solemn.
This is the first impression that the palace behind the Xuanri Gate gives everyone.
The business envoys had not had the opportunity to be summoned to the palace before, firstly because they usually dealt with the affairs of the State Finance Department, and secondly because Simeng, the emperor who was not the emperor, did not bother to care about such bad things in the past.
Therefore, it was indeed the first time that Han Dongwen invited him to the palace for a banquet.
Groups of maids stood in two rows behind the Hanging Sun Gate. They all had small orange fluorescent stone lamps tied to their waists, and they all held bright lanterns in their hands.
Night is approaching, and these pretty and lovely girls are like fireflies in the night sky in the palace, lighting up the road. Even though there are still splendid lights on the surrounding pillars and beams, no one can take their eyes away from them. Move away.
In front of all of them, Zhong Lilin, who was wearing a black and brown formal robe, stood upright. After waiting for the officers and soldiers of the National Finance Department to send several business envoys into the Xuanri Gate, he stretched his arms in front of his chest:
"Zhong Lilin, the supervisor of the Simeng Taishu Pavilion, inherited from the Emperor of Simeng, Xiaoxianxian wrote the edict of the Crown Prince Dongwen, and welcomes all the virtuous businessmen and envoys to the banquet!"
"He Suhadan, the general envoy of the Olimar Kingdom's Gold Merchant Group, would like to invite you!"
Hadan is one of Olimar's noble titles. The Hadan named He Su wears a round hat, which is intricately decorated with jeweled pendants. He has a black beard growing to his chest and waist. There is a scabbard that looks like a full moon.
There was no sword in the sheath. Even though he knew that he should not bring weapons into the palace, he still took out the sword, leaving only the scabbard. Naturally, this was because the scabbard was not of high quality, but was made of a huge withered sand ivory. It is dotted with crystal decorations connected by gold threads, which is obviously a symbol of strong financial resources.
He raised his hand and rubbed his beard against his lips for a moment, smiled, and took a step forward.
Several palace maids immediately bowed forward and stood behind him.
"Commercial envoy from the Foreign Trade Department of the White Eagle Army, Maratanio, please come!"
As a mercenary country that has always been neutral, the White Eagle Army also has commercial and foreign trade needs. In fact, the White Eagle Army has been seeking to transform the country's industrial structure, and foreign trade has been the focus of their recent efforts.
The merchant envoy named Maratanio was dressed in a white robe. Under the seemingly simple clothes, you can notice the clues if you look closely - the white robe reflected like a tide under the light of the moonlight and the lantern. It showed a fine silver brilliance, obviously made of some kind of precious and unique exotic silk.
Naturally, he is also showing off.
Several palace maids also welcomed him away, and later they took him to the main hall for the banquet.
"Lieutenant General Zhan Taiyi, the merchant envoy of Xue Gang Mianjiang Merchant Group, please invite me."
Zhong Lilin's voice changed slightly. After hearing this, Zhan Taiyi smiled contemptuously, raised his leg and took a step, put his hand on the short knife at his waist, and pulled it out with a "rubbing" motion.
As expected, the short sword originated from Taka was not extraordinary. As soon as it was unsheathed, a strong fiery red fluorescence lit up, leaving Sanskrit prints that were constantly flowing in the air.
If there are players here, they will definitely start arguing immediately about whether this sword and its special effects are an artifact.
Seeing Zhan Taiyi suddenly draw a sword in front of him, everyone's expressions changed.
Taka's treasure appeared in the hands of the Lieutenant General of Blood Harbor, and it was not only the wealth that showed off, but also the arrogant declaration of Blood Harbor that anyone dared to take a bite.
This time, he probably pretended to win.
Only Zhong Lilin's expression did not change, as if turning a blind eye, he turned his attention to the next person.
Is Zhong Lilin an ordinary civil servant?
Zhong Lilin joined the army at the age of eight. He was incorporated into the Xiubu Department at the age of 12. At the age of 17, he became a Lieutenant of the Xiubu Department of the National Army.
If it weren't for Liu Cheng, he would have been the youngest captain in the history of the Third Division.
He still had the willpower to control this situation.
Besides, this is also part of His Highness’s arrangement.
Seeing no reaction from the civil servants in front of him, Zhan Taiyi was stunned for a moment, gritted his teeth, coughed and asked: "This eunuch, I didn't understand etiquette before and mistakenly wore a weapon into the palace. Where should I store it temporarily? "
Zhong Lilin looked sideways at Zhan Taiyi and nodded slightly: "His Highness has told me that since there will be no danger, it doesn't matter what you want to bring. Please just take it with you."
After listening to his words, Zhan Taiyi frowned and his breathing became heavy. He abruptly inserted the short sword back into the scabbard and swaggered towards the palace maids who were waiting for him to lead the way.
There are four business envoys attending the banquet today. They are from Blood Harbor, Olimar, White Eagle Army, and Zuling Kingdom.
As for Taka, as Simeng's superior country, Taka does not have merchant envoys stationed here. Instead, Simeng should visit Taka every year to exchange trade details, not to mention that the tension inside Taka is like a powder keg at this time, and there is no time to go outside. Gu.
There are more than these four foreign business envoys in Simeng, but based on the plot setting of the original game, Han Dongwen deduced that from the perspective of national strength, these four are the most important.
After the edict was announced, Zhong Lilin held his head high and walked toward the palace with four business envoys accompanied by a crowd of palace ladies.
The further you walk, the more you can see how bright and brilliant the palace is.
Under the care of the Yingchun Palace and the Imperial Kitchen, everything has been arranged properly, the floor is spotless, and there are two tables on both sides, placed in the same position as Han Dongwen's main seat directly above.
Table setting is the first course of any banquet.
The tabletop is made of a single piece of oily wood. This kind of wood is coated with paint so that it will not be stained by oily water. However, the texture is extremely delicate. If you are not careful, it will leave marks on the tabletop and cannot be reused.
Such luxury is naturally arranged by His Highness.
On the table is a set of exquisite porcelain with cold bone azure glaze, including a soup bowl, a bowl, a bone plate, a serving plate, a pair of bamboo-covered gold-headed kuaizi, inlaid with A pair of silver quickstands and two celadon spoons.
In addition, there is also a row of exquisite things made of silver and jade, including a small hammer, a small forger, a pair of tongs, a shovel, a small fork, and a silver and copper scraper. pieces, and a jade-headed silver needle.
Of course, today’s feast will include crabs.
Such tableware basically means that the water-grey wood tabletop will be full of scratches after eating, and there is no need to use it again.
The luckiest thing in the misfortune may be that this oily wood table is only for the use of four merchants. As for their entourage, there is a small table placed half behind the body. Although they are also served meals, strictly speaking, But it doesn’t count as being on the table.
The merchant envoys were taken to their respective positions, but they did not rush to take their seats. Instead, they stood facing the palace door and waited in tacit understanding.
Shaoqing, Zhong Lilin’s voice sounded solemnly:
"The Holy One is here——!"
The four merchant envoys and the entourage they brought clasped their hands in front of them and looked towards the main entrance of the hall.
In the front is Zhong Lilin, and in the back is Li Zai.
Behind them are sixteen maids holding lamps and fans. Beside the maids are sixteen wounded officers and soldiers.
The man in the middle was pacing with his hands behind his back. His originally frail physique had become more and more upright in recent days.
After taking these few steps, he actually felt a little more energetic.
It was Han Dongwen.
The four merchant envoys and their entourage stepped back with their left legs, knelt on one knee and lowered their heads, and said in unison: "Greetings to Your Highness."
It wasn't until Han Dongwen walked step by step to the main seat and sat down that he calmly said, "No courtesy."
Several people breathed a sigh of relief, stood up and sat back at the table.
Among them, the one with the ugliest face was naturally Zhan Taiyi.
Just this emperor?
I brought weapons into the palace to show off, not to make you pretend to be generous. Why are you so awesome?
In the entire palace, only the narrow-eyed guard behind the emperor seems to have two brushes. Based on this, you dare to say that there is no danger?
Zhan Taiyi sneered calmly, looked at Han Dongwen's direction, and suddenly felt something was wrong.
The direction of the main seat, why are there two seats?
While he was thinking, he heard Zhong Lilin's voice again
"The Grand Duke of the Principality of West Asia, the Saint of the Divine Lord of West Asia, the Grand Duke Tilda has arrived!"
