Zhurou

Chapter 231 Going North

Qi Yuan made this request on the spot, and his tone and actions revealed a contemptuous attitude, but no one dared to refuse on the spot, and some people even started to calculate the benefits of it.

Regardless of what everyone was thinking, the audience with the emperor finally ended. Although a banquet was held in the Chuigong Hall afterwards, Zhao Mingzhi did not attend. Only Zhao Hong pinched his nose and forced himself to sit down.

Qi Yuan did not even take the retired emperor of Xiazhou seriously, so how could he be afraid of the young emperor who had just ascended the throne? He answered a few words casually, and after all, considering the face of the two countries, he pretended to be respectful.

There were officials accompanying him, but after three rounds of drinking, whether the beggar was drunk and speechless or did it on purpose, he raised the cup in his hand and said with a smile: "It was still the prosperous Southern Dynasty. This kind of wine is difficult to brew even in the best restaurant in Xingqing Prefecture. Although there are many winemakers in the capital, I don't know if it's because of the different water used, the taste is always a little bit off..."

As he spoke, he raised his hand and pointed randomly, saying: "Not only the wine, but also the food and expenses are the most extravagant in the Southern Dynasty. As for the characters, they are indeed the best in the Southern Dynasty. However, my country has so many beauties in the Southern Dynasty. I thought I was very satisfied at first, but later I realized that they are just ordinary beauties. The real pearls are still in the capital..."

"My emperor is brave and must have the best beauty. This trip to the capital will help me fulfill my wish and bring her back to Xingqing Prefecture. Although the Northern Dynasty is not as extravagant as Zhao and Jin, building a good courtyard is like hiding a beauty in a golden house, as you Jin people say. It's not impossible - these 100,000 silver taels and 100,000 silks can be regarded as a bargain for the beauty, and it can also help the two countries to have a long-term friendship!"

His words were very random, but the deputy envoy beside him had to put down his chopsticks, raised his glass and said with a smile: "The wine of the Southern Dynasty is indeed excellent. We are all drunk. I said some drunken words. Please forgive me and don't mind it!"

The beggar Yuan knew that he had said something wrong. Seeing that everyone at the table had an unhappy look on their faces, he did not want to quarrel with the Jin people on the spot, so he immediately slumped over the table and pressed his head on the table, pretending that he was drunk. He ignored everything else.

Naturally, the banquet ended in a bad mood.

Zhao Hong was already full of anger. After all the Di envoys had left, he finally pushed the chair behind him hard, raised his head and said loudly to everyone in the hall: "Such a bastard! How dare you want to marry my elder sister?? He is still in the capital, and he is just an envoy, yet he dares to be so arrogant. If he returns to Xingqing Prefecture, I don't know what kind of person he will be!"

Zhang Yi said nothing, while Yang Ting frowned and remained silent. As for the other ministers, no one agreed, but no one spoke either.

Seeing everyone's reaction, Zhao Hong felt that he had guessed what they were thinking and became even angrier.

Compared with the Di people's behavior, they were, after all, a foreign enemy. Moreover, the Jin Dynasty had always been weak in the knees and was used to kneeling. With the result today, they could not win and could only swallow their teeth and blood and endure it for a while. However, the civil and military officials in the court were their own family. It has always been said that they eat the salary of the emperor and worry about the emperor. To put it bluntly, when they were in Caizhou before, everyone received a living salary, some of which Zhao Mingzhi took from the prince's mansion himself. But how did they repay their behavior today?

  So, what's the difference between this and betraying your own people?

Thinking of this, Zhao Hong hated the Di people, hated the people standing in front of him, and hated himself for being powerless even more. He simply wished that at this moment, a bolt of lightning would strike down from the sky and kill everyone in the hall.

He really couldn't stand the appearance of the civil and military officials around him, and didn't want to stay any longer, so he walked out quickly.

Wang Shu followed behind, and seeing Zhao Hong's hurried steps and unhappy expression, he had to quicken his pace to catch up, but he didn't dare to say a word.

When Zhao Hong was halfway through the journey, he turned around and asked him, "Where is my sister now?"

Wang Shu hurriedly said, "Your Highness just sent someone to say that he is reviewing the memorial in the side hall."

These words made Zhao Hong feel even more sad. He felt that everyone in the court and the palace had let him and his brother down. He stopped and did not move forward, for fear of seeing Zhao Mingzhi. If she asked him about the words of the Di envoy at the banquet, he would not be able to answer, and he would not be able to not answer, which would only make her sad.

But he was still young and couldn't learn the cunning of adults. He watched for a while and couldn't help asking, "Wang Shu, you said that my sister and I treated them so well, but no one came out to reply today - if they are unwilling to even speak, what else can we do with them!"

This answer is not right, and not answering is not right either, which becomes Wang Shu.

He had to reply: "It is a rare victory for our dynasty this time. It is possible that you officials are unable to react at the moment. You must be angry in your heart, but you are afraid to speak out and damage the relationship between the two countries, so that the peace talks will not be successful..."

These forced words are naturally not very convincing.

Wang Shu racked his brains and said, "Besides, those present today are all important civil and military officials. Their words carry a lot of weight, so we shouldn't make too many calculations. Otherwise, wouldn't it be a loss of face for the great country?"

Zhao Hong said bitterly: "If you don't say anything, won't you lose face?!"

"Everyone cares about their face all the time, but I don't? Then what do I need such an important minister for? When you gave me advice in the past, you acted and spoke like that. Aren't you afraid of losing your own face?" Zhao Hong's voice was shaking.

Wang Shu didn't dare to say anything and could only lower his head and do his job.

Zhao Hong said nothing more.

He had hardly eaten anything during the meal, and was now hungry, but he had lost his appetite due to his anger. Moreover, he had just lost his temper, so it was inappropriate for him to ask for another meal alone. He just tightened his belt, but had a gloomy face. He did not care about the majesty of the emperor, but kicked the stones on the ground and walked forward. He did not know what he thought of the stones, but just vented his anger and helplessness.

——Although he was always quick-tempered and often spoke harshly, he knew in his heart that his position as emperor was not stable. No matter how much Zhao Mingzhi promised that he would not marry Zong Gu, he did not completely believe it in his heart.

  Just like when he was wrapped in a yellow robe and crowned emperor, without any say, how could he not be afraid that one day he would wake up and be told that the princess had married and gone north, and that due to the situation, he could not resist at all?

However, Zhao Hong could not tell others about his uneasiness and resentment, nor did he want to tell Zhao Mingzhi about it again and again. This was because he knew that his elder sister was busy with government affairs and was already very busy, and he did not want to cause her any more trouble. He had to digest it all by himself and deeply remembered the shame of today.

Not to mention how depressed Zhao Hong was here, all the officials who left Chuigong Hall one after another went back, each of them had their own things to do.

On the evening of the next day, Zhang Yi stopped the envoys halfway and asked them about their words and deeds.

The Hanlin scholar naturally knew everything, but he added: "I am very anxious this time, and I have urged you several times to see me as soon as possible. I am not very picky about food and hospitality, and I have no other requests..."

When asked about the appearance of the beggar when he returned to the post station last night, he said, "He didn't look drunk. He walked back to his room by himself. Several people from the delegation gathered together and dispersed in the middle of the night. He came to ask about the progress early this morning..."

He looked bitter and said, "Such a major matter would take a long time to discuss, so how could we possibly give a reply the next day? Envoy Di was so impatient that he became very impatient after a few words of consolation, and spoke harshly."

Being an escort to the Di people was never a good job. This person felt that he was stuck in the middle and it was very difficult for him, so he naturally couldn't help but complain.

Zhang Yi ignored his complaints and asked a few more details. When he returned home, he called the housekeeper to inquire about the rumors in and outside the capital.

The person in charge had to tell everything he had found out.

"... Ever since the Di envoys arrived in Beijing, the atmosphere outside has become somewhat tense. I don't know what happened in the morning, but suddenly someone spread the word that Xingqing Prefecture wanted His Highness to marry a princess. I thought it was just nonsense, but by noon, the rumors were spreading more and more true. Many people were very angry after hearing it, and some even wanted to drive the Di envoys out of the capital..."

Zhang Yi sat very steadily and did not ask questions in a hurry.

The manager continued, "By the end of the You hour, many new theories emerged, and no one knew where they came from. Some said that Zong Gu already had a wife in Xingqing Prefecture, some said that he liked to eat raw meat and had an ugly appearance, and some said that he had actually forced several noble ladies of our dynasty from Xiazhou, but within a year, some died and some were injured, and no one came out alive..." Zhang Yi sneered, but shook his head, without saying anything more, just waiting for the other party to continue speaking.

"I received orders from the official and went to check the refugee sheds in the west of the city early this morning. Sure enough, by the afternoon, someone had already led a group to attack Duting Posthouse, saying that they wanted to drive the Di people out..."

Hearing this, Zhang Yi's face finally changed, and he asked anxiously, "Have you reported it to the Kyoto government office? Has anyone stopped him?"

"I've reported it to the patrolmen, and have sent people to persuade them. But they can't guard it every day. Besides, there are tens of thousands of men, women, young and old in that huge refugee shed. If they really want to cause trouble, how can we stop them? I'm afraid those few patrolmen can't resist it." Thinking of what he saw during the day, the manager was still a little scared.

"It's not a big deal." Zhang Yi heaved a sigh of relief when he learned that the patrol had stopped the man in time. "After today, I think it will be much easier."

The manager hesitated for a moment, then said, "From what I have seen today... those refugees are easy to persuade. After all, they are barefoot, have no property or jobs, and do things without any scruples. I'm afraid we should put more control on them."

Zhang Yi shook his head but said nothing more. After asking for a while more, he sent the man away.

After sitting alone in the room, Zhang Yi picked up the teacup in front of him and took a sip of tea.

Although the tea was a little cold, it was good tea freshly brewed after the Qingming Festival. It tasted refreshing and sweet at first, and left a lingering aftertaste. Zhang Yi was satisfied for a moment. He savored the tea carefully before lowering his head to look at the tea leaves again.

After being busy for so many days, he finally put his mind at ease today when he saw the Di envoys coming to the palace and proposing peace talks.

——People’s hearts are for themselves.

One person can be exchanged for 100,000 pieces of silver or 100,000 pieces of silk. Even a person who is not good at accounting can tell which is more important and there will be no major trouble.

Once the princess leaves Xingqing Prefecture, the war subsides, and both countries are at peace, all affairs of the court will gradually return to normal.

  ***

Just as Zhang Yi expected, Qi Yuan's proposal to use the additional annual tribute in exchange for the betrothal gift really silenced the indignant people inside and outside the capital.

After all, the one being married off is a princess, not one of my own sisters or relatives. Although the princess has done many good things, and this time it was thanks to her that the city was able to defend the city together, the whole city was able to be so united in hatred of the enemy, but the annual tribute was paid by me after all...

In the morning, many people were still cursing the Di people for being cunning and treacherous, and for having evil intentions. In the afternoon, some merchants and peddlers who were good at math began to calculate the 100,000 taels of silver and 100,000 taels of silk, and how much tax they would have to pay if the 100,000 taels were divided equally among themselves, or how much more grain they would have to plant in the fields. They started arguing with each other, and then there was chaos outside, with all kinds of noises.

Seeing the wind direction change so quickly, many people who had been prepared couldn't help but secretly breathe a sigh of relief, cursing themselves for how stupid the world is, and just asked people to pay attention to external public opinion and no longer provide any guidance.

Everyone is paying attention to the direction of the wind in Beijing, so how could Zhao Mingzhi not know?

Seeing that people in the market were discussing the matter endlessly, the civil and military officials seemed to have fallen silent. No one mentioned it at all. Instead, they seemed to be avoiding something, or waiting for something.

Zhao Mingzhi was happy to play dumb and pretend nothing happened, leaving the beggars and their group stranded in Duting Posthouse.

When the two governments were discussing the terms of peace, she did not say a word and just waited for someone to speak.

In this way, it was like a game of chess between the two sides. Finally, at the grand court meeting that day, a man came out holding a hu tablet and said loudly: "Your Majesty, the Di people are negotiating peace this time and want to marry our princess. They are very serious about it. After all, it is not good to keep the marriage between the two countries without a reply..."

But he was an official in the Honglu Temple.

Zhao Mingzhi naturally would not pay much attention to it, but Zhao Hong, who was sitting on the dragon throne, suddenly changed color. When he opened his mouth to speak, responses came from below one after another.

"I second the proposal."

"After all, if the Northern Dynasty's envoys are ignored for a long time, it would be a breach of etiquette."

"I second the proposal."

As a person stood out from the steps, Zhao Hong reacted. He looked at Zhang Yi again, but saw that he had his hands lowered and his head bowed without saying a word. None of the officials from the two governments standing in the front line said a word either.

  But without their orders, how could those individuals be the first to take action?

"Mr. Yang, in your opinion, how should the matter of the marriage in Xingqing Prefecture be handled this time?" Zhao Hong could no longer sit still, and deliberately looked for Yang Ting and asked.

The latter stepped forward and said, "Although this is a matter between the two countries, marriage has been a gesture of friendship between the two countries since ancient times, but Your Highness is a princess after all. Whether to marry or not, whether to be in harmony or not, still depends on Your Highness's opinion."

Even little Zhao Hong felt that something was wrong with his words.

What does "although" mean?

Speaking like this seems to give the decision-making power to the person involved, but the words are full of pressure.

  ——The friendly relations between the two countries is a national issue. If you marry me, it means peace. If you don’t marry me, does it mean disharmony?

Thinking about this, Zhao Hong's legs, which had just relaxed a little, tensed up again. He didn't know if he had bumped into something accidentally or was just too nervous, but he just felt a little pain in his calves.

He opened his mouth to refute, but before he could finish his words, he heard Zhao Mingzhi say, "After all, it's not that easy for two countries to get married."

"Just like what Hanlin You said yesterday, there is no one in the world who asks for annual tribute from relatives." Zhao Mingzhi's voice passed through the screen, clear and melodious, and was heard clearly in the hall, "Even if our dynasty does not care about annual tribute, the emperor is still in Xiazhou, and the ministers Han, Wang, Hu, and Ding are detained in the Northern Dynasty. We should bring them back first and then discuss the marriage."

As soon as these words were spoken, the Chuigong Hall, which was already deserted, became even more eerily quiet.

Yang Ting, who was still standing in the front row holding a sceptre, showed a rare change of colour, no matter how good his Qi-cultivation skills were.

If the original emperor is brought back, he can choose a place such as Sanqing Mountain or Wutai Mountain for meditation, or ask the current emperor to choose a place for meditation. But once the husbands are brought back, how will they be settled? After settling them, how will the current husbands be treated?

  As for Zhang Yi who had his head bowed, he could no longer hold back, he slightly raised his head, squinted his eyes and looked towards the screen, he could not help but curse in his heart - I'm just asking you to marry into the court, if you're willing then nod, if you're not willing then shake your head, how can you overturn the chessboard over a disagreement!

Before he could finish his curse in his heart, he heard Zhao Mingzhi above him say, "Such a major event, the friendship between the two countries, is related to peace or discord, and it cannot be treated lightly. Our dynasty should select an envoy to go north to discuss. It is better to choose a heavy person than a light one. Prime Minister Zhang, you have been a minister to the emperor for many years, and you have old ties with many old ministers in Xiazhou. I wonder if you can take on this important task and go north to Xingqing Prefecture for the dynasty?"