Several years ago, Da Qi and Nan Hao held peace talks, and the marriage between the two countries was decided by the late emperor and the current emperor of Nan Hao.
However, after the marriage was decided, there was no further progress. Nan Hao had been silent and seemed not very enthusiastic about the marriage between the two countries.
During the Wanshou Festival this year, Emperor Nanhao sent the eldest prince Wuhejialou to come all the way to Daqi to congratulate the emperor on his birthday. As a result, the civil and military officials could not help but bring up the old matter again. They had already discussed it for a while, and most of them felt that a marriage between the two countries was a good thing.
Now that Hao is strong and Qi is weak, the court can't help but worry that Nan Hao will march north to unify the Central Plains.
Although the marriage cannot ensure permanent peace between the two countries, it can buy Da Qi more time.
This time, Wuhejialou personally went on a diplomatic mission to Da Qi. Some court officials speculated whether this was a signal sent by Emperor Nanhao.
However, after Wuhejialou and his party arrived in Da Qi, no one took the initiative to mention the marriage. Gradually, some ministers began to worry whether Nan Hao would break off the engagement.
Originally, the emperor should have proposed the marriage between the two countries to Wuhejialou, but the emperor felt it was inappropriate and thought it would be embarrassing for him to lower his status as the Emperor of Great Qi. Therefore, Crown Prince Gu Nanjin took advantage of today's birthday banquet to bring up the matter, which also eased the embarrassment.
On the platform, as silence spread, the atmosphere became increasingly eerie.
All the people of Da Qi looked at the white-robed monk beside the emperor with anticipation.
Wuhejialou is the eldest prince of Nanhao. He has a high status in Nanhao and is deeply loved by the people. He will definitely be the future emperor of Nanhao. Of course, he is the most suitable candidate for marriage with Da Qi.
Jialou performed a one-handed Buddhist salute to Gu Nanjin and said calmly: "The world is one, Dahao and Daqi are originally one family."
He said this in a detached manner, and brushed aside the topic with ease.
Jialuo looked normal, gentle as jade, but the Hao people including Doma beside him had stiff expressions.
They also understood the hidden meaning in Gu Nanjin's words and stared at him coldly with a hint of contempt in their eyes.
A mere princess of Da Qi dreams of marrying their eldest prince!
Even if the two countries really have an alliance, some of them are relatives of Dahao. It is impossible that Daqi would think that Dahao would wrong the eldest prince!
However, Jialuo did not express his opinion on the marriage, so they could only hold back. Their bodies were stiff and silent, and a cold aura naturally emanated from their bodies.
Gu Nanjin looked at their expressions and felt a pang in his heart. He vaguely felt that something was wrong: the people of Hao Kingdom were indeed not serious about the marriage... and Wuhejialou even ignored what he said.
Chu Qianhuang, who was sitting not far away, had been paying attention to the movements here, with the corners of his lips curled up.
Thinking of the future in her dream, a gleam of mockery flashed across her eyes. The prince was right in saying this, in the future Da Qi would fall into the hands of Wuhejialou.
Chu Qianhuang looked at the third princess Anle who was sitting in front of her.
The emperor has issued an edict to grant the marriage, and Chu Qianchen will soon marry into Prince Chen's Mansion. Even if Anle likes her as much as she does, she cannot become the princess's companion.
The matter of Anle marrying Nanhao concerns both countries and is imperative.
According to the rules of Da Qi, when a princess marries far away, she will be accompanied by her tutor.
Since she is Anle's study partner, she has the opportunity to go to Hao Kingdom with Anle and find a chance to save Wuhejialou.
Chu Qianhuang lowered her eyes again, her gaze was blazing, her back was straight, her calm expression was completely different from those noble ladies around her who were chatting and laughing.
At the same time, the two men on the ring fought more and more fiercely, and the crisp sounds of blades clashing could be heard one after another.
Most of the audience in the stands were completely unaware of the strange atmosphere on the emperor's side. They cheered and encouraged the two people competing below, with their shouts becoming louder and louder and more excited.
Gu Nanjin's eyes were deep and he looked at the emperor inquiringly.
The emperor slowly turned the jade ring on his thumb.
Of course, he also saw the reluctance of the people of Hao, and he felt unhappy. He felt that the unwilling and reluctant attitude of the people of Hao was a slap in the face of him, the Emperor of Great Qi.
These Hao people are too disrespectful!
The emperor remained silent, with veins faintly visible on his forehead.
Seeing this, Gu Nanjin did not continue this topic. It would be inappropriate to continue talking about it, so he could only hold it in.
At this moment, the competition below also came to an end.
One of the contestants was knocked off the ring and rolled to the ground in a mess.
Only a foreigner with dark skin, deep eyes and a high nose was left standing in the center of the ring, looking down proudly at the Da Qi man who had fallen to the ground.
The official from the Ministry of Rites immediately announced the winner: "This time, Sartu of the Xiyu tribe wins!"
This means that next, Sartuo will enter the final to compete with Su Mubai.
“Pah, pah, pah!”
There was warm applause from the Xiyu tribe's stands. All the Xiyu people shouted "Sartuo"'s name excitedly, and the voices overlapped in unison.
The first warrior of their Xiyu tribe came out on top in the martial arts test. For them, it was a supreme honor and they all felt proud of it.
Amidst everyone's anticipation, Su Mubai stepped onto the stage again with a sword in hand, and met eyes with Sarto, the winner of the previous competition.
Su Mubai's smile was light and elegant, and Sartuo responded with a provocative sneer, which was very aggressive.
The two men first saluted the emperor on the high platform. The emperor slowly opened the folding fan in his hand and said with a nonchalant smile: "We make friends through martial arts, so stop when it's enough."
"Su Mubai, Sarto, no matter which of you two is the final winner today, I will reward you greatly!"
He had a friendly smile and a tolerant and generous tone, with an aloof look that showed that all that mattered was participation and winning or losing didn't matter.
Su Mubai and Sarto both agreed.
The finals will begin soon!
This game has no time limit and will end when the winner is decided.
The training ground was almost completely silent.
All eyes were focused on Su Mubai and Sartuo. Sartuo was the first to draw the scimitar in his hand. The silver scimitar gleamed coldly in the sunlight.
"I'm sorry!"
As these three words rang out, Sarto took a big step forward and chopped down the first blow with great force, the blade flashing as sharp as lightning.
Su Mubai immediately drew the sword from the scabbard and used the sword to block.
"clang!"
When the blades collided violently, sparks flew and it seemed that even the air around them was about to burn.
On the ring, the two men fought fiercely with swords flashing and sabers flying, and the clanging sounds were endless.
The people watching the game looked at them with different expressions. Some watched with bated breath, some raised their eyebrows with interest, some waited and watched, some drank their wine nonchalantly, and some whispered to each other...
Suddenly, the emperor looked at Wuhejialou again and asked with a smile: "Who do you think will win this battle, Prince Wuhe?"
Gu Nanjin narrowed his eyes and his gaze slightly condensed when he heard that.
All the foreign races participating in the competition today are vassals of Da Qi. The emperor has always boasted that Da Qi is a great country, and only Nan Hao can rival Da Qi. If Su Mubai loses to these barbaric tribes today, it will be a huge loss of face for the emperor!
Then, today's martial arts test has become a joke.
Not only Gu Nanjin, but all the emperor's close ministers present knew that Su Mubai must win this battle, and they exchanged glances in groups of three or four.
Su Mubai has extraordinary martial arts skills. He stood out among tens of thousands of young men to become the top martial arts champion. He has never been defeated in all these years. The court officials of the Great Qi Dynasty present all feel that Su Mubai's victory should be a sure thing.
The emperor felt the same way.
To put it bluntly, the emperor deliberately asked Jialou this question because he wanted Jialou to admit that Da Qi was superior in skills.
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Jialou twirled the Buddhist beads with his slender fingers, still calm and composed, and said, "I heard that your king also made a great success in the martial arts test when he was young, and won the first place. With the king's guidance, I think Admiral Su should be better."
The surroundings were quiet again.
The emperor's face darkened instantly.
Wuhejialou meant that if Su Mubai won, it was because of King Chen’s good teaching.
Seeing this, Domo and the young man in blue looked at each other with a smile: This Emperor of Da Qi is really a petty person.
Gu Nanjin sighed secretly in his heart. For a moment, he was really afraid that the emperor would just walk away.
When Gu Nanjin looked at Jialuo again, his expression became more cautious.
Wuhejialou is the eldest prince of Nanhao and the popular choice of the people. In Nanhao, everyone is sure that Wuhejialou will be the future crown prince. Therefore, Gu Nanjin also attaches great importance to Wuhejialou and has already investigated this person.
According to rumors, Wuhajialou is noble and holy, and is the reincarnation of Buddha, untainted by worldly dust. But after what happened just now, Gu Nanjin felt that the other party was not that simple, and what he said in just a few words was flawless.
Although this person is young, he is a genius and it is hard to tell his true abilities.
Looking at him, Gu Nanjin couldn't help but think of another person——
His ninth uncle.
Jialou seemed to be completely unaware of the strange atmosphere around him, and continued, "Commander Su has begun to fight back. It looks like the leader will be decided soon."
As he said, Su Mubai on the ring began to fight back after figuring out Sarto's moves. The sword in his hand seemed to be a part of his body, flexible and light, as fast as lightning, and produced pieces of silver sword light.
“Ding! Ding! Ding!”
There were several consecutive sounds of swords clashing, and sparks kept flashing in the air.
Sarto barely accepted the attack, but a thin layer of sweat had already seeped out of his forehead. In comparison, Su Mubai was at ease, and even his breathing was as steady as before.
Anyone can see who has the advantage at this moment.
However, the emperor couldn't laugh as he was still thinking about what Jialou had just said.
It was obvious that Da Qi had the advantage in this competition, but now there was a vague feeling that everything was under Jialuo's control.
The emperor felt like he was holding his breath, thinking about how to turn the game around, and his attention was no longer on the ring.
The emperor was not awakened from his thoughts until a burst of warm cheers broke out in the arena.
When the emperor looked at the arena again, he saw the scimitar in Sarto's hand slip out of his hand.
The scimitar hummed in the air, drew a long curve in the air, and flew out of the ring...
With a "bang", the scimitar fell to the ground outside the ring.
Su Mubai's victory was unsurprising and obvious.
There was no need for the military official to announce the result, as warm applause rang out again on the podium, and this time, all the spectators stood up from the stands.
The atmosphere in the field was boiling, and seemed even hotter than the scorching sun in the sky.
However, Su Mubai, who won the first place, was calm and composed. He slowly glanced at his sword, making sure that there was no blood on it, and curled his lips in satisfaction.
The troublesome thing about this competition was what the emperor meant by "stop when it's enough". He couldn't give the emperor any excuse, so he could only drag on the battle for a little longer.
Su Mubai put away his sword, raised his eyes and looked in the direction of the emperor, a sharp light flashed in his eyes.
When the wind blew, the corners of his straight robe fluttered in the wind, adding a sense of elegance, as if he was about to fly away with the wind.
After a round of fierce applause, the crowd shouted in unison: "Long live the emperor!"
"May His Majesty live forever!"
All the people present, including the foreigners, bowed their heads to the emperor and shouted in unison. The shouts were passionate and powerful.
When the emperor saw this scene, he felt much better and immediately felt refreshed.
The emperor laughed heartily, his eyes sparkled, and he praised Jialou in high spirits, "Prince Wuhe really has an extraordinary eye."
After a pause, the emperor sighed with regret, "What a pity! I really feel sorry that your country did not participate in today's martial arts test."
The emperor was fanning himself leisurely with his folding fan, as if speaking casually.
"..." Gu Nanjin lowered his eyes slightly, wanting to say something but stopping himself.
This martial arts test was held by Da Qi, and being held during the Emperor's annual birthday festival was somewhat meant to help cheer the Emperor up, so Gu Jue participated in the martial arts test when he was young, for the sake of the late Emperor.
As for the participation of these foreign tribes that were vassals of Da Qi, there was naturally a sense of submission in it. After all, it was Da Qi that formulated the competition items and rules.
The initiative lies with Da Qi.
Nanhao and Beiqi are equal. The emperor said this with the obvious intention of suppressing Nanhao through the martial arts test.
How could the people of Nanhao agree to this? A thin layer of sweat broke out on the back of Gu Nanjin's neck.
(End of this chapter)