Several people returned to the church from the pier. Although it was getting late, Wu Sijing was not very tired. He continued to talk with the merchants by holding candles. Unknowingly, they talked all night and burned out two candles. After getting to know them thoroughly.
After realizing his intention, Wu Sijing decided to follow Ye Yongjia to the capital. He packed up his luggage and arranged things within the church before saying goodbye to everyone.
And Ye Yongjia was not idle. In order to let the court know the news as soon as possible, he immediately wrote a memorial and asked someone to forward it to Ninghe County, ordering his chief to submit it quickly. Seeing that the communication was from the Ministry of War, the county magistrate did not dare to neglect it.
Officers were quickly dispatched to deliver the documents to the court.
Because the journey was not far, in just half a day, this memorial came into the hands of Liu Zhennian. In it, Ye Yongjia fully described his experiences in Beitang, except that he did not mention the matter of being forced, but he still advised:
People are cunning and deceitful, and sincerity is unpredictable, and I am almost deceived by them. The Prime Minister should be careful and careful in his actions." These words are very sincere.
Liu Zhennian read the section about Wu Sijing entering the capital. He read this section several times, and finally made a decisive decision. He raised his head and called the scribe: "Go to Zhongshu Province and ask Yan Wenniu to come over to discuss the matter!"
"Invite foreigners to come to China to set up factories?" Niu Yuan was really shocked when he heard Ye Yongjia's proposal, and he asked for the memorial in a daze to read it.
"This is not nonsense," Liu Zhennian answered his question seriously, "I asked Xiangzhi a few days ago, but you all know his scholarly temperament and will not let go easily. Now I can only
Let’s rely on this strategy.”
"Tinglong is so bold. The country has very strict prohibitions on these foreign countries. If a precedent is set, thousands of merchants will flock to the inland. If there are no restrictions, there will be worries." Yan Wen stroked his beard and said slowly.
"The New Army is in urgent need of firearms. It is urgent and cannot be ignored. I think we can make a special case for this and only ask four of them to come here to establish it." Niu Yuan's attitude was completely different.
Yan Wen turned around and said: "Fengxiang, no matter whether it is one family or four, if you allow this force to take root in our country, there will be big problems sooner or later! What have the countries in Southeast Asia been done to by them? That is a lesson learned from the past.
!”
"Okay, okay," Liu Zhennian patted the table lightly, "Their envoy hasn't arrived yet, so what's the use of arguing here? First notify the various camps in the capital and ask them to send the Fan envoy to the Prime Minister's Mansion to answer the question.
It’s not too late to make a decision after listening to the conditions they put forward.”
The two of them were speechless for a moment, and they all bowed their heads and said: "I will obey the Prime Minister's order..."
Gui Fu, who was in charge of the drafting work, wrote an edict on behalf of the emperor according to Liu Zhennian's wishes, ordering the imperial army not to prevent the foreigners from entering the palace. After receiving the edict, the emperor's uncle Tai Su was indignant and planned to resist and disobey.
, but Cun Zhaoshen thought that this matter only involved the Imperial Army, and he did not know what the opinions of the officials were. If he violated the order without reason, he would definitely make the same mistake as Rong Qing, so he tried his best to persuade Shi Xiushen, and then he gave up Taisu's idea.
.
At the time of General You, the two horses of Ye Yongjia and Wu Sijing had already arrived in front of the Meridian Gate. As expected, the Imperial Guards guarding here did not stop them. They only looked at Wu Sijing's appearance and clothes and said: "You are from the Fan people..."
messenger?"
Wu Sijing wanted to see the prime minister and didn't want to pay attention to the guard. He just nodded, crossed his legs and walked past him.
"Eunxiang!"
Liu Zhennian was still discussing official matters with Niu Yuan. Looking from a distance, he saw Ye Yongjia and a stranger in black robes coming, and he immediately clapped his hands and was very happy.
"Did you make it clear enough in your letter?" Ye Yongjia smiled and walked forward, pointing his hand at Wu Sijing again, "This is the envoy sent by Fan Shang. He is proficient in Chinese. If you have any questions, you can talk to him directly.
"
With that said, Wu Sijing took two steps forward and bowed deeply to Liu Zhennian: "I, Wu Sijing, courtesy name Tongru, pay my respects to Prime Minister Liu Gong!"
Liu Zhennian glanced at him in surprise, then smiled and said: "Okay. Brother Tongru, please sit down."
"Don't use these useless etiquettes. What are the conditions for your business negotiation?" Niu Yuan asked coldly without being polite.
Liu Zhennian explained: "This is the Prime Minister of the Zhongshu Province of this dynasty. It is his intention to implement the New Deal and support the New Army. However, he is a bit more temperamental, so don't take it personally."
"Oh..." Wu Sijing regained his composure and smiled at him, "Disrespectful. As for what you asked me just now, my answer is that I won't say much about the conditions. We are living in the wilderness and admire the power of the Celestial Empire.
, How dare we push further? We can only rely on the imperial court to relax the ban and allow businesses to enter the mainland. This is the only hope at present."
"So, you are willing to obey every order from the imperial court?" Niu Yuan sneered.
"I have never said this in my mouth," Wu Sijing said seriously, "but now it is up to the government to lift the ban, and we are certainly powerless."
"No," Niu Yuan suddenly interrupted him, "I have no intention of relaxing any bans. Sir, please don't 'lift the bans' one by one. It would appear that we are committing a heinous crime and breaking the country's rules. Let me clarify that the current discussion is
What we are discussing is to find a special case for you."
Wu Sijing's eyes immediately glazed over. He twisted his stiff neck and looked at Ye Yongjia - this time it was his turn to be intimidated.
"No one told me before that such a thing happened!" Wu Sijing endured his anger and was very puzzled, "The Prime Minister just doesn't trust us outsiders! Special cases are unwritten rules after all. You can use them as you please.
Just do it now, and when the time comes, they are planning to drive us out!"
"Don't worry," Niu Yuan said calmly, "I will write an official document for you together with the ministers of the Zhongshu Provincial Department, and both parties will sign it. Doesn't this make the rules a written document?"
"What's the content of the official document?"
Niu Yuan smiled: "I'm sorry I haven't figured it out yet. This needs to be worked out in detail."
"Draw it out in detail?" Wu Sijing shook his head in disbelief, "Then let you play tricks on the official documents and put forward some harsh conditions... If you defraud foreign countries in this way, we really don't have to do business! We can feel relaxed and relaxed when we return to Nanyang.
!”
Seeing that both of them were pale with anger, Ye Yongjia hurriedly came to mediate and said: "You two can calm down your anger. Suidi is in danger. I think the most important thing is to facilitate this matter and not delay it any longer. In this way, the official document will be drafted by our Ministry of War first.
, we can consult with Mr. Tongru and make a plan. When the time comes, we will submit it to Zhongshu for review. What do you think?"
Niu Yuan did not want to waste a lot of time. After hearing this, he said: "I believe Mr. Ye can handle it well. For the sake of the new deal, remember to be cautious and not get into trouble because of haste."
Wu Sijing glanced at Ye Yongjia secretly, and saw that the latter answered firmly: "Understood!"