The curling east wind blew up the colorful flags and blew the silver nine palace wind chimes. The sunshine struggled out through the clouds and mist, strong and bright, shining on the green glazed bricks. There were thousands of people standing under the vermilion palace walls. Attendants and guards, the sound of bells followed by the neat words "Long live my emperor, long live long live" spread from the palace to under the palace wall, melodious and long.
"Deputy Ambassador Yue, I didn't expect that you Dayong people go to court so late. Unlike us Southern Barbarians, even though the climate and environment are not as beautiful as your Dayong people, you go to court much earlier. After all, It's about people's livelihood, so we don't dare to sleep too much." Some thoughtless official in the Nanman mission said sarcastically while following the crowd into the main hall.
Yue Xiao smiled and said:
"Our Dayong ritual system stipulates that those who have the ability to go to court at Mao time, but unfortunately, your country does not seem to understand the meaning of keeping one's word and being punctual. Therefore, in order to accommodate your country, I, the monarch of the Heavenly Dynasty, will go to court early today. The time has been postponed to this point.”
After Yue Xiao finished speaking, the entire Nanman delegation fell silent. When Chu Ci, who had been pushed by Cui Kai, heard this, he silently licked the corners of his lips, as if the smell of blood in the morning seemed to have faded, and then , chuckled, but Cui Kai behind him had goosebumps all over his body inexplicably.
After stepping through the white jade steps one after another, entering the vermilion door, and walking towards Emperor Dayong, Chu Ci stopped smiling and looked at the crowd around him with a calm expression.
The first thing I saw was a group of lower-ranking officials in green clothes closest to the entrance of the palace. They were neatly dressed and their spines were not bent. They just dared to lower their heads and look at their shoes. After all, they were not good enough.
Walking further inside, there is a group of senior officials in red, well-dressed, with straight spines, and a look of determination on their faces. Looking ahead, it looks very promising. The future is uncertain. Accurately, the powerful enemy of the Southern Barbarians will be born from these people.
However, in the end, it will not be a serious problem for their Nanman trip to Dayong.
After Chu Ci's wheelchair slowly stopped, Chu Ci and others approached the core of the civil and military officials of the Dayong Dynasty.
A group of purple-clothed officials, some with solemn expressions or others with unruly expressions, have been in the world for many years. All of them are high-ranking figures in their southern barbarian intelligence network, and all of them are their worst enemy. , all of them are one of the variables in this diplomacy...
"The Nanman envoy is envoy Chu Ci. He has met the Emperor of Dayong. May your Majesty be blessed." Chu Ci temporarily retracted his thoughts and opinions about the courtiers of Dayong, and respectfully bowed his hands to the Supreme Emperor of Dayong. The gift.
"Please wake up all the envoys of the Southern Man Kingdom. You have traveled thousands of miles to come to Dayong. You have worked hard for the people of the two countries." Emperor Dayong, who was sitting on the throne, said slowly after everyone saluted for a moment. .
"Thank you for your hard work. The Lord of our country has already decreed that all my ministers and others must do their best to send envoys to Dayong in order to maximize the interests of Dayong and protect the well-being of the people on both sides. Today's efforts are for the benefit of both sides." For the people of the country, serving the king and the master is a matter of great righteousness, and there is no need to talk about any hardship." Chu Ci lowered his head and replied.
"Exactly, the Lord of the Southern Barbarians and I have the same heart. For the healthy life of the people of the two countries, all the hard work is nothing. I wonder if the Lord of the Southern Barbarians has any documents that the envoy should bring to me?"
"The Lord of our country has a handwritten document for His Majesty Emperor Dayong, and I also ask His Majesty Emperor Dayong to read it." After saying that, Chu Ci asked Dugu Baitian behind him to submit a document and handed it to Dayong. The internal officials around the emperor.
Seeing Emperor Dayong open the document, Chu Ci continued to speak: "What the Lord of our country wants, I think, is nothing to your Majesty, Emperor Dayong.
Your Majesty, Emperor Dayong, your country is extremely rich. You only need to give me 100,000 tons of grain and grass and thousands of gold and silver each year for ten years, and send tens of thousands of craftsmen back to Nanman with our envoys to help us rebuild our homeland. In exchange for ten years of fighting with our southern barbarians, the people will live and work in peace and contentment for ten years without the disaster of continuous war. Why not care? "
As soon as Chu Ci's words came out, everyone in the government and the public were talking about it. What's more, a royal family member like Prince Yin directly cursed him with the word "shameless".
Although other civil and military officials were not as direct as King Yin, they also stood up one after another and said:
"Your Majesty, I believe that the document written by the leader of the Southern Barbarians this time is really inappropriate. It requires a lot and has harsh terms, which inevitably goes against the original intention of the mutual benefit of the peace talks between the two countries. I sincerely request your Majesty to release the document back to the Southern Barbarian mission. , make plans again.”
"I second the proposal. The request made by the Southern Barbarian Mission is nothing more than forcing others to make things difficult. Whichever family suffers from natural disasters will be subsidized for ten years, or which family will suffer from natural disasters for ten years? What's more? , which ordinary people’s house takes ten years to build?!”
"Exactly! This is a bit untrue. If Nanman doesn't have any good accountants, I, Dayong, will lend some of them to help you calculate the amount of subsidies that Nanman needs. If that's the case I think this request is really inappropriate! I hope Your Majesty will think twice!"
After a few leading officials became the leading officials, other officials, whether high or low in rank, civil or military officials or even strict officials, stood up in anger, united the front, and refused to agree to this matter. .
Except for Xie Ruqing, who was leaning closest to the emperor, he was still wearing his official uniform, holding his ivory tablet, closing his eyes and concentrating without saying a word, which made the emperor present couldn't help but glance at him, and as Xie Ruqing Junior brother Chu Ci was even more amazed at his senior brother's skill in the word "forbearance" over the years.
Of course, no one knew that Xie Ruqing was not holding back at this moment, but that he didn't care at all. In fact, Xie Ruqing was already wandering around, thinking about what to eat with his precious wife tonight.
Of course, this does not mean that Xie Ruqing does not care about state affairs, or even encouraged the emperor to agree to this ridiculous thing, but he does not want to make these useless arguments. In his opinion, this is just a letter from heaven that can never be agreed to. , since it is a heavenly book, why should he speak out against it?
First of all, although Dayong is rich, it has always been committed to living a good life for the people. Therefore, even though Dayong's annual grain output ranks first among all countries, reaching one million dan, the harvest is only 20-30%. Just four tenths at most.
Moreover, a large part of the 200,000 to 300,000 tons of grain collected must be used to provide food for border officers and laborers, as well as normal salary payments for officials, not to mention the daily expenses of the royal family, as well as those Emergency losses from natural and man-made disasters occur from time to time, and the amount of food left in the national treasury each year is only more than 70,000 dans.
This time, the Nanman people asked for 100,000 Dan, and they would continue to supply it for ten years. Dayong's food and grass situation was simply unable to supply it for so many years at a time. If it had to be supplied, taxes would have to be increased, but if taxes were increased, it would inevitably increase people's dissatisfaction. The consequences are endless.
Even if Dayong has a strong capital base over the years and is not afraid of such blood at all, the food and grass provided to Nanman is like beating a dog with meat buns. Once it is gone, there is no return. There is only a day of giving, and there is no day to get back.
There are thousands of catties of gold and silver, which is even more impossible. Although Dayong's treasury is rich, its annual expenditures are also huge. Even if Dayong's business is prosperous, if the merchants from all over the world can gather the strength, they may not be able to afford this expenditure.
But the merchants in the world have their own calculations and power. They are not fools. They are all shrewd misers. It is even more difficult to get the merchants to obediently pay for their money.
Besides, in the final analysis, the merchants’ money comes from the farmers at the bottom. If the merchants are exploited and cannot be saved, it is the common people who will suffer in the end.
Finally, let’s talk about these thousands of craftsmen. If we want to carefully examine the comparison between the first two matters of grain, grass, gold and silver and this matter, the first two are just peeling off layers of skin and gaining notoriety, but if we send craftsmen to Nanman, it is tantamount to The core of one's country's foundation is given to others.
The world is divided into five parts. In addition to the basic human, material and financial resources, each country has its own reliance in this troubled world, which cannot be known by other countries.
For example, the Nanman relied on their superb gunpowder weapons and were proud of the world, while the Western Chu relied on the easy-to-defend and difficult-to-attack terrain and their red iron cavalry that swept thousands of horses, and the Dong Zhao relied on the fearsome and pervasive Dong Zhao assassins. , North Korea relies on the invincible North Korean navy and the salt industry that monopolizes eight percent of the world. Then, what they rely on is the ever-changing mechanism and unpredictability. Only with the unique skill of Dunjia can one gain a firm foothold in this world.
The craftsmen's mechanism skills are ever-changing, and in order to prevent the mechanism skills from being stolen by spies from other countries, they are guarded very strictly. Not only are the craftsmen's personal safety protected, but also the apprentices they accept. Only by investigating the five dynasties at the top and three dynasties at the bottom can one learn the art of mechanism.
Even, in order to better maximize the effects of the art of mechanism and the art of Qimen Dunjia, ordinary craftsmen will almost always connect it to Qimen Dunjia when designing mechanisms, and combine the two to design amazingly powerful mechanisms. , Therefore, most craftsmen also need to learn the book of Qimen Dunjia.
However, the so-called books related to Qi Men Dun Jia have been listed as first-class books since ancient times.
Except for the core members of the royal family, the chief officials of the imperial court, and those important craftsmen of great powers and their direct disciples, almost no one can know the core content of these books.
If you rashly agree to the request of the Southern Barbarians and lend out thousands of craftsmen this time, it will be like sending a sheep into the mouth of a wolf, and sending your country's key machine skills and the treasure of Qimen Dunjia into the mouths of others...
It is tantamount to self-destruction...
Generally speaking, every condition and request put forward by the Southern Barbarian country represented by Chu Ci is tantamount to shaking the foundation of Dayong, destroying Dayong's national prestige, and destroying Dayong's future...
As long as Dayong's civil and military officials and the emperor were not stupid, they would not agree to this request.
Sure enough, when the voice of admonishment in the court reached the extreme of "a roaring crowd", Emperor Dayong closed the document and threw it into the hands of the eunuch aside, and said:
"Master Chu, I already know the request you made this time, and I also know that the Southern Barbarians suffered serious losses due to natural disasters this time, and the shortage of supplies must be huge.
As the emperor of the Great Yong Kingdom, I can also understand the patriotism of your Southern Barbarian Lord.
However, I feel that there are still many flaws in the document brought by the Southern Barbarian Lord, and it should be discussed carefully. Peace talks and peace talks always need to be carefully discussed.
I don’t know, Mr. Chu, what do you think? "
Chu Ci looked around and wished he could eat all the civil and military officials out of him, and said with a smile:
"Since His Majesty Emperor Dayong has said this, Chu Ci will naturally obey it. However, Chu Ci believes that the needs of the Southern Barbarians have been clearly written on the paper. Thinking about it, the peace talks will not change much."
"It's inappropriate for Mr. Chu to say this. Nothing has been finalized yet. How can you be so confident? Is it possible that all of you Southern Barbarians are like you, Mr. Chu, blindly confident?" Yin Wang was very dissatisfied and sarcastically said.
"Of course not, it's just the current situation of the Southern Barbarians. There is absolutely no reason for the Southern Barbarians to suffer from cold and hunger. If Dayong cannot meet the requirements of our country, we, the Southern Barbarians, will inevitably have to use some extraordinary measures to save the lives of the Southern Barbarians. Come on." Chu Ci was not angry at King Yin's ridicule, but he looked at King Yin with a smile in his eyes and said.
"I heard that Dayong has a vast territory and many people, including a large number of border people. Come to think of it, King Yin definitely doesn't want all the people to be devastated." Dugu Baitian stood behind Chu Ci and added at the right time. .
"Huh, our Dayong is not a cowardly country, Dugu Baitian, what do you mean by this! Do you want to go back to the border with me and have a fight now!" Yue Xiao held him back for a long time. After hearing what Dugu Baitian said, Mr. Deng finally couldn't help it anymore, threw away Yue Xiao's hand, put it on his waist, rolled up his sleeves, and cursed at Dugu Baitian.
"I don't mean anything. It mainly depends on what you Dayong means. Don't you Dayongs love their people like their own children? We, a small and crude country like the Southern Barbarians, also want to learn from you, a country of etiquette, what it means to love our people like our own children." Dugu Bai Tian was worthy of being called the old fox. Seeing Mr. Deng's flushed face, he didn't care at all. Instead, he smiled and continued to speak provocatively.
Seeing that the atmosphere between the people on both sides was getting more and more tense, Emperor Dayong who was sitting on top couldn't help but coughed twice in the direction of Xie Haowen and Xie Ruqing, signaling them to resolve it quickly.
Xie Haowen helplessly winked at the emperor and said silently: "Your Majesty, don't look at me. My father has already said that it is not my turn to intervene in this matter." ]
Emperor: [What should I do? They are about to start a fight. They are a lot of old people. Are you talking nonsense? Where can I put my face? ! ]
Xie Haowen: [I don’t know either... If you have the ability, ask my dad...]
Emperor: [I want you to be the prime minister if I am capable? ! ]
Xie Haowen and the emperor exchanged eye contact several times before seeing Xie Ruqing open her eyes and slowly said:
"Everyone, please be patient.
Whether it is Dayong or Nanman, in the end, it is only for the sake of the people. Since it is for the good of the people, there is more than one way to do the good for the people.
Since you Nanbarians have a way to do good for the people, we Dayong naturally also have a way to take care of the people. If we don't talk about it, and we know it so well, whose method is better. "
"Just like two cups of tea, if you don't taste it, how do you know which cup of tea is better?"
Chu Ci looked at his senior brother who had always ignored him and said something. Finally, there was a wave of emotion in his heart, and he said shamelessly:
"What Mr. Yan Guo said is very true. Maybe I am blind. Since you have other high opinions, Mr. Yan, I don't mind discussing it with you. I also really want to know, Mr. Yan, what do you have? What a good idea..."
Seeing that Chu Ci was finally willing to negotiate peace, Emperor Dayong hurriedly spoke:
"Since Mr. Chu is so interested in our Dayong's idea, why don't you just stay in our post house first, and then Duke Yan, General Deng and others will discuss the details of this document with you. I think it will be done in less than ten days. , there will definitely be a result that satisfies both our countries."
"Thank you Aiqing, you will be solely responsible for this matter. You must discuss this matter with Mr. Chu."
Xie Ruqing opened her eyes when she heard the emperor's words. Then she slowly stood up from the crowd of officials, knelt on the ground, kowtowed deeply, and said forcefully: "I, accept your order."
