But… Liu Rushi also felt that dealing with a nation like Tianfeng Kingdom, which harbored ulterior motives, truly required such a strong stance.

“Since this person is Tianfeng Kingdom’s great shaman, the head on his neck… is naturally blessed by the Sky God as well. Begin your divination!” Bai Qingyan spoke with a smile.

“Your Majesty, please don’t make things difficult for our great shaman. What the great shaman can divine… is only matters related to our Tianfeng Kingdom’s national fortune!” Sa’er Khan said slowly. “For example, where our Tianfeng Kingdom’s national treasure, the jade cicada, which originally belonged to us, is now located.”

“According to Tianfeng Kingdom’s legends, the jade cicada can reverse time…” Bai Qingyan picked up the teacup before her. “Tianfeng Kingdom kneels before Great Zhou, wanting to obtain the jade cicada. To what time do you wish to reverse? Back to… when you were at war with the Great Zhou and Xi Liang? To catch the Great Zhou off guard? Or do you plan to use the same method that once destroyed the Hanying Kingdom, sending Five Stone Powder… or Cold Stone Powder as medicine to my Great Zhou?”

Sa’er Khan’s palms tightened – he truly hadn’t expected Bai Qingyan to know… quite so much.

“The tea has gone cold, bring a fresh cup!” Bai Qingyan barely touched the tea to her lips before frowning and handing the teacup to Chun Tao.

After Chun Tao withdrew with the teacup, Bai Qingyan’s cold gaze turned to Sa’er Khan: “Having discovered that the great river behind the snowy mountains leads to the sea, and that you can land on my Great Zhou’s coast, Tianfeng Kingdom’s ruler must think he has victory in his grasp. This happens to be summer, when the elephant army is invincible… you’re certain you can end the war within three months or even two months, correct?”

Bai Qingyan, leaning against the round pillow, moved closer to Sa’er Khan, her beautiful eyes carrying a mocking smile: “Are the large ships purchased from Dongyi Kingdom enough for you to continuously transport giant elephants to Great Zhou?”

Sa’er Khan clenched his fists.

Had the Dongyi Kingdom betrayed their Tianfeng Kingdom?

“Tianfeng Kingdom is so naive…” Bai Qingyan’s fingers lightly caressed the round pillow. “Your Tianfeng Kingdom’s ships carrying giant elephants won’t be able to leave that river or reach those waters. I can make them all sink to the bottom!”

“Tianfeng Kingdom’s ruler must not think that I’m speaking empty words…” Bai Qingyan’s brows and eyes smiled lightly. “Has Tianfeng Kingdom’s ruler calculated how long it’s been since you received letters from Tianfeng Kingdom?”

“What does Your Majesty mean by this?” The calm composure on Sa’er Khan’s face finally disappeared.

“It means… from now on, that river belongs to my Great Zhou! Anyone who wants to pass through… must have my Great Zhou’s permission!” Bai Qingyan’s voice was light, but her eyes were filled with killing intent. “Calculating the time, Prince Han Cheng has probably already sent people to establish defensive lines on both sides of the great river.”

Previously, because of a snowy mountain, Tianfeng Kingdom had been blocked on the other side of that mountain. Now, after finally discovering another route to survival along the river that Cui Fengnian had mentioned, were they about to be locked again by the Great Zhou in that land about to be swallowed by the desert?

“Great Zhou’s Emperor acting thus seems excessive!” Sa’er Khan frowned deeply.

“It’s simply a matter of strength…” Bai Qingyan looked at Sa’er Khan with a light smile.

“Is Great Zhou declaring war on my Tianfeng Kingdom?” The Tianfeng Kingdom’s great shaman was extremely anxious.

“Unclaimed land – if my Great Zhou occupies it first, why is your Tianfeng Kingdom so anxious?” Grand Commandant Lu laughed.

“So Tianfeng Kingdom came here today to declare war on Great Zhou.” Although Liu Rushi hadn’t expected that Bai Qingyan had ordered Prince Han Cheng to lead troops to occupy some grassland, he could deduce something from the conversation. “Besides, that grassland is right next to your territory, yet you never discovered it. What are you so anxious about now?”

“Bordering my Tianfeng Kingdom, it’s naturally Tianfeng Kingdom’s territory!” The Tianfeng Kingdom’s great shaman hastily said. “Great Zhou never previously claimed this was Great Zhou’s territory!”

“According to this Tianfeng Kingdom great shaman’s words…” Liu Rushi looked at the Tianfeng Kingdom’s great shaman. “The snowy mountains are connected, so Tianfeng Kingdom also borders my Great Zhou. Tianfeng Kingdom should naturally also be considered our Great Zhou’s territory…”

Liu Rushi turned and bowed to Bai Qingyan: “Your Majesty… it turns out Tianfeng Kingdom came this time to present territory and cities. This humble minister seems to have misunderstood Tianfeng Kingdom’s ruler and great shaman! Your Majesty… Tianfeng Kingdom’s ruler has traveled thousands of miles to present territory. Not accepting it would be improper!”

At this critical moment of the national wager, Bai Qingyan was unwilling to fight a war, but if fighting truly became necessary at this time, Bai Qingyan was not afraid.

Tianfeng Kingdom’s ambitious nature meant that leaving them would eventually become a disaster. Although it offered no benefit for the national wager, if Tianfeng Kingdom didn’t behave… Bai Qingyan wouldn’t mind fighting another war.

Moreover, she didn’t want to wait until the day when Tianfeng Kingdom’s giant elephants’ iron hooves trampled Great Zhou’s soil before fighting. At that time, it would be Great Zhou’s people and Great Zhou’s cities that would suffer!

If they truly had to fight, then let Tianfeng Kingdom’s giant elephants meet their end on that grassland.

Watching Sa’er Khan’s tense facial features, Bai Qingyan finally spoke unhurriedly: “Wei Zhong… have Xue Renyi bring over the map!”

Wei Zhong responded, clapped his hands, and two Imperial Guards followed behind Xue Renyi, carrying in a map which they unfolded and held up before everyone.

When the map was unfolded, Sa’er Khan nearly stood up. He looked at this enormous map that encompassed both Tianfeng Kingdom and Dongyi Kingdom, with magnificent mountains and rivers… displayed before everyone.

This was what magnificent mountains and rivers meant!

Sa’er Khan saw that the grassland beyond the desert was marked with the character “Zhou,” and the map even showed Great Zhou’s defensive positions on both sides of the great river.

This meant… The Great Zhou had already considered the grassland their territory.

“Living up to Your Majesty’s expectations, the Ministry of Works completed this on schedule…” Xue Renyi performed a deep bow to Bai Qingyan.

“Minister Xue truly hasn’t disappointed me!” Bai Qingyan’s brows and eyes carried a smile. After praising Xue Renyi, she turned to look at Sa’er Khan. “Tianfeng Kingdom’s ruler should look carefully at which areas are my Great Zhou’s territory, and remember these words: Those who violate Zhou territory… my Great Zhou’s elite soldiers must execute!”

Sa’er Khan tightly gripped the jade cicada in his hand, his eyes undisguised with killing intent: “Great Zhou’s Emperor isn’t afraid of mutual destruction.”

“Whether the net breaks or not, we’ll only know after trying. But once the fish enters the net… as long as you lift it, it won’t be able to struggle for long.” After Bai Qingyan finished speaking, she smiled warmly again. “So then, does Tianfeng Kingdom’s ruler still wish to discuss trade matters?”

This was giving Sa’er Khan a less-than-dignified way out.

Sa’er Khan also exerted all his strength to suppress the towering rage and humiliation in his heart before saying coldly, “Discuss!”

Five Stone Powder – what the Great Zhou knew was merely Five Stone Powder.

Once Great Zhou’s people tasted the benefits of opium, would they still fear being unable to conquer Great Zhou?

Yes, Sa’er Khan intended to use the same method that had once destroyed the Hanying Kingdom to destroy the Great Zhou and occupy this land!

“Since you’ve come to Great Zhou, naturally we must discuss…”