"The late emperor passed away?" Zhao Gou was shocked by the news.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, Hu Yun said that the late Emperor passed away two months ago. He liked to make elixirs and was poisoned after taking the elixirs he made."
"Why is there no mourning?"
Zhao Gou said in a very dissatisfied tone: "After all, he was a dignified emperor, and he died so silently, without even a minimum funeral?"
"The other party said that it was the former prince's request that he wait for the right time to send it to the imperial mausoleum for burial."
"Humph! They just deliberately kept the mourning secret, fearing that if I knew that the late Emperor was gone, they would not be able to blackmail me anymore."
Zhao Gou's dissatisfaction was only on the surface. The death of his eldest brother certainly made him breathe a sigh of relief. A huge hidden danger was gone.
After walking a few steps with his hands behind his back, Zhao Gou said again: "Xu Aiqing, there are only two of us, the emperor and the minister. Tell me the truth. Can you still get the Fujian Road back?"
Xu Xiantu shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, there is no possibility of getting it back."
Zhao Gou's face was full of disappointment, and he sighed for a while: "Then what should I do?"
Xu Xiantu whispered. "Your Majesty, the Fujian Road is lost. This is a fact, but no matter how Hu Yun tries to quibble, they still have moral flaws in this matter. They know very well that what is most beneficial to us is to
Take advantage of this moral flaw and make some demands.
Of course, the request cannot be excessive. Maybe they can agree. This is actually the last chance. If Qin Xiangguo is allowed to continue to be unrealistic and unrealistic, he will only get nothing in the end!"
Xu Xiantu's persuasion was very pertinent. Zhao Gou had to face the reality. Fujian Road had been swallowed up and it was impossible for Chen Qing to spit it out. Then, as Xu Xiantu said, taking advantage of Chen Qing's moral flaws on Fujian Road,
Make some demands of him.
Zhao Gou was silent for a while and said: "Then go and continue talking with them. I can admit that the Fujian Road belongs to King Yong, but I have four requirements. First, I want the Guangnan Passage. Second, I want twenty ships worth ten thousand stones."
Ships, thirdly, I want the emperor’s coffin, and fourthly, I want them to make a clear promise not to make any further plans for Guangnan and Guangnan."
........
In the Changfeng Teahouse, Hu Yun handed a letter to Wang Mu, "This will be reported in the newspaper tomorrow. It is the instruction of His Highness King Yong."
"What is it?" Wang Mu asked as he picked up the letter.
"The obituary of the late emperor's death!"
Wang Mu was startled, "The late emperor passed away?"
"It has been more than half a year since his death, and there has been no funeral. His Highness King Yong's intention is that the news can be made public after seizing the Fujian Road, which is equivalent to invalidating the agreement signed with the emperor."
"The late emperor has held the emperor in his hands for so many years, and now he has finally passed away. I'm afraid he will also breathe a long sigh of relief!"
Hu Yundan smiled and said: "In fact, the late emperor has no value, but the former prince still has some value. After all, the emperor has no heirs now. If the late emperor is still valuable, His Highness will not release the news of his death."
"No problem, it will be on the front page tomorrow, but the matter of Fujian Louis's hand should be published. There is a lot of discussion in Lin'an City now. If I don't publish such a big thing, the newspaper will lose credibility."
Hu Yun thought for a while and said: "I am still negotiating with the other party. After the negotiation is over, I can log out. The death of the late emperor tomorrow will divert public opinion, so you don't have to worry too much."
Wang Mu smiled and said: "You mean, the other party will admit that the Fujian Road belongs to us?"
Hu Yun nodded, "This time the emperor is more pragmatic and has made four requests. Except for their request for twenty thousand-stone sea-going ships, which I have to ask His Highness King Yong for instructions, I can agree to the other three requests. They want a wide range of
The South Pass requires the late emperor's coffin and we promise not to attack the Guangnan Route again. These three conditions are not a big problem. We will not consider the Guangnan Route for the time being."
The two said a few more words, and then Wang Mu put away the letter and left.
At noon the next day, the "Beijing News" published the news of the late emperor's death on the front page. The report pointed out, "Because the late emperor lived in poor living conditions in the Jin Kingdom, he could not withstand the severe cold in winter, which caused great harm to his body and suffered serious illnesses. In the end,
The treatment failed and he died unfortunately.'
Sure enough, the news immediately spread throughout Lin'an, replacing Fujian Road as a hot topic of public opinion. In fact, ordinary people did not care about the ownership of Fujian Road. Fujian Road was still far away! The only thing related to them was tea. As long as Fujian Road continued to produce
Tea, ordinary people don't care about its ownership. The reason why it became a hot topic is because Qin Hui sent people to publicize it everywhere and slandered the Western Army's capture of the Fujian Road, so it was discussed by many people.
However, the Fujian Road incident did not involve the vital interests of the general public, so it was just a discussion, and its public opinion was relatively fragile. As long as there was something to attract everyone's attention, the Fujian Road incident was immediately forgotten, and the news of the late emperor's death was
With this effect, the entire teahouse in Lin'an was talking about the late emperor and no longer cared about Fujian Road.
Three days later, a pigeon message from Chen Qing came, agreeing to compensate twenty thousand-stone sea-going ships, with additional conditions. These twenty sea-going ships could not be used for the army. The emperor also agreed, and the two sides immediately signed a provisional agreement.
, due to the rampant pirates and various bandits raging along the Fujian Road, the imperial court agreed that the Western Army should carry out the suppression of the bandits, and entrusted the Yongwang Mansion to manage the Fujian Road.
In return, Chen Qing also agreed to the four conditions proposed by Emperor Zhao Gou. Soon, the "Beijing News" also published the provisional agreement signed by both parties. This was a response to the Western Army's annexation of Fujian Road.
The Fujian Road Incident was like a fish that was eaten, never getting a chance to be served again, and was soon completely forgotten by the people in Jiangnan.
.......
Two more months passed, and in the middle of the twelfth lunar month, a heavy snow swept across the land of Guanzhong, and Jingzhao City turned into a snow-covered world.
At dawn, the dull bells on the bell tower rang. Several passers-by looked up at the Bell and Drum Towers. The hour hand above pointed at Mao hour. They saw a carriage speeding towards the government office.
Lu Wei, the minister of ministry, looked at the clock and shouted, "Hurry! Hurry!"
The time for going to court was a quarter past nine o'clock, and he was already a quarter of an hour late. As the head of the Ministry of Works, he could not be late.
Several shops were also ready to open for business. The shopkeeper looked at the time and shouted to the waiter: "It's almost midnight, get up quickly!"
The gravity clock on the bell tower was installed a month ago. On the day of installation, it attracted the attention of the people in the city. Tens of thousands of people came to see this novelty. The Beijing News even opened a special page to introduce how to identify this new model.
Everyone calls the timer Yongwang Bell. According to craftsmen, it was invented by King Yong. Although 'Yongwang Bell' and 'Yongwang Zhong' are homophonic, everyone still calls it Yongwang Bell.
】
In fact, there is no need for the "Beijing News" to introduce how to identify it. The clock face is very simple and easy to understand, and even a normal person can understand it.
In just a few days, everyone has adapted to this Yongwang clock. At first, it would be off by half an hour every day, but after the craftsmen repeatedly adjusted it several times, the time became more and more accurate, and the error was less than a quarter of an hour in three days.
, has become a time reference for all Jingzhao people.
A small gravity clock that can be placed on the table is also under active development, but it is very difficult and will not be available in a short time.