The ambassadors of the various countries had come with a premeditated plan. They wanted to sever their relationship with the Great Zhou to further attack the people of the Great Zhou.
It had been a tradition for the countries of the Zu Continent to pay tribute to the Great Zhou for more than a century. If the various countries declared independence, the Great Zhou would only exist in name as the strongest country on the Zu Continent. This would cause the people of the Great Zhou to continue to lose their support.
If the people's support was lost, it would be difficult to gather the Emperor's Qi, and the royal family would be unable to produce new experts. It wouldn't be long before the Great Zhou went from decline to decline.
This was something that the various countries were happy to see.
However, when they walked out of the Honglu Temple, they found that there were only a few figures on the streets that had been abnormally crowded yesterday.
After some investigation, they found that the people of the Divine Capital had spontaneously gone to the ancestral temple to pay tribute. Because the people were paying tribute, the streets were empty. How united was the people of the Divine Capital?
Under these circumstances, even if they stopped paying tribute, the impact on the people's support would be minimal.
Even if they stopped paying tribute, it would instead cause the people of the Great Zhou to be more united.
In the following half a day, the Ministry of Justice arrested dozens of foreign merchants who had violated the laws of the Great Zhou. They were flogged at the entrance of the Ministry of Justice, attracting countless people to watch. Their cheers could be heard from several streets away.
There were also a few who had seriously violated the law and were likely to face several years of imprisonment.
The ambassadors of the various countries protested this matter to the Great Zhou court, requesting that the Ministry of Justice release the relevant people, but they were rejected.
One of the ambassadors of the Shen Nation asked around and returned to the Honglu Temple. He said to his companion, "I've asked around. When the memorial was delivered to the Great Zhou Secretariat, it was shot down. It was done by that Li Mu. This person is unmoved by force or persuasion. He's not afraid of anything …"
Another ambassador of the Shen Nation thought for a moment, then said, "There's no other way. Let's just directly protest to the Empress of the Great Zhou. I don't believe that she's not afraid of us cutting off our tribute to the Great Zhou. If that happens, she'll become a sinner for all eternity …"
…
In the Changle Palace, Li Mu handed a memorial to the empress, who was reading a book, and asked, "Your Majesty, the Shen Nation's envoy threatened the imperial court. If we don't release them, they will cut off their tribute to the Great Zhou. How should I respond to them?"
Zhou Yi flipped to a page and said indifferently, "Write a decree. From today onwards, the Great Zhou and the Shen Nation will sever their tributes … Didn't they refuse to pay tribute? In the future, they won't have to pay tribute anymore."
Li Mu nodded and said, "As you wish …"
Not long after, Mr. Mei walked into the Honglu Temple. His voice resounded in all directions, "Envoy of Shen Country, receive the imperial edict."
Two figures walked out of a courtyard and stood quietly in front of Mr. Mei. They sneered in their hearts. As expected, it was better to hand the memorial directly to the Empress of the Great Zhou. There was a result so quickly.
That Li Mu didn't know the immensity of heaven and earth, but how could the Empress of the Great Zhou not know the importance of the big picture?
Mr. Mei looked at them indifferently and said, "Her Majesty has decreed that the Shen Nation's merchants are of inferior character and have violated many laws within the Great Zhou. The Shen Nation's envoy did not restrain his people and instead made unreasonable demands of the Great Zhou court. From today onwards, the Great Zhou and the Shen Nation will sever their tributes …"
Mr. Mei had already finished speaking, but the Shen Nation's envoy was still frozen in place.
Their most important mission this time was to sever their tributes to the Great Zhou. Now that they had achieved their goal, they didn't feel any sense of accomplishment.
Five years ago, the Great Zhou Emperor gave them too many benefits and begged them to continue their tributes. Five years later, the Empress of the Great Zhou took the initiative to sever the relationship between the two nations …
After Mr. Mei finished reading the imperial edict, he floated away, leaving the envoys in the Honglu Temple looking at each other.
Although the imperial edict only mentioned the Shen Nation, it also sent a message to all of them.
The Empress of the Great Zhou didn't care about the tributes of the other nations. If they used this as a threat, they would probably end up like the Shen Nation.
From now on, everyone here would have to reconsider their relationship with the Great Zhou.
Changle Palace.
After learning that the Shen Nation envoy had left the Honglu Temple in anger, Li Mu's mouth twitched in disdain.
The Empress wasn't so easily threatened. She had always been amenable to coaxing and not coercion.
The Shen Nation people had clearly miscalculated if they wanted to use the method of threatening the previous Emperor to threaten her. She didn't even want to be the Empress of the Great Zhou, much less the Overlord of Zu Province. If the other nations wanted to pay tributes, they could play by themselves …
To the Empress, growing grass and flowers, playing Aeroplane Chess with Xiao Bai and Wanwan, and painting with Li Mu were perhaps more attractive than these things.
She didn't care about whether or not the other nations paid tributes. She even gave Li Mu full authority to receive the envoys.
Regardless of the other nations' ulterior motives, the Great Zhou had to have the bearing of a great nation. Although there was no need to give them special privileges over the people of the Great Zhou, she still had to do her part as a host.
According to the rules of previous years, after the imperial court banquet, the envoys would be taken on a tour of Shen 'du to show off the glory of the great nation.
During the month of tributes, the people of Shen 'du would wash the streets and paint the houses. This had already become a tradition. They strove to show the best of the Great Zhou in front of these small nations.
In previous years, officials from the Ministry of Rites were in charge of this.
Li Mu had never presided over this before. He specially came to the Ministry of Rites to consult the assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites. "How was this arranged in previous years?"
The assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites said, "Lord Li, in the past, one of the six ministries and nine temples would be chosen as the place for the envoys to visit. After the selection, they would be notified at least a day in advance so that the officials could make preparations …"
After he finished speaking, he asked again, "Lord Li, which government office will we choose this time?"
Li Mu waved his hand and said, "Whatever …"
The next day, at the entrance of the Department of Offerings.
The assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites looked at the envoys and said, "This is the Department of Offerings of the Great Zhou. Everyone, please …"
The envoys all had expressions of interest on their faces. In the past, the Great Zhou court would only allow them to visit the six ministries and nine temples. This was the first time they were allowed to visit the Department of Offerings.
The Department of Offerings was the place where the experts of a nation gathered. From the Department of Offerings, one could see the foundation and strength of a nation.
The assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites led the crowd in slowly. They passed through the front yard of the Department of Offerings and came to an extremely wide open space. The assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites took the initiative to introduce, "This is the place where the Offerings practice their martial arts …"
On the open space, ripples of mana could be felt.
At the very front, on a small slope, stood a human-shaped target.
One of the worshippers who exuded the aura of the Fifth Tier waved his hand, and a dozen or so talismans flew out from his sleeves, creating a violent wave of spiritual energy that knocked down the human-shaped target and also razed the slope to the ground.
This scene made the envoys' throats dry up.
Every single one of those Fu-lu was above the Earth Rank. These Fu-lu talismans were hard to come by in their countries. Anyone who owned one would have to keep it as a life-saving trump card. The Great Zhou's Offering was actually so extravagant as to use more than ten Earth Rank Fu-lu talismans for target practice?
This was too wasteful …
Just from that attack just now, even a Sixth Level cultivator would have to deal with it. Those below the Sixth Level would probably not even be able to escape with their Primordial Spirits.
Another consecrator flicked his finger lightly, and a black pill-shaped object flew towards another human-shaped target.
The two objects collided. After a strong spatial ripple, that human-shaped target was swallowed by a black hole in the void.
Many people swallowed their saliva secretly. If this object landed on them, they probably would not be able to avoid the fate of being swallowed.
This strange method of attack was simply unheard of.
With his hands behind his back, Li Mu turned around and saw the shocked expressions of the crowd. He smiled and said, "Everyone, don't be nervous. The Offering is just practicing against the enemy. It's all routine …"
In the next two hours, Li Mu brought the envoys to witness the routine of countless Great Zhou's Offering.
This included various powerful Fu-lu talismans, pills, and formations made by many Offering that could trap a Sixth Level cultivator to death.
In the past, it would take ten talisman liquids to draw one Fu-lu. Now that they could draw ten, the Offering naturally did not have to be thrifty. They just needed to blow it up. If they did not have enough, they could ask for more. The imperial court was not lacking in Fu-lu now.
In addition to spending thousands of Fu-lu talismans for the Empress, Li Mu and the Empress also refined some of the ancient pills that they had comprehended from the pages of Dao. They gave them to the Offering so that they could familiarize themselves with using them in advance so that they could be more proficient against the enemy in the future.
Two hours later, the envoys walked out of the Offering Department. Their faces were somewhat pale.
The scene that they saw in the Offering Department had left a deep impression on them. Was this the strength of the Zu Continent's overlord?
Li Mu looked at them and said, "By the way, His Majesty has decreed that all countries no longer need to pay tribute to Great Zhou in the future. Great Zhou is still facing internal and external troubles. We really have no time to take care of the other countries. You may all return …"
The envoys from the small countries looked at each other, swallowed their saliva, and immediately spoke.
"We have to pay tribute, we have to pay tribute. We can't break the century-old rule …"
"The State of Wei is loyal and devoted to Great Zhou. We will never be disloyal …"
"We pledge our lives to follow Great Zhou …"
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