Tilda?
Tilda Darhk?
Almost all the guests in the banquet hall stood up subconsciously.
Different from when they greeted Han Dongwen respectfully, the former was out of Simeng's etiquette, but when they stood up now, their eyes were full of unbelievable surprise.
Silver hair, blue eyes.
The person who was welcomed into the palace was actually the Grand Duke who ruled the country by himself!
She was wearing a simple West Asian dress with no lines - this was prepared by Han Dongwen's order. She had silver hair hanging behind her back, and she had a noble and cold demeanor in her every move.
"The Grand Duke."
"The Grand Duke."
"The Grand Duke."
Maratanio of the White Eagle Army was the first to react, clasping his hands in front of him and bowing. Hardan from Olima and another merchant envoy from the Zuling tribe also immediately followed suit.
Tilda glanced around them and nodded slightly.
Then, like a cold sword, she stabbed Zhan Taiyi straight with her gaze without hesitation.
"...Grand Duke."
Zhan Taiyi gritted his teeth and bowed his head in salute.
At certain times, the superior person is not a living person.
If the leader of a country is not treated by outsiders according to the standards of a leader, it is not something that can be solved by him being generous and saying "it doesn't matter" and everyone has a few buddies.
More often than not, what he represents on such occasions is not himself, but the country behind him.
If he is not respected, the country will not be respected.
What exists behind Tilda is the legally orthodox government of the Principality of West Asia, the Grand Duke's Palace of West Asia.
This is not something Zhan Taiyi can do, just like he only dares to make things difficult in front of Zhong Lilin, but he should still bend the knee to Han Dongwen.
Tilda glanced at him, raised her legs slowly and walked towards the main seat in the hall step by step.
She actually sat next to Han Dongwen!
Behind her, an exquisite palace maid followed, her lovely face full of unconcealable nervousness, as if she was participating in such a formal scene in the palace for the first time.
Han Dongwen raised his head and glanced at Xiao Hongdou, with a look of satisfaction in his eyes.
You really don't need to be so nervous. You did a very good job as a waiter during our last trip to West Asia. What's more, this is our own territory.
He wanted to try his best to convey this idea with his eyes. I wonder how well Xiaohongdou would receive it?
When she saw His Highness's familiar eyes, her tension did ease a lot.
His Highness did not mean to blame, which means he did nothing wrong.
No... His Highness never seemed to blame...
"Prepare the banquet and pour the wine!"
The waiter shouted loudly at the side of the hall, and the flower-like maids in the audience came in from the left and right sides of the hall, respectfully and elegantly carrying a variety of rare utensils, and served each cold appetizer exactly the same. Serve it to everyone's table.
A table made of water-grey wood will leave marks if it is bumped slightly.
The plates containing the dishes seemed as light as nothing, floating from the hands of the maids to the table.
This is evident from Simeng's demands for palace maids.
With gold and jade tableware and such high and uniform service standards, as long as Han Dongwen wishes, a banquet that takes a week to prepare can be adjusted and served in one day.
Unlike these business envoys, His Highness Simeng did not have a lot of jewelry, gold and jade, only solemn but simple everyday clothes.
However, this luxurious dinner, the songs and dances presented to him in the main hall, the delicacies on the plate, and the guests sitting beside him who were as quiet, beautiful and as strong as icebergs were all part of his magnificent cloak.
Very expensive!
When dining with delicious food, it is natural that it should be accompanied by fine wine.
Hardan of Olima and the envoys of Zuling Kingdom are both good drinkers. They have been coveting the fine wine of Simeng for many years.
What kind of wine will be served at the state banquet?
Their eyes impatiently passed through the waist of the dancer in the main hall, looking for the maid holding the wine flask. When they finally saw it, they showed a happy smile.
The palace maid held the wine pot, walked forward gently with lotus steps, knelt down at the table humbly and respectfully, and poured out the wine from the pot.
It was a transparent and amber-colored wine that submerged into the glass, like a lake of gold that could be held in one's hand.
On the main seat, Xiao Hongdou made an exception and sat next to Tilda. She carefully divided the food on the cup and plate for her. When it was enough to eat it with a fork and spoon, Tilda held it with her left hand. The tableware brings delicious food to your mouth.
Everyone was looking at the novel wine, but Zhan Taiyi saw this scene.
He actually saw clearly now that the Grand Duke of West Asia was missing a hand.
While he was gloating over his misfortune, he was also gritting his teeth to death.
Why didn't I even see this just now?
Is this Grand Duke's intimidation so strong that even if he was standing opposite him just now, he would not even be able to observe that she had lost one of her hands?
No, it must be too surprising, it must be...
"Fellow business envoys, please listen to what I have to say."
Han Dongwen's voice came out with a strong voice, he raised the jasper wine glass in his hand and glanced at the few people condescendingly.
Then everyone stopped eating and raised their heads.
"The wine we serve today is not made from ordinary Simeng grains, but is uniquely produced in the Principality of West Asia. It is made from the beautiful fruits of Bingjing Ziti and is mixed with Simeng's brewing technology."
As expected, the amber-like wine was not as pungent as ordinary grain wine, but it had a rich fruity aroma.
"Simeng and West Asia are just like this wine. The purple grapes of West Asia are indispensable for the brewing of Simeng. Today, I will have a banquet with this wine and invite all business envoys to witness the everlasting friendship between Simeng and West Asia!"
The most excited person in the audience was the merchant envoy from Zuling Kingdom. He was wearing a fur robe that was extremely smooth and high-end. He could tell at a glance that it would fetch a very high price in Simeng.
He loves wine, and he can tell just by looking at his nose that the wine in his cup will be good.
What if this could be a commodity?
"Your Highness, what is the name of this fine wine?"
Han Dongwen smiled heartily: "Ha, Simeng's wine is always named after the place of origin. This wine is brewed in Bailan Mountain on the border of Simeng in West Asia. I named it brandy. How about it?"
——————————
Before the banquet.
"Teacher, what you mean is that the mission may not want to leave?"
Han Dongwen looked at Wen Yongxing who was in front of him and fell into deep thought.
"Indeed, this veteran has always wondered why the Mianjiang business group acted like this. After all, there is no visible gain in encouraging everyone to withdraw from Simeng."
Wen Yongxing nodded slightly and looked at Han Dongwen, who was about to change clothes: "This is a serious matter and I have no choice but to..."
"It's okay, I'll listen to you while I'm changing."
The maid who was changing clothes after Han Dongwen today was naturally not Xiao Hongdou. She should be accompanying Tilda now.
Wen Yongxing nodded and said sternly: "His Royal Highness's last oral instruction was to order the National Jinsi not to make any concessions to retain the Mianjiang Merchant Group, and to force the other party to come to the table for talks as soon as possible to end the temptation. The result was just as His Highness expected."
"force……"
Han Dongwen thought for a moment and almost smiled bitterly.
At that time, he just felt that the National Finance Division suddenly had too much power in its hands, and he simply wanted to sing the opposite of Manjusri on the other side of the general business group to prevent him from being too constrained.
Who would have thought that my blaming style would actually force the Mianjiang Business Group to negotiate?
"What do they want?"
Wen Yongxing replied: "This time, before the Mianjiang merchant group took the lead in instigating the major merchants to leave Simeng, they wanted to borrow 40,000 yuan from the Simeng State Finance Department in the name of Blood Harbor to pay the outstanding debts of Blood Harbor. The payment for the goods was huge and there was no proof, so the National Finance Department did not lend it."
"Forty thousand gold..."
Han Dongwen calmly calculated addition, subtraction, multiplication and division in his mind. A bowl of noodle soup was only a few copper coins, and a horse, including the carriage, was worth about one to two gold dollars.
A hundred coppers are silver, and a hundred silvers are gold.
If a copper plate is worth one dollar, the Mianjiang business group is asking Simeng to borrow 400 million!
"The National Finance Department rejected him, so they took the lead in instigating some small actions and used the war to force them to withdraw?"
The corners of Han Dongwen's mouth curved upward: "Could it be that the merchant envoys from other countries let him serve as a spear envoy?"
"Perhaps the business envoys from other countries also know the secret. This time the Mianjiang Business Group proposed a new condition, but they have to borrow 60,000 yuan. I guess the surplus will naturally be divided among each other."
Han Dongwen listened and nodded without saying a word.
The country will fall into war, and the business groups who remain here are not satisfied except to evacuate and sell off the national debt in their hands.
He even wants to borrow a huge sum of money in the hope that the war will be imminent and he can postpone the repayment, or even not repay it at all?
"Others were used by him, but they only got 20,000 gold. The Mianjiang Merchant Group took 40,000 gold, and the abacus was crackling. He is worthy of being a broker." Han Dongwen pondered for a moment, and his brows suddenly widened.
"If they knew tonight that the war between Simeng and West Asia was about to end, would they still dare to borrow it? If they borrowed it, would they dare not return it?"
