In the main hall of King Wu's palace, all the civil and military officials stood on both sides. The clan retreated to the back hall, and Sun Ce sat high on the throne, staring at the envoys of Yan State who came from outside.
"Foreign Minister Sima Lang, I have met His Highness the King of Wu." Sima Lang, the military advisor, was ordered to go on a mission to the Kingdom of Wu. As soon as he entered the hall, he bowed politely to Sun Ce.
"Why don't you kneel down when you see me?" Sun Ce asked when he saw that Sima Lang just cupped his hands towards him but did not kneel down.
"The foreign minister is not a minister of the Kingdom of Wu, so why should he kneel to the King of Wu? Kneel up to the sky, kneel down to the ground, and kneel to the emperor and parents in the middle. Therefore, you cannot kneel!" Sima Lang said loudly without any fear.
"You have such a sharp mouth, aren't you afraid of angering me?"
Sima Lang smiled and said: "The king is already burning with anger, and there is no need for foreign ministers to provoke him. The foreign ministers came this time to calm down the king's anger, and they also came to pay homage to the late king on behalf of my lord.
And he also brought a generous gift from my lord to the king to succeed him as King of Wu."
"Oh? What kind of gift?"
Sima Lang immediately took out a gift list from his wide sleeves, held it up with both hands, and said loudly: "The generous gift has been transported to Lujiang by land. Gu Yong, the prefect of Lujiang, has temporarily detained it in Lujiang County. This is the gift list."
, please have His Majesty the King of Wu take a look!"
The palace attendant took the gift list and presented it to Sun Ce. After Sun Ce opened it, he glanced at it in a hurry. His eyes lit up and a strange smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. Finally, he looked at it again carefully in disbelief.
Then he closed the gift list.
All the ministers present could see it clearly. Although they did not know what was written on the gift list, it made Sun Ce, who was still sad, smile happily, which showed that the gift list was not light. So, the ministers
I was secretly guessing in my heart what the gift from Yan Guo was.
Sun Ce composed himself, held up the gift list, and asked: "The Yan State is indeed rich and powerful, and the gifts they gave are extraordinary. This gift is indeed valuable. If I don't accept it, wouldn't I be looking down on the Yan State?" Sima
Sir, I just want to know why your lord gave such a generous gift?"
Sima Lang said: "My lord and the late king of Wu are brothers, and this friendship will never be forgotten. After learning that the late king of Wu was killed by the Chu army, he fainted on the spot and ordered a large army to destroy Chu. However, my lord
Because of being too angry, old wounds were aroused, and the wounds burst into pieces.
I can't get out of bed, and I still need to recuperate for a while, so I have to give up and try to figure it out slowly. If it weren't for this, the person standing in the main hall of Wu Palace today should be my lord. Remembering the friendship in the past, my lord specially sent
Foreign ministers came to pay their respects and offered generous gifts to congratulate the king on his succession."
"How was your master injured?" Sun Ce asked suspiciously.
"Hey! Forget it, the damn Chu army actually quenched poison on their weapons. If it weren't for the miracle doctor Hua Tuo who was here in Chenliu, I'm afraid my lord's life would be in danger. Your Highness, King Wu, besides that, my lord has one more thing to do.
, I wonder if His Highness King Wu can agree."
"Tell me about it."
Sima Lang paused and continued: "My lord heard that the King of Wu has a sister who is less than a month old. It happened that my lord also gave birth to a son last month and wanted to make a marriage arrangement with the King of Wu. The marriage between the two countries is even more joyful.
If we continue to live in harmony and friendship, I wonder if King Wu will agree?"
Sun Ce frowned and secretly shouted in his heart: "What is Gao Fei doing? First he gave me a generous gift, and now he comes to marry me. What is his motive? Is it... related to the agreement made by his father during his lifetime? What on earth is that?
What's the agreement? I'll ask Cheng Pu, Huang Gai and the others later..."
He glanced sideways at Zhou Yu, Lu Su, Lu Fan and Zhang Hong respectively. Seeing that Zhou Yu, Lu Su, Lu Fan and Zhang Hong all nodded, he felt that this marriage would definitely be of great benefit to the future of Wu State.
, otherwise the four of them would not all agree. So, he nodded and said slowly: "Okay, in that case, let's make this marriage final, and wait until my sister reaches the age of fifteen, in person."
Send her to Yan State to get married."
"The King of Wu is wise, rare in the world. I would like to thank His Highness the King of Wu on behalf of my family."
Sun Ce chuckled and said: "Actually, if you don't bring it up, I will bring it up to your master. However, this time is too long. I wonder if your master has any daughters or nieces? I am not married yet.
I also want to find a wife among your lord’s relatives. I wonder if you can convey my wishes back to me?”
Sima Lang said: "Absolutely. Your Highness, King Wu, can you let the foreign minister go to the tomb of the late king to pay homage? After all, this is the main purpose of the foreign minister coming to the Kingdom of Wu."
Sun Ce said: "Zhou Tai."
"The general is here!" Zhou Tai stepped out in one step, cupping his fists and saying, "What are your orders, Your Majesty?"
"Take Lord Sima to worship at the tomb of the late king."
"promise!"
"Farewell, foreign minister!" Sima Lang slowly exited the hall and followed Zhou Tai and disappeared into the hall.
After Sun Ce saw that Sima Lang had gone far away, he said to Zhou Yu: "Gong Jin, how is the progress of the southern expedition to Shanyue?"
Zhou Yuhui reported: "The number of people in Shanyue is so large that it cannot be pacified overnight. I have left soldiers and horses to garrison, and have made three agreements with the local Yue people. They have obtained the consent of the leaders of each tribe and expressed their willingness to live in harmony. However, this is not a long-term solution.
plan, because Shan Yue
The places where we live are widely distributed, and what I am going to attack is only a part of it. Most of Shanyue in the south is still a threat. However, after this expedition, Shanyue has also seen the strength of our army and does not dare to make mistakes easily.
I dare to guarantee that Southeast China will be safe within two years."
After Sun Ce heard this, he continued: "It's best this way. Gong Jin, I have something I want to tell you while the Yan envoy is coming this time..."
Halfway through his words, Sun Ce suddenly realized that he was still in the hall, and said loudly to the ministers: "My lords and generals, please perform your duties, except Zhang Hong, Lu Su, Lu Fan, Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, and Han.
Now, except for Zu Mao and Gong Jin, everyone else can retreat."
"promise!"
Zhang Zhao was the most reluctant to leave. Seeing that Sun Ce left Zhang Hong but not him, he couldn't calm down for a long time. But it was his fault. Why did he want to prevent Sun Ce from succeeding to the throne? In the end, he stole the chicken but lost the rice.
"Hey!" Zhang Zhao sighed, turned around and walked outside.
"Oh, Mr. Xiangguo, please stay. I forgot to call you by your name just now, so please stay too." Sun Ce has been paying attention to Zhang Zhao's every move. This time, he did it on purpose, just to give
Zhang Zhao gave small punishments but big warnings.
After Zhang Zhao heard Sun Ce's words, to be honest, he felt a warm current in his heart, turned around again, and stayed in the palace.