Chapter Thirty: In Time, Hearts Inevitably Drift Apart

Upon hearing this, Yan Wugou was initially incredulous. However, after carefully pondering Yang Chuan's line of reasoning, she realized that the old Grand Tutor's words were not without merit.

"You treacherous scoundrel, Yang Chuan! To think you would calculate against me even in the matter of ceding territory and paying reparations! You have truly betrayed the deep bond we once shared!"

"Your Majesty, Yang Chuan is now a subject of the Great Qi. It would be best for you to forget the sentiments of the past."

There was no point in arguing further. For the first time, Yan Wugou nodded obediently before Jiang Ziqi. The two then began to deliberate on how they could truly extract tangible benefits from the Great Qi.

After a long period of contemplation, Jiang Ziqi spoke slowly, "Your Majesty, I believe we should accept these three border cities from the Qi state. However, we should only station a heavy military force there without administering the territories."

This strategy effectively dismantled Yang Chuan’s intention to let the Great Kang bear the burden of the cities' economic development. The idea was to keep things exactly as they were upon arrival. As long as the Great Kang Empire did not invest in managing the economy of these three cities, Yang Chuan would be unable to reap any benefits from Kang's prosperity. Meanwhile, stationing a heavy garrison would allow them to leverage the geographical advantage to monitor developments within Qi, preventing the state from recuperating and staging a comeback.

Reminded by Jiang Ziqi, Yan Wugou’s eyes lit up. "Exactly! These three cities were originally the border of the Qi state. If we station troops there, not only can we suppress their development, but we can also ensure the Empress of Qi lives under constant pressure!"

With these "spiritual consolations," she felt the internal exhaustion caused by Yang Chuan’s departure vanish in an instant. *Yang Chuan, do you truly believe that the Great Kang cannot function without you? How wrong you are. As you once said while humiliating my envoy, the Great Kang possesses vast territory and abundant human resources. Generals like Guo Mingyu can be found by the thousands! And as for a governing talent with your strategic vision, I can cultivate countless more!*

Following this internal monologue, she began to feel a sense of favor toward Jiang Ziqi. "Grand Tutor, before we sent the mission a few days ago, I was filled with anxiety, fearing that with Yang Chuan, the Great Qi would soon surpass our Great Kang in every respect. Today, thanks to your insights, I realize that no matter how capable an individual is, without a powerful foundation to support them, their ambitions will ultimately remain unfulfilled."

Hearing this, Jiang Ziqi frowned, wondering whether she was praising him or herself. However, to him, these were trivial matters. Three years had passed, and now that Yang Chuan was gone, he could finally use his own talents to capture the Empress's attention. Only Jiang Ziqi knew whether this attention would ultimately be a blessing or a curse for Yan Wugou.

After some lighthearted conversation, Yan Wugou suddenly looked startled and proposed another plan. "That’s right—besides taking these three cities, we must send another mission to the Qi state to demand reparations!"

Ceding land and paying reparations were inseparable; to omit one would be an act of disrespect from a smaller state to a greater one. After resting her chin on her hand in thought, she said in a low voice, "As for the silver, let us demand three million taels of gold! I intend to completely drain the Qi state's fortune. Even with ten more Yang Chuans to assist their government, they will never reach the level of prosperity enjoyed by my Great Kang."

Truly, there is no heart more venomous than that of a vengeful woman. The three million taels of gold she demanded amounted to the entire tax revenue of the Great Qi for three to five years. If they were to pay such a sum, even if Yang Chuan himself implemented reforms, it would take two or three years for the country to recover its vitality.

Looking at the jubilant Yan Wugou, Jiang Ziqi wanted to offer a warning, but knowing her temper and character too well, he decided against it. Although they had gained an advantage over Qi through war reparations, since Yang Chuan’s departure, many things within the Great Kang had begun to take a turn for the worse.

The food shortage, in particular, was dire. The grain harvested after the recent disaster was only enough to sustain the court for half a year. Yet, to retaliate against Yang Chuan, Yan Wugou had launched two consecutive wars, consuming even more supplies. What remained would only last the court for three months. If they did not find a way to procure grain from other nations, public morale would inevitably collapse. By then, not only would the three cities on the Qi border be at risk, but the heart of the Great Kang itself would descend into chaos due to the famine.

The following day, Yan Wugou drafted an imperial decree, again appointing Zou Zhiping as the head of the mission to lead the Great Kang envoys to the Qi state to negotiate the reparations.

Meanwhile, within the borders of the Great Qi, Yang Chuan was not only helping Tian Yueying learn the art of governance but was also tinkering with some novel creations. In this parallel timeline, these items would not be invented for several hundred years; to a traveler from the future like him, however, they were hardly new.

After the recent campaign, Yang Chuan realized that relying solely on manpower and strategy had significant limitations, especially given the limited size of the Qi state. With the lack of advanced medical technology, even attempting to subsidize childbirth to encourage population growth would yield poor results. If there was no way to increase the number of men, he had to make a qualitative leap in technology.

In this era, beyond hand-to-hand combat, the most advanced weapons were crossbows and various siege engines. While trebuchets could use the principle of leverage to destroy fortified cities, they were too cumbersome; even a state like Kang possessed very few. The most lethal units were chariot formations pulled by horses, but their effectiveness was tied to favorable terrain, making their limitations obvious.

Therefore, to win without relying on sheer numbers, he needed to develop a powerful weapon that was not limited by terrain. Over the past few days, Yang Chuan had pulled strings to secure the element he had been looking for: sulfur. Today, having finished tutoring Tian Yueying, he began to toy with the sulfur he had collected. Whenever she had a moment of leisure, Tian Yueying would tilt her head, curious to see what Yang Chuan was tinkering with.