The development of the situation was indeed as Yu Zizhen and her subordinates had wished. After watching several military exercises held by China, which were called exercises but were actually for deterrence, the envoys from the three foreign countries immediately became obedient and quiet.
Not only did they tacitly shelve their previously discussed grand plan of jointly attacking China, but they also became more enthusiastic about the marriage.
Of course, the brainless princess who had fallen in love with Xiao Yuanjin had been excluded from the candidates for marriage, but all the other princes and princesses, without exception, were picked out by their own envoys and used as important pawns to ensure the stability of their country through marriage.
Although Yu Zizhen flatly refused to let those princes enter her harem, she did not object to the princes and princesses of these three countries marrying the nobles and court officials of her own country.
She said to the envoys from the three foreign countries, "Marriage is fine, but the rules must be set by me."
The messengers listened attentively.
Yu Zizhen narrated:
"First, the people of our country will not marry outside the country. Whether your country is using a princess or a prince for marriage, they must live with their husband or wife in the capital of China after marriage."
"Of course, to show my respect for your princess and prince, I will grant them respective mansions after they have chosen suitable partners."
"Secondly, whether they are children of officials, commoners, or slaves, as long as they are within the borders of China, they have absolute autonomy over their own marriages."
"In other words, if your princess or prince sets his sights on someone, they must use other means besides intimidation to convince the other party to come and ask me in person."
"If she has no intention of becoming one of the candidates for marriage with your country, then I will never interfere in her marriage and embarrass my own people under the pretext of righteousness."
Upon hearing this, the faces of the envoys from the three kingdoms and their respective princes and princesses all turned dark.
Seeing this, Yu Zizhen changed the subject and said, "Of course, with the character and virtue of your princess and prince, I also believe that there must be someone in my country who can recognize their talent."
As long as he can get benefits, Yu Zizhen doesn't mind saying a few more nice words.
She smiled at the Minister of Rites of China and said, "It would be both cumbersome and inefficient for the princes and princesses from distant countries to search for candidates on their own. To facilitate the marriage as soon as possible, you may wish to announce the selection criteria and allow interested parties to apply. You will then lead the preliminary screening, and finally the princes and princesses will choose one of the candidates selected by the Ministry of Rites."
The Deputy Envoy of Northern Yan knitted his brows into a small knot. "Is His Majesty of China not planning to allow the princes and princesses to marry into the royal family?"
Yu Zizhen was not afraid of exposing his family's dirty laundry. "To be honest with you, envoys, my relationship with my maternal clan is average, and I have never bestowed any title or reward on any member of the Yu clan."
"And as I just said, my subjects have absolute autonomy over their own marriages. The Yu clan members are also my subjects. Although I will not give them any extra benefits, I will not take advantage of my status as emperor to deprive them of their basic rights."
The envoys from the three kingdoms looked at each other in bewilderment. To be honest, they all felt that the founding emperor of China was seriously ill.
Others, when they became emperors, sought the pinnacle of life, reigning supreme and slumbering over beauties, yet this emperor, on the other hand, constantly claimed to be protecting the basic rights of his subjects. Isn't this a serious illness?
They had never seen an emperor like her who was afraid of his own power.
Yu Zizhen didn't care what they thought. Even if she forced the marriage, the families and young men and women who were given the marriage would not be able to make any trouble under the all-round surveillance of the baby voice system. But she put herself in their shoes and was ultimately unwilling to use the power in her hands to make things difficult for others, to force others to experience what it meant to "be at home while disaster strikes from the sky."
As for the envoys from the three kingdoms and their princes and princesses who had been frightened by her and the court officials, Yu Zizhen's real thought was that it would be best if they were unwilling to accept her harsh conditions, so that she would not have to spend the effort to monitor them in the future.
Anyway, these guys have been scared by the military exercises they organized, and they dare not show even the slightest tough attitude in front of her.
The envoys of the three kingdoms and their princes and princesses all felt Yu Zizhen's confidence.
Of course, they were very aggrieved and resentful, but thinking of China's military strength, the envoys of the three countries and their princes and princesses could only swallow their anger.
In order to decide whether or not to continue the marriage, the envoys of the three countries and their princes and princesses weighed the pros and cons and held several discussions in private.
In the end, the princes and princesses of Northern Yan who were more favored and valued by their fathers in their country all chose to return to their country, and of the remaining three in Southern Xinjiang and Western Xinjiang, two chose to return to their country, and one chose to stay in China.
The one who chose to stay was the prince of Southern Xinjiang. Although he openly said that he stayed to help Southern Xinjiang further understand the national conditions of China, in fact, he simply wanted to get rid of his embarrassing situation in Southern Xinjiang.
Men in southern Xinjiang generally have a lower status than women. In addition, this prince of southern Xinjiang, his mother, and his maternal family were all convicted in the turmoil in southern Xinjiang not long ago.
Although he was spared from death with his mother and maternal family because he was half of the blood of the King of Southern Xinjiang, but with more than 90% of his closest and most useful maternal grandfather's family dead and more than half escaping, how good could the life of this prince of Southern Xinjiang be in Southern Xinjiang?
From his point of view, instead of going back to Southern Xinjiang and continuing his previous life of confinement, it would be better for him to stay in China and become a small chess piece that was "married far away" for Southern Xinjiang, and in the eyes of his father and other leaders of Southern Xinjiang, he could barely have some value.
Apart from anything else, at least he can go out freely in China, talk to people casually, marry and have children, and continue to live a life of luxury.
These few things alone were enough to make him determined to stay in China.
As for the princess of Western Xinjiang who fell in love with Xiao Yuanjin, she really wanted to stay in China and find an opportunity for her "love" to come to fruition. However, neither the envoys from Western Xinjiang nor her prince brother gave her the opportunity to make a choice.
Amid her noisy and annoying protests and pleas, the envoys from the Western Frontier and her prince brother immediately put her in a carriage and took her away.
There were originally many but now there is only one, and Yu Zizhen is still very satisfied with this situation.
She immediately had someone select a mansion in a good location for the prince of southern Xinjiang who stayed behind, and then instructed the Honglu Temple to carefully select a marriage candidate for him based on the prince's requirements for his future partner.
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