The blacksmith lady is killing people in the harem, and her son is responsible for it.

The envoy from Liang State had been in Beijing for many days, and was finally summoned by the emperor that day.

When the civil and military officials saw the envoy from Liang Kingdom walk into the hall and looked at his sturdy body, they were all shocked.

The military officers showed no fear at all, for they were all big and strong, and many of the generals in the court had fought against the Hu people before.

However, the civil servants who had lived in Chang'an City all year round would subconsciously shudder when they saw the Hu people.

They are good at talking, but when a real war comes, they are scared to death.

Especially the opponent's thick waist and broad arms, they can be defeated with just one punch.

Today's court was a bit quieter than usual. The censors who used to like to talk were now like quails, not saying a word.

Qi Pei and Lang Bu, along with the Sanming guards, walked into the hall but did not kneel down and kowtow to the emperor.

There is no such thing as kneeling in their rules.

Qi Pei looked at the emperor proudly, "Qi Pei, the envoy of Liang, pays homage to the Emperor of Yan!"

The Minister of Rites Fan Qirui loudly rebuked: "Why don't you kneel when you see the Emperor of the Yan Dynasty?"

Qi Pei looked around and saw Minister Fan. He laughed sarcastically and said, "Kneeling is a rule in your Yan Dynasty. We don't have that in Liang Country. I am from Liang Country."

Qi Pei’s meaning is very clear. I am not from your country and I don’t buy into your way of doing things.

"You......." Minister Fan wanted to ask more questions but was stopped by the emperor.

The emperor waved his hand, and Minister Fan retreated back into the ranks of ministers.

"Emissary Qi, Liang has deployed troops on our border. What is their intention?"

The emperor did not beat around the bush and just wanted to know what conditions Liang wanted in order to withdraw its troops.

When Qi Pei heard the emperor ask this, he felt even more disdainful. Zhao Nanxiao, Zhao Nanxiao, even if he became the emperor, he was still a paper tiger.

The Hu people and the former Zhenbei Army are old acquaintances.

They have been fighting for so many years, but the Zhenbei Army has never really invaded Liang State. All they can do is put on a cowardly defense.

In fact, Qi Fei thought too simply. Zhao Nanxiao was only a marquis before, and the court was not confident in the Zhenbei Army led by him.

Not only did they not provide food and military pay, they also found excuses to weaken the Zhenbei Army's strength.

At that time, Zhao Nanxiao was attacked from all sides. Not only did he have to fight against the Hu people and protect the people in the north, but he also had to hide his strength in secret and dared not reveal it to the imperial court.

Due to various factors, Qi Pei began to look down on others.

"Your Majesty, my Liang Kingdom intends to form an alliance with the Yan Dynasty. The Yan Dynasty only needs to marry another princess to my Liang Kingdom and give 100 million taels of gold as a dowry, and my Liang Kingdom's army will be able to withdraw immediately!"

As soon as Qi Pei's words came out, the ministers in the hall gasped.

One million taels of gold?

It's really a lion's mouth.

At this time, Lu Shangshu of the Ministry of Revenue stood up and said, "Your Majesty, this cannot be allowed. The Liang Kingdom is asking for too much."

"Your Majesty, our dynasty is newly established, and Your Majesty is not a princess."

Many ministers in the hall expressed their opinions.

The emperor sat at the top and listened to the ministers' opinions.

Qi Pei naturally knew that the Yan Dynasty had no princesses, so he stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I heard that the two dukes have two girls in their families, both from the Zhao family, and they can be married."

When Uncle Zhao heard about the marriage proposal, he had a bad feeling in his heart. He looked at the emperor with a heavy face, fearing that he would agree.

"I'm sorry, Envoy Qi, our daughter is already engaged."

Uncle Zhao couldn't help but bring it up in the court.

Qi Fei came prepared. "This is just an engagement, not a wedding. Besides, I heard that the girl from the Shun family is already 11 years old. Our fourth prince doesn't mind her being too young."

When Zhao Nanzheng heard that this man had set his sights on his little daughter, he immediately quit because he was a bad guy.

He seldom came to court on ordinary days, but he came today to meet the envoy.

She didn't expect that someone was actually thinking about her daughter. How could she bear it?

Zhao Nanzheng immediately jumped out, "Bah, you bastard, you actually want my daughter to marry, I think you are dreaming!"

"Brother, Ya'er is your niece, you can't agree to this!"

After Zhao Nanzheng spit in Qi Pei's face, he began to plead with the emperor.

"Yes, brother, we can't agree to the marriage!" Uncle Zhao also pleaded.

In the hall, the only voices left were those of Zhao Nanzheng and Second Uncle Zhao.

The other ministers did not intervene.

Some people were even secretly watching the joke of the Zhao family.

Selfishly speaking, they believed that the Zhao family members from the north were not much different from the barbarians in the north. The new dynasty had just been established, and who knew how long it could last.

The emperor looked at the ministers and asked, "What do you think, my dear ministers?"

At this time, Lu Shangshu, who was in charge of the purse, came out. The treasury did not have that much silver, "Your Majesty, I think the marriage is inappropriate!"

Some military commanders from the north also stood up and said, "Your Majesty, how can we rely on women to quell the war? I am willing to lead the troops and fight the Hu people to the death."

With one person taking the lead, other generals began to recommend themselves.

Seeing this, Qi Fei also took a few steps back. He did not expect that the officials of the Yan Dynasty did not want to marry. After all, the emperor of the previous dynasty was very willing to use women to quell the war.

Qi Pei glanced at Langbu, hoping that he would take over at this time.

Langbu also stood up at this time, "Your Majesty, I believe you don't want the two countries to go to war. War is a waste of money and manpower. Now all we need is for Yan Dynasty to send a princess to the country for marriage, and give a little dowry, and the two countries can put an end to the war. Your Majesty, why not do it!"

Minister Lu promptly retorted, "One million taels of gold is equivalent to ten million taels of silver. You call this a small dowry?"

The money in the national treasury is Minister Lu’s life. It’s impossible for him to take it out!

Langbu looked at Minister Lu and said, "This lord probably doesn't know that if the two countries go to war, the military supplies of the Yan Dynasty are all silver. Moreover, the people of the Yan Dynasty also suffered heavy casualties. The large tracts of land in the north are uncultivated and have become wasteland. Adding all these together, the loss is not just 10 million taels of silver."

"Why don't your country make peace with our Liang country and marry a princess to them, so that the two countries can become friends!"

Zhao Zhen sat below the emperor and looked at Langbu who was talking eloquently. He had to admit that this guy was a smart man.

After he said this, many court officials must have been shaken.

Sure enough, as soon as Langbu finished speaking, many ministers fell into deep thought.

Some officials who had lived in Chang'an for a long time also stood up and said, "Your Majesty, the Yan Dynasty has just been established, and it is a good idea to marry a princess to the emperor at this time!"

With one person taking the lead, other ministers who shared the same idea also stood up and began to support the tone of marriage.

The emperor looked down at Zhao Zhen and asked, "Prince, what do you think?"

Zhao Zhen stood up and looked down at the ministers and the envoys from Liang State. "I do not agree with the marriage proposal!"