Chapter 578: Difficult Steps

Once this news arrived.

The entire Jinghua was in a rage.

How dare mere Barbarians be so presumptuous, not only insulting the Longyan imperial court in public but also daring to covet their noble Longyang Princess?

Barbarians!

Truly, they are Barbarians!

These nobles, elders, scholars, intellectuals, and young people in the Capital could no longer restrain themselves; they took to the streets and began to shout.

"Shameless!"

"Is there no one left in the imperial court?"

"Is the vast Longyan to be insulted like this?"

"Alas! Oh, the sorrow!"

They wept bitterly.

All sorts of petitions were made.

If the sovereign is humiliated, I shall die.

This is Jinghua; since when has Longyan fallen to the point where others can trample and insult it at will?

Jinghua is in an uproar.

Yangxin Hall.

It was deathly silent, with everyone kneeling on the floor.

The old Emperor Xie Tianyao had a gloomy face, but he did not speak.

The atmosphere was incredibly oppressive and terrifying.

"What? Is my Jinghua Post House that terrible?"

Xie Tianyao laughed aloud, his desolate voice seemingly piercing through the entire Yangxin Hall.

"Emperor! This Tie Mu City has the heart of a wolf; if you give me twenty thousand armored soldiers, I will, I will certainly..."

The Prince of Wei could no longer hold back; he coldly scanned the cowards and spoke up.

A fat minister beside him was drenched in sweat: "Emperor, absolutely not, absolutely not! Christmas is approaching, we must not start a war! It is detrimental to the national fortune, detrimental to the national fortune!"

Once these words were spoken, they gained the approval of many civil and military officials of the court.

In reality...

They were actually afraid.

Afraid of what?

At this moment, outside Jinghua City, the gathered Qiang had actually reached a total of fifty thousand!

What kind of concept is this?

When Feudatory Kings and foreign Envoys enter the Capital, they bring at most three thousand.

But these Qiang had actually brought fifty thousand!

And what made Xie Tianyao collapse was that these fifty thousand Qiang had come from different directions, ravaging the land all the way! Among them, there were likely only ten thousand Qiang; the other forty thousand were all captives they had forced into service!

Good heavens.

Ten thousand captives and forty thousand.

And those forty thousand captives were already being used by them!

This matter revealed too much information. First, the combat effectiveness of these Qiang was quite formidable. Ten thousand capturing forty thousand—whether in individual combat ability or coordinated warfare—was a top-tier existence.

Secondly, these Qiang had been burning, killing, and looting all the way here, moving as swiftly as the wind. The Longyan imperial court had been aware of it; many small villages in the north of Longyan had been slaughtered, but they had no idea who was responsible. Because by the time the government troops arrived, they had already vanished without a trace.

Only now did they realize that all of this was the work of these Qiang!

However, by the time these people arrived at the gates of Jinghua, there were already fifty thousand of them!

Terrifying!

Their ability for War-Nourished Warfare was too strong!

Furthermore...

These Qiang were not the same Qiang as before, who lacked any strategy.

According to observations by the Jinghua imperial court, these people handled management, provisions, and battle formations with ease—they had prepared exactly one month's worth of provisions for fifty thousand people!

In other words, they had no intention of laying siege.

But they were capable of fighting a war.

And what about Jinghua?

Because it was located in the very center of Longyan, there had never been a need to worry about defense. The regular garrison of Jinghua totaled thirty thousand, and the Imperial Guard totaled twenty thousand.

Fifty thousand.

Only fifty thousand.

How could these civil and military officials not be afraid?

Hearts were filled with panic.

Hearts were filled with panic!

Xie Tianyao looked around and laughed loudly: "What is the meaning of this? Could it be that for the sake of a birthday, you want to marry off the Longyang Princess, whom I have not even met yet, to those Barbarians? Hmm?"

Many people stammered.

In fact, since ancient times, there had been no shortage of instances where the Longyan Dynasty used marriage alliances to resolve border disputes.

It had even become a convention.

Anyway...

What Longyan did not lack were princesses; if there were no princesses, weren't there County Princesses? If there were no County Princesses, weren't there plenty of noble ladies? Just pick one out to ensure peace for Longyan for a dozen years or so; why not do it?

But...

As of now, this is Longyang Princess.

The first princess of Longyan to have a name starting with the character "Dragon".

Furthermore...

She and the Governor Liu are already in love, and this is a public matter. If Governor Liu can survive in Jinghua this time, he will most likely become this Imperial Son-in-law.

If at this time, anyone dares to support Longyang Princess being taken away by these Barbarians, wouldn't that be forming a blood feud with Liangzhou?

How powerful is the Liangzhou Army?

The whole world knows.

Silence.

A deathly silence.

No one is willing to be the one to stick their neck out.

At this moment, only Crown Prince Xie Fang stood up, his face stern: "Father Emperor, this son believes that national affairs are paramount, and the common people come first! If Longyang Princess marries for peace, it can spare the soldiers and common people from suffering; this matter is not impossible to do!"

Once someone took the lead, others naturally followed suit.

National affairs are paramount.

Christmas is paramount.

First, fool these Qiang, then give Longyan time to develop, and then go and wipe them out!

The entire Yangxin Hall was filled with such rhetoric.

Develop?

Recuperate?

Strengthen national power?

Xie Tianyao gave a cold laugh.

He had heard these words countless times!

However...

Longyan keeps declining, keeps gasping for breath... An old fox like him naturally knows what Xie Fang is thinking...

If Longyang Princess is truly used for a marriage alliance.

That would mean Xie Tianyao would never let the Liu Family father and son leave Jinghua, no matter what.

Because once they leave, it would truly be releasing a tiger back to the mountains. You have given someone's wife to the Barbarians. How could they not rebel? How could they not have thoughts of rebellion?

The Crown Prince, naturally, is doing his utmost to push for this matter.

Of course, Zhu Zhen is no exception.

Next came the Noble Class of the Crown Prince's faction, and then the Scholar-official class represented by Zhu Zhen.

And so.

A shocking scene appeared.

The Noble Class and the Scholar-official class, who have been fighting each other for so many years, actually maintained a consensus for the first time in history?

It is simply because...

They want Governor Liu to die!

It is simply because...

Governor Liu.

Arguing.

Shouting.

These people expressed their fear of Governor Liu through this method without any concealment.

This small morning court session.

Xie Tianyao waved his hand, and the crowd withdrew.

"Temujin?"

"Grassland iron cavalry?"

Liu Zheng, who was still in the Shichang, could not help but rub his temples upon hearing these words.

What on earth?

Is it real or fake?

Could it be that great god?

That shouldn't be... The Mongol tribe is indeed a descendant of the Qiang, but historically, at this time period, it should be when Nurhaci was just starting out and gradually gaining momentum; this Temujin should have been dead and buried long ago...

How did he pop up?

"What to do, what to do..."

Those who came to deliver the message to Liu Zheng were none other than Jiang Xuan, Liu Dahao, and Feng Sanniang.

Seeing that the daughter-in-law who was about to enter their family was about to fly away, how could Feng Sanniang not be angry?

Could it be that the impulse to cuddle a baby can only be realized by having a second child of her own?

Liu Zheng smiled wryly: "The reactions from all sides go without saying; they must be submitting memorials one by one to support Longyang Princess marrying for peace."

Several people looked miserable.

Longyang Princess marries for peace.

They will surely die!

This is a dead end!

Fortunately.

The old emperor has not yet agreed.

However...

The Dragon Flame imperial court still gave Iron Wood City an appeasing answer.

Everything.

Will be revealed on Christmas day.

"My son, quickly think of a Method, think of a Method!"

Liu Dahao and Feng Sanniang were anxious to the point of desperation.

Liu Zheng put down his pen.

He fell into deep thought.

He knew.

From this moment on, he must tread as if on thin ice, every step difficult.

【Author's Note】

Returning to Chongqing tomorrow, updates will resume, and there will be additional chapters.