“It was originally an alliance signed between the Rong tribes and Yan. Now that the Rong tribes have been destroyed… the alliance naturally has no binding force. If Princess Xiliang still wants to make an issue of this alliance, then first seize Xiliang from our Great Zhou’s hands and rebuild the Rong nation…”
Liu Rushi suddenly paused here and smiled: “I forgot – even if the Rong tribes were rebuilt, if it wasn’t the same Rong King who signed the original alliance with Great Yan on the throne, it wouldn’t count! How about… Princess Xiliang tries to see if you can lead troops to attack the capital and snatch away the Rong King, who has already settled in the capital?”
Li Tianfu’s face alternated between pale and flushed: “Fine! So now Great Zhou and Yan are in cahoots, is that it! Don’t we, Xiliang, have alliances too? Xiliang is now allied with Tianfeng. If you bully Xiliang, wait for the combined forces of Xiliang and Tianfeng to attack!”
After speaking, Li Tianfu looked at Sa’er Khan: “Tianfeng’s sovereign, after Xiliang and Tianfeng formed our alliance, we opened our borders to let your Tianfeng troops enter, our entire nation supporting your armies, offering treasures and beauties, begging you to come to our aid, treating you as close as family allies. Now that the Great Zhou and Yan have allied, they will surely wage war against my Xiliang. I… Hope Tianfeng will honor its promise to assist my Xiliang.”
Murong Yan’s fingers holding the teacup moved slightly. It seemed… this Li Tianfu wasn’t truly as stupid as she appeared.
She was using the appearance of foolish ignorance to pull Tianfeng onto the same battle line as their Xiliang.
This was Murong Yan’s first time dealing with Li Tianfu, but Bai Qingyan had encountered this Xiliang princess during the peace negotiations after the Nan Jiang battle… She would never consider Li Tianfu to be someone indulged to the point of mindlessness.
On the contrary, Li Tianfu was very skilled at using her willfulness to achieve her goals.
For example, during the Nan Jiang peace negotiations, she had used her willfulness to avoid marrying into Jin’s royal family.
And today, she was using this willful attitude to make clear that Xiliang had already opened its borders to this Tianfeng ally, supporting them with the entire nation. If at this time… Tianfeng was unwilling to stand on the same battle line as Xiliang, who would dare ally with Tianfeng again?
Xiliang was now declaring war against Great Zhou, and Great Zhou had signed a mutual defense alliance with Great Yan…
Li Tianfu was using her willfulness to trap Tianfeng, who had originally wanted to use this four-nation alliance… to establish a foothold in this land.
Sa’er Khan’s hand rubbing the jade cicada paused, and he felt a chill from head to toe. He turned to look at Li Tianfu – he had been careless… to be calculated by such a woman.
Xiliang, which Sa’er Khan had already considered in his pocket, had actually turned around to trap Tianfeng, wanting Tianfeng to disrupt its original plans and wage war against Great Zhou for her revenge scheme.
Li Tianfu, this mad woman whose heart was filled only with revenge…
Sa’er Khan gritted his teeth, the smile in his eyes vanishing: “Originally, Xiliang’s empress sent people to Tianfeng seeking aid and alliance because she feared Great Zhou and the Rong tribes would jointly attack Xiliang, requesting Tianfeng to deploy elephant armies to protect Xiliang! If… other nations bully Xiliang, Tianfeng naturally won’t stand idly by, but… if Xiliang provokes trouble on its own, surely Tianfeng can’t willingly serve as the vanguard?”
“Ninth Uncle… are Xiliang and Tianfeng having internal strife?” Murong Li asked Murong Yan in a low voice.
“Good!” Li Tianfu nodded: “The three-year period agreed upon between the Great Zhou Emperor and my Xiliang’s Assistant General Yun Poxing is almost up. The Great Zhou Empress will surely attack Xiliang to avenge their Bai family. When that time comes, please let Tianfeng assist my Xiliang!”
After speaking, Li Tianfu seemed afraid that Bai Qingyan would fear the elephant army, and deliberately provoked her: “The Great Zhou Empress won’t retreat because she knows Tianfeng will assist my Rong tribes, will she!”
“If Xiliang truly goes to war with Great Zhou, sending grain to Tianfeng, which has such close relations with Xiliang, would be like delivering grain directly to Xiliang! Great Zhou… wouldn’t willingly create such trouble for itself!”
Hearing Bai Qingyan say this, Sa’er Khan pressed his lips and said: “That’s right, Tianfeng does have an alliance with Xiliang and came at Xiliang’s invitation, but it was made clear from the beginning… Tianfeng is only responsible for helping Xiliang defend, and will not help Xiliang fight beyond its borders.”
Sa’er Khan raised his eyes to look at Li Tianfu: “I also hope the Xiliang Empress can understand.”
Li Tianfu put on an expression of great shock: “My Tianfeng has supported Tianfeng with our entire nation, and this is how Tianfeng treats its allies?”
“It seems the four-nation alliance cannot be signed. Fortunately… this trip wasn’t in vain – at least Yan and Great Zhou have signed an alliance!” Bai Qingyan smiled and rose with Bai Jinzhi’s support: “Xiliang and Tianfeng’s affairs are none of our Great Zhou’s business. We take our leave…”
The Great Zhou’s court ministers also stood up.
“Then Yan also takes its leave!” Murong Yan was the first to stand, Murong Li also rose, and Great Yan’s court ministers didn’t hesitate either.
Sa’er Khan looked again at the great shaman’s disciple, seeing the disciple’s pale face covered in sweat, weakly nodding to him. Only then did Sa’er Khan stand up, making a gesture to see off Bai Qingyan, Murong Yan, and Murong Li, maintaining his composure with a smile: “I’ll see off the Zhou Emperor and Yan Emperor…”
Perhaps thinking women were easier targets than men, Sa’er Khan walked beside Bai Qingyan, lifting the tent’s cotton curtain for her: “Your Majesty might consider leasing cities and land to our Tianfeng. Money is not an issue – everything is negotiable.”
“Then I might as well speak frankly with Tianfeng’s sovereign…” She bent to exit the tent, and in the falling snow, stepped unhurriedly toward Great Zhou’s imperial carriage, her voice calm: “Tianfeng’s land is being devoured by desert year by year, its territory shrinking. If cities are leased to Tianfeng… what happens when Tianfeng is eventually swallowed by the desert and Tianfeng’s people remain on my Great Zhou’s territory?”
Sa’er Khan clenched his fists: “Ten years won’t be enough for the desert to completely devour my Tianfeng. When the ten-year period ends, we can either continue the lease, or if Great Zhou is unwilling… we can withdraw from Great Zhou.”
“Tianfeng’s sovereign is probably thinking… to first occupy our Great Zhou’s territory, cities, and land under the pretext of a ten-year lease. When Tianfeng’s land is devoured by the desert, you’ll send more people to the cities you’ve leased, and Great Zhou will have no right to interfere!” Bai Qingyan showed no mercy, her expression carrying a light smile while her words were unforgiving: “Great Zhou is a nation of propriety. Before the ten years are up, as long as you don’t overstep bounds too much, we certainly won’t force you to leave!”
“Ten years… is enough for the people in those cities to be assimilated by Tianfeng.” Bai Qingyan hit the nail on the head.