Conferred Gods: Start with a Phoenix clone

Chapter 1755 The Nine-Headed Insect Proposes
Zhu Yingtai continued, "My senior sister said, 'An ordinary person's life is nothing more than being a beast of burden in times of peace and cannon fodder in times of chaos. They are exploited in times of peace and used to die in times of war.' Do you all think we are in a time of peace and prosperity? The Kingdom of Jisa has a strong army of 100,000 armored soldiers. If their army comes from the east, how will our Great Liang Kingdom resist? Are we just going to rely on the Zimu River?"

This time, the journey to the West, led by Moonlight, differs slightly from the original timeline in terms of geography. The original Western Liang Women's Kingdom should have been bordered by Jindu Mountain to the east, Flame Mountain to the west, and the Zimu River flowing through the city. Geographically, the entire country was definitely easy to defend and difficult to attack.

There's a slight deviation in this timeline, a difference that could lead to vastly different outcomes. It might be due to the angle at which Sun Wukong kicked the Eight Trigrams Furnace. The Flaming Mountain didn't fall to the west of the Western Liang Women's Kingdom, but rather to the east of the Golden Gourd Mountain. It's been a year since Sun Wukong and his companions resolved the Flaming Mountain.

Without the Flaming Mountain to the west, and having lost this important barrier, the Western Liang Women's Kingdom directly faces the Jisa Kingdom.

This country of Jisa was definitely one of the most powerful nations on the westward journey.

The surrounding countries described the capital of this country as "a dragon coiled in the terrain, a tiger crouching in the golden city."

The capital of Jisa had more than ten city gates and a circumference of over a hundred li. It was considered to be as prosperous as Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty.

Of the countries surrounding Jisa, the south was Yuetuo, the north was Gaochang, the east was Xiliang Women's Kingdom, and the west was Benbo. All four countries recognized Jisa's hegemonic status and paid tribute to it every year.

This powerful nation is the neighbor of the Western Liang Women's Kingdom. Without the Flaming Mountain to block the way, the terrain between the two sides is almost flat.

The reason why the king of Jisa was not ambitious was that he had not found a pretext for war. Once he found a pretext, the soldiers would hear that they were going to attack a country full of women. Just imagine how high their morale would be.
Bai Xing has no intention of being a "delicate queen" anymore. She rides horses and shoots arrows every day, practicing martial arts diligently, all in preparation for the future.

Despite her serious illness, the old queen firmly supported Zhu Yingtai in implementing policies that she herself found outrageous, all for the sake of national prosperity and military strength.

The pressure from the Kingdom of Jisa was simply too great.

Upon hearing that their conversation involved neighboring countries, several ministers spoke up.

"Grand Tutor, our country has always been respectful to the Kingdom of Jisa, sending tribute every year and performing the most respectful rites. Surely this will not invite a large army to attack us?"

Zhu Yingtai chuckled softly. Just because she doesn't use magical methods on ordinary people doesn't mean she doesn't use them at all. The current time is the result of her careful calculation.

"Report! Your Majesty, the envoy from the Kingdom of Jisa has arrived!"

No sooner had I mentioned Jisaguo than they arrived.

The Queen pressed her temples with her fingers to calm herself before making a gesture of invitation.

Before long, the envoy from the Kingdom of Jisa strode into the main hall.

The envoy was young and handsome, tall, and had a somewhat arrogant expression.

He was wearing a brocade robe and a golden crown, which had a rather peculiar design, consisting of nine ferocious insect heads.

The handsome man glanced at Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie a few more times, thinking that these two might be helpers specially hired by the Women's Kingdom of Xiliang.

He had no idea that Zhu Yingtai also possessed magical powers.

The man gave a perfunctory bow: "Your subject, Wan Jiu, is from Bibo Pool in Luanshi Mountain. He has now been adopted by His Majesty as a son. I have long admired the princess's reputation and have obtained a decree from my adoptive father to wish to marry the princess. I humbly request Your Majesty's permission."

The Queen of the Western Liang Women's Kingdom was furious. She only had one daughter, and when she passed away in a few years, her daughter would definitely inherit the throne.

What are you going to do now? Force her into marriage? And then swallow up Western Liang without firing a single shot?!
The Queen's eyes were full of coldness, but the envoy showed no fear. On the contrary, he looked at Shirahoshi with great interest.

The Queen, after all, was a leader who had ruled the country for decades, and she quickly suppressed her anger, attempting to politely decline this outrageous marriage proposal.

“My daughter is unruly and unfit to serve a gentleman. Your Excellency is of extraordinary appearance and will surely find a beautiful companion to accompany you.” Wan Jiu interrupted the Queen with a smile: “I like the wild and untamed nature of your princess. Please do not refuse, Your Majesty.”

"You!" The Queen clenched her fists, took several deep breaths, and said in a shocking voice, "To be honest, Your Excellency is a little late. My daughter and the younger brother of the Tang Emperor from the Eastern Land of Tang have already become engaged. If Your Excellency had returned to Jisa Kingdom a few days later, you might have been able to drink a cup of wedding wine."

Everyone was shocked.

Sun Wukong and the others all looked at Tang Sanzang.

That means you should refuse immediately. We still have to go to the Western Paradise to obtain the scriptures. What's the point of you marrying a princess here? There are sects within Buddhism that allow marriage and having children, but the problem is that Tang Sanzang is not from any of those sects.

Tang Sanzang was dumbfounded. He first looked at Bai Xing. He could have refused at this moment, but the words of refusal were on the tip of his tongue, and he could not say them no matter what. His lips trembled twice, and he lowered his head again under Sun Wukong's expectant gaze.

What should I do? What should I do? His mind was a complete mess, and he felt that this might, perhaps, possibly not be a bad thing.
It's just a stopgap measure, it must be a stopgap measure! He comforted himself.

The messenger named Wan Jiu glared at him fiercely.

Tang Sanzang kept his eyes down, his mind focused, and chanted the sutra in a low voice, offering no response.

Sun Wukong stood in front of Tang Sanzang, blocking Wan Jiu's gaze.

I can bully my master, but you can't!

“I know you. Aren’t you the stable boy?” Wan Jiuyin said with a sly smile.

Sun Wukong was initially annoyed when others called him Bi Ma Wen, but over the years, he gradually got used to being called Bi Ma Wen by Pigsy.

He chuckled and said, "Where did you come from, you hairy god? Tell your grandfather your name."

Wan Jiu scrutinized the expressions of everyone in the hall, not even sparing Zhu Yingtai, who was pretending to be invisible.

He left with the words, "You'll regret this," and then turned and walked away.

The old queen descended from her throne with trembling steps, approached Tang Sanzang, and solemnly bowed, indicating that her actions were merely a temporary expedient and that she did not intend to use the holy monk from the East as a shield.

"All the faults lie with me; I beg the Holy Monk to calm his wrath."

Tang Sanzang was speechless. Was he angry? Actually, he wasn't angry at all; on the contrary, he was secretly pleased.

Sun Wukong was extremely annoyed. The Queen of Xiliang's intention to shift the blame to the east was too obvious. He had thought the old lady was a good person before, but now she seemed really wicked.

"I am busy with state affairs and fear that I may not be able to entertain you properly and neglect your distinguished guests. Please, holy monks, do not linger and may depart for the west now," the Queen said, feigning indifference.

Tang Sanzang was indeed fooled. He turned to look at the monkey, his eyes filled with a rather complicated expression.

"Wukong, what do you mean?"

Sun Wukong waved his hand helplessly: "Then let's stay for two more days!"

(End of this chapter)