I, Am a Living Yama; Empress Advises Me to Stay Calm

“Actually, solving this matter is not difficult at all. Your Majesty just needs to understand why the Turks are coming south to plunder.”

Wu Zhao and Lady Shangguan fell into deep thought.

Why were the Turks coming south to plunder?

The Empress furrowed her phoenix-like brows and said slowly,

“The Turkish lands are barren and resources are limited. They covet our fertile central plains. Whenever their survival is threatened, they come to plunder our resources to feed themselves.”

“Exactly,” Yang Yi nodded in agreement.

“So, we just need to provide them with a stable living environment.”

Lady Shangguan and Wu Zhao were stunned, their eyes filled with confusion.

Lady Shangguan couldn’t help but ask, “Minister Yang, what do you mean?”

Wu Zhao looked at Yang Yi in confusion, echoing Shangguan Wan’er’s sentiments.

Yang Yi met their gazes with a faint smile.

“The Turkic lands are barren, and they don’t like farming. However, the area is suitable for raising cattle, sheep, and horses, so their livestock industry is thriving. Furs are an important trade commodity for them.”

“We can set up trading posts along the border between the Great Zhou and the Turks, where we can exchange our Central Plains specialties such as silk, tea, and porcelain for their cattle, sheep, and horses. In this way, we can create a complete chain of trade. The Turks will be able to obtain the necessary living materials through trade, so why would they need to start a war? Remember, war is also a waste of financial resources and results in population loss.”

Upon hearing this, Wu Zhao suddenly understood.

Her eyes widened in shock. So that’s it!

She fully comprehended Yang Yi’s words.

As long as there were trading posts like the ones Yang Yi described, wars would gradually decrease.

After all, everyone desires a stable and peaceful life. No one wants to go to war.

Shangguan Wan’er’s usually cold face showed a look of shock.

She looked at Yang Yi with admiration. This Lord Yang is truly a genius. With just a few words, he solved a problem that the court officials couldn’t.

Wu Zhao clenched her fists and felt invigorated. Her rosy lips pursed, and her dark eyes sparkled slightly.

“Lord Yang’s words are truly enlightening. According to Lord Yang’s plan, the Turks will be able to live peacefully for a long time. I will implement this strategy as the national policy of the Great Zhou. It is not difficult for our Great Zhou to set up trading posts on the border. As long as this strategy is implemented, our Great Zhou will be stable!”

The Empress looked at her newly appointed strategist with great admiration.

He’s truly a genius.

Compared to the court officials, they are nothing but useless gluttons.

Yang Yi shook his head.

“Your Majesty has misunderstood. My strategy is not what you think…”

???

Wasn’t this strategy proposed by you?

Why are you suddenly saying that it’s not?

Both of them looked confused.

Wu Zhao’s elegant phoenix-like brows furrowed slightly, her rosy lips almost forming a straight line, and a hint of confusion appeared in her majestic and cold phoenix eyes.

“Lord Yang, what do you mean?”

The high and mighty, cold, and noble Empress showed such a girlish demeanor, causing Yang Yi’s heart to flutter slightly.

What a contrast. I wonder what this majestic empress is like in her private chambers?

Yang Yi mused to himself. However, his expression remained serious.

“Your Majesty, what I meant was to solve the Turkish problem once and for all, not to live peacefully with them.”

The hall suddenly fell silent.

Shangguan Wan’er and Wu Zhao exchanged glances, both seeing the astonishment in each other’s eyes.

It was only now that they realized their understanding of “once and for all” was different from what Yang Yi meant.

Wu Zhao was silent for a moment, then raised her phoenix-like eyes.

“So, what do you mean by ‘once and for all’ in dealing with the Turks?”

Yang Yi held out his hand and made a cutting motion.

“Of course, it means cutting off the fate of the Turks, completely crushing the Turkish Khanate, and making the word ‘Turk’ disappear from this world, leaving it only in history books…”

Silence!

The hall was so quiet that the sound of their breathing could be heard.

Wu Zhao’s heart was shaken like a stormy sea.

Her pale, slender hand involuntarily clenched into a fist, the veins faintly showing through her porcelain-like skin, revealing the Empress’s inner excitement.

To make the Turks disappear completely!

This is not only about stabilizing the borders but also about expanding the territory! No emperor could refuse such an achievement!

Wu Zhao had certainly thought about crushing the Turks, but such thoughts were just fantasies in the middle of the night.

Even the Tang Dynasty couldn’t completely defeat the Turks, so how could their Great Zhou do it?

But now, this newly appointed secretary of the Central Secretariat was telling her that he wanted to make the word “Turk” disappear from the world, leaving it only in history books?

Had it been anyone else, the Empress would have scoffed.

However, Yang Yi’s words made her feel a glimmer of hope, even though she knew it was harder than reaching the heavens.

Wu Zhao thought for a moment. “So, the strategy you just mentioned…”

Yang Yi smiled slightly. “This is part of the strategy, Your Majesty. I haven’t finished yet.”

“Your Majesty, do you know what the situation will be like once this trade chain is established?”

Wu Zhao raised her phoenix-like eyebrows slightly, pondering for a moment before tentatively asking, “Interdependence between the two countries?”

Yang Yi clapped his hands and laughed.

“Exactly, that’s right. Economic exchange will create a supply and demand relationship between the two countries. Now, Your Majesty, imagine if the Great Zhou only bought sheepskins from the Turks at high prices. What would happen?”

Wu Zhao and Shangguan Wan’er were stunned and fell into deep thought.

After a moment, Wu Zhao said hesitantly, “Then the Turks would raise a large number of sheep, because sheepskins can be sold for money!”

Yang Yi raised his eyebrows.

“Correct. Although cattle and sheep are both livestock raised by the nomadic tribes of the grasslands, sheep are different from cattle. Sheep eat grass to the roots. If the Turks raise a large number of sheep and graze them continuously, their pastures will become barren. Moreover, if the Turks become dependent on the Great Zhou for their supply and demand relationship, what will happen one day when ninety percent of the Turks no longer raise cattle or horses, but only sheep to sell, if the Great Zhou suddenly stops or even forbids the purchase of sheepskins from the Turks?”

As his words fell, the room suddenly fell silent.

The Empress felt a shiver run down her spine, as if a cold wind had swept through.

She immediately realized the sinister nature of Yang Yi’s strategy, her black and white eyes revealing shock and horror.

“At that time, the Turks will be overrun with sheep, and there will be no place to sell them. The pastures will be exhausted, the nomadic lifestyle will completely collapse, and the people will starve. The Turks… will fall without a fight!”

Yang Yi nodded calmly.

“Exactly. Once a country becomes economically dependent on another, it is easily controlled. And at that time, all the Great Zhou needs is a simple decree to plunge the prosperous Turkish Khaganate into chaos and make it a living hell. Then we can mobilize our troops and easily conquer the Turks.”

For nomadic nations like the Turks, once the grassland economy collapses, not even the gods can save them.

This is the real purpose of his strategy!

Who wants to be friends with the Turks? You covet my wealth, but I covet your life!

Wu Zhao and Shangguan Wan’er felt cold sweat on their backs.

They took a deep breath, unable to suppress their inner shock.

Even without directly facing such a strategy, just watching from the sidelines, they could feel the cruelty and bloodshed.

A single strategy to conquer a nation!

This is truly an evil plan!

Yang Yi is truly the king of hell!