Outside, it began to rain. The raindrops pattered against the window, sounding like the frantic, unsettling beat of a death drum.
What other plans could there be besides avoiding the conflict? Song Qiming looked at Song Jinzhao with a puzzled expression.
"Sister, what do you mean by relying on ourselves?"
The Emperor held the power of life and death over everyone; whoever he wanted dead would die. There was simply no way to resist.
Song Jinzhao stared intently at Song Qiming, her calm eyes hiding a surging, violent storm.
"If the ruler is merciless and unworthy of his position, then we change the emperor."
"How about dragging Xiao Chengjing off the dragon throne and taking the seat ourselves?"
Seeing the highly aggressive smile on Song Jinzhao's lips, a chill ran down Song Qiming's spine.
He subconsciously glanced at the window to make sure there was no draft before looking back.
Flustered, Song Qiming lowered his head, blinking rapidly. His mind was a mess.
His sister was too bold. How could she even think of rebellion?
Although this revelation came far too suddenly and he was completely unprepared, Song Qiming subconsciously began to weigh the feasibility of Song Jinzhao's idea.
Song Jinzhao watched him in silence, giving Song Qiming plenty of time to calm down and think.
An unknown amount of time passed, and the sound of the rain outside began to fade.
Song Qiming furrowed his brows tightly.
He looked up with difficulty, his eyes filled with an unprecedented seriousness and earnestness.
"Even if I become the Provincial Governor of the Southwest, I will only have twenty thousand troops under my command. The imperial court has six hundred thousand troops on paper, and in reality, they have at least four hundred and fifty thousand. Twenty thousand against four hundred and fifty thousand—isn't that like striking a stone with an egg?"
Calling it suicide wouldn't be an exaggeration; they could easily be crushed to death.
Song Jinzhao reached out and drew a large circle north of the Southwest. "What if we add the troops of all the foreign tribes in the Southwest?"
Song Qiming clenched his jaw, hesitating for a long time before he couldn't help but speak.
"Sister, you want to ally with the southwestern tribes to raise an army together?"
Song Jinzhao's tone revealed a chilling dominance.
"Not ally. Annex."
Song Qiming blinked in horror. He covered his forehead with his hand, spun around twice in place, and then quickly looked up.
"There are over thirty foreign tribes in the Southwest, large and small. Together, they have about two hundred thousand troops. These men are genuine fighting forces, without any exaggeration."
"Among them, the Yang clan of Panzhou has seventy thousand, and the Mu clan of Ningzhou has fifty thousand. The remaining eighty thousand are scattered among the other tribes—some have seven or eight thousand, while others have only a few hundred. But if we want to gather all of them, the first two alone will be tough nuts to crack."
"Especially when facing the imperial court. At the slightest sign of trouble, these tribes, who usually fight among themselves, will unite against the common enemy. Gathering all of them will be extremely difficult. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it's like fighting half of the Dongzhao Kingdom."
Song Qiming didn't object; he just felt it was highly unlikely to succeed.
If it were Chu Liuyun or Qin Guo, the chances would be higher. At least they held heavy military power and had the strength to rebel.
Song Jinzhao turned to face the map. "The Southwest is poor. The Yang and Mu clans have money, but the commoners in their territories do not."
"Across all the southwestern tribes, apart from the soldiers, there are the commoners, and their numbers far exceed two hundred thousand."
"According to imperial regulations, the territories of the southwestern tribes also fall under the jurisdiction of the Provincial Governor of the Southwest. It's just that over the years, Gu Zhongxun hasn't been able to control them at all. The imperial court has never given the people of the Southwest any benefits, so the hearts and minds of the people are controlled by the tribes."
"If we want to overthrow the rule of the southwestern tribes, the first step is to win the hearts of the people over to our side."
