Zuo Zongtang stared at everyone in the room with his eyes like a hook. Shopkeeper Fan Jin and Zuo Dachao were photographed. Yu Guanwei had already stood up and stood aside. Only King Shangtai was still holding the wine glass and sipping it with his eyes still. Reluctant to leave the flawless piece of jade on the table.
"Beautiful, really beautiful...Mr. Zuo, what do you think is the best carving for this shape?"
"Haha, then it depends on how your Majesty plans to use it? Utensils must have a use to be valuable!"
"Yes, you are right...what if I plan to reward a certain official?"
"It's simple. In this shape, we can carve a horse to be named a marquis. A strong horse and an agile monkey sitting on its back are the most auspicious..."
"Ouch! What if I give it to the prince of the Qing Dynasty?"
"This is a bit particular. If you are short of children, carve a pomegranate grape. If you are short of women, carve a Western beauty. If you are ambitious, carve a five-clawed jade dragon for him..."
"Hey, five-clawed jade dragon? Aren't you going to rebel?"
"Haha, Your Majesty is pretending to be confused because he understands. There are not many people in the world who want to rebel. It just depends on whether there is a chance..."
This kind of sheer disregard made Zuo Zongtang very angry. He snorted coldly, "Who are you showing this peepshow to? Give it to me... I'm sorry, I'm old and blind and haven't read dramas for a long time..."
"Tell me why you're here!" Master Zuo sat down opposite King Shang Tai with all his might.
King Shang Tai glanced at him and smiled faintly, "If this piece of jade is given to the commander-in-chief, what do you think should be carved into it?"
"Hidden dragon! Only the dragon's head and one claw are exposed in the layers of clouds, and the whole body is hidden in the mist... This is the best!"
"Enough! Is Xiao Letian full of food? He chased him from the East China Sea to Jinzhou for tens of thousands of miles to make sarcastic remarks? What kind of bullshit hidden dragon is he willing to be? Let him be, I don't care!"
After finishing speaking, Zuo Zongtang waved his hand, and... more than a dozen men in black jumped down from the roof, each with their swords unsheathed and looking at the group of people eagerly.
The caravan guards in the room immediately pulled out their portable daggers, and the two sides immediately faced off.
"King Shang Tai? Do you think so? Show us the evidence..."
King Shangtai has also seen all the storms in the world. He waved his hand calmly, and the carefully selected guards from the CIA and the Sword-Batting Team sheathed their swords.
"There's no need to be so tense. If Marshal Zuo wants to kill us, he won't use a knife at all. In this era, pistols are better for killing people..."
"The head of state and I separated at the Suez Canal, and went deep into the hinterland of Egypt. Under heavy pursuit by the French garrison, we also dug two ancient Egyptian tombs and uncovered tens of thousands of treasures... and even encountered several extremely supernatural events. …”
"Forget it, let's not talk about it, that's another story..."
"Seven months ago, I received a secret message from the head of state from the British. I didn't dare to neglect. I packed up and started to return to China. I waited at the Port of Suez for Mr. Zuo and other team members to return to China..."
"It's been seven whole months. We didn't rest for seven months. We took a boat from the Middle East all the way to Shanghai, and then traveled across the entire Qing Dynasty to Lanzhou..."
"Hey... After more than half a year of hard work, I thought that the commander-in-chief would show his loyalty to the landlord, but what happened was that he got such a scene... It's really chilling!"
King Shangtai chatted for a few words, but he couldn't describe the bitterness of the journey. Looking at the vicissitudes of life on his face, it can be seen that the desert storm in Egypt was severe.
The purpose of Guiyan's left trip to Europe was to help Xiao Letian collect cultural relics lost in China. When the war ended, Thiers began to restore government power.
Xiao Letian's theft could not continue. The most precious ship of cultural relics on the left returned to China early, and the Paris Commune had not yet been completely destroyed at that time.
The monk Tai Wang on the left formed a caravan, and the old shopkeeper Fan Qian also sent a member of the family's profit as the leader. The group headed to the northwest with many different tasks. The first person they wanted to see was Marshal Zuo.
King Shang Tai was amused when he saw Zuo Zongtang's businesslike look. He tapped the table with his finger, quickly took out a rosewood box on his left, pushed it to the marshal and opened it.
"The seal of the Ryukyu Kingdom given by Emperor Hongwu of the Ming Dynasty...please take a look at it, Commander-in-Chief!"
"There is also this pocket, which contains some photos, which can also prove the identity of the king..."
When he opened it, he found a thick stack of photos inside, including a group photo of Xiao Letian and King Shangtai at Shuri Castle, a record of European ministers paying homage to King Shangtai, and even a photo of Hu Xueyan kneeling before King Shangtai.
"If you don't believe the photos and the gold seal, there is also Hu Xueyan's handwritten letter here... The commander-in-chief shouldn't recognize it, right?"
Zuo Zongtang's hands were shaking. Of course he had never seen what the seal of the Ryukyu Kingdom looked like, but he could see the vicissitudes of history on this golden seal.
In this era, there was no technology to fake photos, so he still recognized the looks of Xiao Letian and Hu Xueyan, ministers from various countries.
What's more important is the handwritten letters. The ancient Chinese were very particular about writing, and studying calligraphy was a basic skill for being an official. He could tell at a glance whether it was Hu Xueyan's handwriting.
Supported by three parties, this really cannot be true anymore!
Zuo Zongtang's face changed strangely, turning red and white for a while. Finally, he couldn't stand it any longer, so he stood up and pushed the golden mountain over the jade pillar.
"Foreign Minister Zuo Zongtang, please pay homage to Your Majesty!"
He finally admitted his fault. As soon as King Shangtai saw Zuo Zongtang's willingness to kowtow, he knew that he had finally kicked off the good start. How could he let such a powerful commander really kneel down? He stretched out his hand to help him when his knee was stained with some dust. Woke up.
"It's not worth it, it's not worth it! I'm just a prince, no different from Prince Gong or Prince Su of the Qing Dynasty. When the commander-in-chief meets those princes, isn't it worth kneeling down?"
"It's not worth it, sit down..."
Liu Jintang, who was next to him, secretly let out a sigh of relief. He knew the marshal's weird temper. He didn't even give Zeng Guofan face, and he was extremely arrogant inside.
Although it is true that King Shangtai is the king, I have never seen Zuo Zongtang kneel before the prince of the Qing Dynasty!
Fortunately, everyone didn't kneel down. If King Shangtai didn't show courtesy later, the negotiation might really collapse!
Sure enough, Zuo Zongtang's complexion improved a lot. King Shangtai's politeness gave him enough face. The commander even sent an order to deliver the fine wine he had collected.
"This is the ten-year-old Cui Po wine sent by my nephew. It is known as Dejiu... It has a strong, fragrant and refreshing taste. Your Majesty may wish to drink a few more glasses!"
"Please...please..."
"Can these friends introduce me to the foreign minister? Oh... Fan Jian and Fan Caishen's nephew? How disrespectful..."
"On the left side of the ghost eye? The first emperor of the capital... actually still has the same surname, please sit down too!"
"These guys..."
After a while, Zuo Zongtang, the little leader of the caravan, asked all the questions. By this time, he had already drank three glasses of strong liquor.
Note: There will be a third update today, don’t worry!
Today is Monday, and I am preparing to rush to the red envelope list. This is the last activity to rush the red envelope list before the Spring Festival. Interested book friends can vote for red envelopes to support.
The red envelope list activity is a very effective advertising campaign that can help our Hidden Dragon expand its readership and allow more new readers to discover our books.
No matter how good the wine is, the alley is too deep! Why do you have to promote it once in a while!
Thanks to the book friends who have always supported:
Can't Learn to Disguise A, Big Bear Bear King, Fun-loving Old Man, Peerless Good Man 389195818, Pure Animal, Shaman Sacrifice 705590082, Cwzhao, 17K Book Friends 5p421i9z, Brother, Steady,
Sheng Suizan, Liang Guoxian, Wu Min 295563549, 17K book friends mkp3vizl, The Night Walking Hermit, 17K book friends NO6U1OR5, Dongfang Jinge Weiming, Lao_is sleepy, Ouyang Haha1,
International M Group Brother Ting, 17k book friend 3f9zw559m, 17K book friend J87FKXTC, sour plum soup 525662722, 17K book friend gqdy1q3b, y red, 17K book friend JQQMZ7H7, Hua Qing, old man 038031856,
Leili 093405008, I am acetic acid, 17k book friend ykopdeqby, Waiting for the Wind 695863040, 17K book friend HV8QBPZI, Carving Time 703656204, Reading Habits, Gentleman Haoqiu 436014743,
Spring breeze is also wine, 17k book friends efdpuyw1s, dream within a dream 783418201, deadly poisonous mushroom, Yaoguang 020207373, 17k book friends 9OIOFCKO, emmm?¡ ,
Samarkand, Allow Me to Be Lonely All Life, Duck Overlord 540660051, A Face Come Over and Let Me Hit..., Lazy 2005, Xiaobai 388166296, Weiwei Fujian West, 17K Book Friends RRC4EJUR,
Yuci Da Baozi, Jiu Ge 302821925, Starfall☆Moonnight, Reversal Lord 408320747, Fu Sheng Jing, Aimeng Mengyou, Night Walking Hermit, Wu Boxun, Xiao Yi 285057243, Madman Huohuo 249195666,
There is no gentleman who does not support craftsmen, and I have a pure heart. Thank you!
