After being exiled, I led my whole family to rebel.

Chapter 294 Proposal
The person in charge of the envoy to Jinzhou this time was Master Pei, who was over forty years old.

He was originally a civil servant, but he failed in the exams many times. He was recommended as a staff member out of frustration. This man was indeed a bit quick-witted and did well under the original ruler. Later, when the Ming Dynasty occupied the city and rebelled, he became a member of the staff. Naturally, he became King Ming's subordinate.

This man was well versed in both military affairs and civil affairs, so he was placed in the spotlight by King Ming in just one year.

On this trip, he took more than a hundred people with him, starting from Qiongzhou, entering through Jiangling Prefecture, then Xiangshui Prefecture, Baoan Prefecture, Qianzhou Prefecture, and finally arrived at Jinzhou Prefecture.

Jiang Yongkang also assigned about a hundred people, who claimed to be responsible for their safety, but in fact they were under surveillance.

If we say that along the way, the Jiangling Mansion on the border looked little different from the one to their east. The soldiers on the left and right looked more energetic, and most of the people were in a hurry, not knowing what they were busy with.

It was midsummer, and the further to the southwest, the more fearful Master Pei felt.

This change is becoming more and more obvious. The delegation seems to have arrived in the city from the countryside in Qiongzhou, and everything they see feels strange.

Especially as we get closer to Jinzhou Prefecture, and even starting from Xiangshui Prefecture, things called cement roads have appeared one after another.

The road was smooth and flat, and the carriage did not bump at all. Walking on it felt like walking on flat ground, and the speed at least doubled. If Jinzhou Prefecture was full of cement roads like this, how much time they would save in transportation!

No wonder the people in Jinzhou Prefecture are so efficient!
This is a real transportation cost!
They were shocked at first, but as more and more cement roads appeared, and even when they reached the border of Qianzhou, they were all cement roads. Master Pei finally felt that something was not good.

He finally ignored his old face and the condescending demeanor he had shown before. He pulled the nearby young general named Chen and asked, "General Chen, since we passed Bao'an Mansion, I have seen everyone here. It is a cement road. I would like to ask, in addition to paving roads, can this cement also be used to build river embankments and city walls? By the way, is the city wall that your Jiangling Mansion used to build before? "

General Chen thought to himself that the old fox couldn't help but ask the question, but with a smile on his face: "Yes, it's cement."

"May I ask you where all this cement comes from?"

"Where did you buy it? Of course His Highness gave it to you. We have a cement factory in Jinzhou Prefecture that specializes in producing this stuff. If you want to buy it, you can discuss cooperation with the Ministry of Commerce."

Master Pei's eyes trembled: "Can I buy this cement?"

"Of course, aren't these things produced just for people to buy? There are a lot of good things in Jinzhou Prefecture. Master, you can cooperate with us in whatever you like. Besides, the reason why you came to our Jinzhou Prefecture this time is to Are you discussing cooperation with His Highness?"

General Chen smiled innocently.

Buy it, why don't you buy it, and let your colleagues in the Ministry of Commerce who have fallen in love with money give you a ruthless blow.

Master Pei was obviously caught up in the calculation.

Well, since he can buy it, he doesn't have to send people to steal it.

Buy some back and find the best craftsmen from the Zhou Dynasty. I don’t believe they can crack this recipe!
But thinking about the firearm, Master Pei still felt a little dizzy.

I just don’t know if I can buy this firearm?

Master Pei didn't have the nerve to ask.

Their speed along the way was not very fast, but the road was good, and they even arrived several days earlier than the scheduled time of a month.

The thing that made Master Pei vomit a mouthful of blood was actually two female officials receiving him!
As a confidant of King Ming, he naturally knew that the custom in Jinzhou Prefecture was for women to serve as officials, but in his imagination, she was at least the kind of woman from a wealthy family who was well-read in poetry and books.

At this time, Leng Buding saw an extremely young woman and another woman who looked a bit older walking towards him with more than a dozen people. Master Pei still felt a little complicated.

"Master Pei! General Ma!" The young woman was enthusiastic and thoughtful, and introduced herself, "I am Qian Zhenniang, the Minister of Commerce, and this is Minister Feng of the Logistics Department. This time, Your Highness will allow us to receive you." Everyone, you have been traveling a long way, so I will send some of you to the inn to rest."

The group of people greeted each other one by one.

The people in Jinzhou Prefecture didn't know their purpose, so they tried to treat them politely.

However, the two parties are still facing each other on the battlefield to the east. It is not an exaggeration to say that they are both enemies and friends, so the two parties are quite cautious in what they say and do.

Qian Zhenniang took everyone to an inn near the government office and settled them in.

Master Pei and his party immediately took stock. Logically speaking, the envoys from the two countries should stay at Honglu Temple. But now that neither party has proclaimed themselves emperor, they can only act cheaply.

But Master Pei and his party never expected that Jinzhou Mansion would throw them directly into an inn. Even the inn had not been requisitioned. Common people were not allowed to come in and out at any time. There were all kinds of people in the lobby, drinking. There was a lot of traffic going to, eating, and staying in, which made the few people from Qiongzhou feel really neglected.

But even under the eaves, one has to bow one's head.

General Chen couldn't help complaining: "Is this how Jinzhou Mansion treats guests? There are no guards in this inn, and all cats and dogs can come in and out. What if there is an assassination attempt?"

The Minister of Commerce looked small and delicate, but he knew how to make a big difference. Hearing this, she just smiled slightly and said apologetically: "Hey, I wanted to make you feel at home, so I We have neglected our defense work. Minister Feng, please send two hundred soldiers to Xiying as soon as possible. We must have people guard the distinguished guests from Qiongzhou and ensure our foreign affairs security."

Master Pei's expression suddenly changed when he heard this, and he waved his hand quickly: "No, no, no need to bother you. We are new to the precious land, why should we trouble you all so much."

Qian Zhenniang naturally accepted the request and said with a smile: "That's all right, you guys should be more free. Our Jinzhou Mansion has beautiful scenery. You can go and take a look first. I'll go back and report to Your Highness, and I'll invite you all later." Discuss important matters together.”

The group bid farewell politely again.

Not far out of the inn, Qian Zhenniang said to Mo Jinchun in the dark: "Let those two hundred brothers be careful and see what tricks these people are playing."

Master Pei and his party went upstairs and settled everything before they gathered in the room.

Sitting in the main seat was a young woman, but she was wearing men's clothes at the moment. Her face was a little childish, and she looked to be no more than thirteen or fourteen years old. She was swinging her legs leisurely, holding her chin and listening to the complaints of her subordinates.

"The people in Jinzhou Prefecture don't take us seriously?! They just leave us in the inn and ignore us. This level of reception is not like receiving foreign envoys, it's clearly like receiving guests from the countryside. poor relative!"

"That's right, let alone entering the territory of Jinzhou Prefecture, they have been guarding us like thieves. Just now, the head of the Propaganda Department said that he would send two hundred people to us. This is obviously surveillance. !”

General Ma also said: "The women's army in Jinzhou Prefecture is really tough! Did you hear those little women quarreling when they entered the city just now? Just because a stranger glanced at her, She won't let her go and insists on seeing the official. I don't think she's very pretty, but she's more courageous than her looks!" These words were a bit mean, which naturally caused the girl in charge to frown slightly.

"Okay, people have to bow their heads under the eaves. These are small things. Don't forget the real purpose of our trip."

Everyone then calmed down and lowered their eyebrows and said, "Yes."

"Come on, you're all here, let's go and see what the legendary Jinzhou Mansion looks like. It's hard to get into this rebel territory just once. We have to take a good look."

When Qian Zhenniang and others saw the people from Qiongzhou, they hurriedly returned to the government office and reported all the reception matters to Xu Zhenying.

"I think they are led by only one staff member and general, but there are no big figures who can control the situation. It doesn't feel like they are here to seek peace. But it also shows that they have no sincerity."

"That's out of the question. Prince Ming hasn't even reached the age of getting married yet. His mother and concubine have already passed away. He only has a few concubines close to him. It's true that he can't send anyone who can delete the scene."

"They are not picky about the inns we arrange, but they seem to have some objections to our arrangements. They probably think we are not pompous enough."

Xu Zhenying nodded, but said to General Chen who was escorting them all the way into Jinzhou Mansion: "You escorted them all the way, did you find anything else?"

General Chen thought for a moment and then said: "Speaking of which, they didn't put on any airs along the way and were generally quite cooperative. But one thing that surprised me was that there was a young man dressed as a servant among them. I guess She is a woman, disguised as a man and mingling among the team, and others are vaguely respecting her. I have reported this matter to Minister Jiang, and Minister Jiang said that as long as they don't reveal it, we will pretend that we don't know."

"Female?" Xu Zhenying frowned slightly, "But she is a member of Prince Ming's family?"

"It doesn't look like that. That person is very young, probably not married yet."

On the other hand, Mr. Lin on the other side asked: "What kind of woman is she? Please describe her appearance."

"About the same height as His Highness, with an oval face, very fair skin, and a bit thin. He looks about thirteen or fourteen years old."

Mr. Lin stroked his beard and frowned: "Could it be...the sixth princess?"

"The biological sister of King Ming's mother?"

Mr. Lin nodded, "It is said that when the little emperor was burned to death last time, the palace was in chaos, and the whereabouts of the sixth princess were unknown. Now it seems that she may have gone to Qiongzhou to join the Ming Dynasty. These two brothers and sisters have the same mother and have been together since childhood. The relationship is very good, the age and appearance are about the same, maybe she is really the sixth princess!"

"Sixth princess?" Xu Zhenying raised her eyebrows slightly, "During the war between the two countries, what would a princess do in the rebel territory? Isn't she afraid that we will do harm to her?"

Xu Yinxi immediately said: "Perhaps he just wanted to have fun and quietly followed the mission?"

General Xiao Chen immediately denied it, "I don't think so. The envoy's attitude towards her was very respectful, and she followed the division from the beginning. It seems more like she was sent by King Ming."

"It's interesting." Xu Zhenying smiled, "Mr. Lin, how is the temperament of that princess?"

"She has quite a bit of the style of her royal brother."

Xu Zhenying knew that these words coming from Mr. Lin's mouth could be regarded as a very high praise.

Although Zhou Heng was nothing more than that in her opinion, it was limited to the current era. According to the standards of this era, the Ming King could truly be called a dragon or a phoenix among men.

If she hadn't been an outsider, there's no way this world would really have become Zhou Heng's bag.

"In other words, there is a princess among them who is disguised as a man. What exactly is she trying to do?"

Mr. Lin smiled and said: "Didn't His Highness say last time that Qiongzhou wants nothing more than these things, either firearms, cooperation, or a truce? We have all these plans to deal with it, so we are not afraid of him playing tricks." What a trick."

Xu Zhenying nodded, "Yes, we have already done the work in advance, and the rest is up to them. The day after tomorrow, we will notify the people from Qiongzhou and I will give them a morning's work. In addition, we will notify the cadres above the bu level to attend the meeting. "

But what everyone didn't expect was that the man from Qiongzhou was not asking for firearms, nor for peace, nor for cooperation, but -

"Are you sure? Prince Ming wants to marry me?"

The woman at the head of the throne had a smile on her face, the surprise in her eyes fleeting, and then a look of amusement on her face.

On the other hand, the expressions of everyone else in the large conference room changed.

Although Master Pei is not used to this style of discussion in a large conference room where everyone is together, it seems quite shabby to him.

But he still looked calm and composed, even condescending: "Your Highness heard you right, my Lord is the son of Emperor Xiaokang, the 23rd emperor of the Zhou Dynasty. He is of noble blood, nearly 20 years old, and has not married a wife. As long as His Royal Highness Zhao Wang agrees to join forces with me, he is willing to marry me as his wife and solemnly promises two major things. One is that he will not take another wife in this life, and the other is that he will rule the world. Divided according to east and west, the emperor and empress will govern together, and they will never break this promise in this life. Your Highness, think about it, our Lord has an army of 300,000, and you have firearms. If the two sides fight, the fishermen will benefit. If the two sides join forces, how can there be a great Zhou Dynasty? A chance to survive?”

Master Pei spoke impassionedly, and his voice echoed in the meeting hall for a long time.

"Once you join hands with my lord, and the soldiers of the two families are combined into one, we will be invincible. In the east, we can conquer the territories of the two Li kings, and you can also advance to the west without worry. In this way, nearly two-thirds of the territory of the Great Zhou Dynasty will be occupied, and it can only survive. I predict that if His Royal Highness Prince Zhao agrees to this marriage, within five years, the whole world will be in our hands!"

It has to be said that no one seems to have thought that the man from Qiongzhou was so whimsical.

Everyone sat there dumbfounded and even forgot to refute for a moment.

Really...this guy is too thoughtful!

Do you still want to marry His Highness Prince Zhao?
Is there any man in this world worthy of their highness?
How about dividing the whole world into two and dividing and conquering?
Prince Ming's mind...couldn't there be something wrong with it?

Xu Zhenying looked at his subordinates who were all shocked beyond measure. He took the lead and coughed before everyone came back to their senses. Seeing that some of the impatient ones were ready to retort, Xu Zhenying said quickly: "I know what His Highness Prince Ming meant. But. This matter is of great importance and I need to consider it carefully. Please go back to the inn and rest first. We will inform you if there is any result. "

Master Pei seemed to know that this was a tug of war, so he handed over and retreated naturally.

(End of this chapter)