In the post house, Ma Cheng stood beside Fang Zhengyi, looking particularly silent.
Fang Zhengyi also said nothing. He felt a little awkward since entering Pantai City.
Ma Cheng is a civil servant. He is usually polite and kind to everyone.
But Fang Zhengyi is different. He is a pure gangster. What bad things have he never done? The sensitivity is far higher than Ma Cheng.
But what happened tonight made even Ma Chengdu feel that something was extremely wrong. It was obvious that no one in the Jin Kingdom really cared about the mission.
Maybe no one even cares about expanding trade, which would be a bit scary... I wonder what these people are planning.
Seeing that Fang Zheng had not spoken for a long time, Ma Cheng asked cautiously: "Master Fang, you are on good terms with Imperial Master Paba. Shouldn't you go to his place tomorrow to check on him?"
Fang Zheng shook his head: "No, I can't say that my relationship with him is very good. Maybe it's just that Jin Guoren's temperament is like this. It's best if we overthink it."
"As long as no one informs us in the Jin Kingdom palace, we should not take the initiative to come to see you. In addition, tomorrow you will send two groups of people, one to inquire about the situation in the city. I feel that there is something wrong with the people in the city. Let them pay attention to whether there is anyone following. Another group is preparing to report back to Beijing tomorrow with my letter to His Majesty."
"We can make plans after we understand tomorrow."
"I'll go and make arrangements right now."
.....
Early the next morning, members of the mission headed by Ma Cheng led the team out of the post house.
Fang Zhengyi sat there, waiting for news.
Within half a day of news, Ma Cheng and his men came back in a sweat. They rushed into Fang Zheng's room and said with a panicked face: "Master Fang, it's terrible!"
Fang Zheng's heart skipped a beat and he quickly said, "What's wrong?"
Ma Cheng looked grim: "The people we sent to the city were stopped, and the people who were snooping in the market were also followed. However, locals in Pantai City can leave the city."
"What should I do, adults? They don't want us to leave."
Fang Zhengyi slowly closed his eyes and sighed.
Tough luck! Sure enough, something bad happened again, the prince is such a crow's mouth.
Ma Cheng was still waiting anxiously for Fang Zhengyi's reply, and it took a long time before he heard him say: "I know, you don't have to panic, go and invite Grand Master Paba, I'll just ask him directly."
"I'll take care of it now, sir."
After Ma Cheng finished speaking, he ran away in a panic.
Half an hour later, Paba appeared in Fangzheng's room with a smile on his face: "Brother Fang, you haven't rested long enough and you called me here? You don't have to be in a hurry to discuss matters. You can wait until you have had enough rest before we can talk."
Fang Zheng turned his back to Paba and had been observing the sparsely populated streets for half an hour.
At this time, he turned around and asked in a bad tone: "National Master, let's not talk nonsense. Some of the people in our mission are specially escorting us to Pantai City to prepare to return to the capital. Just now, my people were killed by you." People stopped me, why?"
Paba still maintained a smile on his face: "Brother Fang misunderstood. Bandits have been in and out of the city recently. The envoy and his entourage are not familiar with the place. His Majesty was also afraid that the envoy would have an accident and affect the friendship between the two countries before ordering the general. You stay in the city for protection, and you can pass through without any worries after the bandits are cut off."
Bullshit! There are really bandits. Can't you just find someone to escort you?
Fang Zheng cursed inwardly.
"Then I have to go back to Beijing now?"
"Brother Fang, don't worry. Is there any inconvenience in staying in the city? If you need anything, I can order someone to provide it."
Fang Zheng sneered: "The Imperial Master is really a master at pretending to be confused. Stop pretending and let's open the skylight and speak frankly."
"As soon as my envoy came, we had to fight in the palace. Your people also yelled at us to kill us. Now we don't let the envoy leave the city. Doesn't the Imperial Master really want to do business?"
"Aren't you afraid of getting angry and causing some diplomatic problems?"
"Brother Fang is really sharp. It's rare that I want you to have a good rest." Paba glanced at him, sat down leisurely, poured a cup of tea, and then looked at Fang Zhengyi, He said with a half-smile.
"Diplomatic issue? So what if the two countries go to war?"
Fang Zhengyi's heart suddenly sank.
War...that's the worst possible outcome.
He already had something in mind. He had been observing the street scene for so long and found that there were very few young people walking on the road.
In this case, in addition to recruiting workers for large-scale fortifications, it is also recruiting soldiers.
I didn’t expect that I would fall into such a dangerous situation during this trip?
Fang Zheng calmed down and pretended to be relaxed: "National Master, do you know what you are talking about?"
Paba laughed and said: "I said that the two countries are going to war. I don't pretend to be confused, but Brother Fang starts to pretend to be confused?"
"I originally wanted to treat Brother Fang with courtesy, but I didn't expect Brother Fang to be so perceptive and even come to visit me, so I had to tell the truth."
"Brother Fang, is there anything you want to ask? I'll tell you everything."
"Who gave you the courage?" After hearing Paba's blunt words, Fang Zheng asked with a livid face, "Our country, Dajing, is at its peak. It's unwise for you to initiate a war. I don't understand."
Paba took a sip of tea, tapped the table with one hand, and thought: "Brother Fang said that Dajing's national power is at its peak, so it is not a good time to start a war."
"I once advised your Majesty that it is not appropriate to start a war, but this matter is no longer something I can stop alone. This is the will of all the nobles above and below. As a minister, I can only obey."
Fang Zhengyi said coldly: "Hmph, are you the only smart person in the Jin Kingdom?"
Paba shook his head: "There is something hidden in it that you don't know. Before the establishment of the Jin Dynasty, the twenty-six grassland tribes were doing their own thing, and only His Majesty has completed the great cause today. The hardships are unimaginable, and the unification of the eighteen tribes has already taken a lot of time. Too much power, although it is only a matter of time before the remaining eight divisions are unified. However, His Majesty considers that once the civil war expands, it will not hesitate to weaken the overall strength. With foreign enemies on the side, the great power may take advantage of it at any time. "
"Later, His Majesty ordered me to lobby the remaining eight tribes, and it took two years to complete. In order to unify, His Majesty promised these eight tribes to annex Jingguo within ten years."
"After unifying the ministries, His Majesty began to prepare for the war. The purpose of opening up the exchanges between the two countries was to raise military resources. I thought it would take ten years, but I didn't expect that the cost of expanding the army would be huge. The national treasury was already overwhelmed, and many people were worried. dissatisfied."
"In the past, the tribes were scattered, and whenever they encountered difficulties, they would go to Jingguo and plunder them. Since your majesty is a powerful ruler, you naturally know that this is not a long-term solution, so it is inevitable that you will win the sacred land of Jingguo."
"In addition, Jingguo has two more high-yielding crops. I'm afraid if you continue to develop, you will only be disappointed and there will be no possibility of rising."
"So now the arrow is on the string and has to be fired."
Fang Zheng took a deep breath and said impatiently: "I'm not here to listen to you talk about history. I'm just curious about what capital you have to dare to initiate a war."
Hearing this, Paba laughed twice: "Brother Fang, you underestimate me, Daijin, and you underestimate His Majesty too."
"After so many years of rest and recuperation, we are going all out to reorganize the army. If the troops scattered in various ministries are gathered together... I have 800,000 armored men and 60,000 heavy armored cavalry in Dajin. This kind of force is unstoppable in the world! Although Jingguo's military strength far exceeds ours, Dajin's, in terms of individual combat power, it is far inferior. As long as our army goes south and breaks through Liuhe Pass, we can take the capital directly after passing two passes at Chenggao Pass."
Seeing his proud expression, Fang Zheng yelled: "Then why the hell did you bring me here? If you're so awesome, just hit me if you want!"
...
