noffsinger Chapter 450 Not Ruthless Enough
Chapter 450 Not Ruthless Enough
With a heavy heart, he peeled off her lips. In the midst of his suppressed panic, when their eyes met, he realized that he had uncontrollably untied her robes, revealing a large expanse of her smooth shoulders. Looking down, he could also vaguely see the white cloth wrapped around her chest.
Lady Sikong glanced down, then quickly pulled her robes up, coughing a few times awkwardly. Her eyes were slightly unfocused as she looked at Di Beizun, who quickly reached out to straighten her clothes.
"It's quite chilly, put this on."
As he spoke, he considerately draped a cloak over her shoulders.
After much effort, Di Beizun finally managed to suppress the thoughts in his heart. He took a deep breath, turned his gaze away from her and looked at the fish on the fire, but his long arms instinctively tightened around her.
"Emperor Bei Zun?"
Sikong Jin squinted at him, then suddenly called out to him softly, pulling her cloak tighter around herself as the dawn air still felt a little chilly.
"Ok?"
He responded in a low voice.
"There's something I'd like to tell you?"
Lord Sikong probed.
After thinking it over, I decided to just tell him directly to avoid him getting angry if he found out. He seems to be in a good mood now, so he probably won't do anything to me, right?
"what's up?"
Di Beizun responded calmly, picked up a piece of firewood from the side, and threw it into the burning fire.
Sikong Jin took a slight breath, shifted her body slightly, and pressed herself tightly against his chest. The warm body temperature from his chest seeped through her back, a familiar and comforting sensation.
After a moment of silence, she suddenly looked up at him and asked softly, "What are your thoughts on the Liao Dynasty and Xi Fenglie?"
As soon as Lord Sikong finished speaking, Di Beizun lowered his gaze to meet her eyes, his deep eyes flashing with an eerie light as he stared at her intently.
Lord Sikong couldn't help but touch his nose and said softly, "The people of the Liao Dynasty are known for their fierce and warlike nature, and most are nomadic. It seems difficult for us to suppress them. Moreover, we are mostly unfamiliar with their way of life, and there have been frequent uprisings and conflicts between various tribes recently. I think that if we want to control them, simply sending our large armies to suppress them will be a very difficult task. In addition, the Western Continent is vast and sparsely populated, which is not conducive to warfare for our army, which is accustomed to dense warfare. I think this is one of the reasons why Your Majesty chose to attack Tiansheng first."
Sikong Jin shared her thoughts with Emperor Beizun.
"I know that the uprisings of those noble tribes in the western part of the Liao Dynasty were actually your idea, but we have analyzed it before. This situation cannot continue indefinitely. The Liao people have a strong sense of national identity. If we send troops, they will definitely stop these grudges and unite against the enemy!"
As Lord Sikong spoke, his starry eyes gleamed with a deep, dark light as he looked at Emperor Beizun beside him, a hint of worry etched between his brows.
However, as soon as Lord Sikong finished speaking, Di Beizun glanced at her, slowly turning over the fish on the shelf, his deep voice carried by the night breeze to Lord Sikong's ears—
"Do you intend to plead for Xifenglie? Or are you planning to persuade me to abandon the plan to continue the western expedition?"
Emperor Beizun seemed to see through Sikong Jin's intentions at a glance, and said it out loud.
Having her thoughts read, Sikong Jin became quite decisive. Since that was the case, she might as well be frank and just let things slide. If he didn't agree, she would use other methods to make him agree.
Thinking this through, Lord Sikong finally took a breath. "I've considered it. Constant warfare isn't necessarily a good thing. You only want the world to submit to you and achieve the unification of the world under the Great Zhou Dynasty. It doesn't have to be a war. Look at what happened when I circled around to Hezhou City. As soon as the generals guarding the many cities of Tiansheng heard that I was leading troops there, they all surrendered before I even started fighting. Sometimes, being powerful enough can intimidate them. If you use your wits, you might be able to turn hostility into friendship and avoid a major war."
"Turning swords into plowshares? I don't think they'd really submit to me willingly. Look at Xifeng Lie's unruly nature. Doesn't he always boast that he's the eagle of their grasslands?"
When Di Beizun said this, a faint cold light flashed in his eyes, and he smiled disdainfully.
Sikong Jin frowned, took out some seasoning from the bundle beside her and brushed it onto the fish on the shelf, while replying, "Actually, Xifeng Lie is also a passionate man. To be honest, I admire him for having the courage to launch this Eastern Expedition. He has great ambition, it's just that the ending was a bit tragic."
"You speak highly of him, but don't forget that you almost died at his hands at the Fengyu Pavilion on the northwestern border of Dayong. Are you an idiot? You're still speaking up for him now? I really wanted to kill him with one blow back then. If they hadn't run away quickly, he and Tuoba Yu would both be dead under my blade now."
Upon hearing Lord Sikong's words, Emperor Beizun felt a surge of displeasure!
Is this woman a pig?
They were all injured so badly, yet they still spoke up for him. If this had happened to Di Beizun, he would have sent them straight to the underworld long ago.
“Ajin, I don’t deny that your tolerance is sometimes a good thing. If you were in the imperial court, you could be a capable ruler, but you would never become a true emperor. Do you know why?”
Di Beizun's gaze suddenly shifted, and by the dim firelight, he looked at Sikong Jin's delicate and fair face, and said in a low voice.
Upon hearing this, Sikong Jin suddenly turned her head and looked at him with some doubt in her eyes. She met his gaze for a while before shrugging and saying calmly, "Why? Who knows, I might even become an empress. Why can you be an emperor while I can only be a ruler?"
"Because you are not ruthless enough. If you were a man, being the prime minister would be most suitable for you. However, I feel very lucky because you are a woman. In this way, I can at least have you and make you my empress, standing shoulder to shoulder with me, looking down on the entire world."
As Di Beizun spoke, a faint smile bloomed on his cold and beautiful face. The smile, reflected in Sikong Jin's eyes, was like a blooming red spider lily, making it almost impossible for her to look away.