The king of Dong Qi leans on a golden chair, with a palace maid holding a palace fan behind him. To the left and right of the dragon chair, there are two eunuchs with their hands lowered and their faces cannot be seen clearly. In front of the king of Dong Qi's dragon seat, the prince of Dong Qi He was standing with his hands down, looking extremely humble.
When the ministers came up, Qining saw Linghu Xu at a glance. Linghu Xu was at the head of the civil servants. On the other side was a military general wearing cyan armor. He was nearly fifty years old, with a tall build and a curly beard. , Qi Ning guessed that since this military commander could stand at the top of the military generals, his status was naturally very important. There was a saying in the Eastern Qi Empire that this person was the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Qi navy, Shen Tuluo.
The king of Eastern Qi asked, Qining cupped his hands and said: "Exactly!"
The king of Dong Qi leaned forward slightly, a little far away, looked Qi Ning up and down, and then smiled and said: "Your General Qi from Chu State is so brave and brave, but he never expected to give birth to such a handsome son."
Qi Ning smiled faintly and did not answer.
"Marquis Jinyi, why are you leading a delegation to Daqi this time?" The monarch of Dongqi asked lazily, leaning on the dragon chair.
Qi Ning cupped his hands and said: "On the order of the emperor, I led a delegation here to repair the good relationship between the two countries. Your country and our country are located in friendly neighbors and have always been in harmony. In order to permanently consolidate the harmony between our two countries, I would like to express my special gratitude to your country. Seek marriage so that we can have a happy marriage for a hundred years."
The King of Dong Qi stroked his beard and said, "My Princess Tianxiang has not left the palace yet. Could it be that you are here to ask for a kiss from Tianxiang?"
Qi Ning said: "Exactly. My emperor has a decree to welcome Princess Tianxiang back to our Chu Kingdom and immediately canonize her as the Queen of Chu Kingdom. I will never neglect Her Highness the Princess."
"Queen of Chu State?" The king of Eastern Qi showed a look of satisfaction: "Your Chu State and I have been in Qi Dynasty for many years. There has been no major sword war, and we can be regarded as good neighbors." He stroked his beard and said, "Tianxiang is married to me. If you, the Chu Kingdom, are appointed as your queen, the little emperor of your Chu Kingdom will be my son-in-law, and a son-in-law should naturally respect his father-in-law."
Qi Ning turned around and winked. Wu Dalin had already stepped forward with the gift list in both hands, walked around to the side of the pool, and walked only a few steps. A young eunuch had already come forward, took the gift list from Wu Dalin's hand, and turned to the east. The King of Qi, the King of East Qi nodded slightly, and the young eunuch opened the gift list and read it out in front of everyone.
The gifts prepared by the State of Chu were quite generous. The little eunuch sang for a long time, and many of the civil and military ministers on both sides nodded slightly. From the richness of the gift list, it can be seen that the State of Chu was sincere. It was a show of dignity to Dong Qi. Although the king of Dong Qi looked tired, it could be seen from his expression that he was quite satisfied with the betrothal gift sent by Chu State.
At this moment, a cry was heard from outside: "Prince Yu, the envoy of the Northern Han Dynasty, led a delegation to pay an audience."
Then he saw Prince Yu, who was dressed in gorgeous clothes, leading a group of people into the hall. Beitang Feng followed closely beside Prince Yu. Compared with last night, he was also dressed in splendid clothes, and he was obviously dressed up carefully. He looked like a jade tree in the wind, but he looked a little tired and lacked energy.
Qi Ning knew that Beitangfeng was not at the inn last night, but spent the night outside. Judging from his complexion, it seemed that he had gone to the place where fireworks were played, and had consumed a lot of energy. Several attendants who followed him were also brand new. Wearing clothes, two of them were holding gift boxes, both of them had their heads lowered and were very humble.
Prince Yu came forward, stood beside Qi Ning, glanced at Qi Ning, and then raised his hands to the King of Eastern Qi and said: "Beitang Yu, the envoy of the Han Dynasty, comes to see the emperor!"
The king of Dong Qi didn't waste any time and asked directly: "Prince Yu, are you visiting Qi to seek marriage?"
Prince Yu said with a smile: "Exactly." He raised his finger to Beitang Feng and said: "This is my Han prince Feng, who is also my emperor's most beloved prince. Among the princes of my Han Dynasty, only Prince Feng has not yet married. Your Majesty, our emperor has a purpose to propose marriage to your country for Prince Feng, so as to forge a good alliance between the two countries."
Ling Huxu, the Prime Minister of the Eastern Qi State who had been silent until now, finally smiled and said: "Prince Yu, you are a step late. You haven't heard the words of the Chu envoy just now. The Chu envoy Jin Yihou came here to propose marriage, but Jin Yihou is not asking for marriage for the prince of Chu State, but for the king of Chu State."
Prince Yu nodded and said with a smile: "I know a little bit. The king of Chu is a young king and has not yet got married. It is expected that he will propose to Qi this time."
"The State of Chu married Princess Tianxiang and immediately made her the Queen of Chu State." Linghu Xu smiled and said: "The State of Chu is very sincere and respects the princess very much."
Prince Yu said: "Prime Minister, I can guarantee that the sincerity of our country of Han is not inferior to that of the country of Chu."
Linghu Xu smiled slightly and said nothing, but an official from the Eastern Qi Dynasty said loudly: "Prince Yu, with all due respect, when the princess went to the Chu Kingdom, she was established as the queen of the Chu Kingdom, but when she arrived in your Han Kingdom, It’s just... hehe, although Prince Feng is noble, he is only a prince after all, and it seems... he seems to be incomparable to the Lord of Chu."
Prince Yu frowned and said, "My lord, is it possible that your country is considering marrying a princess based on her husband's status? This is something I had never thought of beforehand."
Linghu Xu smiled and said: "Prince Yu, when a princess gets married, she naturally doesn't choose her husband based on her status. But the level of her status also shows whether she respects the princess or not."
"The betrothal gift prepared by my lord this time is enough to show the respect of the Han Dynasty for the princess." Prince Yu said loudly: "My lord knows that your Majesty loves hunting. The vegetation of Maling Mountain and the countless birds and beasts are... An unparalleled hunting ground, so my Lord wants to give Maling Mountain as a gift...!"
Before Prince Yu finished speaking, everyone present changed their expressions in shock, and Qining was also shocked.
Linghu Xu heard the news last night. Qining had always felt that it was not final and should not be taken lightly. However, deep down in his heart, he still had some confidence. He felt that the chance of Chu's victory was always higher, but he did not expect that Han would come. Such a move was something he had never thought of beforehand.
Although Prince Yu did not finish all his words, his meaning was already very clear, and he seemed to want to cede territory and propose marriage.
The king of Dong Qi looked sleepy, but after hearing Prince Yu's blunt words, he suddenly became energetic and even showed a little excitement. He sat up straight, leaned forward and asked: "Maling Mountain? You... you want to Will you give Maling Mountain to me?"
"Reporting to your Majesty, my lord has exactly this intention." Prince Yu was calm and calm, obviously thinking that he had a chance to win with this trump card: "Your Majesty likes hunting. Although there are many hunting places in Qi State, there are many hunting places. A safari site like Lingshan is never a bad thing.”
"Prince Yu, you gave Maling Mountain to the emperor, but the large land southeast of Maling Mountain belongs to you Han people." The prince suddenly said: "When we go to Maling Mountain, don't we have to pass through your Han territory?"
Prince Yu smiled and said: "Your Highness, you are too worried. In the southeast of Maling Mountain, there are Daming, Yancheng, Fanxian, Puxian and Gucheng counties. They are all handed over to your country as betrothal gifts. My Lord is willing to cooperate with your country. After a hundred years of good relations, it no longer matters who owns this land."
Prince Yu's words were shocking to the monarchs and ministers of Eastern Qi.
The Northern Han Dynasty sent tens of thousands of troops to attack the Eastern Qi Dynasty. Although they returned in vain, the Eastern Qi Dynasty did not occupy an inch of the Northern Han Dynasty's land. Today, there are three pillars in the world. The Chu and Han Dynasties are strong and the Eastern Qi is weak. The national policy of the Eastern Qi has always been to check and balance. The strategy is to use the two powerful countries to contain each other and survive in the world.
In fact, the emperors and ministers of Dong Qi knew in their hearts that the stalemate between Chu and Han was the best situation for Dong Qi. Once either country became strong, it would not be good news for Qi.
Surviving in the cracks between the Eastern and Qi Dynasties, they can barely protect themselves. If they want to expand their territory, it is simply a fantasy. It is not easy to maintain the existing land.
Although the Qi State repelled the Northern Han Dynasty's invasion, the Eastern Qi State has always been under the threat of the Northern Han Dynasty, and the most dangerous one is Maling Mountain.
Maling Mountain is located in the northwest of Qi State. Although it is not big, it is an extremely important commanding height. There are five thousand soldiers and horses stationed in Maling Mountain. If the Han State wants to send troops to Qi State, Maling Mountain is the best forward position. Here, heavy troops can be gathered to attack Qi State at any time. As a defense, the Han State has operated Maling Mountain for many years, although it cannot be called an iron wall. , but if Qi wants to conquer Maling Mountain, it is just a dream.
The Han State occupied Maling Mountain, which made the people of Eastern Qi feel like they were in trouble. In fact, it was not that the Eastern Qi had not planned and wanted to find opportunities to capture Maling Mountain. However, after much research and regardless of reinforcements from the Han State, they just wanted to capture Maling Mountain. The amount of manpower and financial resources spent on Shanshan is astronomical. Once defeated, the consequences will be unimaginable, which Dong Qi will never be able to afford.
Over the years, Dong Qi's delusions about Maling Mountain have long since disappeared, but he never expected that the Han State would actually offer Maling Mountain as a betrothal gift.
Just by marrying a princess, there is no need to spend a single soldier to occupy Maling Mountain. Dong Qi's defensive posture will be greatly improved. At least it will not be constantly worried that the Han people will rush over from Maling Mountain at any time.
Although Qin Ning did not know the importance of Maling Mountain to the strategic position of Eastern Qi, the Northern Han Dynasty ceding territory to seek marriage was unexpected. He knew very well that at this moment, the advantage that Chu had previously had had completely disappeared. Yesterday, I answered several questions in succession at the Prime Minister's Mansion, and the betrothal gift prepared with great effort by the State of Chu. Compared with the people of the Han State who ceded territory to ask for a bride, all these are not just trivial and dwarfed.
Wu Dalin also frowned at this moment.
He was born in the army, so he knew this very well. He knew the strategic position of Maling Mountain, and thought that the Han people had really spent a lot of money to cede Maling Mountain. Is it too ridiculous to offer such conditions just to succeed in his marriage proposal? After all, with Maling Mountain in hand, Han's threat to Eastern Qi will always exist. Once Maling Mountain is surrendered, and Han wants to plot against Eastern Qi, the amount of troops and financial resources required will increase exponentially. For Han, , ceded Maling Mountain, and waited for a disastrous defeat in the war.