Jian Zhaoxing

Chapter 481 People's Voice
Before anyone could stop him, the Crown Prince raised his hand:

"As the Duke of Pei said, starting today, the Imperial Astronomical Bureau will select an auspicious day, and the Ministry of Rites will prepare the dowry so that Princess Pingning and others can be sent off in a grand wedding."

"Furthermore, all selected noble ladies will be required to attend the inner music academy daily to learn etiquette. Any changes will be discussed further."

These words effectively silenced all those who opposed them.

They said, "If there are any changes, we will discuss them again," but since they had all entered the inner music academy, there wouldn't be much change to them anyway.

Having achieved his goal, the Liang envoy raised his cheekbones and beamed with joy.

With such a major incident occurring, the palace banquet naturally could not proceed.

Not long after, Lin Zhiqing returned to the Lin family.

Lin Yangyang stamped her feet in frustration: "How could these people from Daliang be so arrogant and make such unreasonable demands?"

"The most crucial question is why the Crown Prince agreed?"

"The city!" Lin Shi'an replied, "The offer of the city and the truce are too tempting."

"If you want it, can't you just go and snatch it yourself? They always said that women can't do anything right, so why are they now placing their hopes on women?" Lin Yangyang was very confused.

Lin Zhiqing sat in the chair without making a sound.

She's thinking about a different problem now.

From a long-term perspective, the marriage alliance was not a good thing for Dasheng.

Lin Zhiqing didn't think the Crown Prince was unaware of this, something that could be easily determined with a simple thought.

She took a deep breath and interrupted Lin Yangyang: "Cousin, wait a moment, just a little longer."

Some things need time to prove themselves.

Seeing this, Lin Yangyang sighed, looking somewhat dejected.

One night later, the news that Princess Pingning, Lin Zhiqing, Lu Nanyue, and others were about to be married off to the Great Liang for political reasons was announced to the world.

In other words, there was really no time for long-term planning, and the matter was decided at an extremely fast pace.

Lin Zhiqing was not idle; she mobilized most of her people to spread the news throughout the streets of Shengjing.

Meanwhile, the Lu family couldn't sit still any longer and gathered at the Lin family's residence.

"Xiao Qing'er, how could this matter be decided so quickly? Could it be that His Highness the Crown Prince consulted the Emperor?" Lu Nanyue asked anxiously.

“That’s possible,” Lin Zhiqing nodded.

"Is there absolutely no room for negotiation on this matter?" Lin Yangyang asked hurriedly.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Zhiqing didn't answer, but brought up another matter:

"Nan Yue, have you ever wondered why the Great Liang would suddenly propose a marriage alliance?"

Lu Nanyue was in a state of confusion and shook her head: "I don't know. Xiao Huai didn't return to the Lu family last night. I want to find someone to make a decision, but I can't."

Hearing this, Lin Zhiqing showed no surprise and changed the subject:
"The Great Liang can no longer contain the Great Sheng!"

"What happened to my father was just the beginning."

These two short sentences contain a great deal of information.

Lin Yangyang couldn't help but ask, "Qing-meimei, do you mean... that the Great Liang wants to wage war against the Great Sheng?"

"Very likely." Lin Zhiqing didn't make any absolute statements.

In terms of national strength, Daliang and Dasheng are evenly matched, and neither can gain an advantage over the other.

When Lin Congrong was in power, Da Sheng was perhaps slightly better.

Now, Dasheng is in chaos because of Jiang Yunhe, and many official positions are still vacant.

Although the grassroots economy and productivity of the Great Sheng Dynasty were developing rapidly, if the imperial power were to encounter problems, the damage to the Great Sheng Dynasty would be devastating.

It is very likely that the Liang side has figured this out, so they proposed a marriage alliance. Firstly, it can test the bottom line of Da Sheng, and secondly, it can control the noblewoman to be married off, and further control the Da Sheng officials.

"Control and manipulate?" Lin Yangyang thought about it and realized that this made a lot of sense. Putting aside the Lin and Lu families, just take Princess Pingning, for example; she is the apple of Marquis Anping's eye.

Furthermore, Bai Ling, the daughter of the Vice Minister of Works, was pampered from childhood.

Bai Ling had finally regained her sight, and now she was being forced to marry someone off to a foreign land. The Vice Minister of Works was bound to be unhappy about this.

The dissatisfaction of these people means that when facing the invasion of Daliang, Dasheng will definitely have concerns or even be hindered.

This would inevitably lead to a split within Dasheng.

When people's hearts are scattered, that is a sign of the impending downfall of a nation.

Da Liang's plan was indeed very clever.

"But Qing'er, if that's the case, those old foxes can't be unaware of these principles," Lu Nanyue said in a low voice.
"Especially the Crown Prince!"

"Can a few cities really blind them?"

This is precisely what Lin Zhiqing can't understand.

"After I returned last night, I had people inquire about the situation everywhere, and the discussions among the common people were particularly heated." She frowned and said:

"Most people believe that as long as they marry into another family, they can solve all the problems with minimal investment."

Lin Yangyang was furious: "How is this possible?"

"If that's the case, what's the point of training soldiers? It would be better to just marry a woman off to someone in trouble."

"According to their thinking, wouldn't this be an even more profitable proposition?"

Lin Zhiqing sighed deeply: "That's the problem."

"Cousin, I don't know when it started, but Dasheng's roots have become rotten."

"They were used to a comfortable life and to the practice of gaining benefits by sacrificing women, so they tacitly accepted that marriage alliances were a good thing."

Lu Nanyue couldn't help but slam her hand on the table: "Ignorant, utterly ignorant!"

"Even if they are a bunch of ignorant people, are all the officials incompetent?"

Lin Zhiqing shook her head slightly; she didn't know.

Seeing this, Lin Yangyang and Lu Nanyue both clenched their fists tightly.

Lu Nanyue gritted her teeth, the veins on her arms bulging:

"Woman, woman, what's wrong with woman?"

"I can't refuse to learn the rules, I can't refuse to open a clinic, and I can't refuse to go on a marriage alliance!"

"Am I a living, breathing person, or a puppet they control at will?"

Lin Yangyang was equally indignant: "To be honest, I've practiced martial arts since I was a child because I wanted to go to the border and see the world, and I wanted to become a general who could fight on the battlefield."

“I once secretly ran away to the military camp, but my father caught me and brought me back, and gave me a good talking-to.”

"Since then, I have never dared to mention going to the border again."

At this point, a trace of sorrow appeared in Lin Yangyang's eyes:
"Just because I am not a man, does that mean I cannot do those things?"

"But how many of those self-proclaimed noble men can compare to me?"

"Sister Qing, I'm not reconciled!"

Lin Yangyang took a deep breath.

Lu Nanyue nodded in agreement: "I'm not reconciled either."

Lin Zhiqing took their hands:

“Nan Yue, cousin, what you just said is the crux of Da Sheng’s problem. What I want to do is to solve this problem.”

"I will continue what my father didn't finish!"

Do you understand what I mean?