Do you want Qiao Xiuyu to marry into this family?
Otherwise, we'll have to attack Luoyang?
This is some kind of script where a powerful figure wants both power and beauty!
Cheng Qing: "..."
He wasn't surprised at all that Shang Shaoyan would say that, after all, the two of them had a relationship back in Nan Chen!
But this is absolutely unacceptable—no matter what, Qiao Zhuo is the current ruler of Northern Zhou. If he were to "marry" the Empress of Southern Chen, what face would Northern Zhou have left?
However... this empress has always been a woman of her word, and if it weren't Qiao Zhuo who "married" into the Northern Zhou, I'm afraid the Northern Zhou would have lost everything.
Seeing Cheng Qing's struggling and hesitant expression, Shang Shaoyan curled his lips and gave her a strong dose of medicine: "If I have a child with Qiao Zhu in the future, and he/she is a capable person, then regardless of gender, I can make him/her the heir."
Cheng Qing looked up in surprise, but quickly lowered his eyes and kowtowed: "Is what Your Majesty said true?"
Besides Shang Shaoyan's confidants, the only people present were these Northern Zhou envoys. Shang Shaoyan was not afraid of being advised by the Southern Chen officials, and nodded upon hearing this, saying, "I am the emperor, and a ruler's words are not to be taken lightly."
She paused, then explained, "I took this empire for two reasons: first, to protect the Shang family, and second, for the greater good of the people. If I don't even have this much tolerance, then what kind of emperor am I?"
Shang Shaoyan lowered his eyes to look at Cheng Qing: "I am the emperor, an ambitious man. Perhaps you all think that I will not leave any future troubles, but in my opinion, the world belongs to the capable. If one day I become confused, I can give this position to someone else."
Upon hearing this, the officials of both the Southern Chen and Northern Zhou dynasties knelt down and kowtowed, shouting "Long live the Emperor!"
The banquet ended quickly—after all, no matter how nice Shang Shaoyan's words were, the hundreds of thousands of troops displayed along the Luo River were no pushovers, and it was best to resolve this matter as soon as possible.
...
Northern Zhou Dynasty, Luoyang, Imperial Palace.
When Shang Shaoyan’s words, “I want Qiao Xiuyu to marry into this family,” were heard in the Golden Palace during the morning court session the following day, the assembled officials were immediately agitated and whispered among themselves.
Cheng Qing knelt at the lower end and read out Shang Shaoyan's conditions word by word, and the courtiers gradually quieted down.
Three of them required everyone to listen attentively.
First, Shang Shaoyan promised that all current officials of Northern Zhou could continue to serve as long as they passed her assessment; second, Southern Chen would move its capital to Luoyang in five years; and third, she asked Qiao Zhuo to "marry" her, and that their children would be made heirs.
Shang Shaoyan's move was undeniably cunning.
Let's set aside the question of how many of these officials were truly loyal to the emperor...
She first proposed "continue to serve," which would allow them to continue to dedicate themselves to the country and the people, but they might still feel uncomfortable about it. At this point, Shang Shaoyan proposed the second point, "move the capital to Luoyang," which would make these officials of Northern Zhou feel that they could return to their roots and not have to leave their hometowns. They would naturally be moved after hearing this. And Shang Shaoyan's last point can be said to have completely convinced them.
If the heirs of the Shang and Qiao families are chosen as the crown prince, what is there to hesitate about?
With all these actions, isn't it the same as their Northern Zhou emperor marrying an empress?
Good deal, good deal.
The ministers pondered for a moment, and then...
"Such a good thing?"
Someone whispered something and was glared at by their colleagues. The person quickly shut up, but fortunately, Qiao Xiuyu didn't hear it.
After hearing all of Shang Shaoyan's conditions, Qiao Xiuyu's lips curled up into a wild smile.
Sigh, how come his An'an is so considerate?
Then shouldn't you quickly offer yourself in return?
However, we cannot be too hasty; we must play hard to get.
So he cleared his throat, stood up feigning anger, and said with a flick of his sleeve, "The Empress of Southern Chen is going too far! Even if I agree, my beloved ministers will never agree!"
Unexpectedly, the courtiers below fell silent for a moment, then burst into tears in unison: "Your Majesty, the Southern Chen emperor is a woman, but she is ambitious, intelligent, and brave, and should not be underestimated! Please, Your Majesty, for the sake of the people of Northern Zhou, give in to her!"
Qiao Xiuyu deliberately feigned a shocked expression: "...?"
He stood there for a moment, then slumped down on the dragon throne, covering his face with his hands to suppress his sorrowful laughter.
The court officials remained unmoved. After all, of all these terms and conditions, only the last one, "to order Qiao Zhuo to marry me," was the most excessive; the others could be described as incredibly lenient.
The civil officials were all people left behind by Liu Bo, so they were naturally not that loyal to the emperor; the military officials had also long since spoken with Qiao Yu and Qiao Zhuo, so they were even less likely to refuse.
After a long while, Qiao Xiuyu wearily waved his hand and said, "Fine, fine, fine! For the sake of the people, I will agree!"
After that, he lost interest in the morning court session and directly announced its end.
Soon, only Qiao Xiuyu, Eleven, and a few of Qiao Xiuyu's trusted eunuchs remained in the Golden Palace.
After everyone left, Qiao Xiuyu's face lit up with joy, and she laughed out loud: "I'm going to marry An'an, hee hee."
eleven:"……"
Several eunuchs: "..."
Although we know His Majesty is a love-struck fool, he's referring to himself as "I" right now, which shows he's never thought about becoming emperor, he only wants to marry his An'an!
Qiao Xiuyu didn't think there was anything wrong with this. After all, everyone has their own ambitions, and his ambition was to stay by An'an's side every day.
...
Soon, the Northern Zhou changed hands. Shang Shaoyan spent five months standardizing weights and measures, and then deployed his army and manpower to various parts of the Northern Zhou before returning to Shengjing to prepare for his wedding.
On the day she returned to Shengjing, she saw her parents and elder brother waiting for her at the city gate.
Thus, many officials from Northern Zhou and Southern Chen saw that the emperor, who had left them with many childhood traumas, was laughing loudly at this moment, and then, in the manner of a young girl, he threw himself into the arms of the three men and began to act coquettishly.
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