There are such incredible things in the world!

Ning Yan looked at the two men standing in the court and felt a little dazed.

The two men were dressed differently from other officials. One had greasy hair tied into a small braid, was tall and stocky, and wore a leather robe. He was obviously a Hu man, but his age could not be determined because of his dark and rough skin. He had a rebellious look and sinister eyes. The other man was also wearing Hu clothes, but his hair was neatly tied and his face was fair, so he was a Han Chinese.

An urgent report was sent some time ago saying that the Jin people demanded a ceasefire.

This news was undoubtedly great news for the emperor.

This is also good news for officials in the court. After all, no one likes war.

Ning Yan was also very pleased that the Jin people were willing to seek peace. This was all because they were shocked by Duke Cheng. He must take this opportunity to teach the Jin people a lesson.

After several court meetings, the inner cabinet followed the procedures and sent out a letter of agreement to negotiate peace. After waiting for some time, the envoys of the Jin people arrived in the capital. The Ministry of Rites handed over the Jin people's letter of credence, and the emperor immediately agreed to meet them and arranged for them to be held at a grand court meeting.

After all, the Jin people's request for peace meant victory for the Great Zhou and glory. The emperor certainly did not want to miss this opportunity, especially after being frightened and anxious for so long.

The court officials were also very happy. Now that the matter was resolved, they no longer had to worry, and they could be rewarded according to their merits so that they could have a good new year.

But things don't seem to be what they imagined.

The Hu man came forward, neither greeting nor bowing his head, and chattered in a defiant manner, but from the looks of it and the tone of his voice, it didn't sound like he was begging.

When the interpreter translated the Hu man's words, everyone in the court was stunned.

"…To form friendly alliances and avoid causing trouble for each other, we must first treat each other as equals and open up trade." The interpreter said softly.

Equal exchanges between the two countries mean opening up the border for trade. Since Duke Chengguo stationed in the north and strictly inspected the border, not only trade but even smuggling has ceased.

At the beginning, this action not only caused great losses to the Jin people, but also huge losses to the wealthy merchants in the north. They were very dissatisfied and went on strike several times. They also reported the matter to the court. However, Duke Cheng mercilessly killed the three wealthy merchants and gentry on the charge of treason.

"They are cunning and treacherous. Merchants are after profit and are omnipresent. Back then, the gold thieves went south and bribed merchants to become their accomplices. They broke into three of our cities, killed our officials and civilians, and finally captured our majesty. Now they dare to incite chaos for their own benefit. In the future, they will surely help the enemy and sell out our country. The gold thieves also used horse furs to feed their personal belongings and exchanged them for our gold and silver mines to forge weapons and armor. They are undoubtedly using my blood to nourish the enemy. There will be endless troubles in the future."

Duke Chengguo said this in his memorial to the court.

When talking about the events of the past, and the evidence of the merchants' collusion with the enemy sent by Duke Cheng, no one cared about whether it was true or not. Everyone knew that Duke Cheng was killing a chicken to scare the monkeys, so the matter was left unresolved, and the emperor even commended and praised Duke Cheng.

From then on, no one in the north dared to trade with the Jin people, and life became increasingly difficult for the Jin people who were short of supplies.

Originally, some people impeached Duke Cheng, saying that this action would affect the army and horses, and thus affect the strength of the Great Zhou army. However, in the past ten years, without the horses in the north, the west and southwest were able to raise horses, and the quality and quantity were considerable. Gradually, no one mentioned this matter anymore. As the situation stabilized, Jiangnan became more and more prosperous, and trade between the north and the south was connected, the materials from the Jin people were dispensable to the Great Zhou, and it was completely disregarded.

In the past, we were forced not to open the market, but now we have no interest in opening the market at all.

What did this Jin envoy mean?

Is this a request or a... demand?

Why does it sound wrong?

"It's not impossible to trade with other countries..." an official said after thinking for a while.

But he was interrupted by Ning Yan before he could finish his words.

"Trade is not allowed." He said solemnly, "Your shortage of supplies can be solved through other methods."

The emperor coughed lightly. To him, trade was not a big deal.

"Let him finish," he said.

Ning Yan and others bowed and responded, and the official from the Ministry of Rites signaled Envoy Jin to continue.

Envoy Jin had heard the interpreter whisper a few words, and his face became even more defiant, with a hint of sneer, and he said a few more words in a babble.

As soon as the Hu man finished speaking, several people in the hall cried out. Although their voices were small, they also caused a commotion. Several officials in charge of court order and etiquette looked over with dissatisfaction, only to see that those people looked horrified.

These people did not hold high positions and seemed to know some foreign language, so they obviously understood what the messenger said.

What was it that made them lose their minds and speak rudely?

While the officials were changing their minds, the voice of the interpreter was heard.

"The second demand of the Great Jin is that the borders be redrawn and Baozhou, Xiongzhou, Bazhou, Qingzhou, Qizhou and Hejian Prefecture be returned to the Great Jin," he said.

The borders were redrawn and six counties were ceded.

They are not here to surrender or negotiate peace; they are clearly here to make demands and provoke.

There was silence in the court for a while, and then there was noise.

But this was not the end yet, the golden envoy waved his hands and shouted a few more words loudly.

This time the voice of the interpreter also became louder.

"If not, my Great Jin will gather another 50,000 men and march south. We will not stop until we have regained our homeland," he shouted.

As soon as these words fell, the noisy court suddenly became quiet, and everyone looked at the golden envoy in astonishment, including the emperor on the dragon throne.

Many places in the north were once occupied by the Jin people and were taken back by Duke Chengguo. Just because they occupied it doesn't mean it belongs to them. It is really shameless to call these six counties their old territories.

There are such incredible things in the world!

But besides being unbelievable, there is something even more shocking.

Fifty thousand Jin soldiers gathered again and marched south to fight to the death.

Again.

By this calculation, the Great Zhou will have to face a battle against the 100,000-strong Jin army.

One hundred thousand!

This is not surrender, this is clearly a threat!

After a period of silence, the court was filled with noise again.

"Bold!"

"absurd!"

"How brave of you, thief!"

Ning Yan and others' scolding voices rang out one after another.

Compared to the anger, surprise, panic, etc. of other people in the court, Ning Yunzhao's expression remained the same.

"I told you, there won't be any good news." He whispered.

…

Through the stone window, the women's sudden laughter came in, and the sweet fragrance lingered in the nostrils.

Miss Jun withdrew her gaze from the window, looked at the shopkeeper and sighed.

"You are really a traitor." She said, "If that's the case, why don't you just gather your troops and fight? Why are you going to the capital to show off your might?"

"It's a threat." said the shopkeeper.

Miss Jun sneered.

"He is trying to scare people or is he courting death by using the country and the people as his own interests?" she said. "If our great ancestor... the late emperor were still alive, the court would have beheaded this messenger and thrown his head back to where the gold thief is."

Unlike the Emperor's uncle, who always pretends to be kind.

The shopkeeper nodded.

"Yeah, even if another 50,000 come, how can we be sure that we will win?" he said, "It's just that the battle will be more intense and last longer."

Miss Jun stood up.

"So what if it takes a long time? It took Duke Cheng and his men nearly ten years to drive out the Jin people and take back the northern land. It will take another ten years at most." She said, "Who is afraid of who?"

Although it was not good news, the shopkeeper couldn't help but laugh.

"Miss Jun, a woman, is not afraid, so we men are certainly even less afraid," he said with a smile.

"Duke Cheng will not be afraid," said Miss Jun, "you can rest assured."

The shopkeeper laughed out loud.

"I was supposed to tell the young lady this." He said with a smile, and with this joke, the nervousness he felt when he received the news also dissipated.

"The road is still not peaceful. If you have any problems, don't run back and forth. I can go to your place." Miss Jun reminded again, "You are civilians after all."

We are civilians? What about you? The shopkeeper was stunned. Are you soldiers?

"Yes." He bowed and replied.

When he opened the door and walked into the yard, the laughter became louder and two women saw him and brought him a box.

"These are freshly made cakes. Please take a try, boss." They said with a smile.

The shopkeeper took it without hesitation, smiling, and couldn't help but glance at the woman who was sitting in front of the main house basking in the sun.

He noticed when he came that this was a strange woman.

Seeing him looking at her, the woman also looked over and nodded slightly to him.

The shopkeeper bowed his head subconsciously, then felt a little confused. It seemed like his reaction was instinctive. Was it because of the woman's aura?

Although she was wearing the kind of rustic flowered cotton skirt that the women in the village wore, she looked exceptionally impressive.

Who is this person?

He was just hesitating whether to ask when he saw someone running in hurriedly.

"Miss Jun." The thin villager said in a clear voice, holding a bamboo tube in his hand, "A letter from the city."

This is a letter delivered by a carrier pigeon.

The shopkeeper was a little surprised. He had just left the house when a letter came in? He must have just received it.

Any new news?

Miss Jun took the mailbox, opened it, and her expression changed drastically after just one look.

"Ridiculous!" she shouted, and threw the mailbox and paper in her hand to the ground.

The laughter in the yard suddenly stopped, and everyone looked over, their expressions suddenly becoming surprised and uneasy.

This lady was angry for the first time.

What happened?