Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

"The Chu envoy Ban Dingyuan (Pei Ju) met with King Wu Zhao."

Ban Dingyuan and Pei Ju followed Zhang Gui to the foot of the platform and met Li Hong, bowing respectfully with their hands clasped.

"Do you two foreign envoys even know anything about etiquette and manners? Shouldn't you kneel before the Emperor?"

Seeing that the two men bowed but did not kneel, Fu Lin'an, who was standing below Li Hong's steps, loudly rebuked them.

Ban Dingyuan remained composed and replied calmly, "As an envoy of the State of Chu, my every action is related to the weight and importance of the State of Chu."

"I came to the Kingdom of Wuzhao with the intention of friendly exchange, not to be inferior to anyone. Therefore, I ask that you, General, forgive me for not being able to kneel before both rulers."

"It's so presumptuous!"

Fu Lin'an roared and immediately said to Li Hong, who was sitting high on the throne, "Your Majesty, these two foreign envoys are far too arrogant. I implore you to punish them severely as a warning to others!"

Li Hong remained unfazed, raised his hand and waved it, saying in a deep voice, "No need. I observe that these two envoys from Chu have a different demeanor than those from other foreign states, and they seem to be very loyal to the Chu Kingdom. Therefore, I will spare them from punishment."

Then he changed the subject again: "However, I have heard that a woman is now in charge of the Chu Kingdom. May I ask you two envoys, is there no man left in your Chu Kingdom? Why do you need a woman to shoulder the burden?"

"Hahaha."

Upon hearing this, the surrounding officials immediately joined in with dry laughter.

Even the foreign envoys in the parade stands chuckled upon hearing this.

However, some women, including Tian Ying, couldn't bring themselves to laugh.

Upon hearing this, Ban Dingyuan calmly replied, "Your Majesty, our Chu Kingdom is enlightened, and the royal family has always promoted the virtuous and capable, not the wicked."

Even a woman, as long as she possesses both virtue and talent, and is tolerant of all things, can naturally become an empress; there is no difference between men and women.

Li Hong shook his head: "No, since ancient times, Yin and Yang have been in order, and the balance of Heaven and Earth has been in motion. This is a sign bestowed by Heaven."

Women who control the government invariably bring chaos and unrest, disrupting peace throughout the country. Your nation, however, is going against this trend, causing a distorted balance. Even if you achieve brief periods of glory, it will not last.

Ban Dingyuan: "The theory of celestial phenomena is pure fabrication. Whether woman or man, if one dares to sit on the throne, then one should have the courage to shoulder the heavy responsibilities of the world."

Her Majesty the Empress of this dynasty assumed power at the age of seventeen, and in the twelve years since, the territory under her rule has expanded by more than double the size it had during the reign of the previous emperor.

Moreover, the people under his rule live in peace and prosperity, and many have established businesses. In my opinion, since he is an emperor, whether it is a woman or a man, as long as they can lead the country to prosperity, why should he favor one over the other?

Li Hong chuckled lightly: "What a silver tongue you have! But the reason I summoned you here today is not to discuss whether it is reasonable for women to rule."

Instead, I'd like to ask you, what are your thoughts on today's military parade?

Ban Dingyuan: "Your country's cavalry is strong and powerful, which has broadened my horizons."

Li Hong: "Then tell me, how does the military might of my Wuzhao compare to that of your country?"

Ban Dingyuan lowered his eyes and pondered for a long time before slowly saying, "Your Majesty, today is your country's military parade, and I do not wish to spoil the occasion."

Li Hong narrowed his eyes: "So you're implying that the might of my Wu Zhao army is inferior to that of your Chu state?"

A burst of snickers immediately rose from all around, seemingly mocking the Chu state for its ignorance and arrogance.

Ban Dingyuan replied firmly, "Whether strong or weak, such a dispute is meaningless. I hope Your Majesty will not take it too seriously."

Unexpectedly, these words ignited the emperor's intense competitive spirit.

"It seems you have great confidence in the military might of your motherland. How about this, since a military parade alone wouldn't satisfy the envoys from various countries, how about I have another match with you?"

Ban Dingyuan frowned: "May I ask what Your Majesty wishes to compete in?"

Li Hong: "Let's compare the military strength of your Chu Kingdom and my Wu Zhao Army, and see who is superior."

Ban Dingyuan shook his head: "Your Majesty is joking. My Chu army is far away on our own soil. How can we compare to yours?"

Li Hong laughed and said, "Didn't you bring more than a dozen fully armed guards with you when you entered the capital? Why don't you let them come out and have a go at my Imperial Guards?"

Ban Dingyuan shook his head and replied, "I beg Your Majesty to rescind your decree."

Li Hong smiled contemptuously: "What, didn't you say that your Chu army was no less powerful than my Wu Zhao army? Now you're scared?"

"No."

As a result, Ban Dingyuan's next words made Li Hong's face turn ashen.

"I am afraid of hurting your country's soldiers and disrupting this harmony."

The atmosphere instantly fell silent. No one present had expected that Ban Dingyuan would be so arrogant.

Fu Lin'an immediately roared, "Your Majesty, please take these two madmen who dared to insult my Wuzhao soldiers out of the Meridian Gate and behead them as a warning to the public."

"Get out of here. When did it become your place to speak?"

Li Hong's cold shout forced Fu Lin'an to retreat back to his military formation.

Then he looked at Ban Dingyuan, who was constantly twirling the emerald green jade beads in his hand.

After a long silence, he said, "It's alright. I'd also like to see what gives you the confidence to harm my Imperial Guards."

"Xue Dongluo, you are in charge of commanding a detachment from your Left Guard Army to prepare for the martial arts competition."

"As ordered!"

Xue Dongluo loudly accepted the order and turned to prepare.

Ban Dingyuan was about to speak again to dissuade them, but Li Hong interrupted him: "Don't worry, since it's a martial arts competition, injuries and fatalities are inevitable."

I here, in front of all the envoys from various nations, promise that if any of my soldiers are unfortunately killed or wounded, I will not hold your country responsible.

Of course, in return, if any of your country's soldiers are injured or killed, please do not blame me for failing in my duty as host."

Ban Dingyuan slowly rose to his feet: "Since the king has said so, then I shall accept the order."

After saying that, he immediately said to Pei Ju, "Go and quickly bring that squad of guards here."

Just as Pei Ju was about to leave, Ban Dingyuan stopped him and whispered a few words in his ear.

Upon hearing this, Pei Ju was taken aback for a moment, but immediately understood and nodded.

……

Half an hour later, Xue Donglu personally selected twelve cavalrymen to step forward.

Each of them held a musket, a saber with a saddle, and carried a carved bow for archery on their backs. They stood majestically on the training ground, waiting for the competition to begin.

One hundred and fifty paces away, twelve men stood in a crisscross formation, each holding a modified 98K rifle, silently waiting for the competition to begin.

They refused horses and insisted on using infantry to fight the cavalry.

Everyone present held their breath, especially those in the foreign envoys' seats, who were particularly puzzled by the formation of the Chu army.

"That's probably a Chu state musket, right? It looks no different from the ones captured from the Eastern Yi. Why doesn't it have a match cord? How do we fire it?"

Upon seeing the Chu army's weaponry, Li Hong was slightly taken aback, and then couldn't help but shake his head.

"let's start."

With a sudden wave of the banner.

The next moment, twelve cavalrymen of the Wuwei Army charged forward with shouts.

On the Chu side, the moment the Wuwei Army cavalry began to move, they all raised their rifles and aimed at the opposite side.

Just as the cavalry entered within a hundred paces of firing range.

"shooting!"

Bang bang bang bang bang——

A gunshot rang out across the training ground.

"Uu——"

But the next moment, the sound of warhorses neighing rang out.

After the first gunshot, four cavalrymen fell to the ground along with their horses.

"Keep shooting!"

At the squad leader's command, the sound of the bolt being pulled back quickly echoed.

Then came another burst of fire and lightning, and five more cavalrymen fell.

"Keep shooting!"

bang bang bang-

The Chu army gave the enemy very little time to react, and the two sides fired two more rounds of bullets from a distance of 100 meters.

By the time the fourth round of firing ended, none of the twelve cavalrymen were still on their horses; all of them lay on the ground groaning in agony.

This result was completely unexpected by everyone.

The war ended in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea?

Wu Zhao's iron cavalry couldn't even get the Chu army within a hundred paces.

Instantly, everyone felt their blood turn to ice.

This Chu army guard is a bit too strong.