Jingnan, Jiangling, the main hall of Nanping Prince's Mansion.
In the hall, the envoy from Tokyo stood in an arrogant posture, with his nostrils almost pointing upward to show the strength and domineering power of the Central Plains dynasty.
"Thank you for your hard work, angel, to convey the imperial order. Please rest in the hotel for a while. I have ordered people to prepare a banquet. Regarding the matter of feeding food through the road, I still need to discuss it with the civil and military officials before making a reply!" Facing the envoy, Nanping King Gao Baorong greeted his servants with a smile: "Come here, let the angels stay and rest!"
The Han envoy was ordered to come without stopping. Although his robes were kept meticulous, the fatigue in his expression almost popped out of his forehead. Hearing this, he glanced at the Nanping monarchs and ministers present, cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness!"
"It is reasonable that the king needs to discuss it. However, the order of the imperial court this time is the will of the emperor and cannot be delayed. On the side of Qi Guogong in Xiangzhou, troops and horses are already preparing. It will be a day or two before setting off south. I hope your king will hurry up. , I am waiting for your Majesty’s reply in the hotel so that I can report it to the imperial court!” The pleasure of pretending to be powerful and bullying the weak was almost visible on the face of the Han envoy.
Before leaving, he added: "For decades, Jingnan has belonged to the Central Plains, and the king has also surrendered to your majesty. The emperor has an order, and the king should do his best to carry it out to show his loyalty..."
After sending the Han envoy away in a low voice, Gao Baorong breathed a sigh of relief, picked up the water on the table and took a sip, but it did not help to relieve the sadness on his forehead.
King Gao Baorong of Nanping, who has only been in his thirtieth year now, has been on the throne for less than three years. He is mediocre, slow-tempered and insensitive. At this time, facing the "order" of the Northern Han Dynasty, he was a little panicked. He just looked at his attendants helplessly: "What should I do if the Northern Han Dynasty orders me?"
There were only two ministers from Nanping in the hall, one of them was thin and looked sick. They were Gao Baorong's younger brother, Gao Baoxu, who was originally the governor of Hanzhou. After Gao Baorong succeeded to the throne, he was appointed deputy envoy of Jiedu, in charge of the affairs of the Prince of Nanping. .
Gao Baorong was neither the eldest son nor talented, so we don't mention how he was established. However, although this man was slow and slow, he also had self-awareness and entrusted all government affairs to Gao Baoxu, no matter how big or small.
Gao Baoxu was a man who had some talent for managing affairs. He handled military and political affairs fairly well and made people feel at ease. Therefore, living next to each other, compared with the chaos in Ma Chu, the succession of the throne in Jingnan can be described as smooth and smooth.
However, after all, the young man was young and energetic. After experiencing the arrogance and arrogance of the talented Han envoy, he was suffocating in his heart. When he heard Gao Baorong's inquiry, he immediately said angrily: "It's unreasonable, it's too much! This is a general of the Northern Han Dynasty. I, the Gao family, are treated as slaves!"
Gao Baorong's reaction was still slow and he smiled awkwardly: "The Northern Han Dynasty is strong and Nanping is weak. What can we do?"
The question is, what should I do? He even dared to complain only behind the scenes, and even Gao Baoxu did not dare to propose any confrontational countermeasures.
After thinking about it, Gao Baoxu said: "Your Majesty, in my opinion, Nama Xi'e's troops have already arrived at the Xiangjiang River, and the fall of Changsha is not far away. If we delay for a while, when the situation in Hunan is stabilized, the Northern Han troops will no longer be able to attack. The principle of sending to the south..."
Gao Baorong's eyes lit up and he couldn't help but nodded: "This strategy is feasible!"
"No!" As soon as he finished speaking, another veteran in the hall voiced his objection.
"What advice does Sun Shaojian have?" Gao Baorong looked at him.
The veteran minister's name was Sun Guangxian. He was a minister of the Jingnan Jiedu shogunate and was highly trusted by the Gao family. At this time, he was appointed as the secretary of the inspection school.
I saw Sun Guangxian and reminded him in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, the Han envoy just now has something to say, but he didn't give us much time to think about it. Judging from his attitude, the Northern Han Dynasty is very determined to enter Lizhou this time. If it is delayed deliberately, I'm afraid it will still be over. It is difficult to explain to the Northern Han Dynasty. If it is really bad, and the Emperor of the Han Dynasty will blame Nanping for it later, how will the king respond at that time?"
"The emperor of the Northern Han Dynasty has a heroic appearance. His national power is increasing day by day, and his military strength is getting stronger. Nanping cannot hold the land of three states. How can we resist it?"
This Sun Guangxian is a famous poet of the "Huajian Sect", and he also has certain political abilities, but at present, he has the potential to be a "big brother". Both inside and outside his words are flattering to the Northern Han Dynasty.
"Young Master Sun's words are reasonable. Delay is not allowed! No!" Hearing this, Gao Baorong shrank his neck, showed fear on his face, and changed his attitude.
"Or, agree to Bei Han's request?" He looked at Gao Baoxu hesitantly.
Seeing this, Gao Baoxu asked: "Are we just going to let the Northern Han Dynasty take whatever they want from our Nanping? Although we are borrowing the road, what if we use a false way to destroy Guo and invade our Nanping?"
"Your Majesty is overly worried. The Han army stationed in Li is only two thousand, and they are still soldiers. They are not elite soldiers of the Northern Han Dynasty, so there is nothing to worry about. Moreover, since the king succeeded to the throne, he has always been respectful to the Northern Han Dynasty and has not done anything disobedient. The Han army How dare you brazenly offend me? It's just a little money and food..." Sun Guangxian said immediately, shaking his head.
Hearing this, Gao Baoxu was slightly angry: "If we can provide food and pay for two thousand soldiers, I only have so many soldiers and horses in Nanping. How much food will it cost me!"
When mentioning money and grain, Gao Baorong also showed a look of pain on his face, and in his mind, he seemed to have a terrible scene of a large amount of money and grain coming out of the treasury to raise troops for the Northern Han Dynasty.
"That's it!" After much hesitation, Gao Baorong still said in an almost lamenting tone: "Just reply to the Han envoy, just say that I agree to borrow the passage!"
Seeing that Gao Baorong had made his decision, Gao Baoxu didn't say much. In fact, he didn't dare to offend the Northern Han Dynasty. After thinking for a while, he suggested: "Importantly give an order to inform the generals of all armies that when Han soldiers are crossing the border, they need to be more vigilant and be on strict guard. The soldiers under their command should also be more restrained to avoid conflicts with the Han soldiers!"
"Okay, my brother has thought carefully, so let's do it!" Gao Baorong nodded repeatedly.
Deciding on something is like solving a big problem in your heart, and you feel much better. Suddenly the thought of the alarm clock flashed, and Gao Baorong looked at the two people in the hall: "Look, can you send an envoy to Tokyo with gifts and report to the emperor that our Nanping land is small and the people are poor and the mansion is empty. It is really difficult to support the soldiers for a long time. See Can we provide three months of food and fodder first, and after three months, the court will provide it on its own?"
Gao Baoxu and Sun Guangxian looked at each other and expressed their opinions together: "Maybe we can give it a try."
Sun Guangxian took the initiative to request: "Your Majesty, I am willing to go to Tokyo in person to plead for this matter for Your Majesty!"
"..."
After handling the matter, Gao Baorong left the hall with a sigh and headed towards the inner palace of the palace. Beihan's tough demands made Gao Baorong, who had been comfortable for more than two years, feel a bit of pressure and feel gloomy.
Although his mind was chaotic, he was not stupid. The situation was changing quietly and unknowingly. Although Gao Baorong didn't feel it deeply, the sense of crisis that penetrated his heart really frightened him.
The best way to eliminate this uneasiness is to ask less about foreign affairs and concentrate on having fun in the rear house. For Gao Baorong, as the King of Nanping, he has neither the ambition to be enterprising nor the ability to use force, so it is the right way to enjoy life in time.
