Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne

Chapter 514: Chapter 276: The Xiongnu Arrive_2

The Xiongnu people arrived in the capital city and, after witnessing the splendor of Great Zhou, their eyes revealed greed.

On the day the Xiongnu arrived in the capital, Zhao Yao curiously ran out of the palace to observe. He stood by the window on the second floor of a restaurant by the street, watching the Xiongnu with curiosity.

The Xiongnu who came were all tall and strong, exuding a beast-like ferocity and danger from head to toe.

Many citizens in the capital ran to the sides of the street, curious to see the Xiongnu, and the Xiongnu were startled as a result.

Seeing the fear in the eyes and faces of the people, the Xiongnu felt very proud. They decided to give the people of Great Zhou a show of force before meeting the Emperor of Great Zhou.

At this moment, a bird flew over them in the sky. One of the Xiongnu picked up a bow and arrow, aiming at the bird in the sky.

The Director of the Ministry of Rites and several officials and military officers witnessed this scene, all frowning.

The citizens did not understand what the Xiongnu intended to do, and a look of fear appeared on their faces.

Just as the Director of the Ministry of Rites and others were about to dissuade the Xiongnu, the Xiongnu had already released the arrow.

The arrow flew sharply towards the bird in the sky.

As the arrow was about to hit the bird, the Xiongnu showed a look of pride.

At this moment, an arrow flew from another direction, hitting the arrow released by the Xiongnu.

With a loud thud, the Xiongnu’s arrow was shot down and fell to the ground.

No one expected this to happen; both the Xiongnu and the people of Great Zhou were shocked.

The Xiongnu who shot the arrow was first stunned, not expecting anyone to intercept his arrow, nor that someone would shoot down his arrow. After a moment of shock, he turned his head fiercely towards the direction from which the arrow had come.

Who had shot down his arrow?

Zhao Yao saw the Xiongnu looking towards him and did not put down the bow in his hand. He deliberately raised an eyebrow at the Xiongnu.

The Xiongnu stared in disbelief at Zhao Yao, never imagining that the one who shot down his arrow was a young boy, and moreover, an excessively pretty youngster.

The Director of the Ministry of Rites and several officials and military officers saw that it was Zhao Yao who had shot the arrow and were about to salute His Highness, but were stopped by a wave of the prince’s hand.

The Xiongnu were about to say something when the Director of the Ministry of Rites cut them off, questioning their intentions and whether they were provoking Great Zhou. If the Xiongnu lacked sincerity, they could leave now.

Several military officers glared fiercely at the group of Xiongnu, as if ready to eliminate them immediately.

The Xiongnu ambassadors quickly smiled at the Director of the Ministry of Rites, saying they had no intention of provoking Great Zhou and that it was a small misunderstanding. The Xiongnu, when seeing birds in the sky on the plains, could not help but want to shoot them down; it was merely their habit just now.

One of the military officers, with a smile that did not reach his eyes, said that the people of Great Zhou have a habit too, which is to shoot down the arrows aimed at birds in the sky.

If the Xiongnu cannot abandon this habit while in Great Zhou, then next it will not be just their arrows getting shot down, but their heads.

The Xiongnu had never been threatened like this before; they were always the ones doing the threatening. Each of them gripped their waist knives, glaring viciously at the military officers of Great Zhou.

The military officers were entirely unafraid of the Xiongnu; they immediately unsheathed their swords and blades, pointing them menacingly at the Xiongnu.

The citizens witnessing this scene were terrified and turned pale as clay.

The Xiongnu ambassadors saw the murderous intent in the eyes of the people of Great Zhou and realized they truly intended to kill them, not just scare them. His heart tightened, and he immediately had his men sit down.

The Director of the Ministry of Rites, with a cold face, told the Xiongnu ambassadors that this was Great Zhou, not the plains, and not a place for Xiongnu to run wild. If the Xiongnu wanted to show off in Great Zhou, they would not be shown leniency.

The Xiongnu never thought the people of Great Zhou would be so tough. Before coming to Great Zhou, they heard from their elders that the people of the Central Plains were spineless, and a little intimidation would have them fleeing in terror. However, the current situation was not as their elders had described.

The Xiongnu who had come had also been on the battlefield, thus naturally sensing the murderous aura emanating from the warriors of Great Zhou. These soldiers of Great Zhou had also been to war and had killed not a few people. The killing intent they exuded was no less than that of the Xiongnu.

The confrontation hadn’t yet turned into a fight, but the atmosphere was exceedingly tense.

The people around sensed this dangerous atmosphere and became very quiet. They didn’t dare speak, or even breathe loudly.

Shortly after, the Xiongnu ambassador broke the strange and dangerous tension, smiling as he said to the Director of the Ministry of Rites that there was absolutely no intention of provocation, it was all a misunderstanding.

The Director of the Ministry of Rites looked coldly at the Xiongnu ambassadors, not speaking.

The Xiongnu ambassador turned and said a few words in Xiongnu to the other Xiongnu, who showed discontent on their faces but obediently released their grip on their waist knives, withdrawing their murderous aura.

The Director of the Ministry of Rites once again warned the Xiongnu ambassadors that this was Great Zhou, not the plains, hoping they would follow the rules of Great Zhou. If they continued to provoke as before, it would be tantamount to insulting Great Zhou, and by then they would no longer be cordial.

Though two countries at war would not harm the other’s envoys, Great Zhou would not kill the envoys, but others may not be restricted.

The Xiongnu ambassador was frightened by this warning from the Director of the Ministry of Rites. It seemed the people of Great Zhou truly did not fear the Xiongnu.

He hurriedly assured the Director of the Ministry of Rites that they would not repeat such behavior, only then did the warriors of Great Zhou put away their swords and blades.

Subsequently, the Xiongnu behaved very well, no longer provoking, and obediently followed the Director of the Ministry of Rites and others to the hostel.

The Director of the Ministry of Rites let the Xiongnu ambassadors rest well first, and once they were rested, the emperor would summon them.

As he was leaving, the Director of the Ministry of Rites once again warned the Xiongnu ambassadors not to cause trouble in Great Zhou. If they harmed the citizens of Great Zhou, the laws of Great Zhou would not spare them.

The Xiongnu ambassador said they came to build good relations with Great Zhou and would never harm its citizens.

The Director of the Ministry of Rites said nothing more, as he needed to enter the palace to report to the emperor.

Several military officers did not leave with the Director of the Ministry of Rites but led a group of soldiers to guard the hostel.

The Director of the Ministry of Rites went to the Imperial Study to report in detail to the emperor about the events that happened after welcoming the Xiongnu; naturally including Zhao Yao shooting down the Xiongnu’s arrow and suppressing the Xiongnu’s arrogance.

The emperor listened and laughed heartily: "Well done, as expected of my son!"

Sun Kui, who stood by, also felt very gratified hearing this.

"To deal with these Xiongnu, we must be even tougher than they are, otherwise they cannot be intimidated."

"Indeed, Your Majesty is correct."

The emperor, in good spirits, said with a wide smile: "Don’t be too courteous with them; otherwise, they’ll walk all over you." Although the emperor had never dealt directly with the Xiongnu, nor fought with them, through intelligence gathered by spies, he had some understanding of the Xiongnu’s nature. In reality, the Xiongnu were like hooligans.

To deal with ruffians, one must not be overly polite, otherwise, they will only see your courtesy as weakness to be exploited. To handle them, one must be more of a hooligan than they are so that they will be afraid.

Before the Xiongnu arrived in Great Zhou, many officials had suggested treating them with courtesy to let them experience the rituals of Great Zhou. Those officials were subsequently scolded harshly by the emperor.

Knowing that the Xiongnu came with bad intentions, they still suggested treating them with courtesy—was their mind diseased or what.

The officials argued that previous dynasties received the Xiongnu this way, only to be rebuked by the emperor. He stated, this is Great Zhou, not the Xia Dynasty, nor the Chen Dynasty. He didn’t care how the Xia Dynasty received the Xiongnu, but in Great Zhou, the Xiongnu were not guests, but bandits. Bandits require no courtesy, only swords and spears.