“Make him into a human swine!”
Shen Jing thought Ye Xiaogong was a bronze, but it turned out he was the king.
“Do you have the guts?”
Hulü Xian raised his eyebrows, looking at Ye Xiaogong with disdain.
Bluffing!
Great Zhou, from top to bottom, was all bluffing!
If he hadn't received that secret letter, he might have actually been intimidated!
Ye Xiaogong's eyelids lifted slightly, and he said calmly, “You first decide whether you want to fight, then inform this Prince, and see if this Prince has the guts!”
With that, Ye Xiaogong stopped talking nonsense and continued to drink wine.
This Prince?
Hulü Xian narrowed his eyes.
Combining his self-appellation and age, Hulü Xian had already guessed his identity.
Prince Wuping, Ye Xiaogong!
The last famous general of the Great Zhou imperial clan!
Even Emperor Zhou had to call him “Royal Uncle.”
Others might not have the guts, but Ye Xiaogong probably really did!
“Prince Wuping is quite imposing!”
Hulü Xian snorted lightly, “If there's a chance, this old man would like to compete with Prince Wuping on the battlefield!”
Ye Xiaogong only gave a soft “Hmm,” seeming too lazy to say more.
His indifferent attitude immediately made Hulü Xian feel like he was punching cotton.
“Senior Minister, stop saying such angry words!”
Gao Yin raised his hand to stop Hulü Xian, then said to Emperor Zhou, “Our mission this time is not to declare war, but to negotiate! We are not in a hurry to return to Great Yong, so Your Majesty can consider our conditions first, and then give us a reply! As a Prince, I genuinely do not wish to see the people of both countries plunged into misery…”
With that, Gao Yin sighed again and again, showing a compassionate expression.
As if he was truly considering the people of both countries.
“Good!”
Emperor Zhou raised his eyes slightly, “Shen Jing, arrange for someone to send them back to Four Directions Inn, you stay!”
“Yes!”
Shen Jing accepted the order and immediately arranged for Lu Heng to send Gao Yin and the others back to Four Directions Inn.
“Then we shall await your good news at Four Directions Inn!”
Gao Yin smiled and left with the Yong Country Delegation.
When the Yong Country Delegation left, Emperor Zhou could no longer suppress the anger in his heart, and with a “bang,” he smashed the wine cup in his hand to the ground.
“Your Majesty, please calm your anger!”
The officials were alarmed and spoke up to persuade him.
Emperor Zhou took a few deep breaths, raised his eyes, and scanned the crowd: “No need to wait until tomorrow's court session, all of you share your thoughts!”
Everyone looked at each other.
In the end, it was Minister of Justice Fu Yan who spoke first: “Your Majesty, this minister has one point of confusion!”
“What is there to be confused about?”
Emperor Zhou frowned and asked.
Fu Yan showed a thoughtful expression and said in a deep voice, “The attitude of the Yong Country Delegation is truly too abnormal!”
“Logically speaking, even if the Yong Country Delegation wanted to threaten our dynasty with war, they should have waited until tomorrow's audience to say so. Why did they make such a big fuss with us at this time today?”
“Moreover, Hulü Xian is not some hothead. Why did he disregard even basic diplomatic etiquette?”
Listening to Fu Yan's words, everyone couldn't help but show thoughtful expressions.
Indeed, Fu Yan's words made some sense.
Hulü Xian, as the Senior Minister of Yong Country, was accomplished in both civil and military arts, not some reckless person.
But what he did was like a reckless person!
It felt as if he was deliberately provoking Emperor Zhou and the Great Zhou's important officials.
Looking at the secretly pondering crowd, Shen Jing couldn't help but shake his head and smile, then asked, “Minister Fu, are you trying to say that this official offended Hulü Xian, which led them to act so deliberately?”
If nothing unexpected happened, the Court of State Ceremonial had someone from Fu Yan or Yao Jian.
Someone must have told them about his removal of the guards' meals.
This was clearly an attempt to shift the blame onto him.
“This official did not mean that!”
Fu Yan shook his head, then narrowed his eyes slightly: “Minister Shen, suddenly saying such a thing, could it be that you have a guilty conscience?”
Fu Yan snorted inwardly.
This Shen Jing, he confessed without being asked!
Good, it saved him the trouble of beating around the bush!
“No guilty conscience!”
Shen Jing smiled, “However, this official did indeed offend Hulü Xian!”
Everyone's gaze suddenly fell on Shen Jing.
“Honestly, how did you offend Hulü Xian?”
Ye Qing's face was cold as he impatiently questioned him.
Shen Jing smiled indifferently, and very frankly recounted how he had ordered the removal of those people's meals.
Listening to Shen Jing's words, the officials couldn't help but be in an uproar.
Receiving a delegation, yet not even giving them food?
This… was indeed a bit too much!
“So that's it!”
Ye Qing suddenly understood and glared at Shen Jing: “Father Emperor ordered you to receive the Yong Country Delegation, but you didn't even give them food. No wonder Hulü Xian was so rude!”
Fu Yan was secretly pleased, and bowed to Emperor Zhou: “Your humble servant implores Your Majesty to punish Shen Jing!”
Shen Jing watched the two with interest.
These two were in cahoots, weren't they?
The factions in this court were truly a bit chaotic!
“Minister Fu, don't be so quick to talk about punishment!”
At this moment, Yao Jian finally spoke: “Shen Jing might have his reasons for doing this. Why not listen to Shen Jing's defense first!”
Shen Jing shook his head and said calmly, “This official has nothing to defend. I just can't stand their unreasonable behavior and wanted to teach them a lesson!”
“A lesson?”
Ye Qing's face immediately fell, “You did teach them a lesson, but did you ever think about the imperial court and Father Emperor? If not for your foolish act, how would the Yong Country Delegation have been rude to Father Emperor in public, causing Father Emperor to lose face? You are clearly disregarding Father Emperor's dignity and the court's interests for a momentary fit of pique!”
“Your Highness is right!”
Fu Yan spoke again: “This minister again implores Your Majesty to punish Shen Jing! If the imperial court punishes Shen Jing, it will give an explanation to the Yong Country Delegation, and only then can both sides negotiate normally!”
Emperor Zhou did not speak, he just quietly looked at Shen Jing.
He had known about what Shen Jing said more than half an hour ago.
He left Shen Jing behind also because of this matter.
To be honest, even he felt that Shen Jing's actions were a bit excessive!
But the task he gave Shen Jing was to persuade the Yong Country Delegation to agree to use white sugar to replace other tribute items.
Shouldn't Shen Jing be trying to build a good relationship with them?
How could he act like this?
A smart person like him shouldn't do such a foolish thing, right?
But Shen Jing did do it!
What he was more curious about now was whether Shen Jing had other ideas?
Emperor Zhou pondered for a moment, then finally spoke, “The matter of punishing Shen Jing will be discussed later!”
Fu Yan was unwilling, he glanced at Yao Jian, and spoke again: “Your Majesty…”
“I said, it will be discussed later!”
Emperor Zhou coldly scanned Fu Yan and said in a deep voice, “I don't want to hear such nonsense about punishment right now! I want to know, what do you all think about Yong Country's conditions?”
Facing Emperor Zhou's obvious warning, Fu Yan immediately dared not speak again.
Yao Jian and Ye Qing also temporarily ceased their efforts, intending to find another opportunity to ask Emperor Zhou to punish Shen Jing.
“Your son believes that the doubling of tribute is secondary! They can ask for an exorbitant price, and we can bargain down.”
Ye Shen glanced at Emperor Zhou, sighing with a headache, “But this marriage alliance is the troublesome matter.”
As Ye Shen's words fell, everyone couldn't help but nod in agreement.
Indeed, the tribute could be negotiated!
But how should this marriage alliance be negotiated?
Emperor Zhou's favoritism towards Princess Qinghe was well-known.
Emperor Zhou consulted them, also hoping to postpone the matter of the marriage alliance first.
Meeting their gazes, Emperor Zhou also secretly had a headache.
For the tribute, he could still hope to use white sugar as a substitute.
But for this marriage alliance, no one could be relied upon!
Seeing Emperor Zhou's worried expression, Yao Jian pondered for a moment and said, “Regarding the marriage alliance, Your Majesty might consider this minister's previous suggestion!”