Chapter 295: Chapter 210: Golden Qilin Young Dragon, Crown Prince’s Aura, Condensing the Dragon Soul, Forging the Dragon Bone

"No political marriages!"

The words were deafening.

The words that the entire Imperial Court dared not speak, he, Lu Mingyuan, dared!

At the North Gate’s exit.

The common people watched from the high buildings on both sides, stunned.

This political marriage of the Great Yan Dynasty had left them feeling oppressed and angry.

For their longtime rival, the Great Nether Sacred Country, to demand that Great Yan’s future Crown Prince marry into their family was, in itself, a complete disgrace.

But many of the common people knew in their hearts that if the Court made such a choice, it must have had its reasons.

As common folk, there was little they could say. They could gossip a bit, curse a bit, and that would be the end of it. Then, Lu Mingyuan, the new Crown Prince of Great Yan, made a declaration for the nation. His very first point was: no political marriages. This thrilled them beyond measure.

Marrying into the Human Demon Country for a political alliance was, of course, a gesture of peace.

But was it not also a show of weakness?

This was the dilemma facing the Great Yan Dynasty. Emperor Yong’an knew that if they went through with the political marriage, the people would not accept it. Public resentment would surely erupt, and the subjects of Great Yan would all blame him, believing he had brought shame upon them.

That was why he remained silent, trying to minimize the impact.

But if there was no political marriage, the borders would be in turmoil, and the people would live in constant fear. The residents of the Capital City couldn’t feel that kind of panic.

The people living on the border, however, knew just how terrifying it was. Every night, the sound of sinister winds howling and Demon Fiends crossing into the country would make them tremble in fear. Entire villages dared not sleep soundly.

They were afraid that men from the Holy Netherworld would come to burn, kill, and plunder, leaving no bones behind.

That was why, for the sake of the people, the Chief Minister was willing to bear the infamy. But if you were to ask if he was truly willing in his heart, he would of course say no.

It was just that there was nothing to be done about any of it.

But now, Lu Mingyuan’s appearance had broken the stalemate.

Chief Minister Yuan Xuangang watched all of this with his Spiritual Sense.

Far in the distance, by the Imperial Palace, Lu Mingyuan was bathed in a magnificent light. He looked drunk, yet he gave off the feeling that while the rest of the world was intoxicated, he alone was sober.

The form of a ferocious, horned Golden Qilin Young Dragon slowly rose into the air. Though small, it had already taken shape, coalescing around Lu Mingyuan.

Lu Mingyuan’s expression was calm as he spoke again:

"No reparations!"

The Great Yan Dynasty had a history of over three hundred years. A century ago, one of its Emperors was even captured and taken to the north, yet the Dynasty had never paid reparations to an outside power. If defeated in battle, they would rest and recuperate. To pay reparations was a disgrace.

"No ceding territory!"

This land had only ever been lost to internal strife and schism; there was no precedent for giving it away to a foreign enemy. That would be a humiliation. Not one inch of soil, not one city would be surrendered. Otherwise, they could not call themselves a great and dignified nation.

This was Lu Mingyuan’s true purpose.

To give the people of Great Yan confidence.

To show that he, the Crown Prince, stood on their side.

To affirm that the dignity of Great Yan was above all else, triumphant over everything.

"No submitting as vassals!"

The Great Yan Dynasty is a superior nation. From this day forward, no matter what dynasty we face, we shall not submit as vassals. The officials of Great Yan are above all others.

The people of Great Yan are also above all others.

The words echoed, refusing to fade.

They spread to the ears of everyone in the Capital.

Lu Mingyuan was now making a declaration for the nation.

If he could truly establish these as national tenets, Great Yan’s Fortune would be strengthened, and his own extraordinary aura as Crown Prince would fully materialize.

At the gates of the Imperial Palace, as the voice spread, a large crowd had already gathered.

Everyone wanted to know who this newly appointed Crown Prince was and what he looked like.

To think he could make such a national declaration.

Feeling the gazes of the crowd, Lu Mingyuan’s heart was as still as water.

The words he spoke today were not just for Great Yan, but also for the injustice he felt in his own heart.

’A nation,’ he thought, ’should never resort to political marriage to solve its problems, no matter what it faces.’

’This is not a matter of pride, but a struggle for our National Fortune.’

’The Great Yan Dynasty does not need political marriages, nor does it need to sacrifice its own to buy peace.’

The benefit of a political marriage was peace on the borders, but it was not what the people truly wanted.

However, after several days of thought, Lu Mingyuan had found a way to break the current impasse.

A way to avoid being constrained by the position of Crown Prince, and also escape the fate of a political marriage.

Just as the divination trigrams had said.

Speak for the nation.

’Since no one dares to tear through this paper-thin facade, then let me be the one to do it.’

’I fear nothing.’

’If he has the guts, he can take back my title of Crown Prince.’

’If, under these circumstances, my Imperial Father still tries to marry me off into the Demon Country, even if I were to agree, the people of this land would not!’

The Crown Prince’s aura gradually formed, and the Golden Qilin Young Dragon grew larger.

He shaped a Dragon Soul and used Great Yan’s Fortune to forge a Dragon Bone, making the phenomenon coalescing around him startlingly lifelike.

Every word Lu Mingyuan spoke was not in praise of the Great Yan Dynasty, but rather a story of this land, stirring the grief and indignation of the people who lived upon it.

Over three hundred years ago, the Grand Ancestor of Great Yan emerged. A commoner, he swept across the many dynasties of the Central Plains, saving the people from fire and flood.

He founded the nation with Martial prowess and secured the Celestial Mandate.

And now, the Great Yan Dynasty was actually going to use a political marriage to trade for peace?

Was this not a humiliation?

A nation with a backbone is a superior nation.

A man with integrity is a Gentleman!

What does "no political marriages" mean?

How can a great nation of the Central Plains, blessed by the Celestial Mandate, rely on marrying off women to quell the chaos of war?

Lu Mingyuan saw the crowd before him swelling and uttered the final two True Words:

"The Emperor shall guard the nation’s gates!"

"The King shall die with his state!"

The moment this proclamation was made, a beam of light shot into the sky from the ancestral temple in the Great Yan Imperial Palace, and the entire structure began to tremble.

Countless people turned their gazes toward it. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

At that moment, even Emperor Yong’an could no longer remain seated. He stared at the ancestral temple with a look of astonishment.

Above the ancestral temple, a dazzling light shone, forming the silhouette of a person.

An Emperor dressed in commoner’s clothes.

The Grand Ancestor of Great Yan.

The Commoner Emperor.

He wore no luxurious Dragon Robe, nor did he have an aloof and superior gaze. Everything about him seemed ordinary, yet it was this extreme ordinariness that had saved a nation.

He had toppled ten great dynasties.

This was the Grand Ancestor of Great Yan.

Worthy of the title of Great Emperor.

"We pay our respects to the Grand Ancestor!"

At that instant, within the Imperial Palace, Emperor Yong’an immediately fell to his knees, kowtowing toward the Grand Ancestor of the Great Yan Dynasty.

This was the founder of the Great Yan Dynasty.

Who would dare show disrespect?

Once the Emperor knelt, everyone in the Imperial Palace immediately followed suit. Officials, consorts, eunuchs, and maids—all knelt, not daring to look directly at this Grand Ancestor.

With just that short phrase, Lu Mingyuan had summoned the Grand Ancestor of Great Yan. Such a feat could only be accomplished through the Confucian Dao.

With the appearance of the Grand Ancestor of Great Yan, the people of the Capital also knelt one after another. There was no one who did not respect this Grand Ancestor.

Great Yan did not have a custom of kneeling and kowtowing like slaves at every turn.

But before this Emperor, the people knelt from the bottom of their hearts, for he had loved his subjects as his own children and truly held the common folk in his heart.

He despised evil as if it were a personal enemy.

He once issued a law stating that anyone holding a copy of Great Yan’s legal code could enter the Capital to file a grievance, and no official was permitted to obstruct them.

A commoner who tried to do so was intercepted by officials, and the case even implicated a Prince.

Everyone thought it was like an egg striking a stone. Was it possible to defeat a Prince?

It was impossible.

Throughout history, such a thing had never happened. He was just a commoner.

But what was the result?

When the Grand Ancestor learned of the matter, he flew into a thundering rage. All the officials who had obstructed the process were given the highest punishment, and as for the offending Prince, his entire household was executed.

These were the kinds of things the Grand Ancestor did.

He saw the people as his children. Though some people slandered him and tried to tarnish his name, what was the outcome?

The people’s eyes were sharp as snow; they knew what the Grand Ancestor had done, and they respected him.

When the Grand Ancestor passed away, the entire nation mourned. Every household hung white cloth, a sign of true adoration.

Now that the Grand Ancestor had appeared, people knelt out of sincere, heartfelt respect, even though they knew it was not the real man, but his spirit.

And once those two sentences were spoken...

"The Emperor guards the nation’s gates; the King dies with his state rather than live in dishonor" had truly become the national creed of Great Yan.

This was the Emperor’s will.

The will of Great Yan.

And it was the national will that Lu Mingyuan had most admired in his previous life.

Starting with a beggar’s bowl, ending with a rope.

As bleak as it was...

...the backbone remained.

They lost to the will of heaven, not the will of the people.

Lu Mingyuan was moved to speak, voicing the thoughts in his heart.

In forging a Dragon Bone for himself, was he not also forging a backbone for Great Yan?

Forging the backbone of a nation.

Inspiring countless common people.

And when the five True Words were uttered, they instantly caused a massive uproar.

Countless people watched this scene, their hearts reeling from the immense shock.

No political marriages! No reparations! No tribute! The Emperor shall guard the nation’s gates! The King shall die with his state!

...