Having children earns benefit, start competing for dominance in the world by marrying a wife

Chapter 423: Chapter 265 Early Departure and Return_1

Hearing Wang Maoxue’s words, Lu Chen gave a faint smile, took a sip of wine, and then said, “It’s not that North Country is so powerful, but rather that Tianqi King underestimated his enemy, and our North Country’s army won by luck.”

Wang Maoxue said, “North Prince is being modest, the Tianqi King’s tribe is the main branch that split off from the Barbarian Tribe’s royal court, and their soldiers are all very strong in battle. And Tianqi King himself has long been a Grandmaster. It’s not just luck that can defeat Tianqi King and his four hundred thousand strong army.”

Lu Chen chuckled, then said, “The Yue Emperor has sent you all to North Country, surely not just to aid North Country. There must be other motives, right?”

Wang Maoxue said, “North Prince’s guess is correct, our Empress wishes to establish relations between Great Jue and North Country, it’s just that we don’t know whether North Prince is willing.”

Lu Chen said, “To establish relations, huh? North Country is just a small feudal state under the Great Xia Dynasty; we don’t have the qualifications to have diplomatic relations with a dynasty.”

Wang Maoxue said, “North Country has at least two Grandmasters, and moreover, with its strong military force, it can no longer be judged as just a feudal state. In our Empress’s eyes, North Country is already an independent dynasty.”

Hearing this, Lu Chen, smiling, said, “I didn’t expect the Yue Emperor to think so highly of North Country.”

Lu Chen saw right through the Great Jue Dynasty’s intentions; establishing relations with Great Jue meant that North Country would be independent. This was clearly an instigation for North Country to engage in a civil war with the Great Xia Imperial Court so that the Great Jue Dynasty could benefit from the conflict.

This is certainly unacceptable.

Lu Chen then said, “I’m honored that the Empress thinks so highly of North Country, but North Country is a feudal state of Great Xia and cannot have diplomatic relations with the Great Jue Dynasty.”

Hearing this, Wang Maoxue was slightly taken aback; it seemed that North Prince had seen through their intentions.

But thinking it over, for North Prince to develop North Country to this state in such a short time, he must have some brains; it was normal to be seen through.

However, Wang Maoxue didn’t intend to give up just yet, and continued saying, “North Prince, pardon this outsider for saying something unpleasant, even if you are now loyally devoted to the Great Xia Imperial Court, the Imperial Court, and your father the Sum Emperor may not truly trust you.”

“You now have a two hundred thousand strong army that is so powerful, and you not only defeated the barbarians of the North Land and brought North Land under North Country’s control but even defeated Tianqi King’s army of four hundred thousand and killed Tianqi King the Grandmaster. In such a situation, it’s hard for people not to believe that you have other intentions.”

“If you can establish relations with the Great Jue Dynasty in advance, then if the Great Xia Imperial Court dares to send troops against North Country, we Great Jue will definitely help you proactively. That would be a good thing for you, wouldn’t it?”

Lu Chen gave a faint smile upon hearing Wang Maoxue’s words. If it were any other seignior, perhaps they might have been persuaded by Wang Maoxue’s words, but it was different for him; he had his own ideas, his own plans for the future.

As the son of the Sum Emperor, he definitely would not rebel on his own initiative unless the Sum Emperor pushed him to do so. Now was not yet the time to rebel; North Country still needed time to develop. At the moment, North Country depended on imports for its grain and didn’t have a large population—it was still quite vulnerable and couldn’t afford such disturbances.

Lu Chen then said, “You are right; it’s indeed possible that my father the emperor doesn’t completely trust me, but whether he trusts me or not is not important. All I need to do is to keep a clear conscience.”

“As for whether the imperial court will send troops to attack North Country, that is a matter for the future. Currently, the strife with the aristocratic families in Great Xia hasn’t settled yet, and the Imperial Court doesn’t have the capacity to concern itself with what is happening in North Country.”

“North Prince has taken to heart the Yue Emperor’s kindness.”

Seeing Lu Chen reject the offer again, Wang Maoxue knew that it was highly likely that North Prince would not agree to establish relations. This North Prince was no fool; he probably still planned to continue accumulating power.

Just as Wang Maoxue thought that their mission to North Country might return without success, Murong Xue’er spoke up, “North Prince truly is a loyal and righteous man.”

Seeing Murong Xue’er speak, Wang Maoxue hurriedly said, “I forgot to introduce to North Prince, the lady beside me is Murong Xue’er, the personal attendant of our Empress.”

Hearing this, Lu Chen’s gaze once again fell on Murong Xue’er, he smiled lightly and then said, “Worthy of being the personal attendant of the Empress, not only possessing beauty that could overthrow cities but also an extraordinary demeanor.”

Murong Xue’er gave a slight smile, then said, “Thank you for the compliment, North Prince.”

At this point, Murong Xue’er suggested, “Since North Prince is concerned that establishing relations between our two countries could bring trouble to North Country, why not sign a trade cooperation agreement instead to strengthen commercial and trade contacts between our two countries?”

“During my time in North Country, I’ve observed that commercial trade is very prosperous, which is enough to show that North Prince values commercial trade.”

“Fortunately, our Empress also places great importance on commerce. On the streets of Yan County, I saw plenty of food made from flour, proving that the common people of North Country and the Da Yue Dynasty have similar dietary habits, and our Great Jue is a major producer of wheat. Our people also like many goods from North Country. In such a case, why not strengthen our trade relations? It would be beneficial for both North Country and Great Jue.”

Hearing Murong Xue’er say this, there was a moment of surprise in Lu Chen’s heart; this woman’s observations were indeed meticulous.