"Do not panic... rise, all of you."
"Although such a major incident has occurred this time, I do not intend to blame any of you..."
"Since things have already happened, what we need to do is to promptly formulate countermeasures and make the best possible preparations for what follows."
When Kannai Koji said this, let alone the Shimada brothers and Chizuru Ginpei below, even Tanaka Kenho, who was standing beside him, was surprised.
Originally, Tanaka Kenho had expected that given Kannai Koji's temper, for the great disaster caused by the Shimada brothers and Chizuru Ginpei today, he would at least unleash a torrent of scolding.
If it were just the Shimada brothers, then scolding them would be fine...
But given Chizuru Ginpei's special status, it was naturally impossible to be so reckless.
Therefore, Tanaka Kenho had already prepared a speech on how to appease Kannai Koji and comfort Chizuru Ginpei.
He never expected that Kannai Koji this time was like a different person, not erupting at all, which instead baffled him.
Chizuru Ginpei and the Shimada brothers were also very confused, only exchanging glances with each other and tremblingly complying with Kannai Koji.
Seeing their good attitudes, Kannai Koji smiled:
"Then, regarding the current situation, have you thought of any solutions?"
The three, who were originally prepared to be scolded and then follow instructions, could not come up with anything, their minds in disarray, and they all shook their heads in silence.
Kannai Koji nodded:
"As expected, in such a sudden situation, it is indeed difficult for you on the spot to find suitable solutions..."
"However, I, who have a God's-eye view, have already considered a few things for you. Are you interested?"
Hanzō hurriedly nodded vigorously:
"Please, Your Majesty, guide us!"
Kannai Koji sighed and waved his hand slightly:
"You are too kind..."
"I am merely offering some constructive suggestions, not pointing the way forward..."
"After all, you are all backbone pillars of Sakura, and your abilities are naturally not a problem; it's just that your minds were a bit rattled by the sudden situation."
"So, if you ask me, since things have already come to this, why don't we just stop pretending..."
"From now on, we will directly proceed with the strategy and planning to win over Lin Ran!"
"While he hasn't completely emerged from his pride and joy, let's strike while the iron is hot and capture him in one fell swoop!"
The Shimada brothers were stunned for a moment, wanting to say something, but also a little afraid to, so they could only cast humble glances at Chizuru Ginpei behind them.
Chizuru Ginpei, understanding their gaze, swallowed and spoke with difficulty:
"But... but Your Majesty..."
"If we attempt to recruit him now, when the situation is so favorable to him, we will likely have to pay a huge price..."
"Not to mention whether he will even come..."
"Even if he does come, the price we have to bear may be too much to accept..."
"This... this... this..."
Kannai Koji suddenly burst into laughter:
"All of that doesn't matter!"
"As long as we can successfully win over Lin Ran, even if the entire country of Sakura falls into ruin, we can mobilize the resources of the entire nation to win his favor!"
"These are minor issues!"
As soon as he said this, not only the bewildered Shimada brothers and Chizuru Ginpei, but even Tanaka Kenho was stunned.
What on earth was going on...
Could it be that their Emperor had truly lost his mind?
So Tanaka Kenho hurriedly stepped forward to intervene:
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Absolutely not!"
"If we do that, won't we be putting ourselves in a ridiculous position, and it will be extremely difficult to recover?"
"That Lin Ran is an extremely greedy wolf; he can't be satisfied once."
"If we appear so humble from the beginning, what will we do later?"
"What if Lin Ran takes advantage and repeatedly makes unreasonable demands that we find hard to accept? Won't we be in an even more difficult situation?"
"In that case, how would it be any different from the current depressing situation of being enslaved by the lighthouse?"
Hearing this, Kannai Koji laughed even more happily, clapping his hands and even leaning back and forth with laughter, tears streaming from his eyes.
Thus, including the bodyguards around him, everyone stared at Kannai Koji with wide-eyed, fearful expressions.
What was their once wise and mighty young emperor up to?
Could it be that he had truly gone mad?
However, Kannai Koji did not let them hesitate for too long. He quickly regained his composure, slammed the table, jumped up from his chair, and laughed maniacally:
"Hahahaha... So you actually know!"
"I thought you had no concept of such things and deliberately let Lin Ran do that..."
"Then do you remember what you said yourselves? Hmm?!"
"What about 'otherworldly support that absolutely cannot be exposed,' and 'invincible combat tactics that absolutely cannot fail'..."
"Now it seems that all of that was bullshit!"
"Sometimes, I truly doubt whether you wish our Sakura nation well or wish it dead!"
Startled by Kannai Koji's sudden outburst, the Shimada brothers immediately flinched and prostrated themselves on the ground, not daring to rise.
Chizuru Ginpei, standing beside them, also felt his heart pounding, his face almost contorted with fear.
Tanaka Kenho, at this moment, secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Fortunately, he was still young after all... he couldn't control his temper.
So his initial restraint was for the sake of later sarcasm...
In fact, he had been a little worried that Kannai Koji would just gloss over this matter.
If that were the case, Kannai Koji might have gained some favor with the Shinto priestly organization represented by Chizuru Ginpei and the researched families represented by the Shimada brothers...
That would have been detrimental to his subsequent usurpation plan.
For this plan to be implemented, the more chaotic Sakura was, the better...
And it would be best if these people also harbored dissatisfaction with Kannai Koji, which would further reduce the obstacles for him.
Therefore, Tanaka Kenho now stepped forward with a smile, playing the peacemaker:
"Your Majesty, please do not be angry, Your Majesty, please do not be angry..."
"The current situation is indeed not ideal, but everything has two sides."
"Lin Ran's strength also proves the foresight of our vision, doesn't it?"
"Even if we pay a great price, it does not mean that the price we have paid has vanished..."
"As long as we can truly make him ours, we can eventually get everything back!"