allendalepharm Chapter 370 First Deterrence, Then Sanctions
Chapter 370 First Deterrence, Then Sanctions
The Grand Secretary was very anxious. Right now, the Emperor and Empress had a good relationship, which was great. But if a war broke out, the Great Zhou Dynasty would really be torn apart.
He hurriedly said, "King of Nanping, there is no need for your country to worry about the internal affairs of my Great Zhou. This time, your country and Beisha have come to participate in the grand ceremony of the Crown Prince's investiture, and the whole of Great Zhou warmly welcomes you."
"Our Emperor and Empress have limited time; let's discuss state affairs first."
Bei Sha first said that they demanded that Da Zhou stop supporting Sukhbaatar.
Ironically, the Wolf King of Beisha made this request to the Queen.
Shen Shixi, focused solely on her food, stopped eating and said, "Your Majesty is too kind. This is merely a woman's perspective. Such matters of state are truly difficult for me to understand."
The Wolf King of the North Sands knew that this woman harbored resentment.
"I don't need to spell it out. Empress Chenyuan Zhao should know that Suhebalu is Zhuoyan's youngest son. You two met back in Xiling. If it weren't for you, he would have died long ago. You deliberately cultivated him to oppose me. Aren't you afraid that I will tear him to pieces?"
Shen Shixi slammed her hand on the table and said, "So what if it is? I'm not afraid to tell you that you slaughtered more than a hundred innocent people from the Quanzhou Charity Hall of my Great Zhou. If it weren't for the Crown Prince, I would have made you leave my Great Zhou lying down instead of standing up."
The Wolf King of the Northern Sands abruptly stood up and roared, "Your Majesty and subjects of the Great Zhou, is this how you treat your guests?"
The Minister of Rites was on the verge of tears. The old man stood up shakily and said, "King of the Northern Sands, please don't be angry. My Empress of the Great Zhou Dynasty was merely stating the facts and did not mean to actually do so. Please do not misunderstand."
The Beisha envoys also joined in, pressuring Li Yuanke to make a statement.
Ling Meng then asked, "Didn't the Wolf King send people to massacre the people of Quanzhou?"
The Wolf King of Beisha was in the wrong, but what morality could such a person possibly have?
"Sukhbaatar is a traitor to Beisha. Her Majesty the Empress has been protecting him for years, and the Quanzhou Charity Hall has even helped conceal him. You were unjust first, and now you want to blame Beisha for being heartless?"
Shen Shixi's eyes were icy cold. "The Wolf King is really good at talking. He speaks as if you understand the words 'benevolence and righteousness'."
The Wolf King asked, "Does the Empress of Great Zhou mean that she intends to start a war with my Northern Sands?"
Li Yuanke's warlike instincts instantly kicked in. "Why not?"
Wolf King couldn't believe it. He was also a veteran of the battlefield and knew very well where the Great Zhou's weakness lay: the supply problem. Once the war started, the Great Zhou's supply lines were very long. If the Northern Sands were to wage guerrilla warfare against the Great Zhou, the Great Zhou would suffer heavy losses, which would not outweigh the gains.
The Wolf King laughed, "Then I, the Khan, welcome to see the Emperor of Great Zhou on the battlefield!"
Shen Shixi said, "I hereby announce two points. First, the future research direction of the Great Zhou Academy of Sciences is transportation. We will develop railway tracks and lay them all from the capital to the nine border towns bordering Beisha, striving to deliver supplies to the border towns within ten days and ten nights."
Second, all trade with Beisha was suspended, and the Great Zhou imposed economic sanctions on Beisha; Bingzhou's economic transformation would focus on fruit tree cultivation and winemaking, while low-end industries like wool textiles could be phased out.
Anyway, with the development of cotton, who still wears sweaters?
If all else fails, you could get a down jacket.
Furthermore, once grafting technology is developed, the forestry industry can be expanded; wouldn't canned fruit be a good option?
The officials of Beisha were all stunned. The Wolf King of Beisha looked as if he had been struck on the head. "Empress of the Great Zhou..."
Shen Shixi said, "More than a hundred innocent people from Quanzhou Shantang died under the butcher's knife in Beisha. When I was besieged by the Wolf King in Beisha, more than two hundred of my Great Zhou soldiers died in a foreign land, their bones buried in the wilderness for me."
"I have never forgotten! Every wrong has its perpetrator, every debt its debtor. I will not seek revenge from the people of Beisha for this debt, but I will certainly collect what the Wolf King owes me!"
"What do you want?" the wolf king asked.
"From this day forward, the ruler of the Northern Sands recognized by the Great Zhou is King Suhebalu of the Southern Desert. From now on, you, Xuyu, will no longer be the Wolf King of the Northern Sands in the eyes of the Great Zhou, and you need not come to our Great Zhou again. If you do, you will be killed!"
Xu Yu was furious and asked Li Yuanke, "Your Majesty, is this the will of the Great Zhou?"
Before Li Yuanke could answer, he asked the ministers of the Great Zhou, "You, a group of men, do you also obey the orders of a woman? Should the deposition and installation of the ruler of Beisha be based on the opinion of a woman from your Great Zhou?"
Li Yuanke said, "The Empress's meaning is my meaning. The Empress can speak on my behalf at any time!"
The Grand Secretary quickly followed suit, saying, "Our Empress of Great Zhou is a woman of great talent and vision, and we are deeply impressed by her. We will obey Her Majesty's decree!"
"I second that proposal!"
"I second that proposal!"
The civil and military officials all stood up to second the motion, creating a spectacular scene.
This was quite unexpected for the Beisha rulers and ministers, as well as the Xiling delegation. Theoretically speaking, shouldn't the entire court oppose a woman ruling as regent? Shouldn't there be some animosity between the emperor and empress?
Isn't it kind of strange that they're so united now?
The Beisha ruler and his ministers were directly expelled from the main hall. The Xiling envoys were dumbfounded. They wanted to strengthen trade relations with the Great Zhou and hoped to make breakthroughs in tariff terms and the types of import and export goods. Could they even negotiate?
After much hesitation and deliberation, Yelü Yuanguang decided he couldn't have come all this way for nothing. He was already there; the worst that could happen was being kicked out by the Empress of Great Zhou. So, he mustered his courage and spoke.
"Your Majesty, as you surely know, Xiling suffered a devastating smallpox outbreak a few years ago, which spread throughout the country and caused countless deaths. Our Emperor of Xiling cares deeply for the people, and now that the smallpox has subsided, we hope to strengthen trade relations with your country."
We also earnestly request Her Majesty the Empress to grant our country some preferential policies. If tariffs could be reduced and the range of traded goods increased, that would be ideal.
There were also people from the Ministry of Revenue's Commerce and Trade Department, but at times like these, they all looked to the Empress. In matters of economic development, domestic and foreign policies, and the investigation of goods, they trusted the Empress more.
Shen Shixi said, "This matter needs to be carefully considered. We will take your country's demands seriously. It would be best if we could sign relevant regulations so that it would be easier for both sides to get things done."
Yelü Yuanguang and the others naturally did not return. Since the Great Zhou had opened this door, they naturally wanted to settle the matter before leaving.
The next day, Shen Shixi summoned Liu Jingzhong, Qiu Xingyan, and Guo Youming, who were transferred to the Ministry of Works and appointed as Vice Ministers on the left and right respectively. They were also summoned for the purpose of Shen Shixi's plan to build the railway line.
"The border towns must be developed. They cannot be guarded by soldiers alone. With a material foundation, the defense will be more secure. But the foundation of economic development is transportation. Only with smooth logistics can money circulate."
Shen Shixi explained the structural design of the railway tracks: "This is an extremely long-term project with a very long construction period and a huge workload. Perhaps our generation can only lay the foundation, or even complete the design. However, the efforts of generations will eventually become a reality."
Liu Jingzhong was puzzled. "Didn't Her Majesty say that the route should be opened as soon as possible so that supplies could be transported to the border town?"
They even said they wanted to go to war with the Beisha Islands.
Shen Shixi said, "Some things said at the negotiating table don't need to be taken seriously. Let them know that we have a solution, that's enough to deter them."
Often, the biggest difficulty is the lack of direction.
First deter, then impose sanctions; the North Sands have no choice but to behave.
Ok!
You can do that?!
To the Empress, a promise is as weighty as a feather.
The three of them couldn't help but admire him sincerely.
Shen Shixi certainly wouldn't make the same mistake as Emperor Yang of Sui, whose Grand Canal led to the downfall of an empire.
The three of them arrived under immense pressure, but left extremely relaxed.
Shen Shixi was also relaxed; she wasn't the type of person to put pressure on herself.
The court granted a three-day holiday, and the emperor and empress slept until they naturally woke up. Surprisingly, the two children did not come to disturb them.
Li Yuanke woke up first and went to check. Dongjun and Xihe were playing in the small garden, with Chaoyu and Jiangyou following behind. When they saw their father, the two children stopped playing and rushed over.
His hands were filthy, so he pressed all his handprints onto his father's body.
Li Yuanke tried to avoid it at all costs.
Naturally, I didn't intend to avoid it.
"You filthy brats, you don't respect your father's clothes at all!"
Dongjun climbed onto him and sat on his shoulder. Li Yuanke quickly used his hands to protect him, and Li Fude also spread his arms to prevent the crown prince from falling.
Seeing her younger brother like this, Xihe quickly climbed up and sat on her father's right shoulder.
Li Yuanke sometimes felt that neither he nor Shen Shixi were monkeys; the two kids they raised were incredibly energetic and had amazing climbing abilities.
The older they get, the harder they are to take care of; you can't even blink an eye at them.
No wonder Shen Shixi would rather attend court than take care of the child.
It was indeed hard work.
Now that things in the court have been sorted out and there's not much left, Shen Shixi still has time to continue her "Journey to the West," with the four members of the Tang Monk's group having already arrived in Chechi Kingdom.