NABC Chapter 117 World 269
Chapter 117 World 269
Despite how arrogantly the Hai Kingdom boasted to Li Chengming when sending the message, when the Ming army was at the gates, the Hai Kingdom emperor was quicker to kneel down than anyone else.
He wrote a letter to Li Chengming apologizing while sending gold and silver treasures to other countries, hoping to persuade them to send troops.
However, when Li Chengming was a merchant, he had traveled to almost every place and left his own people to maintain the trade routes. The actions of the Hai Kingdom were quickly noticed by these people, who managed to inform the Ming Kingdom.
Upon receiving the news, the Ming Dynasty dispatched its Golden Crow Guards, disguised, to secretly enter the Sea Kingdom and guard the route the group was sure to take. They intercepted the treasure and bound the people. Even the group that left by sea was captured by Li Chengming's men and temporarily placed on a deserted island, where they were left with no one to turn to.
While other countries were still observing and waiting for the Sea Kingdom to ask for help, fearing they would lack a legitimate reason to attack, the Ming Dynasty had already marched straight in and incorporated the Sea Kingdom into its territory.
After conquering three kingdoms in two years, the Ming Dynasty had to slow down its pace and focus on domestic affairs to ensure the loyalty of its people and the stability of the country.
Fortunately, over the past few years, the Ming Dynasty had cultivated a group of its own talented individuals. Now was the perfect time to round up the corrupt officials and unscrupulous merchants in the other three regions and replace them with people they had trained. In this way, they could not only make a fortune but also win over the local people and remove obstacles to governance.
As for the Northern Xiong Kingdom, which is full of martial spirit, as long as General Xu and his strategist are sent to the battlefield of the Mumu tribe in the north, even if they do nothing, the people of the Northern Xiong Kingdom will fall silent.
Seeing the growing power of the Ming Dynasty, the other countries, in order to curry favor with it, all sent their beauties to the Ming.
Because of these young women, Li Chengming, unusually nervous, explained to Yu Qiaoyun, "They came with the envoy. I didn't know beforehand. Once I found out, I chased them all away."
With Yu Qiaoyun in charge of the palace, how could she not know whether his words were true or false? But such things, once they happen, they will happen again. Not only in other countries, but even within the Ming Dynasty, when people learned that Li Chengming only had one empress in his harem and did not even have any children, they could not help but talk behind his back and want to send their own daughters into the palace.
Li Chengming was not very clear about these things, but Li Yinyin knew a little about them. After all, those people only dared to talk behind Yu Qiaoyun's back and did not dare to make sarcastic remarks to Yu Qiaoyun's face. It was all thanks to Li Yinyin's clear stance on Yu Qiaoyun's side.
With a powerful Marquis like her in charge, those noble ladies who lacked the ability to establish themselves and only dared to show off their abilities by making things difficult for women didn't even dare to breathe loudly.
After all, Li Yinyin had the Golden Crow Guard under her command. If these noble ladies dared to displease Yu Qiaoyun, Li Yinyin would dare to displease their precious children and husbands. For these women who were preoccupied with their children and husbands, the suffering of these people was several times more painful than the suffering of themselves. Naturally, they were taught how to speak properly in front of Yu Qiaoyun.
Faced with this situation, Li Yinyin said, "Actually, this matter is easy to resolve."
Li Chengming and Yu Qiaoyun looked over at the same time.
"Brother, you really don't like those beauties, do you?"
“Of course,” Li Chengming said, afraid that if he answered even a little slower, he would upset Yu Qiaoyun. “In my eyes, your sister-in-law is the most beautiful. If I had to add another one, it would be you. Apart from the two of you, all other women are just irrelevant passersby in my eyes.”
Yu Qiaoyun's eyes flickered slightly, and a faint blush rose to her face. She couldn't even care less about the chaotic thoughts that had just been swirling around her.
Seeing her brother and sister-in-law's eyes practically drooling, Li Yinyin quickly offered her idea: "Since you don't like them anyway, why don't we just send troops to send them back to their country? If any other country tries to send people over, we can just send troops to take over their city. Territory is much more worthwhile than beauties, isn't it?"
It was a ridiculous argument, but it had to be said that it was a really good idea for Li Chengming.
Why should someone accept a beautiful woman as a gift or give her to their subordinates?
Just because someone sets the rules doesn't mean he has to follow them.
These beauties paled in comparison to the new city before him.
“It’s a pity,” Li Chengming said with some regret, “this can only scare them at most, it can’t really send troops.”
The Ming Dynasty is currently consolidating its newly acquired territories and cannot afford to wage war again; otherwise, it could indeed continue the conflict.
“Then let’s wait until later,” Li Yinyin said. “Our Ming Kingdom will eventually defeat all the remaining kingdoms.”
Subsequently, as Li Yinyin had instructed, the Ming Dynasty sent those beauties, along with their envoys, back to the country with a large army.
Unfortunately, no country wanted to break the law in the face of their warnings.
Although these countries privately criticized the Ming Dynasty for not being a country of the Central Plains, for acting barbarically and not following the rules, they all dutifully sent hostages this second time.
It is worth mentioning that Chu Ziran, the hostage from Shu, was a beautiful young man with a bewitching and gorgeous appearance. He was dressed in a gorgeous Shu-style outfit, which made him look very different from others.
For this reason, the hostages who came with him looked at him with more or less a strange gaze.
Chu Ziran completely disregarded them, but his eyes lit up only when he saw Li Yinyin: "Pretty sister, would you like to have a fiancé?"
His words made the hostages seem thoughtful, as if they had opened the door to a new world, and their gazes toward Li Yinyin became much more ardent.
As for the ministers of the Ming Dynasty, it was a different story; they were all scrutinizing each other.
Li Chengming sized up Chu Ziran a few times and suddenly realized that this youngest son of the King of Shu actually quite matched his sister's aesthetic. Ignoring the occasional glances from the ministers, he picked up his cup and pretended to drink.
Li Yinyin wasn't angry at the pretty but not greasy young man, and was willing to give him some face: "This is the first time you've met me, why did you think of asking this?"
"Because my sister is beautiful and capable. People admire strength, and I like women like my sister."
Li Yinyin laughed, but refused without any mercy, saying, "That won't do, I don't like you yet."
“It’s okay if you don’t like me now,” Chu Ziran took two steps forward and leaned closer to Li Yinyin across the small table. “I will pursue you properly, as long as you don’t kick me out.”
Li Yinyin sat upright and didn't move. "You're quite confident."
"Absolutely," Chu Ziran raised her chin, her confidence making her even more radiant.
"I'm smart, cute, and have a sweet tongue. I'm presentable in public and good at cooking. Once you get to know me, my sister will definitely like me!"