After the Rebirth of the Red Chamber

When being approached by Chen Shangshu, Master Hong, Minister of Honglu Temple, was still very calm.

After all, the Oala envoy is still living in his Honglu Temple. If the Ministry of Rites wants to talk to the envoy about Oara's surrender, he naturally cannot avoid his Honglu Temple.

But after a quarter of an hour, Master Hong's calmness was all fed to the dogs.

"Master Chen, what... are you talking about? The officer heard me right, right?"

"You heard me right." Chen Shangshu said, "Wala is the defeated party, and Honglu Temple entertained them with delicious food, so naturally there is a charge."

Master Hong's face was completely frozen, "Are you joking? There has never been such a thing before."

Honglu Temple is responsible for receiving the envoys of the Fanbang vassal states, and they always treat them with good food and drink.Just for fear that they will be dissatisfied, where is the charge?

Chen Shangshu glanced at him, tried to widen his small eyes, trying to let Mr. Hong see the seriousness in his eyes, "How can this be a joke? Our Great Xia is a country of etiquette, and we are not being taken advantage of. Why? Free food and drink for the envoy of a defeated country?"

Master Hong's cheeks twitched for a moment, seriously suspecting that the Minister of Rites in front of him was snatched away by the Minister of Hubu.

Otherwise, why is this stingy energy so different?

Cough, if Shi Nai were here, he would definitely cry for injustice.

He could raise his hands and swear that the idea of ​​charging the envoy for board and lodging was definitely not his idea for Mr. Chen.This is Mr. Chen completely freeing himself after being led by him to break the rules.

——Anyway, they need money, and his Ministry of Rites is destined to lose this time, so why not ask for more?The face of their Ministry of Rites officials is very valuable!

"Does the sage know about this?" Master Hong asked hesitantly.

"What's the matter, what's the matter?" Chen Shangshu looked blank.

Master Hong said: "It's just about asking for money."

"The sage knows about asking for money." Chen Shangshu spoke with confidence.

——The sage does know about asking for money. As for which one he knows, you didn’t ask, so why should I tell you?

Mr. Hong also did not expect that Chen Shangshu, who is always known for his integrity and prudence, would secretly change his mind on this matter to trick him.

"Since it's the sage's will, the next official has no choice but to follow the order."

Chen Shangshu nodded and said gratifiedly: "Young children can be taught."

Master Hong twitched the corners of his mouth, his smile was uglier than crying, "Master Chen is ridiculous."

——It was the first time to do such a thing, which made him feel very ashamed!

Then, the topic that made him even more ashamed came.

"Lord Hong, regarding the reception of the Oala envoy, the saint has also made a decision."

As soon as he heard that the business was coming, Lord Hong straightened his expression immediately, "Master Chen, please tell me."

Chen Shangshu said calmly: "Because of Oirat's invasion of the border, our Daxia spent a total of 4000 million taels of military funds. After discussion between the Ministry of Households and the Ministry of Rites, this money should not be borne by our Daxia."

Master Hong: "...So?"

He had a bad feeling.

Then, the next moment, Chen Shangshu turned his premonition into reality.

"Therefore, Wala should compensate our army for the money it took to move out."

Master Hong was not surprised when he heard the word "Hubu".

only……

Eat 4000 million taels?What the people and horses in northern Xinjiang eat is not food, but gold, right?

In this regard, the Oirat envoy had the same question.

"What? 4000 million taels? What your Daxia army eats is not food, but gold?" the Oirat envoy gasped for breath.

——He originally thought that going to Daxia as an envoy would be a good job.All you need is to submit a surrender form, cry and repent, and by the way, put all the blame on the dead former Khan Jerry, and you're done.

Then, he could go back with the treasures of gold, silver, silk and Luo porcelain bestowed by the Great Xia Emperor.

However, it never occurred to me that the emperor of Daxia suddenly became smart, and instead of giving rewards, he asked them to pay money.

This is not unacceptable to the messenger.

Because the law of the jungle has always been prey on the grassland, the big fish eat the small fish, and the small fish eat dried shrimps. Those small tribes have always been the targets of being exploited by the beaten tribes.

There is no shame in offering sacrifices to the strong.

But there must be a limit for the strong to exploit the weak, right?

Even if all the existing cattle and sheep in Wala are sold off, it is still a matter of whether there are 1000 million.

4000 million, why don't they grab it?

No, they are robbing.

In stark contrast to the envoy of Oala, Chen Shangshu, who was drinking tea calmly with the presence of the old god.

"For the 4000 million taels, the odds are still removed. Otherwise, there will be more." Master Chen put down the tea bowl and said indifferently, "If you Wala are not sincere... just right, my Daxia army is still there The border gates have not been withdrawn yet."

The meaning of threat is self-evident.

The Oirat envoy is the new Khan's loyal loyalist, otherwise he wouldn't have gotten such a good job.

He remembered Khan's secret confession before, and knew that what Khan needs most now is the support of the Great Xia court.

Therefore, he took a deep breath and tried his best to calm himself down, "My lords, 4000 million taels is really too much. Moreover, the army dispatched by your country is only 30, how could it be possible to use so much?"

The Oirat envoy didn't know that his showing of weakness made the officials on Daxia's side feel relieved.

——As expected by Mr. Shi, Walasin Khan did not dare to turn against Daxia.

So what else is there to say?

You're welcome, it's made!

Mr. Chen gave Zuo Shilang a wink, and Zuo Shilang jumped up immediately, and said loudly: "Is your envoy looking down on the appetite of my soldiers in the Great Xia? Our soldiers in the Great Xia fight bravely, so naturally, their appetites have greatly increased. Five bowls It’s half full, eight bowls is the standard, and ten bowls is the real man! What’s the point of eating 4000 million taels? That’s still a small change for you.”

The Oirat envoy gritted his teeth, "Oh? Can you call one of your country's soldiers over and let the foreign ministers see how he eats the standard eight bowls of rice."

Zuo Shilang is very single, "Now that the war is over, they will naturally resume their normal appetite."

Oirat Messenger: "..."

——I'm sorry for your ancestors!You don't care about fooling people.

But people are under the eaves and have to bow their heads.

The envoy of Wala took a deep breath again, swallowed back the swearing that almost came out, and only insisted: "There is no 4000 million taels. Let alone 4000 million taels, even 1000 million taels, we can't get it out."

Master Hong looked at it, and thought: Yes, I'm going to play and take it off.

But who knew that Chen Shangshu suddenly asked: "If you can't get 1000 million, what about 500 million?"

The Oirat envoy was overjoyed, feeling that his tactic of crying for poverty had worked, fearing that Daxia would regret it again, he said rightly: "If it is 500 million, we will sweat it out and offer it immediately."

Chen Shangshu made the decision, "Then I will give 500 million this year first, and the remaining installments will be 100 million per year in the future. The profit will be calculated as two points."

Master Hong: "..."

——If you lose, give a capitalized "serve"!

Oirat Messenger: "..."

——I seem to have fallen into a pit, is it an illusion?

The next moment, he suddenly reacted.

"No... 500 million is already our limit. Please also accommodate your country."

Chen Shangshu gave him a strange look, "Isn't it already accommodating?"

Zuo Shilang sneered: "It is the emperor's favor to allow you to install the installment. You dare to bargain. Do you want to meet again? I will accompany you to the end!"

The Oala envoy was discouraged.

But this matter is of great importance and unprecedented, and he dare not make decisions privately.

"For this matter, the foreign minister still needs to report to the Khan, and then give an answer. Please also accommodate your country."

Lord Hong looked at Chen Shangshu, saw him nodding slightly, and said with a smile, "Accommodating is inevitable. After all, my Daxia is a state of etiquette, and a saint is also a king of benevolence. It's just..."

After hearing what Wala said earlier, the envoy of Wala secretly breathed a sigh of relief.But after hearing the word "just", he raised his tone again, "just what?"

"It's nothing." Lord Hong took out a bill, "This is the board and lodging expenses of the envoy during this period, please settle it first. As for the subsequent expenses, we will wait for your Khan to reply before making any plans." Bar."

The Oala envoy who has been eating and drinking, taking the opportunity to enjoy: "..."

——Why didn’t you say something about paying for it in advance?

Master Hong said: Sorry, I just found out that you can still collect money.

He suddenly realized that if he shielded the shred of shame in his heart, the feeling of asking others for money with confidence is not bad.

Anyway, after this impromptu negotiation, which was completely unexpected by the Oirat envoy, ended, the Oirat envoy completely became a pauper with nothing. Worried about board and lodging expenses?

The negotiation at this stage is over, and the Ministry of Rites and the Honglu Temple and others are naturally going to report the progress to the saint.

Therefore, a Shangshu and two ministers from the Ministry of Rites, and a Zhengqing and three Shaoqing from Honglu Temple went to Qianqing Palace together to report the progress of the negotiation and ask about the next step.

I don't know if it's a coincidence or what, Shi Nai and Liao Yu are also there.

Everyone met each other, and Chen Shangshu reported the negotiation process to the saint, and then emphasized the outstanding performance of Zuo Shilang, the Ministry of Rites.

Zuo Shilang, who sang a white face, smiled slightly, "Your Excellency is absurd."

The saint nodded repeatedly when he heard this, and felt that Chen Shangshu was worthy of being the minister of the humerus, and the timing of the fire was just right.As for Zuo Shilang, who was specially named by Chen Shangshu, the sage did not hesitate to reward him, and Zuo Shilang blushed with excitement.

"And Hong Qing is also good. Why didn't I think before that we can't let the Wala people eat and drink for free?"

Master Hong: "..."

--What?Isn't that what you mean?

His eyes widened in disbelief, and he looked at Chen Shangshu accusingly: You cheated me!

Chen Shangshu slightly turned his head to avoid his gaze, and coughed lightly.

As everyone knows, Shi Nai beside him was stunned.

——Scholars are really insidious.I just wanted to triple it, but when I got to him, it doubled ten times!