Chapter Thirty-ninth Opening of Trade in the Western Regions
This is the first time that the Holy Emperor has mentioned the marriage of Princess Jinyang in front of all the ministers. In the past, all the adults felt that as the most beloved daughter of the Holy Emperor, she must be reluctant to marry to a foreign country or outside the Great Wall. She should choose the one in the court. The grandson of an old minister, and then the marriage between the two families was also a political method.
There is a princess in the family who is more or less related to the royal family as the granddaughter-in-law. This is also an excellent way to consolidate the status of the family. But everyone knows that as a prince-in-law, especially a prince-son-in-law in the Tang Dynasty, only one person is allowed to marry a princess. .If this princess marries into our own family and has no heirs, then this lineage will be broken. And there is another thing about Princess Jinyang that everyone knows. No one dares to take a trip into this muddy water. .So, now that they heard that the Holy One was going to grant a marriage, the eyes of most of the ministers surrendered to Meng Xinghe.
Because it should be said that the boy was lucky or unlucky. He became the Minister of the Ministry of Finance at a young age. And now there is an increasing trend to become the Prince Consort. Wouldn't it be a meteoric rise from now on?
Meng Xinghe only listened to the fact that Li Shimin wanted to find a consort for Princess Jinyang. What was he afraid of? There was Princess Ningxian backing him up. Li Shimin would not let his two daughters marry him. Besides, The prince-consort in the Tang Dynasty could only have one wife, the princess. There were at least four wives in his family. Could it be that Li Shimin wanted me to be Chen Shimei?
Just when Mr. Meng put himself out of the matter and had nothing to do with feelings, Li Shimin, who was sitting in the highest position in the Royal Banquet Palace, moved his mouth and looked at the table where Meng Xinghe was sitting.
"Mr. Meng, please come forward."
"Ha." It was indeed this kid.
Looking at Meng Xinghe's back as he stepped forward, there were already ministers discussing it privately in the Royal Banquet Palace. Moreover, there was no doubt that there were also jealous looks from some young heroes.
Meng Xinghe came to Li Shimin's dragon chair. "I pay homage to your Majesty." The old man thought reluctantly in his heart. Don't forget that in the Manna Palace, I am already the father of your grandson.
Li Shimin did not directly state the purpose of recruiting Meng Xinghe. Instead, he simply said, "Give me a seat." Someone brought him a rosewood chair.
The eyes of all the ministers lit up. There are definitely only a handful of ministers in the Royal Banquet Palace who can be personally granted a seat by the Holy One. Meng Xinghe can enjoy such an honor under the noses of hundreds of officials. That definitely shows that Li Shimin will be here later. Give him a great reward.
On the first day of the new year, some people in the Royal Banquet Palace receive rewards that they will never be able to enjoy in their lifetime. This is already a well-known fact.
Li Shimin just gave Meng Xinghe a seat. Then he said to the guards outside the Royal Banquet Palace: "Let the envoys from all countries come in." He heard the sharp voice outside the door: "Your Majesty has a decree. Announce to the envoys from all countries." See you in person."
As the voice sounded, the envoys from all nations who had been waiting outside the Royal Banquet Palace for a long time walked in in an orderly manner. Among them, there were blond and blue-eyed ones, some with smooth skin, and even some with curly beards. They were all people from the small countries surrounding the Tang Dynasty or from countries further outside the Western Regions.
"Oh. It turns out to be you. Dear Sir."
Among the envoys from all over the world who walked in, the tall and tall envoy with blond hair and a look of respect in his blue eyes immediately recognized the envoy wearing a purple robe sitting on the right side of Li Shimin in the Royal Banquet Palace. Lord Meng.
The person who came was none other than Count John. He should have come to the Tang Dynasty from a place thousands of miles away. With Count John, there were also envoys from the same countries. These people all met on the Silk Road. Envoys from other countries came to the Tang Dynasty together when passing through the desert. This is all thanks to Master Meng who once proposed to set up a lodge on the border of the Western Regions. They used the compass to travel together in the desert before everyone could get to know each other.
Meng Xinghe couldn't remember who the person who called his name was. But he was not stupid. He quickly thought of a certain woman who was also blond and blue-eyed from this man. He really missed that person when he was with that woman. Crazy. He was as happy as meeting an old friend in a foreign land and said: "It turns out to be Lord John. How is your Princess Elizabeth?"
"Oh. Now our Elizabeth is no longer a princess. He is already the emperor of our country." Earl John's words made the adults present who were deeply infected by Confucius and Mencius feel as if they had eaten a jujube, and their mouths were wide open. of.
There are cultural differences between the two places. Of course, their thoughts are also different. Meng Xinghe smiled and said "Congratulations." and stopped talking. On the contrary, Earl John, after seeing Mr. Meng, he immediately took out something from his body as if he thought of something.
The thing was wrapped in a piece of fine silk. Earl John held it carefully in his hand. He solemnly handed it to Lord Meng and said, "This is a token from Her Majesty the Queen. He also asked John to tell Lord Meng a message on his behalf. .”
"Well, Xiao Shabai's confession." Meng Xinghe thought in his heart. With a smile on his lips, he said, "What are you talking about?"
John can already speak Chinese very well, and he often travels between the Tang Dynasty and the Western Regions. He is extremely passionate about the poetry and culture of the Tang Dynasty. When Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth said this sentence in his ear, John only felt that The man in the Tang Dynasty who was thousands of miles away was the happiest person in the entire empire.
The expression that was about to say this was condensed. Earl John conveyed Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth's original words affectionately: "Her Majesty the Queen said, if you dare to forget that little Shabai, she will beat the prince of our country in the future." Yes. Her Majesty the Queen also said that if you do not visit our country to visit their mother and son, she will make a royal decree and ask your son, His Royal Highness, who is also the prince of our country, to come to your Tang Dynasty with warships."
"Damn. The Opium War. The Eight-Power Allied Forces invaded China." Mr. Meng could hardly sit still. He thought of all those humiliating wars thousands of years later. In his opinion, after passing through the Palace of Heaven and the fake Qin Shihuang After the conversation, Mr. Meng became more and more convinced that this history is definitely not the authentic history. It may have been copied by time and space. Although there are traces of the original history, some places are still different. I simply can’t believe it. From now on, I will be far away across the ocean. The other son will bring warships to his father's country. Mr. Meng smiled bitterly and said: "Look at Earl John. You seem to have not finished what your Majesty the Queen has said."
John indeed still had the most important words to say. If the previous words of Her Majesty the Queen of their country were already weighty enough, then what John said next could be said to have turned the almighty Her Majesty the Queen of their country into the Tang Dynasty. A woman in deep boudoir misses her husband.
"Mr. Meng. Her Majesty the Queen said that she will always remember what Mr. Meng said to her. If the love lasts for a long time, how can it last day and night?"
After hearing these words, Lord Meng blushed a little. He remembered that when he said these words, Xiao Shabai acted very crazy in bed that night, and almost took away all his essence and blood. Only then did he know .It turned out that Xiao Shabai was going back to his own country to fight for the throne with his brother. And that night, Xiao Shabai touched his slightly protruding belly and asked Meng Xinghe with a smile if they were no longer together. He wondered whether Meng Xinghe was thinking of her. At that time, Mr. Meng, who still had the character of picking up girls, said casually, "If the love lasts for a long time, how can we stay together day and night?" He remembered that Xiao Shabai at that time After hearing this, he said something.
Hmm. It seems like the fragrance of red lips is reserved only for the most beloved man. My heart. Once I love you, no one else is allowed to come in. I don’t want you to hold roses in your hands and say you love me. I just want to know. At this moment, will you be deeply disappointed by my leaving?
I love you, my man. No matter where I am, I will be waiting for you wearing bright armor, riding a horse, wearing a sword. Rushing into my dreams like a knight, brushing away the tears of missing you from my face. .
I have to say that Xiao Shabai has the romantic feelings of Western women. Holding the token that Xiao Shabai brought to him in his hand, Meng Xinghe smiled happily and said: "Earl John, please let me tell you a message to Her Majesty the Queen." Meng Xinghe suddenly stood up and whispered something in Earl John's ear.
When Earl John heard this, he was deeply moved by Master Meng's romance. He treated him with the most standard court etiquette of the imperial royal family. He stopped communicating with Master Meng in the royal banquet palace. Two countries. A pair Lovers separated by thousands of mountains and rivers.
In fact, the cultural differences between the two countries have already caused the conversation between Meng Xinghe and Earl John to be deeply despised by the officials of the Tang Dynasty present. A woman from a country in the Western Regions actually fell in love with a man from the Tang Dynasty. He gave birth to a son. Such a ridiculous and unruly thing was really against ethics. Even some old-fashioned Hanlin Academy scholars lamented over the shameless things done by Meng Xinghe and that foreign woman.
If this group of old immortals saw Fu Bo feeling sad in front of them all day long, hating that his immortality was just a shell, with a helpless expression, then they would cherish love and their current happiness even more.
At this moment, Li Shimin, who had left Meng Xinghe enough time to talk to the foreign envoys, had to cough and express his discomfort to interrupt Master Meng's reverie.
Earl John immediately returned to his envoy's side. He bowed to His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty and said: "Dear His Majesty the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. John came here this time for the promise he made that day. For the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. Your Majesty, I present you a crown made of pure gold."
John had just finished speaking. His servant who had been holding a golden box had already opened the box.
This is a pure gold crown made of the best gemstones. John held it high above his head and presented it to Li Shimin. He said: "Your Majesty, the Queen, ordered John to present a crown. I am willing to have friendship with the Tang Dynasty for generations. OK. Please ask His Majesty the Emperor to draft an imperial edict to open the Western Silk Road trade so that more Tang culture can be introduced to the West."
This was a good sign. Li Shimin, who was happy, agreed immediately and said: "I will leave it to Lord Meng to take full responsibility for this matter." Li Shimin's eyes fell on Meng Xinghe. He meant that I can sell you a favor.