Early the next morning, Lin Xuan came to the palace.
There was a lot of traffic at the gate of the palace and it was very lively.
The imperial meeting was divided into three steps. The first step was for the governors and civil and military officials from various places to meet and report to Li Shimin on their work.
The second step is to summon envoys from various countries, and finally entertain the ministers and envoys from various countries.
"The ministers are here to meet you!"
Following the eunuch's loud shouts, everyone lined up and walked into the Tai Chi Hall.
"See Your Majesty!" everyone shouted in unison.
Li Shimin waved his hand and said: "Your Majesty, please excuse me."
Next, the governors from various places began to report their work to Li Shimin.
The administrative units of the Tang Dynasty were roads, states, and counties.
The Tang Dynasty now had fifteen states and more than three hundred states.
It is impossible for each of these people to report to Li Shimin, otherwise if everyone talks for a while, one day will not be enough.
Only states with excellent evaluation evaluations are eligible to report at the grand meeting.
After those people finished reporting, Li Shimin praised a few words and rewarded some of the officials.
After all this fussing, two hours passed.
Next, it is time to summon envoys from various countries.
"Call the envoys from all over the world to come and see you!"
Not long after, envoys from various countries wearing various fancy costumes came in.
"The foreign minister has met His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty!"
Envoys from various countries saluted Li Shimin in accordance with the etiquette taught by the Ministry of Rites.
Li Shimin laughed and said some polite words.
Envoys from various countries presented the gift list, and Li Mu took it and presented it to Li Shimin.
Li Shimin had already known about the things sent by various countries, but he still pretended to look at them.
"I feel very relieved that countries pay tribute every year." Li Shimin said with a smile.
A group of eunuchs walked in from the side, each holding a tray with a list of rewards written on it in both hands, and walked up to each envoy.
There are so many countries, so naturally we cannot read them one by one and directly give them the list of rewards and let them see for themselves.
This is not the first time that envoys from various countries have paid tribute, so they are naturally very familiar with such steps.
Although the rewards are similar every year, many people still pick up the gift list and read it.
The officials of the Tang Dynasty showed disdain and were so eager to read the gift list. Barbarians are barbarians.
"His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, why are the rewards for our country so much less than in previous years?" an envoy from a small country in the Western Regions exclaimed.
If he only takes such a small 'reward' back, how can he explain it to the king?
Don't talk about meritorious service, otherwise your life will be lost.
"Yes, our Western Turks are only 30% of what they were in previous years."
Envoys from some countries felt that there would be no changes in the rewards this year, so they did not even look at the gift lists after receiving them.
Now that I heard those people's words, I quickly opened the gift list and read it.
Countries that saw no change breathed a sigh of relief, while those that saw a decrease started asking questions.
Lin Xuan sneered. He once saw a joke about a man who saw a poor beggar and gave away some money every day.
When one day the man encountered difficulties and gave less alms to the beggar, the beggar became unwilling and asked the beggar where he had done the money.
This is simply gangster logic.
Now the envoys of these countries are just like that beggar.
They already think they should be given so many rewards every year.
If you find that there is less, you will naturally be unwilling to do so.
Before, Lin Xuan wanted to suggest that Li Shimin just give him some random reward.
However, he knew that Li Shimin was currently focused on the grassland and did not want to cause trouble at this time. Even if he mentioned it, Li Shimin would not agree, so he did not mention it.
Li Shimin said calmly: "It was a good thing for the Tang Dynasty to establish a Protectorate in the Western Regions. However, the countries in the Western Regions secretly obstructed it, resulting in the Western Regions Protectorate not being established until now. I have not held the Western Regions countries accountable, and you are still here.
Ask me why I reduced the reward? Is it because it is detrimental to me to bully my Tang Dynasty swordsmen?"
"His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, our Wusun Kingdom is very supportive of the establishment of the Protectorate of the Tang Dynasty, and there is absolutely no secret obstruction."
"Yes, we in Qiuci also support it, and we hope that the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty will take notice."
…
The envoys from various countries in the Western Regions said quickly.
Not long after Gaochang was destroyed, the countries in the Western Regions were still shrouded in the majesty of the Tang Dynasty.
They had always felt that they were thousands of miles away from the Tang Dynasty and that it was impossible for the Tang Dynasty to launch troops in the Western Regions. However, since Gaochang was destroyed, they no longer have such luck.
Li Shimin glanced at them coldly and said domineeringly: "I don't care about this. I know that the Western Regions Protectorate has not been established yet, and the countries in the Western Regions cannot escape their involvement. Go back and tell your king, if the Western Regions Protectorate next year
If the government still cannot be established, there will be no need to pay tribute."
The envoys from various countries in the Western Region remained silent for a while.
Li Shimin looked at the envoys from the Western Turks and Xue Yantuo, and said with a hint of murderous intent: "You two sent troops to plunder the border of the Tang Dynasty. I did not attack you because I did not kill the envoys. The Tang Dynasty is a country of etiquette.
, No matter what, you are a guest, otherwise do you think I will give you a reward?"
The envoys of Western Turks and Xue Yantuo shrank their necks, but they dared not say anything.
When they first arrived, they were a little uneasy at first, fearing that Li Shimin would kill them.
However, after arriving in Chang'an, what they were most worried about did not happen, which made them relax.
Only now do I know that Li Shimin has always remembered it.
Jin Benyang was dumbfounded. The envoys from various countries in the Western Regions and the envoys from the Western Turks and Xue Yantuo were so stunned by Li Shimin that they did not dare to speak.
Their alliance collapsed directly.
Jin Benyang suddenly remembered that Changsun Wuji had sent someone to notify him yesterday, asking him to make more preparations.
At that time, he was confident that he was well prepared and didn't care at all.
Is it possible that this is Lin Xuan's method?
Thinking of this, Jin Benyang turned his head and looked towards where Lin Xuan was standing.
He saw Lin Xuan looking at him with a sneer.
Tsubenyo knew that the so-called alliance was useless now, but he still had to do what the emperor told him. He gritted his teeth and said: "To His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, I, Fuso, have always admired the culture of the Tang Dynasty and respect the Tang Dynasty."
Youjia, because of some misunderstandings, the envoys Fusang sent to the Tang Dynasty were expelled by the Tang Dynasty. I request His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty to allow Fusang to continue sending people to study in the Tang Dynasty."
Jin Benyang's words are not false. Fusang began to establish contact with the Central Plains Dynasty from the Han Dynasty, and often went to the Central Plains Dynasty to pay tribute. Even when the monarch changed, he had to request canonization from the Central Plains Dynasty.
It can be said to be very respectful.
But Lin Xuan knew that the Fusang people had wolf nature in their hearts, and the reason why they were respectful was just because they were not strong enough.
"Your Majesty, the Fusang people were expelled because they did not abide by the laws of the Tang Dynasty. How can your Majesty's eloquent words be changed overnight?"
Before Lin Xuan could speak, someone stood up and objected.
Lin Xuan was amused when he saw it. The people who objected were none other than members of the Wang family.
Next, a large number of officials spoke out against it.
Officials from aristocratic families accounted for the majority in the court. Those officials who had been bribed by Jin Benyang would not dare to speak for the Fusang people when they saw this scene.
Let alone them, even people like Cheng Yaojin would not offend the noble family under normal circumstances.
As for collecting money and not doing anything?
Haha, what can the Fuso people do to them?
As for the money received, it was a gift from the Fusang people.
The Tang Dynasty did not prohibit officials from receiving gifts.
Apart from anything else, even Li Shimin would give gifts to many ministers whenever they did something at home.
Of course, Li Shimin's gift cannot be called a gift, it must be called a reward.
Therefore, they are not worried about Jin Benyang exposing the money they collected.
Anyway, they only promised to help verbally, but they didn't write it down in black and white.