176: Chapter 177 Eliminate the weeds and eradicate the roots; make an example of the chicken to scare the monkey!

As the words fell, the council chamber went silent.

It remained silent for no more than a breath.

Lei Lie froze for a moment.

It was as if something vague that had been pressing on his heart for days had finally had its outer layer torn away.

Then, he laughed.

It was not a happy laugh.

It was the kind of cold, forced laugh that comes from the throat after being stifled for too long, finally waiting for solid proof.

"As expected."

He slowly sat up straight, his gaze sinking bit by bit.

"I knew something was wrong."

"When these cities were buying weapons and leather armor, they all spoke more nicely than anyone else, talking about 'prevention' and 'being prepared.' Now, their fox tails have finally been exposed."

Speaking to this point, he turned his head sharply to look at Strategist Zhu Ge, the fire that had been suppressed for two days finally erupting in his tone.

"Strategist."

"Is this enough evidence now?"

Strategist Zhu Ge did not speak immediately, only glancing at him.

Lei Lie did not wait for a response, his words already crashing down.

"They are even plotting against Flower City?"

"They should weigh themselves first!"

"Flower City is now almost entirely composed of Professionals! Two thousand Bronze Rank! Even if The Four Cities combined, they might not be enough to fill the gaps between our teeth! Now that they are just starting to sprout, and their minds are not yet truly unified, it is the best time to deal with them."

As he spoke, he swept his hand across the table, his movement as crisp as if he were erasing four names from the map.

"Strike now!"

"Root out the danger and make an example of them!"

"It will save us from more cities coming to trade with Flower City in the future, thinking we are easy to talk to and daring to have such thoughts. If we drag this out, that is what you call nurturing a future threat!"

No one in the room replied.

After Lei Lie finished speaking, his chest rose and fell slightly, his gaze still heavily fixed on Strategist Zhu Ge's face.

The meaning could not be clearer.

Now, the news was confirmed.

The intentions of The Four Cities were verified.

Surely he could not still say it was not the right time.

...

While they were speaking, Zhou Yun stepped into the council chamber.

"Why is Lei Lie in such a temper?"

"Who are you planning to wipe out?"

Lei Lie was startled, his shoulders and back, which had been held straight, faltering for a moment.

With Zhou Yun's gentle touch, that fire could not continue to burn, so he could only lower his voice and recount the whole matter from beginning to end.

First, the abnormal procurement by The Four Cities that the Military Department had been monitoring for the past few days.

What they bought were mostly military-grade items like weapons, leather armor, medicinal herbs, and Demonic Beast meat, and in large quantities, yet they were rarely seen being circulated externally.

Then, there was the news just brought by Sha Chenghu.

The Four Cities indeed had the intention to join forces and plot against Flower City.

When Lei Lie finished speaking, he still could not suppress that intensity.

"City Lord, my opinion remains the same."

"Since they have had this thought, we cannot leave them be. Striking now is the simplest way."

After listening, Zhou Yun did not immediately respond to this 'simplest way.'

He just sat down, leaned back in his chair, and his gaze fell on the table, as if thinking about something.

Lei Lie waited for a while.

He waited a while longer.

Finally, he could not help it.

"City Lord, the facts are right before our eyes. What are you still thinking about?"

Zhou Yun looked at Lei Lie and smiled.

"I am thinking... City Lord Qin Fang knew about this and chose to tell us."

"What will he face because of this?"

The hall fell silent instantly.

Lei Lie had been waiting for Zhou Yun to take a stand, but upon hearing this, he was stunned.

He had not thought of this.

Minister Wang Fugui's lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but he did not speak immediately.

Zhou Yun's voice remained low, as if he were just pushing the question one step further.

"He originally had good relations with The Four Cities, but now he has stood on our side and actively passed the news to Flower City."

"If we send troops immediately and wipe out The Four Cities in one go."

"Then in the eyes of other cities, what kind of person will he become?"

Lei Lie pursed his lips.

The answer was not hard to guess.

Betraying friends, inviting wolves into the house.

Even if City Lord Qin Fang was right.

Even if The Four Cities did indeed have bad intentions first.

As long as Flower City took action now, City Lord Qin Fang's reputation would be very difficult to clean.

Zhou Yun looked at Lei Lie, his tone still gentle.

"Since City Lord Qin Fang told Flower City about this, he has already put himself in the spotlight."

"Therefore, when Flower City acts, we cannot just think about our own satisfaction."

Lei Lie opened his mouth.

His original idea of 'striking first to gain the advantage' was cut short by this question.

But Zhou Yun did not stop.

He lifted his eyes to look outside the hall, paused, and asked another question.

"Furthermore."

"The City Lords of The Four Cities do indeed have designs on Flower City."

"But what about the commoners of The Four Cities?"

"Do those commoners know what their City Lords are plotting?"

As this fell, the silence in the hall deepened.

The wind blew in from outside the door, causing the paper on the corner of the table to tremble gently.

Lei Lie's hand, which was still resting on his knee, slowly tightened.

It was not that he did not understand.

It was precisely because he understood that he was speechless for a moment.

The City Lords of The Four Cities had their designs, that was true.

But what about the commoners of The Four Cities?

If they did not know at all, if they were just living their lives as usual, and there were even many who already regarded Flower City as a better place to go... then once Flower City sent troops directly, who would be the first to get dragged into it?

Zhou Yun's gaze returned to the few people, his tone still peaceful, but he had already drawn the boundaries for the entire discussion.

"So, no matter what we do in the end."

"There are two lines we cannot cross."

"We cannot let City Lord Qin Fang be ruined because he helped Flower City."

"And we cannot let innocent commoners pay the price for the City Lords' ambition."

He paused here before continuing:

"With this premise."

"What are your thoughts?"

...

The hall was silent for a few breaths.

Zhou Yun's gaze first fell on Strategist Zhu Ge.

Strategist Zhu Ge pondered for a moment, first looked at Lei Lie, and then gently shook the feather fan in his hand.

"The Minister believes we can strike."

"I, in fact, hold a similar view."

Lei Lie raised his eyebrows, just about to say something, when he heard Strategist Zhu Ge finish the second half of his sentence unhurriedly.

"But before striking, we need to gather sufficient evidence."

"Otherwise, it will easily become an unjust war, affecting our subsequent dealings with other cities."

Lei Lie was stunned, then frowned.

"Isn't the evidence already laid out in the open?"

"The flow of goods, military procurement, only buying and not selling, plus the news brought by Sha Chenghu, is this not enough?"

After listening, Strategist Zhu Ge only shook his head.

"From our perspective, of course it is enough."

"But evidence is often not just for ourselves to see; it is for others to see."

Upon hearing this, Lei Lie's expression paused.

Strategist Zhu Ge gently pushed the few pages of records at his side to the front of the table, his tone very steady.

"From our perspective, the fact that The Four Cities purchased a large amount of military supplies already explains the problem."

"But what about from the perspective of other cities?"

"Is it strange for a city to buy some weapons and leather armor? It is not strange."

"Is it understandable that four cities happened to buy similar things around the same time? It is also understandable."

"Furthermore, what they bought was sold by Flower City."

Speaking to this point, he looked up at Lei Lie, his voice not loud, but every word was clear.

"If we send troops based on this."

"Once it spreads, the world will only remember one sentence."

"Flower City destroyed them just because they bought our goods."

Lei Lie was blocked immediately.

The logic that previously seemed so smooth from a military perspective, once flipped by Strategist Zhu Ge, immediately changed its flavor.

Flower City knew that The Four Cities had evil intentions.

But others might not know.

Flower City knew what those military procurements meant.

But to others, it just looked like a series of perfectly normal transactions.

If they took action at this time, Flower City would certainly win.

But winning is one thing.

Their reputation would crack first.

Seeing that Lei Lie did not speak, Strategist Zhu Ge slowly delivered the final sentence.

"So, it is not that we do not strike."

"It is that we must let them reveal their blades themselves."

"Once the blades are revealed, we will strike again, and no one in the world will be able to say a single bad word about Flower City."

Lei Lie opened his mouth, unable to respond for a long time.

It was not that he was unconvinced.

It was that Strategist Zhu Ge's words hit exactly the spot where his frustration was most difficult to bear.

From Flower City's own perspective, since The Four Cities had this intention, pressing over directly would be satisfying.

But from the outside looking in, if this battle were fought, Flower City might not be the one standing on the moral high ground.

He knitted his brows, tapped his fingers on his knee, and in the end, did not argue back, only saying in a deep voice:

"Then we cannot just let it go like this."

Zhou Yun smiled and turned his gaze to Minister Wang Fugui, "What is Minister Wang Fugui's view?"

Minister Wang Fugui had been holding it in for a long time.

Hearing that he was called upon, he immediately cupped his hands, and the shrewdness in his eyes lit up.

"City Lord, if you ask me, if the time for a direct confrontation has not yet come, we might as well change our tactics."

Zhou Yun looked at him.

"For example?"

Minister Wang Fugui grinned.

"Continue trading."

As soon as these two words came out, Lei Lie exploded on the spot.

"Continue trading?!"

He turned his head sharply to look at Minister Wang Fugui, his eyebrows standing up.

"I thought you could come up with some brilliant plan, but you tell me to keep selling goods?"

"If this isn't aiding the enemy, what is it?"

"I think you are blinded by money, only seeing the profit in front of you, and not seeing the knife behind it!"

Minister Wang Fugui rolled his eyes at his shouting, not afraid at all, but instead tucked his sleeves and retorted directly.

"What do you know about trade?"

"Stopping now is just not doing business."

"Waiting until they cannot do without us and then stopping, that is business!"

Lei Lie was stunned.

Minister Wang Fugui was already speaking more and more smoothly, the light in his eyes almost bursting out.

"They want to buy now, so we sell."

"Weapons, medicinal herbs, Demonic Beast meat, give what we can give, trade what we can trade. Make them feel that Flower City's goods are useful, convenient, and cost-effective, and they cannot do without them. Once they get used to it, and their own city's original channels are cut off, whenever they lack something, the first thing they think of will be Flower City."

"When that time comes, I will pull this path away..."

Speaking to this point, he reached out and made a light gesture in the air, smiling like an old fox who had just finished using an abacus.

"What will happen to them?"

"Weapons cannot be replenished, medicinal herbs are cut off, Demonic Beast meat is gone, and even the things the commoners are used to eating will be reduced. What will the City Lord use to stabilize the army? What will he use to stabilize the people?"

The room was quiet for a moment.

Even Lei Lie did not immediately scold him back.

Because this method was truly ruthless.

It was not about striking a hard blow, but about getting people used to something and then cutting off that breath.

At that time, even if The Four Cities did not want to be in chaos, they would fall into chaos from within.

Wan'er, who was sitting on the side, could not help but laugh softly upon hearing this.

"Feed them until half-full, then suddenly wean them off."

"It doesn't delay making money, and it can simultaneously hold them by the throat."

She looked at Minister Wang Fugui, her eyes filled with faint amusement.

"Minister Wang Fugui's methods are indeed brilliant."

Minister Wang Fugui was already smug, and hearing Wan'er's praise, his back straightened even more. He was about to say something else, but Lei Lie had already frowned and spoken.

"It is interesting."

"But there is a problem."

Everyone looked at him.

Lei Lie stared at Minister Wang Fugui, saying word by word:

"How long do we have to feed them before they are 'tamed'?"

"What if they do not wait for you to tame them and attack first?"

"Can your trade war block a blade?"

The smugness on Minister Wang Fugui's face stalled instantly.

This time, the room was even quieter.

Because Lei Lie's question hit the fatal flaw.

Minister Wang Fugui's method could indeed drain their strength.

But the premise was that there must be time.

If The Four Cities could no longer hold back, or were urged by something else to attack early, then the knife of cutting off supplies would not have had time to take effect, and the war would have already begun.

Minister Wang Fugui opened his mouth but did not respond immediately.

Zhou Yun looked at him, then turned his gaze to Wan'er.

"What does Wan'er think?"

Wan'er sat up slightly, her expression still gentle.

"I also think that we cannot let the City Lords of The Four Cities have such thoughts."

"But if we send troops to destroy the cities directly, the commoners are indeed innocent."

She paused before continuing:

"So I am more inclined to punish the ringleaders, while at the same time bringing out those who should not have been involved."

Lei Lie was intrigued by this and asked subconsciously:

"How do we bring them out?"

"Are we going to catch their City Lords and kill them?"

Strategist Zhu Ge and Wan'er laughed almost simultaneously.

Lei Lie was stunned by their laughter, and he felt a bit embarrassed.

"Did I say something wrong?"

Wan'er shook her head gently.

"It is not wrong."

"It is just not that urgent."

She lifted her eyes, her voice not loud, as if she were talking about a very ordinary matter.

"Recently, more and more people from other cities have come to Flower City to do business."

"Some people stay for a few days and then do not really want to leave."

"I actually do not need to do much."

"I only need to let them stay for a few more days, and then go see the new city area."

"After seeing it, some people will naturally want to stay."

Lei Lie frowned, listening in a daze.

Wan'er continued to speak, her tone plain and flat.

"If people stay on their own, they will write letters back."

"When their families read the letters, if they are worried, they will mostly come to take a look."

"Once they come and see that it is good here, perhaps they will not want to leave either."

"People do not leave all at once."

"But once the path is familiar, their hearts will follow."