From Joy of Life, the Tian Gang is reversed

Chapter 112 Every Emperor Has a Heart to Be a Turtle
The human heart is the most difficult thing to guess and test.

But desires are converging.

Especially for a profession like the emperor, the common worldly desires, such as money and beautiful women...

For him, everything is readily available.

Gold is but paving stones, and beauty is but quicksand in the palm of your hand.

Even when she didn't need to, she would jump directly onto his bed.

So what are their desires?

A normal emperor with power is basically the same.

The most realistic desire is probably to firmly grasp the power in one's own hands and not let anyone take away any power from one's hands. This is called holding absolute power.

If this emperor who holds great power still has a little bit of ideals and abilities, he will naturally be able to achieve great things and establish a great empire.

When one holds great power and has accomplished great things, a third desire generally arises: to be a cuckold.

A thousand-year-old turtle is a ten-thousand-year-old tortoise. The longer it lives, the better. It is commonly known as longevity.

Of course, between the first and second desires there are occasionally some ideas of letting the people live and work in peace and contentment, and the country be peaceful and prosperous, but this is only when conditions are met. If not, then the people will have to suffer first.

Looking back at history, that's pretty much it.

Of course, there are some strange-shaped species that are not within the scope of discussion because Emperor Qing is not a strange-shaped species.

He was a normal emperor, with all the desires that a normal emperor should have.

This is an emperor whose military power stands at the top of the world, who has considerable ideals and abilities and is commonly known as a man of great talent and strategy. However, because he is in his prime, in good health, and his great cause has not yet been accomplished, the third desire has not yet appeared.

So, his current desires, or goals, are the first two: to gain power and achieve great things.

All his actions and decisions are centered around these two desires.

It is not difficult to understand these two points and deduce his reactions based on his past performance.

This is what Mao Qiwu is best at.

"Given His Majesty's character, he will definitely react violently to Northern Qi's actions. If given the chance, he wouldn't mind biting off a piece of Northern Qi's flesh."

"However, we are not yet ready for a full-scale war with Northern Qi. Given Your Majesty's character, you will not engage in a full-scale war with Northern Qi until you are fully confident. The most likely scenario is to start a controllable conflict on the border, eliminate one or two small vassal states, and then occupy a few cities of Northern Qi. We can then completely seize these cities during negotiations with Northern Qi."

In the East Palace courtyard, Mao Qiwu's desk was piled with various documents, and his tone was calm.

Li Chengqian nodded. "Why does that old paralytic need wolf peaches?"

"The Supervisory Commission is a shady place. President Chen appears to be extremely loyal to Your Majesty, but it's hard to say what he actually thinks. Guo Baokun said that President Chen's attitude towards Your Majesty is not right, and he seems to hate Your Majesty. Since his interests are not consistent with Your Majesty's, it's hard to guess his purpose in wanting the wolf peaches." Mao Qiwu said.

"Two things. First, Bao Kun's position in the Supervisory Commission needs to be improved, and he needs to be prepared to take over the Supervisory Commission. Second, we need to set up a plan to get rid of the old paralytic, and we need to make it perfect."

"Your Highness seems to have a strong opinion of Dean Chen!"

"He's blocking my way." Li Chengqian said lightly.

"I understand." Mao Qiwu nodded without further questioning. "With the power that President Chen has accumulated in the Supervisory Commission over the years, to achieve a perfect execution requires careful planning. It will be very difficult in a short period of time."

"One year is just right. Bao Kun can also use this year to improve his status."

"Yes!" Li Chengqian gave some instructions, left Mao Qiwu's yard, and raised his hand to call Li Mingchuan.

"How is the Northern Qi envoy doing now?"

"I have been driven out of Kyoto by His Majesty, and even my luggage has been thrown out. It seems there is nothing to talk about." Li Mingchuan, the Minister of the Eastern Palace, is now in high spirits. As long as the affairs of the Eastern Palace do not involve Li Chengqian's private secrets, they have been handled by him. It can be said that he holds the power of the Eastern Palace, and even some of the intelligence information that is in the open is under his control.

"Find them and have them tell Ku He that I know he has a copy of 'Western Magic' left by the great Western wizard Bol, and ask him to exchange the Tianyi Dao's mental method and 'Western Magic' for the wolf peaches."

"Yes!" Li Mingchuan did not ask any more questions. He had gained experience in the past few years. Working beside the prince, he just had to do whatever he was told to do. He did not have to be too curious and did not have to worry about any consequences.

"Also, have you found those people who are proficient in Western languages ​​that I asked you to find?"

“I have found them all.”

"Well, let's get ready." Li Chengqian nodded.

※※※

The news that Lang Tao was caught after breaking into the royal villa at night spread quickly.

However, few people knew about Ye Ling'er's action that night and her display of ninth-grade strength. All everyone knew was that Lang Tao's actions were detected in advance by the Eastern Palace, and people were sent to secretly protect Lin Wan'er. In the end, Gui Zitian and Qin Yuan, two of the four great Vajras of the Eastern Palace, took action and captured Lang Tao alive. As for the details of that night, apart from the people at the scene, only two or three people knew about it: Lin Ruofu, Fan Jian, Emperor Qing, and Chen Pingping.

"Capturing Lang Tao alive, this method is really unbelievable."

Inside the Supervisory Council, Chen Pingping looked at the information in his hand with surprise in his eyes.

Lang Tao was actually captured alive by Gui Zitian!
Gui Zitian actually also reached the ninth rank!

The image of the young man who was buried in three papers all day long emerged in his mind, and he couldn't help feeling a little dazed.

"Or, I'll go to the East Palace."

Shadow's injuries have fully recovered, but he is now colder and quieter than before, and the cold murderous aura on his body is even stronger.

Chen Pingping shook his head. "The East Palace has its own thorns in the courtyard. There's no need for you to go. Besides, there's no need to clash with the East Palace right now."

"But over there, Langtao..."

"Lang Tao is actually not important. He is just an executor. I want him just to have more bargaining chips. Since the prince is unwilling, forget it."

"You seem to be very afraid of the prince."

"The prince is a smart man. It's better not to make an enemy of such a person if possible." Chen Pingping said in a calm tone, but he smiled bitterly in his heart. It's not that he didn't want to explore the prince's secrets, it's simply that he didn't have the strength!
The strongest person around him is Shadow, but with Shadow's current strength, going to the Eastern Palace is a never-ending journey. Li Chengqian will not give him face, and this is what makes him most uneasy.

That prince has hidden hostility towards him!
This is very troublesome!

"Your Majesty has decided to teach Northern Qi a lesson. Contact your spies in the north and keep a close eye on Northern Qi's actions. Also, there's one more thing." Chen Pingping narrowed his eyes slightly. "Have them investigate Northern Qi's finances over the past few years and the impact of the inner treasury's business on Northern Qi."

"Why did you suddenly think of investigating this? I even know that the salt in the inner treasury impacted the Northern Qi salt administration. What else is there to investigate?"

"It's not salt, it's other commodities," Chen Pingping said. "In the past, the man from Changxin Palace would send anything to Northern Qi, regardless of whether it was meat or vegetables, as long as they could make money. But in recent years, the business between the Neiku and Northern Qi has changed. Even if some commodities are profitable, the Neiku won't take them away. Instead, they've increased the supply of many seemingly insignificant items. I've always felt that this was a bit strange. It doesn't seem like the work of Changxin Palace."

"You mean, the princess has someone behind the scenes directing her?"

"What I mean is that the so-called salt policy is probably just a superficial way to attract the attention of Northern Qi. The real means are in other commodities, so let's check it out."

(End of this chapter)