He gritted his back teeth, looking at the mass of Great Zhou soldiers holding high their black banners with white python flags, and sneered: “Surrounding but not attacking—they simply lack the courage to assault the city, yet they can’t swallow yesterday’s incident when our Tianfeng Kingdom brought elephant armies to surround Pingyang City and start a war. They’re just saving face, forcibly putting on a show of fearlessness before our Tianfeng Kingdom!”

The Grand Shaman’s disciple followed beside Sa’er Khan. For some unknown reason, looking at those black banners with white python flags, an extremely ominous premonition rose in his heart. He said, “Your Majesty, why don’t we first withdraw from Pingdu City? Submit to Great Zhou, lower our stance… offer gold, silver, treasures, and smiles to deceive Great Zhou… make Great Zhou think our Tianfeng Kingdom is no match for them. Perhaps the Great Zhou and the Yan Kingdom would be willing to lease land and cities to us!”

Lowering their stance to deceive Great Zhou was Sa’er Khan’s strategy toward Zhou, but hearing the Grand Shaman’s disciple propose it now while being besieged by Great Zhou somehow made him extremely uncomfortable.

“Submitting and withdrawing from Pingdu City is something we must do, but… we need Great Zhou and Great Yan to propose it first, so we can also make withdrawing from Pingdu City one of our conditions, and try to get Great Zhou to lease us cities!” Sa’er Khan pressed his hands against Pingdu City’s wall, his gaze falling on the Great Zhou soldiers. “Even if we force Li Tianyu to give this Pingdu City and the entire Dan River to Great Zhou, we’ll take root in Quanya City across the Dan River!”

As long as they could trade with the Great Zhou and let Tianfeng Kingdom’s merchant caravans enter the Great Zhou to search for the jade cicada, Sa’er Khan would even consider Quanya City, where they settled, as borrowed from the Great Zhou, to maintain good relations with the Great Zhou!

Sa’er Khan’s thinking was very clear. In front of Quanya City was the natural barrier of the Dan River. Retreating beyond the Dan River would actually benefit their Tianfeng Kingdom.

The Grand Shaman’s disciple looked toward distant Pingyang City, then his gaze fell on Bai Jinzhi, who rode out on a white horse from among the mass of heavy armored cavalry. He said, “According to our information, the Great Zhou is not a warlike race. As long as we show our sincerity and do our utmost to display our friendliness and goodwill, Great Zhou should also be willing to coexist peacefully with us!”

Sa’er Khan shook his head. He thought of the scene during the Four Nations Alliance when he had assumed women were soft-hearted and approached Bai Qingyan to curry favor, only to be mercilessly exposed by Bai Qingyan regarding Tianfeng Kingdom’s schemes. He said, “Not necessarily. The Great Zhou Emperor is extremely clever and understands our Tianfeng Kingdom’s plans very well. I’m afraid she… won’t respond to either soft or hard approaches!”

The problem was, this jade cicada was in the Great Zhou, which was truly troublesome.

“Have the soldiers prepare. Move all the stones and fire oil up here, in case Great Zhou attacks the city!” Sa’er Khan gritted his teeth, thought for a moment, then added: “Have the Western Liang soldiers come up on the city walls to defend! Tell them our Tianfeng Kingdom is fighting for them—if we lose Pingdu City, Tianfeng Kingdom won’t care!”

“Yes!” The Tianfeng Kingdom junior general acknowledged and departed.

Bai Jinzhi rode her white horse forward, raised her arm, and pointed her red-tasseled silver spear at the Tianfeng Kingdom general riding the giant elephant, shouting in a casual tone: “Want to talk? Fine! First, get down from that elephant. Your grandmother here doesn’t like talking with her neck craned up!”

The Tianfeng Kingdom general riding the elephant was angered by Bai Jinzhi’s arrogant manner, but remembering his ruler’s instructions and thinking of the elephant army general who had been beheaded by their ruler for attacking Great Zhou’s Pingyang City with thirty elephants, he suppressed his anger and patted the elephant’s head.

The giant elephant trumpeted once and slowly knelt its front legs.

After the giant elephant lay down in the snow, the Tianfeng Kingdom general stood up, stepped on the elephant’s head, held onto the elephant’s trunk, and climbed down. He then removed his sword and handed it to a following soldier before stepping forward and bowing: “Please, General, dismount so we may speak.”

Watching how this Tianfeng Kingdom general descended from the giant elephant, Bai Jinzhi raised an eyebrow, thinking this way of coming down from an elephant was quite impressive. After winning and returning, she also wanted a giant elephant as a mount—it would be quite impressive in battle.

Shen Qingzhu, riding beside Bai Jinzhi, looked the Tianfeng Kingdom general up and down, confirmed he had no other weapons on him, and nodded to Bai Jinzhi.

Bai Jinzhi forcefully planted her red-tasseled silver spear in the ground at her feet, used the spear’s support to flip sideways off her horse, landed steadily, and walked toward the Tianfeng Kingdom general.

Shen Qingzhu also dismounted and stayed by Bai Jinzhi’s side.

“I wonder if Duke Gaoyi brought Great Zhou soldiers to besiege our city today because of yesterday’s incident… when our Tianfeng Kingdom general accompanied the Western Liang Empress to Pingyang City to retrieve the traitorous minister Li Zhijie and rashly attacked the city?”

“Didn’t your Tianfeng Kingdom envoys bring back my elder sister’s words? Your Tianfeng Kingdom people dared to attack me… dared to kill my Bai family guards. If you want to brush this matter aside lightly, ask whether I, Bai Jinzhi, agree!” Bai Jinzhi’s gaze looked toward the walls of Pingdu City. “I, Bai Jinzhi, am here for revenge today! I destroyed Great Liang—am I afraid I can’t destroy a small Tianfeng Kingdom?”

Following her fifth brother’s instructions before leading troops away, Bai Jinzhi was to be arrogant when facing the Tianfeng Kingdom.

She needed to delay enough time for Fifth Brother and General Shen Kunyang to prepare! She also needed to delay until the Yan army arrived! And delay until the Huoyun Army headed to Pingyang City.

The Tianfeng Kingdom general smiled and said, “Duke Gaoyi is a young hero, naturally unafraid! However, our Tianfeng Kingdom’s elephant army is indeed not so easily destroyed! Thirty elephants… facing the pursuit and blockade of the Great Zhou and Yan Kingdom, over ten still managed to return, which shows the power of giant elephants!”

Seeing Bai Jinzhi raise her hand to point at him as if angered, the Tianfeng Kingdom general quickly bowed and continued: “But… our Tianfeng Kingdom came at Western Liang’s invitation, originally to help Western Liang eliminate the Rong and Di threats. Now that the Rong and Di no longer exist, our Tianfeng Kingdom, with friendly intentions, wants to trade with Great Zhou… to benefit the people of both nations, and has no desire for conflict with Great Zhou! Everything has a solution—why don’t our two nations sit down and talk first?”

Bai Jinzhi wanted exactly for Tianfeng Kingdom to say, “Sit down and talk.”

“Fine! We can talk, but… I can’t make decisions on this matter! Why don’t you have your Tianfeng Kingdom ruler personally go to Pingyang City to talk with my elder sister and our Great Zhou Minister Liu?” Bai Jinzhi’s lips curved upward.

“Duke Gaoyi jests again. Even if our Tianfeng Kingdom ruler wishes to coexist peacefully with Great Zhou, Great Zhou now has heavy troops besieging the city and wants our king to enter Pingyang City—our Tianfeng Kingdom is truly afraid!” the Tianfeng Kingdom general said.

“Then you tell me how to talk!” Bai Jinzhi asked with an irritated expression. “Should we fight our way in and then talk?”

“Great Zhou’s Majesty is currently pregnant, and with this snow falling, why not invite Minister Liu to come here, and we can talk beneath Pingdu City…”