Lian Chongyi also smiled meaningfully, but quickly shook his head: "Five hundred doors? The conditions are too harsh, we cannot accept it."
Niu Yuan lay back, waved his hand and said: "No matter what, I will decide on your artillery. The specific number can be reduced further, it depends on your bottom line."
"My request is that it should preferably not exceed three hundred doors."
"That's right." Niu Yuan was very satisfied when he saw how strong his negotiating attitude was. "You have already given us the truth. How can we bear to harm you? Let's not force others to do anything. Let's settle on two hundred doors."
Lian Chongyi first glanced at the faces of the officials around him, and then thanked him: "The Prime Minister understands the righteousness, and I sincerely admire him. I will go back and make an appointment, guaranteeing that it will be delivered the next day, so that the matter can be settled as soon as possible for the court."
"It would be good to write the deed as soon as possible, but this matter is of great importance and must be handed over to the court for discussion. Please wait slowly. If I don't call you, don't rush to deliver it."
"Yes." Lian Chongyi bowed respectfully and left together with Lu Zhixian.
"Prime Minister," Hong Lisan suddenly stepped forward with a slightly puzzled smile, "You personally facilitated the transaction of these two hundred guns, which is a great honor to the imperial court. However, once the sea ban is issued, ships in Nanyang will not be able to To pass, it’s better to keep this order for now and put the New Deal aside.”
Niu Yuan frowned and pondered hard for a while, but his face gradually became gloomy, and he tapped the table with one hand irritably, making a particularly loud sound.
Hong Lisan also saw anger in his eyes, so he put his hands away, not daring to make any move.
"Don't you understand what a two-pronged approach means?" Although Niu Yuan's tone was stern, there was still a hint of pride in it, "There is a way to avoid conflict between these two things."
Seeing that his expression relaxed, Hong Lizhen felt relieved and hurriedly said: "I am stupid, please give me some advice, Lord Niu."
"We will first pass on the order to ban the sea, so that the coastal areas can prepare for war in advance. After a month or two, the court will complete the deed and issue a pass seal to Lian Chongwen, making a special exception for them. Arrive. At that time, ships carrying cannons arrived, and they were unloaded on the spot and put into coastal defense."
Hong Lisan rolled his eyelids up and down and said hesitantly: "Feng, Feng, are you taking too many risks this time? If you let the ministers know that in order to hurry up, you are thinking of making special exceptions for the barbarians, there will be many people They are dissatisfied. They still need to participate in the North Korean meeting. If they use the issue to their advantage and rally against it, the deal may not be done."
"Those rotten scholars only care about upholding rules and regulations. They don't actually do anything. Why listen to their noise?" The mention of 'officials' seemed to disturb Niu Yuan's mind, and he was so angry that he shouted loudly. After scolding, he calmed down after a moment, nodded and said: "But you are right, the rabbit bites people when it is anxious. I can't rely on the power at hand to make enemies everywhere. It's better to hide it and just take the sea ban order. Go and inform Fu Guang, for the reason of inspecting the battle situation."
"Doesn't this mean that even Mr. Liu is hiding it?" Hong Lisan asked timidly.
Niu Yuan smiled and said: "Don't be nervous. Hong Shaobao thinks about it. As long as he hides this matter, he will not waste time, and he can quickly organize the coastal defense and pacify the pirates. By then, there will be only one great achievement. Mr. Liu will sit back and accept it. With fame and fortune, how can I blame you and me harshly for a little mistake? Just worry about it."
Hong Lishen felt a little uneasy as he heard these words that were familiar to him. But seeing Niu Yuan's resolute attitude, he knew he couldn't argue and nodded helplessly.
Under Niu Yuan's complacent strategy, Hong Lisan left Fuguang in the name of inspection, established a government office in Zhangzhou, took over military and political power, and began to reform matters.
Of course, the local officials didn't know the purpose of his visit. In order to test it, the governors of Fuzhou and Guangzhou sent up the Tong newspaper that had been defeated in recent months. Hong Lisan read through all the Tang newspapers carefully and found out that the pirates had not invaded the territory for ten days. The situation was not urgent, and he felt much at ease. So, after a brief exchange of greetings, he took out the sea ban in his arms and asked them to carry out the Prime Minister's decision. The two governors could see at a glance that there was no seal on the document, and they looked at each other in confusion. They were both aware of it, but at the same time they were frightened - this meant that Niu Yuan was going to make a big move.
"We fully support the Prime Minister's big move and volunteer to shoulder a burden for him. I wonder what Shaobao wants us to do? We will do it." Governor Mu of Guangdong asked, while Governor Song nodded. Agree.
"Fengxiang is a very kind man. Knowing that it is not easy for you to be an official, he gave many warnings before leaving, telling me not to embarrass you. His old man's intention is to only let you act according to the cost, and will not ask anything else. No matter what, I won't take away the power you deserve." After saying that, Hong Lizhen glanced at the two governors, but they became a little at a loss and showed no gratitude at all, which made him very puzzled.
"I am willing to obey the Prime Minister's orders!" The two governors said in unison when they saw Hong Lizhen looking at them, their faces turning pale with fear.
"Fengxiang treats you so well, why don't you thank him for his kindness?" Hong Lizhen scolded.
Governor Song was startled at that time, but Governor Mu reacted faster. He lifted his official uniform and knelt down: "Gong Niu's kindness can be compared to the sun and the moon. We are so frightened to receive this blessing. I am afraid that I will not be able to repay you even if I try my best. That’s why I dare not thank you.”
Only then did Hong Lisan burst into laughter: "Why are you so anxious! As long as you do your best, Mr. Niu will definitely reward you!"
The awkward atmosphere eased, and Hong Shaobao's attitude towards them became much better. He even took the map himself, drew on the sea frontier, and took the trouble to explain Niu Yuan's grand plan to them. It's a pity that the two governors were absent-minded and only remembered the general policy and didn't listen to the rest.
They listened impatiently for a long time, and finally were freed from this hour that lasted like a year. They took the documents from Hong Lisan's hands and hurried out of the lobby.
"Prime Minister Feng did it without telling the court this time," Governor Mu and Governor Song whispered as they walked to the door. "You are still unwilling to let yourself take the responsibility. You don't ask or care about it, and let us deal with it ourselves. What if we do something wrong? If something happens, or if the news leaks out, won’t he blame us? It’s really worrying!”
Governor Song sighed: "Who can say Liu Gongxin can't beat him? What can we do?"
"We can't just sit back and wait for death," Governor Mu widened his eyes and said bitterly, "Since they can blame the whole thing on us, can't we also blame it on others? Leave the coastal defense matters to the prefect of the coastal area. If something goes wrong, Ask them about their sin!”
"This is a good idea!" Governor Song said happily, "In addition, we should send people to the capital from time to time to inquire. If we get the news, we will immediately end the relationship!"
The two of them immediately decided on a plan and each went back to their roots.
