Xiao Rongyan spread his hands toward the Great Zhou court officials: “Cities conquered by force need to be rebuilt, not to mention the people are all scattered! What’s the point of such suffering?”
The indignant Great Zhou court officials began clamoring, saying that Yan was being forced into this situation, yet speaking in such high-sounding terms.
“This Prince admits…” Xiao Rongyan turned to look at Bai Qingyan again, “This strategy of determining victory and defeat between two nations through national policies is indeed born of desperation. If Yan truly had other options available, we would never propose this gamble with Great Zhou! After all, if we truly went to war, whether Great Zhou destroyed Yan or Yan destroyed Great Zhou, the result would be one unified nation. Since that’s the case, why shouldn’t we choose a method that doesn’t require our soldiers to shed blood and sacrifice their lives, doesn’t require our people to be separated from their families?”
“Whether it’s His Majesty of Great Zhou or our Emperor of Yan, both desire the unification of the realm—whether for the eternal glory of such achievement or for the people to live in peace and prosperity, enjoying eternal tranquility, to restore a world of clear seas and peaceful rivers for the people. Then we need not destroy the cities of both nations or slaughter the people of both nations! Instead, we should… preserve both the cities and the people intact!” Xiao Rongyan looked toward Grand Commandant Lu again. “This way, even if we cannot achieve eternal glory and leave our names in history… it would still be an unprecedentedly beautiful tale between our two nations.”
“Furthermore…” Xiao Rongyan continued without waiting for the Great Zhou court officials to react, “our Emperor of Yan, precisely because he knows that the Emperor of Great Zhou cherishes his people and values the lives of Great Zhou’s soldiers, and that Yan has wronged Great Zhou first, after consulting with the Empress Dowager, decided to make concessions to compensate His Majesty of Great Zhou somewhat. We are willing to determine victory and defeat through national policies and merge into one nation! Your Majesty must understand… our Yan’s Murong family has been the imperial house for generations. For the imperial family, Yan is our ancestral homeland that cannot be changed. If not for our prior wrongdoing, and given that Great Zhou treated our Yan soldiers generously during our alliance, neither our Emperor of Yan, our Empress Dowager, nor I as Regent would agree to this strategy of determining victory through national policies. After all, from the current perspective, our Yan is weaker than the Great Zhou in every aspect, making our chances of defeat extremely high.”
This was the first time Bai Qingyan realized that Xiao Rongyan possessed such remarkable eloquence.
“If Your Majesty doesn’t believe this, you may ask our Yan’s old National Uncle, the Empress Dowager’s blood brother…” Xiao Rongyan stepped aside, exposing Zhong Xingxiao, who had been hiding behind him all along.
Zhong Xingxiao immediately felt overwhelmed, quickly shuffling forward with small steps to bow to Bai Qingyan: “This foreign minister pays respects to Your Majesty. What the Regent said is exactly right. Our Empress Dowager regrets falling for that old scoundrel Cui Shanzhong’s trick, accidentally leaking the strategy of merging the two nations. Originally, she had General Chu relay a message to the Regent to prevent Great Zhou’s Duke Zhenguo and Marquis Yinghui from going to lure the enemy, but who knew that General Chu… would comply outwardly while defying inwardly! Although General Chu was also acting for Yan’s sake, he destroyed the alliance between our two nations, which is truly detestable. The Empress Dowager and His Majesty, after much deliberation, felt deeply guilty and ashamed, therefore… are willing to compete with Great Zhou through national policies, avoiding bloodshed and sacrifice among the soldiers of both nations, avoiding the devastation of the people’s lives, and peacefully and amicably merge into one nation.”
Seeing that the emotions of the Great Zhou court officials were no longer as agitated as before and they were whispering among themselves, Bai Qingyan cleared her throat and waved her hand to signal the Great Zhou court officials to be quiet.
The vast hall quickly fell silent, with all the court officials looking toward Bai Qingyan.
Only then did she slowly speak: “This matter is of great importance. After We and Our ministers deliberate, We shall give Prince Ninth of Yan an answer. Please, Prince Ninth of Yan, rest at the guesthouse first.”
“Then… this Prince shall quietly await Your Majesty’s good news!” Xiao Rongyan led the accompanying envoys in a deep bow to Bai Qingyan.
“Wait!” A military general stepped forward and bowed to Bai Qingyan: “Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager of Yan betrayed our Great Zhou, causing Duke Zhenguo to fall into unconsciousness. This time they’ve brought the Empress Dowager’s blood brother—could it be that they mean for us to dispose of him as we see fit?”
Zhong Xingxiao immediately widened his eyes, looking nervously at Xiao Rongyan with a face full of tension.
Bai Qingyan waved her hand, signaling the military general to step back, then said: “Regent, please go and rest first!”
“This foreign minister takes his leave…” Xiao Rongyan nodded.
Yue Shi was anxious in her heart—why didn’t the eldest miss find an excuse to say she wanted to discuss things in detail and keep the master here? That way, the master could see the two young masters sooner!
“Please…” Wei Zhong, holding his whisk, smiled and made a gesture of invitation to Xiao Rongyan, escorting him out of the great hall.
Yue Shi could only hide her concerns and walk out of the hall together with Xiao Rongyan.
Just as they exited the great hall, Zhong Xingxiao’s legs went weak. Fortunately, a colleague supported him. He understood in his heart that when the Regent pointed out his identity just now, it was clearly with ill intent!
As soon as Xiao Rongyan and the Yan envoys left, Liu Rushi’s face darkened. He stepped forward and bowed: “Your Majesty, our Great Zhou’s morale is currently high, and Yan is in the wrong first. This time, they haven’t given our Great Zhou an explanation for how to handle the betrayal of Duke Zhenguo and Marquis Yinghui, and they immediately propose this strategy of merging the two nations. On the surface, it seems like they’re submitting to our Great Zhou, but in reality, this is Yan’s delaying tactic! Your Majesty absolutely must not agree!”
“Indeed, Your Majesty! Our Great Zhou army has already positioned itself at Yan’s borders and can attack the Yan capital at any time!” The military generals in the Great Zhou’s court strongly agreed with Liu Rushi’s words. “Yan is already meat at our lips—we absolutely cannot let them go this time!”
“Exactly, Your Majesty!” Zhang Duanning also stepped forward to speak: “We gave Yan a chance, but Yan gave us an explanation openly while secretly buying time for Yan. Now that our Great Zhou should strike while Yan hasn’t recovered its strength, we should immediately march west and take the Yan capital directly! Although our Great Zhou just destroyed Western Liang and our military supplies are somewhat tight for fighting Yan again, this minister believes that Minister Wei of the Ministry of Revenue will surely find a way! The opportunity to destroy Yan is right before us—Your Majesty must not be soft-hearted!”
Zhang Duanning turned to look at Minister of Revenue Wei Bugong.
Wei Bugong stood quietly to the side, not daring to speak or meet Zhang Duanning’s eyes, only focusing on looking down at his own feet.
He had already learned from Minister of Justice Lu Jin that His Majesty had already settled on the strategy of merging the two nations with Yan. He had originally worried that this was Yan’s delaying tactic, but later learned that this strategy was first proposed by His Majesty, and was decided before the two nations destroyed Western Liang, which put his mind somewhat at ease.
Therefore, at this moment, he truly couldn’t step forward and join Zhang Duanning in advising His Majesty to go to war with Yan.
Not seeing Wei Bugong step forward to join him in advising His Majesty, Zhang Duanning was puzzled. He simply looked up at Bai Qingyan and said: “This minister also came from the military, so I understand very well… whenever one wishes to unify the realm, there will inevitably be bloodshed and sacrifice. The soldiers actually don’t fear bleeding and sacrificing—they only fear that their sacrifice would be meaningless.”