Chapter 230 Fallen Leaves Return to Their Roots
The atmosphere in the front hall suddenly became solemn.
"Northern Qi is a defeated nation, and the initiative lies in our hands." The King of Zhenbei said to Zhao Yi, "Just focus on recuperating and don't let Manman worry."
Zhao Yi said in a gentle voice, "Thank you, father-in-law, for your concern."
"Your Highness, please change into casual clothes before entering the palace." Princess Zhenbei said calmly, "It's been less than two or three hours since the envoy arrived in Beijing, and the Emperor has sent someone to invite you into the palace. This shouldn't be to discuss a marriage."
The King of Zhenbei said with a stern expression, "The Emperor is summoning the envoys from Northern Qi."
"Once the envoys have met with the Emperor and presented their credentials, it's time to propose a marriage alliance." Princess Zhenbei frowned. "Before the candidate for the marriage with the Princess of Northern Qi is finalized, there's always room for maneuver."
After a pause, Princess Zhenbei reminded: "If Beiqi really marries the princess to our son, it will be Sima Zhao's intention. You must show the demeanor of a great general and use force first and courtesy later."
Prince Zhenbei said "hmm" and waited for a moment. Seeing that Princess Zhenbei had nothing more to say, he went to the main courtyard to bathe and change clothes.
After living for more than half of his life, Prince Zhenbei refused to be disciplined, but liked to be controlled by Princess Zhenbei.
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Emperor Jing'an summoned the envoys from Northern Qi to the Golden Palace, with all the officials present.
The Prince of Qi, Princess Guangning, the chief and deputy envoys entered the palace and saluted Emperor Jing'an: "The envoys of Northern Qi pay their respects to Your Majesty."
"No need to formally greet me." Emperor Jing'an glanced at Princess Guangning and said slowly, "What is the purpose of your envoy's journey thousands of miles to visit our country?"
Seeing that Emperor Jing'an pretended to be ignorant, the King of Qi lowered his eyelids to hide the gloom in his eyes. "Your Majesty is a man of both civil and military wisdom, and you maintain friendly relations with your neighbors and secure borders. Father has specially sent envoys here to establish friendly relations with your country. He also hopes to establish intermarriage with your country and forge a friendly relationship with you."
After the King of Qi finished speaking, he took out the letter from the credential and presented it to Emperor Jing'an.
Emperor Jing'an opened the letter and extracted the demands of Northern Qi.
They wanted to take back several cities lost by Northern Qi and engage in trade between the two countries.
In order to show their sincerity, they were willing to marry the princess to the Great Zhou and give her a generous dowry.
This dowry was actually compensation for the attack on the Great Zhou.
"You send a princess to marry into the Great Zhou, and then you dream of taking back the city that the Great Zhou soldiers shed blood for. That's too much of a fantasy."
Emperor Jing'an closed the letter and placed it on the table: "If this is your attitude towards peace with Northern Qi, I'm afraid your plan will be in vain."
The King of Qi's face darkened and he looked at the deputy envoy beside him.
"Your Majesty, Northern Qi and Great Zhou are neighbors, and they've been at war for years. Both countries have suffered heavy casualties, and the people have been forced to flee their homes. Great Zhou suffered a natural disaster last year, leaving its treasury empty. I'm afraid it can't sustain further warfare, and it needs time to recuperate. A marriage between the two countries, forming an alliance, would be a win-win for both sides."
At this point, the deputy envoy changed the subject: "Your Majesty, Princess Guangning has heard that the Prince of Zhenbei is valiant and invincible, and that his offspring are even more outstanding than him. She has long admired him. If Princess Guangning can marry the Prince of Zhenbei's eldest son as she wishes, those cities will be counted as her dowry."
"Your Majesty, our Majesty dotes on Princess Guangning and is willing to sign an alliance with the Great Zhou for her, promising never to invade the Great Zhou again." The deputy envoy bowed and said, "I hope Your Majesty will grant this."
The hall was completely silent, and all the officials looked at the King of Zhenbei.
Everyone thought that Princess Guangning was going to enter the harem, or choose between the two princes.
Who knew that Princess Guangning would marry the eldest son of Prince Zhenbei.
Prince Yu on the side looked at the envoy from Northern Qi calmly, pondered it in his mind, and then he understood Northern Qi's intentions.
The root cause of Northern Qi's defeat by Great Zhou lies in the King of Zhenbei.
They want to remove this stumbling block.
Emperor Jing'an was not a foolish ruler, and he naturally understood Northern Qi's intentions, so this marriage could not take place.
"Our Great Zhou soldiers went to war with Northern Qi, and the several cities they captured have long since been incorporated into the territory of Great Zhou."
The Prince of Zhenbei looked sharply at the deputy envoy of Northern Qi and asked, "You, Northern Qi, want to use the cities you lost as a dowry?"
The deputy envoy was startled and was about to speak.
The King of Zhenbei spoke first, "Are you going to continue the war, recapture those lost cities, and then give them to the Great Zhou as a dowry?"
After a pause, he continued, "Perhaps I have misunderstood you. You want to cede a few more cities as a dowry for Princess Guangning?"
The deputy envoy's expression changed drastically, and he quickly said, "That's not the case...it's a few cities adjacent to the northern border of the Great Zhou..."
"Then you should take the dowry back first." King Zhenbei sneered: "I will wait here."
The deputy envoy was choked. If they could win, they would have already done it. Why bother to come for a marriage alliance?
The Duke of Zhao said to the deputy envoy, "There is one thing I do not understand, and I do not know whether I should speak of it or not."
The deputy envoy's expression relaxed and he gestured for Duke Zhao to continue.
Duke Zhao asked, "Which country was defeated in the war between the two countries in the north?"
The deputy envoy's face turned pale and blue, and he said nothing.
Duke Zhao was completely unaware and continued, "The Northern Qi envoys keep talking about using the cities captured by the Great Zhou as their dowry."
At this point, he laughed and said, "This old minister vaguely believed that Northern Qi had captured several cities from Great Zhou and wanted to return them to Great Zhou in exchange for having Princess Guangning marry the eldest son of the Prince of Zhenbei."
The envoy from Northern Qi was ridiculed by Duke Zhao and felt extremely embarrassed.
The deputy envoy took a deep breath and said to Emperor Jing'an, "Your Majesty, you lived in Northern Qi for a period of time in your youth. Our Majesty has a close relationship with you and Princess Yizhen. It is precisely because of this friendship that our Majesty wants to establish friendly relations with the Great Zhou and fulfill Princess Yizhen's last wish."
When Emperor Jing'an saw the jade pendant on the envoy's waist, he clenched his fingers into a fist.
"The matter of marriage is of great importance. It is crucial to the alliance between the two countries and cannot be decided in a few words." The deputy envoy regained his composure. "I hope the emperor will give us a reply after the negotiations between the two countries are concluded."
Emperor Jing'an looked at the deputy envoy with a cold gaze, but heard the deputy envoy say, "Your Majesty, our Majesty has given me a few private words to convey to you."
Emperor Jing'an dismissed all the officials and left only the deputy envoy.
The deputy envoy stood in the center of the hall and saluted Emperor Jing'an again: "On behalf of our Majesty, I would like to express my greetings to the Emperor."
Emperor Jing'an said coldly, "What do you mean, Your Majesty?"
The deputy envoy smiled and said, "Our Majesty said that Princess Yizhen longs to return to her homeland. If the Emperor agrees to the marriage, Princess Yizhen will be able to return to her roots."
Emperor Jing'an thought of Yizhen's tearful eyes. She said, "Brother, Yizhen is waiting for you to take me back to the country."
Seeing that Emperor Jing'an seemed to be relenting, the deputy envoy said in a veiled manner, "Your Majesty, you should be most assured that Princess Guangning will marry the eldest son of the Prince of Zhenbei."
When Emperor Jing'an heard this, his expression changed.
"The Prince of Zhenbei is loyal to the Great Zhou and will likely share the emperor's worries and will not disobey his orders."
After saying this, the deputy envoy took his leave.
Emperor Jing'an stared at the deputy envoy's departing back for a long time without moving.
It was unknown how much time had passed before he slowly blinked his sore eyes.
"Cao Chunxiang." Emperor Jing'an asked, "Has the Prince of Zhenbei left the palace?"
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