Lu Wanning was secretly shocked. Had the issue of Zhaobi only emerged now? No, it was deliberately brought up. At present, the odds of victory in the war between the Great Zhou and the Northern Desert were only about fifty - fifty. The Northern Desert had come in full force, but the Great Zhou was by no means incompetent.
At this moment, if Zhaobi, which had always been on good terms with the Great Zhou, also caused trouble, the Great Zhou would surely be caught off - guard.
The marriage alliance was just a pretext. There were only two princesses in the palace now, either Qin'er or herself. But it would be strange if there was no insider in the Zhaobi incident. The actions of the insider were aimed at the Lu family. Whether the person for the marriage alliance was Lu Wanning or Princess Qin, it was only a test for Lu Hongxi.
Zhaobi was a small country. If there was really a marriage alliance, there was no need for a real princess. Any woman could be casually granted the title of princess. But judging from the current situation, Zhaobi would surely demand a direct - line princess this time.
But how could the Great Zhou tolerate such an insult? The emperor and Lu Hongxi would never tolerate it either. Since they couldn't tolerate it, they could only find a way to send troops.
Sheng Chenyi was trying every means to seize the military power of the Lu family!
Princess Qin blinked her eyes. "Sister Zhaoyang?"
Lu Wanning came back to her senses and forced a smile at her. Frowning, she said, "It doesn't matter who goes. Unless Zhaobi agrees not to demand a direct - line princess."
Princess Qin was stunned for a moment and then realized that the matter was not as simple as she had thought.
The fish food was sent by Concubine Jing. She looked kind and gentle. "I heard that the two princesses are here. I'm worried that you might suffer from the heat. The autumn heat is no easier than that in summer."
Lu Wanning stood up and thanked her. She took the fish food and fed the fish with Concubine Jing. Chatting casually as if by accident, she then asked, "By the way, I've always forgotten. How is Shi Aohan, who was imprisoned before?"
Concubine Jing didn't understand her meaning. "Miss Shi? After the emperor ordered her to be imprisoned, he never mentioned her again. Why did you suddenly bring her up, Zhaoyang?"
Lu Wanning looked up and sneered. "For someone I hate so much, I naturally want to know if she is miserable now. Don't blame me, Your Highness. I've always been a person who clearly distinguishes between love and hate."
Concubine Jing covered her lips and laughed. "Zhaoyang is joking. Who doesn't know your personality? Moreover, at that time, it was really despicable of that Miss Shi. But then again, her identity was also unclear. Even if she was imprisoned, others couldn't really do anything to her."
Lu Wanning nodded. "That's right. She regarded herself as a precious princess. Without the emperor's order, of course, others couldn't do anything to her."
Concubine Jing looked at her suspiciously, but after she finished speaking, she went to the other side to feed the fish.
Princess Qin, however, lowered her head and pursed her lips thoughtfully.
The envoy from Zhaobi came with a letter from the king and presented it to the emperor. He was extremely tough and seemed ready to die. He clearly stated that only a direct - line princess would do, which could show the Great Zhou's attitude of renewing the old friendship. If not, Zhaobi would mobilize all its forces and would never give up.
As soon as these words were spoken, the whole court was in an uproar.
"Your Majesty, Zhaobi is just a tiny country. How dare it threaten our Great Zhou like this? This is intolerable, Your Majesty!"
"However, the war with the Northern Desert has already consumed a great deal of manpower and material resources. Where do we have the energy to mobilize troops to deal with Zhaobi?"
"You military generals are supposed to defend the country. Are you really going to send a direct - line princess away? The king of Zhaobi is nearly sixty years old, more than ten years older than Your Majesty!"
"Military generals do defend the country, but without soldiers, how can a war be waged? Although Zhaobi is a tiny country, it still has hundreds of thousands of troops. Most of our Great Zhou's troops have gone to fight against the Northern Desert, except for those on garrison duty. Where can we spare more troops? Marshal Lu, isn't this the truth?"
Lu Hongxi remained silent for a long time. His face was very ugly. After a long while, he said, "Your Majesty, according to yesterday's battle report, the Great Zhou narrowly lost. Nearly all of Lu Hannian's 100,000 troops were on the verge of being wiped out. If Prince Yu hadn't made a prompt decision to retreat, our Great Zhou would have suffered heavy losses."
As soon as these words were spoken, the quarreling ministers in the court fell silent. They were all at a loss.
It was Minister Qin who thought for a while and then said, "But Your Majesty, although Princess Qingnian is not yet married, the matter has basically been decided, and everyone knows about it. It's not appropriate to change it at this time."
"In the face of national affairs, what does marriage matter?"
"Princess Qingnian is the emperor's only princess and also the eldest princess. Sending her to Zhaobi would only mean humiliation!"
"Actually, besides Princess Qingnian, don't we still have Princess Zhaoyang?"
No one knew who said this, but the great hall suddenly fell silent. All eyes were on Lu Hongxi.
Lu Hongxi's hands were trembling. When he heard about the marriage alliance, he knew this would happen. It would be either Princess Qin or his Ning'er. When he said that the Great Zhou couldn't afford another war, he had sound reasons. But when it came to sending his daughter for the marriage alliance, he just couldn't agree.
He knew that the marriage alliance was the best choice. After the war with the Northern Desert was over, the Great Zhou would be able to catch its breath...
But what about his Ning'er?
Before Lu Hongxi could express his opinion, the emperor was already furious. "My daughter is not suitable. Is Zhaoyang suitable for the marriage alliance? Under the whole sky, Zhaoyang is the one who pleases me the most!"
The court officials knew that the emperor doted on Lu Wanning, but they didn't expect him to dote on her to such an extent. When they mentioned Princess Qingnian before, the emperor wasn't so excited.
After the emperor's outburst of anger, he was out of breath. The eunuch massaged him for a long time before he calmed down a bit. "Lu Hongxi! Go, go to the post - station now and kill that Zhaobi envoy for me! That tiny Zhaobi dares to covet my daughter..."
As soon as these words were spoken, the court officials were in a panic again. They quickly persuaded the emperor from all sides and finally managed to dissuade him from killing the Zhaobi envoy immediately.
Some court officials urged Lu Hongxi. "Your Highness, you are the great marshal. You should come up with a plan!"
Lu Hongxi was also in a complete mess. He could only kneel down and say, "Please calm down, Your Majesty. Give this subject one day to sort things out."
The emperor gradually calmed down and nodded. "Minister Lu, I trust you. Tomorrow, tell me whether we will go to war or not!"
Lu Hongxi looked as pale as death. The emperor's determination to fight was not only because he was reluctant to part with the two princesses, but also because if the Great Zhou really agreed to Zhaobi's demand, it would truly lose face.
Face was nothing compared to family. But what if that face was related to the Great Zhou and its people?
Lu Hongxi prostrated himself on the ground, crying uncontrollably.
One by one, the officials in the great hall retreated. Only the eunuchs who were cleaning remained in the hall. They all looked at Lu Hongxi in the middle, not knowing what to do.
It was Minister Qin who came back after leaving. He bent down and tried to help Lu Hongxi up. "Marshal, the court is over."
Lu Hongxi didn't move. He had asked the emperor for one day, but in fact, he had already made up his mind, a decision between the country and his family. The one - day time he asked for was not for thinking about whether to go to war or not, but for thinking about how to persuade the emperor or how to persuade himself.