Imperial warlords: Cannons are the only truth

Chapter 292 Another Way

"In fact, the situation is very clear now—using long-range strikes to resolve the Tanlte City crisis is the least damaging solution."

"As for the public pressure that will arise after this plan is implemented..."

Zhou Zhixing then added, "Actually, it's not that difficult to solve..."

"Oh?" Upon hearing this, Shen Moshen looked up from the television screen and at Senior Strategy Officer Zhou Zhixing: "Easy to solve?"

"Tell me quickly!"

"If there's a way to minimize the negative public opinion surrounding this matter, then things will be much easier to handle!"

"Your Majesty, the best way to minimize the negative public opinion surrounding this matter is..."

Zhou Zhixing glanced at Shen Moshen and said solemnly, "The commander who disobeyed the imperial court's orders and issued the attack order will be severely punished!"

"To put it bluntly—to avoid more casualties by sacrificing hostages, someone has to take the blame for 'concealing' the court's order for a long-range strike."

"By then, the die will have been cast, and all we need to do is hold those responsible accountable to give the public an explanation, which will minimize the negative impact on public opinion."

"The advantage of doing this is that although everyone may have already guessed what exactly happened, the imperial court can still give a very reasonable explanation."

"Moreover, the court's explanation is absolutely valid."

"In this way, the imperial court resolved the crisis in Tanert City without having to compromise with the Wukan tribe's armed forces."

"At the same time, it also showed those anti-Qian forces the court's consistent tough stance."

"Therefore, this seemingly unsolvable predicament is now resolved..."

"Since I, Shen Moshen, led my troops out of Youzhou and unified the world, have I ever let my subordinates take the blame for me?"

Shen Moshen frowned and shook his head: "I understand what you mean......................."

"Since someone needs to take the blame to resolve this unsolvable situation, it is naturally not appropriate for me, the emperor of the empire, to take the blame myself."

"I also know your good intentions and loyalty—to solve problems while also maintaining the positive image of the Emperor to the greatest extent possible."

"That's truly a painstaking effort..."

Shen Moshen sighed: "However, you all know my temper."

"I've never been afraid to take responsibility."

"If someone has to take the blame, then I, the emperor of this empire, will take it myself!"

Shen Moshen said in a deep voice, "At worst, I will personally give an explanation in front of the whole world."

"If necessary, I could even issue a decree of self-reproach to the entire world!"

“I, Shen Moshen, have always been a pedantic person, and I have never been someone who is inflexible and only seeks empty fame.”

"I would never do anything that prioritizes fame over actual gains or losses."

"I, Shen Moshen, would never stoop to pushing responsibility onto my subordinates whenever something goes wrong!"

“In the past, the most common saying among ministers was: ‘All the mistakes are the fault of the ministers.’”

"How could the emperor, a sage and the Son of Heaven, be wrong?"

"Everyone knows the truth in their hearts; it's just a high-sounding excuse used by subjects to curry favor with the emperor and show their loyalty."

"In the end, even an emperor is just a human being."

"Everyone makes mistakes!"

"Let's wait and see."

Shen Moshen watched the ongoing press conference on TV and sighed, "Didn't they give us forty-eight hours to consider it?"

There is still time.

"Perhaps we can still see a new turning point..."

"Give the 16th Rapid Reaction Division a heads-up first."

Shen Moshen then looked at Xu Feizhi, commander of the Daqian Zhenguo Army Airborne Corps and commander of the Rapid Reaction Force: "Tell them to prepare for long-range strikes first."

"Also, let me emphasize it to them again—before the 48-hour period expires, they must not do anything rash."

"The entire city of Tanlt is a powder keg right now. If these desperate criminals are provoked too much, they might take the risk and detonate the bombs in the city prematurely..."

After giving the latest orders, Shen Moshen looked at the ongoing press conference and said with a wry smile, "It's not that the court is heartless and doesn't want to rescue the remaining Tani hostages, nor is it that the court is treating the people of the Protectorate differently."

"Indeed, the current situation simply does not allow us to resolve this crisis while ensuring the safety of the hostages."

"There's no other way—the imperial court has to look at this issue from a holistic perspective."

"The face of the imperial court is secondary, but if we really let Morse Yarlin and his gang of Western remnants succeed in the Tanlt City crisis."

"Let the world see that the imperial court has made compromises and concessions on this matter......................"

"Once this door is opened, it's like opening Pandora's box!"

“Those anti-government elements hiding around the world will follow suit.”

"At that time, there will be a second and a third 'Tantel City Incident'!"

"Moreover, in order to gain more leverage, they will most likely take more civilians hostage to force the court to compromise..."

"By then, it won't just be these Dotani people who will suffer!"

"In short—everything should be done with the long-term interests in mind, even though this decision is very cruel to the hostages of Tanlt City."

"But this is the only way out..."

"All we can do now is to provide as much compensation as possible to the families of the hostages who perished in the Tanlt City crisis afterward..."

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"His Majesty................."

"If the imperial court agrees to this long-range strike plan, which prioritizes the overall situation, as a last resort solution."

"Under this premise..."

Chen Guyan, the head of the secret intelligence agency who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up: "Actually, we have another, better solution."

"You mean—a better solution than long-range strikes?"

Shen Moshen was taken aback, then looked at Chen Guyan, who had suddenly spoken, with some uncertainty: "What do you mean?"

"Your Majesty, if we disregard the safety of the hostages, I think there is still some room for maneuver in this matter."

Chen Guyan looked at Shen Moshen, who had a puzzled expression, and then explained, "Your Majesty, we can think about it from a different perspective..."

"Now, all eyes in the world are focused on the crisis in Tanlt City."

"As I just said—if the Daqian Zhenguo Army really ends this crisis with a long-range strike."

"In order to quell the negative public opinion, someone must be held accountable for the consequences of this matter."

"As His Majesty just said, His Majesty is even willing to issue an edict of self-reproach to minimize the negative public opinion caused by this matter."

"But what I want to say is—have we all overlooked a more crucial question?"

"That is—in fact, everyone knows that the culprits behind the entire Tanlt City crisis should be the remnants of the Xiro clan led by Morse Yarlin, as well as the Wukan tribe armed forces who carried out the hostage-taking!"

"Those who deserve the most condemnation are people like them!"

"The tragic fate of these remaining Tan'er hostages was entirely caused by these remnants of the Xiluo tribe and the Wukan armed forces."

"Why should we take the blame for these remnants of the Xiluo tribe and the Wukan armed forces?"

"If anyone's going to carry it, it should be Morse Yarlin and the others who carry it themselves!"

"Let them carry it themselves?" Shen Moshen looked at Chen Guyan thoughtfully, as if he had already grasped the key point the other party was making...

"Correct!"

“Let them carry it themselves!” Chen Guyan nodded seriously. “The reason I didn’t bring up this plan before was because the plan I’m about to propose doesn’t take into account the safety of the hostages.”

"But since the court has already made up its mind on this matter, I can now speak frankly about my plan."

Chen Guyan then said to Shen Moshen, "Your Majesty, my plan is—let's leave the resolution of the Tanlt City crisis to our Secret Intelligence Bureau!"

"Let's imagine this: what if infighting broke out between these remnants of the Xiluo tribe and the Wukan armed forces, ultimately causing the bomb planted in the city to detonate, resulting in the destruction of Tanert City and the deaths of all hostages and militants...?"

"Then this responsibility and blame can't possibly fall on the imperial court!"

"This tragic outcome was entirely due to a sudden incident triggered by their internal strife."

"At that time, the public opinion will criticize Morse Yarlin and his gang of Xiluo remnants and Wukan militia."

"And His Majesty will no longer need to issue an edict of self-reproach."

"The imperial court will no longer have to bear the heavy responsibility of being accused of discriminatory treatment and disregarding the safety of hostages......................"

"wonderful!"

"That's brilliant!" Zhou Zhixing, realizing what was happening, was the first to affirm and support Chen Guyan's plan: "This is simply a plan that achieves multiple benefits!"

"When the time comes, all we need to do is find a reason to make the troops in Tanlt City withdraw to a safe area. Once the bombs in the city explode, this crisis will vanish!"

"You mean—your secret intelligence agency is confident that it can infiltrate the eastern district of Tanert City and successfully detonate the bombs planted by the Wukan tribe?"

Shen Moshen did not immediately make a decision, but continued to ask, "How confident is your secret intelligence agency in this plan?"

"There are over 2000 fully armed Wukan militia members in the eastern district of Tanert City..."

"Are you sure your secret intelligence agents can successfully infiltrate under these circumstances?"

"Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I am aware of your concerns—in fact, our secret intelligence agency has long since recruited and trained some special agents from the local area of ​​Shazhou."

"It shouldn't be too difficult for us to send a local special operations commando team from Shazhou to infiltrate the Wukan ethnic armed forces."

"Therefore, their identities won't be exposed because of their skin color. It's not a big problem for our secret intelligence agency to sneak in unnoticed."

Chen Guyan paused, then continued, "As for the success rate Your Majesty just mentioned..."

"I can't say 100%, but I'm at least 90% sure!"

Chen Guyan was very confident in his plan: "As long as our special operations commando team can successfully infiltrate, the whole plan will be 90% successful."

"Once our people are inside, there's only one thing left to do—detonate it!"

"However, we don't need to go through the trouble of searching for the bombs planted by the Wukan people."

"That would not only be time-consuming and laborious, but would also significantly increase the risk of the special operations commando team being exposed and the uncertainty of the entire mission!"

Chen Guyan then explained, "So, once our people are inside, we can detonate the bombs they brought in..."

"I see..." Shen Moshen suddenly realized, "The most important thing is the explosion!"

"As long as Tanlt City is bombed, it doesn't matter whose bomb it is; what matters is the outcome..."

"It really comes down to your secret intelligence agency!" Shen Moshen looked at Chen Guyan and couldn't help but sigh, "When it comes to their flexibility and adaptability, no one can deny their skill!"

"If this plan can be implemented smoothly, then there is indeed no need to carry out any long-range strikes."

Shen Moshen nodded, then turned to Xu Feizhi beside him and said, "Change the order from before."

"Stop the 16th Rapid Reaction Division from making any moves—don't prepare any long-range strikes, so as not to leave any room for gossip or provoke the militants in the city."

"Let's proceed according to the Secret Intelligence Service's plan!"

With that, Shen Moshen decisively made the decision: "Gu Yan, this matter will be handled by your secret intelligence bureau."

"Remember—this must be done perfectly."

"Success is the only option; failure is not an option!"