In the Zhenghe Hall of the imperial palace, Emperor Qi Hong swept a stack of memorials off the table with a wave of his hand. His eyes blazed with anger as he glared at Qi Rong.
"It's such a critical moment, and yet you still tell me that you can't marry Princess Yuanzhu because of some so - called inappropriate seniority? Look at these memorials! All of them are urging me to quickly arrange the marriage alliance with the Kekqin tribe! The Li State is about to launch a war. If we don't strengthen our alliance with the Kekqin tribe right now, and if they are lured by the Li State, our Liu State will be finished!"
Qi Hong was not exaggerating. The Li State had been constantly trying to win over the Kekqin tribe for years, aiming to break through the north - western gateway of the Liu State and march straight into the Central Plains.
However, for over a hundred years, the Kekqin tribe had maintained a close relationship with the royal family. A marriage alliance would be arranged every twenty years to strengthen their bond.
As a result, the Kekqin tribe and the royal family shared a common hatred for the enemy. They fought side by side with the north - western army of the Liu State, pushing the Li State back step by step.
This year was supposed to be the year for the marriage alliance. But due to Yuan Zhen's act of breaking into the Kunning Palace at night and setting it on fire, not only was the marriage of Princess Yuanzhu, the fifth princess, not arranged, but the relationship between the royal family and the Kekqin tribe had also become tense.
After Yuan Zhen's death, his body was hung above the city gate. Even Princess Lanxin, who had married into the Kekqin tribe, committed suicide to atone for her son's sins.
This had instantly severed the only link between the royal family of the Liu State and the Kekqin tribe, and might have even sown the seeds of hatred in the heart of the Kekqin Khan.
Under normal circumstances, Qi Hong wouldn't have cared about offending the Kekqin tribe. He even thought about completely replacing the Yuan family. But the sudden move of the Li State caught him off guard.
He had no choice but to release Prince Yuan Qi, the eldest prince, back to the Kekqin tribe.
Now, the Kekqin Khan was still alive. If he harbored a grudge against the royal family and chose to ally with the Li State, the throne of the Liu State would be in great danger.
This was why the court officials kept bringing up the matter of arranging a marriage alliance with the Kekqin tribe as soon as possible, with the aim of mending their broken relationship.
Qi Hong had hesitated for a long time before choosing Qi Rong. On the one hand, the queen had strongly opposed the crown prince's marriage alliance with the Kekqin tribe, even risking his anger. On the other hand, Princess Yuanzhu had once come to him and declared that she would only marry Prince Xian, Qi Rong.
At first, he was reluctant. But now that the situation was urgent, he had to make a decision and hoped that the two could get married soon. He never expected that Qi Rong would be the stumbling block!
They all had their own tempers and didn't even listen to his words as the emperor!
Seeing that the emperor was on the verge of a violent outburst, Qi Rong remained calm. His eyes were deep as he said in a calm tone,
"Your Majesty, the marriage alliance is just a superficial formality. It means nothing in the face of interests. Take our elder sister's husband for example. He was also from the Li State, and they formed a marriage alliance with the Liu State to seek peace. What happened then?"
Didn't they still quietly prepare for twenty years, ignoring this marriage alliance, just for this war?
"I'm confident that even without this marriage alliance with the Kekqin tribe, I can still make them serve us whole - heartedly. Moreover, our relationship will be even stronger than before, which was maintained by the marriage alliance."
Qi Rong spoke with such confidence that Emperor Qi Hong was somewhat tempted.
"How do you plan to do it?"
The emperor narrowed his eyes and stared intently at Qi Rong.
He thought that as long as Qi Rong really had a way to firmly tie the Kekqin tribe to the service of the royal family of the Liu State, the marriage alliance didn't matter.
"Please allow me to lead the troops in this battle as the commander - in - chief!"
Qi Rong's voice was sonorous and his momentum was overwhelming, which made the emperor stunned for a moment.
"You want to go to the battlefield?!"
Seeing Qi Rong nod seriously, the emperor fell into deep thought.
He had never doubted Qi Rong's ability, and Qi Rong was the most useful weapon in his hands.
However, this weapon was sharp. While it could be invincible when pointed at the enemy, it could also be dangerous if it turned against him.
Therefore, while using Qi Rong, the emperor also tried his best to guard against him. In particular, he didn't want Qi Rong to get his hands on military power.
Moreover, the north - western border used to be the territory of Qi Rong's grandfather, the old Duke of Luo. Although the old duke was dead and the emperor's people had taken over the north - western army, the Luo family was no longer a force to be reckoned with.
However, Qi Rong now said that he wanted to be the commander - in - chief of this battle, which meant that he would have military power for a period of time. This made the emperor hesitate.
"Your Majesty, if you're worried about me leading the troops, you can arrange other generals to follow me and discuss the battle strategies with me. The situation is urgent. We don't have much time to hesitate!"
Qi Rong's words made the hesitant emperor clench his fist. He stared at Qi Rong seriously and sharply,
"I'm asking you, what's your purpose for choosing to go to war this time? You must answer truthfully."
If Qi Rong said that he was doing it for the country and the people without any selfish motives, he would never believe it.
He knew how cruel and cold - blooded Qi Rong used to be. Even when killing people in front of him, Qi Rong never showed a trace of hesitation.
Hearing the emperor's words, a faint smile appeared on Qi Rong's lips.
"Sure enough, nothing can be hidden from Your Majesty."
Then Qi Rong told the emperor his purpose. The emperor frowned immediately after hearing it.
"That's the residence of your fifth elder brother. Are you sure you want that mansion?"
Since Prince Huai was exposed by Qi Rong last time, he had been severely punished by the emperor and had a lot of silver confiscated. Now he only had that mansion left. Was Qi Rong's purpose for going to war this time actually that mansion?
This surprised the emperor.
Facing the emperor's doubt, Qi Rong remained firm and replied without hesitation,
"I've taken a fancy to that mansion for a long time. I must get it! I've discussed it with the fifth elder brother many times and even offered him a large sum of money, but he refused to let it go. So I dare to make this request to Your Majesty."
At first, the emperor couldn't understand Qi Rong's obsession with that mansion. But then he suddenly remembered that the mansion where Prince Huai lived now used to be the residence of the former crown prince outside the palace.
He looked at Qi Rong meaningfully and pondered for a long time before saying,
"It's not impossible, but on one condition: you must win!"
So, even if Qi Rong wanted to keep the old things of the dead, it didn't matter.
Thinking like this, the emperor had already silently agreed to Qi Rong's request to go to war. He quickly set the time for one month later.
After the court had discussed the strategies for this battle, gathered the troops, and arranged the first batch of supplies for the war, Qi Rong would set off from the capital.
At this moment, Yun Xi was sitting by the window, propping her chin, enjoying the cool breeze and looking at the red clouds in the sky, silently waiting for Qi Rong to return home.
The moment she saw Qi Rong through the window, she immediately put on her shoes and rushed out.
"You're finally back! What did the emperor summon you to the palace for?"
Yun Xi looked worried. She looked up at Qi Rong's solemn expression. After waiting impatiently for a moment, Qi Rong suddenly smiled,
"The Li State has deployed 200,000 troops near the border of the Liu State. I'm going to lead the troops to war in a month."