"Cough, cough!"
Niu Yuan sat down on the armchair opposite Lian Chongwen, but did not look at him. He coughed twice on purpose and glanced around, "Officials like you, please don't make any noise. Today's agreement with the DPRK is a matter of honor for the DPRK. It cannot be left to chance." Watch out, the Crown Prince and Duke Liu will be coming soon, you should know what to do!"
"Yes..." Everyone had to stand up and bow deeply after hearing what he said.
Niu Yuan was about to continue to lecture them when he suddenly heard heavy footsteps coming from the corridor outside the palace door. He raised his eyes slightly and saw the prince walking in after a while. His steps were very light and his mouth was tight. He closed it tightly and just turned his head behind him.
The ministers wanted to step forward and salute, but when they saw his indifferent face, they were stunned. Following his gaze, they saw two unfamiliar faces flashing outside the palace door, each wearing a coarse cloth. Shanyi carefully stepped across the threshold of the hall. But no one dared to stop him, because what they were carrying with their four hands was a shoulder cart, and sitting on the shoulder cart was Liu Zhennian, the prime minister of the dynasty.
The ministers looked at the old prime minister in surprise, who had not appeared in public for a long time. He was not wearing official uniform, but a dry and wrinkled white clothes. His face had become so old, his arms were shaking in the bumps, and he was drooping. His thick white eyebrows almost covered his eyes - no matter from which direction he looked, his murderous aura and majesty were about to be gone.
"I'll see you, the prince, and Prime Minister Liu!" Starting from Niu Yuan, everyone stood up and shouted.
"Okay..." Liu Zhennian waved his hand lightly, asking everyone to sit down, and motioning to the slaves to put him down.
Before the end of the year in Liu Zhen, a confidant around Niu Yuan who was eager to make meritorious deeds could no longer hold himself back and hurriedly said: "Mr. Liu, I will lower my official rank..."
"Wait a minute." Liu Zhennian glanced at the rash official. His words were still very weighty. He was so frightened that the man's eyes widened and he stepped back in embarrassment.
"Mr. Prime Minister, I am getting old." Liu Zhennian was supported by two servants and his feet were on the ground. "My energy is far less than usual. I will not participate in the negotiation. I will only listen and ask questions." Just a few words from you. Listen carefully, everything must be negotiated with the Crown Prince first. If His Highness does not agree, you cannot speak. This is not Zhongshu Province, and you are not allowed to act arbitrarily. "
Niu Yuan was dissatisfied, but considering Liu Zhennian's face, he had no choice but to reply: "I understand."
Liu Zhennian stood up, straightened his back, passed by the long bench on the east side, and smiled at Lian Chongwen; then he walked to the other end of the desk, pulled out the armchair, persuaded the prince to sit down, and ordered Niu Yuan stood there. He sat in a corner, leaning against the east wall.
"Your Highness," Lian Chongwen took out a contract from his pocket, "please see if your country can agree to it?"
The prince took it, and Niu Yuan just stood on tiptoe to look at it. It seemed that it was not much different from the previous discussion, but he was instantly dissatisfied with one of them: "Hey, General Lian, does Wu Sijing still want to stay in our country?"
"This is his wish. I originally didn't plan to write it down, but he forced me to do it for a little favor. If your country thinks it's inappropriate, you can remove it."
"Inappropriate! Absolutely inappropriate!" Niu Yuan lowered his eyebrows and said sternly; the prince also shook his head solemnly.
"Well, we can only do it..." At this point, he changed the subject in a depressed mood, "But in order to let him go, we must send a ship from our country to pick him up. It will take time. I don't know where it will be. What’s the right time?”
"Isn't this up to you?" the prince asked suspiciously.
"No," Lian Chongwen laughed loudly, "Firstly, your country should issue a traffic stamp so that its ships can travel unimpeded; secondly, two hundred artillery pieces will be sent as ransom, which requires expensive The country responded in time; thirdly, Wu Si Jing is still attached to the scenery here and wants to stay for a few months before leaving. If your country is not anxious about this matter, I can inform them to wait for a while before leaving."
Niu Yuan still curled his lips: "In this case, the imperial court will let you go now! Now I will instruct the Ministry of Rites to issue you a pass stamp, and you can take the boat back to your home country!"
"Sir, he doesn't have a ship of his own. He came here on a merchant ship from the East..." Lu Zhixian reminded in a low voice.
But Niu Yuan was still stubborn: "Oh, in the worst case, we will dispatch a warship to send him back! In short, we must not delay the date!"
"To the Prime Minister!" Zeng Liang, the Minister of Household Affairs, couldn't help it, and suddenly came out to say, "Now that the pirates are raging, Wu Sijing has to be forced to leave our country, but when the sea is calm, we can allow frequent ships to come and go. . It is the time for the customs to be careful to fend off the enemy. Even if the warships have to cross the South China Sea, who can guarantee that there will be no problems if the fleet from the other country approaches the South China Sea? The situation is tense, and it is difficult to distinguish between ourselves and the enemy on the sea. What if? If the fire breaks out accidentally, a small matter can turn into a big fight."
"What Zeng Shangshu said is absolutely true," Cai Xianqing deeply agreed, "and the offer of the prime minister is only for 200 cannons. Why take such a big risk for just a few cannons? When the chaos in the sea is calmed down, Wu Sijing can be released How many artillery pieces were there in that country at that time? I can buy them as I wish, but I don’t have the financial resources to do it!”
"You are all rotten scholars, how can you understand the value of artillery!" Niu Yuan blushed and shouted, "You wait..."
"Tsk," Liu Zhennian smacked his lips and interrupted him, "Please don't get angry with me. You did this without considering it, and I can't understand it. Don't waste your time on bickering. You should first discuss it with the prince." Fan."
Niu Yuan, who had been going smoothly, originally thought that the ministers would not dare to say anything. Who knew that they were pretending to be respectful, and then they seized the opportunity to raise questions, as if they had jumped into a swamp, unable to move forward. He had never suffered such humiliation recently, and he suddenly became upset and said, 'I'll risk my life at worst! Just shut them up! 'The more he thought about it, the less he could control his mouth: "That's nonsense! Where are the pirates who dare to appear now? I've already sent several successful reports, and I have long been keeping the enemy away from the country's borders!"
This passage is very resonant! All the ministers, without exception, stretched their necks and looked straight at Niu Yuan. They were all at a loss what to do!
"How come I didn't know this happened?" Liu Zhennian seemed to have been poured a basin of ice water from head to toe, and his energy suddenly sobered up. "Keep telling me!"
"Xiang Liu, I planned to tell you about this later," Niu Yuan hurriedly bowed to him, "Don't be afraid, I didn't hide it from you, I hid it from the officials. This is a two-pronged approach that I have already planned. Plan." Then, he stood in the center of the hall and told all the major events such as the ban on sea operations and the deployment of coastal defenses.
