coobybook Chapter 1194 Lust for Beauty Bewitches the Lords
Chapter 1194 Lust for Beauty Bewitches the Lords
The atmosphere in the council hall was lively. Seeing that everything was going smoothly, Ma Chao smiled and said loudly, "Now that the matters of posthumous conferment and the establishment of an heir have been settled, let's take this opportunity to let everyone in Xiliang share in the joy."
He glanced at the crowd, his tone becoming increasingly cheerful: "I intend to order all the generals stationed in various places to return to Chang'an if they can temporarily detach themselves from military duties. I have also sent someone to invite my brother Cheliji from the Western Qiang. He has always loved a lively atmosphere and will certainly not be absent."
Upon hearing this, Ma Teng stroked his beard and laughed: "Good idea! It'll look more impressive with more people, and it'll also let the soldiers from all over the country see the prosperity of our Xiliang."
Ma Chao continued, "It's not just my marriage to Bai'er; Rou'er, Zhen Mi, Qi Ying, Fu Bao... their weddings have also been delayed for too long. Let's find an auspicious day and hold them all at once, so everyone can have a good time!"
These words caused an uproar in the hall, and everyone's faces lit up with joy. Zhang Lu was taken aback at first, then stood up, cupped his hands, and said with barely suppressed excitement, "Your Majesty is so kind as to arrange my daughter's wedding as well. The entire Celestial Master's Mansion is deeply grateful!"
Zhen Yi also stood up and bowed, his face full of humility: "It is my daughter's good fortune to receive such an arrangement from Your Majesty. Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty and the old lord." Although Gongsun Zan was upright, he rarely showed a smile at this moment. He nodded and said: "This is for the best. It will save us from having to deal with it in the future. It can be settled all at once."
Xu Shu stroked his feather fan and smiled, "My lord's move is both humane and auspicious, truly a wonderful thing. However, the wedding date needs to be carefully chosen, taking into account the customs of all parties. Allow me to discuss it with Zijing and Wenyou to set a suitable date."
“I will trouble you all with this matter,” Ma Chao replied with a cupped hand. “The wedding need not be extravagant, but it should be lively and well-organized, so that the children are happy and the brothers who have come from afar feel at home.”
Jia Xu then slowly spoke up: "With generals from all over the country gathered here, it is also a good time to discuss military affairs. A few days can be arranged before and after the wedding to discuss matters, so that we can reminisce about old times and discuss defense, which is the best of both worlds."
“Mr. Wenhe is right.” Ma Chao nodded in agreement. “It’s settled then—the wedding should be a grand affair, but military affairs should not be neglected either. It’s best to do both without any problems.”
The crowd in the hall echoed the sentiments, and even the sandalwood smoke seemed to take on a festive air, swirling with anticipation for this grand wedding. Ma Teng gazed at the joyous scene before him, his eyes filled with satisfaction. He felt that the foundation of Xiliang was becoming increasingly solid through all these arrangements.
The atmosphere in the council hall was joyful when Li Ru suddenly stroked his beard and spoke in a slow, deliberate tone: "Your Majesty's actions may be inappropriate."
As soon as he finished speaking, the laughter in the hall stopped abruptly, and everyone's eyes were fixed on him. Even Ma Teng frowned slightly, clearly not expecting him to speak up at this moment.
Ma Chao paused mid-air with his teacup in hand, looking at Li Ru: "Mr. Wenyou, what do you find inappropriate? Everyone in the hall is a trusted confidant, so please speak freely."
Li Ru slowly rose, flicked his sleeves, bowed, and then raised his eyes to speak eloquently: "The King's marriage to these beauties is a wonderful event for Xiliang, but as a regional overlord, how can the wedding ceremony be regarded merely as a family matter?"
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the crowd, his tone growing increasingly solemn: "If we were to arrange the marriages of all these beauties at once, it would certainly be lively, but it would lack a sense of order. In my opinion, we should stagger the wedding dates, with one bride every month or two, and then invite all the lords from all directions to witness the ceremony. When they see Your Majesty marrying one bride every month, constantly preoccupied with your children's love affairs, they will surely think that Your Majesty is complacent and has lost the vigor you once had when conquering the world, and is only concerned with indulging in beauty and pleasure."
Ma Chao frowned slightly: "What good will it do them to look at me like that?"
"The benefits will be immense!" Li Ru's voice suddenly rose. "The feudal lords of the world have long been wary of Xiliang, all because of our army's sharp edge and its covetous gaze upon the Central Plains. If we can make them think that Your Majesty is 'indulging in beauty and no longer making progress,' their hostility will naturally dissipate by more than half. At that time, when they mention Xiliang, they will not think of iron cavalry charging into battle, but of Your Majesty taking concubines today and holding banquets tomorrow. Once their contempt is gone, they will no longer regard Xiliang as their number one enemy."
He walked into the hall, tapping the ground with his finger as if he were strategizing the game of chess: "Once the warlords underestimate my Xiliang, their eyes will turn to each other. The Central Plains is already in constant strife. Yuan Shao and Cao Cao are only superficially united, and Liu Biao is eyeing Jingzhou with covetous intent. If they think Xiliang is nothing to fear, they will definitely fall back into the quagmire of mutual invasion."
"And what about us?" Li Ru turned to look at Ma Chao, his eyes gleaming. "While they are fighting like the snipe and the clam, we can secretly recuperate, train our troops, and restore the people's livelihood. By the time Xiliang has fully recovered, the Central Plains will be in chaos. Then our army can march east and reap the benefits. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"
At this point, he added, "After the wedding, Your Majesty can inspect the three armies at the drill ground, deliberately appearing listless and absent-minded; and spread more news about 'lingering in the inner quarters and neglecting military affairs' so that your spies can report back to the feudal lords—this kind of deception is more effective in protecting the safety of Xiliang than a hundred thousand soldiers."
The hall fell silent as everyone pondered Li Ru's words. Jia Xu stroked his beard, his eyes showing approval: "Wen You's plan, though seemingly a concession, actually conceals a sharp edge; it is indeed a long-term strategy."
Xu Shu nodded and said, "Using marriage as bait to lull the feudal lords into a false sense of security and give Xiliang a chance to catch its breath is a good strategy."
Ma Chao remained silent for a moment, then slammed his teacup down on the table. His eyes were no longer filled with doubt: "Mr. Wenyou, you are so farsighted. I miscalculated. I will follow your plan. The wedding dates will be staggered, one wedding per month. And I will let the whole world know that I, Ma Chao, now only love romance and have nothing to do with war!"
Ma Teng stroked his beard and sighed, "What a brilliant 'retreat to advance' move! Wen You's move was brilliant."
Li Ru bowed and smiled, saying, "It was all for the sake of Xiliang; I dare not take credit for it."
The atmosphere in the council hall became lively again, but this time, the smiles on everyone's faces held a hint of deep thought. Li Ru was indeed adept at understanding people's hearts and strategizing for the big picture. What seemed like ordinary weddings had quickly become a game of chess to lull the world into a false sense of security, and the beginning of this game was quietly laid out with those staggered wedding dates.
Upon hearing this, Ma Chao's brows relaxed slightly, but he still had concerns: "In that case, we should send invitations to all the lords in the four directions. However, by staggering the wedding dates, it will be delayed for several months. If they are far away and miss the previous ceremony when they arrive, won't they have to wait for the next one? Wouldn't this cause trouble and delay things?"
Before he could finish speaking, Jia Xu slowly opened his eyes, a half-smile playing on his lips: "Your Majesty is unaware that Wen You, having devised this plan, likely already had a scheme in mind." He paused, deliberately drawing out his words, "In my humble opinion, if invitations were sent out to all directions, stating that Your Majesty has a joyous occasion every month, they could attend whichever one is in time. What's wrong with that?"
"Hahahaha!" These words immediately drew a burst of laughter from the hall. Gongsun Zan laughed so hard he slapped the table: "Wenhe, what you said is brilliant! If they want to come to the ceremony, they'll have to be on time. If they miss it, that's their problem; our happy occasion won't wait!"
Fa Zheng couldn't help but chuckle: "In this way, it makes it seem like our Western Liang is full of joyous occasions and lively events, which fits the illusion of 'indulging in pleasure' even more perfectly! How wonderful!"
Looking at Jia Xu's nonchalant demeanor, Ma Chao was both angry and amused. Pointing at him, he said, "You, Wenhe, are usually so quiet, but when you open your mouth, you're so cunning! So you two were in cahoots all along, just waiting to see me being chased by the lords to give them gifts?"
Jia Xu cupped his hands and smiled, "Your Majesty is joking. I just think that Wen You's plan is precisely about 'delay' and 'disclosure,' making the feudal lords busy with wedding preparations, which will make them believe that Your Majesty only cares about romance now—after all, if you really want to conquer the world, why would you have the mind to hold weddings so frequently?"
Ma Teng stroked his beard and laughed, "Wenhe is right. This way, the wedding date won't be delayed, and the feudal lords can witness the 'grand occasion' firsthand, saving us a lot of trouble."
Ma Chao shook his head helplessly, but his eyes were full of smiles: "Alright, alright, you strategists are all full of schemes. I'll do as you say and send out invitations everywhere, let them attend whichever event they can—but if any lords complain in the future, I can blame it all on you two."
Li Ru and Jia Xu exchanged a smile and replied in unison, "Your subordinate obeys."
Lu Su frowned but spoke with clarity: "We absolutely cannot overlook Cao Cao's side. After all, Miss Yunlu's marriage to Young Master Cao Ang is already arranged, and they will have to visit each other sooner or later. As for Jiangdong, Gongjin must have already taken care of his internal affairs. Now that Miss Shangxiang is coming to marry the King, people from Jiangdong will definitely come. We need to prepare a more formal invitation."
He changed the subject, his brows furrowing slightly: "But Liu Bei of Jingzhou and Yuan Shao of Hebei have long been enemies with us, and Liu Zhang is currently at war with us. So... should we invite them or not?"
Before he finished speaking, Fa Zheng clapped his hands and laughed, "Brother Zijing, you're overthinking it. Liu Zhang of Yizhou not only wants to invite us, but he'll also send a special envoy to invite us!" A sharp glint flashed in his eyes. "Liu Zhang is already muddleheaded. If he sees our Xiliang's grand invitation to him, he'll definitely think we're only interested in enjoying ourselves and have no desire for Xichuan anymore. To be honest, Zhang Song and Meng Da have already secretly contacted me. When he's off guard, we can use Zhang Song, Meng Da, and the others as inside help to take Yizhou in one fell swoop. Wouldn't that be a godsend?"
Everyone nodded in agreement. Xu Shu added, "Liu Bei of Jingzhou should also be invited. Whether he comes or not is his business. If we don't send an invitation, it would seem like we're being impolite. Besides, they attempted to assassinate our lord in Jingzhou some time ago. Although this debt hasn't been officially settled, he should know that our Xiliang region acts with integrity and uprightness, and that he is in the wrong. Inviting him here to embarrass him and let the world see who is in the right is a good thing."
Jia Xu then spoke slowly, tapping the table lightly with his fingertips: "Yuan Shao of Hebei should be invited. Among the warlords of the world today, only he and my lord can be considered as two heroes standing side by side. If we do not take this opportunity to lull him into a false sense of security, wouldn't all our previous schemes have been in vain? Let the people of Hebei see how my lord is 'indulging in women,' and he will lower his guard and focus on dealing with the warlords of the Central Plains. We can then sit back and watch the situation unfold."
Ma Chao listened to everyone's insightful analysis and felt a surge of pride. He slammed his hand on the table and exclaimed, "Excellent! What you all say is absolutely right! Since you all think it's appropriate, then issue my order: send envoys from all four directions to deliver the invitations to Cao Cao, the Sun family, Liu Bei, Liu Zhang, Lü Bu, and Yuan Shao—not one can be left out!"
He stood up, his gaze sweeping over everyone in the hall, and said loudly, "Let them see that my Xiliang is now in a state of peace and prosperity, and let them see that I, Ma Chao... am indeed indulging in this land of gentle pleasures."
The last sentence was half-truth, but everyone understood the implied meaning and bowed to accept the order: "We will obey Your Majesty's command!"