"My lord? My lord?" Yan Zichong called softly, but in the ears of the servant, this voice seemed to be a whisper from the devil.
Before, the voice of the Luzon envoy was like the sound of silver coins. Every time he spoke, the minister seemed to be able to hear the sweet sound. But now, he did not want to hear the young man speak again.
However, things went against his expectations. He only heard the voice of the envoy from Luzon on the other side saying calmly and with a bit of joking:
"Sir, I wonder if you are satisfied with this gift of mine?"
Every word and every sentence was like a knife scratching his heart, bringing him a huge sense of crisis.
His heart was roaring crazily: How is it possible, how could he know this! How is it possible...to know so much in detail! There are some things that only he and the person involved know clearly!
How could it be, how could it be! His heart was filled with disbelief.
However, looking at the seemingly mocking eyes on the other side, he knew that he must give the response he wanted now, otherwise he would fall into a bottomless abyss.
The servant's mouth forced a smile:
"You, you are so kind to give such a heavy gift. I am satisfied, I am so satisfied!"
"Sir, you can rest assured, I will definitely comply with your request... Please rest assured!"
He promised again and again.
Yan Zichong nodded slightly and smiled softly:
"That's best. Then I'll take my leave..."
"Hey, sir, these two thousand taels of silver..."
"Take it, you have to pay for your hard work, right?"
The servant's footsteps stopped. He watched Yan Zichong slowly walk away, then looked back at the large boxes of silver, and then breathed a long sigh of relief.
He didn't know why, but now when he looked at the two thousand taels of silver, he always felt that the silver was extremely precious and seemed to be comparable to gold and jewelry.
The face of the Luzon envoy is no longer so hateful.
…
The court meeting was held as scheduled, and envoys from both sides met in front of the palace.
When Xiao Xifei saw the other party, a look of hatred suddenly appeared on his face, but it quickly disappeared.
As far as he knew, Luzon's envoy had been staying in his room since he came to Ming Dynasty, and was not as active as him.
Therefore, you have a great chance of winning! Thinking of this, the gloom on Xiao Xifei's face cleared away and he became a little more cheerful. He turned around and saluted first, saying:
"My lord, Japanese envoy Xiao Xifei is here to pay homage to His Majesty the Ming Emperor."
Yan Zichong's face showed no trace of emotion during the whole process. He then stepped forward and saluted the emperor:
"On behalf of the Governor of Luzon, Chen Zichong, the envoy of the Luzon Governor's Office, I have paid homage to His Majesty the Ming Emperor. On behalf of the Governor of Luzon, Chen Shiyi, I would like to extend my highest greetings to His Majesty!"
The voice was loud and echoed throughout the court. This unique etiquette surprised Wanli and was particularly pleasing to the ears. It showed the Luzon Governor's Mansion's respect for the Ming Dynasty and the emperor.
The conversation with Xiao Xifei was even more decisive. Wanli and the ministers were the first to have a good impression of Yan Zichong.
Xiao Xifei grinded his teeth secretly. He had already lost for a while when the confrontation started, but he thought about it. He had an ace, so what should he be afraid of? Then he regained his composure.
Above, Wanli said:
"Why are you envoys here?"
Of course he knew their purpose of coming, but due to their status, he still asked the two of them to tell them, so that the officials could also know about it so that they could discuss it with them.
Xiao Xifei immediately stepped forward impatiently and complained about the crimes of the Luzon Governor's Mansion.
Of course, most of them were made up by him, focusing on exaggerating how pitiful they were and how hateful the Luzon Army was.
However, upon hearing these accusations from him, Wanli's face turned pale: after all, this had nothing to do with him, and the two sides were enemies not long ago. It was really difficult for Emperor Wanli to have any sympathy for Japan.
Xiao Xifei naturally knew this too, but his words were just to put himself on "reason" first, and then came the main event:
"We were forced to conquer Korea only because of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's order. In fact, we were unwilling to do so."
"Now that Toyotomi Hideyoshi is dead, we also wanted to call off our troops and make a truce. However, the Luzon Army took the opportunity to sneak attack and occupy our country, cutting off this retreat. We have a home and cannot return, so we can only stay in Korea."
"We also ask the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty to show mercy and ask them to withdraw from our territory. We are willing to compensate them and they will stop fighting. Wouldn't it be great?"
After saying that, he bowed deeply.
Yes, although Ukita Hideie was very reluctant, after discussion, the Japanese generals still agreed that it would be more appropriate to put all the blame on Toyotomi Hideyoshi, so that it would appear that they were not beaten badly and their hometown was lost. They were forced to stop the war, but they were also forced and were the victims.
After listening to this, Wan Li felt that what he said made some sense. He didn't have much money in his own money, and he was not very willing to spend it.
However, there was no expression on his face. Instead, he turned towards Yan Zichong, signaling that it was time for him to speak.
The young man's face was very calm. He bowed to the emperor first, and then refuted Xiao Xifei's nonsense one by one. Everyone looked at Xiao Xifei with contempt - good guy, press this None of the claims are true.
Finally, he said slowly:
"The reason why we sent troops is because we suffered so much from Japanese pirates!"
"Japanese pirates roamed the seas and robbed merchant ships, causing many of our people in Luzon to die tragically at sea, and countless families to be displaced. They even robbed our ships that were paying tribute to the Celestial Empire. This is too much!"
"The governor couldn't bear it anymore, and he heard that the Japanese pirates dared to invade the country, so he sent troops to attack the enemy's base. Only now, they are so shameless, and now they are begging for mercy here! Everyone, have you forgotten how rampant they were during the Jiajing Japanese Rebellion? ? Once they stop their troops, they will definitely return to their old ways!"
"As for withdrawing troops...hehe, you are now a defeated general of the Celestial Empire, where can you negotiate terms?"
"As long as your majesty is willing, without the need for heavenly troops, I, Luzon, will send out troops to destroy you and others, and welcome the king back to the capital!"
Yan Zichong's words were loud and full of righteousness, and they also contained compliments to Ming Dynasty, which were in sharp contrast to Xiao Xifei's words.
At the same time, he also cited the dark history of that year, which made the officials present along the coast directly sympathize with him, and the eyes of other officials also changed.
Emperor Wanli frowned. Judging from the current situation of the debate, it seems that the Japanese country deserves what they deserve! It was too much to even rob the tribute ship... Moreover, he had heard about the Japanese pirates and knew that they had made the Ming Dynasty miserable, so he was vaguely inclined to Yan Zichong.
Xiao Xifei was confused by what he said and wanted to refute, but didn't know where to start.
Japanese pirates have always been a pain in Ming's heart, and he really doesn't know if those guys have robbed Luzon's ships. To be honest, as a close confidant of Governor Konishi, he has no doubt that those guys who only have muscles in their minds will do this. matter.
After all, as businessmen, they have always looked down on those warriors who only wanted to fight and kill.
So seeing Emperor Wanli's expression of emotion, he was unable to argue for a moment.
But he didn't panic.
He calmly turned his head and signaled to the ministers.
It's time, it's time to take action.
The ministers nodded slightly and gave a affirmative look in return.
Xiao Xifei was relieved, and his back straightened up. Even though Yan Zichong was so eloquent, as long as the courtiers in the court were on his side, the emperor would definitely agree to put pressure on Lu Song!
This will be the first victory against Luzon... Well, let's collect some interest!
As expected, the ministers present also stood up. As the chief minister of the cabinet, Shen Shixing was the first to speak:
"I think this Luzon envoy is right!"
Um! Makes sense...huh?
Xiao Xifei turned his head, his face full of astonishment, and saw the old man looking at him with a righteous expression.
Behind him, more voices from the courtiers came:
"I second the proposal!"
"I think Ambassador Chen is right!"
Listening to these words, Xiao Xifei's heart that had just climbed to the top continued to sink until it fell to the bottom.
These guys actually took money and didn't do anything!
Is there any professional ethics?
My conscience is so bad!
(End of chapter)
