Someone once said pessimistically that modern young people are risking their lives and are on the verge of sudden death every day.
In fact, this sentence is wrong, because our fathers once worked hard with their lives, but they used to work hard physically, and now they work more mentally.
Whether it is modern young people, their parents, or these migrant workers in ancient times, as working people at the bottom, exchanging hard work for rewards is indeed praiseworthy, but it is not tearful. When people live, they have to use their own hands to create something for themselves and their families. This is an important task that everyone must shoulder.
Li Xian, who had personally experienced the work of migrant workers, originally wanted to give them more money and food, but who knew that when the order was announced, all the migrant workers pushed back.
They believed that they would receive as much food as they worked. If they accepted more money and food from the prince, it would be a reward, or a kind of mercy. They can support themselves and are not in need of mercy.
As a last resort, Li Xian had to withdraw the order.
What a coincidence. After work started in the afternoon, he announced that he would cancel the increase in money and food in compliance with public opinion, and the Tibetan people arrived.
Messengers came and went between the construction site and the envoy team from time to time. Li Xian already knew Ba Lujia's experience, so even though this guy had arrived in front of the shed, he still didn't get up.
Seeing that the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty was unmoved, Ba Lujia held back his breath and took the initiative to salute: "The Tubo envoy Ba Lujia has met His Highness the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty."
No matter what, the Tang Dynasty was the suzerain state, and it still had to do some face-saving work.
Seeing that Ba Lujia took the initiative to salute, Li Xian straightened up slightly, pointed to the chair that had just been brought up next to him and said: "The weather is hot, so you might as well sit down and have a rest. There is good scented tea here, which is what you want to enjoy." when."
After hearing this, especially seeing that the prince was unmoved and did not even return the gift, Ba Lujia, who had studied the etiquette of the Central Plains, immediately became angry.
Although he had studied benevolence, wisdom and etiquette in the Central Plains, his bloodline was from Tubo. Taking a step forward, Ba Lujia said angrily: "I traveled across mountains and rivers to come to the Tang Dynasty for a pilgrimage. His Royal Highness greeted him with this attitude. The guest’s?”
Li Xian remained unmoved and said leisurely: "Welcoming people? Didn't I serve you with scented tea? The scented tea in the East Palace is the only one, and it hasn't even been put out for sale yet. It's a good thing! As for the guests... .”
Li Xian stood up, looked at Ba Lujia, and sneered: "We are here to sneak into the Tang Dynasty and observe the land within the borders of the Tang Dynasty. Is it the attitude of guests coming to our door? This is how I am. For distinguished guests from far away, I will naturally It’s to sweep the couch to greet you, and that’s the only way you can treat unwelcome guests.”
After finishing speaking, Li Xian paused and added: "I wonder what Zhengzhi thinks?"
Ba Lujia's Mandarin was very good. Although Li Xian spoke very quickly, he still understood the meaning.
However, he couldn't figure out why the Prince of the Tang Dynasty was so domineering.
You know, although the Tang Dynasty was the suzerain state, it never took advantage of the conflict with Tubo. Even considering the overall situation of the war, Datang was still the one who suffered the loss.
This time, he was sure that Datang would not dare to object, so he secretly sneaked into Datang. Even after being discovered, he was not embarrassed. However, this journey was uneventful. Why did it become like this when we approached Chang'an?
Ba Lujia was still deep in thought, but several of his elite men had already translated the conversation between the two to the rest of the guards.
When they heard that the envoy was humiliated, the Tibetan guards immediately became anxious. Although they had no weapons, they all opened their sleeves and prepared for a conflict.
However....
As soon as they made any move, something terrible happened.
They were not guards. Although the prince's guards were numerous and armed, they did not make much movement. Instead, a group of common people with poles and hammers emerged from nowhere and forcefully inserted themselves between the two parties, a tense situation. , open up a big posture at any time.
The Tubo guards boasted that they could defeat hundreds of people, but when they faced the vast crowd of people, especially when they were all so angry, they became timid for a while.
Ba Lujia, who was meditating, was also frightened by the noise around him. When he raised his head, he also discovered the horror of this scene.
especially....
What he could see so far were just precursors. Although there were figures separated by figures, he still saw migrant workers working in the distance. After hearing the call of his companions, he dropped his work and picked up an object as a weapon. Just running.
To be honest, when the migrant workers were angry, he was not afraid, because he knew deeply that he was an envoy, and it was the people of the Tang Dynasty who created the envoy without killing the two armies. No matter what happened, at least he, as an envoy, still had a high probability of returning to Tubo in full force and shape.
He doesn't worry about his life, what scares him is...
He discovered that these people of the Tang Dynasty were not acting. Their anger actually came from their hearts.
Especially the people who came over first, actually protected the pavilion where the prince was, without any trace of acting. Because, before his eyes, he saw a commoner who ran over in a hurry and didn't have anything in his hand. He asked for an iron rod from his companion, and then he looked at him aggressively.
The prince of the Tang Dynasty was so popular?
Seeing more and more people gathering around, many of whom were already eager to try, Ba Lujia could only say anxiously: "What does this mean, Your Highness? I admit that I do have bad intentions, and I accept my punishment."
Facing the crowds of people coming in, Ba Lujia found it difficult to remain stubborn.
Seeing that Ba Lujia was subdued, Li Xian signaled the guard in front of him to tap the breastplate with the hilt of his knife, attracting everyone's attention.
Clearing his throat, Li Xian smiled and said: "Folks, the Tubo people don't dare to attack Lonely, so you don't have to be so angry. It would be bad if you frighten them. After all, they come to our Datang, even if they have bad intentions. , but he came here with a gift, so it wouldn’t be good if he was beaten to death.”
As soon as Li Xian finished speaking, Ding Liu came over, spat at Ba Lujia, and then said: "Your Highness, these barbarians are shameless. We are afraid that he will disturb you, and the work will be delayed for a while and a half." We can make it up later, but if I disturb you, it won’t be worth the loss. Just sit still and we’ll see who of these barbarians dares to make a mistake!"
Listening to the steward's translation, Li Xian smiled even brighter.
What we want is this result.
As for Ba Lujia, although he didn't understand the dialect, he also hoped that the steward was translating randomly. However, looking at Ding Liu's expression, he knew that the steward was not translating randomly. This is what the migrant worker said.
Getting up from the reclining chair, Li Xian waved his hand to signal the guards and migrant workers in front to get out of the way, and said to Ba Lujia: "The envoy also saw it. It's not that I summoned these people on purpose, but they really don't care if you don't do it." It's pleasing to the eye. But don't worry, I won't let them beat you. You can come in and have a cup of tea first to relieve the heat."
Ba Lujia smiled bitterly and could only walk into the shed step by step.
As soon as he entered the shed, when he turned around, he found that a wall of people had surrounded the shed again. As for his guards, they were huddled together and trembling under the threat of a series of messy weapons such as poles, hammers, iron bars, and wooden sticks.
Having no time to take care of his own guards, seeing the prince sitting back down again, Ba Lujia had no choice but to sit on the chair that Li Yun moved.
As for Wang Duan, he was already sitting there enjoying tea.
He took the tea mechanically and took a sip. Although the tea was sweet, Ba Lujia could not feel the taste.
Seeing Ba Lujia drinking tea, Wang Duancai frowned and said: "What the envoy did is indeed Meng Lang. The prince is the crown prince of the Tang Dynasty. He has a distinguished status and belongs to Tubo. If he wants to discuss etiquette with the prince, he has to be from Tubo. A king is good enough, but even if you are the Prime Minister of Tubo, you are not in the same league. You are just an envoy, and you are not qualified to ask His Highness the Crown Prince to condescend to repay you a courtesy."
After listening to Wang Duan's words and thinking about the etiquette he had learned, Ba Lujia could only nod lightly.
There was nothing that could be done about it. He had sent envoys on behalf of Tubo more than once. No matter whether they were the Tianzhu people on the other side of the snow-capped mountains or the prairie people on the grassland, they did not dare to make mistakes when facing him.
After adapting to being sent as a mission to other countries, now that he came to the Tang Dynasty, he could not change his mentality for a while.
Indeed, the status of the prince of the Tang Dynasty was indeed not comparable to that of himself.
Putting down the tea cup, Ba Lujia had no choice but to stand up again and salute sincerely: "This is my envoy Meng Lang. I hope His Highness the Crown Prince will forgive me."
Seeing that Ba Lujia really lowered his head, Li Xian secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
but....
People must ask for something according to courtesy. It seems that Ba Lujia's mission to the Tang Dynasty this time should have other purposes besides spying on the truth. This purpose can even make him, a militant, temporarily humble. head.
Nodding, Li Xian waved his hand and said, "It doesn't matter. Even if you don't know the etiquette of the Tang Dynasty, you can't be blamed entirely on you. Wang Duan..."
Wang Duan stood up, walked out of his seat, raised his hands and saluted, "I'm here."
"As the Prime Minister of Honglu Temple, you welcome the envoys. You should teach the envoys etiquette on the way. Now that the envoys are rude, you should bear full responsibility. After you return, go to Honglu Temple to receive the punishment!"
Wang Duan said solemnly: "I know my crime!"
"Well, okay, let's go back."
After hearing this, Wang Duan returned to his seat.
Punishing or not punishing, he knew the rules of this very well. Perhaps, when he arrived at Honglu Temple, he would be punished by taking the reward home to rest, no, studying behind closed doors and thinking about his mistakes.
At Honglu Temple, he had experienced this kind of thing more than once.
Seeing that Wang Duan was punished, Ba Lujia immediately tensed up.
He found that the prince of the Tang Dynasty in front of him was actually very majestic. If he became the emperor of the Tang Dynasty in the future, then...
Inadvertently, he picked up the tea cup again and had some concerns in his mind.
Ignoring Ba Lujia, Li Xian walked back to the shed and said to Ding Liu and others: "We are going to entertain the envoys. There are so many guards here, so we don't need your protection. What, do you still want to be alone with you?" Do it together? We just did it all morning, and my back hurts, so I won’t accompany you anymore!"
After listening to the steward's translation, the migrant workers burst into laughter.
This morning when the prince was going to the construction site, they were surprised. They were astonished when they found that the prince was not acting, but actually working, and the work was very tiring and dirty.
The dignified prince actually knows how to work?
They were still confused at first, but after hearing these words, everyone was relieved.
That's right. Since he is a prince, it is impossible for him to do such work. After all, how can someone who grew up in glory and wealth compare with them who work all year round? However, it is still very good to last all morning.
Such a prince who did not tell lies to the people and did it seriously as long as he did something told the truth, which made them like him very much.
Now that the prince had spoken, Ding Liu and Li Niu led the migrant workers back to work.
But when everyone left, they all showed regret, especially Ding Liu and Li Niu. They had hidden an iron rod early in the morning and wanted to find the leader of the Tibetan people and give him a hard blow. .
"...."
Noticing the gazes of Ding Liu and Li Niu, Ba Lujia suddenly didn't know what to say.
After glancing at his guards, Ba Lujia waved his hand towards them, stretched out two fingers, and then asked: "Your Highness, I have some gifts for you. Is it possible for my guards to bring them?"
Got a gift?
Of course, the door is open to welcome you!
After taking a look at Li Yun, Li Yun took the hint and left, taking the Tubo guards to get something.
After a while, the guard came in carrying a heavy box.
Opening the box, even if there was light shining on it, no precious light was revealed. However, after taking a look, Li Xian still nodded with satisfaction.
Unlike the Japanese people, Ba Lujia's gifts were all jade and Dzi beads.
As early as the Iron Age between 1500 BC and the first year of AD, the ancient Xiangxiong Kingdom living around the plateau regarded Dzi beads as an auspicious treasure.
As the saying goes, "foreign monks can recite sutras," Dzi beads from the Plateau are also very popular in the Central Plains. It is widely rumored that this is an auspicious treasure, so as long as Dzi beads flow out of the plateau, one's wealth will rise.
However, because Dzi beads are also very precious to plateau people, under normal circumstances, Dzi beads will not spread to the Central Plains and cannot be bought with money. Therefore, the actual price of these Dzi beads may be higher.
After all, it was a gift to him, the prince, and the Dzi beads were very attractive, both in size and pattern.
After looking at the box, Li Xian nodded with satisfaction, looked at Ba Lujia, and said with a smile: "Since I am sincerely giving the gift, I am disrespectful. It is disrespectful to come and go without going back. I heard that there is a lack of iron on the plateau, so I see The guards of the envoy are all wearing shabby clothes, so how about giving the envoy two pieces of Mingguang armor as my own decision?"
