Born short-lived

The Lantern Festival on the boat was almost lackluster. The old men couldn't eat anything too sweet. Even though Zhou Zirong told the cook in advance to put less sugar, the old men still ate a few mouthfuls and stopped eating.And Zhou Zirong is very sweet, there is less sugar in the glutinous rice balls, and he couldn't eat a few mouthfuls by himself. In the end, nearly half of the whole pot of glutinous rice balls ended up in Luo Chi's stomach.

Not to mention the lanterns, one is that there is no leisure and leisure, the few red lanterns on the boat look almost exactly the same, and the other is that the old men couldn't bear it, so they went back to sleep after dinner, and the remaining soldiers had to be on duty He and Luo Chi didn't have much fun to go on patrol, so in the end, they should do whatever they want.

Looking at the sun, Huaxu's fleet finally entered Daling's Dongda Port, and his vision on the sea was gradually covered by thick fog.

Almost everyone who has been here has said that Daling Haicheng Luocheng is extremely prosperous, but Zhou Zirong was sincerely shocked when he saw it today.He thought that the Wuyou Jianghai Bay in Huaxu East Sea was already full of mortals and boundless wind and moon, but he didn't expect that there would be such a place of prosperity and gold powder, where there are row upon row of fine buildings and jade houses, and there is a lot of traffic and endless streams.

Compared with this, the pavilions and pavilions in Hua Xu's East China Sea seem a bit petty.

It's just that this Daling has been shrouded in dense fog all year round. Even if it is sunny occasionally, you can't see the blue sky when you look up, which makes people feel a little smoky for no reason.

It was only 500 years since the founding of Daling, but it came from behind. Although there is no white spirit in the whole country, and the white crystal psionic net is not available, it overwhelms other countries with its exquisite mechanism.Although Hua Xu's national strength is strong, the Dong'an Rebellion and the Hundred Years of Melee still hurt his vitality, so he was crushed by Da Ling when the four countries established the Four-Party Federation-now it seems that it is not for no reason up.

There are hundreds of big ships and warships moored in the harbor, the national crests of various countries are printed on the hulls, and the Panyang ship with the nine-headed bird is parked not far from them, and the sailors on the ship are just about to move the cargo. Go down, it should not be too long.

On the watchtower of Dongdagang, a large flag with black stripes on a red background is planted, with Daling's iron claw pattern printed on it, fluttering in the sea breeze, as if flaunting something to the envoys of various countries.

Zhou Zirong followed behind Li Chongwen, and a chunky man in a crimson fox ball came up to them with a big smile on his face, and said something in Da Ling.

It's not that Zhou Zirong has never learned the Daling language, but he has never had real contact with Daling people, so he can only understand half of it when he hears it. He probably only knows that this person is saying some polite words that are waiting for you.

"The special envoy said, welcome to Huaxu's envoys. I have been waiting here for a long time. It is a long journey from Huaxu to Daling, and the envoys have had a hard journey." The little guide with him translated in a low voice.

This man looked to be of Western race, with deep eye sockets on his doughy face, as if two dimples had been pressed on a big steamed bun with his fingers, and a pair of sly blue eyes sized them up.

A tall and thin man standing next to Dough was also very skillful, without Dough telling him, he just said something, which made the little guide stunned for a while.

After the thin bamboo pole finished speaking, the little guide translated them word by word: "He said, this is Elder Zuo of the Daling Emperor's Council, Mr. Rum, His Majesty the King attaches great importance to Hua Xu, so he specially sent Elder Zuo came to greet him."

The left and right elders of the emperor's council have an extraordinary status in Daling, which is equivalent to the left and right prime ministers Hua Xu set up in the past.Although according to the rules, all participating countries of the Quadruple Federation are equal in status, and the grades of the special envoys who come to welcome them should also be the same, and there cannot be the term "special envoy".However, every time Da Ling held a four-party meeting, he would quietly assign grades to welcome envoys. All countries have always been tacit about this matter. Powerful countries are treated preferentially and courteously, so naturally they have no complaints. Smaller countries are given small shoes to wear, but they can only dare to be angry and dare not speak out.

But even for Hua Xu, the experience of being greeted by Elder Zuo at the port is very rare.

Li Chongwen was not very surprised when he heard the words, he saluted calmly and said: "Thanks to your care, in the next few days, I will also trouble your country to take care of you."

While the two were talking, the dough suddenly walked around Li Chongwen, took a look at Zhou Zirong, and said something to him.Zhou Zirong didn't understand, so he looked at the guide with some embarrassment, and the little guide immediately translated; "The special envoy said, this must be General Zhou."

Zhou Zirong then returned a salute; "Exactly."

The little guide translated it back for him, and the doughman politely greeted him a few more words, and then led the group of them to the station.

Speaking of this Daling rail car, it is really amazing.The railway track stretches for thousands of miles and covers the territory. The power of the car depends entirely on the burning of black oil and the linkage of the mechanism, and it can travel thousands of miles at a glance.Although Huaxu has a spirit horse and the [-]th straight road leading from the border to the capital, it is far inferior to Daling's rail car in terms of speed and stability.

This rail car was originally used as a military supply to supply military supplies.Therefore, Da Ling did not need to be like Hua Xu at all. Because the territory was too vast, he had to look forward and backward when sending out troops. The three armies did not move, but the food and grass went first.

A rail car is divided into more than a dozen sections, and most of the power is in the front of the car.According to Luo Chi's words, this thing looks like a tin caterpillar.

But compared to the speed of three arches and one inch of caterpillars, this rail car is much faster.The distance from Dongdagang to Jindu, the capital of Daling, is about the same as that from Donghai to Huaxu, but it would take them several days to get there even if they rushed on horseback, but this time they got to Jindu in a day and a half on the rail car.

This time Da Ling's King Wendell finally came to greet him in person, and sent Hua Xu's people to the palace specially arranged for them.

There is a large courtyard in Jindu, and Wendell named it Daling, called Pulang Palace, which translates to the Palace of All Nations according to Jinwen, which is specially used to receive envoys from various countries.And this palace is located under the steps of the main hall of Daling Palace.

Wendell gave them two days to take a rest. During this period, many envoys from other countries visited Huaxu Palace in private. Apart from Nanyang, it was Xiyang who moved the most diligently.

Speaking of Western countries, they have been on good terms with Hua Xu over the years.

These small western countries also have few small people, and they don't even have enough food to grow. Every year, [-]% of the wheat is imported from Huaxu. People's land cannot be sold at all.

Ten years ago, the business road from Huaxu to the West was just built, and they saved a thousand half-dead factories and businesses there, so they sent a large number of high-quality goods to Huaxu for sale as a token of "thank you" , those small western objects are exquisite and unique, and they are always sold out.

That's not counting, the empress, who was in a panic, suddenly felt some kind of compassion, and even bought a large number of dying factories in Xiyang with her own money.

Fortunately, Hua Xu was so poor that he only had money left.

Not only did the Western Palace secretly send a lot of gifts, but Li Chongwen also specially arranged for someone to return something.

Of course, it's not only Xiyang and Nanyang who flirt with them, but also the Western Frontier states sandwiched between Xiyang and Hua Xu.From the beginning to the end of this business road are extremely rich and powerful countries, and the shrimp soldiers and crab generals sandwiched in the middle can also take advantage of it. The western Xinjiang states along the road have developed almost by leaps and bounds in the past ten years. The common people's clothes are not attached to their bodies, and everyone's food and clothing today, presumably it is also because of a lot of love between Huaxu and Xiyang.

Two days later, the Quartet Association was arranged in the Baijing Maple Leaf Garden behind the main hall. Speaking of Daling's extravagance, we had to talk about this Baijing Maple Leaf Garden hidden behind the main hall.The queen of the former king of Da Ling loved maple leaves only. The old king loved her so much that he wanted to give her anything, even the stars in the sky were not allowed to be dragged down to her, let alone planting a garden full of red maple leaves for her?But the maple leaves decayed in winter, and the members of the council all felt that such a garden would not be able to show the majesty of the country. The pavilions and pavilions are all piled up with whole pieces of white crystal.

It’s like telling people from all over the world—look, what’s wrong with me without Bai Ling, and I can still treat your precious Bai Jing like bricks and mortar.

The Baijing Maple Leaf Garden in January is indeed very delicate and elegant. The leaves of the maple trees have fallen, but the criss-cross dead branches have a special flavor. The misty morning is like a fairyland.

The time for the meeting was chosen in the early morning two days later. Envoys from various countries were led to the Baijing Maple Leaf Garden by a group of maids in skirts, and sat in the seats arranged earlier.

Da Ling sat at the top of the long table, Hua Xu and Pan Yang were arranged to be next to Da Ling's left and right respectively, and Western countries still sat on Hua Xu's right as usual.

On behalf of Hua Xu, only Zhou Zirong and Li Chongwen attended the meeting, and they only brought Luo Chi with them as a courtesy guard, and a small guide to help them translate.

The Western envoy next to Li Chongwen is a Hidlander, with the standard brown curly hair of a Hidlander, with protruding browbones. For no reason, the pair of blue eyes seem bottomless and deep, and the fine lines at the corners of the eyes are also sharp. Like a knife carving.

Two days ago, this person had also met Li Chongwen in private a few times, and he knew that his name was Jamil, a descendant of the Hidland nobles with good roots.

Daling originally had the same root and origin as Western, so the language is basically the same, and there are no Western envoys with guides.

Sitting opposite Hua Xu, Pan Yang Laishi is the old man Chi Yun who has had countless face-to-face encounters with Hua Xu.This well-known oily old man in the official circles all over the world looks like a frosted eggplant. He looks sleepy from morning to night, with wrinkles on his face and drooping eyelids. The eyes covered with a white film were completely covered, and I didn't know if I had no teeth or I had really stolen something in my mouth, and I kept mumbling and chewing.

Sitting next to old man Chi Yun was a young man, his hair was cut meticulously, his spine seemed to be filled with iron paste, he stood upright no matter he was standing or sitting, and his pair of piercing almond eyes were always wide open. It took him a while to stare at it.

When everyone was present, the potbellied King Da Ling and his prince Galei finally arrived late.They brought a young knight with them. Most of the knight's face was covered under the iron mask, only a pair of light brown eyes were exposed.Because the pair of extremely beautiful pupils were hidden under the shadow of the helmet, they seemed a bit chilling and gloomy.A few strands of soft wine-red hair floated out from the gap between the helmet and the face, and the whole body exuded the cold air of steel.

The prince is an adult, blond and blue-eyed, very heroic.From the moment she entered the arena, she wore a radiant smile that seemed unshakeable, and her speech and behavior were almost meticulous. She was a serious and well-mannered queen of the royal family.

Seeing him, Zhou Zirong, he couldn't help but think of his own wild prince who grew up in the East China Sea - if only he could be half sensible back then.

As usual, a group of people talked nonsense first, and then Daling King Wendell started to talk about the topic.Also like the regular meetings in previous years, at the beginning it was a matter of trade between some countries. Since Daling's gold paper coupons are the only common currency in the world, whenever this topic is discussed, it is basically dominated by Daling.

In the middle of the meeting, Wendell finally spoke about something that everyone had been tacitly aware of——Hua Xu's disaster in the East China Sea.