Then let them offer their loyalty!

Page 618

'He's so arrogant now, daring to insult my envoy on the very first day. Once he actually helps me control the Sixth Sanctuary, he'll definitely become even more arrogant!'

'At that time, perhaps women will become the most crucial blade piercing his heart!'

Thinking this, Princess Xi slowly came back to her senses. She took the letter Qiu Tu had written to her from Luo Luo and began to read it carefully.

Qiu Tu didn't write much in the letter, only saying that he agreed to Princess Xi's conditions. However... he wanted to receive the "Shan Gen" as payment in advance.

Qiu Tu made this condition with great confidence: this operation was essentially a "coup."

When doing something that could cost you your life, the worst thing you can do is leave yourself any room for maneuver.

At this point, it's either life or death! There are no other options!

Since he is Princess Xi's external supporter, the stronger he is, the higher the success rate of the entire plan will be.

Therefore, improving his strength as much as possible will reduce a lot of trouble.

If we don't go all out now, it will be too late to make amends once the coup fails.

To be honest, Qiu Tu's words made a lot of sense. After hearing Qiu Tu's words, Princess Xi was indeed somewhat tempted.

But... although she was tempted, she couldn't bring herself to do it.

She didn't lie to Qiu Tu. The 6th shelter did indeed have a "root of the nose," but that "root of the nose" was in Kang Wang's private treasury, not on her body at all.

Therefore, there is only one way to open the private treasury and obtain the "root of the mountain": to reclaim the palace and control King Kang.

But don't forget, both the "King Kang" and the Gong Palace are now in the hands of the Kou family...

To some extent, it's not wrong for Princess Xi to be making empty promises to Qiu Tu.

Thinking this through, Princess Xi pondered for a moment, then picked up her pen and wrote another letter, intending to appease Qiu Tu and first lure him into the conflict at the 6th Shelter...

.....

Meanwhile, in another presidential suite at the Fengtian Grand Hotel...

Kou Yu is making this call.

Contrary to his usual arrogant and domineering demeanor, he began to talk about recent events, saying, "Brother, things are just as I just described."

"Your guess was right. That night, Qiu Tu did indeed intervene and protect Princess Xi. This allowed the royalists to successfully help Princess Xi regain her freedom."

"This shows that he did indeed reach some kind of cooperation with Princess Xi and was preparing to intervene in the 6th Sanctuary."

The voice on the other end of the phone was that of a man with a gentle and refined tone.

He said gently, "That's normal."

"Qiu Tu's path to catastrophe is 'order-politics,' so he must keep climbing higher. (Analysis in Chapter 490)"

"But reaching the position of speaker is almost the limit he can normally achieve. The positions of head of the shelter, number two, and number one are beyond human control."

"We must look at their physical condition and mental state. The leaders of the 8th Shelter, as well as Rao Shou and Tang Wanfeng, are all too healthy."

“His core supporters are all in the 8th shelter, so they simply wouldn’t dare take such a big risk.”

"Therefore, he can only seek to expand outwards."

"Of the major shelters, our shelter is the closest to him, the one with the most chaotic political situation, and the one that offers him the best chance to take advantage of him."

Hearing his brother's words, Kou Yu's face contorted with rage, and he asked, "Then, brother, what do we do? Are we just going to watch him interfere in the shelter?"

At this point, Kou Yu paused and said, "He can kill a level 6 Great Evil God! We... are very likely no match for him."

Perhaps Qiu Tu's recent record was too outrageous, so even the usually lawless Kou Yu had a hint of fear in his eyes.

Upon hearing Kou Yu's words, Kou Xuan said gently, "Don't worry. Everything is as I expected."

"He needs an opportunity to interfere in the Sixth Shelter..."

Upon hearing Kou Xuan's words, Kou Yu was momentarily bewildered.

There also needs to be an opportunity?

What does it mean?

Princess Xi is now clearly prepared to let the wolf into the house. How could Qiu Tu not have the opportunity to intervene in the affairs of the 6th Shelter?

However, since he had always been a shrewd and resourceful brother, his older brother must have already come up with a plan.

All you need to do is listen to them.

Thinking this, Kou Yu said in a low voice, "Brother, I'll do whatever you say."

Kou Xuan's gentle and refined smile came from the other end of the phone...

The next day, early in the morning.

Qiu Tu got out of bed early. He went to the courtyard, practiced a set of military boxing, and then took out his longsword to practice some "basic swordsmanship".

Just as he was practicing and sweating profusely, Tao Yaoyao suddenly walked in from outside with a serious expression and hurried steps.

In Qiu Tu's mind, Tao Yaoyao has always been the image of a calm and decisive female secretary.

Therefore, upon seeing her obviously abnormal appearance, Qiu Tu immediately knew that something serious had happened.

So he stopped what he was doing, stood up straight, wiped his sweat, and looked at Tao Yaoyao.

Sure enough, upon reaching Qiu Tu's side, Tao Yaoyao quickly lowered her head and reported in a low but rapid voice, "Speaker, something terrible has happened. Prince Kang... has passed away."

-------

One chapter today.

I occasionally feel unwell, and to avoid any unforeseen circumstances, I might take half a day off each week (one day I'll only update one chapter, but I won't stop updating altogether). I'll try to get some sleep. I hope everyone can understand.

Chapter 561 The Third Golden Finger! (10,000 words, please vote!)

To be honest, even with Qiu Tu's shrewdness, he was still a little shocked to hear those words from Tao Yaoyao's mouth!

Prince Kang has passed away?!

This is the highest-ranking leader of a shelter! In my previous life, that would be the prime minister or president of a country.

Such a person is destined to leave a significant mark on the history of his country.

Each and every one of them is a true chosen one of heaven, a child of destiny.

And that's how he died?

It's not that King Kang couldn't die, it's just... he couldn't die so hastily.

To die at such a sensitive time, who would believe there wasn't something fishy going on?

Thinking this, Qiu Tuqiang suppressed the turmoil in his heart, and then, while sheathing his sword, he asked, "Dead? How did he die?"

Upon hearing Qiu Tu's words, Tao Yaoyao said, "The shelter just received the news and doesn't have any specific details yet."

"I've only heard that since he was injured in battle a few years ago, the King of Kang's health has not been very good these past two years."

“He spends most of his time in bed. Even when he met with the deputy speaker of the No. 3 shelter recently, he had to force himself to go despite his illness.”

"During this period, King Kang's health deteriorated, and he unfortunately passed away yesterday."

That very night, the cabinet of Sanctuary 6 formed a "Post-Kingdom Affairs Committee" and began handling a series of affairs following King Kang's death.

At this point, Tao Yaoyao paused and added, "In addition... it is said that before King Kang died, he summoned several cabinet ministers to his bedside and then... wanted to change the political system of the Sixth Sanctuary."

"The system transitioned from a 'dual monarchy' to a 'constitutional monarchy,' with the Crown Prince of Kang appointed as the new patron, but only in name, without any real power."

Upon hearing Tao Yaoyao's words, Qiu Tu's expression remained unchanged, but he inwardly gasped.

'That's a ruthless move to cut off their supply lines!'

Although it's uncertain whether King Kang was actually killed by Kou Xuan, or whether the will was forged, the situation at the 6th Sanctuary is indeed deteriorating rapidly for Qiu Tu.

First, the death of Prince Kang directly eliminated the most crucial "strategic buffer" between Qiu Tu, Princess Xi, and the Kou family, forcing them into direct confrontation.

Don't be fooled by the fact that this may seem like a minor issue. It's a huge problem.

Princess Xi and the Kou family are both native forces of the 6th Sanctuary and do not really need a "strategic buffer".

However, Qiu Tu was an outsider.

If he wants to intervene in the affairs of the Sixth Sanctuary in a reasonable and legal manner without provoking a backlash from other forces within the Sixth Sanctuary, he must proceed gradually.

We must not be too hasty or exert too much force.

Only after everyone in the 6th Shelter gradually gets used to and accepts that Qiu Tu can participate in the affairs of the 6th Shelter will Qiu Tu dare to take action against the Kou family.

Moreover, only in this way can Qiu Tu rightfully remain in the 6th shelter after the Kou family is defeated.

Without this premise, Qiu Tu would be an outsider, having neither the right to interfere in the affairs of the 6th Shelter nor the reason to remain there.

In the end, it's very likely that all our efforts will be in vain, and we'll end up doing all the work for Princess Xi's benefit.

Now that King Kang is dead, Qiu Tu only has two choices.

Either face the backlash and forcibly intervene in the affairs of the Sixth Sanctuary, or simply give up.

Secondly, there is the change in the political system.

The political system has always been the most core element of a country or an organization.

Changes in the political system could cause a political earthquake, or even cause the entire country or organization to fall apart.

After all, changes in the political system represent a reshuffling and replacement of power.

During this period, many people and forces may benefit, while many people and forces may be eliminated.

However... this is a different story in Shelter 6.

The political system of the Sixth Sanctuary is a "dual monarchy," meaning that the monarch and the cabinet jointly govern the country.

Afterwards, King Kang fell seriously ill, and power fell into the hands of the cabinet.

It can be said that... in the past two years, the 6th shelter has been a "constitutional monarchy".

Therefore, the transformation of the 6th shelter into a "constitutional monarchy" can be described as almost seamless.

More importantly, why didn't the Kou family directly adopt a parliamentary system, but instead opted for a constitutional monarchy?

That was to... divide the royalists and win over Princess Xi.

This is also the biggest overt strategy behind the Kou family's actions this time:

They did not usurp the throne, but instead chose to legally seize the supreme power of the sanctuary, leaving the honor to Princess Xi.

The advantage of doing this was that the Kou family did not directly usurp the throne. Instead, they seized supreme power by changing the political system.

This will significantly reduce the impact of the Kou family's dynastic change. It will also reduce opposition from the human faction.

Furthermore, because it is a "constitutional monarchy," Princess Xi and the Crown Prince are still the nominal supreme leaders of the sanctuary, and their luxurious lifestyle, food, clothing, and even some basic rights can still be retained.

Furthermore, because the greater good still exists, the royalists can still exist and exert a subtle influence on the sanctuary.

This clever strategy directly reversed the initial "two sides in opposition," and even the irreconcilable conflict.

Given the current weakness of the royalist faction and the young age of the Prince Kang's heir, who is unable to govern, Princess Xi will most likely agree.

Or rather, even if she doesn't agree, the royalists might still want her to.

After all, for the royalists, as long as the bloodline of Prince Kang remained on the throne and could continue to live a life of luxury, their basic goal was achieved.

The Crown Prince of Kang is only a little over a year old. Even if they really eliminate the Kou family and maintain the political system as a "dual monarchy," the Crown Prince of Kang will not be able to rule.

It's not much different from the current situation.

Moreover... Qiu Tu suspected that if the Kou family could commit such a heinous act of regicide, wouldn't they also try to negotiate with the bigwigs of the royalist faction and win them over with benefits?

Finally, the most ruthless and crucial element of this move is timing.

Princess Xi is currently in the 8th Sanctuary. Her most loyal followers from the royalist faction have all come to the 8th Sanctuary to rescue her.

The Prince of Kang has suddenly passed away. Princess Xi wants to lead people back, but it will take at least 3 to 5 days.

By then, the daylilies will be too cold.

Let alone the body of King Kang, we probably won't even see his ashes.

Furthermore, since power had already been transferred to other countries, changing the political system would be very simple.

At that point, Princess Xi will be powerless to reverse the situation...

Qiu Tu even speculated that, in order to avoid Princess Xi's remote command, the entire 6th Sanctuary might now take advantage of the death of Prince Kang to close itself off from the world and cut off all communication.