The emperor's birthday was celebrated by the whole country. The palace had been cleaned early. This time, in addition to the princes and ministers, there were also envoys from several countries around Daqi who came to celebrate the birthday.
When foreigners come to court, they naturally want to show off the majesty of the Qi state, so the venue for the banquet was chosen in the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
The fourth prince was originally punished with three months of contemplation, but now he came out of the palace to congratulate Emperor Qi on his birthday.
In the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Emperor Qi and the Queen were at the top, with the left and right prime ministers on the right, and the tables behind them were all envoys from various countries.
The left prime minister is Xie Yang's grandfather Xiao Yishan, and the right prime minister is newly promoted by the emperor. This person is named Wang Jingjing. He is thirty years old and comes from a poor family. He has climbed from the top of the new class to the right prime minister. His personality is somewhat like Shen Minghe, fair and strict. , an honest official, the most important thing is that this person is loyal to Emperor Qi and remains neutral in the struggle for the throne.
Qin Rushuang and Xie Xun knelt down at the same table. She was wearing a royal concubine's attire today, with auspicious clouds embroidered with gold thread on her cuffs and corners, making her look dignified and elegant.
The banquet schedule was decided in advance. Emperor Qi opened the banquet, and Qin Tianjian also said a few auspicious words. From then on, there was singing, dancing, and drinking.
After a long drink, Emperor Qi nodded to Eunuch Fushun and came to the instructions for the prince's gift.
The prince's gift was quite satisfactory. It was a blessing and longevity ornament carved with blood jade. The only outstanding thing was that the blood jade was five feet tall and required four people to lift it. Such a huge ornament was actually carved from a single piece of jade, which was considered a rare treasure. .
After the crown prince passed away, it was supposed to be Xie Xun who presented the gift, but Xie Yang, either because he was too confident or wanted to be in the limelight, offered to present the gift first, and Emperor Qi agreed.
Xie Yang personally held a wooden plate inlaid with jade and knelt down in the hall. He opened the red silk and found a piece of simple sapphire with circular inscriptions inside.
"I sincerely wish my father a long life! I know that my father has been worried about the war recently. I have no chance to carry a sword like my second brother and go into battle. I feel very guilty. I am looking for this jade to relieve my father's worries."
"This jade is the sacred jade that the late Master Ning Yi presented to the late Emperor to protect the country. When the war broke out in Daqi and the thieves approached the imperial city, it was Master Ning Yi who presented this jade. The late Emperor had this blessing and led his troops. It was like a divine help, breaking through the barriers and beheading the generals along the way, beheading the thieves and the palace. Later, the precious jade was stolen and scattered outside. I came here to find it specially to bless my country of Qi and its people!"
As soon as Xie Yang's words came out, the people in the main hall suddenly started to speak. This jade was once a national treasure of Daqi, but later it was exiled. The late emperor cared about it until his death. Now that the jade has returned to Daqi, it is really a beautiful thing!
Emperor Qi rarely showed any excitement, so he asked Fushun to present the jade and rubbed it for a long time. It was indeed the piece he had seen in the imperial study room when he was a child. Dragon was very happy and even rewarded Xie Yang with several pieces of jade.
Xie Yang stole the show and returned to his seat triumphantly, looking at Xie Xun provocatively. No matter what gifts Xie Xun gave him next, they would never be able to surpass him.
Qin Rushuang didn't panic, and secretly poked Xie Xun, leaned over and whispered: "Didn't the gift from the third prince hit us? Do you want me to be more polite when I speak later?"
"No, you can say whatever you want."
They had already discussed that the congratulatory gift from the Second Prince's Mansion would be presented by Qin Rushuang.
With Xie Xun's consent, Qin Rushuang stood up and saluted Emperor Qi, "My father, I wish you a long life! This is the congratulatory gift from the second prince's palace. Please boldly ask your father to let me present it. After all, Your Highness talks little and won't say auspicious words for fear of disturbing my father's mood."
As soon as Qin Rushuang's words came out, several ministers laughed in good faith. Emperor Qi also knew what kind of character the second son was, so he naturally agreed.
Qin Rushuang stepped forward empty-handed and said to Emperor Qi: "This place is not big enough for the congratulatory gifts presented by my son. Could you please ask my father to order someone to move the table objects on both sides further back?"
After hearing what he said, Emperor Qi became somewhat interested in the gift that his second son wanted to offer. He was good-tempered and agreed. The eunuchs and guards filed in and made some changes, leaving a huge open space.
Most of the ministers were also curious about Xie Xun's gift, but there were also a few who complained. They wanted to see what kind of unusual thing it was. If it was not good, they would have to read Xie Xun's book to make things mysterious and stir up troops.
The table moved away, and Qin Rushuang asked Nie Lei, Zhu Sha and the guards to present the things.
Twelve guards were divided into four groups and carried a huge wooden tray up. The wooden tray was ten feet square. The guards spent a lot of effort to carry it to the main hall. As for the middle, the wooden tray fell down, and everyone finally saw what was inside.
On the wooden plate is a three-dimensional carved topographic map of the junction between Daqi and the three frontier fortresses in the northwest. On the left is the territory of Daqi, and on the right is the kingdom of Dayan and the two frontier tribes.
This map is very detailed, with mountains, rivers, roads, towns, and lifelike features. Even the dense and sparse forests in the mountains and the changes in the width of the river channels are carved out.
Emperor Qi stood up and walked around the wooden plate to check, "This map is very detailed and exquisite, but besides looking at the Qi Mountains and rivers, what else is it used for?"
Qin Rushuang smiled and explained to Emperor Qi: "This map is strictly based on the terrain of our country and the three surrounding countries. The direction is in precise proportions. As for its purpose...General Nie Lei!"
After Qin Rushuang finished speaking, Zhu Sha and Nie Lei carried two large mahogany boxes up and placed them on the left and right sides. The boxes were opened, and inside were red and black half-palm-sized woodcut soldiers, as well as wooden blocks of various shapes.
"Your Highness is well aware that Your Majesty is worried about the border fortress. This is not a map, but a war sand table used for troop training."
"Your Majesty, please take a look. The two colored items in the box represent the military strength, food and weapons of the three kingdoms of Daqi and Frontier respectively. Among them are generals, infantry, cavalry, and food and grass are also divided into rice, cattle and sheep, etc."
"With this sand table, even though His Majesty is in the palace, he can control the situation of the frontier fortress in his hands!"
"Not bad, not bad." Emperor Qi nodded. This gift is not expensive, but it does take some thought. As a man, Emperor Qi likes this gift very much.
"Your Majesty Da Qi, I have something to say, but I don't know whether to say it or not!"
The person who spoke out was a member of the Kega mission, none other than the new king's younger brother, Korgan.
When Xie Yang presented the divine jade that protects the country, the expressions on the faces of several envoys were already quite ugly. Foreigners were present, and Xie Yang intentionally or unintentionally hinted that Da Qi would be invincible if he had the divine jade. Naturally, they would not listen to this.
I'm happy, but I just don't express it.
Now that Xie Xun's gift is out, it's no longer confidence, but a blatant provocation!
Korgan was impulsive and reckless, and as soon as Qin Rushuang finished speaking, he couldn't wait to stand up and speak out.
"Oh? Prince Kega has something to say?" Emperor Qi raised his eyebrows.
"The war between the two countries relies on the strategy of the generals and the bravery of the soldiers. The second prince presented a sand table and dared to say that he could defeat the three countries on our frontier. It would be too arrogant!"
Qin Rushuang was very happy after hearing what he said. The gift she prepared was actually not a great gift. She had originally planned to use words to anger them, causing Kega to send people to fight with them on the sand table. If the time came, they would definitely win the battle.
Yue, I didn’t expect that Prince Kega would come to your doorstep by himself!
As for whether he can win the sandbox battle with foreigners by provoking them, that is Xie Xun's business.
