Although he still looked furious, Li Zhi was actually not very angry anymore.
Li Zhi glanced at Ba Lujia and said nothing.
King Qin once said, "The emperor was angry and laid down a million corpses." Although this sentence is a bit exaggerated, but the emperor's anger was to the extreme, and there was no problem in laying down hundreds of thousands of corpses.
This is especially true for an emperor like Li Zhi who holds the imperial power tightly in his hands and has not dispersed it too much.
Seeing that the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty was still frowning, Ba Lujia was soaked with sweat on the ground...
He was not afraid of the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, but he was really afraid of what would happen to himself and his family after the war started.
He didn't even dare to imagine that kind of ending...
After a long time, just when Ba Lujia was about to faint, Li Zhi said: "In that case, I won't care about your rudeness. If there is a next time, hum!"
Although Li Zhi's snort was directed at Ba Lujia, the envoys in the room couldn't help but tremble.
According to the legends of our ancestors, the people of the Central Plains were originally weak and could be bullied. Who knew that now, the people of the Central Plains have become so powerful?
If you can't resist, you can only bear the oppression of the Tang Dynasty.
As for Ba Lujia, who was soaked in sweat, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty finally relented.
However, he couldn't help but feel pain at the thought of having to pay for the gift to the Tang Dynasty as an apology.
You have to distinguish between the recipients when giving gifts. Giving gifts to the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty is still the kind that will never return and will not get any return. Even his family will have to work hard.
Seeing Ba Lujia looking constipated, the generals couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Zhou Ke finally stopped the generals from laughing and continued to preside over the ceremony.
After the visit is over, it’s time to give gifts.
At this stage, Zhang Lanyue couldn't help but crane his neck to wait.
Although nominally these tributes and gifts are given to saints, according to custom, saints always set aside most of them to fill the treasury. Nowadays, the national treasury is really tight, and now it can be stronger with the inflow of gifts from envoys.
"Tubo offered as tribute one box of jade and fifty yaks. In addition, it offered one box of jade, three boxes of gold, three boxes of treasures, and one hundred yaks."
"The Mengchi Protectorate's tribute is 200 oxen and 1,000 sheep. An additional tribute is 300 oxen and 2,000 sheep. One hundred fine horses and five hundred fine horses."
.....
Zhang Ke took the tribute letters from each envoy one by one, and then read out the list of tribute and additional tribute items from each country with an expressionless face.
Since the Tang Dynasty established its status as a suzerain state, it has become a tradition for various countries to pay tribute to the Tang Dynasty. Different from the verbal promises made during the Taizong period, now all countries really want to pay tribute to the Tang Dynasty. As for the additional tribute, it can be said to be protection fees or peace fees.
After all, since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, there have been few failed wars against foreign countries.
The accumulated achievements of three generations have made the armies of various countries extremely awe of the Tang Army. If a war breaks out, the cost will be much more than what is currently being paid as tribute.
In this case, many Khans and monarchs chose to spend money to avoid disaster.
After reading the shabby tribute book from Silla Kingdom, Li Zhi couldn't help but laugh.
He was now extremely glad that the order he gave to the border troops was a bluff.
Now it seems that this behavior is still very effective. The tributes collected alone, after being converted into money and grain, are enough to support the national treasury to get through this year without incident.
But it's a pity that now there is no way for the prince to buy food from the five surnames and other wealthy families at low prices. Otherwise, the value of these tributes would be even higher.
Patting the armrest, Li Zhi smiled and said: "I have received all the tributes from various countries, and I understand what I mean. It is rare that so many envoys come to pay tribute to the Tang Dynasty this year. It is the beginning of autumn. Although it is a little early, the Guan Nei Road is still there. Although there is a severe drought, the royal gardens can still be opened, and there is still enough prey. I intend to hold an autumn hunt to entertain all the envoys. Dear ladies, what do you think?"
This was originally decided secretly, so the civil servants, led by Hao Chujun, and the generals, led by Li Xian, all agreed.
The matter of Qiu Lie is finally settled.
But Ba Lujia and others knew that they could not refuse. However, the envoys from Silla and other countries couldn't help but become anxious.
You must know that they did not bring a special guard who is good at hunting this time. If they lose face in this autumn hunting...
Seeing the different expressions on the envoys' faces, Li Zhi stood up with a smile and ended the Hajj ceremony.
In the past, for poor places like the Nanzhao tribe, the Tang Dynasty would give them some things to promote the national prestige of the Tang Dynasty. However, after trying it for a while during the Taizong period, the idea had to be abandoned.
Because, it's useless.
For those barbarian tribes, the reward of the Tang Dynasty was simply to beat dogs with meat buns. Although the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty made them confused, after returning to the mountains and forests, it was impossible for them to have thoughts of Fushun, and they still clung to their one-third of an acre of land. There are even some stupid ones who dream of conquering Chang'an.
In this case, there is no such thing as a return gift.
The Hajj ceremony was over, but the generals did not disperse.
This time, the "gossip" that Qiu Lie was hosted by the prince was also revealed to their ears.
So, out of concern, they gathered a group of sharp archers one by one and wanted to hand them over to the prince as "gunners".
Li Xian expressed his gratitude for such behavior, but declined to accept their services.
He ate as much as he had strength, and he didn't care about being laughed at for his archery skills.
After returning to the East Palace and changing out of his sexy armor, Li Xian began to read the report sent by Shangguan.
The auction house is being set up rapidly. As the largest contractor of the road construction project, Li Xian can naturally use this authority to seek some personal gain for himself. For example, gather some craftsmen with superb folk skills.
There is no need to worry too much about the construction of the auction house. The financial resources of Sihailou are enough to support it.
What really made him curious was the report from Wang Fuchou and Wang Bo.
Since Wang Fuchou became the magistrate of Wannian County, it can be said that he has been extremely low-key and never mentioned to anyone that he had a son who was a guest of the prince. Having worked at a grassroots level like the county magistrate for many years, he naturally has some tricks up his sleeve.
This can be seen from the fact that the migrant workers in Wannian County's jurisdiction made a fuss and wanted to give him a Wanmin letter.
The old soldier was naturally not beheaded, but the local soldiers who participated in the "performance" gave the gold bars to him for distribution. Some people were able to attend, while others were unable to catch up with this good thing. How to distribute it is naturally a problem.
However, Wang Fuchou solved this problem perfectly.
He did not treat them differently, but distributed them equally, and those soldiers who participated in the interception were reported to the Wannian Zhechong Mansion for their military merits in the name of meritorious service, extending their tax-free time.
In this way, no one has any complaints!
