The Tianfeng envoy had grown accustomed to being flattered in Western Liang. Seeing the Great Zhou court officials all glaring at him, especially those military officers whose eyes bulged like bronze bells as if they would devour him at any moment, and hearing them repeatedly call Tianfeng a small nation, his anger also flared. With a stern face, he said: “Tianfeng’s arrogance… naturally relies on strength. We speak with strength, and our Tianfeng has the invincible elephant army.”
Bai Qingyan’s eyes held a smile as she lowered her gaze to look at the bamboo slips spread before her, then casually placed the slips heavily on the desk, speaking at an unhurried pace: “Your nation relies on the elephant army, while Great Zhou relies on our valiant elite soldiers who have fought countless bloody battles. If the Tianfeng envoy wishes to compete, Great Zhou will certainly not disappoint.”
The Tianfeng envoy realized his words had been too arrogant and displeased Bai Qingyan. After performing a deep bow, he said: “Though Tianfeng’s elephant army is indeed our nation’s backing, Tianfeng has no intention of warring with Great Zhou. We come seeking peace, and we ask the Great Zhou court officials to mind their words. Tianfeng only hopes that Western Liang, Great Zhou, and Yan can coexist harmoniously, which would allow Tianfeng to live up to Western Liang’s earnest entrustment.”
The Western Liang envoy was drenched in sweat, bowing low and standing behind without uttering a sound.
“Tianfeng’s elephant army is stationed at Great Zhou’s border, and now they send envoys to Zhou… with such a high and mighty attitude. Are they threatening our Great Zhou?” Dong Qingping looked askance at the Tianfeng envoy, maintaining his dignity as he spoke slowly. “Hosting alliances has always been done by strong nations mediating disputes between weak nations. The Tianfeng envoy claims to rely on the elephant army and adopts a lofty attitude while speaking harshly to our Great Zhou Empress, even daring to use the phrase ‘must arrive.’ What… do you think our Great Zhou fears your Tianfeng elephant army?”
Having heard the attitude with which this Tianfeng envoy spoke to Bai Qingyan earlier, Dong Qingping was already quite displeased. As a former Minister of Honglu Si who used to deal with envoys from various nations, and now holding the position of Minister of Education, he naturally couldn’t speak out easily. But now he truly couldn’t restrain himself any longer. What kind of worthless creature dared to say “must” to their Great Zhou Empress on Great Zhou territory… Bah!
Great Zhou’s Minister of Public Works Shen Jingzhong turned his head to look at Dong Qingping beside him and smiled: “Minister Dong might not have understood clearly, but I understand this Tianfeng envoy’s meaning. It’s nothing more than saying they have the elephant army, so they want to be the leader of several nations and make us all obediently listen. This time, the Tianfeng envoy brought up the elephant army to intimidate our Great Zhou. If Great Zhou and Great Yan go, it would acknowledge Tianfeng as the leader.”
“Minister Shen and Minister Dong, please calm your anger.” The Tianfeng envoy still wore a smiling expression, but before he could finish speaking, he heard a Great Zhou military officer, emotionally agitated, charge directly in front of the Tianfeng envoy, startling him.
Looking at the tall and robust Great Zhou military officer, he was forced to retreat a step.
The military officer’s eyes bulged like bronze bells: “Minister Shen and Minister Dong were being too polite in their words. For such shameless scoundrels who don’t know what face means… just throw them out and be done with it.”
“Exactly! Exactly! Why even talk to him? Who knows what corner this small nation crawled out from, yet dares to be arrogant and conceited in our Great Zhou! Just throw him out!”
Sitting on the imperial throne, Bai Qingyan maintained a calm and smiling demeanor as she watched the Tianfeng envoy being confronted by the Great Zhou court officials. She adjusted to a more comfortable position and gently stroked her abdomen, watching with interest this escalating verbal battle that even Minister Shen and her uncle had joined.
The Tianfeng envoy looked pleadingly toward Bai Qingyan, who sat smiling on the imperial throne, and hurriedly said: “Your Majesty, is this Great Zhou’s way of treating guests?”
Bai Qingyan smiled and said: “When being a guest in someone else’s home, one should have the awareness of being a guest. When guests lack self-awareness and act presumptuously, my Great Zhou court officials’ tempers are already quite good for not taking action… That truly shows my court officials have excellent cultivation and are too soft-hearted.”
The Tianfeng envoy remembered General Akxie’s earlier instructions to him and another envoy going to Yan, that no matter what methods they used, they must get the Great Zhou Empress and Yan’s young emperor to participate in this alliance.
“Your Majesty, Tianfeng has no presumptuous intentions, and this foreign minister has no intention of despising Great Zhou. Tianfeng is separated from the Great Zhou, Yan, and Western Liang by the towering Worship God Snow Mountains, and only hopes to see neighborly friendship! Moreover, our Tianfeng ruler’s attendance shows he wants to meet with the majesties of Great Zhou and Yan, feeling this is a good opportunity!”
The Tianfeng envoy finally lowered his stance, striving to maintain a neither humble nor arrogant appearance: “This is the foreign minister’s first time coming to the capital city, and my refined speech isn’t very good. If there were any offensive words, please forgive me! Additionally, Tianfeng also intends to establish trade and commerce with the Great Zhou. Our king very much wants to discuss these matters in detail after meeting with Your Majesty and the Yan Emperor.”
“If the envoy had spoken this way from the beginning, the earlier scene wouldn’t have occurred.” Bai Qingyan adjusted her sleeves, still wearing that smiling expression as she looked at the Tianfeng envoy, deliberately probing: “The envoy speaks refined speech extremely well…”
Hearing Bai Qingyan say this, the envoy smiled and said: “Before going to Western Liang, after our king learned of Great Zhou, Yan, and Western Liang’s existence, he already sent people to invite Western Liang people to teach us ministers refined speech, to avoid being unable to communicate when sent as envoys to various nations in the future. This shows our king’s sincerity!”
Bai Qingyan’s palm tightened slightly. This showed early preparation…
“Tianfeng hasn’t been learning refined speech for long… how many months? For the envoy to speak so well already can be called an exceptional talent.” Bai Qingyan continued smiling and probing, waving her hand to signal the court officials preparing to gang up on the Tianfeng envoy to step back first.
“It’s not as Your Majesty said, just a few months of learning. This foreign minister isn’t that impressive – our majesty is truly impressive… He can now not only speak refined speech but also understands the written language, and has even dabbled in the ancient scripts of various royal houses.” The Tianfeng envoy’s reverence overflowed when mentioning his ruler. “Our king was intelligent from childhood, capable in both literature and martial arts, truly a heroic ruler of his generation…”
Seeing Bai Qingyan only smile without speaking, the Tianfeng envoy cleared his throat, stopped boasting about his majesty, and bowed to Bai Qingyan again: “This time, troubling the Great Zhou Empress with the hardships of travel, our king also feels apologetic, so he will also present gifts. Please, Your Majesty, examine them!”
Seeing Bai Qingyan nod, Wei Zhong came down from the high steps to receive the gift list that the Tianfeng envoy presented.
The Tianfeng envoy had two gift lists hidden in his sleeves. If the Great Zhou Empress was agreeable, he would give lighter gifts, but if she was difficult, he would present heavy gifts.
After Bai Qingyan looked over the gift list, she smiled and placed it on the desk. So… this gift list was the Tianfeng envoy’s backing for offending the Great Zhou yet being able to turn the tide.