The Three Kingdoms began with island farming

Chapter 707 The De facto prime minister
Faced with Liu Fan's questioning, Arsak calmly replied, "My lord is willing to cede the southeastern province of Khorasan to your country."

Upon hearing this, the scene fell silent instantly. Everyone stared at Arsak in disbelief, with only one thought in their minds.

This guy's gone mad!

Such an act of inviting trouble and even ceding territory is something no one with a brain would do.

What were they thinking? How could they offer such conditions?

Only Sima Yi, who ranked fifth among the civil officials, had a glint of shrewdness in his eyes.

Great ambition and shrewd calculation, it's just a pity they chose the wrong target!

Among the seven kings, Liu Fan's weakness was not only reflected in domestic affairs and military affairs, but also in diplomacy, strategy and other aspects.

If it were someone else like Yuan Shao or Cao Cao, they might be shocked, but they would quickly come to their senses.

Because they had begun their intelligence gathering against Parthia and Rome long ago.

In comparison, Liu Fan is far behind.

Sima Yi, who had the support of the Qi intelligence system, was very familiar with the reasons behind it.

Without making a sound, he gently tugged at Dong He in front of him.

With just a glance, Dong He immediately understood.

He stepped forward and said, "Your Excellency is not joking, is she? In the current situation, your country is actually willing to cede the Khorasan Province?"

He then cupped his hands to Liu Fan and said, "Your Majesty, I believe there may be some ulterior motive involved. It is best to be cautious."

“Our great Han can now conquer the Kushan lands on its own. If we launch such a large-scale westward expedition to Parthia and wage war against Rome, I fear that the Kushan lands will fall into the hands of the other six kings. Wouldn’t that be a case of losing more than we gain?”

When a huge pie falls from the sky, it's most likely a trap.

No matter how much Parthia tempts them, the Great Han must remain calm.

The more cautious and resistant one is, the less vigilant one will be in order to find peace.

Sima Yi believed that if Liu Fan had not been so resistant to entering Parthia from the beginning, Arsakh would not have become so deeply involved and even made such demands.

Arsak glanced at Dong He and explained, “Your country may not know this, but although Khorasan Province is the core region of my Parthian Empire, due to the loss of Mesopotamia, the newly risen Persians have already established themselves and occupied some territory.”

"The Khorasan province is now unable to provide the empire with economic and military support, and has instead become a burden."

"Therefore, my lord wishes to cede this land to your country in exchange for your assistance in attacking Rome."

"If we conquer Mesopotamia, my lord will also give your country 20% of the southern lands."

Everyone present fell into deep thought upon hearing this, but Sima Yi understood perfectly.

Al-Shaq's pie-in-the-sky promise was a beautifully drawn one, but in reality, it was poisoned bait.

The Khorasan province of Parthia is located in the southeastern frontier, with mountains and deserts giving it strategic depth, and river valleys and plains supporting its economic prosperity.

However, it has a fatal problem: the geographical units are extremely fragmented and loose.

To put it bluntly, this place isn't unsuitable for development, but like Yizhou, it's easy for it to form its own system.

The local Persians have always maintained a de facto, relatively independent autonomy.

Such a place would be a burden for Parthia, but it would be no different for the Han Dynasty.

Once the Han Dynasty agrees to this and sends troops to garrison the area, regardless of the outcome, it will be highly beneficial to Parthia.

Liu Fan was also quite conflicted at this moment. He instinctively sensed that Arsak had ill intentions, but his intuition, brought by his talent, made him feel that this was a great opportunity.

"Your Excellency, please rest for now. I will discuss this matter with my ministers before giving you an answer. What do you say?" Liu Fan, who was slightly hesitant, decisively adopted the tactic of "delaying".

Upon hearing this, Arsak was not anxious at all; instead, he breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that the Han Dynasty indeed had little interest in westward expansion.

Otherwise, why wouldn't the other person eat when you've practically brought the meat right to their mouth?

"Then I shall take my leave for now. I urge Your Majesty to consider this carefully and trust in my sincerity in seeking peace."

Liu Fan nodded slightly.

After Arsak stepped down, everyone immediately changed their demeanor, no longer maintaining the personas they had prepared to deal with Arsak.

Liu Fan slumped back on the throne and said casually, "Tell me, what kind of scheme is this guy up to?"

The crowd looked at each other, their gazes all turning toward Sima Yi.

Over this period of time, they had become accustomed to the presence of Sima Yi, the "pillar of the state."

Now, all affairs of the Han Dynasty, whether domestic, military, or diplomatic, must pass through Sima Yi's hands.

Even if the decision wasn't made by Sima Yi, they would still consult him.

After all, strength is the greatest source of confidence at any time.

Even Li Yan and Zhang Song, who were always dissatisfied, actually respected Sima Yi to a great extent.

They had relied heavily on Liu Bei's help in gathering intelligence, so they were well aware of his strength.

It seems that in such matters, whether it's making decisions or gathering intelligence, one can only rely on Sima Yi, this "big brother".

Sima Yi noticed the looks in everyone's eyes and his lips twitched slightly.

Although he initially enjoyed being entrusted with important responsibilities and having the power to command, over time, he always felt like he was being treated like a beast of burden.

He is a jack-of-all-trades, with knowledge of all sorts of things, but you can't come to him for everything!
Liu Fan indeed treated him with great leniency and trust, just as he had expected.

But this kind of trust is excessive.

In just a few short months, he has almost become the de facto prime minister of the Han Dynasty.

Political strategy and intelligence were one thing, but Liu Fan even allowed him to interfere in military matters.

Not only did he have to give lessons to the generals from time to time, but he also had to help improve the training methods for soldiers and the military equipment system.

This level of trust is truly excessive.

If it weren't for her own strong will, most people would probably have considered staying.

How many people could resist the temptation to become a "Guan Zhong"?

This situation is largely a consequence of the infighting among the seven kingdoms.

The Han Dynasty had become accustomed to its own backwardness, but when Sima Yi arrived, it suddenly saw a glimmer of hope in catching up and naturally gave him its full support.

As for the potential negative consequences of entrusting someone with such an important task, Liu Fan, Huang Quan, and others had a very in-depth discussion about it.

That is, there are basically no negative consequences.

Sima Yi helped them in order to make them stronger and thus suppress the other six kingdoms.

Does this do them any harm?
Not only that, Sima Yi was going to leave sooner or later, and he posed no threat to the ministers.

As for the issues of intelligence leaks, Liu Fan really didn't think that his side had any secrets in front of the Qi's intelligence system.

To put it bluntly, for the Great Qi, they have no value in being suppressed, only reasons to be supported.

(End of this chapter)