Her Majesty Chose Violence, They Chose Her

After the banquet, the envoys from the other six nations departed one after another, leaving only those from Beimeng.

From the Black Sand Country, only the Fourth Prince and a few of his attendants remained. The rest hurried back, as they still had to deliver a National Letter.

As they left the Capital City, 5,000 Black Dragon Cavalry lined both sides of the road. Mounted on their horses, clad in black armor and holding long spears, they were an imposing and solemn sight.

The black banners, emblazoned with golden dragon heads, fluttered in the wind, carrying a sharp, murderous aura.

None of the envoys dared to speak or even look around. They could only travel in silence. It wasn’t until they were a full two li away that they finally felt like they could breathe again.

’This Da Wei is not to be trifled with.’

’Beimeng and Da Wei might go to war. We have to report this back immediately.’

The National Letter to Beimeng was issued by the Ministry of Rites in Xiao Yang’s name, questioning Beimeng’s intentions and rebuking their attitude.

Afterward, the newspapers published what Beimeng had done, enumerating their crimes in detail.

The front-page article was personally written by Prince Jing. He denounced Beimeng for its disrespect toward Her Majesty, launching into a long-winded tirade against their attitude, tone, and utterly dishonorable actions.

Forcing Her Majesty to marry such an ugly man—it was simply inhuman.

He then lavished praise upon the Emperor, describing how pitiful, benevolent, and beautiful "our girl" was. For Beimeng to bully such a wonderful ruler—it was a heinous crime.

The article briefly mentioned the incident where seven men from Beimeng couldn’t defeat Li Wei and even tried a sneak attack, but that was a minor detail. The important thing was that Her Majesty had been wronged.

People have a benevolent trait etched into their very being: they sympathize with others, especially when the strong show weakness.

Regardless of their own status, once people hear that someone of high standing has suffered a tragedy, everyone expresses their sympathy.

And who was showing weakness now? The Emperor.

Their Emperor, Her Majesty, the poor Little Emperor, unloved by her father and mother. She had finally gained power, and the first thing she did was root out corrupt officials. What a good child she was.

And now she was being bullied?

The Emperor killed many people before? They were all bad people.

The Emperor killed someone with her own hands? That person was trying to assassinate her. He deserved to die.

The Emperor is a ruthless killer, cruel and cold-blooded? All rumors!

How could a pitiful little girl do such bloody things?

Even if the Emperor did do it, it was because those people were in the wrong. If she didn’t have some tricks up her sleeve, she would have been bullied to death long ago.

Especially now that people knew their opinions could be published in the newspaper, potentially earning them a chance to become court officials. To curry favor, they all firmly stood with the Emperor. They analyzed Beimeng’s sinister motives from every conceivable angle, declaring that Beimeng was as detestable as human nature was ugly.

Imprisoning the Beimeng envoys did nothing to stop the people’s hatred. One by one, they threw stones, tiles, and even horse and cow dung into the prison.

The Patrol Camp guards couldn’t stop them even if they tried.

Even more amusingly, the men from Beimeng encountered the few West Rong people who were still left.

Xirong was the last nation to provoke the Da Wei Empress. Now their country was destroyed, and these few men had yet to return home.

The Prince of Xirong, in particular, had been cremated, his ashes placed in an urn, and was just left there on display.

Everything had been fine, but then a stone thrown from outside ricocheted through a window and shattered the urn of ashes.

Tragic, truly tragic!

Looking at the bodies of their own envoys, the Beimeng men felt as if they were seeing their own future.

In truth, the reason these few from Xirong were still around was because Xiao Yang had completely forgotten about them.

With Xirong destroyed, who would even remember its envoys?

The people from the Ministry of Rites remembered, of course, since someone had to bring them food. But with Xirong gone, sending them back had become a problem. Who was going to go through the massive effort of escorting them to the outskirts of White Wolf Mountain?

Who had the time for that?

Beimeng’s National Letter arrived much faster than expected. Its tone was amicable, and it even politely apologized to Xiao Yang. At the same time, they sent a new envoy—this time, it was their Prime Minister.

Xiao Yang read it over and over, frowning. ’This Beimeng is being way too agreeable. If I’d known, I would have just attacked them directly.’

Rong Yin came in. "The latest news is that the Beimeng King has been struck by a sudden, severe illness and likely doesn’t have long to live. The Eldest Prince is currently presiding over the court."

"The Beimeng King has two Great Concubines from two powerful tribes. The children they bore are the strongest contenders for the throne. The previous envoys supported the Second Prince, while the new Prime Minister supports the Eldest Prince. At this critical juncture, neither side should want a war."

Xiao Yang’s eyes lit up. ’Does this mean I can make some outrageous demands?’

The Beimeng envoys were not slow. They arrived on the third day after the National Letter.

The group had spurred their horses on, arriving weary and covered in dust from their journey.

Before they even had a chance to catch their breath, they suddenly noticed that the people of Da Wei were greeting them with looks of utter hatred.

Soldiers, commoners, merchants, and laborers—every one of them stared with eyes full of loathing.

The Beimeng Prime Minister’s heart sank at the sight. He sent a subordinate to inquire, but not only did the man fail to find anything out, he came back having been thoroughly cursed out.

They were cursed for being impolite, shameless, and disrespectful to Her Majesty.

The Beimeng Prime Minister’s heart grew heavy. ’It seems the Da Wei Empress is deeply loved by her people. I must be even more cautious.’

Assistant Minister of Rites Su Beihai and Prince Jing were responsible for receiving the Beimeng Prime Minister. Su Beihai handled matters according to protocol, while Prince Jing gave them a sour look from the moment they met.

He had the previous Beimeng envoys dragged before the Beimeng Prime Minister, pointed at them, and began his interrogation, paying special attention to the one called Mu Ta.

"You send a piece of trash like this over and try to force Her Majesty to accept him. What is the meaning of this?"

"She is *our* Emperor! We have never interfered in such matters, yet you come here and try to dictate them?"

"This is a grave matter. If you don’t give us a satisfactory answer, don’t blame us for being impolite. Our soldiers will personally march on Beimeng to demand justice!"

Although Prince Jing was usually a good-natured old fellow, he was quite imposing when he put on a stern face and started cursing someone out. After all, he was a tall man, held the rank of a Prince, and had the Emperor backing him. He was full of confidence.

Most importantly, the Emperor had mentioned iron mines. He wanted those iron mines!

Seeing the fire in Prince Jing’s eyes, the Beimeng Prime Minister could only bow deeply and offer a most sincere apology, stating that he would present lavish gifts as reparations.

He had brought many precious gems and jades.

Beimeng was not the largest producer of such things, but they still had a considerable amount.

Several large chests of gems looked very valuable indeed.

Prince Jing sneered. "I see you haven’t grasped the situation. The one you need to apologize to is the Emperor of Da Wei, not some little girl who loves pretty things. Don’t think you can fool us with this paltry offering."

The men from Beimeng were confined to the posthouse. Aside from Prince Jing and the Assistant Minister of Rites, they couldn’t see anyone, let alone the Emperor.

As three days passed, the Beimeng Prime Minister grew restless.

Da Wei was in no hurry, but Beimeng could not afford to wait.

If conflict truly erupted on the border, it would be a major disaster.

’But what compensation will it take to satisfy Da Wei?’

He wracked his brain, trying to think of what Beimeng possessed that Da Wei might covet.

Prince Jing’s words echoed in his mind: ’The one you need to apologize to is the Emperor of Da Wei, not some little girl who loves pretty things.’ The Emperor wanted more than just gold and silver. She wanted resources.

Beimeng’s most abundant resource was ore.

"Someone, I wish to see Prince Jing."

Prince Jing went to negotiate with him at a leisurely pace, then laid out his demands for compensation.

Thirty coal mines, ten iron mines, and a swath of uninhabited mountain range.

After reviewing the terms, the Beimeng Prime Minister agreed without a second thought. "Fine. We agree. We will sign the National Letter right now."

Seeing his expression, Prince Jing’s heart sank. ’Damn it, I asked for too little!’

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