847 I Want You to Be the Emperor of Great Qin (2)
“Xu Shi is dead,” the Qin emperor said.
“What does that have to do with me?” Zhou Shu said indifferently. After the war broke out, Xu Shi wasn’t the only one who had died. Didn’t countless people die in the Ten Nations Alliance back then?
Even Cao Chenyang, who had escaped from the Demon Realm, died on the battlefield.
“Other than Xu Shi, more than seventy percent of Great Qin’s generals have died in battle. The rest are injured,” the Qin emperor continued. “More than half of Great Qin’s elite soldiers died in battle.”
Pain flashed across the Qin emperor’s face. He clenched his fists tightly, and his nails pierced through his skin. Blood flowed, but he didn’t seem to notice.
“It’s my incompetence that brought Great Qin to the brink of destruction,” the Qin emperor said word by word. When he said this, his body swayed slightly, and he couldn’t stand steadily.
“At this point, I no longer have the face to be the emperor of Great Qin.” The Qin emperor straightened his back and looked at Zhou Shu. “You are Great Qin’s Side-by-side King. I want you to inherit the throne and become Great Qin’s emperor!”
A strange light bloomed in the Qin emperor’s eyes as he stared at Zhou Shu without blinking.
“You want me to be the emperor of Great Qin?” Zhou Shu was a little surprised, but he didn’t show it on his face. He said calmly, “Why should I agree? What good will it do me to be the emperor?”
“Although Great Qin has suffered heavy casualties, Great Qin still has two hundred thousand elite soldiers and tens of millions of citizens! Everyone in Great Qin is a soldier. As long as you become the emperor of Great Qin, you can gather a million soldiers at any time.”
“And then?” Zhou Shu asked calmly. “Can this million-strong army have an average cultivation level at the first rank of the Martial Dao?
“Even then, so what if they’re all first-rank martial artists? It’s not like you don’t know how strong the Demon Realm army is.
“Besides, what’s the point of me having an army?”
To Zhou Shu, what he lacked was not a million soldiers but workers.
Even if he was given a million soldiers, it was impossible for him to forge a million connate divine weapons. Even if he had a million connate divine weapons, he had to choose a good target for each of his weapons.
There were requirements to become Zhou Shu’s workers.
In short, he had no interest in becoming the emperor of Great Qin.
The Qin emperor frowned. How many first-rank martial artists were there in Great Qin?
Most of them had already died in battle. Now, there were probably not even ten first-rank martial artists in all of Great Qin. How was it possible for the average cultivation level of the million-strong army to be at the first rank?
If Great Qin had such strength, why would he be so disheartened?
“I know that with your strength, you no longer think highly of Great Qin’s forces,” the Qin emperor said in a deep voice. “But as the saying goes, one hero has three helpers. No matter how strong you are, you still need your own forces.
“Otherwise, you will inevitably encounter situations like this where you need to fake your death in the future.
“If you were strong enough, why would those grotto-heavens bully you to this extent?
“I dare to say that the citizens of Great Qin are the most worthy of training to be soldiers. Not only are they loyal and devoted, but they are also brave and good at fighting. As long as you give them a chance, they will definitely bring you benefits you can’t imagine!”
The Qin emperor spoke with a serious expression. He was persuading Zhou Shu earnestly.
It had to be said that the Qin emperor wasn’t lying. Back then, Great Qin was the strongest country in the Ten Nations. The quality of the citizens of Great Qin was indeed far above that of the other nine nations.
Although Great Xia was not bad, the citizens of Great Xia were far inferior to the citizens of Great Qin in terms of combativeness.
It was hard to say being combative was a good thing, but in such a chaotic world, they would definitely be the best soldiers.
But Zhou Shu still looked at the Qin emperor calmly, his eyes clearly saying that it wasn’t enough.
The Qin emperor had never thought that there would be a day when he would actually beg another person to be the emperor of Great Qin.
The problem was that this person still refused to agree.
“King Zhou, as long as you become the emperor of Great Qin, everything that Great Qin has accumulated for a thousand years will be at your disposal,” the Qin emperor continued. “It’s not that I’m bragging, but Great Qin is richer than the other nine nations combined.”
“Qin Emperor, do you think I’m short of money?” Zhou Shu said. Of course, he lacked money. After all, who would complain about having too much money?
But in front of the Qin emperor, he still had to put on airs. How could Great Qin’s accumulation of a thousand years compare to the Xu Ling Grotto-Heaven’s accumulation of ten thousand years?
Zhou Shu had even robbed the storehouse of the Xu Ling Grotto-Heaven. If the Qin emperor wanted to use Great Qin’s accumulation of a thousand years to attract him, it was far from enough.
Seeing that Zhou Shu was unmoved, the Qin emperor’s eyes were full of disappointment and sorrow.
There were really not many things that Great Qin could offer now.
Plop—
The Qin emperor actually knelt on one knee.
Zhou Shu was shocked and hurriedly turned his body. The Qin emperor had been the number one person in the Ten Nations back then. Even though the world had changed drastically, even though he was seriously injured and his cultivation was gone, Zhou Shu had never seen him lower his head.
Now, he was actually kneeling in front of him. How much had he gone through?
“Qin Emperor, why do you have to do this? You’re still alive, and you can continue to be the emperor of Great Qin,” Zhou Shu said. “Qin Emperor, do you think I can be better than you as an emperor?”
Zhou Shu really had no interest in becoming an emperor.
“Other than you, I can’t think of anyone else who can be the emperor of Great Qin,” the Qin emperor said solemnly. “If you don’t agree, Great Qin will really be leaderless.”
“Aren’t you still around?” Zhou Shu said. “Qin Emperor, although you’re injured, it’s not fatal. If there’s nothing else, you can leave. I still have something important to do.”
Zhou Shu was about to leave, but the Qin emperor was still kneeling as he said, “I came to find you because I can’t find anyone else.
“King Zhou, Great Qin has fallen to its current state because of my sins. I no longer have the face to sit in this position.
“As long as you agree to take over the throne, I will go to the Demon Realm to atone for my sins. I will fight to the death with the demonic beasts!”
The Qin emperor’s eyes were full of fighting spirit. As long as Zhou Shu agreed to succeed the throne, he would no longer live an ignoble life.
“What are you trying to do?” Zhou Shu frowned. “What’s the point of doing this? With your cultivation, even if you rush into the Demon Realm, how many demonic beasts can you kill?
“It’s not that I look down on you, but any Demon King can easily kill you.”
“I know, but I’m not afraid of death,” the Qin emperor said.
“Is this a matter of being afraid of death?” Zhou Shu said angrily. “I think you’re out of your mind. Qin Emperor, in the past, I thought you were a very wise and mighty emperor. Why do you always do things that are not worthy of your status? The last time was when you wrongly believed the Xu Ling Grotto-Heaven, and this time is another.
“You should go back and migrate all the citizens of Great Qin to the grotto-heavens.”
Zhou Shu continued, “As for killing demonic beasts, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future. The demonic beasts of the Demon Realm will attack again soon. At that time, are you afraid that you won’t have the chance to kill enemies?
“If you really feel guilty, then you can just kill more demonic beasts. When you really die on the battlefield, I’ll consider becoming the emperor of Great Qin.”
“Are you serious? If I die in battle, will you take over as the emperor of Great Qin?” The Qin emperor’s eyes lit up.
“Did I say that?” Zhou Shu was stunned. He had clearly said that he would consider it.
“It’s a gentleman’s promise. Great Qin is in your hands!” The Qin emperor kowtowed with a bang, then stood up and left without looking back.
