Traveling through Tianlong: Starting from the Zhenlong chess game

Chapter 534 You Should Care About Your Own Country

Facing Zhao Mu's sarcasm, Yelu Yanxiu was not angry. After all, she and Zhao Mu had been fighting for so long. She also knew that she could not disobey the man in front of her. She could only be gentle.

Yelu Yanxiu slowly pulled up the collar he had torn off.

Yelu Yanxiu said: "I came here today to discuss important matters with Your Majesty."

Zhao Mu asked impatiently, "Princess, if you have anything to say, just say it directly. There is no need for us to beat around the bush."

Yelu Yanxiu said: "Why? I helped the king to gain this position of power and authority, but the king is not grateful to me. Why do you speak ill of me? This is really hurtful."

Zhao Mu sneered and said, "Thank you? Your Liao people's tricks almost caused my Song Dynasty to fight against each other. I should thank you? I was living a good life in Bianjing City. At that time, I was second only to the emperor and above all others. I was honored in front of others, but the affairs of the court were decided by your majesty and the officials, so I didn't have to suffer behind others. After the Western Expedition, I could have enjoyed wealth and glory in the capital. Now because of your tricks, I have been thrown to this borderland."

Zhao Mu held the memorial in front of him and said, "I am confused by all these messy things every day. Do you think I should thank you?"

After hearing what Zhao Mu said, Yelu Yanxiu had no idea what Zhao Mu was up to.

Now he is the ruler of a country, but in his heart, he feels that it is better to be an idle prince in the capital.

The only person in the world who could describe having no ambition in such a refreshing and refined way might be Zhao Mu.

Therefore, Yelu Yanxiu didn't know whether Zhao Mu was telling the truth or not.

What Zhao Mu said was of course the truth. Originally, he just wanted a Lingzhou City, and then live in the palace and play in the water with his women. He would go hunting from time to time and live a leisurely life. But all of this was ruined by Yelu Yanxiu. He was just angry and had no place to vent, and Yelu Yanxiu came to him for him to scold.

Yelu Yanxiu said helplessly: "This is my fault. Well, let's not talk about these things today. I am here as an envoy to Qi today to discuss serious matters with Your Majesty. Your Majesty has established a ancestral temple, drafted a reign title, and received annual tribute from the Song Dynasty. He is now a hegemon. I am here as an envoy today to establish relations with your country. And my Great Liao also requests a marriage alliance with Qi."

"Marriage?" Zhao Mu murmured.

Yelu Yanxiu nodded and said, "That's right! A marriage alliance. The tiny country of Goryeo dared to break the engagement and ask for a marriage alliance with Qi, so why can't the Great Liao do the same?"

Zhao Mu smiled and said, "So you all know about this?"

Yelu Yanxiu said, "Of course. When your Majesty established the new kingdom, we went to Goryeo to marry Princess Anping of Goryeo as the crown prince. But this time, the King of Goryeo seemed to have someone to back him up. He not only rejected the marriage, but also drove our envoys out. Originally, the Liao Dynasty was going to use force against Goryeo, but..." Zhao Mu smiled and continued her words, "But in the previous battle of Xiazhou, you suffered heavy casualties. Thirty thousand cavalry were wiped out by me, and you no longer have the strength to conquer Goryeo. Even if you have the strength, you are afraid that the Song Dynasty will take advantage of the situation, right?"

Facing Zhao Mu's frank words, Yelu Yanxiu did not brag this time. She said, "That's right. Although being insulted by a small country like Goryeo is a national humiliation for our Liao Dynasty, they are so tough this time. There must be someone backing them up. And this time, we saw the envoys of Goryeo sneaking to Lingzhou. I think it's for this matter."

Yelu Yanxiu looked at Zhao Mu and said, "Your Majesty, we in the Liao Dynasty sincerely want to make peace with the Qi Kingdom this time. We are willing to send a princess from our royal family to marry the Qi Kingdom, just like we did with the Western Xia Kingdom. If your Majesty does not like my daughter, then there are still beautiful young ladies in the Liao Dynasty royal family. You can take them as you like."

After hearing this, Zhao Mu nodded and said, "I appreciate your kindness, Princess. But there are a few things that you made mistakes on."

Yelu Yanxiu asked: "Oh? Which things? Please tell me clearly, Your Majesty."

Zhao Mu walked out of the dragon desk, even though the crown and pearl curtain on his head were shaking and the dragon pattern on his python robe was shining. But Zhao Mu explained seriously: "First of all, the first thing that Princess Royal Highness got wrong is that the full name of Qi State is 'Qi State of the Great Song Dynasty' or 'Western Qi'. There has never been any 'Great Qi'. My Qi State is just a vassal state of the Great Song Dynasty. As for me, I am just a governor with a little more power. If you hadn't interfered, I wouldn't have to wear this hat on my head."

"Second, Princess Anping and I will get married. His Majesty had already approved this before we entered Qi. I knew about your alliance in Xixia before. So I personally traveled around to dismantle your conspiracy. The last trip was to Goryeo. The King of Goryeo made it very clear that when the situation is unclear, Goryeo will not help either side. It was at that time that I met Princess Anping."

Zhao Mu looked at Yelu Yanxiu and said, "Oh! By the way, I used Princess Anping when I was in Goryeo. The Goryeo king was right not to give Princess Anping to you. Even if I gave her to you, Yelu Yanxi would just wear my old shoes. If the Pingxia Campaign had not started earlier, Princess Anping would have married me long ago."

Zhao Mu held up three fingers and said, "As for the third thing, it is the marriage proposal that Princess Royal proposed. I am only a vassal of the Song Dynasty and do not have the power to privately marry other states. So Princess Royal has come to the wrong place for the marriage proposal. You should go to Bianjing instead of Lingzhou."

Yelu Yanxiu asked: "If we go to Bianjing to meet the Emperor of Song, will he agree to marry the Liao Dynasty?"

Zhao Mu smiled and said, "No."

Yelu Yanxiu asked: "Do you hate me so much?"

Zhao Mu stepped forward, pinched Yelu Yanxiu's chin and said, "Don't misunderstand me, Your Highness. Your Highness is beautiful, and any man in the world would covet you. So I don't hate you. If you were not a Liao person, I would have snatched you away even if I had to rob you."

Then Zhao Mu let go of Yelu Yanxiu's cheek and continued, "But you are a princess of Liao. My Song Dynasty and Liao have a blood feud for generations. Besides, the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun and Liaodong have not been recovered. Even if you come to my side, you can only be a slave."

Yelu Yanxiu said to Zhao Mu: "Song and Liao are indeed enemies, but that was a hundred years ago. Since the Treaty of Chanyuan, our two countries have always lived in peace. If it is because of Yanping's rudeness that makes the Song Dynasty very angry, then I am willing to apologize to the Song Dynasty as a princess. Besides, you are now the emperor of a country, you are the king of Qi! You don't have to worry about everything for the Song Dynasty, you should care more about your own country!"

(End of this chapter)