“The matter of waging war, we should… we should postpone it for now.” The ruler of Tianfeng spoke these words with extreme difficulty. Before departure, he had sworn confidently that this land was within their grasp, believing Tianfeng could relocate to this fertile soil and once again possess slaves.

“But Tianfeng can’t hold on much longer!” Akxie became somewhat anxious, dropping to one knee. “Those sands are gradually devouring our Tianfeng. If the heavenly gods wish to send down punishment, let them punish me, Akxie! I will seize this beautiful, fertile land for my lord…”

“Lord Akxie, the sand… that is the punishment the heavenly gods have sent down upon our Tianfeng. If we still disregard the gods’ will and forcibly try to claim this land as Tianfeng’s, we will continue to be devoured by the sand! Where else could we go then?” The Great Shaman’s eldest disciple bowed to Akxie and continued, “I know Lord Akxie is forever loyal to our lord, willing to sacrifice his life, and is our lord’s most faithful warrior. But to the gods… the gods will never soften their hearts even slightly because of Lord Akxie’s loyalty.”

“I have already discussed this matter with the Great Shaman’s eldest disciple. The elephant army will not withdraw for now…” The ruler of Tianfeng paused in rubbing the jade cicada, raising his eyes to look at Akxie. “Have the Western Liang Empress send envoys to invite the emperors of Great Zhou and Great Yan… and that Rongdi King. Tell them our Tianfeng has come to promote peaceful coexistence among their four nations. Choose a location for a multi-nation alliance, bring them all together, and then have the Great Shaman’s eldest disciple take a good look to see who is truly the master of this land before making further plans!”

The Great Shaman’s eldest disciple nodded, looking toward Akxie.

The ruler of Tianfeng made the final decision, rubbing the jade cicada as he stood to prepare leaving: “Since we cannot forcibly seize it, we can temporarily form alliances, engage in trade, arrange marriages, and then send the Cold Food Powder… to the imperial relatives and nobles of these countries. Take it slowly! It’s decided then. I’ll return to Yun Jing first.”

“My lord, this Rongdi has already submitted to the Great Zhou!” Akxie informed the ruler of Tianfeng.

The ruler of Tianfeng was quite surprised to hear this. The Great Zhou Empress’s actions were so swift?

Could it be that the Great Zhou Empress was the one the Great Sacrificial Priest spoke of… the master of this land?

The ruler of Tianfeng became very agitated at this thought. If only the Great Shaman were by his side now, the Great Shaman could roughly divine a direction for him.

However, the current situation was also favorable. With Rongdi submitting to the Great Zhou, the master of this land must be either the Yan Emperor or the Great Zhou Empress. When the Great Zhou Empress and Great Yan Emperor appeared, the Great Shaman’s disciple would see which one it was, then find a way to kill that person! Thus, this land would become masterless territory, and their Tianfeng could smoothly claim this fertile soil.

On the tenth day of the eleventh month of the first year of Yuanhe, Great Zhou proclaimed to all under heaven that Rongdi had submitted to Great Zhou.

On the twenty-first day of the eleventh month of the first year of Yuanhe, Western Liang and Tianfeng sent envoys respectively to the capitals of Great Zhou and Great Yan to meet with the Great Zhou Empress and Great Yan Emperor, claiming they wished to hold a five-nation alliance with them hosting the alliance ceremony. The location could be set at the border intersection of Western Liang, Great Zhou, and Yan, and they presented maps marking the alliance location.

The Tianfeng envoy’s expression was arrogant, while the Western Liang envoy’s attitude was extremely humble.

Sitting upon the high throne, Bai Qingyan looked at the state documents presented by Tianfeng and Western Liang, chuckled softly, and raised her eyes to look at the Tianfeng and Western Liang envoys standing in the great hall…

The Western Liang envoy before her was quite unfamiliar, not any of those Li Zhijie had brought before. It seemed Western Liang had indeed changed hands.

She gazed at the arrogant Tianfeng envoy, her fingers tapping the desk intermittently. She didn’t believe Tianfeng would send such a haughty envoy to invite her to a four-nation alliance…

Once Great Zhou agreed to participate in an alliance hosted by Tianfeng, it would outwardly acknowledge Tianfeng as superior to Great Zhou. Tianfeng could use this opportunity to establish its footing among the nations, so… if they wanted face, Tianfeng should be more humble in substance, striving to move her to attend the alliance.

Either Tianfeng had other backing besides the elephant army’s threat to Great Zhou, or… this Tianfeng envoy was trying to test Great Zhou and also had the capital to turn the tide.

Bai Qingyan asked without revealing her thoughts: “I wonder how Flame King Li Zhijie views this alliance invitation?”

The Western Liang envoy, hearing this, instinctively glanced at the Tianfeng envoy before saying: “The Flame King naturally welcomes it. After all… the Flame King doesn’t want a real war that would cause suffering to the people. It’s just because Rongdi previously threatened to attack our Western Liang. Now that Rongdi has submitted to the Great Zhou, our Western Liang Empress is very uneasy, so she invited Tianfeng, an outside nation… to help mediate, hoping to coexist peacefully with the Great Zhou and Yan.”

Indeed, Western Liang now had to watch Tianfeng’s expression. It seemed Li Zhijie was probably not submitting to Tianfeng, so… this time they sent someone different from the previous Western Liang envoys. Then, Yun Poxing, who was loyal to the Western Liang Empress, should be the same.

“Western Liang now indeed listens to Tianfeng’s words…” Liu Rushi spoke unhurriedly.

The Tianfeng envoy glanced at Liu Rushi, and relying on Tianfeng’s elephant army, he straightened his back and chuckled: “Our Tianfeng ruler intends to help Great Zhou, Great Yan, and Western Liang coexist peacefully, so this alliance will be hosted by our Tianfeng ruler. Please ensure the Great Zhou Empress arrives by the fifth day of the twelfth month.”

Bai Qingyan’s eyes held a smile as she gazed steadily at the Tianfeng envoy without speaking.

The meaning of these words… was a threat.

Minister Lu Taiwei, who had been amiable, heard this and turned to look at the Tianfeng envoy, his expression also darkening.

Great Zhou’s court officials immediately became furious. Those hot-tempered military officers angrily shouted at the Tianfeng envoy, one after another.

The Tianfeng envoy’s attitude when speaking to Bai Qingyan enraged Liu Rushi: “Where did this Tianfeng come from, talking to itself about hosting some four-nation alliance, and demanding our Great Zhou Empress must arrive by the fifth day of the twelfth month? Who gave Tianfeng such audacity?”

A Great Zhou military officer immediately agreed: “Exactly! What Tianfeng… who knows what corner it crawled out from, having no dealings with our Great Zhou, yet dares to shamelessly demand our dignified Great Zhou Empress must participate! Based on what? Based on Western Liang, which couldn’t even defend Qiushan Pass against our Great Zhou elite soldiers?”

A civil official also sneered: “If not for you, this so-called Tianfeng envoy, following the Western Liang envoy into Zhou, do you think you could have smoothly entered our Great Zhou’s Qiushan Pass? Do you think Tianfeng’s credentials are worth anything?”

“Where did this small Kingdom come from, daring to arrogantly host a multi-nation alliance, daring to demand our Majesty must arrive? How can you be so shameless! What are you relying on to be so arrogant? Relying on your Tianfeng’s thick skin?”