I, Am a Living Yama; Empress Advises Me to Stay Calm - Chapter 151

Chapter 151: The Khan’s Rage and the Great Zhou’s Resolve

“Hiss! The Khan of the Turks dancing for the Empress of the Central Plains? Such a once-in-a-century event—so rare, so extraordinary!”

The tavern buzzed with animated chatter as patrons laughed and clinked their cups.

In one shadowed corner of the room, the Turk envoys exchanged uneasy glances. They swallowed nervously, casting cautious looks toward Jie Li Khan.

Jie Li Khan sat rigid, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white. The veins on his forehead throbbed as his bloodshot eyes, wide as copper bells, burned with barely restrained fury.

Bastards.

The Great Zhou had gone too far. Humiliating him was one thing, but recording the entire debacle and publishing it in newspapers? That was a deliberate act of cruelty. They sought to trample on his dignity and ensure the entire world knew of his shame.

His vision swam with rage as his mind replayed the mocking laughter in the hall. His breath came in sharp, uneven bursts, and for a moment, he felt the urge to charge at Yang Yi and tear him apart.

The Turk envoys remained silent, their faces pale. No one dared to provoke him further.

Finally, Jie Li Khan forced himself to take a deep breath, summoning all his willpower to suppress the storm of anger within. His humiliation would not be forgotten, not by him, and certainly not by history.

Even a hundred years from now, people would remember that Jie Li Khan, ruler of the mighty Turks, had once publicly danced for the ruler of another nation. The very thought made his blood boil.

“This disgrace will sharpen my resolve,” he told himself. “I will kill Yang Yi. I will make the Great Zhou pay for this insult.”

But for now, he had to endure. Calm, no matter how fragile, was his only weapon.

“We’ll eat, then continue on our way,” Jie Li Khan said coldly, his voice strained but controlled.

He had barely finished speaking when a boisterous voice from another table rang out.

“Did you hear? Prime Minister Yang of the Great Zhou said Jie Li Khan’s dance was so magnificent he deserves to join the imperial orchestra and perform for the Empress!”

The tavern erupted in laughter. The cheerful atmosphere only deepened the mockery, each laugh a dagger to Jie Li Khan’s pride.

His head buzzed with fury, his composure shattering.

To hell with calm. To hell with reason!

Jie Li Khan slammed the table, his roar cutting through the room. “I will kill Yang Yi!”

…

Turkish Lands, Mount Udegen

Upon his return to the royal court, Jie Li Khan’s expression remained grim. The humiliation from the Great Zhou still burned fiercely in his heart. Without hesitation, he summoned his ministers and issued an urgent order to mobilize the army and march south against the Great Zhou.

The ministers responded with enthusiasm, their spirits reignited by the prospect of war. Though trade with the Great Zhou had bolstered the Khanate’s economy over the past two years, Jie Li Khan’s fiery speech reminded them of the wealth that plunder could bring.

“Why waste time trading with the Zhou when we can simply take what we want?” Jie Li Khan bellowed, his voice echoing through the chamber.

His words resonated with many, but not all. Soon, murmurs of dissent spread among the smaller tribes, who had grown accustomed to the stability and prosperity brought by trade.

A few days later, in the royal court, the tension reached a breaking point.

Bang!

Jie Li Khan slammed his hand on the table, his face twisted in anger.

“What is going on? Why are so many tribes hesitating?”

One minister hesitated before speaking. “Khan, these smaller tribes have grown wealthy from trade with the Zhou. Over the past two years, they’ve grown used to their comfortable lives. Why would they risk everything for war?”

Jie Li Khan’s veins bulged with rage.

“Fools! Idiots! Do they plan to sell sheepskins for the rest of their lives? Tell them this: attacking the Great Zhou is not a request—it is an order!”

He rose, glaring at his ministers.

“The Zhou are focused on integrating the lands of the Qing and Song Dynasties. The remnants of those dynasties still lurk, but if we wait another ten or twenty years, we will face an empire even stronger than the Tang. Now is the peak of our power. If we don’t act, we’ll lose this opportunity forever!”

His words were enough to silence most opposition.

…

Half a Month Later

Jie Li Khan had assembled nearly two hundred thousand cavalry. Though some tribes remained reluctant, his iron will and reputation ensured the core of the Turkic forces followed him without question. The massive army began its march south toward the Great Zhou.

…

Great Zhou, Luoyang, Qianyuan Hall

In the imperial court, the ministers gathered to discuss the impending threat.

“Your Majesty,” Zhang Jianzhi said gravely, “we should not withdraw troops from the northern Song territory. Instead, we can reassign forces from the Qing regions. The Turks rely heavily on their cavalry, but with explosives and strong defenses, we can hold our ground.”

His proposal was cautious and pragmatic, earning nods of approval from many officials.

While Zhang Jianzhi spoke, Empress Wu Zhao remained silent, her calm expression giving nothing away.

“Why defend?” she asked suddenly, her voice cutting through the room like a blade. “Can’t we defeat the Turks?”

The hall fell silent. The ministers exchanged uneasy glances.

Zhang Jianzhi forced a bitter smile. “Your Majesty, though our Great Zhou is strong, we must not be reckless. Defeating the Turks outright would require our full strength, and with our troops spread thin, it would be a difficult task. Defending, however, is well within our capabilities.”

The other ministers nodded in agreement, their caution driven by the harsh realities of war.

Wu Zhao, however, simply turned her gaze to Yang Yi.

“Minister Yang,” she said with a faint smile, “after two years of planning, is it time to finish?”

The court erupted in murmurs, astonishment evident in every face.

Two years of planning?

All eyes turned to Yang Yi, their disbelief impossible to hide.

Yang Yi’s lips curled into a calm, confident smile.

“With a single decree from Your Majesty, the thousands of tribes and millions of herdsmen of the Turkic Khanate will collapse in an instant.”

The hall fell into stunned silence as the weight of his words settled over them.