Chapter 72
At this moment, Shi Siming approached.
Looking at An Lushan, who was lost in thought, and then towards the distant allied forces of the three kingdoms, he opened his mouth, hesitated for a moment, and then said, “Elder brother, I’m not sure if I should say something!”
An Lushan smiled, “Between you and me, brothers, what words are there that we cannot speak?”
“Alright then, I will speak boldly!”
Shi Siming asked seriously, “Elder brother, are you content to follow such a foolish emperor?”
“Second brother, be cautious with your words, do not defile His Majesty!” An Lushan’s gaze sharpened.
“What His Majesty? He is nothing but a thorough foolish emperor!”
Shi Siming said indignantly, “Elder brother, have you seen how he has commanded these past few battles? His commands are haphazard, he issues orders at will, and each time he puts us in jeopardy!”
“Although we always manage to escape from the brink of disaster and turn bad luck into good fortune, luck will run out eventually! If we fail just once, we’re all finished! Elder brother, look over there, that’s the consequence of his reckless actions!”
Shi Siming pointed towards the distant armies of the three kingdoms: “Over there, there’s an army of 800,000 and 5 Innate experts; we simply have no chance of winning! Even if we’re lucky enough to get through this situation, what about the future?”“With his level of incompetence, he’s bound to continue making outrageous decisions! If we keep following him, even nine lives wouldn’t be enough!”
An Lushan sighed deeply and said with a wry smile, “Second brother, do you think I’m not aware? His Majesty is young, stubborn, and self-righteous, and he won’t listen to advice. As his subjects, we can only obey and act accordingly!”
“Elder brother, don’t you have any other thoughts?” Shi Siming asked.
“What thoughts?” An Lushan inquired.
Shi Siming’s eyes sharpened: “To command troops and usurp power!”
An Lushan was shocked and pale, he looked around and, finding no one, heaved a sigh of relief and said, “Younger brother, be careful with your words. Such talk must not be taken lightly. If someone were to hear us, it could cost us our heads!”
“Elder brother, I’m just asking you, are we doing this or not? Rather than being killed by him one day, we might as well…”
“Younger brother, stop talking! I just want to ask you, if we were to rebel now, what do you think our chances of success are? If we were to raise an army now, how many of our soldiers would follow us?” An Lushan inquired.
“This…” Shi Siming hesitated.
“Can’t figure it out, can you? Then let me tell you, if we were to rebel, we wouldn’t have even a ten percent chance of success! If we were to raise an army, not a single soldier would follow us!”
An Lushan pointed at Shi Siming, then at himself, “You and I, brothers, are now nothing more than first-rate experts! Among the entire army, there are quite a few who are not inferior to us! Do you think they will listen to us, join us in rebellion?”
“This… it’s unlikely…” Shi Siming shook his head.
“It’s not just unlikely, it’s simply impossible! Our current power all comes from His Majesty, and they are very resentful in their hearts! If we were to rebel, they would be the first to turn their blades on us, because they want to take our place!”
Shi Siming fell silent because his elder brother was right.
“Moreover, not a single soldier would follow us!”
“Because their military pay is issued by His Majesty, and it’s very high, enough to support a family! The food they eat is also provided by His Majesty, plentiful and never leaving them hungry!”
“Their families are mostly in the capital city, living in concrete houses, without worries for food and clothing, leading happy lives!”
“Once they conspire with us, there will be no more military pay, no more food, and their families will be put in danger. Everything will be lost! Do you think they would jeopardize their happiness and follow us in a venture that risks their heads?”
Shi Siming said bitterly, “They won’t!”
“Exactly, they won’t. No smart person would! Although His Majesty is incompetent, he has given too much, and nobody would go against money!”
Shi Siming nodded in strong agreement.
“Moreover, our strength is just too weak!”
An Lushan said with a reluctant bitter smile, “This world, after all, respects the powerful! Once we commit an act of betrayal, His Majesty will surely put a hefty bounty on us and might even send Innate masters to kill us! With the strength of us two brothers, we basically have no chance of escaping the pursuit!”
“So, once we rebel, we will lose everything, including our lives!”
“Elder brother, are we just supposed to wait for death? Following that foolish emperor leads nowhere; he will get us killed sooner or later!” Shi Siming said anxiously.
“Of course not! We should now focus on low-key development, secretly accumulating strength! When the time comes, we can rise up and take control of our own destiny!”
“But how long must we wait?”
An Lushan clenched his fist, feeling the power within it, and ambitiously declared, “When our strength reaches the Innate level, we will be able to control our own fate! Once we have full command of the military, we will have the capital to launch a rebellion! By then, we can certainly take over and don the yellow robe!”
Shi Siming exclaimed loudly, “Good! Elder brother, I will follow your lead!”
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