After Niu Yuan calmed down for a while, the scribe carefully bent down and picked up the brush that had fallen on the ground.
"You should think it over carefully..." he advised timidly.
"It's my problem," Niu Yuan looked at the overturned table and sighed, "I couldn't suppress the anger in my chest. Now Liu Gong has believed Zeng Liang's words. It's too late to say anything, and he can only Make a compromise. You quickly ask them to take Wu Sijing back and tell Lian Chongwen that they want to renegotiate the agreement with him and hold a second court meeting."
Lian Chongwen was tasting the newly bought tea at home, when he suddenly heard this bolt from the blue and was extremely shocked. He first dealt with the court messenger calmly, saying something to show that he had no complaints and would do everything he was told, and then sent him out the door; when the man disappeared, he sat down lonely On the edge of the bed, he pulled his hair irritably and began to think deeply.
It is true that he has plenty of time, and Wu Sijing can afford to wait. If it is just to renew the date and postpone it for a month or two, that would be fine. But what they have to do now is to renegotiate the entire contract, so they are hesitant. There is no guarantee that this meeting will go as smoothly as before.
"Damn, what on earth did Niu Yuan get so crazy about?" Lian Chongwen cursed to himself, jumped up from the bed, and started pacing at the door.
He walked around like this for two or three times, and his eyebrows gradually relaxed, and his expression was no longer tense. As if he had realized something, he held his chin with his hand and thought again: 'That's not right. It was so sudden that it was probably not Niu Yuan's decision alone. I heard that there were great differences among them, and perhaps they were frightened by the officials, so they had no choice but to give the order...'
The more he thought about it, the more he figured it out, and he planned to go to the Ministry of Rites to find out. After all, he was most familiar with Lu Zhixian and could follow his temperament. So he prepared fifty taels of silver and a bunch of rare goods from Southeast Asia, tied the hemp rope tightly, tied it to the car, and personally took it to Official Lu Tang.
"Oh, general, why did you bring this big box of stuff? How much money did it cost?" Lu Zhixian asked with a smile when he saw the servants carrying a big pear box in from the outside.
"Your Excellency," Lian Chongwen bowed respectfully, "these silvers are the ransom given to me by the Lord of the Kingdom, and Lian was ordered to take care of all of you. But there is no way to find those big officials and small people, and they are regarded as The barbarians treated me coldly, but only Lu Shangshu was willing to meet the villain, so that we could negotiate a treaty and receive the great favor of the heaven. Who better to do this great contribution to the friendship between the two countries than you? Therefore, the villain took it upon himself to take all the fifty taels of silver. I'm sure no one else will complain about this gift. As for those goods, they are all accumulated by villains doing business in Nanyang. I hope you won't dislike them."
Lu Zhixian said with a smile: "General Lian is really good at talking. How can I be so virtuous and capable! Someone, please carry this box into the back room and show it to Madam!"
Seeing that all the servants were gone, Lian Chongwen leaned over and asked, "I'm a little confused. It stands to reason that the agreement has been completed. In exchange for this, the imperial court obtained 300 cannons and deepened relations with the country." , it is not a small feat. Why haven’t I seen the superior imperial edicts to reward meritorious service and praise the ministers? This should be the practice of the Celestial Dynasty."
Seeing his confused and ignorant look, Lu Zhixian couldn't bear to be deceived, so he had to tell the truth: "Alas... the general doesn't know something. The prime minister has decided to renegotiate the agreement and will hold another court meeting in two days."
Lian Chongwen pretended to be surprised: "What? Why is this?"
"I can't explain this matter clearly. In short, it is the result of the commotion of those ministers. I don't want to make a special case for you..." Speaking of this matter, Lu Zhixian was a little irritated. "I actually participated, but I didn't expect to do it." It's so excessive that you outsiders will laugh at it. General, don't be angry, this is just a small thing, don't let this disturb the mood of the treaty."
Lian Chongwen hugged his knees and sighed: "Ah, what a pity! The contract can be negotiated repeatedly, but your illustrious achievements have been ruthlessly obliterated. You should have been among the three nobles and enjoyed all the glory and wealth, but who would have thought that this would be the case! All the ministers are acting recklessly. , It really chills the hearts of knowledgeable people!”
Lu Zhixian smiled bitterly: "General Lian, I accept your suggestion, but I can't receive any reward for my merits. All the benefits are taken by the Prime Minister alone."
"This is unfair!" Lian Chongwen was full of emotions and complained about his grievances. "You took care of everything, but in the end it was all in vain."
"Hey, what can I do?"
"Perhaps my lord can use this reconsideration to get your credit back!"
"How do you say this?" Lu Zhixian asked dubiously.
"Your Excellency, you can make a report now and propose to the Prime Minister: Since making special exceptions will damage the majesty of the Celestial Empire, it is better to send someone as an emissary to follow Lian Chongwen and others to Nanyang to inform the king of the country and inspect the artillery to prevent it from causing harm. They were deceived by foreign countries. Then they returned together by boat. The customs saw the imperial edict and would not dare to block it. In this way, no customs documents were required, no maritime restrictions were violated, and it was also in line with human relations."
Lu Zhixian suddenly understood: "This method is good! But whether everyone can agree to it, I'm not sure."
"You are indifferent to the world, unlike Feng Xiang. If you let the villain use some means to do something up and down, many officials will write in support. As long as there are more voices of support, the court will consider it, but there will definitely be no one like you. This is a better plan.”
Lu Zhixian lowered his head and considered. Now, of course, what he fears most is not that his achievements will be taken away, but the court discussion. In fact, not only him, but almost everyone is afraid of this court meeting. After all, no one can say which force's opinion will win. They are all afraid that the other party will gain great success and dominate the court situation. It is better for each to take a step back and maintain the status quo. . Lu Zhixian was also one of them. He knew very well that the previous desperate act of impeaching Niu Yuan was already very risky. Of course, everyone was not willing to make such a dangerous gamble every time.
Furthermore, he is not a shameless person. He accepted Lian Chongwen's gift and helped him as a matter of course. This incident was equivalent to a push for him, causing him to make a quick decision and agree happily: "General Lian, you really saved my life! If there was this memorial, there would be no need to hold a court meeting! Please excuse me. Help me sharpen my ink and relax, I can write with my pen!"
After Lian Chongwen's secret manipulation, Lu Zhixian's memorial was supported by all civil and military officials not long after it was submitted. Many officials of the current government continued to echo, just like the impeachment, affecting the Liu Party's decision-making. Such a neutral plan made Niu Yuan willing to accept it, and then he hinted that Gui Fu had drafted an edict, made some compromises, and announced that he would no longer make special exceptions. Although the essence of the two events was not different, Manchu officials rejoiced at the success of this 'great cause'.
