Murong Jie said, "Qin Zhou is a military commander. Her Qin family was elevated to the altar in the Northern Desert because the Northern Desert values military power. In other words, her status will be higher if there is a war. Do you think she will agree to give up the war? She had no choice because the Qin family had grown and had many branches. One of their branches happened to be in Qicheng, and more than half of the people in this branch were infected with the plague. Qin Zhou has a strong sense of family, so she agreed to Prince Qi's suggestion. By the way, the pro-war faction is also headed by her, not just Prince Zhenguo and Queen Cao, but Queen Cao is her cousin."
After Murong Jie finished speaking, the enthusiasm that had just been ignited in everyone died down again, and everyone became pessimistic.
They were sold like pigs by Prince Qi, they were so upset!
angry!
angry!
angry!
However, no matter how angry they were, they could not go back. They came here with the emperor's order, carrying the expectations of the people of the Great Zhou and the longings of the people of the Northern Desert.
The worst thing about being a good person is that when you talk to others about benevolence, righteousness, and morality, they treat you as an idiot.
But what’s even more infuriating is yet to come.
Prince Qi came to the palace to meet the emperor. The emperor and Empress Cao received him in the imperial study. Also present was the crown prince.
Prince Qi was shocked, "Shouldn't the prince have set off for Great Zhou earlier?"
He had promised the Emperor of Great Zhou that the prince would rush to Great Zhou as soon as possible. If he didn't go now, the Emperor of Great Zhou might think he was just talking nonsense, which would be bad.
The prince bowed and smiled, "Uncle, don't be surprised, my seventh brother has already set off."
"Chu Yue?" Prince Qi was confused. "Didn't we agree on this before? The Crown Prince would go to the Great Zhou as a hostage."
Empress Cao smiled and said, "Your Highness, originally we had agreed that if we could invite Prince An Ran from Daliang to come, we would let the Crown Prince go to Da Zhou as a hostage."
"If Prince Anran can come, is it necessary for the Crown Prince to go with him? Queen, we have promised the Emperor of Great Zhou that we will send the Crown Prince over." Prince Qi felt something was not good.
"No, you heard it wrong," Empress Cao continued to smile, her face calm and composed, "Neither I nor the Emperor said that."
"Your Majesty!" Prince Qi looked at the emperor suddenly.
The Emperor of Beimo is fifty-three this year, but he is well maintained and looks like a man in his early forties. He wears a black dragon robe and leans diagonally on a chair. He is not offended by Prince Qi's anxiety and nervousness. He said nonchalantly: "The Queen said you heard it wrong, so you heard it wrong. However, it doesn't matter. No one in Beimo has seen the prince. Even if Chu Yue has gone, the people of Da Zhou will not know. It's a good thing that there are mistakes."
"Your Majesty," Prince Qi was really at a loss for words this time, "How could it be that no one has seen the Crown Prince? There are several officials in the Great Zhou who have seen the Crown Prince. Not to mention others, even Lord Xiao and Lady Chen have seen the Crown Prince."
"Marquis Xiao is not in the court. Didn't he lead the troops out? As for Lady Chen, she is old and doesn't care about the affairs of the court. Even if she does, I believe she won't be so old and confused as to stir up disputes between the two countries. So, my brother, don't worry. I am very satisfied with the Queen's arrangement."
Prince Qi felt a surge of anger in his heart. This was really retribution. He had deceived Murong Jie, and now he was also deceived by the emperor and the queen.
"Your Majesty, the Regent Princess is here to treat us. Should we keep our word first?" Prince Qi said earnestly.
Prince Qi said this, but he felt sadly that he was very stupid. What kind of credit should he tell them? If they had credit, they would not act like a rogue.
He was immediately disheartened. This was not the first time he had felt disheartened in recent years, but what could he do? Many of the monarchs in the Northern Desert were pro-war factions, and they were the only ones left to hold on.
When the emperor ascended the throne, he did not have such great ambitions. However, ever since Empress Cao came to power, she had been whispering in his eardrums every day, recommending a Taoist priest named Sanshi and a vixen to enter the palace. They bewitched the emperor every day, and most of the government affairs were handed over to Empress Cao, saying that Empress Cao and Prince Qin Zhou of Zhenguo would help him expand his territory, and he would be the greatest emperor of all time.
Prince Qi felt that he might not be able to hold on for much longer.
"Now that the Regent and his wife have arrived in Kyoto, will the Emperor host a banquet to entertain them?" Prince Qi asked, holding back his anger.
The emperor thought for a moment and said, "It is not appropriate to hold a banquet to entertain them. After all, the country is in crisis and the plague is raging. The people all know that they are here to get treatment. In my opinion, let them go to the epidemic area to get treatment as soon as possible."
Prince Qi was so angry that he almost vomited blood. "Your Majesty, we begged them to come here. If people knew that we were so neglectful, wouldn't it be a disgrace to our reputation?"
"How dare you!" Empress Cao shouted angrily, "You should choose the right time to host a banquet. As the emperor said, the plague is rampant now. If the people knew that the doctor had come, and instead of going to the epidemic area to treat the disease, you held a banquet in the palace, can you bear the blame?"
The prince smiled and said, "Uncle, you should go and host the banquet properly. Isn't it the same to host a banquet in the mansion or in the palace? Just prepare some wine and food."
Prince Qi was so angry that his face turned blue. "Your Highness, they traveled thousands of miles without even taking a break. They rushed to our Northern Desert just to treat the victims..."
"Alright, alright," the emperor suddenly became impatient, "Do you really not understand the queen's intention or are you pretending not to understand? Who is this Murong Jie? He is the regent of the Great Zhou and the god of war of the Great Zhou. How precious is his status? If I continue to treat him as a distinguished guest, wouldn't he be able to do whatever he wants in my Northern Desert? I'm afraid those ministers will trample down his door. The internal affairs of my Northern Desert cannot tolerate any outside interference."
The ministers that the emperor was referring to were the peace faction. The Great Zhou sent people here obviously with the purpose of peace talks. Why wouldn't those peace faction be eager to come and meet him
If the imperial court paid attention to Murong Jie, they would have the illusion that the imperial court was leaning towards peace talks, and they would lose the opportunity to attack or defend.
But leaving them alone can tell the peace-loving people that the court will not negotiate or withdraw its troops unless the situation demands it.
Of course, if the plague can be cured, that is another matter. But now it seems that Xia Zian is not the only one who came. Murong Jie brought Xiao Tuo, Su Qing and others as well. Their purpose is not pure, and Beimo cannot bow its head first.
This is the dignity of Beimo.
Prince Qi understood the emperor's intention and knew that he would not change his mind, so he said angrily: "Since the emperor and the queen think so, I will take my leave."
He didn't even bother to say hello, just turned around and strode away.
The emperor frowned, "He is becoming more and more unruly. Over the years, he has been praised too highly. This time, I must take the opportunity to suppress him. Don't let him lose track of his own status."
Empress Cao smiled faintly, "Your Majesty, calm down. Why bother getting angry with him? Prince Qi is naive and thinks that Murong Jie and Xia Zian are really here to treat the plague. But he doesn't understand. If it's just to treat the plague, Xia Zian would be enough. Why did Murong Jie come here so eagerly?"
"What the Queen means is that Murong Jie is afraid of Beimo and does not dare to fight, so he seeks peace talks? If that's the case, we can't meet now." said the Emperor of Beimo.
(End of this chapter)