Uncle Lai in the Red Chamber

Chapter 257 Negotiation and Beating (Two in One)

In the following days, Lai Shangrong took the officials involved in the negotiations to start training on acting skills.

"My lord! If you smile more contemptuously, this is a bit far-fetched."

"Yi Jun, Qin Zhong, you have to show that you really want to hold your breath, but you really can't help but laugh."

"Hahaha! That's right, that's it. When they propose to release the hostages and open up trade, you must laugh out loud. Cheng Tao will start with you."

……

……

While Lai Shangrong was giving instructions on acting skills, Mei Gong was blowing his beard and staring.

"Nonsense! You've lost your dignity, you've lost your dignity! Don't you think it's a trifling matter?"

"Please Mei Hanlin, please don't speak when the time comes. Just keep a straight face and be a record officer."

"Interpretation! We must strictly translate my original words without any deletions or modifications."

There was not enough time to prepare, because the Qianxiang Kingdom Mission had already entered Beijing, but Lai Shangrong was quite satisfied with the rehearsal.

On the fifth day of September, it was sunny.

Day of negotiation.

The personnel gathered at the State Administration Department. Lai Shangrong deliberately delayed for a quarter of an hour and rushed to the official residence of Honglu Temple by car.

Arriving in front of the negotiation conference room, I met Xiyi's negotiation team.

All of them stood up straight, with solemn expressions, revealing rigor everywhere.

Behind King Zhongshun, Lai Shangrong whispered: "Relax!"

The people on Daxia Chao's side began to chat casually, laughing and joking.

There was a huge long table in the conference room. The personnel of the Daxia Dynasty and the Xiyi people sat face to face. The difference was that the Qianxiang Kingdom's envoy sat behind Daxia with a depressed look on his face.

Weak countries have no diplomacy. Even if it is related to the survival of their own country, they have no right to speak at the table, or even put forward opinions.

As the recorder, Mei Gong sat on the far left of Daxia's side, while King Zhongshun sat in the middle, accompanied by Lai Shangrong.

Yuan Chengtao and other members selected by Lai Shangrong were sitting loosely on one side.

Qiu Yijun, Qin Zhong and other Shenji Camp generals stood crookedly behind them.

There are relatively few people in Xiyi, and the person leading the negotiation is an old white man named Warren.

Behind him, Captain Sebas, who was escorting the mission this time, also stood.

The negotiation hadn't started yet, and the two sides had just sat down when King Zhongshun banged the table and shouted, "Where's the tea?"

"The prince likes to drink Pu'er, so I will drink Longjing!"

After a while, the tea was served, along with a few snacks, as if it was not a negotiation but a tea party.

After drinking two sips of tea and eating two pieces of snacks, King Zhongshun said impatiently: "Let's get started! This kind of negotiation is the most annoying. It's just a lot of talking and talking. All problems will be solved with a fight!"

The interpreter bowed and said, "Want to translate?"

Lai Shangrong waved his hand and said, "Don't translate this sentence!"

However, Daxia is not the only one with translators. Xiyi has already left the words intact and translated them to Warren.

His face twitched slightly, he stood up and cleared his throat.

"In order to express our sincerity for peace and your respect for this negotiation, I propose that you and I first reach an exchange of prisoners of war. The imperial army captured thousands of your people in Qianxiang Country in exchange for our Sir John and Related personnel."

Seeing the tough attitude of the Daxia Dynasty, he temporarily released him unconditionally and exchanged prisoners instead.

Lai Shangrong leaned back on the chair, waved his hands and said: "The emperor guards the gate of the country, and the king dies in the country. This is the ancestral motto of our Great Xia Dynasty. Every subject has the consciousness of being loyal to the country. Besides, this time sending troops to Qianxiang Kingdom How can the private behavior of a nobleman of the imperial court be brought to light when only his personal guards are dispatched?"

"How is that possible! We have interrogated them and they are indeed your regular army!"

"You probably don't understand our military system in Daxia. Although those are our regular troops, they are just..." Lai Shangrong thought about the wording. Because he didn't know when the word police appeared in the West, he said: "It's just Our police officers, as you must also know, are not equipped with firearms and are still armed with cold weapons. No matter how outstanding the police officers are, they are not suitable for charging on the battlefield."

"Aren't you willing to exchange prisoners?"

"I don't mind the exchange, but it's just a trivial matter, you can let it go."

"You don't seem to have the sincerity to negotiate. If so..."

"Oh? So what if you're not sincere?"

"We will reserve all rights to counterattack!"

Mei Gong next to her had a bitter face. She hesitated several times, but Lai Shangrong glared back.

There was also a moment of silence in the field.

"Hehehe!" Queen Zhongshun chuckled in realization.

The entire Great Xia negotiation table burst into laughter.

"You...you are showing contempt for my British Empire!"

Lai Shangrong winked at King Zhongshun several times, implying that he would act as planned and should leave angrily at this time. However, King Zhongshun was still hesitant when he saw that the negotiations seemed to be failing.

Lai Shangrong cursed in his heart and was in a dilemma.

Captain Sebas, who was behind Warren, whispered something to him and said disdainfully: "Is it possible that the regular army that you are so proud of is the one behind you?"

Lai Shangrong nodded seriously.

Sebas said proudly: "Then let them have a duel between knights with us!"

Lai Shangrong secretly breathed a sigh of relief, finally getting back on track.

His original plan was for King Zhongshun to leave the meeting angrily and act as peacemaker himself, proposing a shootout between the two parties and letting everyone speak based on their power.

It's just that King Zhongshun slipped up at the critical moment. Fortunately, he had this self-righteous captain of the bodyguard.

"Hehehehe! I heard that the Xiyi people are good at firearms. What we are best at is defeating others in areas where they are good at. How about we all have a duel with musketeers?"

Sebas looked at Lai Shangrong like a fool and said, "Are you sure?"

"Since it's not a war, it's better for everyone to have a civilized fight. Each side selects 20 people to shoot at each other from a distance of 250 meters. The outcome will be determined by casualties. How about that?"

"250 meters?" Sebastian smiled contemptuously and whispered to Warren again.

The range of a smoothbore gun is generally between 200 and 200 meters. If it exceeds [-] meters, unless it is fired in an array, it is difficult to guarantee zero lethality.

In recent years, Xiyi has used muskets and three-stage attacks to travel across the continents without encountering any decent resistance. He absolutely does not believe that Daxia's musketry level is higher than his own.

He felt that Lai Shangrong's proposal to shoot each other from 250 meters was actually because he was afraid that his own side would suffer too much damage, so he deliberately enlarged the distance so that there would be no casualties on both sides and the dispute could continue.

However, he has confidence in his own gunners. The comparison of firearms is the shooting range, and every inch is longer and stronger.

Although it is very difficult to hit a vital point at 250 meters, if it hits the body, even if it does not cause damage, it is enough to gain an advantage in the negotiation.

"Okay! Let's do it your way!"

"It's good to be here early, whoever has the bigger fist will talk!"

Once again, King Zhongshun delivered lines that suited his character belatedly.

The venue had actually been prepared a long time ago, but in order to avoid being spotted by the Xiyi people, preparations such as distance measurement were not done in advance.Moving to the school grounds, Lai Shangrong said to Qin Zhong worriedly: "Just don't participate!"

Although Lai Shangrong knew the shooting range of muskets, he had never seen Xiyi's muskets and only heard about them.

Qin Zhong smiled and said: "I have confidence in the master!"

"Okay! After the negotiation is over, go see your sister!"

Qin Zhong was not a soldier of the Shenji Battalion and was not qualified to participate. However, he learned geometry and physics from Lai Shangrong and knew how to properly utilize recoil and other factors. His shooting accuracy was second to none in the Shenji Battalion.

After all, the time for equipping rifled guns is still short. Even if firearms are easier to master than bows and arrows, it still takes time to become familiar with them.

Coupled with the fact that it was not a serious battle, he volunteered and was included in the formation.

This duel was brutal and rough. After the distance measurement was completed, 20 people from each side stood face to face.

"Bang bang bang!" A series of gunshots sounded.

The smoke cleared and the results were clear.

The 20 people from the Daxia Dynasty were still standing tall, but seven or eight people from the Xiyi side fell down, which was a real fall.

"Cheating!" Warren shouted out immediately after seeing the result.

Afterwards, his head of the bodyguard, Sebastian, walked over from his own line with a frightened expression on his face.

King Zhongshun ignored the two people who were whispering, waved his hand and said with a smile: "Let's go! It will be much easier to talk now!"

Everyone in the Qianxiang Kingdom's envoy who was watching the battle looked happy and followed the Daxia camp step by step. While lowering their heads, they also bowed deeper.

Facts have proved that defeating the opponent in an area of ​​expertise can indeed act as a deterrent.

The Warren negotiating team did not show any dissatisfaction with the dead and disabled guards.

In the subsequent negotiations, the two parties adhered to the principle of mutual respect, implemented the policy of friendship, mutual benefit, and win-win cooperation. They conducted several negotiations and reached several constructive terms.

Of course, during the dinner, King Zhongshun or Lai Shangrong would occasionally shout out: "If we want to fight, we will fight," or that the Netherlands should be willing to make greater concessions, etc.

Between people within a country, they can rely on laws and morals to judge or restrain them.

But once it rises to the level between countries, if you talk about laws and morals, you are either really stupid or you have ulterior motives.

Because, to put it bluntly, there is only Cong Lin's law here. Whoever has the biggest fist has the final say.

However, you can't just rely on your fists to speak, otherwise, your fists will be smashed one day. The proper way is to flex your muscles to fight for benefits.

Lai Shangrong has a flexible bottom line, and he will not stick to the rules on this kind of matter, so he will use any means of coercion and inducement.

The interests of the Qianxiang Kingdom are also his bargaining chips. The two parties adhere to the attitude of win-win cooperation and promise to immediately cease fire and guarantee the legal status of the queen of the Qianxiang Kingdom. At the same time, they will distribute the benefits of minerals and other resources within the Qianxiang Kingdom.

The standards of Warren's mission are not enough, and it does not have enough authority on important issues. This is Lai Shangrong's comprehensive consideration based on their bottom line.

On the one hand, it allows Britain to free up its hands to compete with the Netherlands for control of the body, so that Warren can easily deal with it when he returns; on the other hand, although on the surface, the Qianxiang royal family is an agent supported by both parties, regardless of cultural background , or based on the results of the shooting between the two sides, they will make the right choice.

In addition, in principle, Britain agreed to "free trade" in Bactria, but it could only sell goods licensed by the Shipping Department and the State-owned Industry Department in accordance with Bacteria's requirements.

Of course, there are also many side projects, such as establishing embassies with each other, academic exchanges, transplanting cinchona trees, increasing the diversity of Bactrian livestock species, exchanging prisoners, and so on.

In fact, Lai Shangrong had long been eyeing those captives. The security department was just established and lacked experienced personnel. Nearly a thousand people had suffered from firearms, and their understanding of firearms was even deeper.

Xiyi was not in the habit of treating prisoners well, yet he was very kind to these people.

So after returning from the exchange, he planned to apply to arrange this group of people into the Security Section of the State-Owned Department.

The reason why it is a state-owned department and not a salt and iron department is because he said so in the secret note he gave to the emperor.

Nearly half of the state-owned departments are private assets. Putting people into the state-owned departments can save the court's expenses.

Emperor Zhenglong was deeply gratified by this. After all, if there were less than a thousand people and they had to be scattered all over the country, it would really not make a splash.

The results of the negotiations can be said to be impeccable. Not only did they earn enough face, but they also deepened the emperor's prestige.

Someone reported the progress of the negotiations to the emperor, and Lai Shangrong, who played a key role in it, did not hesitate to reward him.

He was granted the title of fourth-grade doctor of Lantai Temple and was given a bullfighting uniform.

Gold and silver utensils, jade jewelry, antique calligraphy and paintings, etc. will not be mentioned one by one.

…………

Inside the Honor Hall.

Jia Mu was leaning on the Arhat bed in the hall.

Kneeling in the hall was Zicuckoo, who was trembling with fear and still had an old injury.

"I realize my mistake. I beg the old lady to have mercy and let me go back to Miss Lin. I will serve Miss Lin well in the future and I will never dare to talk nonsense again."

"Alas! You are originally a son of the family in the mansion, and you care about the master's family and don't want to follow the girl out of the mansion. It is out of loyalty. What crime is there!
Besides, after all, you are the girl in my house, and you are only under the orders of Lin girl temporarily. When you have such thoughts, you should have come and told me. You should never go to Baoyu to gossip. Big mistake! "

"I know I was wrong, please punish me!"

"I've already been punished, so why should I be punished? Get up quickly!"

As Jia Mu said this, she motioned to Amber beside her to help Zicuckoo up.

Then he said: "My wife punished you because you talked nonsense in front of Baoyu. You must not feel resentful. Do you know?"

"I don't dare! I don't dare!" Zicuckoo knelt down again.

"Hmm!~" Mother Jia seemed to be very satisfied with Zijuan's performance, and said thoughtfully: "You don't want to follow Miss Lin out because you care about Baoyu, right?"

Although Zijuan did not go into detail about what Zijuan told Baoyu, following Daiyu to Lai's house would at least be the same as Ping'er's treatment in Rurong Mansion, but she chose to stay in the manor.

It is not difficult to guess what the girls of the right age in this house are thinking.

Mother Jia didn't think there was anything wrong with her beloved grandson being remembered by the little girls. After all, she was just a maid, and the master could do as he pleased.

At most, she is just like Aunt Zhao, with a son and a half daughters, who serve as concubines.

Besides, as she just said, since she wants to stay in the mansion, she should explain to herself or Mrs. Wang why she chose Baoyu.

Zijuan thought that Jia Mu felt that she was having thoughts that she shouldn't have, so she hurriedly knelt down on the ground and trembled: "Slave... I don't dare!"

"Huh? Have you forgotten what I just told you? You are the maid in my house. You should tell me if you have any ideas. Could it be that you don't tell the truth in front of me?"

Zicuckoo is not a fool. The old lady's words did not mean to punish her, but instead contained an element of praise. She even attributed the previous incident to Mrs. Wang's dissatisfaction.

There is nothing new in the mansion. There are very few people who can get along harmoniously with mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. In addition, Xiren is also a person close to Jia Mu, but Mrs. Wang mentioned it.

Thinking of this, he no longer hesitated and said overjoyed: "The old lady clearly knows that I belong to the old lady. Second Master Bao is the most loved by the old lady. The reason why I remember the second master is because the old lady loves me so much."

This response to Jia Mu was very satisfactory, which not only showed that his heart belonged to Baoyu, but also revealed that he followed her lead.

He nodded and said: "Since you want to stay in the mansion, you can't let the mansion chill people's hearts. You don't have to go to Miss Lin's house in the future. We can make arrangements after you recover from your injuries!"

Although she did not disclose how to arrange it, Zijuan already understood it.

Kowtowing like pounding garlic, he couldn't help but said with joy: "Hey! Hey! Thank you, old lady, for showing mercy!"

…………

(End of this chapter)