable to make a decision, so he wanted to hear the other options.
“The intermediate strategy is to kill Yaotao,” Cheng Bang answered.
“Kill Yaotao?” Jin Ji thought it made sense.
But then he thought again, and it didn't feel right. What crime had Yaotao committed to deserve death?
“If you kill her, you can protect the Jin Kingdom for twenty years without worry. However, in doing so, you will lose virtue in the eyes of the world. The people of the world will mock you for killing Yaotao in order to protect your position as king,” Cheng Bang deliberately reminded him.
Jin Ji's heart tightened, and he quickly asked:
“Then what is the inferior strategy?”
“The inferior strategy is even more dangerous. Kill the lords and intimidate the world. Make the people of the world fear you, so they dare not be disloyal. However, if you do so, the people of the world will hate you and curse you for being immoral. In doing so, you can protect the Jin Kingdom for two hundred years without worry,” Cheng Bang said, knowing that he would not do such a thing, and deliberately exaggerating.
In reality, if he were to do so, he would be courting death.
Before he could finish killing the lords, the world would be in complete chaos.
“Kill the lords and intimidate the world?” Jin Ji was stunned after hearing this sentence.
