Rebirth: The Journey of an Heiress-Chapter 1591 - 1586: Speaking Truthfully

Ren Shijie glanced at the painting screen, then said, "The mistake of the Yan Kingdom is undeniable. The Emperor of Zhou has compassion for the people, and naturally, our Emperor of Yan does as well. Therefore... upon setting out, His Majesty and the Regent Prince both told me that as long as the sword and war can be stopped, the Yan Kingdom... is willing to submit to Zhou and pay tribute! We only wish for the people to no longer suffer the pains of war!"

With this said, Ren Shijie took a step forward, pulling out another national letter from his bosom and held it high above his head: "This is the revised national letter that I redrafted on the way to meet the Emperor of Zhou, already sealed with the imperial seal and the Regent Prince’s seal. Please, Your Majesty, have a look."

Bai Jinzhi looked toward Bai Qingyan.

The Minister of Revenue of Yan, upon seeing Ren Shijie present the national letter, quickly withdrew his own letter and stepped back, inevitably feeling a sense of desolation.

The Yan Kingdom... ultimately has to come to this point.

Bai Qingyan tapped her fingers on the table, speculating... if Murong Li is even willing to retreat to the point of being willing to submit and pay tribute to Zhou, then Zhou must have room to push further.

It seems that Murong Li has indeed made a great decision.

After a long while, she spoke: "I have known Mr. Ren for many years, and I have always thought of him as a reticent person. I never imagined... Mr. Ren could be so eloquent."

Wei Zhong observed that Bai Qingyan didn’t intend to look at the Yan national letter, so he remained standing behind her without moving.

"I... clumsy in speech, unworthy of the term ’eloquent’, merely speaking truthfully." Ren Shijie lowered his head further, appearing increasingly respectful.

"I will not read the national letter!" Bai Qingyan’s tone was gentle, without the intention of making things difficult for Ren Shijie, but there was a detectable sense of regret, "The Yan Emperor once proposed to gamble the state with Zhou, and I agreed! But seeing Yan Kingdom like this now, he can’t even control Yan, let alone gamble the state with me?"

Ren Shijie looked at the carpet beneath his feet. Before he came... he had already guessed that it might end this way, which was why he had discussed things once privately with Murong Li.

"Originally, the gambling on the state with Yan did not stipulate that the loser would pay tribute and submit! Instead, it was agreed to merge into one country. The initial agreement was signed by the Minister of Revenue of Yan, and I think the Minister still has some recollection of it!"

Upon being directly addressed by Bai Qingyan, the Minister of Revenue of Yan quickly bowed deeply in salute.

"It’s clear now that the Emperor of Yan can’t even control Yan itself, let alone win against Zhou in a gamble for the state!" Bai Qingyan looked through the landscape painting screen at Ren Shijie, "Admit defeat, have the Emperor of Yan surrender to Zhou and pledge allegiance!"

The Minister of Revenue of Yan suddenly widened his eyes, stood straight, and spoke, "The period for the gamble has not yet expired..."

"Minister!" Bai Qingjue interrupted the Minister of Revenue’s words, standing up with a slight smile, "If the Yan Kingdom becomes a vassal state of Zhou by paying tribute and submission... what makes you think that we, the grand Zhou, would still be willing to gamble the state with a vassal state?"

The Minister of Revenue of Yan’s face turned pale. It wasn’t that the thought hadn’t crossed his mind; he was merely clinging to a false hope.

"When we initially signed the agreement to gamble on the state, our Zhou had troops pressing the borders, with the sword already at Yan’s throat, and you came to seek a chance, which we provided! This time... without Xiliang’s restraints, our Zhou has trapped the Yan army within our borders, with troops several times more than before penetrating Yan’s territory, and they are all the true elite! The entire Zhou is united, ready to vanquish Yan." Bai Qingjue walked with hands behind back to the side of the Minister of Revenue of Yan, circled half around him and stopped, looking down at the Minister who bowed to him, "What room does Yan have to negotiate with Zhou? Or are you saying... besides wagering on our Emperor’s compassion for his people, does Yan have any other bargaining chips?"

The Minister of Revenue of Yan was drenched in sweat; Yan was not in the right from the start, and now rendered even more shame-faced by this loyal Prince of Zhou’s words. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

He thought the most formidable in Zhou was Liu Rushi but didn’t expect... this loyal Prince possessed a verbal prowess comparable to Liu Rushi’s.

"I present Yan Kingdom with two paths." Bai Qingyan spoke softly, "One... is to pledge allegiance to Zhou; I will accept the court officials of Yan, and properly arrange the Emperor of Yan’s disposition. Naturally... just as Zhou has no vassal prince, Yan cannot be an exception; it’s up to your Emperor of Yan to persuade the vassal princes about this! The second path... is that Zhou’s strong army will annihilate Yan!"

Yan Kingdom really has no choice.

"I give you thirteen days to relay the message back to the Yan capital. Meanwhile, the army I lead will temporarily cease hostilities, and I will send envoys to notify the other three armies to halt their advance on the Yan capital. If there is no response after thirteen days... no matter who Yan sends, no matter what is said, it will be of no use."

The Minister of Revenue of Yan, Ren Shijie, and the Honglu Temple Minister, who dared not speak a word all along, exited the royal tent with troubled faces.

If it were just about pledging allegiance to Zhou, Ren Shijie, who had His Majesty’s words before departure, could have made this decision.

But the Emperor of Zhou also demanded that Yan solve the vassal reduction issue themselves, which complicated things.

"Send someone back to convey the message to His Majesty and the Regent Prince!" Ren Shijie exhaled a long breath as he spoke.

Inside the royal tent, Bai Qingyan also spoke to Bai Jinzhi: "Fourth Brother, you must personally go and catch up with your Second Sister and Fifth Brother before they reach the King of Jian’s fief, and tell them not to advance towards the Yan capital for thirteen days starting today. During these thirteen days... the King of Jian from Yan may make a move, so be vigilant and cautious. If this King of Jian goes to extremes, tell your Second Sister and Third Brother to show no mercy."

Currently, among Zhou’s four advancing armies, the one with Bai Qingjue and Bai Jinxiu was the closest to the Yan capital.

"Then as for Third Brother and Fifth Brother, shall we not notify them?" Bai Qingjue asked.

Bai Qingyan shook her head: "No need, let A Qi and the others proceed normally. If this King of Jian knows that Yan is to submit to Zhou and intends to cut back vassals, he will surely take desperate actions."

Xiao Rongyan, in the Yan capital, will surely understand her meaning when he sees her request.

If Yan surrenders at this time, the issue of vassal reduction might be postponed, potentially leaving future troubles.

Bai Qingyan is not one to welcome hidden troubles, so it’s best to resolve the Yan vassal issue cleanly now.

"Eldest Young Lady, don’t worry! I understand!" Bai Jinzhi nodded, bowing deeply to Bai Qingyan, "I will set out immediately!"

She rose, reaching to stroke Bai Jinzhi’s head as a reminder: "Take more people and horses on your journey and be careful!"

Watching Bai Jinzhi leave the royal tent, Bai Qingjue quietly approached his eldest sister and asked in a low voice, "Eldest Sister, regarding Lu Yuanpeng... should we really not tell Fourth Brother?"

Bai Qingyan clenched her palm, shook her head, and said, "Better not tell her. She’ll find out after the war ends, but for now, let’s not distract her!"

Having said this, she turned her head toward Bai Qingjue and told her brother, "Send envoys to the Tianfeng Kingdom, deliver a war letter, and clearly tell Tianfeng Kingdom... we, Zhou, are already aware of Tianfeng’s dealings with the vassal kings of Yan, and Yan has already submitted a national letter requesting to surrender to Zhou."