Niu Yuan sat down on the armchair opposite Lian Chongwen, but did not look at him. He deliberately coughed twice and glanced around, "Officials like you, please don't make any noise. Today's agreement with the DPRK is a matter of honor for the DPRK. It cannot be left to chance."
Watch out, the Crown Prince and Duke Liu will be coming soon, you should know what to do!"
"Yes..." When everyone heard him speak, they had to stand up and bow deeply.
Niu Yuan was about to continue admonishing them when he suddenly heard heavy footsteps coming from the corridor outside the palace door. He raised his eyes slightly and saw the prince walking in after a while. His steps were very light and his mouth was tight.
He closed it tightly and just turned his head behind him.
The ministers wanted to step forward and salute, but when they saw his indifferent face, they were stunned. Following his gaze, they saw two unfamiliar faces flashing outside the palace door, each wearing a coarse cloth.
The men in single clothes carefully crossed the threshold of the hall. But no one dared to stop them, because they were carrying a shoulder carriage with their four hands, and sitting on the shoulder carriage was Liu Zhennian, the prime minister of the dynasty.
The ministers stared at the old prime minister in surprise, who had not appeared in public for a long time. He was not wearing official uniform, but a wrinkled white clothes. His face had become so old, his arms were shaking in the bumps, and he was drooping.
His thick white eyebrows almost covered his eyes - no matter from which direction he looked, his murderous aura and majesty were about to be gone.
"I'll see you, the prince, and Prime Minister Liu!" Starting from Niu Yuan, everyone stood up and shouted.
"Okay..." Liu Zhennian waved his hand lightly, asking everyone to sit down, and motioning to the slaves to put him down.
Before the end of the year in Liu Zhen, a confidant around Niu Yuan who was eager to make meritorious deeds could no longer hold himself back and hurriedly said: "Mr. Liu, I will lower my official rank..."
"Wait a minute." Liu Zhennian glanced at the rash official. His words were still very weighty. He was so frightened that the man's eyes widened and he stepped back in embarrassment.
"Mr. Prime Minister, I am getting old." Liu Zhennian was supported by two servants, with his feet on the ground. "My energy is far less than usual. I will not participate in the negotiations. I will only listen and ask questions."
Just a few words from you. Listen carefully, everything must be negotiated with the Crown Prince first. If His Highness does not agree, you cannot speak. This is not Zhongshu Province, and you cannot act arbitrarily."
Niu Yuan was dissatisfied, but considering Liu Zhennian's face, he had no choice but to reply: "I understand."
Liu Zhennian stood up, straightened his back, passed by the long bench on the east side, and smiled at Lian Chongwen; then he walked to the other end of the desk, pulled out the armchair, persuaded the prince to sit down, and forced him to sit down.
Niu Yuan stood there while he sat in a corner, leaning against the east wall.
"Your Highness," Lian Chongwen took out a contract from his pocket, "please see if your country can agree to it?"
The prince took it, and Niu Yuan just stood on tiptoe to look at it. It seemed that it was not much different from the previous discussion, but he was instantly dissatisfied with one of them: "Hey, General Lian, does Wu Sijing still want to stay in our country?"
"This is his wish. I didn't plan to write it down originally, but he forced me to do it for the sake of some affection. If your country thinks it's inappropriate, you can remove it."
"Inappropriate! Absolutely inappropriate!" Niu Yuan lowered his eyebrows and said sternly; the prince also shook his head solemnly.
"Well, we can only do it..." At this point, he changed the topic in a depressed mood, "But in order to let him go, we must send a ship from our country to pick him up. It will take time. I don't know where it will be."
What’s the right time?”
"Isn't this up to you?" the prince asked suspiciously.
"No," Lian Chongwen laughed loudly, "Firstly, your country should issue a traffic stamp so that its ships can travel unimpeded; secondly, two hundred cannons will also be sent as ransom, which requires expensive
The country will respond in time; thirdly, Wu Si Jing is still attached to the scenery here and wants to stay for a few months before leaving. If your country is not anxious about this matter, I can inform them to wait for a while before leaving."
Niu Yuan still curled his lips: "In this case, the imperial court will let you go now! Now I will instruct the Ministry of Rites to issue you a pass stamp, and you can take the boat back to your home country!"
"Sir, he doesn't have a ship of his own. He came here on a merchant ship from the East..." Lu Zhixian reminded in a low voice.
But Niu Yuan was still stubborn: "Oh, in the worst case, we will dispatch a warship to send him back! In short, we must not delay the date!"
"Feng Xiang!" Zeng Liang, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, couldn't help it, and suddenly came out to say, "Now that the pirates are raging, Wu Sijing has to be forced to leave our country, but we can only allow frequent ships to come and go after the sea is calm."
.Exactly what the customs said
When guarding against the enemy carefully, even if the warships have to cross the South China Sea, who can guarantee that there will be no problems when the fleet from the other country approaches the South China Sea? The situation is tense, and it is difficult to distinguish between ourselves and the enemy on the sea. If the fire accidentally breaks out, then
It’s the little things that turn into big fights.”
"What Zeng Shangshu said is absolutely true," Cai Xianqing deeply agreed, "and the offer of the prime minister is only for 200 cannons. Why take such a big risk for just a few cannons? When the chaos in the sea is calmed down, Wu Sijing can be released
How many artillery pieces were there in that country at that time? I can buy them as I wish, but I don’t have the financial resources to do it!”
"You are all rotten scholars, how can you understand the value of artillery!" Niu Yuan blushed and shouted, "You wait..."
"Tsk," Liu Zhennian smacked his lips and interrupted him, "Don't be angry with the Prime Minister. You did this without considering the fact, and I can't understand it. Don't waste your time on bickering. You should first discuss it with the prince.
Fan.”
Niu Yuan, who had always had smooth sailing, originally thought that the ministers would not dare to say anything. Who knew that they were pretending to be submissive, and then seized the opportunity to raise questions, as if he had jumped into a swamp, unable to move forward. He had never suffered such humiliation recently.
suddenly upset
, 'The worst thing is to risk it all! Let them shut up!' The more he thought this, the less he could control his mouth: "Nonsense! Where are the pirates who dare to come out now? I have handed over several good news.
The official has long been keeping the enemy outside the country's borders!"
This passage is very resonant! All the ministers, without exception, stretched their necks and looked straight at Niu Yuan. They were all at a loss what to do!
"How come I didn't know this happened?" Liu Zhennian seemed to have been poured a basin of ice water from head to toe, and his energy suddenly sobered up, "Keep telling me!"
"Xiang Liu, I planned to tell you about this later," Niu Yuan hurriedly bowed to him, "Don't be afraid, I didn't hide it from you, I hid it from the officials. This is a two-pronged approach that I have already planned.
Plan." Then, he stood in the center of the hall and explained all the important matters such as the sea ban and the deployment of coastal defense.