The troops stationed in the Eastern Frontier also submitted a report to the military headquarters about this matter. But during that time, you were leading the major generals of the military on the northern expedition. Compared to your achievements in that campaign, our situation here was insignificant.
After your return to the capital, you remained busy, and since Magnolia Kingdom had already been suppressed and dared not act up again, the report should be buried beneath all the victory announcements submitted to the military.
Elara's expression slightly relaxed after hearing that.
It had only been a little over ten days since she returned from the Northern Frontier. Besides handling the many critical and urgent matters accumulated over the past three months, she also had to teach various departments technical knowledge. She had seen the report about Dry Jade Pass in the Eastern Frontier, but since it did not cause any losses or issues, she simply followed the protocol and rewarded or promoted the appropriate personnel without giving it more attention.
At this moment, hearing what the military officer said, Elara recalled thoughtfully for a while. "General Guo? The younger brother of the head of the Guo family in the Eastern noble clans?"
The military officer saw that she still remembered and quickly nodded. "Yes, Your Majesty, the same General Guo who ranked among the top three in the first military examination of Plumera City and was personally granted a position by you in the grand hall!"
A memory of a tall and burly man with a handsome face and heroic air flashed in Elara's mind. She nodded without asking further.
But now, since Magnolia Kingdom had already fallen into chaos and no longer counted as a formal state, her original plan of resolving the trade route issue through diplomacy was no longer feasible.
In such a fractured and chaotic area, without a more powerful and forceful deterrent, even if she completed the trade route, there would likely be constant trouble.
Elara lowered her gaze in thought while continuing to monitor the situation in Magnolia. At the same time, she rode swiftly on horseback toward Dahlia Kingdom.
After crossing Magnolia and entering the region of Zhaoxiang, due to the chaotic influence from Magnolia, one-third of the territory in Zhaoxiang that bordered Magnolia also suffered heavy impact and invasion.
As Elara led her troops along the way, she found that most of the towns bordering Magnolia had been occupied by rebel forces from there.
It wasn't until they reached the central area of Zhaoxiang that she finally saw the Zhaoxiang army resisting the rebels from Magnolia.
But judging from the shaky resistance, it was unclear how much longer they could hold out.
As Elara passed through Zhaoxiang with her troops, she noticed that the local army initially watched them with suspicion from a distance. Only after realizing they were not the invading rebels from Magnolia did they cautiously approach to inquire.
After confirming that they were troops from Plumera Kingdom, only passing through to go to Sargassum, the Zhaoxiang army relaxed slightly and opened the path to allow passage.
But that afternoon, as Elara led the troops through Zhaoxiang, a tall and handsome man in yellow robes galloped urgently on a fine horse and rushed up to her.
"General of Plumera! General of Plumera!"
Although Elara was personally on this journey, her identity as the empress had to be concealed, so she assumed the role of Plumera's highest-ranking female general.
The man only brought a few scattered guards. Even so, they were stopped from approaching by Senior General Duanmu and General He.
"General of Plumera! I am Zhao Yu, Crown Prince of Zhaoxiang! I've come to request military aid! Please, could you present a memorial to your Empress to send troops to Magnolia! Save Zhaoxiang from this crisis!"
"One-third of my country's territory has already been occupied by rebels from Magnolia. As long as you are willing to send troops to eliminate the rebels, our royal family is willing to renounce our royal status and become vassals under your powerful empire. Zhaoxiang will willingly become one of the counties under the protection of Plumera!"
After the crown prince of Zhaoxiang shouted those desperate words from afar, there was a moment of silence around them.
Elara looked into the distance at the prince of Zhaoxiang. Seeing the deep urgency and hope in his eyes, she halted her horse and raised her hand. Only then did Senior General Duanmu and General He let him through to approach her.
Seated high on her horse, Elara looked down at the Zhaoxiang prince. "Why are you asking for help from my country? Plumera does not even share much of a border with Zhaoxiang, and you have plenty of neighboring nations."
Zhao Yu saw her stop and his eyes lit up. He quickly spoke with a humble and respectful tone. "General, ever since your Empress took the throne, Plumera has risen to a second-tier power within half a year. She defeated the powerful northern states and formed alliances with other strong nations. Even in Zhaoxiang, these are spoken of as legendary feats."
"The wisdom and strength of your Empress are deeply admired by us. Her kindness and mercy toward her people earn our great respect. Unfortunately, although my royal family has many members, none can compare to the Empress in brilliance. And with the chaos of Magnolia spilling over, Zhaoxiang has now fallen into this state."
"To be honest, we did try to request aid from neighboring countries. But neither Sargassum nor any others were willing to help."
"Now, we've lost nearly a third of our land, and countless civilians have died or been injured. Our army is becoming weaker, morale is falling. If this continues, our royal family may go down in history as the one that lost our nation."
"So my father and I have both decided. Rather than stubbornly clinging to pride and bringing ruin to our people, it is better to give up our crown and seek strong protection. If Plumera is willing to accept us, we will become a county under Plumera. In doing so, even if we are cursed in history, we will have preserved the lives of our people and safeguarded most of our noble families and homeland. As long as Plumera is willing to accept our land."
Sometimes, when one becomes powerful, many things come easily.
Elara intended to build a trade route through Magnolia and Zhaoxiang. If she could turn both into Plumera's territory, it would certainly be more convenient and secure.
However, she did not immediately agree to Zhao Yu. She only told him, "Go back first. I'll write a letter and send it to Plumera City. In a few days, the Plumera military should take action. When that happens, someone from Plumera will come to Zhaoxiang to negotiate with you. Just wait and remember every word you said today, and carry them out strictly. If anything unexpected happens, be prepared to face the consequences."