The Eldest Daughter Is Beautiful and Saucy
Chapter 947: An Sheji
Chapter 947: To Safeguard the Country
The young eunuch took the letter respectfully, took small steps, walked around the black lacquered sandalwood column to the bottom of the steps on the side of the imperial throne where Bai Qingyan was, and handed the letter from Xiliang to Wei Zhong.
While everyone was staring at the Xiliang State Letter, Prince Guang’an took advantage of the moment and acted like an elder, lecturing people: “Your Majesty, why didn’t you see other relatives at today’s coronation ceremony and state banquet? Your Majesty is…disrespectful.”
Upon hearing this, Liu Rushi looked up at the King Guang’an who was taking advantage of his seniority and swallowed back the words that were about to come out of his mouth. He did not want the family shame of the Great Zhou to be laughed at by the Yan State, Rongdi and Xiliang, so as to avoid being taken advantage of.
Dong looked towards Prince Guang’an with a cold gaze, knowing full well that Prince Guang’an had suddenly spoken so forcefully, and that he must have someone behind him. If they didn’t have a falling out today… there would definitely be no peace.
But Bai Qingyan was the emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty, so if he spoke up, he would lose his status and it would give face to Prince Guang’an.
It is imperative to reduce the power of the feudal lords and never give these people the opportunity to take advantage of others.
Dong said, “Aren’t all the relatives that Prince Guang’an mentioned already here? All the relatives of the Bai family who have come to the capital are here, and not one is missing.”
Prince Guang’an had a stern face and bowed to Dong: “Queen Dowager, although the old relatives of the Jin Dynasty royal family do not have the same surname as your majesty, they are still the same as us princes. They are the same clan as your majesty’s grandmother, the Grand Princess, and can be considered your majesty’s relatives. Such a grand ceremony should be celebrated with your majesty.”
Seeing that Prince Guang’an was shameless and had to put down the face of his own empress in front of the envoys of other countries, Liu Rushi didn’t want to endure it anymore, and said with a sneer: “He dares to call himself your Majesty’s relative and a clan member of the old dynasty when he has nothing to do with you. Your Majesty has allowed him to live, which is a kindness. If he asks for more, it is called taking advantage of others. The clay Buddha should know how to protect himself and not be shameless.”
Without giving Prince Guang’an a chance to speak again, Dong spoke first: “Prince Guang’an…”
Mrs. Dong’s expression did not change, and she said slowly: “Now it is the Great Zhou Dynasty. If Prince Guang’an wants to become a relative of the Jin Dynasty, just say so. Your Majesty will definitely make it happen and will never force him to stay.”
The elderly Prince Guang’an was immediately furious, and wanted to say something relying on the soldiers he had, but was stopped by Prince Hedong.
When the Prince of Hedong saw that Bai Qingyan ignored the Prince of Guang’an, it was clear that he did not take them, the princes, seriously. He was afraid that… Bai Qingyan had some trick up his sleeve. He did not want to make things irreversible, so he bowed to Mrs. Dong with a smile and said, “Queen Dowager, calm down. Prince Guang’an treated Your Majesty as his own family and said this. I hope the Queen Dowager will forgive me for my impoliteness.”
“One of my family? Is King Guang’an’s surname Bai? The envoys from Yan, Xiliang and Rongdi are here, and King Guang’an, as a subject, is questioning Your Majesty about etiquette… Is this to establish his authority and let the other nations know that he has the final say in the Great Zhou?”
Prince Hedong glanced at Prince Guang’an and quickly knelt down to plead guilty to Dong: “I hope the Queen Mother will spare Prince Guang’an for his old age.”
Li Zhijie glanced at Prince Guang’an and Prince Hedong with his eyes half closed. Bai Qingyan of the Great Zhou Dynasty did not seem to have a stable throne, so he thought there was still hope if he offered the city to seek peace.
The letter from Xiliang State no longer offered fifteen cities, but eighteen. Li Zhijie offered such a generous gift just to impress Bai Qingyan. If they could sign an alliance, that would be the best. But if Bai Qingyan insisted on revenge…
Li Zhijie’s face remained expressionless, he smiled calmly, but his grip on the iron fan kept tightening.
If Bai Qingyan must take revenge, he still has to find a way to save Yun Poxing’s grandson, otherwise it will really chill the hearts of the people of Xiliang.
Seeing that the letter had been delivered to Bai Qingyan, Li Zhijie glanced at Bai Qingqi and Bai Qingyun, and said with a smile: “During the Xuanjia period, Xiliang and Jin fought a war… It was really tragic. To this day, my Xiliang general Yun Poxing still feels heartbroken when he thinks of the Bai family and the 100,000 Xiliang elite soldiers.”
Li Zhijie’s words were very vague. Yun Poxing was wondering whether he was heartbroken thinking of the Bai family or the 100,000 elite soldiers from Xiliang.
Bai Qingyan paused as he was unfolding the Xiliang State Letter, raised his eyes and looked in the direction of Li Zhijie, his eyes were deep and indifferent, he put the Xiliang State Letter down and rested his hands on the table.
Li Zhijie tightened his grip on the iron fan and smiled lightly at Bai Qingyan, but he felt a little uneasy at Bai Qingyan’s mysterious look.
“What King Yan said reminds me… I once spared Yun Poxing’s life and made a three-year agreement with him. I said… if he doesn’t come for a battle after three years, I will lead my troops to attack the pass. The three-year deadline is about to expire. Is King Yan here to issue a declaration of war on behalf of Xiliang this time?” Bai Qingyan asked.
Li Zhijie stood up and bowed respectfully to Bai Qingyan, then said, “Your Majesty, you misunderstood. Please read the letter from Xiliang… Xiliang is willing to offer 18 cities of the Great Zhou to celebrate the coronation of the Queen of the Great Zhou! We only hope to have a good alliance with the Great Zhou and never have wars, so that the people of the two countries can rest and recuperate, and the country can be safe.”
Xiliang conquered eighteen cities at once, which really surprised all the officials of the Great Zhou.
Bai Qingyan tapped the tabletop lightly with his fingers, and asked the eunuch to take down the letter from Xiliang and circulate it around. He smiled slightly and said, “Xiliang is so generous, is it to appease… Yun Poxing who insulted my seventeenth brother?”
The letter from the Western Liang Kingdom first reached the hands of General Lu. After reading it, General Lu handed it to Sikong Shen Jingzhong, who handed it to Situ Dong Qingping, who circulated it among the officials of the Great Zhou.
Yun Poxing’s grandson Yun Tianao looked up at Bai Qingyan when he heard this. He was actually afraid of death… but when he came here, his grandfather said that if he could exchange his life for the peace of Xiliang, it would be well worth it.
My grandfather also said that he had killed a ten-year-old child in order to boost the morale of the army, but the child from the Bai family was tough… and was still singing the Bai family army’s military song before he died, so… not only did my grandfather fail to force the Bai family army to surrender, he also failed to defeat the morale of the Bai family army. Instead, the morale of the Bai family army soared, and they all clamored to fight to the death.
Bai Qingyan is a person who is extremely protective of his own shortcomings and bears grudges, and he always keeps his word.
If Bai Qingyan holds a grudge against him because of the death of the seventeenth son of the Bai family and insists on leading his troops to attack the pass when the three-year agreement is over, then Xiliang will definitely not be able to deal with both the Great Zhou and the Rongdi at the same time.
If Yun Tianao and Li Zhijie fail to impress Bai Qingyan with the city during this trip, my grandfather will ask him to commit suicide by disembowelment in front of Bai Qingyan and envoys from various countries, and save the lives of the seventeen sons of the Bai family.
Only in this way… can Bai Qingyan have no excuse to attack Xiliang. If Yun Tianao died in the tragic way of the Seventeenth Son of the Bai Family in the Great Zhou Dynasty and avenged the lives of the Seventeenth Son of the Bai Family, and Bai Qingyan still insisted on attacking Xiliang, it would surely cause criticism from the court officials.
First update!