Wang Yu's aide Liang Yan was sent to the county government office to meet the newly arrived Miao envoy. In Zhang Ning's opinion, Liang Mubin, a well-informed master who has been making suggestions for a long time, should not know anything about how to entertain guests.
trouble.
Just as Liang Yan was visiting the pavilion, a male "deputy envoy" from the Miao people came to talk. This Miao man was dark and thin, but his skin color was obviously tanned, but he was not inherently dark; his Chinese was not very fluent.
Liang Yan exchanged greetings with him for a few words, and then said politely: "Your Highness asked me to apologize to your envoy. Due to urgent matters, we cannot hold a banquet to entertain you. Please don't blame me for my neglect."
The deputy envoy replied stiffly: "Your people...are very good at treating guests, and are considerate in their meals and accommodations."
Liang Yan added: "The Miao envoy is a noble envoy and cannot be so negligent. His Highness ordered the envoy to move to the wing of the county government house."
The deputy envoy thought for a moment and said, "Sit down for a while, I'll go in and ask." After that, he walked inside, muttered a few words, and came out again after a while, saying, "We, Miss Bai, are asking, is the inner house not Han?"
Is it the place where the official lives? She is from a woman's family and is afraid that it will be inconvenient to live there." The new envoy is a woman from the old man's family of the Miao King. The name of the envoy is Bai Ju in the document, so the envoy is called Bai Ju.
girl.
Liang Yan said with a smile: "Miss Bai misunderstood. The inner residence of the county government is very different from the inner residence of ordinary people, because most of the county officials are from the local area five hundred miles away, and most of them do not bring their families with them when they take office.
Therefore, the function of the wing room in the county government office is to receive distinguished guests such as bosses or classmates. It is a sign of respect for Your Highness to welcome your envoys to the wing room, and it can also avoid crowded places."
At this time, the envoy inside spoke: "Since it is His Highness's good intention, we should be respectful and obey it."
That makes me speak much more fluently. Although I still have a strong local accent, I can speak Chinese very fluently.
So the four Miao envoys walked through the "house gate" under Liang Yan's arrangement and entered the west chamber of the inner courtyard from the second hall to settle down. According to Liang Yan, the east side of the west chamber is where the distinguished guests are. His task was to pick out various
The small things that make the messenger feel respected and at home are sufficient on the surface, and it is probably very successful.
Just after dinner the next night, Liang Yan went to the west wing to invite Miao to the study for tea. He and Miao spent the whole day together, but he also saw what Bai Ju looked like, because she was wearing a hooded hat.
A turban with a face.
When Liang Yan led Bai Ju and others to the door of the study, he did not go in. He only let the envoy in, saying that His Highness was waiting inside.
There were four Miao envoys, two men and two women. In addition to Bai Ju, the female envoy, there was also Bai Ju who came last time. Bai Ju, the envoy at the time, turned around and saw Bai Ju faintly looking down from her hat, her eyes slightly lowered and her face flushed.
I was also curious about what the person who claimed to be the third prince of Jianwen Emperor was like.
They entered the house and saw only two people in the study. There was a teenage girl silently making tea next to her, who seemed to be a maid, and the man sitting in front of a desk was probably the third prince Zhang Ning.
, because of the distance and the veil blocking Bai Ju's sight, he couldn't see his face clearly. All he could see was that he was tall and tall and wearing a gray robe.
Zhang Ning turned around and saw someone coming in, so he put his brush on the inkstone, stood up with a kind smile, bowed his hands and said: "Your Majesty, you have traveled so hard to come here. I am honored to meet you. If there is any indifference to the officials in the mansion,
I hope you can bear with me."
Bai Ju said: "You have been very warm and considerate in your hospitality. Mr. Chen did not treat us badly when he came to our place."
"Please take a seat. Let's sit down and talk. I found some good tea and I can brew it in a while." Zhang Ning said with a smile.
"Your Highness, please take a seat too." Bai Ju said. Seeing Zhang Ning sit back on the chair, she and the others took their seats one by one. This Miao man seemed to understand the rules of the Han people. She turned her head slightly to look at the little tea maker.
Girl, seeing that she is concentrating on doing trivial things, it seems that making tea is more complicated.
Zhang Ning looked up and down the Miao Ambassador. He couldn't see what his face looked like, but he had a good figure. He was wearing a dress with many red and green patterns, and there were several rings of silver bracelets on his wrists. At first glance, he looked...
It is indeed a bit exotic. Han women generally do not wear clothes with many patterns, nor do they wear so many bracelets. Because the other party is a woman, it is understandable that she does not show her face... I just don’t know what she looks like.
If you look like Bai Gu, it would be superfluous to cover up. However, according to Zhang Ning's experience, most women who cover up are usually very good-looking, or they may have shortcomings on their faces like the Peach Blossom Fairy.
"This Chen Maocai is so ignorant of etiquette..." Zhang Ning pretended to blame him, "Since Ambassador Miao is coming, why didn't he lead him?"
Bai Ju said: "Your Highness, you don't have to blame him. It was my master (Bai Fengjiao) who kept him."
After hearing this, Zhang Ning felt a thump in his heart: If this guy went to deceive the Miao people and said that his people killed Zhu Yong's youngest son, wouldn't he be caught? But after thinking about it, he was relieved. If that was the case, the Miao people
There is no need to detain people, let alone send envoys. However, Bai Ju's explanation makes sense. Only when the Miao people detained Chen Maocai, he might not have come back with the Miao envoys.
"Mr. Chen said that your people secretly assassinated Zhu Yong's youngest son in the capital. Duke Cheng was angry and sent troops to attack him. Did His Highness order him to say this?" Bai Ju asked again. She spoke in Chinese.
The accents of Yunnan, Guizhou, and Sichuan sounded very similar to the dialects of the southwest region. To Zhang Ning, it sounded like Sichuan dialect. It sounded very nice coming from Bai Ju's mouth, but the words seemed to have a spicy flavor.
Zhang Ning immediately defended without hesitation: "I didn't tell him to say it, it is true."
He spoke Nanjing Mandarin, the common language of the Ming Dynasty at this time, and his speaking speed was smooth and fast. It gave people a very calm and calm feeling, but there was a faint gloom in his expression that was difficult to detect. Who was facing him now?
I'm afraid the pressure will also make you depressed.
"That's it." Bai Ju responded coldly.
Zhang Ning tasted her tone and then said: "It is more than two thousand miles from Huguang to the capital. This matter was not deliberately arranged by us. Most of the people within Jianwen Yuchen are beyond my control. The assassination of Zhu Yong's youngest son was not deliberately arranged by us.
That man happened to be killed at this time, and the timing was a complete coincidence, so that Zhu Yong blamed me."
Bai Ju nodded slightly. Such a statement would make people doubtful. After all, there was no need for Zhang Ningjun to deliberately attract the attack of the main army in order to help the Miao people. She said: "In any case, Zhu Yong's army went north, and it did help."
We are very busy. The Miao people are by no means unclear about their grievances. We, the Miao King, are willing to repay His Highness and do some things within our ability. However, Mr. Chen’s request in front of the Miao King to let us march into Longtou Temple, I am afraid... many leaders are worried.
If we don’t agree, if we continue to advance eastward, we may be cut off by the army again.”
Zhang Ning asked: "I would like to ask, what is the purpose of the Miao tribe to follow the Miao king in raising an army? What do you want the outcome of this war to be? Are you just waiting for the court to dispatch troops to pacify it? What's the use of raising an army? ?”
"This..." Bai Ju paused for a moment, then added, "This is a Miao people's matter, and I cannot disclose it to you."
"We can tell the rise and fall by taking history as a mirror. In fact, throughout the ages, the Miao border has raised troops more than once or twice. They were defeated and pacified in a few months, or in a few years at most. The only result is that they never succeeded." Zhang Ning said sharply, "Why? Because the population and strength of the Miao people are hugely different from those of the Central Plains dynasty, and the southwestern Miao territory does not have the powerful force of the northern nomads, the outcome is almost doomed. You don’t even have a chance to be recruited. Because there are too many people in the imperial court who want to use this opportunity to make meritorious services and be crowned, and to dedicate their chieftains to the capital, which is a feat and an honor for the generals of the Ming Dynasty. As a result, many of you will die."
Bai Ju got angry and retorted: "You want to say that no matter how you are exploited and oppressed, you can only accept it? In this case, you are fewer people than us, why don't you accept it and raise an army to rebel?"
Zhang Ning said: "We are not plotting rebellion. The reason is very simple. Suppose you have a relative outside the Bai family. Suddenly he comes back with a group of people, kills all your family members, and then robs the house and land. After some time, In the year, the remaining members of your family brought some people back to fight back and wanted to take back the family property. Is this treason?" He paused and then said, "The second difference is that, for example, there are many people in the Bai family, and the head of the family Although there are currently a small number of people, it is possible to recruit other members of the Bai family to take back the family property; if some people from other clans are far inferior in number and strength to the Bai family, and they want to come and seize all the Bai family's property, how can they do it? ?”
Bai Ju calmed down slightly and said: "I understand what you said. Does it mean that you can recruit other Han people to rebel together? But we can only rely on the Miao people?"
"That's right." Zhang Ning said, "A few months ago, I only had 148 people under my command. I raised an army to capture Shimen County. A few months later, there are now one or two thousand people. The purpose of our army is very clear, which is to take back The political power of the Ming Dynasty."
Bai Ju said: "The imperial court in the Central Plains controls millions of people. Even if you have one or two thousand troops, can you really succeed?"
"People plan things, and God makes things happen. We just try our best, but for us, the road to raising an army always has an end." Zhang Ning said calmly, "Why didn't King Miao make a plan in advance and formulate a strategic goal?"
"The Miao King has his own plans, but we don't know about it," Bai Ju said. She paused and asked, "Based on His Highness's knowledge, what should we Miao people do to find a way out?"
Zhang Ning said: "It is the law of nature that small things are important. Tribes with small strength should rely on and serve the big country in order to protect themselves. This is the rule. Moreover, the Miao people have been part of the Chinese lineage since ancient times. It is not a shameful thing to be a minister; just like an ordinary common people "It's normal to submit to the magistrate and local magistrate. Do you think a guy in white clothes has to compete with the powerful?"
"But if someone who claims to be an official of his parents bullies the people unscrupulously, how can he surrender and serve them?"
Zhang Ning said: "You can choose a better 'parent official'. If you have a good relationship with him, or even a relative, you will naturally not be bullied, and you can still be rich and powerful."