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

"What did you say? Say it again?"

"Your Majesty, everything I have said is true. The foreign barbarians have already occupied Zhongdu and are about to launch an attack on the capital!"

Baierjia dared not be careless in the slightest in meeting Shen Lang's request. He immediately rode a fast horse and arrived in the capital in half a day to meet Li Hong.

After hearing Bairjia's words, Li Hong, no matter how composed he was, began to tremble uncontrollably.

He asked again uncertainly, "You mean, the Chu people have reached the capital?"

Bairjia, trembling, pulled the agreement from his robes: "Your Majesty, this is an agreement submitted by foreign barbarians, stating that if... if..."

"If it is, then tell me!"

Li Hong was extremely agitated and shouted at Bai Erjia.

Bairjia hurriedly replied, "If they don't receive a reply from His Majesty within three days, they will launch a full-scale attack on the capital!"

"presumptuous!"

Upon hearing this, Li Hong instantly flew into a rage.

With a loud shout, he swept all the paper, inkstone, and writing implements off the imperial desk.

"They've rebelled! They've really rebelled!"

"Are these Chu barbarians trying to force me to my death?"

"He wants to attack the capital, is that it? Very well! Then I'll wait and see!"

"Bairjia, go back and tell these Chu people that I, as the ruler of Wuzhao, will never be threatened by them."

"If you want to attack the capital, then come on! I still have 100,000 warlike soldiers in the capital. I would rather die a glorious death than live a shameful life!"

Bairjia pressed his head to the ground, not daring to breathe.

The sound of porcelain and jade shattering kept echoing in my ears.

Feng Chun, who was waiting outside the door, was also terrified.

He had served Li Hong for decades, and this was the first time he had ever seen his master so angry.

After a long while, an eerie silence suddenly fell over the Imperial Study.

The self-ringing clock that Ban Dingyuan sent back then is swinging back and forth, making a mechanical chiming sound.

"Bring the agreement here for me to see."

Just as Baierjia felt like she was about to suffocate, she suddenly heard Li Hong's calm voice.

"Yes."

He immediately handed the agreement to Li Hong, still kneeling throughout the entire process.

Li Hong took the agreement and opened it. The first thing he saw upon entering the industry was Shen Lang's elegant handwriting:

Wu Zhao, the slave master, Li Hong, writes: I am the Duke of Zhenguo of the Great Chu, and also the Empress's husband. I have heard that you intend to bestow upon my wife the title of Chu Consort. As her husband, I am very curious about this and have specially led my troops to witness the conferment ceremony.

At that time, our guild will add to the festivities with fireworks, and ten thousand cannons will be fired simultaneously inside and outside the capital, illuminating Shengjing with lights that will not go out for a hundred days. It will surely be a spectacular sight. I wonder if this will make you happy?

If you are dissatisfied, then on the eve of your investiture ceremony, would you be so kind as to invite me to the capital to discuss the details? I've heard that you, my lord, are very concerned with appearances, and coincidentally, I am quite adept at facial expressions as well.

I hope to study this further with my master, and I hope you will not refuse.

Signed: Shen Lang, Duke of Zhenguo of Great Chu, Grand Marshal of the Central Army of Great Chu, Commander-in-Chief of the Ocean Fleet, Emperor of Great Chu.

Li Hong was dumbfounded; this agreement started with blatant humiliation.

The term "slave master" is the most accurate and derogatory term for Li Hong.

But compared to this, the underlying threat is obvious.

If he dares to hold a ceremony to confer the title of Empress, the Chu army will launch an indiscriminate attack on the capital.

Moreover, it has been marked that it will continue for 100 days without rest.

"This is outrageous! Absolutely outrageous!"

After watching only the beginning, Li Hong could not bear such humiliation.

"In the end, he's just a royal son-in-law; where does his confidence come from!"

"I am discussing this with the Empress, not with him! What right does he have to threaten me!"

However, after his impotent rage, Li Hong calmed down again.

Upon seeing this, Fengchun, who was outside the door, immediately brought over a cup of tea and said in a gentle voice, "Your Majesty, you must take good care of your health."

Li Hong felt extremely thirsty at this moment, and after taking the teacup, he drank it all in one go.

After letting out a breath, Li Hong calmed himself down and shouted, "Go and fetch Ji Yun for me."

"The slave obeys the order."

Feng Chun immediately left the Imperial Study and went to find Ji Yun.

After he left, Li Hong continued to flip through the remaining agreements:

If Wu Zhao Kingdom wants to cease hostilities, it must agree to the following conditions.

First, Haizhou, Huizhou, Quanzhou, Bozhou, and Lizhou were designated as directly subordinate territories of the Chu State. All military and civilian personnel within these territories were required to abide by Chu laws, and the Wu Zhao laws were rendered invalid and abolished. No interference was permitted with clothing or hairstyles.

Second, open all trading ports in the north and south. Anyone holding Chu nationality will not need to abide by your country's etiquette when entering and exiting trading ports. Chu etiquette, Zhou etiquette, and Chu law will be the primary considerations.

Third, all customs duties at treaty ports shall be unified and coordinated by the Haizhou consul abroad. The Chu cabinet shall personally select suitable officials for appointment, and your country shall not interfere.

Fourth, the State of Chu is permitted to station troops in the Jiankang region, and the State of Wuzhao shall not interfere in any way within the area where the troops are stationed.

Fifth, the State of Chu will establish diplomatic consulates in Shengjing, Zhongdu, Nanzhili and other regions to facilitate diplomatic relations between Chu and Wu Zhao.

Sixth, the State of Chu is permitted to construct infrastructure and establish factories within the territory of the State of Wuzhao, such as ironworks, spinning mills, power plants, and processing plants, as well as to build railways and highways. The standards shall be based on the official standards of the State of Chu, and the corresponding taxes shall be determined through consultation with the State of Chu, and no private taxes shall be levied.

Seventh, King Li Hong of Wu Zhao must apologize to the State of Chu in writing for its impolite behavior, and his attitude must be sincere.

8. Compensation for the military expenses and related mental distress of Wu Zhaoguo, totaling 800 million taels of silver.

Additional: If there are any objections to the above agreement, King Wu Zhao is requested to personally discuss them with the Duke of Zhenguo of Great Chu.

Li Hong's face gradually became distorted and deformed.

Every clause in the agreement was a challenge to his bottom line.

Moreover, compared to the first agreement he saw, this one was practically dragging Wu Zhao Kingdom into the abyss of hell.

If all treaty ports are opened, then the methods he and his ancestors painstakingly used to control the minds of the people will quickly fail.

Establishing a diplomatic consulate within the territory of Wu Zhao? Wouldn't that be tantamount to telling the world that Wu Zhao and Chu are equals?

Furthermore, they even want to interfere with Wu Zhao's tax collection. Isn't this handing over financial power to the other side?

As for stationing troops, ceding territory, and recognizing the ownership of certain places, which one of them is not a loss of sovereignty and national humiliation? Once you do these things, you will be infamous in history books, and even if you die, you will not be able to face the questioning of your ancestors.

And another eight hundred million taels of silver?

With a fiscal revenue of at most 300 million taels of silver per year, how could Wu Zhaoguo afford to pay the compensation?

Li Hong never expected that he was just trying to save face, and his relationship with Jiang Mengxuan was merely a formality on the roster, so how did it cause such a big problem?

Is Shen Lang really that inconsiderate? I just want a way to save face. I gain face, you gain land and benefits, and we can all live in peace. Isn't that better?

Why are you so persistent, insisting on making me lose face before you're satisfied?

Thinking about all this, Li Hong felt extremely aggrieved.

Before replying to Shen Lang, he had to do one thing.

That was to inspect the situation of the Xiajing Garrison.