Mythical Qin: I, Gao Yao, will never be a eunuch!

Chapter 1206 Shifting the blame eastward, making Northern Qi bear the brunt of the disaster!

In fact, the main reason why Gao Yao was wary of the temple could be summed up in one simple way—the other party had no feelings whatsoever.

He rose through the ranks from the lowest-ranking soldier in the Chinese world to achieve unification. He understood all too well what "human beings" were. Humans have desires, and therefore weaknesses; they have fears, and therefore vulnerabilities; they have joys, angers, sorrows, and happiness, and therefore their Achilles' heel. Even someone like Emperor Qing, the fleeting resentment and bewilderment in his eyes before his death—wasn't that also the influence of "emotion"?

But temples are different.

It was a cold, impersonal artificial intelligence, an entity that had operated according to a predetermined program for countless millennia. In Gao Yao's understanding, this was the most terrifying thing. Because it did nothing for any reason, without being driven by emotion. It was not afraid of powerful opponents, did not hesitate because of too much killing, did not panic because of a reversal of fortune, and would not show mercy because of any past grievances or gratitude.

Its thought process completely lacks the concept of "emotion" as a variable. It only involves cold, hard data calculations, task prioritization, and the single-minded pursuit of achieving its goal at all costs.

In other words, it is not afraid.

This is the most difficult to deal with.

Gao Yao even considered this scenario: if he were to face an attack at this moment, and the opponents were Emperor Qing, the Emperor of Northern Qi, and the envoy of the Temple, and all three attacked simultaneously, who would he deal with first? The answer is undoubtedly—the Temple.

Because Emperor Qing would weigh the pros and cons, worry about his posthumous reputation, and hesitate because of his suspicion of Han Xin; the Northern Qi emperor would worry about having no legitimate reason to wage war, fear the power of firearms, and calculate whether the battle would be a gain or a loss. But the Temple would not. Once it had decided on the order to "eliminate Gao Yao," it would surge forth like a tide, wave after wave, relentlessly pursuing its goal.

Thinking of this, Gao Yao frowned even more deeply.

Footsteps sounded outside the window; it was Di Renjie returning.

“Your Majesty, I am preparing to go to Northern Qi immediately,” Di Renjie said, bowing, but there was still a trace of doubt in his tone. “However, I am foolish and there is one thing I do not understand.”

"explain."

"Such a major event—the complete annihilation of 150,000 troops from the Western Border State, with Han Xin commanding a large army and armed with firearms—this news couldn't be kept secret forever. Northern Qi spies are probably already on their way. Why should we go to the trouble of sending an envoy to inform them? Wouldn't that... make us look guilty?"

Upon hearing this, Gao Yao's face remained unchanged; he simply looked at Di Renjie calmly.

"Di Qing, what do you think Northern Qi will do?"

Di Renjie pondered for a moment: "Although there are occasional frictions between Northern Qi and Qing, they are generally at peace. This time, the upheaval in the western border and the annihilation of 150,000 troops present a golden opportunity for Northern Qi. They will surely mobilize a large army to press on our border, ostensibly to help quell the rebellion, but in reality, to take advantage of our misfortune and force us to cede territory and pay reparations, or even..."

Even what?

"They might even support Han Xin, grant him land and make him a king, so that the western border of Qing Kingdom will never have peace."

Gao Yao nodded, but then asked in return, "So what do you think they want most?"

Di Renjie was taken aback for a moment, then replied, "Naturally...firearms."

“By the way,” Gao Yao stood up, walked to the window, and gazed at the distant horizon. “Why did Han Xin win? Why did the 150,000-strong provincial army lose? Everyone in the world will ask this question. The answer is obvious—firearms. These things are too conspicuous, like a piece of fat meat hanging at the city gate, with hungry wolves lurking on all sides. When Emperor Qing was alive, he could still keep them in check; now that Emperor Qing is gone, and I am an ‘unknown figure,’ do you think Northern Qi will let this opportunity slip by?”

Di Renjie remained silent.

“They will try every means to blackmail me, to extort me, to force me to hand over the formula for firearms.” Gao Yao’s voice gradually turned cold. “What should I do then? Give it to them or not? If I give it to them, Northern Qi can turn around and make the same thing and fight back. If I don’t give it to them, Northern Qi will unite with various forces to put pressure on them, and may even collude with the Temple.”

"So Your Majesty means..."

“So we need to change our approach.” Gao Yao turned around, a deep, unfathomable light flashing in his eyes. “Instead of letting them blackmail us, we should take the initiative to go to them.”

Di Renjie's breath hitched slightly.

"Go and contact Northern Qi in the name of Han Xin's rebel army," Gao Yao said, emphasizing each word. "Tell them that Han Xin is willing to use gunpowder technology in exchange for Northern Qi's support."

"Your Majesty!" Di Renjie looked up abruptly, his eyes filled with shock.

"Let me finish," Gao Yao waved his hand. "This isn't a real gift; it's a prelude. What will Northern Qi think when they get this news? They'll think that Han Xin has firearms and is willing to give them away. Will they still risk their lives to come and get them from me? No. They'll turn their attention to Han Xin, send people to contact him, and try every means to get the firearms from him."

"But what about General Han Xin..."

Gao Yao's lips curled slightly. "His men, his soldiers, his firearms—which one isn't in my hands? If Northern Qi goes to him, what will they talk about? How will they talk? The deeper they talk, the deeper they'll get entangled. When Northern Qi thinks victory is in their grasp, we'll 'inadvertently' leak the news to Emperor Qing's old subordinates—guess what they'll do when they hear that Han Xin has defected to Northern Qi and they'll offer firearms in exchange for Northern Qi's support?"

Di Renjie's eyes gradually brightened.

“They will hate us.” Gao Yao’s voice was deep and powerful. “They will hate Northern Qi for taking advantage of our misfortune, hate Han Xin for betraying his country for personal gain, and they will unleash all their anger on Northern Qi. At that time, Northern Qi will no longer face a good opportunity to ‘take advantage of our weakness,’ but rather the anger of the entire Qing Kingdom united against a common enemy.”

"Your Majesty is brilliant!" Di Renjie exclaimed sincerely. "In this way, not only has the attention of firearms been diverted, but the disaster has also been directed at Northern Qi, leaving them preoccupied with their own problems. Even if they realize what's happening afterward, they will have already formed a blood feud and it will be difficult for them to turn back."

“There’s another layer.” Gao Yao held up a finger. “Emperor Qing’s old subordinates are currently in a state of panic, leaderless. They don’t know what kind of people I, the new emperor, am, or where they should go. But if the threat from Northern Qi comes at this time, if they need someone to stand up against the foreign enemy—who do you think they will think of?”

Di Renjie bowed deeply: "Your Majesty is wise."

Gao Yao nodded, but there was little pride in his expression. His gaze passed through the windows, through the layers of palaces, seemingly looking towards a very, very distant place.

These schemes, these calculations, these manipulative tactics are enough to dominate the human world. But what about before the temple? Will that being, devoid of emotion, fear, and hesitation, fall for such tricks?