The Demon Prince

The faces of the officials of the Great Xia Dynasty changed; some looked at the emperor, while others looked at Xiao Xingyue.

Xiao Xingyue frowned:

"That's not advisable. The stakes are too high. The two countries have good relations; it's not good to damage peace."

Cao Bi immediately sneered:

"Didn't the young master say yesterday that he wanted to bring honor to the Great Xia?"

"Now that Gou Li is standing before me, the Crown Prince has become surprisingly composed?"

Before Xiao Xingyue could answer, Cao Bi cupped his hands and said:

"Your Majesty, how can our great Xia, a great and powerful nation, be afraid of Gou Li's debates?"

If we don't gamble, it would make our dynasty look cowardly.

Several officials who were close to him immediately echoed his sentiments.

"What Minister Cao said is absolutely right."

"Since Gou Li dares to pledge, our Great Xia cannot back down, otherwise what will the foreign nations think of our Great Xia?"

Xiao Xingyue deliberately slammed his hand on the table and stood up:

"Cao Bi, stop talking nonsense when you're not the one suffering the consequences. Are you going to pay for it if you lose?"

Cao Bi's face also darkened:

"If the Crown Prince is not confident, why does he dare to take on the responsibility of overall coordination?"

"When did I, the Crown Prince, ever say I wasn't confident?"

"Then why don't you dare to gamble?"

"I'm afraid that you old fools who are greedy for credit and reckless will make me take the blame if we lose."

"presumptuous."

The court was thrown into chaos, with some trying to mediate and others fanning the flames.

Some people deliberately said that Xiao Xingyue was too young and impetuous to take on such a great responsibility, while others said that Cao Bi's apprentice had just lost yesterday, and he was eager to let Da Xia gamble today, which was ill-intentioned.

Park Tae-hen sat at the table, watching silently.

He picked up his teacup, covering the corner of his mouth with a slight smile. Indeed, there was discord within the Great Xia.

Behind the screen, someone quietly slipped away.

Another small note arrived from the Ministry of Rites, suggesting that Park Tae-hun could raise the stakes further.

Park Tae-hyun's gaze hardened, and he stood up again:

"Your Majesty, Gou Li's sincerity was insufficient just now."

Since the esteemed lords of Great Xia value victory and defeat so much, Gou Li is willing to add another three thousand warhorses and five years' worth of border medicinal herb tribute routes.

If the Great Xia triumphs, then Gou Li will be presented as well.

The hall fell completely silent; even Cao Bi didn't speak immediately.

The stakes are too high.

The emperor summoned Xiao Xingyue and brought him close, speaking in a deep voice:

"Xiao Xingyue, how confident are you?"

Xiao Xingyue, who had been arguing heatedly just moments before, suddenly calmed down:

"Ninety-nine percent."

The emperor narrowed his eyes, pondered for a moment, and then spoke in a loud, authoritative voice:

"In that case, I grant your permission."

Park Tae-hen bowed deeply in gratitude, and the members of Gou Li's delegation became excited. They immediately sent a letter to Gou Li's inn, the contents of which were very simple: Da Xia had fallen into their trap.

The palace hall was decorated overnight, and the three rounds of gambling officially began.

A long table was laid out in the hall, with civil officials on the left and military officers on the right.

The emperor sat on a high place, while the princesses watched the battle from behind a curtain.

Li Wangshu's attention was entirely on Xiao Xingyue, while Li Miaoqing appeared indifferent, but she had a heart-protecting pill on hand.

Qin Liangyue sat to the side, her gaze fixed on Li Shunhua.

Officials from the Ministry of Rites stood in the center of the hall and read out the wager agreement.

With each item read aloud, the courtiers' faces grew increasingly grim: ten years of border trade taxes, six thousand warhorses, five years of medicinal herb tribute routes, and priority in the northern border trade.

If the Great Xia is defeated, the northern trade routes will be opened, a permanent trading post will be allowed to be established, and it will be acknowledged that Gou Li is superior to the Great Xia in both literature and martial arts.

This is no longer just a matter of saving face! It's a battle that will determine the fate of the nation!

Chiba Shōri stepped out of Gou Li's seat. Today she had changed into a literary competition dress, and a string of black jade beads was tied around her wrist.

She bowed to the emperor:

"First question: Leftover tea from the border region."

The civil officials of Daxia all frowned at the same time.

Chiba Teruhi picked up his pen and wrote quickly, the ink falling onto the paper, the characters sharp and slender.

Soon, an official from the Ministry of Rites read the poem aloud.

"The snow has melted, the hearth is cold; the tea is gone, and old guests are few."

"The flag is broken and no one cares; the old general need not return."

Spring colors arrive early on the city walls, but old friends are no longer here at the bottom of my cup.

"A cup of wine, so cold, who pities the wild geese flying north?"

After the reading was finished, the main hall became eerily quiet.

On the surface, this poem describes leftover tea, but in reality, every word is a direct attack on the northern border.

The flag is broken, the old general is gone, there is no need to return. This refers to Xiao Junlin, and also to the fact that the bodies of Xiao's father and brothers were about to be returned to the capital, but people have already left and the tea has gone cold!

The officials of the Great Xia Dynasty looked grim, and among the military officers, some clenched their fists so tightly they cracked, as if they wanted to punch them a couple of times.

A murderous intent surged in Li Shunhua's eyes.

Shen Yan felt his blood rush to his head, and his fingertips trembled.

He wasn't a member of the Xiao family, but he was someone Xiao Xingyue had saved. A scholar would die for one who understands him, and he couldn't stand such insidious behavior!

Xiao Xingyue pressed down on his shoulder.

Shen Yan looked up.

Xiao Xingyue's voice was both gentle and cold:

"My father died defending his country. He died, but his passion lives on."

She wrote about how people leave and the tea grows cold, while you wrote about how your passion hasn't cooled.

Shen Yan's throat bobbed as he suppressed his anger.

He walked to the desk, picked up his brush, and instead of writing a poem, he wrote a short essay, his brushstrokes as sharp as a knife.

"The north wind whips up snow, but the cold does not break the flag."

"The old soldier's bones are buried, his blood still warm in the mud."

"The lights of a city are not guarded by a single general."

"The smoke from every household's chimney is supported by the bones of countless families."

"Tea can grow cold, but a person can die."

"At the border of the Great Xia, the backbone will not yield."

The official from the Ministry of Rites' voice trembled as he read the rest of the text.

Among the military officers, some had red eyes. When the veterans on duty outside the hall heard this, their shoulders and backs straightened.

Shen Yan continued writing.

"If anyone rejoices at the death of a hero."

"This person has no literary talent."

"Only the pleasure of thievery."

After the last word was uttered, there was a moment of silence in the hall, followed by a sudden slam of someone's hand on the table at the military commanders' seat:

"good!"

That sound couldn't be suppressed.

Soon, some of the civil officials also whispered their approval.

Chiba Teruhi's face turned cold:

"Poetry and prose are different. Lord Shen responded with prose to poetry, so it is probably not easy to compare them."

Xiao Xingyue laughed:

"Of course it's not easy to compare."

Your writing depicts the petty gloating of the people, while Shen Yan's writing portrays the backbone of the nation and its people; they are indeed not comparable.

Because you don't deserve it.

Chiba Shōri's face turned pale, Park Tae-hung gripped the hilt of his knife, and a murderous aura instantly emanated from Gou Li's seat.

The emperor did not stop them, nor did any of the officials of the Great Xia Dynasty.

At this moment, Xiao Xingyue was not cursing a civil official, but rather the malice that had been suppressed for many years.

Chiba Teruhi took a deep breath:

"The second question is: What constitutes a powerful nation?"

She turned back to her desk, and this time, instead of writing a poem, she began to speak directly:

"Although Gou Li was young, she was skilled in commerce, proficient in military equipment, and dedicated to education."

Today, Gouli horses enter Daxia, medicinal herbs enter Daxia, artisans enter Daxia, and Daxia also needs Gouli's border trade.

It is clear that a powerful nation is not defined by the size of its territory, but by its ever-increasing national strength, its willingness to reform old laws, and its courage to strive for the lead in the world.

These words were more correct than the first one, and even more difficult to refute, causing several civil officials of the Great Xia to frown.

They feared that Shen Yan, whose injuries had not yet healed, would be dragged into a protracted and drawn-out argument by this woman.

Shen Yan came out, his face was indeed a little pale, but his voice was still clear:

"A strong nation does not steal other countries' books and literature for its own use, nor does it steal other countries' weapons to claim credit for itself, nor does it mock heroes after their deaths."

Chiba Teruhi's eyelid twitched.

Shen Yan continued:

"A strong nation is one where its people dare to raise their heads, its soldiers dare to die, its civil officials dare to wield their pens, and its military generals dare to defend its borders."

Even when a powerful enemy is at our doorstep, there are still people in the court willing to stand up and tell the invaders, "This is our homeland, not a place for you to run wild."

After he finished speaking, he swayed slightly, and Xiao Xingyue supported him.

Silence fell over the hall. Then, several senior officials from the Ministry of Rites exchanged glances, and the remaining senior scholars from the Hanlin Academy also lowered their heads to comment.

Ultimately, the position of Minister of Rites was temporarily announced by the adjutant:

"In the first round, a battle of wits, Shen Yan of the Great Xia Dynasty won."

At the Gou Li Seat, Qianye Zhaori's fingers almost crumpled the book.

Park Tae-haen's face was grim, but Park Jung-ryeol suddenly stood up and slammed his wine cup on the table:

"A battle of wits is no match for a battle of words."

He strode into the hall, his curved sword clanging at his waist.

"Only through physical combat can the true strength be revealed."

Li Shunhua stood up.

Park Jung-yeol then looked at Xiao Xingyue:

"Hopefully, this female military officer from the Great Xia Dynasty won't become just a legend like the old members of the Xiao family."