Chapter 289: The Brainless Empress in the Arrogant Stallion Novel (39)

Chapter 289 The Foolish Empress in the Arrogant Stallion Novel (39)

Guo Kai’s so-called "last resort" was indeed the worst of all strategies.

Yet it was also a desperate, unavoidable measure...

The Zheng State had always been warlike, but now, with its military strength reduced by forty percent, even if they attempted to recruit more soldiers within Zheng, it was unlikely they would succeed.

Guo Kai turned his attention to the Wu State...

The Wu State was crisscrossed with rivers and lakes and ravaged by perennial floods.

At present, the newly constructed dams had only just withstood this year’s floodwaters.

If they destroyed Wu’s dams during the rainy season, the resulting floods would drown the farmlands, and Wu would surely suffer!

By then, even with only sixty percent of its military strength, Zheng could still conquer Wu.

They could then replenish their forces by conscripting prisoners of war from Wu—ensuring that Zheng remained the strongest among the Five States!

"This plan is too cruel! Destroying dams and flooding farmlands will displace countless people! This is no deed for honorable men!" Yong Deyi, Zheng’s Chief Scholar, was the first to voice his opposition.

"A gentleman knows what to do and what not to do. Your Majesty, even if you succeed in taking Wu, such actions will stain your honor forever in the eyes of the world!"

"The drought in Chu can still be called a natural disaster, but deliberately destroying Wu’s dams is nothing but a man-made calamity!"

"Heaven cherishes all life. Destroying dams and flooding fields is by no means a wise decision. I implore Your Majesty to reconsider!"

Hearing this, Guo Kai countered icily, "Minister Yong, everyone wishes to be a gentleman, but circumstances force our hand. If we do not resort to this last resort, the day will come when Zheng’s own dams are destroyed by another state!"

"Between individuals, one may speak of noble friendships; between nations, there is only power!"

"Your Majesty, from the very beginning, I said this was a last resort..." He paused, then continued with unyielding conviction,

"But this last resort must be carried out!"

This was the truth—Zheng was already on the brink. The Lin State and Chu had formed an alliance, and the only chance for survival lay in seizing Wu!

In the grand hall, the ruler of Zheng deliberated at length.

Finally, meeting Guo Kai’s gaze from across the distance, he spoke, "So be it—"

"You are right. Given the circumstances..."

"Proceed as you have proposed!"

Guo Kai was ecstatic!

Just as expected!

Having worn the crown himself, he knew all too well that what rulers sought was nothing but imperial dominance!

As long as he could conquer Wu this time, he would legitimately regain his position as a prince of Zheng!

What of the Lin State? Under the weight of his ambitions, it would sooner or later become another stone in his path to power!

......

"Damn it! This man is truly utterly vile!"

Guo Kai's lousy scheme completely grossed out the system, making it utterly incomprehensible why such a scumbag could be the male lead in the original plot!

"Last time, it was shaking people down for food during a drought, and now it's blowing up levees to drown croplands..."

Every choice Guo Kai makes results in driving countless families from their homes.

"Tang Qing, Guo Kai plans to start with Xia Houyan..."

The Zheng State has decided to secretly send people to destroy the dams and flood the fields, with the primary task being to evade the patrols guarding the embankments.

According to Guo Kai's plan, under the pretense of a secret rendezvous with Xia Houyan, he would request the sole legitimate eldest daughter of the Xia Hou family... to quietly dismiss the patrol team that night and sneak around together.

"Would Xia Houyan agree?"

Last time, Qu Kaichang should have spread those lewd poems Guo Kai wrote in front of Xia Houyan. Is she still hung up on Guo Kai?

"Uh... currently, it seems Xia Houyan is actually quite pleased..."

The Xia Hou family, a prestigious lineage for generations, somehow raised a hopeless simp.

Upon receiving Guo Kai's message, Xia Houyan's first reaction was heartache over how much suffering her beloved Guo Lang had endured, beating herself up for being helpless!

Thus, when Guo Kai proposed a meeting, Xia Houyan felt nothing but joy, without a shred of suspicion...

"If that's the case, it seems we have no choice but to play the villain splitting them up." After pondering for a while, Tang Qing quickly devised a plan. "Where did the two of them arrange to meet?"

The system snitched immediately.

The empress spoke slowly, "It seems it's time to meet this (supposed) male lead of the original plot again..."

After the incident at the *Golden Jade Tower*, though Guo Kai hadn't appeared directly before her, he had been pulling strings behind every mess lately. Relying on his memories from his past life, Guo Kai repeatedly tried to get the jump on things, only to have his plans thwarted by her each time.

No way this cocky protagonist had long since harbored resentment toward her...

Moonlight dappled through the willows, as lovers meet at dusk.

On the fifteenth of the month, Guo Kai and Xia Houyan arranged to meet by the Si River, where they first encountered each other.

The Si River was the main waterway of the Kingdom of Wu, a flood risk every monsoon season. The people of Wu had spent decades rechanneling its flow, and this year, after another major renovation, they finally transformed the Si River into a moat.

As long as the dam remained intact, the Si River would serve as Wu's natural barrier!

"Guo Lang!" After being confined for days, Xia Houyan finally saw her sweetheart, her face lit up like sunrise as she hurried toward Guo Kai!

"Guo Lang, it's really you!"

Embracing him excitedly, Xia Houyan said, "I thought... I'd never get to see you again in this lifetime..."

With a beauty in his arms, Guo Kai, however, wasn't feeling romantic—his mind was fixated on one thing: "Yan'er, tonight's meeting between us..."

"Did you take care of everything with the patrol team?"

"Yes." Her whole world narrowed to just him, Xia Houyan replied shyly, "Everything was done as you instructed... they've all been dismissed."

The thought that after tonight, she could leave the Kingdom of Wu with Guo Kai and live happily ever after filled Xia Houyan's eyes with delight.

"Guo Lang, where is the boat you mentioned?"

Glancing around, Xia Houyan was confused. The letter had said Guo Kai had already prepared a boat...

Before them stretched only empty space.

"Yan'er..."

Holding the woman in his arms, Guo Kai spoke gravely, "You'll come to understand in time. For our great undertaking, I had no choice but to resort to this."

"This is your solution?"

Echoing his words absently, Xia Houyan finally sensed something amiss. When she looked up again, she was met with a cold, ruthless expression on Guo Kai's face—one she had never seen before!

What was he planning?

Instinctively, she took a step back, only to hear the sudden clang of swords behind her!

Whirling around in shock...

Xia Houyan saw a group of soldiers unsheathing their weapons!

Under the moonlight, steel glinted as every sword was pointed directly at her!

"You..."

How were there others at the place where she and Guo Kai were supposed to meet?

Only then did the lovestruck Xia Houyan notice that the soldiers wore Zheng State uniforms!

Guo Kai had actually come with soldiers to their meeting!

"Guo Lang..." she whispered numbly, realizing that the tenderness in her beloved's face had long vanished.

"Heh heh, our Young Master Guo is truly blessed. So this is Xia Houyan? The renowned beauty of the Kingdom of Wu?" The speaker was Kou Yao, a general of the Zheng State, tasked with leading the operation to destroy the dam.

Kou Yao's gaze lingered on Xia Houyan with a leer before turning to Guo Kai. "Young Master Guo, our men have scouted—the dam is unguarded tonight."

"The explosives are in place. When do we strike?"