pappabearbooks Chapter 346 The Three Pillars of Liyang Kneel Before Qin Mu, Shocking All Nations!!
Chapter 346 The Three Pillars of Liyang Kneel Before Qin Mu, Shocking All Nations!!
Xu Longxiang suddenly turned around, his back to the Imperial Ancestral Temple!
He didn't look at the two figures standing side by side inside the door!
I didn't see the faint smile on her face!
She didn't see Qin Mu raise her hand in mid-air before she slightly turned her head to look at the man!
He didn't see it!
He couldn't bear to look!
He was afraid that once he saw it, he wouldn't be able to resist!
He was afraid that if he looked, he would rush in, grab her hand, and say to her—Come with me!!!
He was afraid that if he looked at it, he would forget those plans, forget those late nights, forget those days and nights of gritting his teeth, clenching his fists, suppressing all his anger and resentment, and telling himself "wait a little longer, endure a little longer"!
He was afraid that if he took one look, all his efforts would be in vain!
He strode towards the edge of the square!
His steps were heavy and sluggish, each step feeling like walking on a knife's edge!
Behind us, the sound of bells and drums continued, each one more urgent and louder than the last!
The sound chased after him, like a tide, like a storm, like a thousand troops trampling across a stone bridge!
He didn't turn around!
He will never look back!!!
He simply walked step by step, out of the square, out of that golden, festive atmosphere that had nothing to do with him!
There's still a chance!!!
There must still be a chance!!!
He gritted his teeth and roared at himself in his heart!
He turned around and walked out of the square!
The dark black python robe fluttered in the morning breeze!
His back was straight like a sword, the blade was still there, the sharpness was still there, but it had to be sheathed!
must!!!
He walked out of the square and out of the vermilion palace gates!
Beyond the palace gates lies the northern border!
He wants to go back!!!
Back to the North, back to Zhenyue Hall, back to those mountains of secret reports and maps!
Keep planning!
Keep waiting!
Keep enduring it!
Someday!!!
He roared in his heart!!!
He will come back someday!!!
By then, he won't be standing in the corner watching anymore!
Then, he will walk in confidently, stand before her, and say—I've come!!! I've come to take you away!!!
He didn't turn around!
He can't turn back!!!
He was afraid that if he turned back, he would never be able to leave again!
.........
After the wedding ceremony, there was a grand wedding banquet.
Inside the Tianqi Hall, red silk hung from the ceiling, enveloping the entire hall in a warm and festive red hue.
The twelve golden pillars with coiled dragons are wrapped with red silk and gold thread, and the five-clawed golden dragons on the pillars are faintly visible among the red silk, as if they are traveling in the clouds.
Hundreds of glass palace lanterns hung from the ceiling, burning sandalwood incense inside. The candlelight, illuminated by the red lampshades, bathed the entire hall in a gentle, orange-red glow.
The envoys from various countries have taken their seats according to their respective countries.
The envoy from Xiliang, Tuoba Ye, sat in the first seat on the left, while the envoy from Beimang, Yelü Gu, sat in the first seat on the right. Envoys from Nanzhao, Donghai, and the Western Regions were arranged in order.
Their table was laden with delicacies, golden goblets and jade cups, but no one touched their chopsticks or raised their glasses.
Everyone is waiting, waiting for those two people.
At the palace gate, a palace maid's voice rang out: "His Majesty has arrived—Her Majesty the Empress has arrived—"
All eyes turned to the palace gate.
Qin Mu and Zhao Qingxue walked into the hall side by side.
He had changed out of his heavy imperial robes and crown, and into a moon-white casual dress with a jade belt around his waist. His long hair was tied up with a jade hairpin, and a few strands of hair fell across his forehead, making his handsome face look even more otherworldly.
Zhao Qingxue also changed out of her heavy formal dress and phoenix crown, and put on a bright red palace dress, with a golden phoenix hairpin in her hair, and her face was covered with exquisite makeup, with a faint and proper smile between her eyebrows and eyes.
They walked up to the head of the table and stopped.
Qin Mu helped Zhao Qingxue sit down, and then took his seat in the main seat himself.
He leaned back in his chair, resting his chin on one hand, his posture languid.
Zhao Qingxue sat upright beside him, her back straight, her hands folded on her knees, and her eyes looking straight ahead.
The palace maid's voice rang out again: "All officials kneel in obeisance—the envoys come to pay their respects—"
All the civil and military officials and envoys from various countries rose together, walked to the center of the hall, faced the main seat, and knelt or bowed in unison.
Just then, the voice of a palace maid came from the palace gate again, this time higher and louder than before, carrying a deliberately created solemnity:
"The envoy of the Li Yang Dynasty—kneels in obeisance—"
The hall fell silent.
All eyes shifted from the main seat to the temple entrance.
The civil and military officials wore complex expressions, while the envoys from various countries flashed with barely concealed shock.
They already knew that the Liyang Dynasty had been annexed by the Great Qin, and that Zhao Qingxue had married Qin Mu, but they had not yet personally witnessed the Liyang officials kneeling before the Great Qin Emperor.
That was the last vestige of dignity for the Li Yang Dynasty, and the scene they least wanted to see.
Footsteps came from outside the palace gate.
Light and steady, unhurried yet each step resonates deeply with people.
Zhang Julu was the first to walk in.
He wore a dark purple robe embroidered with cranes, a black gauze turban, and had a lean face with three long strands of beard hanging down to his chest.
His aged face was expressionless, except for a deep, indescribable solemnity.
His steps were steady and slow, each step firm and solid, as if he were walking on not gold bricks, but on three hundred years of Liyang's history.
He held a vermilion brocade box in his hands, which contained the imperial edict of the Li Yang Dynasty.
It was a letter of state declaring that Liyang was willing to become a vassal state of Qin. It was written by Zhao Qingxue herself and stamped with the imperial seal of Liyang.
Behind him was Gu Jiantang.
He was clad in black iron armor, with a massive sword as wide as a door hanging at his waist, making him look like a moving iron tower.
His face was expressionless, but his tiger-like eyes were filled with complex and suppressed emotions.
Behind Gu Jiantang was Li Chunfeng.
He wore a blue Taoist robe, held a white jade whisk, had white hair and a youthful face, and exuded an air of otherworldly elegance.
His face was calm, as calm as a still lake with no waves at the bottom. No one knew what lay beneath the surface.
His steps were light and steady, as if he were walking on clouds, without a speck of dust on him.
But in those cloudy old eyes, something was faintly shining, like a lamp, burning on and off, and it was unknown when it would go out.
Three people, the three pillars of Liyang: Zhang Julu in literature, Gu Jiantang in martial arts, and Li Chunfeng in Taoism.
They were once the greatest threat to the Qin Dynasty, the strongest bulwark of the Liyang Dynasty, and the people Zhao Qingxue trusted most in the five years since she ascended the throne.
At this moment, they stood in the Tianqi Hall, on the land of Great Qin, facing the Emperor of Great Qin, facing their Empress.
The Empress of Qin at this moment.
Zhang Julu walked to the center of the hall and stopped.
Gu Jiantang and Li Chunfeng stood on either side of him.
Three people, three pairs of eyes, all looked toward the main seat, toward the bright red figure sitting beside Qin Mu.
Zhang Julu slowly knelt down.
The moment his knee touched the gold brick, it made a dull thud.
The sound wasn't loud, but in the deathly silent hall, it was like a thunderclap.
Gu Jiantang knelt down as well, the clanging of his armor producing a metallic scraping sound that was particularly jarring in the silence.
Li Chunfeng finally knelt down, his blue Taoist robe spreading out around him like a flower blooming in the dust, about to wither.
Zhang Julu held the vermilion brocade box in both hands, raising it high above his head until his forehead touched the ground.
His voice was hoarse, yet every word was clear, as if squeezed from the deepest part of his heart: "Your subject, Zhang Julu, by order of Empress Liyang, presents this letter of state. From this day forth, the Liyang Dynasty shall forever be a vassal state of Great Qin. We shall pay tribute annually and be subjects of the state for generations to come."
The moment the words fell, the hall fell into a deathly silence.
The silence lasted for a long time.
The wine cup in Tuoba Ye's hand fell to the ground with a "clatter".
The wine was spilled all over the floor, soaking a patch of the red carpet; it was a dark red, like blood.
He didn't pick it up; instead, he stared intently at the three kneeling figures in the center of the hall.
His mouth was open, and a "hoarse" sound came from his throat, like an old stove with its bellows stuck, struggling to get it burning.
Only one thought echoed wildly in his mind—Li Yang Three Pillars, kneel down.
I'm truly speechless.
It wasn't a rumor, it wasn't a fabrication; he saw it with his own eyes.
Zhang Julu knelt, Gu Jiantang knelt, and Li Chunfeng knelt.
They knelt in the Tianqi Hall of the Great Qin Dynasty, facing the emperor of the Great Qin, and addressed each other as "your subject".
Tuoba Ye's hands began to tremble.
The trembling started in the fingers, spread to the wrists, to the arms, to the shoulders, and to the whole body.
He was like a leaf in the wind, swaying precariously.
He thought of the war between Xiliang and Qin, of the Xiliang soldiers who died on the battlefield, and of General Liu Meng, on whom he had placed his hopes, who was still confronting Lü Bu in the western border, unable to advance an inch.
He thought that the Qin Dynasty was in dire straits on the western front, and that as long as he could hold off Lü Bu and wait for Li Yang to attack from the eastern front, the Qin Dynasty would be attacked from both sides and would surely be defeated.
But Li Yang is gone.
Liyang became a vassal state of the Qin Dynasty.
The million-strong army of Liyang, once enemies, has become allies.
No, they are not allies, they are vassals.
It is submission.
His mind went blank, with only one thought remaining—Xiliang, what to do?
Yelü Gu sat in the first seat on the right, his face still bearing a smile.
The smile was faint, as faint as a thin layer of frost on a windowpane in winter, but beneath that frost lay deep, unfathomable cracks.
His fingers slowly tightened inside his sleeve, his nails digging into his palms, sending sharp pain through him.
The pain kept him conscious until the very end.
His gaze shifted from Zhang Julu to Gu Jiantang, then from Gu Jiantang to Li Chunfeng, and finally settled on the moon-white figure in the main seat.
He recalled the grudges between Northern Mang and Great Qin, the Northern Mang cavalry that had been defeated and sunk beneath the walls of the northern border city, and the crushing defeat of the previous year—a 300,000-strong army that had been routed by Xu Longxiang, with more than half of its troops killed or wounded.
He believed that as long as Northern Mang could recuperate, as long as Xu Longxiang and Qin Mu fought each other, and as long as Great Qin itself fell into chaos, Northern Mang would have a chance.
But Li Yang is gone.
The Qin Dynasty conquered Liyang without losing a single soldier, with no depletion of the national treasury, no loss of military strength, and no wavering of public morale.
The Qin Dynasty is stronger than ever before.
And Northern Mang—
Yelü Gu clenched his fists even tighter, his nails piercing his palms, drawing out sticky, warm blood, but he couldn't feel it.
Only one thought occupied his mind—Northern Mang, what to do?
The Nanzhao envoy sat in the third seat on the left, his face still bearing a smile, a smile as sincere as a clear mountain spring.
But in those eyes, there was an indescribable, deep fear.
That fear was hidden deep in his pupils, like well water in the depths of winter, with a thin layer of ice on the surface, beneath which lay colder, darker, and deeper water.
He recalled the agreement between Nanzhao and Daqin—mutual non-aggression and eternal friendship.
That was an alliance signed between the former king of Nanzhao and the former emperor of Qin, which has been in effect for decades.
He always thought that the alliance would continue indefinitely, and that as long as Nanzhao remained law-abiding, Qin would not take action against Nanzhao.
But Li Yang is gone.
Even though Liyang was so large and powerful, it became a vassal state of Qin.
What is Nanzhao?
A tiny country with a population of less than a million and an army of less than 100,000 was not even an ant in front of the Qin Dynasty.
Only one thought remained in his mind—Nanzhao, what else could he do?
The envoy from the East Sea sat in the third seat on the right, his face still bearing a smile, a smile as gentle as a sea breeze.
But in those eyes, there was an indescribable, deep weariness.
The exhaustion surged from the depths of his bones, leaving him feeling completely drained, limp, and powerless.
He recalled the maritime trade between the islands of the East China Sea and the Qin Dynasty, the silk, porcelain, and tea that were transported from the Qin Dynasty every year, and the pearls, coral, and seafood that were transported from the East China Sea to the Qin Dynasty every year.
He believed that as long as maritime trade continued, the East China Sea and the Qin Dynasty could coexist peacefully.
But Li Yang is gone.
With the sea outlet of Liyang and the navy of Liyang, the East Sea was no longer an insurmountable barrier for the Qin Dynasty.
The warships of the Qin Dynasty can arrive at our doorstep at any time.
Only one thought remained in his mind—how long can the East China Sea hold out?
The envoy from the Western Regions sat fifth from the left, his face still bearing a smile, a smile as radiant as the desert sun.
But in those eyes, there was an inexplicable, shrewd calculation.
The calculations were quick and meticulous, like an abacus, clicking away rapidly, but then his hands stopped.
He discovered that no matter how he calculated, he could not arrive at a result that would benefit the Qin Dynasty.
It's not that it's detrimental to Qin, it's that it's extremely beneficial to Qin.
He calculated and calculated, but he still felt he had no way out.
Only one thought remained in his mind—the Western Regions, where else could he retreat to?
Inside the hall, Zhang Julu was still kneeling.
His forehead touched the cool gold brick, and he held the vermilion brocade box in his hands, raising it above his head, motionless.
His arm was trembling slightly, a tremor so subtle it was like the flutter of a butterfly's wing, yet it was there.
Qin Mu leaned back in his chair, looking at Zhang Julu kneeling in the center of the hall.
"Bring it here," Qin Mu said, his voice soft but exceptionally clear in the deathly silent hall.
The palace maid quickly walked up to Zhang Julu, took the vermilion brocade box, and turned to present it to Qin Mu.