Chapter 284: Personal Expedition
It would be better if he didn’t agree. They came here to cause trouble in the first place, and asking for the princess’ hand in marriage was just a cover. Of course they would be happier if he didn’t agree.
But Hu Yanzheng looked embarrassed: “We came here with good intentions, and it is the Wolf King himself who is paired with the princess. Could it be that even so, Emperor Zhou feels that it is an insult to the princess?” “Or does Emperor Zhou look down on us? And even more so, he looks down on His Majesty the Wolf King of Beiting?”
This is what is called the final reveal of the true colours of Beiting and Chen State. Anyone with a discerning eye can see it now. If the Great Zhou dares not agree, Beiting and Chen State will probably send their armies to attack the border in the next moment.
Isn’t it true? Now that the Great Zhou is weak, it is like fat meat in the eyes of both.
Ye Shuo asked again: “If I agree to give the princess away, can you promise not to attack my Great Zhou?”
Of course… that’s not possible.
The more the Great Zhou compromises, the more it proves that it is weak inside. Beiting and Chen will just fight desperately. As for the promises? Aren’t they just for fun?
Sure enough, their previous performances were just a show of strength. That’s right, how could the Great Zhou Dynasty stand up again so easily?Hu Yanzheng smiled and said confidently, “Of course.”
“When that happens, we will form a friendly alliance with your country and become one family.”
Damn bullshit!
The two conditions they proposed clearly left no room for the Great Zhou at all.
Ye Shuo didn’t say yes or no. His expression was calm, making it impossible to guess what he was thinking.
The three parties naturally parted unhappily as they failed to get the answers they wanted on the spot.
After the envoys from the two countries left, Yao Zhi immediately said, “No.” No matter who it is, they cannot be sent out.
Beiting and Chenguo clearly had bad intentions. The two princesses were given by the two previous emperors. If they were given away, how could the Great Zhou retain its reputation?
Putting all this aside, if they were really given away, how could the two princesses survive?
But in fact, Beiting and Chenguo were planning more than that.
Not only did they want to break the backbone of the Great Zhou and make it lose face, they also wanted to sow discord and plunge the Great Zhou into chaos.
Although Beiting and Chen State seemed to be aggressive, they still had some room for manoeuvre. According to Huyan Zheng, if each of the two families asked for a princess in marriage, they would promise not to send troops if they got one. ℕÈ
Given the current situation of the Great Zhou, it is certainly unable to withstand the attacks of the two countries, but if there is only one, it may still be able to cope with it.
In other words, Da Zhou only needs to send away one princess, not two.
The real test for Beiting and Chen State lies in which princess to send away.
One is the younger sister of the current emperor, and the other is the only remaining blood of Emperor Taicheng. If the former is sent, it will mean killing Emperor Zhou, which is what Ye Shuo wants, and it will also cause the Queen Mother and Emperor Zhou to become alienated.
If he gave the latter… Emperor Taicheng would only have this one child left. How would the world view the current emperor? Would the old ministers left by Emperor Taicheng agree?
It is necessary to send it, but if you send it, there will be endless troubles. This plan is really vicious.
Everyone present was a smart person. After they figured out Beiting’s plan, the Concubine Sun who was sitting in the back had already turned pale.
In Concubine Sun’s view, since she had to send a princess away, it would only be her own daughter no matter what.
It is obvious at a glance which is more important, a biological sister or a niece who is one level away from the emperor. Even if one’s own daughter is close to the new emperor, what does it matter? Haven’t you seen how many emperors have given up their own daughters when they should, let alone the daughters of others?
Even if Emperor Taicheng were still alive, he might not be able to make the decision for the little princess.
But Concubine Sun was so frantic that she didn’t care about all these things. Even though she knew it was impossible, she was determined to give it a try for her daughter.
Concubine Sun ignored etiquette and knelt down with a plop.
She was able to appear here today thanks to her daughter, but she never expected that when she appeared in public again, she would see such a scene.
Concubine Sun felt as if her heart was being torn into pieces, but she did not dare to pause for even a moment. In just a few breaths, Concubine Sun’s head was broken, and even the gold bricks on the ground were stained with blood.
“Your Majesty! I hope Your Majesty will have mercy on me. I only have this one daughter. She is so young, and the journey to the State of Chen is so long. She is not even eleven years old yet. How can she get married?”
After Emperor Taicheng’s death, Concubine Sun was no longer the same as she used to be. She had little influence and could only beg for mercy, trying to arouse the sympathy of those in power.
Even if she died, Concubine Sun was willing to do so as long as it could bring her daughter’s safety.
While kowtowing, Concubine Sun looked up at Empress Dowager He for help. At this time, she could only hope that Empress Dowager He could say a few words for her.
Noticing the pleading look in Concubine Sun’s eyes, Empress Dowager Sun couldn’t help but tighten her grip on the armrest at her side, feeling bitter in her heart.
Although she still holds the title of empress dowager, she is no longer the real empress dowager. The real empress dowager is on the way, and she is only able to continue living in the palace because of the new emperor’s kindness.
Back then, Empress Dowager He had a brief encounter with the new emperor, who was dressed as a little beggar, in front of the Treasure Pavilion. After so many years, everyone was no longer the same as they were before. If they wanted to seek the emperor’s pity, how could they rely on just this?
Empress Dowager He… couldn’t help Concubine Sun.
Seeing Empress Dowager He gently shaking her head, Concubine Sun was suddenly overwhelmed by endless despair.
Looking at He Xiang and the others, they had made up their minds in just half an incense stick of time.
Given His Majesty’s temper, he would definitely not let Princess Jianjian go to Beiting. Although this is the best choice and Chen State is always easier to deal with than Beiting, it will be useless if His Majesty disagrees.
He Xiang and others could only settle for the second best and choose Princess Zhaocheng.
Not to mention that Princess Zhaocheng was not He Xiang’s great-granddaughter, she was just the princess of Emperor Taicheng. Even if she was, He Xiang would give up on her without hesitation at this time.
When it comes to state affairs, everything else can be abandoned.
The Great Zhou now needs time to recuperate. If a mere princess can appease the enemy country, that would be perfect.
Prime Minister He and a group of court officials also stood up and bowed.
“I hope Your Majesty will put state affairs first and send Princess Zhaocheng to marry.”
In the past, the eldest prince looked down on these spineless people, and he still doesn’t think much of them now.
The eldest prince watched coldly from the side, then raised his hand and drank the wine in the glass.
But what can they do if they don’t like it? In the end, they can’t do whatever they want in this world.
No matter how young Princess Zhaocheng was, she knew that the word “marriage” was almost a dead end for a princess. The little child was so frightened that she trembled and subconsciously grabbed Yao Zhi’s clothes.
“Aunt…Uncle…”
Ye Shuo watched quietly, he knew in his heart that He Xiang and the others knew that even if they sent the princess away, Chen State would most likely not fulfil its promise. But people are like this, as long as there is a glimmer of hope, they don’t want to take risks, even if the price is the little princess’s life.
Seeing that the emperor didn’t say anything, thinking that he didn’t want to be the bad guy, when Prime Minister He looked at Princess Zhaocheng, a trace of pity flashed across his eyes, but in the end, Prime Minister He finally hardened his heart.
“Your Highness, please do not be willful. Your Highness, please put state affairs first.”
The ministers behind him also responded.
“Please, Princess, state affairs are more important.”
As the sound lingered, Concubine Sun collapsed completely to the ground.
“Enough! How can you feel at ease forcing a child like this?” As expected, when it came to a certain point, even the late emperor’s will was of no use. At this moment, Ye Shuo was extremely glad for his decision back then.
For a princess, marriage is not that far away. Some princesses may never encounter such a situation in their lifetime, but once they do, they will never be able to turn over a new leaf.
Ye Shuo glanced around, and all the ministers who were caught in his sight lowered their heads subconsciously.
“Your Majesty…”
He Xiang opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Ye Shuo: “There is no need to mention this matter again, you are all fine, I will only say the following words once–“
“Whether it’s Jianjian, Zhaocheng, or any other princess, I won’t give any of them away.”
He Xiang wanted to say something, but Ye Shuo lost his patience and left in a huff.
Everyone looked at each other, all of them at a loss.
Caught off guard, Concubine Sun suddenly felt an endless burst of hope in her heart.
In the end, Prime Minister He and his companions miscalculated. They thought that as long as they avoided Princess Jianjian, the emperor would definitely send Princess Zhaocheng away. After all, Princess Zhaocheng had only met the emperor a few times since she grew up.
How, how could this happen…
Not to mention Prime Minister He and his men, even Concubine Sun and Empress Dowager He could not have imagined this.
The eldest prince was both surprised and not so surprised at the current situation.
Xiaojiu…has once again refreshed his cognition. If this is the case, perhaps only he can say it…
The other side.
Ye Shuo walked down the stairs, and the night wind helped him calm down a little. He was really pissed off by what he had just done.
Not long after, Jianjian caught up.
“Brother, sister-in-law.” Jianjian also felt that this matter would never be possible. How could the greed of Beiting and Chen be stopped by just two princesses?
But there was no other way at the moment.
Jianjian thought that she could pretend to enter Beiting. With her skills, she might be able to escape by then.
But before she could finish her words, Ye Shuo interrupted her: “This matter is too dangerous, don’t even think about it.”
“But if not…” What else can we do?
Jian Jian was about to ask, but she heard Ye Shuo speak again: “Bring the people from the Supervision Department to help me do something.”
Jianjian was stunned: “What?”
Many thoughts flashed through Jianjian’s mind, but she still couldn’t imagine that what her royal brother was talking about was asking her to kill all the envoys from Beiting.
Kill Beiting and keep Chen. Since the Great Zhou cannot resist two countries at the same time, find a way to break up their alliance!
Although… it would be bad to kill all of Hu Yanzheng and the others, right?
Ye Shuo glanced at Jian Jian and said, “If you don’t want to, I’ll ask Wu Yi to go.”
Now that things have come to this, what else can Jianjian say? If it’s not her, it will be someone else, and Jianjian would rather be herself.
She herself disliked those people from Beiting.
“…As you command!”
Jianjian’s face became serious.
However, in just a quarter of an hour, Jianjian and the people from the Supervisory Office had surrounded the Beiting Posthouse.
Huyan Zheng could never have imagined that the newly enthroned emperor of the Great Zhou was so bold and didn’t care about his threat at all.
Until the last moment of his life, Huyan Zheng never thought that he would die here.
Huyan Jue at least returned to Beiting back then, but he is not even as good as Huyan Jue.
The State of Chen, which was next door to Beiting, listened to the screams all night long, and the smug look on their faces was gone. The envoys of the State of Chen were even scared to death.
The next morning, when the 218 bodies of the Beiting envoys were laid out in front of them, He Xiang and others had no other choice.
In this situation, the only option is to fight.
Prime Minister He could not have imagined that the emperor would resort to such a method to completely cut off everyone’s escape route.
He Xiang hated his impulsiveness, but he had to help cover it, and couldn’t help feeling a little frustrated.
“Your Majesty thinks that we are weak and incompetent. Yes, I admit that I am indeed weak, but has Your Majesty ever thought about whether the people of the Great Zhou are willing to go through such a war with us? Are the soldiers willing to risk their lives for this?”
After the plague, the people just want to recuperate. If they are easily involved in war, public resentment will boil over and the Great Zhou will surely collapse!
Going to war after sending a princess is completely different from going to war directly without sending a princess.
How could His Majesty be so foolish!
Ye Shuo also knew this, but thinking carefully, is this really the only way to go?
Now that spring has not yet arrived, do the cattle, horses and sheep in Beiting that rely on pastures have a lot of them? Fighting when everyone is short of food is better than dragging it out like this until Chen and Beiting have enough food and grass, and then fighting them when they still don’t have enough, right?
As for the soldiers’ unwillingness to fight…
“I have decided to lead the army in person. If they die, I will die.”
The emperor guards the national gate, and the king dies for the country.
Since the Great Zhou had lost its blood spirit since the time of Emperor Gaozong, Ye Shuo would help them regain it today.