Chapter 820
“I wonder what brilliant plan the Princess of Zhen might have. Why don’t you tell us?”
As soon as Xiao Rongyan finished speaking, the King of Xihuai nodded repeatedly, “Yes, if the Princess of Zhen has a brilliant plan, please do share. I would be immensely grateful!”
“Since it is the Wei Kingdom waging war against the Yan Kingdom, Wei must put forth more effort towards Yan! For instance, as the King of Xihuai previously mentioned about seeking peace… What price is Wei prepared to pay for peace?” she asked.
“When Wei sought peace, we explicitly stated to the Yan Kingdom that we would cede all the territories and cities that the Yan Kingdom had already conquered, and also cede all territories north of Chang City, just to beseech the Liang Kingdom to stop waging war so that the people can recuperate and avoid suffering! But… the Yan Kingdom still refuses to cease hostilities and is determined to destroy Wei! I…”
“Regarding diplomatic relations, can Wei make any further concessions?” she asked.
“As long as we can stop the war, Wei is even willing to privately submit to the Yan Kingdom, but Yan still refuses.”
“Then take another step back and declare submission and tribute.” She turned her gaze to the King of Xihuai and said, “Announce to the world that Wei is willing to submit to the Yan Kingdom and pay tribute every year… Just to cease hostilities so that the people can recuperate!”
“Sub… submit and pay tribute?!” The King of Xihuai’s face turned pale, feeling greatly humiliated, “To the Yan Kingdom?!”
Xiao Rongyan loosened his grip on his garment and followed up on the King of Xihuai’s words, “Two years ago, the Yan Kingdom was still a humble little nation under the feet of the great powers. Now the Princess of Zhen wants our Wei to submit to such a small country? The King of Xihuai mentioned privately submitting to Yan, which is already a profound humiliation for Wei… Even more so to declare submission and pay tribute.”
“Yet, it is exactly these small countries that have beaten Wei to the brink of annihilation!” she looked at Xiao Rongyan, “Surely Wei once stood proud due to its geographical advantage, but the times change swiftly. If Wei remains immersed in the past, priding itself as a powerful state, its destruction is only a matter of time.”
She redirected her gaze back to the King of Xihuai, “Consider the Yan Kingdom once when it was overwhelmed by the Jin Kingdom, it too submitted and paid tribute. Did Yan not feel a great humiliation? But one must survive before becoming strong! Now that Yan has recovered, isn’t it equally bringing Wei to its knees?”
The King of Xihuai looked hesitant.
Xiao Rongyan saw that the King of Xihuai seemed persuaded, so he lightly smiled and remarked, “The Princess of Zhen’s words are reasonable, yet as a person of Wei, I cannot bear to see my homeland suffer such humiliation. Clearly, we could seek the aid of other nations; why take such a degrading path? Also, I know the Princess of Zhen harbors ambitions to conquer all nations, so it’s not surprising to question… whether persuading the King of Xihuai has ulterior motives.”
The King of Xihuai looked at Xiao Rongyan and felt reassured, realizing Xiao Rongyan, being a Wei native, was considering the interests of his homeland even if it meant opposing his fiancée.
Upon hearing this, Bai Qingyan turned to Xiao Rongyan, calmly saying, “Without the resilience to endure hardship and humiliation, how can one aspire to restore the country and exert all efforts to strengthen it? How can there be any future achievements? I urge Wei to declare its submission and willingness to pay tribute to Yan; if Yan then still insists on destroying Wei, it will become the target of all, would Yan not weigh its options?”
She sighed softly, picked up her teacup, used the lid to press down the floating tea leaves, and took a sip, continuing, “Indeed, it’s true that I have the ambition to conquer all nations and have never hidden it! Surely… by preventing Yan from destroying Wei for now, Yan cannot eliminate obstacles, thus cannot confidently compete for dominance of the Central Plains, which benefits my Jin Kingdom’s ultimate unification! But this way, Wei can also temporarily preserve its state, isn’t this a win-win situation?”
She looked at Xiao Rongyan, “Rong Yan, being a native of Wei, are you truly willing to let your homeland be destroyed for the sake of dignity? Perhaps if given a chance, Wei could rise again, who can say for certain? After all, everyone can compete… who will ultimately succeed, we shall see.”
“I don’t dare say the Princess of Zhen’s plan is bad, but if we can seek the help of the Rong King’s Ghost-faced Prince or the Jin Kingdom’s aid, coercing Yan to stop the war, wouldn’t that be better? Why insist on the degrading path of submission and tribute?” Xiao Rongyan looked at the King of Xihuai and asked with a smile, “Even in the worst-case scenario… if both Jin and the Rong refuse to help, it wouldn’t be too late to consider submission and tribute then. What does the king think?”
“Rong Yan’s words are reasonable!” The King of Xihuai cupped his hands towards Bai Qingyan, “I know the Princess of Zhen means well, and since the Princess of Zhen cannot guarantee the Jin Kingdom’s assistance for Wei, for the sake of my homeland, I am willing to go to Hancheng to meet the Ghost-faced Prince. If it doesn’t work out… we can talk about submission and tribute later.”
Bai Qingyan’s main purpose today was to confirm if there were spies around A Yu. She didn’t mind whether the King of Xihuai would go to see A Yu or whether he would submit to the Yan Kingdom.
“In that case, it seems I was meddling…” Bai Qingyan placed the teacup on the table beside her.
“Please don’t blame me, Princess of Zhen. Originally… I thought I could ask the Princess of Zhen to intercede with the Jin Crown Prince, but just now Rong Yan analyzed for me that the Jin Kingdom is determined to conquer the Liang Kingdom to lay the foundation for future unification, so it definitely won’t split its focus to aid Wei. Although Wei has no ambition to dominate or unify the world, neither the Wei Empress Dowager nor the Emperor, nor myself, wants Wei to become a vassal state during our generation. If so… how could we ever face our ancestors after death?”
The King of Xihuai’s words were sincere, and his eyes were red.
“I understand the King of Xihuai’s sentiments, so try it first, but from my perspective, it’s unlikely the Rong will assist Wei militarily. The Rong tribe’s territory is not contiguous with Wei. They would either have to pass through Xiliang or the Jin Kingdom, and the Rong are not adept at long-distance warfare.”
“Therefore, I still hope the Jin Kingdom could provide some assistance when the time comes!” The King of Xihuai replied quickly, bowing deeply to Bai Qingyan, “Initially, I planned to seek the Ghost-faced Prince’s agreement first, and then ask Rong Yan to help connect with you, Princess. Since you mentioned it first, I will plead with you on behalf of Wei right now.”
“It’s not a difficult task, just that… I’m afraid Wei won’t hold on until that time! Based on my calculations of the Yan Army’s march, I estimate by now… the armies led by Yan General Xie Xun and Prince Murong Ping might have already joined forces, and soon… perhaps even now, have reached the outskirts of Chang City!” She lowered her gaze, her fingers stroking the armrest of her chair, “Even if Wei sends out famed generals… how long can Great General Song Guanxu defend?”