Death… and me

"My ancestors were a large family in Jiang Hu. They were known as the East Mountain's Tie Family. We ruled before an entire region before we entered the royal courts." Tie Bu Tian continued to speak slowly with his back facing Chu Yang, "However, the moment a force from Jiang Hu becomes involved with the political arena of the royal court, it no longer has any choice but to follow the rules of the royal court. The management methods of Jiang Hu might be fine for ruling over a family or people within a region. However, they most certainly cannot be used to rule a nation. This is one of the Jiang Hu's limitations."

"There will come a time when you have to decide to get rid of something in exchange for something new. Most of the time, it is likely that you have to remove the good people! In Jiang Hu, all of us treat one another as brothers. However, in the royal court, it is strictly emperor and subject. If the subject still views the emperor as a brother, the situation of brothers killing on another is bound to happen!"

Throughout history, this has always been the case. It is never of use to retain the unnecessary things or relations which might cause problems in the future. Similarly, if the relationship of emperor and subject works exceedingly well, then get rid of the system of brotherly relation when ruling over a nation!

"Although such methods may be viewed as ruthless, they are done out of necessity! Those people who spend their days lamenting about such things are bound to fail. In order to rule over a nation, you have to be impartial and indifferent to such issues. Moreover, one must be willing to accept the ridicules of history. Once they are capable of carrying such burdens, only then are you ready to take on the role of leading a nation! It is impossible to lead a nation with purely your heart, emotions or brotherly love. The key to having success is to rule with laws! This is the biggest difference between Jiang Hu and the royal court!"

Chu Yang was puzzled as he wondered why Tie Bu Tian was saying all these things to him.

"So people will say emperors are ruthless!" Tie Bu Tian concluded, "Because if an emperor uses his heart, he finds himself unable to rule a nation and make the right decisions. Everyone knows that brothers are valuable and reliable, but once a brother is praised and eclipses the leader, he must step down. Even if this brother is faithful, it has to done to ascertain power and a clear leadership. An emperor lives in constant torment. Their days are filled with solitude and hardship."

"This is the price to ensure the stability of the kingdom and peace in the world!"

Tie Bu Tian turned his head and looked at Chu Yang, "Senior Chu has no desires for the royal court. Moreover, Senior Chu came to Iron Cloud as a person of Jiang Hu. However, Senior Chu wants to borrow the strength of Iron Cloud to topple Diwu Qing Rou!"

Tie Bu Tian took a deep breath and said slowly, "This is Senior Chu's main purpose!"

"My guess is that Senior Chu does not want to have a subject and ruler relationship with Bu Tian. What you want is to work with Bu Tian as brothers. After everything is done, Senior Chu will want to return to Jiang Hu. These are Senior Chu's thoughts! Am I right?"

"Senior Chu is someone who would rather stay in Jiang Hu! This pride of being part of Jiang Hu is so intense that you would never be content under anyone's command or control!"

He smiled showing a trace of sadness, and slowly asked, "Senior Chu, is Bu Tian correct?"

Chu Yang was completely shocked and struck with terror as he looked at Tie Bu Tian. However, despite what he was feeling, he kept a calm expression and his eyes remained fixated on Tie Bu Tian. Even though this was Tie Bu Tian's first conversation with Chu Yang, he had managed to see right through Chu Yang's intentions.

Such a mind made Chu Yang see the person in front of him in a different light.

"Your Highness is correct." Chu Yang said casually, "That is exactly how I feel."

"Haha…" Tie Bu Tian laughed bitterly, "This is our first meeting; I wanted to make this issue clear. Because if Senior Chu continues to work with this mentality, then there will surely be conflicts with Bu Tian. Moreover, these contradictions between the royal court and Jiang Hu are irreconcilable."

"Your Highness worries too much." Chu Yang said sincerely, "What Your Highness worries about is the contradictions that will arise after peace is restored. I have never been interested in the power of the royal court. Once Diwu Qing Rou is toppled, you will never have to see Chu Yang again!"

"I know that this is Senior Chu's decision!" Tie Bu Tian sighed, "However, I am sure that, when that time comes, many territories of Iron Cloud would no longer be maintained with Senior Chu gone! The moment Senior Chu leaves, Iron Cloud Nation will no doubt fall into turmoil!"

"Your Highness, may I ask how old you are?" Chu Yang asked.

"I have wasted nineteen years already." Tie Bu Tian's eyes suddenly showed a melancholy and lost look.

"Your Highness has been immersed too deep into the tactics and strategies of the royal court." Chu Yang said sharply, "To you, everything has to be measured by the royal court. Before a decision is made, it has to be thought over and weighed according to its benefits and disadvantages as well as to be seen as it being part of a bigger picture. However, all of these things are unnecessary!"

"Your Highness worries far too much. However, he has forgotten one thing. This thing has to measured and taken into consideration. It is life or death; victory or failure."

Chu Yang continued, "Currently, the Iron Cloud Nation is still relatively unstable and can easily be thrown into chaos. Moreover, Great Zhao's national strength is 10 times greater than that of the Iron Cloud Nation. It not only has courageous soldiers but also brilliant and strong leaders. The Great Zhao Nation also has 10 Great Dragon Tiger Generals, each one with at least a thousand victories. Diwu Qing Rou is not only exceptionally capable, but also a brilliant tactician with the resolve to do whatever it takes to achieve his goal – ruling over the entire continent."

"Iron Cloud could crumble at any moment, endangering the lives of 600 million people. In the face of such impending danger, Your Highness is only able to think of the peaceful future?" Chu Yang sneered, "I was not aware that Your Highness is this confident. Or perhaps arrogant is the right word! If Your Highness keeps underestimating Diwu Qing Rou, Chu Yang might as well leave this place and retire someplace else without a care."

Tie Bu Tian's countenance changed. He glanced at Chu Yang, looking at him for a brief moment before tilting his body and bowing. "What Senior Chu says is true. Bu Tian is honoured to learn more from you. We should not talk that far into the future…"

In this meeting, both of these individuals had already sparred with one another albeit with words. Moreover, Chu Yang seemed to have to upper hand.

Tie Bu Tian had gone through all the trouble of saying and explained everything he did in order to quash Chu Yang's loyalty towards Jiang Hu and make Chu Yang one of his subjects. Despite there being an element of truth in what he said, most of which was over exaggerated and biased.

Chu Yang's counter-argument showed that his decision was final and would not change. Moreover, he had pointed out the flawed logic in Tie Bu Tian's thinking. His words were exaggerated and had not given Tie Bu Tian any room for rebuttal. Chu Yang was also aware that Tie Bu Tian was being pressured intensely by Diwu Qing Rou. It was natural for Tie Bu Tian to think about life, death, victory, and failure.

In fact, Tie Bu Tian was probably constantly thinking about this.

Chu Yang simply made use of the words and his thoughts to convince Tie Bu Tian.

Tie Bu Tian used the entire world to pressure Chu Yang. However, Chu Yang had immediately countered using Diwu Qing Rou as well as the six hundred million people of Iron Cloud Nation for good measure.

Both parties somewhat overstated their points. Nevertheless, they each understood the other's intentions. However, they both chose not to say it outright simply because they felt that it would have been too confrontational. At that point in time, Tie Bu Tian's loss would not be minimal, and Chu Yang would have also found his objective difficult to achieve. Therefore, the each of the sides naturally formed a delicate balance.

Under pressure from Chu Yang's last statement, Tie Bu Tian had no choice but to take a step back and admit defeat in this battle of wits. However, it helped him prove that he was a person capable of accepting the ideas of others.

"Senior Chu, you are such a direct person and your words are as sharp as a knife." Tie Bu Tian said, smiling.

"Your Highness also had a solid defense." Chu Yang smiled in return.

"Senior Chu has wasted many thoughts on your journey to Iron Cloud. You arrived quite suddenly, giving me quite a shock. At that time, I had already wanted to recruit you to help me. However, before I could do so, you had Saintly Physician Du help recommend you, taking advantage of my urgent need for talent!"

Tie Bu Tian sighed and smiled, "After completing all of this, Senior Chu did not even bother to come and see me. Instead, you used the Heavenly Armament Pavilion as a force that Iron Cloud Nation was unable to resist. In turn, Senior Chu's position went up again. Moreover, you managed to create such a lasting impression at the highest level of Iron Cloud Nation's royal court such that Royal Uncle went to see you! From then on, you showcased your strengths and insights on pressing issues! Finally, Senior Chu just sat the Heavenly Armament Pavilion and waited for my invitation. Senior Chu planned everything down to the finest detail and simply watched everything fall into place!"