Kangrao, the capital of Shu, is a prosperous city. There have been few wars here for thousands of years, and it has always enjoyed rare peace.
With the advancement of technology in this world, new development has begun here. As the national power of Shu has increased, this place has become a more modern city.
First of all, there are railways and roads connecting this area to other cities. Many high-rise buildings have gradually appeared in the city center, and some factory facilities have also been established in the suburbs.
In the past two years, most areas in the city have been connected to running water, and almost 100% of the places have electricity.
People's lives have become more and more comfortable, and many people have begun to praise their leader, Liu Jing, the Speaker of the Shu Kingdom's Parliament.
Speaking of Liu Jing, this man used to be a rich man in the Shu Kingdom. His business spread all over the Shu Kingdom. He was later elected and became the city manager of Kangrao.
Because he did very well in this city, he was elected as a member of the country's parliament, and finally reached the position of speaker.
In terms of personal ability, he is still very good. He is almost 70 years old this year, but he is still in good spirits, walks steadily and has a certain sense of nobility.
After washing his face and dusting the water on his hands, the old man Liu Jing looked at himself in the mirror, and then said to the secretary standing next to him: "Is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ready?"
"Tell the Speaker, the preparations have been made over there." The secretary replied cautiously: "I would like to advise the Speaker to think twice. He has not done anything like this in the past hundred years..."
"That's why I have to go through this journey." Liu Jing sighed, walked back to his desk, looked at the pile of documents on it, and felt full of anxiety.
It has been able to stand for so many years under the support of three powerful countries: Qin, Chu and the Great China Empire. How could the Shu Kingdom not have a few brushes?
If you say that Qin is preparing to attack Shu but Shu knows nothing about it, then you really underestimate Shu, the only country in the world without a monarch.
"Qin is watching with eager eyes, and Dahua no longer has the ability to look south... Now the balance has been broken. If we don't find another way out, our Shu country will be in doom." Liu Jing was silent for a few seconds and then said.
His desk was filled with messages and reports from border generals and intelligence agencies. All of these documents emphasized Qin's ambitions.
Among them were secret reports that the Qin State was gathering troops at the border, transporting grain and grass, and hoarding ammunition, and there were also reminders that Qin envoys were frequently active in the Tang Empire.
Considering the current situation, how could Liu Jing not understand what the Qin State meant? He had previously reminded those congressmen who supported the border trade monopoly and the forces behind them. If the interests of the Qin State were harmed, the situation would
will become dangerous.
But how could those who had gained the benefits easily stop? Although the other party gave him a bit of a thumbs-down as the speaker, they only restrained themselves a little bit.
At the national level, the tax exploitation of Qin is intensifying, so the risk of Qin attacking Shu is also increasing exponentially.
The sorrow and resentment has been established, and it is too late to say anything now. What's more, the food and clothing of millions of water workers are dependent on it. Now if we consider reducing trade taxation and exploitation, so many people in Shu who are eating this bowl of rice are not willing to spit out their own interests.
Therefore, Liu Jing ordered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to submit an application to the Tang Empire for him to visit the Tang Dynasty as the Speaker of the Shu Kingdom.
This may be the first time in a century that a leader of a country visits another country. For a long time in the past, there have been no examples of monarchs leaving their own countries.
If there had not been a civil war in the Great China Empire, this news might have been the biggest news of the year. Moreover, this time Liu Jing, the Speaker of the Shu Kingdom, went to the Tang Kingdom, and the content of the negotiations was not simple.
Liu Jing was actually planning to let the Shu Kingdom change its tributary - the Great China Empire was at war with the Tang Empire before, and after the war, the Chu Kingdom broke away from being a vassal of the Great China Empire and became a vassal of the Great Tang Empire.
The Kingdom of Shu and the Kingdom of Qin are still nominally vassal states of the Great China Empire, and this fact has not changed at all. However, after such a long time, everyone has seen the progress of the Kingdom of Chu, and some officials and businessmen of the Kingdom of Shu are not convinced.
If you are tempted, you are deceiving yourself.
In fact, the Kingdom of Shu hopes to break away from the control of the Great China Empire and become a vassal of the Great Tang Empire. This wish has been present for some time. Everyone is talking about this topic and thinking about when they can embrace the Great Tang Empire.
.
Now it's better, there is willingness, and there is pressure. The Great China Empire has declined and has no time to look south. It has strengthened Qin and plans to attack Shu. The country of Shu is in danger.
Under such circumstances, wouldn't it be the right time to embrace the Tang Empire? As long as it becomes a vassal of the Tang Empire, the Tang Empire can't just watch Shu being beaten, right?
It has been discussed internally, and with the support of many parliamentarians, there is no longer much opposition within the Shu Kingdom to the matter of changing the state of Shu to become a vassal state of the Tang Empire.
That's why Liu Jing hoped to visit the Tang Empire this time. Everyone in the Shu Kingdom was looking forward to relying on this visit to completely bring the Qin Kingdom in the northwest to peace.
Who dares to fight the younger brother of the Tang Empire? Ah?
For this visit, the Shu Kingdom took great pains. Not only did they form a huge visiting delegation, they also carefully selected many tribute gifts.
The Kingdom of Shu even prepared 20 beauties and prepared to go to the Tang Empire with the Speaker. What if the Emperor of the Tang Empire, who already had three concubines... was interested in the weak and charming Shu ladies?
"In addition to making preparations on the Tang State, we must also make other preparations ourselves! The border defense line cannot be slacked in the slightest! Does the Qin State really think that our Shu State is a soft persimmon? It can be manipulated as much as it wants?"
When Liu Jing said this, his aura suddenly increased. Having held a high position for so many years, he was somewhat majestic.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! In order to fight against Qin, Shu also made corresponding actions on the border. One hundred thousand troops reinforced the border defense line, and the troops built trench defense lines.
They even deployed their own armored units on the second line.
This is actually a clear statement to Qin: I know everything you think, so you'd better not act rashly.
But who knew that the Qin State would actually use this as an excuse to spread the word that the Shu State had evil intentions and was trying to provoke border disputes, so it once again sent 100,000 troops to the border.
For a time, the two sides were at war with each other, and there was even the danger of a conflict at any time. Under such circumstances, the Shu Kingdom once again had no choice but to send an additional 50,000 troops to the border.
Not to be outdone, the Qin State immediately announced an additional 100,000 troops to the border, completely ignoring the appeasement of the Great China Empire.
In fact, the Great China Empire really hopes that a conflict will break out between Qin and Shu. The Great China Empire has always been worried that it will be attacked from both sides by the Qin State and the Tang Empire. Now the Qin State has focused its attention on the Shu State.
The pressure on the Dahua Empire has dropped sharply.
Under such circumstances, it is definitely not possible to expect the Great China Empire to sincerely resolve the conflict. Everything can only be looked at from the side of the Tang Empire.
It is precisely because of the Great China Empire's inaction on this matter that neither Qin nor Shu took the Great China Empire's attitude to heart.
Similarly, it is precisely because the situation has developed to this point that Liu Jing, the chairman of the Shu Kingdom, insists on visiting the Tang Empire, hoping that the fox will pretend to be powerful and the Shu Kingdom will avoid this war.
…
Nangong Hong has been busy these days. The Qin State is already very anxious. They urgently hope to get the support of the Tang Empire. For this support, the Qin State even expressed its willingness to pay any price.
Ying Duo not only guaranteed that the Qin State would donate huge wealth after the war, but was also willing to add content to the peace treaty and force Shu to become a slave state of the Tang Empire.
In addition, if the Tang Empire was willing, Qin could even mortgage the tariffs for another two years, and also promised to ensure that the slave trade needed by the Tang Empire would not be affected in any way.
When he was thinking of ways to hold back the envoys of Qin, he received another application from the diplomatic department of Shu.
After he saw the contents of the application, he was a little shocked. He even admired Shu State Speaker Liu Jing's determination and courage for a moment.
Applying to visit the Tang Empire at this time? Moreover, the Shu Kingdom privately revealed that the Shu Kingdom intends to get rid of the Great China Empire and hopes to become a vassal state of the Datang Empire.
This is interesting: it seems that Shu has smelled the danger of Qin preparing to attack Shu, and then placed most of its hopes on the choice of joining the Tang Empire.
Shu's decision undoubtedly added uncertainty to the matter. Tang Mo himself was undecided and was not prepared to support Qin in conquering Shu.
Now, if the Shu Kingdom makes some more compromises, then the Tang Empire seems to have more reasons to ensure the security of the Shu Kingdom.
After all, whether it was Shu or Qin, they were just trading partners of the Tang Empire. The Tang Empire didn't care much about who lived or died.
"We are sincere here, Mr. Minister. The Shu Kingdom is weak and cannot fight against the powerful Qin alone. We hope that the Tang Empire can uphold justice and be the common ruler of the world." The ambassador of the Shu Kingdom to the Tang Dynasty maintained a very low attitude.
I know that I actually have no capital.
To put it mildly, even if the situation develops according to the expectations of the Shu Kingdom, the Shu Kingdom will also be a subordinate of the Tang Empire. How high can his status as the ambassador of the Shu Kingdom to the Tang Dynasty be?
Anyone who engages in diplomacy knows that if the country is strong, if you pretend to be X, someone will give you a thumbs up. But if your country is poor and the army is weak, who will you show X to?
"I already know what your country means. This matter is very important. I must meet with His Majesty and discuss it clearly before I can give you a reply. Mr. Ambassador, please be patient and wait for a few more days." Nangong Hong said.
He adopted an official tone and looked businesslike.