We have fought to the Arctic Circle, and you want me to inherit the throne?

The five-member Tibetan delegation was led by Qing soldiers to the outside of the central military tent.

The first thing I noticed was a Tibetan general's flag with a corner charred from fire, casually stuck diagonally in the mud outside the tent entrance.

The snow leopard totem in the center of the flag drooped helplessly in the cold wind.

On the wooden rack next to him hung a torn and tattered wolfskin cloak, the very one that Dorjee loved to wear.

A chill instantly seeped into the very marrow of every member of the delegation.

Everyone understood that this was the Great Qing Emperor's way of showing his power.

The leading envoy was a civil official in his forties named Gongga.

He was dressed in the brocade robes commonly worn by Tibetan nobles, with a fur coat over them, clearly indicating that he held a high status in Lhasa.

Gongga tried to remain calm, but a slight twitch at the corner of his eye indicated that he was not at peace.

The deputy envoys and attendants behind him turned pale and avoided eye contact.

"Please come, Your Majesty is already waiting in the tent."

The guard leading the way spoke in a flat voice and made a 'please' gesture, but his eyes showed no respect whatsoever.

Taking a deep breath, Gongga straightened his robes and stepped into the tent with his head held high.

The light inside the tent was slightly dimmer than outside, which made the atmosphere even more somber.

The Qing army generals standing solemnly on either side, their hands on their swords, had eyes as imposing as Vajra Arhats in a temple, inspiring fear in those who stood there.

Yue Yun, clad in silver armor and white robes, stood still like a drawn sword, his indifferent gaze seeming as if he were looking at a dead man.

Wang Sanchun's face was somber, his tiger-like eyes held a fierce power, and he carried the murderous aura of a bloody battle.

Luo Yueniang's brows exuded a commanding presence, and she too had her hand on the hilt of her sword.

Ma Zhong wore a mocking smirk as his eyes swept across the assembled envoys.

And the one guarded by these fierce-looking generals in the central position was the legendary Emperor Qing.

They wore plain black clothes, no armor, and were as young as their nephews or nieces.

But when those deep eyes looked over, Gongga felt a tightness in his heart, as if he were being terrified by an invisible force.

His gaze was authoritative without being angry, yet it seemed to see through everything.

Gongga suppressed his heart palpitations, placed his right hand on his chest and bowed slightly in accordance with Tibetan etiquette: "Gongga, the envoy of the Tibetan Zanpu, together with his deputy Zhaxi, Lunzhu and others, pays respects to His Majesty the Emperor of Daqing."

Li Che raised his eyelids slightly, but did not speak immediately. He simply scanned the five people with a calm gaze.

"Give me a seat."

After a moment, Li Che spoke calmly.

Several rough stools were brought over by the guards and placed at the lower end.

Gongga thanked him and sat down with his back straight.

Behind him, a shrewd-looking middle-aged man and a strong, warrior-like man also sat down, while the other two attendants could only stand behind.

"Your Excellency has come a long way, it must be tiring." Li Che's tone was unreadable, and he went straight to the point, "I wonder what advice the Tibetan King Puzan has for you?"

Gongga cleared his throat and placed his hands on his knees.

He looked directly at Li Che, his tone becoming serious: "I dare not presume to offer advice. I am here on the orders of Puzan to present my case to His Majesty the Emperor, which is also a form of questioning!"

"Oh? A questioning?" Li Che raised an eyebrow, seemingly intrigued. "What do you want to question me about?"

“Exactly!” Gongga raised his voice slightly. “Although there is a border between Tibet and Daqing, there have been no major conflicts in recent years, and the border trade has been relatively peaceful.”

"May I ask Your Majesty, why did you launch a war without declaring war, brazenly invade our territory, besiege our cities, and slaughter our soldiers?"

"Your Majesty, as the ruler of a great nation, governing all nations, you should know the meaning of 'trust and righteousness'!"

"Such reckless use of force and unjust acts will surely chill the hearts of all discerning people in the world! Will it not violate the 'benevolence and righteousness' taught by the sages?!"

Gongga spoke vehemently, each sentence veiled in righteous indignation, as if he were the victim who had the upper hand.

Upon hearing this, the Qing army generals on both sides of the tent were slightly taken aback, and their faces immediately turned angry.

How dare he speak to our Emperor like that?

Didn't you know martial arts?!

Gongga felt a surge of killing intent rising from all around him, and his heart tightened.

But recalling Da Lun's repeated instructions before his departure, he was determined to overwhelm the Qing people in terms of momentum, or at least gain the upper hand in terms of morality, so as to gain leverage for subsequent negotiations.

He had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue with his prepared speech.

From the Qing army's unwarranted provocations, to the claim that "Chuima City originally belonged to Tibet," and then to the Qing army's cruel and ruthless methods...

He talked on and on for the duration of an incense stick burning.

Li Che listened calmly throughout, his face expressionless, and he even occasionally picked up the ginger tea beside him and took a sip.

The surrounding generals grew increasingly angry as they listened, and could be heard gritting their teeth.

Gongga's last words were: "I urge Your Majesty to repent and withdraw your troops immediately, return the prisoners, and apologize to our king, so as to preserve the friendship between our two countries and prevent further suffering!"

After he finished speaking, the tent fell silent again.

Gongga breathed slightly, his eyes fixed on Li Che.

Li Che put down his teacup, the porcelain bottom lightly touching the wooden table, making a crisp sound.

He looked up at Gongga, his tone still so calm it sent chills down your spine.

"Finished?"

Gongga paused for a moment, then nodded subconsciously: "Your Majesty, I have fully conveyed my heartfelt words."

"Hmm." Li Che nodded. "Someone come here."

Two fully armored guards immediately rushed into the tent.

Li Che pointed at Gongga, his tone flat and even: "Drag this vulgar, rude, and arrogant barbarian out of the tent and behead him!"

"According to the order!"

Without hesitation, the guards stepped forward to seize the man.

"What?!!"

Gongga was struck dumb, so frightened that he jumped up from his stool, his face draining of color instantly.

His deputy envoys, Zaxi and Lunzhu, were also startled and stood up. Zaxi's legs went weak and he almost fell.

"Your Majesty!" Gongga's voice changed, "In times of war, envoys are not to be killed! This is an ancient principle!"

"If Your Majesty kills foreign officials, you will be severing yourself from all propriety and righteousness in the world, and will be an unrighteous and tyrannical ruler!"

He shouted at the top of his lungs, hoping to bind Li Che with the 'propriety and righteousness' that the people of the Central Plains valued most.

Li Che suddenly laughed.

He did not look at the struggling Gongga, but turned to the generals on both sides of the tent:

"See? Barbarians are barbarians after all. They only know how to imitate others poorly. They learned some superficial rules and etiquette of Daqing and thought they had grasped the essence and could use them to fool people."

All the generals smiled, then looked at Gongga as if he were a dead man.

Li Che then turned his gaze back to Gongga and said, word by word:

"Today, I will let you die knowing why, and let you hear what true 'propriety' really means."

"It is true that when two countries are at war, the envoy should not be killed. This is recorded in the Zhou Rituals and is the meaning of the Spring and Autumn Annals."

Li Che's tone was calm: "However, the Rites of Zhou also say: 'When sent on missions to the four directions, one should not disgrace the ruler's command.'"

"As an envoy, one should behave properly and speak with moderation. Even if the two countries are enemies, one should still observe the etiquette of a subject and maintain a respectful attitude when meeting the other monarch."

His voice suddenly turned sharp, and his gaze pierced Gongga like a knife: "But what about you?!"

“Since entering the tent, he has been arrogant and disrespectful.”

“His first words were accusations, and his language was often disrespectful to me, calling me an ‘unjust ruler’ and accusing me of ‘unbenevolent acts’.”

"I ask you, is this how your Tibetan king teaches his subjects, to treat the monarch of another country as if he were reprimanding his own servants?!"

Gongga opened his mouth to argue: "I..."

"That's only the first point!" Li Che didn't give him a chance to speak and continued, "Secondly, you keep talking about 'undeclared war,' but let me ask you, when did my Great Qing and Tibet ever sign a non-aggression pact?"

"Chuma City was my homeland in the Central Plains a hundred years ago. When did it become part of your Tibetan territory?"

"When your Tibetan troops are stationed on the border and repeatedly raid and plunder, have you ever 'proclaimed' anything? Have you ever 'kept your word'?"

"Now that I have personally led the army to recover lost territory and defeat the invading enemy, you call it 'unjust'?"

"How can the world be so illogical as to distort the truth like this! What kind of envoy are you here to negotiate?"

Li Che finally concluded: "He is clearly a deranged scoundrel who came here to seek death, relying on the twisted logic he stole!"

"Killing you would not only not violate propriety, but would also purge the envoy's territory and set things right!"

He waved his hand, his tone returning to its usual calm: "Alright, take him out."

"No! Your Majesty! This humble subject...this humble subject knows his mistake! This humble subject..."

Gongga panicked completely; the fear of death overwhelmed everything.

He wanted to change his mind and beg, but the guards gave him no more chances.

They pulled out a rag from somewhere, stuffed it into his mouth, and dragged him out of the tent like a dead dog.

There was dead silence in the tent.

The deputy envoys, Zaxi and Lunzhu, along with their two attendants, were terrified out of their wits. They trembled like leaves and knelt down on the ground with a thud.

Then he heard outside the tent, Gongga's desperate sobs as his mouth was gagged, and...

"Crack!"

A muffled thud as a sharp blade severed flesh came through the tent, causing the kneeling men to tremble as if the blade had struck their own necks.

Then, all sounds fell silent, leaving only the mournful whistling of the cold wind whistling through the corner of the tent.

Zaxi felt a surge of heat almost out of control, and he had to grit his teeth to hold it in.

Li Che seemed not to have heard the sound of the beheading, his gaze fixed on the kneeling deputy envoy, Zaxi.

"You." His voice wasn't loud, but it made Zaxi shudder again. "Can't you speak properly?"

Tashi kowtowed, speaking rapidly: "Yes! Yes! His Majesty the Emperor's might is boundless! It was we, your humble servants, who were foolish and ignorant, who offended His Majesty!"

"Gongga... he was arrogant and deserved to die! I beg Your Majesty for forgiveness! I beg Your Majesty for forgiveness!"

He kowtowed repeatedly, and Lunzhu next to him also kowtowed.

"Hmm." Li Che seemed satisfied, his tone softening a bit. "It seems there are still honest and kind people in Tibet."

"Get up, sit down and talk."

"Thank you... thank you for your grace, Your Majesty!"

Zaxi and Lunzhu timidly got up and sat back down on the stools, but only dared to sit on half of their buttocks.

The two bowed very low, their heads hanging down, no longer daring to meet Li Che's gaze.

"Now tell me," Li Che leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on the table. "What conditions are you Tibetans willing to offer for me to withdraw my troops?"

He paused, then added:

"Remember, speak properly."

Zaxi swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing, feeling his throat burning dry.

He carefully chose his words, fearing he might further anger the ruthless and decisive Emperor Qing:

"Reporting to...reporting to His Majesty the Emperor..."