"In this way, peace can be maintained between Da'an and Da Yan for a hundred years, Your Majesty! This is a match made in heaven!" The Da'an envoy stood in the middle and bowed as he spoke.

Now comes the most important moment of the banquet.

"What do you all think?" Yuwen Xuanhong raised his wine cup and asked the assembled officials below.

Huo Xiaolong slowly stood up. The young girl had phoenix eyes and a jade crown, and her posture was upright. In the end, she had come to the moment when she had to break ties with the emperor.

"In my opinion, this is inappropriate!"

The Prince of Zhenbei stepped forward and bowed to the Emperor.

Yuwen Xuanhong frowned slightly, then asked...

"What does the Prince of Zhenbei find wrong?"

The girl winked at Sun Zixi, and she immediately led her brother forward, speaking from below.

"Marshal Xiao clearly won the battle of Dongyu, so why should our great nation agree to a marriage alliance with them?"

"Their princess from Da'an is a princess, but our princess from Da Yan isn't?"

"Today, Da'an dares to ask for a princess to marry into a foreign land. Does that mean that in the future, he will dare to ask for the Prince of Zhenbei?"

"Your Majesty, the princess is one thing, but think about it. If they were to make an exorbitant demand for the Prince of Zhenbei, it would be a matter of them asking us for land and troops."

The two of them talked back and forth, making the emperor hesitate.

But remembering his mother's words, he calmed himself down. As long as he removed the power of the eldest princess in the capital, his throne would be more secure. A princess was nothing to be overly concerned about.

"This matter is for the sake of peace and tranquility between the two countries for centuries. Marriage alliance is simply the most traditional custom since ancient times. What's wrong with it?" said the envoy from Da'an.

“But that rule is wrong. If you want a marriage alliance, send your princess over, not an unfavored prince who has been abandoned.”

Although Huo Xiaolong was not as tall as the envoy, his eyes sent chills down one's spine.

"Your Majesty, I second that proposal!" said the Minister of War as he stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, I second that proposal!" said the Minister of Personnel.

"I second that! Your Majesty, the Prince of Zhenbei is right. It was clearly our Great Yan that won the war, so why should we send a princess to marry a foreign ruler? Although marriage alliances are a tradition between two countries, it is always the defeated country that sends its princesses to us, Your Majesty."

These officials speaking out certainly had an impact, but the Emperor wouldn't listen. All three of their sons were in the Princess's backyard. Yuwen Helan's departure was a ploy to take the lives of his three sons.

The Emperor looked at Chen Songyun and saw that this Grand Chancellor neither agreed nor disagreed, thus finding himself in a dilemma.

"Xiao Lanyi, what do you think?"

The man stepped forward, looking at the Emperor. Over the years, Lan Hua had suffered so much under his care. Now that his sister-in-law was no longer pretending, it meant she could break ties with him. So the man bowed, his eyes fixed on Yuwen Xuanhong, and slowly spoke.

"Your Majesty, I believe that I am fighting a bloody battle with those soldiers, not to win a battle and have to bow my head."

"Huang Ranhu's army is right outside Dongyu City. You are forcing me to submit!"

The envoy from Da'an stroked his beard, beaming with pride.

“The Prince of Zhenbei is young and should not have heard of the name of Marshal Huang of Da'an, let alone seen what Marshal Huang looks like when he leads troops.”

"If you haven't seen it before, then go see it. There are many things in this world that I haven't seen. Life is short, and you should always go out and see the world."

Huo Xiaolong reached out, grabbed the man's neck, and with a slight exertion of his arm, lifted him into the air.

“Prince Zhenbei! How dare you!” Grand Tutor Xu said, pointing at her.

The girl ignored him and instead looked at Yuwen Xuanhong.

"emperor!"

—Slap

Huo Xiaolong let go, and the person fell to the ground.

The girl stepped forward and looked at the person sitting on the dragon throne.

"Da'an cannot marry any princess of the Great Yan, not even a commoner!"

The girl in front of Yuwen Xuanhong exuded a powerful aura of pressure, yet standing at his feet, she showed no fear of being suppressed.

"If... they really want to marry my princess of Great Yan, then they should bring my head as a betrothal gift."

"Prince Zhenbei! Why are you doing this?" the Emperor said anxiously.

Yuwen Xuanhong also wanted to stand up for himself, but the price he paid for fighting Huang Ranhu before was too high. Although Huo Xiaolong had gone too far in the court, he was still a good general of his Great Yan!

There's no need to risk your life unless it's absolutely necessary.

But what exactly constitutes a critical juncture?

Even though Xiao Lanyi had won, they sent their envoy to Da Yan to propose marriage without bringing any betrothal gifts.

What's next?

What good is it to marry a princess?

Documents,

When you have the power, others will discuss rules and sign documents with you.

When you have no power, you're just a piece of paper, something you can easily use!

"Alright, disperse for now. The Prince of Zhenbei, please stay."

The ministers filed out, while the Imperial Medical Academy took away the Da'an envoy who had been choked unconscious by Long'er.

"What will Tingche do if something happens to you on the battlefield? His parents passed away early, and now you are his only fiancée."

Perhaps there was no other reason to look for it, Yuwen Xuanhong thought for a long time before coming up with this sentence.

Huo Xiaolong looked him up and down with an embarrassed expression. No, you're lying... can't you at least make some sense of it?

Why doesn't he have parents? I made them. Didn't you make them?

"He's coming with me. If we're going to die, we'll die together."

The girl in the python robe spoke with an air of self-righteousness, her thick Northeastern accent making it seem as if the oppressive figure who had seemed ready to devour her wasn't Huo Xiaolong at all.

"We're not at that point! Why should we fight them to the death?! Prince Zhenbei!"

"He's bullied us like this? He doesn't respect you at all. Do you think I'd let him bare his teeth at you? If it weren't for the principle of not killing envoys in times of war, I would have chopped that envoy up today, you know?"

"Anyway, I disagree!"

"I have to go!"

Yuwen Xuanhong was about to say something when Long'er interrupted him. The girl bowed deeply to him and said earnestly.

"Your Majesty, if I die, you must quickly select capable generals. Great Yan needs military commanders who can replace me and Xiao Lanyi. Uncle, please listen to my advice. This time, either I die or I subdue Da'an. Otherwise, what is the princess? All the millions of people in your vast country will be buried with the princess."

Huo Xiaolong softened his tone, speaking to the Emperor as a junior.

"Besides, how can I be sure I'll lose? It's your loss that you haven't seen how good I am on the battlefield. Don't worry, I'll definitely come back in good shape and continue to fight at the Grand Assembly."

"Prince Zhenbei, I absolutely disagree with this! I cannot watch the only two generals of Great Yan go to their deaths!"

"However, for the past month, the city gates of the capital have been left open at night, and no one cares where you lead your troops."

"I must provide the people of Great Yan with a guarantee."

Yuwen Xuanhong meant that even if they lost the battle and Huo Xiaolong died, he could shift all the blame onto Huo Xiaolong, making it unrelated to the Great Yan.

The girl nodded, indicating her understanding.