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Sun Liang sat back on the dragon throne and said, "Li Ai-qing, you may rise. I know you are considering matters for the country, and I am well aware of the situation with the Ma Family, so you need not worry too much. Today, I have a task for you. Will you accept it?"
Li Yu was already frightened and quickly bowed his head in submission, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty. As long as Your Majesty trusts me, I will do my utmost to serve the country."
"That's good. Li Yu, I now appoint you as the Imperial Envoy of Starfall Kingdom. The negotiations with Huaxing Kingdom will be entrusted to you. I hope you will not disappoint me."
"Um... Thank you, Your Majesty. I will certainly give it my all."
"Very well, you may leave now. Remember, you only have two days. I want your response by tomorrow evening."
"Understood."
"Does any other minister have matters to address? If not, you may disperse."
Sun Liang turned and returned to his harem, while the others, including Cui Wenwu, went back to their residences. Li Yu wore a distressed expression; he had originally hoped to use this opportunity to move to Liu Guanfeng's side but ended up putting himself in a precarious position instead. It was impossible to negotiate a favorable outcome in just two days. Especially regarding such matters, upon returning home, Li Yu began making arrangements for his future.
He knew he had offended all members of the Liu Family during court today. Given the current influence of the Liu Family, it could be said that he had offended all military factions as well. However, the most critical issue was that he had angered His Majesty Sun Liang. If he failed to handle this matter properly, his only outcome would be death. Thus, after returning home, he started planning for his future affairs.
After dismissing all his children that evening, Li Yu brought some gifts to the Post House.
Two days later, Li Yu arrived at Sun Liang's study feeling exhausted. Sun Liang looked at him coldly and asked, "Li Ai-qing, how did things go?"
Li Yu knelt before Sun Liang with tears streaming down his face and said, "Your Majesty, I truly did my best. However, the envoys from Huaxing are unyielding; I really have no way to proceed."
Sun Liang nodded and replied, "Well then, this matter no longer concerns you. You may leave."
Upon hearing this, Li Yu was taken aback; he had thought Sun Liang would surely punish him but was surprised when Sun Liang allowed him to leave instead.
"Why haven't you left yet?" Sun Liang asked when he saw that Li Yu had not moved.
Li Yu quickly expressed his gratitude, saying, "I thank Your Majesty." He then stood up and left the study.
Just as Li Yu exited, two figures emerged from behind the screen: General Liu Guanlei and Old Chancellor Cui Jinchong.
"Your Majesty, why did you let that scoundrel go?" Liu Guanlei was quite displeased with Li Yu's suggestion to hand over his own brother in court.
Sun Liang smiled slightly. "General Liu, he is still a Chief Steward in business. If I were to dismiss him or arrest him outright, it would make me seem petty. As long as he remains by my side, given his character, it is impossible for him not to make mistakes. When that time comes, no one will be able to help him. By the way, General Liu, I heard there is a very good Merchant Guild in the city called the Huaxia Chamber of Commerce."
Cui Jinchong nodded in agreement. "I have heard of it too. The President of this Merchant Guild is quite capable; he seems to have connections with the Blacksmith Guild in Guardian City. The armor and weapons sold by their Merchant Guild are top-notch and hard to find elsewhere. Even I have gone there to buy equipment for my guards."
Liu Guanlei scratched his head. "To be honest, Your Majesty, I have known about this Merchant Guild for a long time because it was established by my Third Brother."
Sun Liang's eyes lit up. "Oh? I didn't expect Liu Jianyan to have such connections and be able to reach out to the Blacksmith Guild."
"Have you heard of the former President of the Blacksmith Guild, Qifeng Ge?"
"Qifeng Ge? It is said that he is currently the only master-level blacksmith in our great land."
"Exactly. He is actually my Third Brother's senior apprentice, which makes him my senior apprentice as well."
"No wonder Liu Jianyan knows people from the Blacksmith Guild; it turns out there is such a connection between you. Is that Merchant Guild currently managed by Liu Jianyan?"
"Not exactly; the one managing the Merchant Guild is a classmate of my Third Brother named Platinum Wen. This person has a keen business mind and has managed to grow the Merchant Guild significantly in just a few years."
"General Liu, what do you think about having this Platinum Wen come to the Ministry of Commerce as Vice Leader?"
Liu Guanlei appeared momentarily stunned; he did not expect Sun Liang to open with such a high-ranking position. "Your Majesty, I will first express my gratitude to you on behalf of Platinum Wen for your kindness. I will speak to him about this matter later. If we can indeed have this young man join the Ministry of Commerce, then our country's trade volume will increase."
Sun Liang nodded. "Then it's settled. Find him and have him accompany you to court; I will confer a title upon him at that time."
"Understood."
"Your Majesty, how should we respond to the Hua Xing Envoy tomorrow?" Old Chancellor stepped forward to inquire.
Sun Liang laughed heartily. "What else can we do? We already discussed this when they didn't come before, right? We will simply refuse them outright."
The next day during the morning court session, the first order of business was to deal with the envoy from the Hua Xing Empire. Sun Liang sat upright on his dragon throne as the Summoner announced, "Your Majesty, the envoy from Huaxing Kingdom has arrived."
"Please let them in."
"The Emperor commands the envoy from Huaxing Kingdom to enter the hall."
This time, two individuals entered the hall; aside from Han Xiao and Gao Yuchen, all other guards remained outside.
The two approached the center of the hall and bowed towards Sun Liang. "Envoy Han Xiao of Huaxing Kingdom greets Your Majesty."
"Envoy Han, your journey to Starfall Kingdom must have been arduous. I hope you have rested well over these past three days?"
"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. We rested well. I wonder if you have considered our five questions that we initially raised?"
Sun Liang nodded. "I have thought it over seriously during these past few days regarding the questions you posed."
"Then please provide us with a response, Your Majesty."
"Well, my answer is very simple: I disagree. If you Hua Xing want to come and attack my Starfall Kingdom, just come over. If it comes to it, we can face annihilation, but don't expect me to yield—it's a dream," Sun Liang's expression changed abruptly. This shift caught Han Xiao off guard as well; he had originally thought Sun Liang wanted to negotiate with him, especially since he had sent someone to discuss matters a few days ago, but Han Xiao was unwilling to talk without Sun Liang present. However, they did not anticipate that Sun Liang, who had just been amiable, would suddenly turn hostile, and his tone was very firm.
After a moment of shock, Han Xiao coldly smiled and said, "Your Majesty, won't you reconsider? The entire court of Cui Wenwu could lose their lives because of your words."
"I have already made myself very clear. I have considered it thoroughly and do not need to think any further. If you Hua Xing want to fight, then come on; we Starfall Kingdom will accept it."
At this moment, Gao Yuchen stepped in front of Han Xiao, pointing at Sun Liang: "Alright, your Small Nation king, we have treated you with courtesy as a superior faction, but you truly do not know what is good for you. Since that's the case, let me see what kind of talents your Starfall Kingdom has. Are there any generals in the palace who dare to fight me?"
The purpose of Gao Yuchen's visit was to find a venue for his master and also to protect Han Xiao's safety. Since negotiations had broken down between both sides, there was no choice but to turn hostile. His words were based on his previous views of the Starfall Kingdom. He had visited before when Sun Yong treated him like a brother, but now he encountered a major setback. As the second disciple of Xiahou Zhongtian, his strength had already reached the peak of an Advanced Knight. Facing these generals and guards of the Starfall Kingdom, who were mostly only at the level of Advanced Knight, would be too easy for him.
As long as he defeated all the generals of the Starfall Kingdom, Sun Liang would have no choice but to agree to his demands. At that time, his status in front of Ye Liuchuxing would also rise significantly.
With that thought in mind, Gao Yuchen grabbed Han Xiao's hand and walked outside, reaching his envoy team and retrieving his Greatsword from among the guards, standing in the center of the plaza.
Meanwhile, Sun Liang sat in his grand hall: "Which minister can teach this madman a lesson and let him know that my Starfall Kingdom is not without its people?"
The military officials immediately began discussing candidates for battle, but after considering their own abilities, everyone ultimately declined. Currently, almost all the generals in the Starfall Kingdom were only at the level of Intermediate Knight, with very few being true Advanced Knights. Even those who were at that level had just recently broken through. Outside, however, stood Gao Yuchen, a peak Advanced Knight. Thus, all the generals shook their heads in acknowledgment of their inadequacy. At this moment, everyone's gaze turned toward the front row of military officials where two brothers stood.
However, when everyone looked at these two brothers, they realized that neither had any intention of stepping forward. Others thought about it and agreed; currently in the entire Starfall Kingdom, only Liu Guanfeng possessed strength sufficient to reliably defeat Gao Yuchen. No one else could truly compete.
What they did not know was that the reason Liu Guanlei and Liu Guanyu were reluctant to engage was that they felt they were simply not on the same level as Gao Yuchen. Right now, there was no way for them to withstand even one of his attacks.
Seeing that the two brothers did not intend to take action and realizing that none of the military officials behind him felt confident about winning this battle either, Sun Liang turned to ask for advice from Liu Guanlei: "General Liu, who do you think would be suitable for battle?"
Stepping forward, Liu Guanlei replied: "Your Majesty, today Lord Liu Jianyan sent his personal guard Cui Jinchong along with me to court; he is currently waiting outside. I believe having him fight would be most appropriate."
At this moment, someone stepped out from among the officials: "Your Majesty, this is absolutely unacceptable. That person is merely a household guard and not an official general in court. If we send him out there, I fear that people from Hua Xing will mock our kingdom for lacking capable individuals. Please consider this carefully."
Liu Guanlei turned to look at the Official, whose name was Jiao Rui. His daughter, Jiao Meiniang, was the wife of Ma Weiwu, but Ma Dabao had been arrested for treason. Fortunately, there was no collective punishment system in place; otherwise, he, as her father, could easily have been implicated.
Now, Jiao Meiniang cried every day in his residence, which made him hate the Liu Family even more. He had never found an opportunity until today when he saw a chance to intervene.
Liu Guanlei knew who he was dealing with and coldly remarked, "If you're afraid of embarrassment, then you should go."
At this moment, Jiao Rui puffed out his chest and said, "I am a civil official. If your general truly cannot find anyone, what is wrong with me going? Worst case scenario, I die. At that point, I can show Hua Xing's people that we in Starfall Kingdom are not afraid of death."
"Very well. Are you not afraid of bringing shame to our country?"
"I would not be embarrassed if a mere Official went out and defeated them."
"Enough of your arguing. We all saw the strength of Cui Jinchong back then; he truly possesses the courage of ten thousand men but does not like to serve in the court. If he is willing, I can still grant him a general's position now. Moreover, I believe he is the most suitable candidate. Jiao Rui, you need not dispute this any further; my decision is made. Summon Cui Jinchong to the court."
Before long, Cui Jinchong arrived outside the main hall. After receiving Sun Liang's summons, he walked to the center of the hall and knelt down on both knees, saying, "Commoner Cui Jinchong pays respects to Your Majesty."
"Rise," said the Emperor. "Thank you, Your Majesty."
"Cui Jinchong, there are envoys from Huaxing Kingdom outside who wish to spar with our country. General Liu Guanlei has recommended you. Do you have confidence in defeating them?"
Cui Jinchong had seen Gao Yuchen at the door earlier and had heard about his strength over the past few days. Thus, he replied, "Please rest assured, Your Majesty; Commoner has full confidence."
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