Seeing how vigilant this Liang Wang was, Huang Qiong secretly shook his head. He cursed secretly, the people who monitored this person along the way were just like a bunch of pigs. Such a person actually used common sense to judge and easily concluded that this person was a drunkard and a womanizer. Those people don't even think about it, how can a drunkard and a womanizer have such a sharp vision?
Huang Qiong's thoughts at this time were all on this Liang Wang. Even though the King of Liang stepped aside after Jin presented the gift, Huang Qiong's eyes did not shift from observing him. As for the envoys from various countries, in addition to the Dali envoy who hoped that Da Qi would help find Princess Yunxiao who was missing in Da Qi's territory, he attracted a little attention.
The rest of the Uighur, Goryeo, Tubo and Qinghai tribes, Annan, and even the Japanese, Persian, and Dashi envoys, including the jewelry, spices, and beauties they paid tribute, did not arouse his interest. The various local specialties presented by the various local specialties offered by the leaders of the Jisi Prefectures in the southwestern part of the dynasty who had similar knowledge and fictitious titles of regimental training envoys also did not arouse his interest.
It wasn't until the last person to appear, among the tribal leaders from the northwest and southwest of Da Qi, was a leader from the Longyou Dangxiang tribe, that he aroused some of his interest. Huang Qiong frowned slightly when he heard that the ceremonial officer announced that this person was Tuoba Jiqian, the deputy envoy of Lingzhou Zhifan in Longyou Road, Ningxia Prefecture. This name sounded familiar to him, but he couldn't remember where he had heard it before.
Although this man is over thirty years old, his appearance is extremely majestic. Even in this hall, he still looks like a roaring tiger or an eagle. Compared with his elder brother, who is the training envoy of the Lingzhou regiment and the leader of the Longyou Party Xiang tribe, who was obedient when entering the hall, although this man did not say anything that should not be said, his expression looked extremely... Unruly.
This dynasty was different from the former Tang Dynasty, which generally set up Jizhou prefectures in the northwest and southwest regions. In Guangnan West Road and the southern part of Liangchuan, areas where the Yi tribes flourished, although some Jisi prefectures were set up imitating the former Tang Dynasty. However, the number is far less than that of the former Tang Dynasty. Most areas still have prefectures and counties for formal local governance. It was just that in order to win over the barbarian tribes, the old system of the former Tang Dynasty was followed.
However, in order to divide and disintegrate these tribes, the local tribe leaders were generally granted the false titles of civilian colleagues or military training deputy envoys. It's just that although these people also have official positions, they neither break the soil nor govern the people. Except for the people of their own tribe, even the people of the same tribe cannot control them. Moreover, apart from certain rewards given by the court every year, these people also have no salary.
As for the northwest, the Jisi Prefecture set up by the former Tang Dynasty was completely abolished and all were replaced by floating officials. Although certain false titles are given to local leaders, these people also neither govern the people nor manage politics. And compared with the barbarians in the southwest, apart from the offending errands of taxing and urging people, they are not even allowed to participate in the affairs of their own tribe, let alone have a private tribe.
In addition to being able to keep a bow, a pot of arrows, and a handy scimitar, each family was not allowed to own any weapons. All matters within the tribe are handled by local officials in accordance with the law. Even the clan leader is not allowed to use punishment at will. But compared with those leaders in the southwest who do not receive salaries, their only advantage is that they still have salaries.
It's just that because these people generally have their own pastures, cattle and sheep, their salaries are only 30% of those officials who came from a legitimate background. For the same training envoy of the fifth-grade regiment, their annual salary is only one thousand guan of money and thirty pieces of satin. The only better thing is that their official positions can be hereditary. However, hereditary is hereditary, but except for a very small number of people, promotion should never be considered in this life.
This was part of a series of strategies to divide and disintegrate the party members that Emperor Taizu formulated at the time of the founding of the People's Republic of China after suffering enough hardships from the so-called Dangxiang cavalry who dominated the five northwest states. Tuoba Jiqian and his clan brother were the clan leaders of the tribe who stayed in Lingzhou after the Dangxiang people were forced to migrate. His obedient clan brother Tuoba Jipeng was the clan leader.
When the leaders of the entire party bowed down and paid tribute, this person was always unwilling to kneel down. If his clan brother hadn't been watching him cautiously for fear of causing trouble, this man wouldn't even be willing to kneel down. Seeing that this man was so unruly and unruly, in sharp contrast to the other tribal leaders in Dangxiang, Huang Qiong could not help but frown slightly.
After the foreign envoys and tribal leaders in the court had completed their offerings, the next step was naturally the emperor's banquet. When the banquet tables were served one by one, and the ministers and foreign envoys were seated as ordered, the emperor looked at Huang Qiong and smiled slightly: "Ah Jiu, I am really tired these days, so I will leave you here today." You propose a toast to the officials on my behalf."
After hearing the emperor's words, Huang Qiong, who understood the emperor's meaning after thinking for a moment, did not shirk it. With two eunuchs carrying wine, accompanied by the chief minister of Honglu Temple, they began to toast table by table, and the first person to toast was King Yong. According to the ancestral system, although this is a toast, it is actually a gift, and the ministers who receive the wine must kneel down to receive it.
Seeing Huang Qiong coming straight towards him, he thought that the brothers he had been drinking with a few days ago had now become half of his masters. He came to offer a toast and he knelt down to accept it. However, he had no choice but to follow the ancestral rules. King Yong was very worried. He rolled his eyes at Huang Qiong aggrievedly. The expression on that face was as if Huang Qiong had robbed him of a lot of money.
Fortunately, Huang Qiong smiled after seeing the aggrieved expression on this guy's face. He didn't deliberately embarrass him. When he bent down and was about to kneel down, he slowly helped him up. He smiled and said: "Seventh brother, this is making things difficult for me. You and I are close relatives of the same flesh and blood, so we don't have to do any false etiquette. Although I represent my father, I think my father will understand."
After saying that, Huang Qiong hugged King Yong affectionately. His attitude seemed to outsiders to be affectionate between brothers. But no one expected that Huang Qiong would whisper in King Yong's ear: "You kid, you act like you've been greatly wronged. Don't you just want me to make it up to you? Let's break up later." After the banquet, go to my house and wait for me. I’ll leave something good for you.”
Although Huang Qiong's words were spoken in an extremely low voice, they were clearly transmitted to King Yong's ears. After listening to Huang Qiong's words, King Yong, who had just looked extremely aggrieved, seemed to have learned the legendary face-changing skill, and his expression changed so quickly. All the grievances were gone in an instant. Although his expression only changed slightly, there was a flash of light in his eyes.
Huang Qiong, who didn't pay much attention to King Yong, turned to the King of Guilin. After also stopping the King of Guilin from kneeling down, Huang Qiong looked at the father-in-law in front of him who did not know whether he was real or fake. Huang Qiong smiled slightly and said: "Prince of Guilin, please don't kill me. Since you and the boy have become My husband-in-law is a close relative, and there is no father-in-law in the world who would do something strange to his son-in-law."
Regarding Huang Qiong's politeness, the Prince of Guilin also smiled and said: "His Royal Highness, you are highly regarded by the Emperor, and this glass of wine represents the Emperor. Although I am lucky enough to be the father-in-law of the King of England, I must abide by the rules of the king and his ministers." The etiquette must still be observed. The king is the king, and the ministers are ministers. The distinction between monarch and ministers is determined by the great road. Even if the minister is the father-in-law of the King of England, he will never dare to forget it. "
When the two people said these words, even if they smiled very hypocritically, they both failed to control their voices. After this conversation, almost all the courtiers in the Hanyuan Palace, as well as the foreign envoys, the heads of various Jisi Prefectures, and the heads of tribes, realized that the British king had actually made a marriage agreement with the Guilin County Prince.
But after hearing the news, all the ministers in the palace looked at the King with even more fear. The rest of the people had different expressions after hearing the news. In addition to the barbarians in the southwest who have been in the Guilin County Prince's Mansion for a long time and have accumulated great power, they quickly congratulated him in unison and said that they would send congratulatory gifts soon.
The Liang King of Northern Liao and the Tuoba Emperor moved to Guilin, but their eyes changed invariably, and they even fell into deep thought. Especially the King of Liang from Northern Liao looked at the King of Guilin with even a third of anger mixed in his eyes. The envoys from Goryeo, Japan, and Nanyang also looked at the pair of sons-in-law, but they all looked at them very differently.
The Guilin County Prince's Mansion held the power of foreign trade, and the merchant fleet traveled to all foreign and domestic oceans. To be honest, for Goryeo, Japan, and other Southeast Asian countries, apart from the annual tribute, they are far more familiar with the Guilin County Prince's Palace than they are with the imperial court, which has always prided itself on being a heavenly dynasty. In the past, although the Guilin County Prince's Palace was rich, it did not have much real power in the court.
Although the various countries rely more on the Guilin County Prince's Palace, they are actually far from being as fearful as they appear on the surface. After all, although they are no match for the Guilin County Prince's Mansion at sea, they are not afraid of the Guilin County Prince's Mansion when they land ashore. Especially when they came to attend the Great Court Meeting this time, they learned that the court would fully liberalize foreign trade. They could avoid the Guilin County Prince's Palace and do business directly with the court.
The envoys of these small countries no longer respect the king of Guilin as much as they used to. After all, what they fear more is the court. It can be said that none of the envoys sent by those countries are not well-rounded people. The annual Great Qi Dynasty Meeting is the best opportunity for these small countries to observe and judge the changes in the situation of the Qi Dynasty.
This year, the prince did not appear at the court meeting, and the person accompanying the emperor was the King of England whom they had never heard of before. From what I saw today, the emperor obviously valued the British king more. However, the British King and the Guilin County Prince became close relatives. This allowed these envoys to smell an unusual smell in this change.
Compared with those foreign envoys with different thoughts, Huang Qiong's prospective father-in-law had more complicated thoughts at this time. After Huang Qiong left, the man who didn't check for a while did not expect and fell into the trap set by Huang Qiong. Unintentionally, the Prince of Guilin, who had suffered the loss of being mute, felt an indescribable feeling of pain when he felt the change in the eyes of the King of Northern Liaoning across from him.
Looking at Huang Qiong's back, starting from the first rank officer, and toasting one by one, one of the hands of the Guilin Prince secretly clenched his fist: "I have been beating birds all my life, but I didn't expect to be pecked by a bird today." His eyes were blinded. This King of England is so young, but he is so cunning. With just a few words, the King of Liang doubted his sincerity."
In fact, compared to the suspicious look that Prince Liang looked at, the Duke of Guilin was more worried about whether Huang Qiong had seen something in his calm words just now. If this cunning King of England really sees something, what impact will it have on his plans that are far from perfect and can be launched immediately? What would he do more?
"No, this place in the capital is by no means a place for me to stay for a long time. If the King of England really sees something, I don't even have a chance to fight back. It can even be said that there is no other way to do it other than poking at the neck. . We must reach an agreement with that damn Prince Liang as soon as possible, and then return to Guangnan West Road immediately."
