C3

The Xia Emperor was already infuriated by Su Jin's actions, he didn't expect the Emperor to be so staunch. After three consecutive days of issuing thirteen edicts, he urged Su Jin to use Mu Yun Chang and this child as hostages to force Ling Tian Ji to surrender.

He, Xia Yu, knew very well that the Eastern Emperor needed a victory to stabilize the hearts and minds of the powerful and influential clans in the imperial city.

But Su Jin was such a heroic figure, how could she use an infant as a bargaining chip! Moreover, this baby was not only related to the success or failure of the Northern Chasm, but also something very important to him, Su Jin.

Su Jin looked at the latest secret report from the Qiushan Intelligence Division and clenched his fists tightly.

Before the match, Ling Tian Ji, Shui Yan and the three armies were defeated as the Vermillion Bird of Grand Xia retreated under the Dragon Seals. Ling Tian Ji's power was unrivalled, and with thirty thousand copper blood wolves, she was able to push back the one hundred thousand troops and horses of the fifteen kingdoms of Grand Xia, filling the mountains and rivers with her energy!

Su Jin let out a long sigh and turned around to look at Bei Shan. Her eyes were filled with hatred. Why did the heroes of this world happen to be born in the era of Ling Tian Ji's sword?

The Northern Lion was indeed worthy of being a famous general.

"All the heroes in the world are trembling under the attack of Ling Tianni's sword!"

Su Jin clenched her fists tightly. Although he had already guessed that the Vermilion Bird of Grand Xia might not be able to fend off the Northern Lion, he had never imagined that this lion would be victorious so quickly. This also caused his plans for the later stages of the battle to be completely disrupted. The situation of this battle quickly reversed, and the alliance army that lost greatly were likely to withdraw from his side!

This child had become the only straw that allowed them to turn the tables on the dukes.

However, this infant was stepped on by a war horse. His entire body was scarlet and ice-cold, and his breathing was extremely weak. He would definitely be on the brink of death and would have no strength to turn back the heavens.

If she really died in his palace, even if he, Su Jin, had the emperor's amnesty, it would still be difficult for him to tell the ten marquis!

Thinking about this, Su Jin steeled her heart, and shouted towards the outside, "Send orders to the three guards of the Demon Area, Hubei Qiu Mountain City will issue an eight hundred mile ban, and any organisation that enters will be killed without pardon!"

A pair of hours later.

Outside Phoenix Palace, the cold moon was immaculate and the frost had once again descended.

Unknowingly, a light snowfall had suddenly begun to fall outside the palace. Ever since the 'Summer Season', the climate of the Northern Lands had become slightly abnormal. The four seasons were not in tune, and the June snowfall and the summer frost fall were common events.

There were many attendants in the palace who were adding charcoal to the fire. The old imperial physician stood by the side and kept wiping the sweat off his forehead. His palms were cold.

"What use does this marquis need you for? You have already ruined this miraculous, rotten spiritual medicine!" Su Jin who was wearing a full body armor turned around and scolded, her expression was cold as she looked at the group of officials around her.

"This old official … "This old official …"

The old doctor who was kneeling at Su Jin's feet hesitated. He didn't know what to do, but before he could open his mouth, an armored warrior rushed into the room and threw himself into the palace with one knee.

"We pay our respects to the noble king. The envoys sent by the Eastern Flower Kingdom's duke request for an audience. They said that they have come under His Majesty's decree to meet with him."

With the clang of the armor, the entire palace fell into silence.

No one had thought that at such a critical time, the Duke of Donghua's envoy would actually come in accordance with the king's decree!

They had long since heard that a few days ago, there was an Lan Tai command stating this matter. They praised Dong Hua for donating taxes to the royal family and proposed to raise his position as a marquis of the Eastern Flower Country to that of a public official.

The four kingdoms in the north were restricted by the many noble clans, and the Su Clan had long since stepped on the thin ice. However, the second marquis was no longer able to control the distribution of power in the north.

Moreover, Hubei and Donghua are only separated by a mountain, how can a mountain contain two tigers?

In the past, Donghua was weak and had no choice but to rely on Hubei's military might. Every year, it would ask Hubei to send troops to protect the merchants in the past for a million baht.

However, since three years ago, the "Ten Tax Regime of Da Xia" had suddenly been promulgated and the previous Eight Tax Regime had been abolished. The first tax collector from the royal family was Donghua.

Although the strength of the East Flower Martial Arts was not obvious, it was still an important business area north of the Inner Sea. The disciples of the influential families often fought with their chickens and dogs, and the aristocratic families had many servants.

In order to meet the financial needs of the Eastern Emperor's Northern Channels, the Eastern Flower County's magistrate took this opportunity to transport dozens of heavily loaded merchant ships to the capital's port overnight. Just the amount of tax collected per month is one million gold coins per month.

Dong Hua even sent over ten officials to the imperial capital to privately invite a group of officials to a banquet. Not long after Emperor Wen Shao ascended to the throne, the last remnants of the previous dynasty's aura of greed had yet to be cleansed, and it was even greater than that of the previous dynasty.

"Si Ji's actions, I'm afraid he can no longer hold himself back, can't he?"

Su Jin knew in her heart that even though the Eastern Flower County's county magistrate was respectful to him on the surface, but he had already secretly thought of replacing the Li Kingdom. He, Dong Hua, wanted to become the sole vassal force north of Grand Xia's Hanhai City.

After all, the Su Clan had suffered a few defeats in the past few years. Their reputation within the capital was not as great as before.

Because of this, the ministers in the imperial court had already split into two factions, attacking each other. The sect was dominated by the old officials who had been on good terms with Su Jin. Most of them came from the military and had once been in the same boat as Su Jin. The other faction was mainly composed of the Eastern Palace officials and the secretaries. Most of them were the senior officials under Emperor Wen Shao.

Su Jin had written to them a few times. Her original intention was to calm down this matter. After all, this was the critical time of the Northern Chasm. However, he did not expect that this matter would instead be used as an excuse for the two factions to fight. It even swept through more than half of the capital's aristocratic families.

The Emperor had sent him to be the vanguard of the north, and also sent Xia Yushi to be the minister in charge of supervising the army. He might have had the intention of giving her a warning.

Thinking of this, Su Jin's eyebrows wrinkled and her gaze turned even colder.

The old imperial physician looked at those tiger-like eyes and his heart skipped a beat. He didn't dare to say anything else and bowed down, but then he saw Su Jin extend her hand to stop them.

After a long while, only four words were left behind, "To save him with all your might!"

The old doctor was stunned, he dared not look at him directly, and quickly led the others to bow their heads and reply, "This official will do everything in my power to save the Crown Prince's life … I will not disappoint the request of the Marquis! "

The side palace, Hua Fangchi. The officials of Hubei Prefecture are all seated.

The maidservant raised the fire sickle, lighting up the thirty-eight chandeliers around the side hall in succession. The firelight illuminated the elegant interior and exterior of the palace.

"Where is the envoy sent by Dong Hua?" Su Jin, who was sitting high up in the seat, leaned her head on her hands and asked softly.

Only then did the officials return to their senses as whispers could be heard from within the palace.

"Reporting to the Lord, only the envoy has passed through the gates." Liu Shiyu bowed and replied.

A young armored general was deep in thought, his heart was filled with waves of shock. He sat upright and slowly spoke to the official, "Who is this Eastern Flower Country's Marquis that has come this time? "He actually dares to claim that he has received the royal decree. His family has come to Hubei to scheme for a friendship, and he probably has the backing of the royal family. He is even more afraid of hearing that news!"

"Dong Hua is merely a despicable country on the east side of the Royal Territory. He is neither a legitimate member of the Da Xia Empire, nor a marquis like Shang Yue or Xi Chu who relied on the bravery of their ancestors and used two sharp blades to force their way through the mountains and rivers. With just a few bewitching methods, he managed to gain the favor of the Emperor, yet now, he is taking advantage of the situation to order our Li Kingdom's subjects around!"

The few of them spoke with disdain. How dare a country lord who was about to perish call himself a vassal? He was truly arrogant.

The purplish brown clothed old man suddenly stood out from the crowd, tidied up his clothes, cupped his hands, bowed towards Su Jin and said softly: "This old official thinks, the Marquis cannot lower his guard, although this Dong Hua has only been established for a hundred years, and is the youngest of the sixteen kingdoms in Da Xia Empire, it is only a matter of time before his country perishes, but the heavens have let the curtain fall, allowing Dong Hua to have a Xiao Tian Jie! This person had presented the "Seven Destructive strategies" before the Xia Emperor's pill furnace, and had said that with these seven strategies, he would be able to decimate anyone under the heavens, thus gaining the trust of the Eastern Emperor. "Now, even this little Dong Hua is relying on His Majesty's power to send his officials and tour the countries to scheme for friendship. However, all of this represents the royal decree of the royal family!"

The palace gradually quieted down. When the many officials heard the old man's words, a profound look appeared in their eyes.

"Lord Jun, I'm afraid that the envoy from Donghua was here at this time because he did not come with good intentions. It's likely that he heard the rumors and found out that the Northern Princess and her young son were in his hands. He's here to investigate the situation, but he's afraid that they might have ulterior motives!" The young officer from before stood up with a worried look on his face.