I, Am a Living Yama; Empress Advises Me to Stay Calm

Inside the grand hall of the imperial court, Xu Jingzong’s words stirred a wave of approval among the gathered officials.
“Indeed, Prime Minister Yang’s strategy sounds good, but implementation will be extremely difficult.”
“That’s right. The vast majority of people are loyal to their own country. How could they possibly yearn for another?”
“Exactly. This plan may be too difficult to execute.”
Wu Zhao sat on her throne, her phoenix-like eyebrows furrowing slightly. Just moments ago, Yang Yi’s words had shaken her deeply.
So this was his true intention.
If Yang Yi’s vision came to pass—if the Great Zhou became the “holy land” of happiness in the eyes of the world—then its allure to foreign citizens would be unparalleled. But the challenges of achieving such a feat were evident.
Wei Yuanzhong stroked his beard thoughtfully. “Prime Minister Yang, your strategy is brilliant. However, if someone were to speak ill of the Great Zhou in my presence, I certainly wouldn’t be swayed.”
Several officials nodded in agreement.
Yang Yi glanced at the differing expressions around him and couldn’t help but chuckle. “When did I ever say we needed to slander their country?”
The room fell into stunned silence.
“Not slander?” Xu Jingzong looked perplexed. “Prime Minister Yang, didn’t you just say we should make them despise their own nation?”
“How can we accomplish that without publicizing their nation’s flaws?”
Yang Yi raised an eyebrow and spoke with conviction. “Using public opinion to smear their country would be the most foolish method.”
The ministers stared at him in astonishment.
Scanning their faces, Yang Yi smiled. “If you want to turn people against their own country, you can’t simply declare it inferior. You must let them come to that conclusion on their own.”
Wu Zhao’s curiosity was piqued. “Minister Yang, what do you mean by that?”
“Your Majesty, most people are more willing to believe what they discover for themselves rather than what others tell them.” Yang Yi’s tone carried patience, a contrast to his usual demeanor. “If you tell someone that a particular dish tastes terrible, they won’t believe you. But if they see someone eat it and then vomit, they will immediately conclude that it’s inedible.
“The same principle applies to fostering resentment toward one’s own country. Instead of directly attacking their nation, we must guide them to recognize its shortcomings. When they compare those flaws to the superiority of the Great Zhou, their admiration for our empire will grow naturally.”
Wu Zhao’s expression turned contemplative. “It seems you already have a concrete plan in mind.”
At her words, the officials turned to Yang Yi expectantly.
A faint smile played on his lips. “I have five strategies…”
The hall remained silent as he continued.
“First, we must secretly sow discord between the people and their government. The saying that ‘officials speak with two mouths’ is already deeply ingrained in the minds of the people. When the common folk see government officials, they instinctively feel fear.
“It won’t be difficult to exacerbate that divide. If the citizens lose trust in their officials, they will inevitably lose confidence in the ruling court. And once that trust is gone, how can they believe their country has a future?”
Gasps rippled through the hall.
His reasoning was irrefutable. Throughout history, uprisings had always been rooted in the people’s distrust of their rulers.
Yang Yi continued, his tone measured.
“Second, we must control public opinion to glorify the Great Zhou’s system while subtly degrading their own. No system is perfect—there will always be those who are dissatisfied. Our approach is simple: highlight the strengths of the Great Zhou while downplaying its flaws, and conversely, exaggerate the weaknesses of their system while ignoring its merits. As a result, their people will inevitably grow disillusioned with their own country.”
Several ministers exchanged uneasy glances.
“Third, we must undermine their cultural heritage and denigrate their historical heroes. The foundation of a nation’s endurance lies in its traditions and the figures it venerates. If we lead their people to scorn their own culture and disparage their heroes, they will lose their sense of identity. Without faith in their own country, they will become easy prey when turmoil arises.”
The court fell into a heavier silence. This was a strategy aimed at severing a nation’s roots.
A person’s beliefs are shaped by their cultural inheritance and the role models they admire. A great hero can inspire generations to strive for greatness. But if, as Yang Yi proposed, the people were led to doubt and reject their own cultural legacy…
No doubt, loyalty to their nation would erode. Instead, they would look down on their homeland and long for the idealized Great Zhou. In doing so, they would become unwitting agents of the empire’s expansion, weapons forged from within enemy borders.
Yang Yi pressed on.
“Fourth, we must inflame class tensions and widen the rift between the commoners and the elite. A country burdened by internal strife cannot stand strong. The greater the divide, the more likely chaos will erupt.”
Murmurs spread through the chamber. They understood the weight of his words.
“The deeper the conflict, the greater the disillusionment.” Yang Yi’s voice remained steady. “And finally, we must encourage decadence to sap their people’s resolve. Strip their men of their backbone, their sense of duty and honor. A nation composed of spineless men is a nation incapable of resisting us.”
His eyes swept over the gathered officials. “Once these five strategies take root, their people will gradually grow discontent with their homeland. Resentment will fester, and when the time comes, they will no longer fight for their country—they will abandon it.”
As Yang Yi’s words echoed through the chamber, an eerie silence settled over the court.
Every official stared at him, their expressions frozen in shock.
No one had expected that he had planned everything so meticulously.
Even just hearing these strategies sent a chill down their spines.
The third strategy, in particular—the degradation of a nation’s culture and its heroes—felt especially ruthless. It was a direct attack on the very foundation of a nation’s strength. A country that had lost pride in its traditions, that no longer honored its past, was a country without roots.
For a moment, it was as if the air itself had grown heavy.
This wasn’t just a strategy of conquest. It was a slow, insidious poisoning.
A deep understanding of human nature was required to craft such a scheme—one that corrupted from within rather than attacking from without.
Yang Yi’s words made it clear: he wasn’t merely aiming to weaken these nations. He intended to dismantle them at their core. And that, more than anything else, left the court ministers staring at him in stunned silence, their scalps tingling with unease.
Prime Minister Yang was truly full of devious tricks.