While the Yufu Kingdom began to attack, the Northern Kingdom was not idle either.
The words of those civil ministers in the Imperial Court disgusted Zhaoyang as all of them advocated harmony.
Let the daughter of the royal family be in a marriage alliance and let the princess of the Li family make a marriage alliance!
What was sacrificing a woman?
If a country always relied on women to endure humiliation and marry, wouldn’t the men in this country feel ashamed?
However, many civil ministers felt that this was very normal. At least, there was a precedent in the previous Emperor era, and the previous dynasty had also done this.
The person who was shouting the most fiercely was the Three Dynasties’ Imperial Counselor. His hair and beard were all white, and he was trembling as he persuaded the Great Empress to think twice before acting.
“There were eighteen princesses who were in a marriage alliance in the previous dynasty. The daughter of the royal relative was conferred the title of princess. Among them, the eldest princess and five other princesses were married to the three generations of the Emperor of the Myriad City Kingdom. This is a marriage that benefits the country and the people…
“When the previous Emperor was still around, he had the intention to choose a princess from the royal family to marry the Emperor of the Yufu Kingdom. I’m not the only one who knew about this. Moreover, there have been marriage alliances for the princesses since ancient times. This is a good opportunity for the two countries to be on good terms now that the Yufu Kingdom is offering one hundred eighty carriages of betrothal gifts. Your Majesty, you must not be impulsive!
“That Emperor of Yufu Kingdom is from the Yufu Mountain. Their Old Ancestor has lived for hundreds of years. Moreover, the consecrators of the Yufu Mountain are all direct descendants of the Li family. The Emperor of Yufu Kingdom has a deep foundation. The Northern Kingdom must not fall out with the Yufu Kingdom. We need to recuperate…”
The Imperial Counselor said earnestly. When he was anxious, he even knelt on the ground and begged Great Empress Zhaoyang not to be rash.
There were many ministers kneeling, and there were more than ten of them. This made Zhaoyang very unhappy!
“It was a humiliation of the previous dynasty to rely on the marriage alliance with the Emperor of the Myriad City Kingdom. That’s why the previous dynasty was not popular with the people and was overthrown by the founding ancestor of the country. There’s no need to talk about the matters of the previous dynasty here. The Northern Kingdom is not going to any marriage alliances. I, the Great Empress, am guarding the country. Let me die in battle first…”
Zhaoyang was a woman. Only a woman would understand the meaning of princess going for a marriage alliance.
When the country was strong, it was an honor for a princess to marry a man of lower status. When the country was weak, it was a humiliation for a princess to go for a marriage alliance.
A country did not exchange princesses and relatives for peace. A country relied on its own strength. Only this cowardly scholar would think that this was the best solution.
Why not make yourself stronger instead of sacrificing women?
“Your Majesty, please calm down. If you don’t agree, I will kill myself in the throne room for the sake of the people…”
When the Imperial Counselor, who was a three generations senior, had been reprimanded by Zhaoyang in front of the civil and military officials, he was filled with grief and indignation. He shouted that he wanted to kill himself in the throne room. At least to the civil ministers, this way of death would be remembered for generations to come!
“Do you really want to die? Then go to the border and guard the territory. In the future, if anyone dares to bring up a marriage alliance and beg for mercy, send them to the border! Dismissed!” Zhaoyang snorted coldly. These old ministers took advantage of their seniority and wanted to kill themselves in the throne room.
Could it be that they had forgotten that she was already a Martial Saint? She was the absolute king here. Everyone’s life and death was in her hands! Who didn’t know how to act?
Although the ministers had withdrawn from the court, Zhaoyang had found a few Martial Saints from the Northern Kingdom.
Qin Feng was guarding the border and could not return. Ever since her uncle was injured last time, his injuries had not recovered. Fortunately, there were two sword formations in the catacomb. They did not need experts to guard them until the catacomb was loose.
Wang Xian had also advanced to Martial Saint and become a first-stage Grotto-Heaven Realm expert.
In addition, a Martial Saint had appeared in the meritorious family and was summoned by Zhaoyang.
At this moment, there were only three Martial Saints in the Northern Kingdom’s Imperial City, including Empress Zhaoyang. Moreover, they were all first-stage Grotto-Heaven Realm experts.
It was not enough!
However, Zhaoyang had her own plans. They could form the Tripartite Formation with three people. The three first-grade Grotto-Heaven Realm experts could crush a second-grade Grotto-Heaven Realm expert after using the formation.
Moreover, Zhaoyang still had a trump card, which was Li Yuanqing.
Although she did not know her brother’s strength, Zhaoyang could vaguely guess that Li Yuanqing should be at the fourth-grade Grotto-Heaven Realm.
The Northern Kingdom was actually not weak with this strength, not to mention the few vicious beasts controlled by his brother. Under such circumstances, there was no need to bow down to anyone.
“Wang Xian, gather all the reliable ninth-grade martial artists in the Northern Kingdom and teach them the Tripartite Formation. We don’t have many Martial Saints, but there are many ninth-grade martial artists in the Martial Arts Academy. They will be very useful…”
According to the Tripartite Formation, three ninth-grade martial artists could deal with a first-grade Grotto-Heaven Realm expert.
The Northern Kingdom had developed very quickly in recent years. There were several Martial Saints and dozens of ninth-grade martial artists who had joined the royal family. These people were all useful. If they couldn’t be used, they would form a small Tripartite Formation.
And when the three small Tripartite Formation were combined, nine ninth-grade martial artists could even trap a second-grade Grotto-Heaven realm martial artist. This was the most powerful aspect of the Tripartite Formations!
If there were nine first-grade Martial Saints with the strength of a Grotto-Heaven Realm expert, they would be able to trap a third-grade Grotto-Heaven Realm expert with three small Tripartite Formations.
After arranging for these experts in the country, Great Empress Zhaoyang planned to personally make a trip to the Wilderness Valley. Her brother was there!
It was also the true source of the Northern Kingdom’s confidence!
When Zhaoyang went to the Wilderness, she did not see Li Yuanqing because he was in seclusion for a few days. However, Zhaoyang saw the fiery red fox.
A fiery-red furry fox was eating fruits with relish on the white table under the lush pine trees. Everything seemed so natural and harmonious. There was no tension or pressure here.
Zhaoyang heaved a long sigh of relief. The unhappiness and anxiety in her heart these days had been swept away when she came to the valley. Even if she didn’t see her brother, being able to rest here for a day or two could calm her heart.
If her big brother didn’t panic, there was even less to worry about.
Then, the deputy general of the Wilderness encampment, Zhang Quan, respectfully brought over food. Wang Shun was also summoned by Zhaoyang.
“His Highness knew about the Yufu Kingdom. He was in a good mood and said that Your Majesty had done the right thing. After that, His Highness went into seclusion. It has been a few days…”
Wang Shun stole a glance at Great Empress Zhaoyang. When the Great Empress was still a princess, she often came to see His Highness. All these years, the only person His Highness cared about was her. She did not have any prestige when she came here even though she’s the Great Empress. She was still like the princess of the past.
“Okay, you can leave. Serve my brother well. This is your blessing!” Zhaoyang said to Wang Shun enviously. This person was really lucky to have caught her brother’s eye.
Although she was the Great Empress, she was still envious of him.
Zhaoyang did not sit here for long before she saw a vicious beast that surprised her.