Mythic version of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 6538 Sharpness
Yuan Tan had adjusted his mood by now. At least Huangfu Song could not see any change in Yuan Tan's expression. Compared to his previous overly calm state, Yuan Tan was now almost no different from normal.

"We are actually discussing who should go to the Senate to take charge." Yuan Tan looked calmly at the officers and civil officials under his command, determining the mentality of this group of people.

Generally speaking, the officers and civil officials who followed Yuan Tan from the Central Plains basically had a feeling of frustration and humiliation, while those recruited from Eastern Europe did not feel any humiliation about this matter. Even Valery, who could be considered an old minister of the Yuan family, was surprised when he learned that Rome decided to enthrone Yuan Tan as the Duke of the Northeastern Border County.

If most people in the big tent were not secretly angry, there is no telling what Valeri would say right now.

In this era, Rome is indeed the well-deserved beacon of Europe. Even the Slavs, in essence, do not want to become Roman citizens, but some time ago, the price offered by Rome to the Slavs was too low, which led to the failure of the two sides to reach an agreement. In essence, people like Valeri still admire Rome.

"I, I will sit in the Roman Senate." Cyprian said very actively. Although he also noticed that the atmosphere was wrong, Cyprian, who was born in the Roman cultural circle, did not realize the impact of this incident on the Yuan family. He could only analyze the matter with his own thinking.

From Cyprian's perspective, this was not a bad thing. At least it was not as tragic as Yuan Tan's claim that his father had died. Instead, it was a very good thing. The Duke, this was the Duke of Rome, the highest position under the emperor.

Yuan Tan looked at Cyprian who was eager to try and felt somewhat helpless. This man was the prime minister appointed by their Yuan family and a true genius who must be won over. More importantly, he was very young and was undoubtedly the pillar of the Yuan family in the future. However, the fact that he was so eager to go to the Roman Senate did make Yuan Tan feel uncomfortable.

"It's not impossible for you to go to the Roman Senate, but this kind of thing requires rotation. We don't have enough manpower, and the number of people we can devote to the Senate is limited. Moreover, even if you go to the Roman Senate, you will have to take on considerable work." Xu You answered on behalf of Yuan Tan. It was impossible to directly reject Cyprian. After all, this man's ability was so strong that he needed to be stroked.

In this world, those who can sit on the fence, directly confront their superiors, or even completely ignore their superiors, either have special abilities or have backers who cannot be spoken of openly.

It's not that Cyprian doesn't understand politics, but he ignored the risk in the face of the current situation. He just wanted to make some trouble in the Roman Senate. As the brain of the Roman Empire, the Senate was known to gather the essence of the entire country. Cyprian wanted to see what these guys were and whether they were good enough for him to build.

This intelligence was indeed just a rumor, because from the time Severus gave the order until now, Rome has been in a state of chaos. After finally curbing the civil strife, a locust plague broke out in East Africa. Rome simply did not have the time and manpower to implement this plan. However, Cyprian, who received this intelligence, believed based on his own experience and judgment that this intelligence was most likely true.

"The one about reclaiming wasteland." Cyprian lowered his head in thought. He was the one who made that plan, but his original intention was not to reclaim wasteland, but to eliminate the racial conflicts within the Yuan family.

"Actually, I think we should consider the subsequent land reclamation issue. Being named duke by Rome has become inevitable, so many subsequent strategies will be affected." Yuan Tan raised his hand to suppress it. The fait accompli could not be stopped, and all that could be done was to reduce the losses.

It can be considered as killing several birds with one stone, but from Cyprian's point of view, reclaiming wasteland is not really his goal. In his view, the unity of the people under his rule is far more important than reclaiming wasteland.

"In fact, there is a piece of information that I have been studying, but I think it is necessary to talk about it now." Cyprian restrained his previous excitement and desire to harm the Roman Senate, and instead looked at Yuan Tan with some seriousness and said.

"No problem at all. Just tell me what you want to do in Rome. I have absolute confidence that I can do it well." Cyprian glanced at Xu You and said confidently. Although Xu You was twice as old as him, except for his experience which was worthy of Cyprian's admiration, everything else was just so-so. The top strongman who influenced world history in the third century was so confident.

"What?" Xu You was shocked, and Huangfu Song, who had crossed the Eurasian plate, suddenly realized what it would mean to the entire Han Dynasty if Rome dug the Black Sea-Caspian Sea Canal. If this canal was really to be built at this time, it would have an impact on the strategic level.

There was no chance before, but now the opportunity has come. If he doesn't go and take a look, Cyprian feels that he will never get over this hurdle in his life. As a European, if he doesn't severely harm the Romans when he gets the chance, what kind of European is he? If you can't eat from five tripods when you are alive, you will be cooked in five tripods when you die. Do you understand?

"What intelligence?" Yuan Tan asked with a frown. The Yuan family did have an intelligence network in Rome, but it was not very good overall. After Cyprian arrived, he reorganized the intelligence network he had originally set up in Rome, strengthening the Yuan family's intelligence collection on Rome, but it also affected the Yuan family's intelligence agency to a certain extent. In other words, Cyprian also had an intelligence network of his own.

This thing can truly change the strategy. Once the Black Sea-Caspian Canal is built, Rome will be able to strategically suppress Central Asia, and because of the Volga River, the secrets of Eastern Europe will be revealed. Even if Rome does not know that the Volga River runs throughout Eastern Europe, from a national strategic perspective alone, building the Black Sea-Caspian Canal will be beneficial with no harm.

As for Yuan Tan, if he was not very good at geography, he would have to think for a while before he could react. Fortunately, Yuan Tan had memorized the entire Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the eastern part of Rome in his mind, and soon he connected with the Black Sea-Caspian Canal.

"So I think that agricultural reclamation and the like don't really matter whether they are exposed or not. A good blacksmith must be strong himself." Cyprian said while looking at the people present.

"Rome is preparing to dig the Black Sea-Caspian Sea Canal." Cyprian said with some uncertainty, "Of course this is just a rumor, and even my intelligence organization cannot be sure of the source of this news, but from a strategic point of view, this strategy is without any problem."

To put it bluntly, land reclamation is just a job that Cyprian found that would allow both parties to communicate with each other. It's just that this job has a positive cycle and happens to help the Yuan family realize their ideal of assimilating Eastern Europe.

The language barrier and the inability to communicate will inevitably lead to ethnic conflicts. If isolation continues, it can only be a short-term suppression, and many things will still not be resolved.

Xu You was speechless after hearing this. Talented young people were really too difficult to deal with, especially this kind of guy who seemed to have no limits in his strength. When he spoke, it was really hard to know what to do with him.

"We haven't received this news at all." Xu You was shocked and looked at Cyprian in shock. If this news was true, their Yuan family would become very passive, and the Han Dynasty's aristocratic families in Central Asia would also be greatly suppressed.

"Well, it's secret information obtained by my intelligence line, but the source of the information is uncertain." Cyprian waved his hand and said, "But from my point of view, I think it's OK if the Romans don't realize this thing, but if they do, they will definitely repair it."

The best way to resolve internal racial conflicts is communication. Only with enough communication and understanding can two groups of people of different races become brothers who support each other.

"Is there no way to stop Rome from building this canal?" Huangfu Song asked tentatively. If Rome built this canal, the pressure on Central Asia would be too great. If water transportation was used, the pressure on logistics and legion transfer would be much less than it is now.

"We can't stop it." Cyprian said calmly.

"How many years will it take to build the canal?" Huangfu Song asked with a sigh. "According to Roman technology, if they are willing to invest manpower, it won't take too long, but I think there is no hope this year. With the locust plague, Rome can't build a canal. In fact, from my perspective, the previous civil strife in Rome itself seemed like Rome was actively capturing prisoners." Cyprian said with a deep expression.

Yuan Tan, Xu You and others present looked at each other in bewilderment. Is Rome so cruel? Few people in the Han Dynasty dared to do this.

"It will take a lot of manpower to build the canal, and there will be many problems if we recruit them. On the contrary, if we use prisoners, no matter where they come from, and use them to death, it will not cause internal problems." Cyprian explained calmly that some European systems and some things of the Han Dynasty are completely different things. At least, the European tricks did seem outrageous to Yuan Tan.

"However, there was a locust plague this time. It is unlikely that these captives will continue to be sent to build the canal, and new problems will arise in their subsequent disposal." Cyprian said with some speculation, "The situation in Rome this year is destined to make it impossible to invest a large amount of food in infrastructure, so these captives are likely to die on a large scale."

It sounds cruel, but this is the truth. There is a locust plague in East Africa and Rome is running out of food. Who cares about the lives of you sinners?

"I don't think Rome will have the energy to organize a group of people to continue building the canal next year," Cyprian said with certainty.

Most of the prisoners reserved for building the canal this year died or were injured due to hunger. Even if we want to organize manpower to build the canal next year after we have recovered, there will not be so many prisoners. If we recruit the barbarians, they will not really fight to the death for such a matter.

"This is good news for us." Yuan Tan said with a somewhat amusing look on his face. At least it is not the worst outcome.

"No, what I mean is that you should restrain your so-called low-key development idea. When the Yuan family is still weak, you can develop in a low-key manner and pretend to be timid in the eyes of Rome, but when the size reaches a certain level, it is impossible to develop in a low-key manner no matter what, and Rome will not allow it." Cyprian looked at Yuan Tan and said, "With your ambition, you can't stand still at this time. So I think it's time for you to adjust your mentality."

It is impossible to develop in a low-key manner. When you are weak and others don't pay attention to you, it's okay for you to develop secretly. But when you develop to a certain level, it will be impossible for you to continue to develop secretly. Especially for a guy like Yuan Tan who aims at Rome, thinking about hiding himself will only make you more and more passive.

"Now that Rome knows about it, will they give up?" Cyprian asked Yuan Tan.

"Reclaiming wasteland can eliminate social contradictions within the Yuan family, re-establish stable middle and lower-level organizations, consolidate the foundation, and continuously enhance the overall social output of the Yuan family. Now, we stop it because of the possibility that Rome will find out?" Cyprian said with some sarcasm.

How is it possible? As a big boss of an organization, Cyprian never believed that other organizations had any good intentions. He always adhered to the principle of merging other companies if he could, and he would do it as long as it was beneficial to him, even if other organizations did not allow him to do so!

The Roman Empire is nothing. It seems that these people around me keep saying that they will defeat Rome one day, but when they are actually working, they are quite in awe of Rome. What garbage? Didn’t Rome develop from a small country? What is there to be afraid of?

Yuan Tan looked at Cyprian and sighed. He saw his lost spirit in Cyprian. Ever since his father died in battle, Yuan Tan has been walking on thin ice, making choices, responding as best as possible, and doing everything as well as possible.

But there is no perfect solution in the world. There are only compromises and weighings. The reason why Yuan Tan can hold up the huge situation of the Yuan family now is only because Yuan Tan is patient and restrained enough. Speaking of talent, there are many people who are better than him, but there are probably not many who can hold on like Yuan Tan.

"I don't know how you feel about Rome, but to me Rome is a country. I had an idea a long time ago, that is, I want to set up an organization and then trample Rome under my feet. Maybe I can't do it in my generation, but the organization I left behind will continue to develop, and sooner or later the crown of the Roman emperor will need my recognition before it can be inherited." Cyprian said very conceitedly.

Sima Yi, who was sitting next to Cyprian, felt at this moment what it meant to be a child of destiny and what it meant to dominate the world. Maybe this guy next to him was not as good as his cousin, but this guy was really strong and had a special charm.

At this point in time in the third century, in terms of ability alone, there were only two people who could completely overwhelm Sima Yi. Including Chen Xi who went against the current, there were actually only three people. The other guys, whether it was Jia Xu, Li You, Xun Yu, Zhou Yu, or Guo Jia, Fa Zheng, etc., at least there was no possibility that they could completely crush Sima Yi and make him lose his temper.

However, Sima Yi's misfortune was that his talent was stimulated by Hu Zhao, making him invincible. However, he met Zhuge Liang when he made his debut, Chen Zichuan when he fought again, and Cyprian when he came to Eastern Europe. Sima Yi met all three people in the world who could press Sima Yi to the ground and make him convinced.

"Don't look down on me. You are the same as Duke Zhong. What's wrong with you? Although you seem to be working very hard, and you are capable and decisive, why do you lack the spirit to forge ahead? Damn it, it's just Rome. Being unable to defeat it is only temporary. What's the big deal? Why do you all look like losers?" Cyprian said unconvinced.

The Roman crown, as the most noble thing in the world, in the end it really needed his recognition to be crowned as Cyprian said. Although he was already his successor at that time, the basic operating structure of Catholicism and Orthodoxy had basically not changed after Cyprian's death, and even the basic structure of Orthodoxy had not changed at all.

To a certain extent, Cyprian did fulfill his promise, and the Roman Empire was nothing more than that to him.

Even though he died in Rome, everything he left behind destroyed and ravaged Rome. When the crown, which symbolizes the supreme glory of the empire, needs to be crowned by others, how ironic the glory of the empire is.

"Taking shortcuts will not solve any problems. At this point, there is no choice but to fight head-on. Rome has given you ten years, but you guys don't think about how to use these ten years to develop and accumulate enough strength. You are so decadent. Are you guys useless?" Cyprian naturally used his unique ability to talk bad. There was no other way, this kid really had never been beaten, and his words were very hurtful.

But this is indeed the truth, and the truth is sharp.

"It's not as clear as you see." Yuan Tan looked at Cyprian with obvious admiration in his eyes. Even though he already knew that Cyprian was a genius, he couldn't help but feel emotional when he saw him so proud when facing Rome. Then he thought about himself and realized that he indeed lacked the sharpness.

"I have studied the so-called spiritual talent and monarchical talent of the Han Dynasty. Let's not talk about the former. As for the latter, Duke Zhongguo, have you ever thought about why you don't have it? From the perspective of a monarch, you are at least good enough. Why don't you have the talent of a monarch?" Cyprian glanced at Yuan Tan and asked.

"Why?" Yuan Tan actually already knew the answer, but he still needed to confirm it.

"Your Majesty must have the awareness to lead his men in and out of death and have no regrets when returning, instead of weighing the pros and cons. At least he must have the spirit to suppress the whole world's rebellion with his own strength." Cyprian said.

　There were only a few people in the third century who could pin Sima Yi to the ground and beat him until he submitted. Sima Yi happened to meet all of them.
　　(End of this chapter)