Neon Clothes and Iron Clothes

Chapter 388 Bargaining
"The envoy from the Tang Dynasty really had plans, but luckily His Highness was already prepared!" Zhongchen Lianzu was startled, and said with a smile, "Of course it's the eldest brother, the prince!"

"Wait a minute, you are talking about the eldest brother, the prince? So he has not yet ascended the throne?" Wang Wenzuo pretended to be surprised: "How can this be? The person who sent the book is the emperor of our country, and the person who received the book is naturally It can only be the lord of your country, how can you hand it over to a prince?"

"The envoy doesn't know that before the king died, he had already entrusted all the government affairs to the eldest brother, the prince, so he naturally accepted the letter of credence!"

"Young minister, it is one thing to entrust government affairs, and another thing to be the lord of a country. How can we talk about it in general? During the Three Kingdoms period, Liu Xianzhu entrusted all state affairs to Duke Ge in Baidi City. After that, the government of the Shu Han was controlled by the Ge family, and sacrifices were made by the emperor. The Empress. Even so, the State Book of Wei and Wu was written to the Empress, not Ge Gong!"

"This——" Zhongchen Lianzu was dumbfounded. He was familiar with Chinese history books, and of course he knew that the example Wang Wenzuo cited came from "The History of the Three Kingdoms". Zhuge Liang is about to hand over all the government affairs and military affairs to Zhuge Liang, and he only undertakes the work of offering sacrifices to the gods of the ancestors of the heaven and earth (the ancient Chinese emperor actually served as the chief priest, commander, and head of the government in one person), and even so, the monarch of Shu at that time It is still Liu Chan and not Zhuge Liang.Therefore, even though Prince Zhongda had actually controlled the government as early as Emperor Qiming, as long as he did not become king for a day, he would not be able to accept the letter of credence from the emperor of Tang on behalf of Wa, and even in a sense, sacrifice The chief priest of Amaterasu, the supreme god of the Japanese kingdom, is more qualified to accept the letter of credence than the eldest brother, the prince. After all, in the ancient world, the first duty of the monarch was to sacrifice to the gods of heaven and earth, and to obtain the approval of the gods of heaven and earth. (It is engraved on Qin Yuxi's seal: If you are ordered by heaven, you will live forever.)
"What's wrong? Is there any embarrassment for Zhongchenqing?" Wang Wenzuo asked.

At this time, Zhongchen Lianzu knew that he had fallen into the trap of the other party, but there was nothing he could do. After all, as long as the eldest brother and prince did not become king, he would not be able to accept the letter of credence from the emperor of Tang, otherwise Tang The envoy can immediately use this to incriminate the teacher in a legitimate way.He hesitated for a moment, and said in a deep voice: "As far as I know, when King Qin of your country was the crown prince in charge of the country, he also accepted the credentials of other countries on behalf of the emperor. Bang, why not follow the precedent?"

Wang Wenzuo was taken aback when he heard the words. The King of Qin mentioned by the other party obviously meant Li Shimin. Li Shimin was established as the prince after the Xuanwumen Incident and had the power to supervise the country. It seemed that it was really a few months before he was enthroned as emperor?During this period of time, Li Shimin was the actual emperor, so it is not surprising that he accepted the letter of credence.The example given by Zhongchen Kamazu is very narrow. Wang Wenzuo can't say that Emperor Taizong of this dynasty overstepped his duty when he was the prince, and acted recklessly!
Wang Wenzuo was so questioned that he was speechless, but Cui Hongdu, who was on the side, couldn't help it, and said loudly: "You are so rude. Looking up like the sky, how can the son of a Japanese chieftain be compared?"

Zhongchen Lian unhurriedly confessed his guilt, and said with a smile: "The achievements of Emperor Taizong of your country are naturally known all over the world, even if I am in a foreign country, I have heard of it. The barbarians, the law of establishing a country, and the determination of ranks are all admired by the people of our country. Although they dare not compare with Taizong of your country, he is also a hero that has not been seen in a small country for hundreds of years!"

"This guy is so hard to deal with. Sure enough, there is no one who can leave his name in the history books!" Wang Wenzuo thought to himself, what Zhongchen Lianzu said just now sounds innocent on the surface, but in fact Piri Yangqiu For example, he said that the achievements of Emperor Taizong are known all over the world, and he has heard about them in foreign countries. This can be explained as Li Shimin’s literary and martial arts, which he has heard of in Japan; Brother, I know all about the scandal of forcing my father to seize the throne, so stop bragging here.If Wang Wenzuo wanted to talk about the killing of Prince Youjian by the eldest brother, he would be asking for trouble.

"Hongdu!" Wang Wenzuo raised his hand, stopped Cui Hongdu who was still aggrieved, and said with a smile: "I don't know much about the achievements of the eldest brother and prince in your country, and I don't know whether what Zhongchenqing said is true or not. Let’s take it for granted that it’s true! However, he acted recklessly and provoked great powers, causing the death of his master and apprentice overseas, the loss of his children’s brains, the depletion of boats, the resentment of the people, and the emptiness of the treasury. These must be facts, right? Has the emperor ever done something like this? I'm not just talking nonsense, I'm afraid it's a little inappropriate for Zhong Chenqing to compare the eldest brother prince with me, Emperor Taizong Wen!"

Faced with Wang Wenzuo's questioning, Zhongchen Lianzu was dumbfounded. From the bottom of his heart, the eldest brother Zhongzi deserves his evaluation, otherwise Wang Wenzuo would not regard it as a serious problem in his confidant, and deliberately planned to get rid of him.But the problem is that history has always judged a hero by success or failure. No matter how reasonable the prince's mainland policy is, and no matter how good his planning and layout are, the disastrous defeat in the Battle of Baijiangkou is an iron fact. The best evaluation is that he is overestimated. After all, he has not had time to complete the subsequent reform of the legal system, so the credit cannot be counted on him.To use an inappropriate analogy, if Li Shimin died in the rebellion when he was defeated by Xue Ju in Jingchuan, or Li Yuanji stabbed his neck with a dagger instead of a bowstring during the Xuanwumen Incident, history will naturally have a great evaluation of Li Shimin different.

"Zhongchenqing!" Wang Wenzuo coughed: "I dare to ask, the first lord of your country has passed away for some time, right? Why is the throne still empty?"

Wang Wenzuo's question was like a stone falling into a calm water, causing ripples in a pool. Zhongchen Lianzu hesitated for a moment, and said in a low voice: "The ambassador doesn't know something. This country is different from your country. After the death of the previous king, the successor A person needs to be recommended by everyone, not just a piece of imperial edict from the previous king can be granted privately!"

"So that's the case, so the eldest brother and the prince are only one of the successors?"

Nakatomi Kamazu nodded with difficulty, this is exactly what he tried his best to conceal, and it is not enough to continue to conceal it.

"Then how about this? If your country can't decide who will be the king in a short time, then let several possible heirs accept the credentials together!"

"Accept credentials together!"

"That's right, anyway, the future king of your country must be one of them, and I have fulfilled my mission! Otherwise, there is no way to delay this!"

Zhongchen Lianzu didn't speak, of course he knew that Wang Wenzuo was playing a wonderful move - in this way, at least in the matter of the meeting with the envoys of the Tang Dynasty, the eldest brother and the prince were indeed only one of the heirs, and also recognized the other two. His position as the heir is nothing less than a huge concession.Things like this are not in his power to promise.

"This matter is of great importance. I can't give you a definite answer. I have to go back and report it first!"

"Alright, but it's best not to delay for too long!" Wang Wenzuo laughed.

"Definitely!" Zhongchen Lianzu breathed a sigh of relief, and said with a smile: "Dare to ask, what is the content of your country's credential, so that you can talk to your superiors after you go back!"

Nakatomi Kamazu's request was not too much. This was also the practice in international relations at that time. After all, it was the final stage when the heads of state of the two countries accepted the credentials. Taboo words, wouldn't it be embarrassing to tear your face at that time.Therefore, at the very beginning, it is necessary to go through the draft content of the letter of credence and carry out preliminary negotiations. In the end, it is just a formality.Therefore, Wang Wenzuo had been prepared for a long time, and he preached according to the scriptures: "Actually, there are three main points: first, the Wa Kingdom must surrender to the Tang Dynasty! Second, hand over Fuyu Fengzhang and the traitors who fled to the Wa Kingdom with him; third, hand over Baekje As for the relics that are treasured by the royal family, let me add one more thing, the matter of the relics was personally ordered by the empress of our country, there is absolutely no room for excuses!"

"Proclaim yourself a minister, and hand over Fuyu Fengzhang and the relic?"

"Yes, it's almost these three!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "I can reveal one thing here first. If the two countries reach a peace agreement, then all the soldiers captured in the Battle of Baijiangkou in your country can be released. Sincerity, this time has brought thirty captives, Zhong Chenqing can take them back this time!"

"Thank you for your generosity!" Nakatomi Kamatsu hurriedly bowed to thank him. Regardless of the request made by the Tang people, it is a real kindness to release the [-] captives now, and this thing cannot be faked.

"There is one more thing that needs to be told to Zhong Chenqing, which can be regarded as the next private matter, please agree!" Wang Wenzuo laughed.

"Ambassador Wang, please speak!"

"This time, I was ordered to go on a mission to your country, and I carried a lot of goods in the cabin as a gift to your country. In order to avoid loss in the middle, I brought a lot more. I don't want the journey to be smooth, and the loss is much less than expected. , it is impossible to take these extra things back, so I sold them to your country and exchanged them for some local products, I wonder if it is possible?"

When Zhongchen Lianzu heard this, why didn't he know what Wang Wenzuo was thinking, but in his eyes, these were just innocuous and trivial matters, not to mention that there were still many things to bargain with the envoy of the Tang Dynasty, and he only said that he Since the other side of the son took care of the current favor, it was impossible for him to refuse it.

"Ambassador He Lao asked about some trivial matters, and someone will remember them!" Nakatomi said with a smile.

"Then thank you, Brother Zhongchen!"

The request was granted, and Wang Wenzuo's title was also very affectionate.

"Don't dare, there are still many things that need to be pointed out by Brother Wang. After the matter is completed, everyone in the country will accept the ambassador's affection!"

Wang Wenzuo heaved a sigh of relief after seeing off Zhongchen Kamatsu, of course he knew that this was just the beginning of a long diplomatic game: this is like an auction, where Wang Wenzuo is making a bid, and it is not certain whether the other party will accept or bargain, or even raise the price. Their respective hole cards were not revealed, and until the last moment, no one knew what the final result would be.But Wang Wenzuo has an advantage, that is, backed by the No. [-] hegemony in East Asia, whether it is a fox pretending to be a tiger, or taking advantage of the situation, he has already seized the first three points.

"Master!" Sancho came in from the outside and reported: "The Japanese came and asked us to disembark and rest, and also asked us about the location of the market!"

"Well, this Zhongchen is quick to do things, and the results are immediate!" Cui Hongdu laughed.

"People like him don't like to owe favors to others, especially our favors!" Wang Wenzuo paused for a moment: "He paid back our favors in such a hurry, just for the purpose of wrangling with us in the future! "

"That's true!" Cui Hongdu nodded: "This guy is really not an easy master to deal with!"

"Easy to deal with, hard to deal with, we have to deal with it in the end!" Wang Wenzuo said with a smile: "But now we have made a move, we can only wait for them to fight back. Anyway, we can't do anything, and the right is to wait for business!"

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In Asuka, you can see the house.

"It's so beautiful, you can touch it too, it's okay!" Ji Jian handed the celadon long-necked wine bottle in his hand to his wife who was at the side, and the wife stretched out her hand to touch it. The surface of the porcelain bottle was as smooth as water, flowing through her fingertips. She has never touched such a smooth porcelain bottle, it seems that it may be damaged at any time, she quickly withdrew her hand: "This, is this really for us?"

"This is a gift from Pingliu!" Chi Jian laughed, "This porcelain vase is from the Tang Dynasty. Pingliu happened to be working in Nanbajin. The envoys of the Tang Dynasty wanted to dry the goods that were wet by sea water. Pingliu did a little favor. The envoy of the Tang Dynasty gave him this porcelain vase. I want to put this porcelain vase in the main hall of my house, so that it will definitely improve the style of my house!"

"It turned out to be a treasure from the Tang Kingdom. No wonder it is so beautiful, it looks like a jade vase! Ping Liu, I really want to thank you!" Mrs. Ji Jian smiled and nodded to Ping Liu who was kneeling in the hall.

"Don't dare!" Pingliu hurriedly lowered his head: "The villain's ability to serve as an official in Nanbajin is also a recommendation from the evaluation of the master. This is just a way of repaying gratitude!"

"Oh, in today's world, there are not many people who can remember kindness like you, Ping Liu!" Madam sighed delicately, and said to her husband: "Husband, you have recommended many people, but there are Someone like Ping Liu? If it will be beneficial in the future, we must not forget him!"

"Yes, yes, Ma'am is right!" Looking at the celadon vase in Madam's hand, seeing that Chi Qi felt more and more pleasing to Ping Liu who was kneeling in the hall, he stretched out his right hand and waved his hands twice: "Ping Liu, you Come up!"

"Come up?" Ping Liu was slightly taken aback. According to his own status, he is not qualified to go up to the main hall of the master's house.

"Come on, Pingliu!" Madam laughed: "My husband means that you can go to court when you come to our place from now on!"

(End of this chapter)