Li Er was very happy because the envoy from the Western Turks was very knowledgeable.
Li Yuanxing was looking forward to it, hoping that the gift from Goguryeo would include pearls.
The box was carried out, and nine young eunuchs carried the wooden box and began to tour outside the palace. One of the older eunuchs shouted that this was the first return gift from the Tang Dynasty to the Western Turks.
Under the shed outside the main hall, there were envoys from various countries sitting, as well as officials below the fifth rank of Chang'an City who were not qualified to enter the main hall. Without exception, they all exclaimed because of this treasure-level pearl.
The only one who took a breath of cold air was Goguryeo.
Pearls are part of their gifts. Compared with this, their pearls are like diamonds and grains of sand. The largest one in a hundred pots of pearls is not half as big in diameter as these, let alone the color, and the degree of smoothness and beauty.
Li Er didn't care, because he had seen better ones, and these were not big in his eyes.
The second thing, Li Yuanxing is just a spoof.
This was a gift given to him by Heimins in modern times, but in modern times Li Yuanxing had no place to put it, so he sold it at a high price under the pretext of selling it, but he divided it several times and brought it back to ancient times. He opened it and put it tightly. Li Yuanxing had
I brought it to Datang in just three or five times. It was originally intended to be placed in my Qinwangzhuang.
But Wu Zhao thought that this thing was too weird, and it was not very auspicious to display bones in ancient Zhuangzi.
The main reason is that this thing was not hunted by Li Yuanxing himself, so if he wanted to show it, he had to show it by himself, and it was obtained by Datang himself.
Therefore, Li Yuanxing took this thing out as a gift, which was purely waste.
What is it?
A complete whale skeleton!
The skeleton of a killer whale is nine meters long, which is the skeleton of a three-foot-long fish in ancient times. Killer whales have teeth, and the rows of huge teeth give people a huge shock.
"This fish is called a whale, and it is not the largest. The largest one is ten feet long and weighs three million kilograms. This one only weighs two hundred thousand kilograms. It is a pity that the skin of the whole body is damaged. Otherwise, we would make a
A complete specimen is considered gorgeous, and it is a pity to only have a skeleton."
Li Yuanxing shouted "It's a pity", but the people in the palace couldn't utter a word.
Who has seen or heard of such a big fish?
People outside were even more curious. The second box had been opened, but why was there no movement inside?
"There is a legend about Kunpeng in ancient times. Now that I see this fish, the ancients will not deceive me." I don't know which official suddenly said this, which broke the silence in the hall. All the officials were talking about this huge fish skeleton.
, talking non-stop.
But Li Yuanxing received a fierce glare from Li Er.
Li Er's attitude is very obvious. If you don't keep such things in the Tang Dynasty, you will give them to foreigners. I won't beat you because of my brother. Let's see how the father will deal with you.
Li Yuanxing smiled heartlessly.
"Carry it out!" This time, it was Li Er who took the initiative to speak, without waiting for the Western Turk envoy to say anything. At this moment, he was still angry with Li Yuanxing.
Li Yuanxing had no choice but to approach Li Er and said softly: "Brother Emperor, in less than three years, my brother will ask the emperor to hunt one in person. It is ten feet long. This one is too small. Even my brother can't see it. How can I match it?"
It’s worthy of being the emperor’s brother.”
After hearing what Li Yuanxing said, Li Er's face became a little better.
At least Li Yuanxing hasn't promised a blank check yet.
The third box was opened. This box was purely prepared for the Western Turks. It was a gift and a strategy.
Li Yuanxing walked down the imperial platform and opened the box himself. The Western Turkic envoy felt his breathing stop. It was a box that could be opened by the noble King Qin of the Tang Dynasty. The gifts contained in it were so valuable that he could not even imagine it.
Outside the main hall, there were shouts of exclamation for the ten-meter-long huge whale skeleton, but it did not affect the people inside the main hall at all. It can be said that no more than ten people knew what was inside this box.
Li Yuanxing took out a piece of cloth from the box, a piece of gray-blue cloth.
cloth?
Is this a gift? The Western Turks were a little confused and had many doubts, but he still did not doubt that King Qin of the Tang Dynasty could come to open the gift in person. The reason for the preciousness of this gift must be that he was too slow.
"This is snow velvet cloth." Li Yuanxing picked up a square that had been cut with flower scissors from the box and placed it in the hands of the Western Turkic envoy: "This kind of cloth requires more than a hundred processes, and it takes enough time to go from raw materials to finished cloth.
It took three months to make, which was extremely difficult.”
The Western Turkic envoy did not understand clothing materials, but he was a nobleman.
This kind of cloth is extremely soft to the touch, but it is thicker than silk. In terms of feel, it has a different feeling compared to silk. If calculated, it should not be cheaper than silk.
Could it be said that the gift from King Qin of the Tang Dynasty was this new style of clothing from the Tang Dynasty?
"Nobles of the Tang Dynasty wear silk in summer and snow velvet in winter. This king has tens of thousands of craftsmen and it took me nearly a year to successfully trial-produce it. You are the only one who can trade in the Western Regions within three years!
"
Only you!
The Western Turkic envoy did not hear all the farewell words, but this Duyou family listened completely.
"The minimum is ten thousand horses per year, and you are the only one in the Western Region." After Li Yuanxing finished speaking, he took out three more cards from the box: "These are three velvet cloth merchants recognized by the royal family. My order has been sent to the Ministry of Commerce of Foreign Countries!
"
"Thank you, Your Highness!" The Western Turkic envoy's thank you voice didn't seem to be very loud. Isn't he dissatisfied?
It didn't matter if he was satisfied or not, the smile on His Highness the King of Qin's face was not fake. The officials of the Tang Dynasty believed that this gift must be very, very 'special'. But how special it was, they didn't understand.
Li Er laughed: "I will give another 100,000 jins of refined steel, 100,000 jins of horse iron, 10,000 jins of snow and salt, and 1,000 jins of brocade. Five hundred people will be enrolled in the school."
Li Erxin said that the other party had already given out 20,000 jins of gold. How could he make people feel that he was worth 20,000 jins of gold in the first place? As a result, when he opened his mouth, it was revealed to be 100,000 jins of fine steel. This figure frightened everyone.
Even Li Yuanxing was a little surprised. One hundred thousand kilograms of fine steel was worth almost one million pounds in the old Tang Dynasty.
If it were placed on the grassland, one hundred thousand kilograms of fine steel would be worth two to three million pounds.
Li Yuanxing regretted that he should not have told Li Er the cost of the steel he had. This time, he gave too much to the Western Turks.
However, it is a good thing to think about it and see how the Western Turks still bring up the matter of marriage.
"Thank you..." The Western Turkic envoy wanted to shout out his thanks, but as soon as he raised his hands, he fainted before taking a bite. This was completely a fainting of excitement.
People outside the hall saw the imperial doctor running into the hall, and immediately turned their attention from the killer whale skeleton to the main hall.
Immediately there was news that something had disappeared, one hundred thousand jins of fine steel, one hundred thousand jins of horse iron, and something else. The Western Turkic envoy was so excited that he fainted on the spot.
Seeing that the Western Turkic envoy was carried out, he seemed to have woken up, and the doctors were still busy.
The eunuch on duty shouted again: "The envoys of Goguryeo are offering gifts!"
The Goguryeo envoys were really sweating profusely. Three of their four ceremonies had lost their meaning, and the last one really didn't know what else they would encounter.
There were three people in the Goguryeo delegation, naturally the chief and deputy envoys and a minor official.
But the petty official is Yeon Gae Suwen.
After entering the main hall, he bowed and was given a seat, and then Yeon Gaesumun cautiously glanced in the direction of the royal platform. This glance filled his heart with envy, jealousy, and hatred.
The position where King Qin of the Tang Dynasty sat was actually on the side of the throne of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. In the historical records of the emperors of the Central Plains, almost no man could occupy this position.
But the King of Qin of the Tang Dynasty was sitting there.
At this time, the Goguryeo envoy mustered up his energy, recited more than a thousand words of praise, and then began to submit the gift list.
"A hundred pots of pearls..." This gift, if placed in the past, would definitely be regarded as one of the most important gifts. But now, they only mentioned a quantity but did not display the pearls. Naturally, people were not optimistic about it. The main hall
There was actually a little hesitation above. At least most of the officials of the Tang Dynasty were extremely well-educated.
The Goguryeo envoy also knew that he did not dare to take out this pearl. It would be even more embarrassing in comparison. He had no choice but to continue: "Goguryeo red ginseng is five hundred catties, white ginseng is five hundred catties, and sugar ginseng is five hundred catties!"
Hearing this gift list, Li Yuanxing had a thought in his mind and called Eunuch Gao over and whispered: "Go and check whether the ginseng offered as gifts by the Khitan people and the Goguryeo people are the same." Eunuch Gao did not dare to ask more questions and took the order and went out.
Li Er was confused and asked Li Yuanxing to explain.
Li Yuanxing was about to speak, but Yuan Gaisuwen stood up at this moment, saluted Li Er first, and then saluted the officials of the Tang Dynasty, and then said: "The ministers of the lower country are puzzled. Does the King of Qin look down on him?"
In Goguryeo, when I am outside the palace, although I cannot hear what is said in the palace, I can see it. When the first three kingdoms presented gifts, His Highness the King of Qin always looked at them with courtesy. When I came to Goguryeo,
Why does His Highness the King of Qin not only look around, but also summons his servants to deliver messages? Even if there are important government affairs, we should not despise Goguryeo!"
interesting!
Very interesting!
The ministers of the Tang Dynasty looked like they were watching a show, and even Li Er found it very interesting. Li Yuanxing was thinking of ways to make things difficult for you in Goguryeo. Some of the ministers in the Tang Dynasty supported and some dissuaded you. Today, you Goguryeo still dare to take the initiative to jump out.
It's really interesting for you to cause trouble for King Qin.
Sure enough, Li Yuanxing's reaction did not exceed the expectations of Emperor Li Er of the Tang Dynasty and the senior officials of the Tang Dynasty.
Li Yuanxing stood up with a straight face.
"Call the imperial doctor at the door to come in. I happen to have some questions to ask."
Everyone was puzzled, but they were even more hopeful. At that moment, an imperial doctor came in.
Li Yuanxing asked: "The ginseng grown in the mountains for ten years only weighs two or three taels when turned into dried ginseng. The ginseng that has been harvested for a hundred years only weighs four taels when fresh, and only one or two and a half when dried. But you Goguryeo people have a craft that can ginseng.
Ginseng is planted in patches like flowers and plants, and the medicinal effects of such ginseng cannot be equal to one or two ginseng in ten kilograms!" (To be continued.)