Zhao Defang's road to the virtuous king

"Back to father, the three of them are led by Li Longting's younger brother Li Mingchang."

"It's their first time in Beijing. You welcome them into the city and stay in a post house. Are they still used to it?"

"Return to father, everything is fine, Li Mingchang and everyone are very amazed at the prosperity of the capital."

"That's good. They will stay in Beijing for a few more days. In the next few days, you can take them around the capital. They must be well protected and must not be careless."

"Yes, Father." Wei Xu cupped his hands, "Father...I don't know if I should tell you and the prime minister something about my child."

Defang looked at Wei Xu, "It sounds like it's something you're not sure about, so you might as well talk about it, so that the prime minister can give you more advice."

"Yes, father," Wei Xu said, "this time, the Cochin envoys' tribute to the imperial court included a local herbal medicine called dragon flower stamen, and there was a lot of it."

"Dragon flower stamen? What do you do?"

"It is a kind of herb grown by Annan. It looks like flowers and leaves. After grinding, it can remove black and yellow teeth. It is very precious in the local area."

"En." Defang nodded, "It seems that Jiaozhi Li Longting is very careful about the tribute."

"Your Highness," Wang Dan asked, "but is there something unclear about the amount of tribute?"

Wei Xu nodded, "Returning to Prime Minister, that's right, but it's not entirely true. The lower officials discovered a problem because of the quantity. I don't know if this will affect my prestige in the Song Dynasty."

"Please speak, Your Highness."

"There are [-] carriages in the Jiaozhi tribute, and nearly half of them are dragon flower stamens."

"So many?" Defang and Wang Dan were surprised, "Why?"

"Li Mingchang told me that when Jiaozhi paid tribute a few years ago, Eunuch Pei, the supervisor of Guangzhou Gang, said that dragon flower pistils are rare in the Central Plains, and Jiaozhi produces a lot of them, so they should be donated to the court in large quantities."

"This Pei Yu actually asked for a tribute from the envoy." Defang held the golden mace, "You guy who is fighting for power! The lonely king has long wanted to teach him a lesson, this time he must be severely punished!"

"Father King" Wei Xu said, "It's not just that."

"Not only that? What else?"

"The envoy said that the cochin dragon flower stamens are also very precious in the local area, and most of them are presented to the Song Dynasty and the Cochin court. The number may not be too many, but Pei Yu said... this is the imperial uncle's will, and it must be done. "

Defang and Wang Dan looked at each other, they were both very angry, Defang snorted and said, "Pei Yu really thinks his life is too long, and he is so arrogant! How dare he falsely preach the imperial decree and bully his neighbors!"

"Prince" Wang Dan said, "This matter is very important, and it seems that His Majesty will be announced."

"That's for sure," Defang said, "Pei Yu has been trying to get a high position for more than a day or two. He dared to disrespect the ministers on weekdays, and now it's even worse!"

"What the lord said is that in this way, the Jiaozhi Society will think that I, the Song Dynasty, are deceiving people more and more. Now that the new master is on the throne, if I feel dissatisfied because of this, I am afraid that the Southwest will change."

"This matter must not be delayed, it must be resolved immediately." Defang patted Wei Xu, "Xu'er, I will tell your uncle the emperor in detail later."

"Yes, Father."

Zhenzong changed his clothes and returned to the palace, Wei Xu reported the matter to Zhenzong, Zhenzong was also very angry, "Pei Yu did such a thing! It's really hateful!"

"Uncle Emperor" Weixu said, "In order to pay more dragon flower stamens this time, Jiaozhi issued a special order that the whole of Annan must harvest the best dragon flower stamens to offer. As a result, the price of local dragon stamens has increased, this time..."

Before Wei Xu finished speaking, Zhenzong slapped the table fiercely, "Damn it! My Song Dynasty has always adopted a policy of appeasement towards Tubo, Dali, Jiaozhi and other countries. I have never been stingy with rewarding officials, gold and silver. The will to ask for tribute! Pei Yu deceived the king and made false statements, which is really hard to forgive!"