If you traveled back to ancient times, while others ate Guanyin clay, you would actually have giant

Li Tiancheng had actually been persuaded by Zhou Wu, but now the civil officials and military generals were divided into two factions and a dispute arose. As the emperor, he needed to weigh the options.

"Your Majesty, I have one last thing to say."

Seeing that Li Tiancheng was still hesitating, Zhou Wu decided to make one last desperate attempt.

"speak."

"Although the Great Dragon Empire is newly established, it was all conquered by my current emperor and the retired emperor on horseback. In just over ten years, some people have already lost their backbone. Of course, the two emperors faced powerful enemies, and every time they faced a life-or-death situation, did they ever retreat a single step?"

Zhou Wu's words not only flattered Li Tiancheng, but also left these civil officials speechless.

To refute at this point would be to slap the faces of the two current emperors, wouldn't it?

Hearing Zhou Wu praise himself and the Emperor Emeritus to the skies, Li Tiancheng's face, which had been somewhat angry, instantly relaxed.

"No marriage alliances, no indemnities, no ceding of territory, no tribute; the emperor guards the nation's gates, and the monarch dies for the state."

"Boom~~~~~"

This statement was absolutely explosive, sparking heated discussions among the court officials, especially the military officers, who were already hot-blooded men, their eyes now bloodshot, eager to kill the enemy immediately.

"Good, very good. No marriage alliances, no indemnities, no ceding of territory, no tribute. The emperor guards the nation's gates, and the monarch dies for the state. From now on, this will be the principle of my Great Dragon Empire. Anyone who mentions marriage alliances again will be executed."

Wow, after arguing for most of the day, it was resolved in just one sentence, and it even seemed to achieve an unexpected effect.

Li Tiancheng made the final decision. The emperor's strength and Zhou Wu's words reminded everyone that the current emperor was also the founding emperor, who had personally conquered a vast country. Peace had lasted for too long, and everyone seemed to have forgotten that their emperor was once a general who killed without hesitation.

Inside the main hall, only Li Tiancheng and Gu Xinyuan were present.

“Xin Yuan, this great dragon's empire has only been in power for a little over ten years, and the ministers have already lost their fighting spirit. How can I be at ease?”

Li Tiancheng was still troubled by what happened that morning, but now his troubles were not about the marriage alliance, but about a series of problems that had been revealed through it.

Zhou Wu is absolutely right. When has Li Tiancheng ever done anything so humiliating? What's even more terrifying is that he and all the court officials actually thought it was perfectly normal, until Zhou Wu's impassioned speech this morning completely woke him up.

“I, Li Tiancheng, am now resorting to marrying off my daughter to seek peace. I have no respect for myself.”

"Your Majesty, this is all our fault."

Gu Xinyuan quickly admitted his mistake. He knew what his former brothers were worried about, but to be honest, even he himself had been blinded by the comfortable life over the years and had let his guard down. If it weren't for Zhou Wu's angry outburst in court today, the humiliation of the marriage alliance would probably have been unavoidable.

“Zhou Wu is a talented person. We old guys need to make sure he gets a good path.”

"Your Majesty said so."

Li Tiancheng praised Zhou Wu, which naturally pleased Gu Xinyuan. In public, Zhou Wu was a talented man who excelled in both literature and martial arts, with martial prowess surpassing that of civil officials and wisdom surpassing that of military generals. In private, Zhou Wu was his good brother.

“From now on, you old guys will have to put in more effort and take good care of him. Da Long is only a few years old, but he’s already rotten. It’s time to bring in some fresh blood.”

"Yes, Your Majesty. We will certainly do our utmost to teach Zhou Wu."

"Hmm~"

Seeing Gu Xinyuan's answer, Li Tiancheng nodded in satisfaction. Of all the officials in the court, the reason he kept only Gu Xinyuan was because Zhou Wu's court did not have many friends. Gu Xinyuan was one, and Lu Da was another.

However, Lu Da was impulsive and it was not appropriate to discuss this matter with him, so Gu Xinyuan was the only one left.

In fact, as a ruler and his subject, Zhou Wu's performance in terms of interpersonal relationships also satisfied Li Tiancheng. Zhou Wu never formed cliques or took sides, which reassured Li Tiancheng. Moreover, Zhou Wu had publicly stated that he did not support any faction and was only loyal to the Great Dragon Emperor and the Great Dragon Empire, which was what pleased Li Tiancheng the most.

Outside the palace gates, Zhou Wu walked at the back, with Crown Prince Li Junren beside him.

Why didn't you discuss this with me beforehand?

"If His Majesty disagrees, it will implicate you. As the Crown Prince, it's not appropriate for you to intervene."

Zhou Wu's words touched the Crown Prince somewhat. It turned out that Zhou Wu had considered his feelings. However, out of pride, Li Junren still stubbornly refused to admit it.

"That's my sister too."

"Okay, next time something comes up, I'll definitely discuss it with you in advance. By the way, I happen to have something to do right now."

"what's up?"

"Shall we find a chance to get rid of the Fourth Prince?"

Upon hearing this, Li Junren rolled his eyes. It was only because Li Junren understood Zhou Wu that he knew he was joking; if it were anyone else, they would have immediately ordered their men to take him down.

"I'll go back first."

Li Junren waved his hand, lowered the carriage curtain, and urged the coachman to hurry back to the mansion.

When Zhou Wu returned to his residence, his servants reported that someone was already waiting for him.

When Zhou Wu entered the hall, he saw a young woman he didn't recognize, who looked like someone from the palace.

"You are??"

"This servant, Wu Liuqi, greets Lord Zhou."

"Wu Liuqi? Who gave you that name?"

"It was the Ninth Princess who gave it to me."

Such a beautiful woman, and her name is Wu Liuqi? Is Li Xixue really that uncultured?

"Did the princess send you?"

"Yes, the princess is currently unable to leave the palace, so she asked me to deliver something to you, sir, to thank you for helping the princess out of a predicament during the morning court session."

Wu Liuqi handed Zhou Wu a red silk-wrapped item. Zhou Wu opened it and found it was a sachet.

"This is a sachet that the princess herself made. She said she had never seen you wear a sachet before, so she made one herself. Please don't find it offensive."

Noble men of this era usually wore a sachet at their waist, but Zhou Wu always thought it was effeminate, so he never wore it.

"Then please thank Your Highness on my behalf."

"Then this servant will return to the palace."

Having completed her mission, Wu Liuqi returned to report, knowing that the princess was still anxiously awaiting her reply in the palace.

A night of silence,

The next morning, another acquaintance came to the mansion.

"Tianji greets Your Excellency."

That's right. Zhou Wu had almost forgotten about Wu Tianji, the most beautiful courtesan at Xingmanlou, since their last parting. After all, she was just a passerby in his life.

“It is a great pleasure to have friends coming from afar.”

Perhaps because he was going back to the South China Sea, Zhou Wu was in a good mood. When he saw Wu Tianji, he started chatting for no reason. However, what was originally just a casual conversation was misunderstood by Wu Tianji.

"You're going to be my friend? I'm so happy!"

Wu Tianji, who had been perfectly normal, immediately became abnormal upon hearing Zhou Wu's words, and visibly burst into tears of joy, making Zhou Wu somewhat uneasy.