IW: Chapter 224 - The Existence of Night Raid is but a Tragedy, Bai Ye's Talk no Jutsu!
"Your Majesty, to attack the Empire, we must deal with Esdeath and Budo. I can handle one of them."
Enkidu, the Captain of the Hairan Empire's Sea King Crusade.
He didn't agree with Bai Ye attacking at this time, but he didn't oppose it either.
The Sea King Crusade was loyal to the King of the Hairan Empire.
"I can handle it, and we also have allies."
"Allies?"
Enkidu mumbled softly, then asked, "Is it about the matter Your Majesty instructed earlier?"
"That's right. Everyone, regarding the Empire, I want you to go back and come up with a plan for me. Whether it's peace or war, you can submit it to me."
The imperial court had already been cleaned out by Bai Ye, but there were some things Bai Ye wouldn't say in front of so many people.
He had everyone leave, leaving only Enkidu. It just so happened that the distant guest seemed to have arrived as well.
"Come out."
Bai Ye called out to the screen behind him, and then a woman walked out from behind the screen.
"The Revolutionary Army actually sent you... Najenda, the former Imperial General and current leader of Night Raid."
The Revolutionary Army had long been in contact with the Hairan Empire.
In fact, a lot of the Revolutionary Army's supplies were provided by their Hairan Empire.
Otherwise, how could the Revolutionary Army's forces have persisted until now?
Before Bai Ye ascended, the old emperor had secretly funded the Revolutionary Army, hoping they could throw the Empire into chaos.
"Your Majesty."
Najenda knelt on one knee respectfully.
She was sent because the Revolutionary Army arranged for her to discuss future support with the newly appointed emperor.
Most of the Empire's resources were controlled by the nobles in the Imperial Capital, and if they wanted to fight the Empire, they had to rely on a third party. They had also contacted Yashiki Kagaya before.
However, he refused, citing that he did not interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.
Yashiki Kagaya himself still had to deal with the demons in his own country, so at that time, the Revolutionary Army also turned their attention to the Hairan Empire.
The reason they didn't approach the Hairan Empire at first was because they knew the Hairan Empire had ambitions.
Yashiki Kagaya had a gentle personality. Even if the Revolutionary Army won in the end by cooperating with him, he wouldn't come to seize the fruits of victory.
But Yashiki Kagaya's strength was too weak, and coupled with his inherent personality, he didn't participate.
Thus, cooperation with the Hairan Empire was put on the table.
Finally, the leader of the Revolutionary Army decided to cooperate. If they didn't, the likely outcome would be being wiped out by the Empire. If they couldn't even guarantee supplies, who would follow them to fight the Empire?
Cooperating with the Hairan Empire was undoubtedly like playing with fire, but at least there was a chance.
Bai Ye looked at Najenda with a smile. Although he already had the answer in his heart, he didn't say it directly.
After all, he wasn't the one who needed to beg the other party right now.
Upon hearing Bai Ye's words, Najenda was stunned, obviously not realizing that Bai Ye's first sentence would be like this.
But then, she seemed to understand that the other party wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to gain benefits.
"Your Majesty, our battle with the Empire has entered a fierce stage. If we lose the support of the Hairan Empire, we will completely fail, and all previous investments will become invalid!"
Najenda's words were very clear.
Without resources, their Revolutionary Army couldn't consume the Empire for Hairan.
In fact, everyone knew the other party's little schemes.
"But you make me see no hope at all. How will you defeat Esdeath and Budo?"
Bai Ye looked at Najenda with a smile. To put it bluntly, if it weren't for Esdeath's love-struck mind and the little emperor's lack of intelligence, they probably really couldn't win.
First, the little emperor's Supreme Imperial Armament, he simply couldn't use it, fighting so poorly.
Then there was Esdeath's arrogance and love-struck mind, which directly turned a strong start into a disadvantage.
"But your goal is just to make us weaken the Empire!"
Najenda directly exposed Bai Ye's words without hesitation.
She could only do that.
In fact, she also saw that Bai Ye was much more difficult to deal with than the old emperor.
However, even the old emperor, she believed, had the same goal, but compared to the more sinister old emperor, the new emperor seemed more direct?
"That's right, we are weakening the Empire, and then annexing the Empire."
Bai Ye said without hesitation.
This made everything Najenda had prepared to say go to waste.
She had thought of many things to say, but you just spoke openly. What was this supposed to be?
However, this also made Najenda understand Bai Ye a little more in her heart.
"Did I just kill the conversation?"
It's good that you know.
"Let's change the subject, Najenda. I have a question I want to ask you."
"Please speak, Your Majesty."
Najenda nodded, and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief in her heart. She was really afraid that Bai Ye would keep going on this topic.
She herself didn't know how to continue talking with Bai Ye.
Secondly, she was here to cooperate with Bai Ye. If Bai Ye didn't cooperate, their Revolutionary Army might really not be able to hold on.
Although everyone used to pretend to be confused when they knew the truth.
But if you spoke openly, how could the conversation continue?
She was a little embarrassed.
"As an assassin organization, Night Raid, have you ever thought that one day you wouldn't die at the hands of enemies but at the hands of your own people?"
The fate of Night Raid was sealed from the beginning.
An organization that could not see the light of day, an organization based on assassination.
This was destined not to be recognized by the Revolutionary Army. The Revolutionary Army represented light. If they admitted their relationship with Night Raid, how would other people view the Revolutionary Army?
So the Revolutionary Army was light, and Night Raid was darkness. When the light grew up one day, it would no longer need darkness.
As darkness, they would also be abandoned by the Revolutionary Army.
Just like in the anime, Akame also became a target of the Revolutionary Army's pursuit afterward.
Furthermore, the deaths of most other members of Night Raid were unknown to most people. Sacrifices were always silent.
"Your Majesty, isn't it a bit too straightforward to say that?"
Enkidu, who was beside him, said with some surprise. Could such words be said directly?
Or rather... Bai Ye wanted to win over the woman in front of him?
If that was the case, then it seemed that there wasn't much of a problem with Bai Ye saying it like this.
"We are ready for sacrifice. The Empire needs to change!"
Najenda was ready for sacrifice. Even now, she still didn't think they could defeat Esdeath.
But if they chose to just watch the Empire be ruined by those people just because they couldn't defeat them, she couldn't do it!
While serving in the Empire, she witnessed too much darkness, so she chose to leave the Empire and join the Revolutionary Army. She wanted to change this country.
Bai Ye said with a smile. Originally, his plan wasn't that smooth.
But after seeing Najenda arrive, Bai Ye realized that his opportunity seemed to have come.
"Your Majesty, why are you trying to sow discord between us and the Revolutionary Army?"
"The people of the Empire are just without a choice. Look at the Revolutionary Army's occupied territories. Aren't those ordinary people also living in dire straits? Forced by livelihood, many people still have to go to the Imperial Capital. In the end, how much of what you are given is truly for the revolution?"
Bai Ye said with a smile. It had to be said that the Revolutionary Army and the Empire were pretty much the same.
"You only joined the Revolutionary Army because you disliked the darkness of the Empire. So for you, who are you fighting for? The Revolutionary Army or the common people of the Empire?"
Bai Ye was very curious about Najenda's stance.
Facing Bai Ye's series of questions, Najenda just felt a little strange, but after all, he was the 'financier', so she naturally had to give him a satisfactory answer.
After a slight thought, she finally gave her answer.
"I am for the people of the Empire!"
If the Revolutionary Army also fell into darkness, she would leave the Revolutionary Army as well!
So her stance was to protect ordinary people!
Just like the children in Night Raid, except for Lubbock, everyone else had tragic experiences.
Therefore, she hoped to change all of this.
"Good! That's the answer I've been waiting for. Then we can also bring a better life to the people of the Empire, so why not consider cooperating with us?"
Bai Ye was waiting for Najenda to say that. Since she said it, it was for the people of the Empire.
Then she didn't necessarily need to cooperate with the Revolutionary Army, but could cooperate with them.
Upon hearing Bai Ye say this, Najenda was stunned. Obviously, she had thought of many things, but she hadn't expected Bai Ye to approach it from this angle. She couldn't even refute it.
"Our internal affairs have been mostly cleaned up. I want to create a world without such a big disparity, at least not a world where people eat people so obviously. And the Empire and us will have a war sooner or later.
Your fate, whether the Empire wins or loses, will not be good. It's just death. If you win, you might not die, but what about the others?
Have you considered others?
They can die at the hands of enemies, but can they endure being betrayed by their own people?"
Bai Ye said calmly. These words also made Najenda's state of mind a little unstable.
But if they knew that their ultimate outcome would also be abandonment, what would they think?
Najenda was unsure...
"Then how can we be sure that you won't betray us?"
"You can only trust us. Of course, if you don't consider the lives of Night Raid, then you don't have to choose us. Go and see the internal situation of your Revolutionary Army. Go and ask the people of Night Raid if they are willing to die at the hands of their own people."
Najenda could only trust Bai Ye now.
From the anime, it could be seen that Najenda might have known it all along, but she herself didn't realize that they could defeat Esdeath, Budo, and these people.
"The problems of your Empire are very complex, requiring not just revolution. The high-ranking officials of the Revolutionary Army and the high-ranking officials of the Empire are pretty much the same, perhaps a little better, as they don't have people like the Minister. But after they gain power, the Empire will still not be peaceful. Only if we conquer the Empire and rewrite the order, overthrowing everything that existed, just like us..."
The Hairan Empire was actually a mess when Bai Ye ascended the throne.
Fortunately, after he took power, the Sea King Crusade listened to him, and it was only by Bai Ye's continuous killing that the problems here were resolved.
"Najenda, I will send the supplies to your Revolutionary Army as per the previous agreement, but after that, you can go and ask the members of your Night Raid what kind of ending they want."
Bai Ye believed that after Najenda returned, she would know the answer.
"I understand."
Giving her supplies and trying to win her over, Najenda didn't know what Bai Ye was thinking for a moment.
Was he that confident in himself?
Was he so sure that she would choose to betray after returning?
With these questions, Najenda left the palace.
"Your Majesty, if you want the other party to compromise, wouldn't it be better to just not give them supplies?"
Enkidu asked curiously.
If Bai Ye wanted the other party to compromise, this seemed like a better way.
"No, you are wrong. This cannot make the other party compromise. I told the old man to corrupt the high-ranking officials of the Revolutionary Army back then, and indeed, it was as I thought. It's easy to go from frugality to extravagance. Now they will make Night Raid see who is worth serving and who can change all of this!"
At that time, when the old emperor was formulating this plan, Bai Ye took the opportunity to propose this idea, and it was eventually adopted by the old emperor.
This matter had also been carried out in secret, and the results were very gratifying.
It has to be said that the inherent evil of human nature was fully reflected in them, and some were even more perverse than the nobles.
After all, most of the Revolutionary Army rebelled because they couldn't survive, and a small part were minor nobles with some strength. As for those top nobles, why would they bother to rebel with them?
So as long as Esdeath was won over by him, then dealing with the Empire would be easy.
"Your Majesty is right."
Enkidu didn't say much. In Bai Ye, he saw the Shadow of a hegemon. It seemed that this time, their Hairan Empire really had a chance to unify the entire continent?
Once, the first king of their Hairan Empire had tried, but ultimately failed because the first emperor of the Empire created Imperial Arms, and in another country, there was a person named Yoriichi Tsugikuni who stopped them.
Ultimately, the Hairan Empire was severely weakened in this war and then went into hibernation, waiting for an opportunity.
After so many years, they finally waited. They waited for the Empire to bring about its own downfall and become weak, and they waited for the enlightened ruler of their Hairan Empire!
"Alright, just leave Bes here. Anyway, the Empire won't exist anymore after this!"
"I'll go do it now, Your Majesty!"
Enkidu nodded in response, then found Bes and beautified Bai Ye's meaning to Bes.
Although he was a little surprised that Bai Ye was so confident in saying that the Empire would cease to exist in a while.
But since Bai Ye said it.
Then he would obey.
"Lord Bes, Your Majesty said that you should rest in the palace for a while, and His Majesty will come to find you after he finishes handling things!"
Leave him here?
A hint of surprise flashed in Bes's eyes. He obviously didn't quite understand why Bai Ye would do this. Did he want to force him to stay?
It seemed like he had no use value at all, right?
Was there any need for him to force him to stay?
"I understand!"
Although Bes didn't know the purpose of Bai Ye doing this, he also understood that it was impossible for him to leave at this time.
However, since he was left behind, did it mean that Bai Ye was hesitating whether to help him?
This couldn't help but make a glimmer of expectation flash in Bes's heart, hoping that Bai Ye could make a move. Although he knew that inviting Bai Ye was tantamount to playing with fire.
The Empire.
Looking at this outwardly peaceful place, yet a living hell in secret, Bai Ye couldn't help but feel a touch of emotion.
When his army trampled this place, all the evil spirits here would surely disappear!
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