Chapter 15 Silver Mine

The joy of Bianjing’s great victory lasted until the next day, and then better news came. After receiving reliable political guarantees, the young cabinet minister indeed acted swiftly and decisively. He sent out his officials the next day and firmly rejected the envoy's request to change his residence. The major merchants provided only the best equipment, and the court had done its utmost. What else could you complain about?

The Goryeo envoys were caught off guard and after repeated requests failed, they stayed in the suburbs of the capital and refused to meet the emperor. They also sent their most eloquent subordinate to the Ministry of Rites to cry and complain. In the past, the civil servants of the Ministry of Rites would often make concessions to smaller countries in order to save face for the so-called superior country that was more generous to them than to the superior country. But is the young minister such an easy character to deal with? He sent his confidant to intercept the Goryeo envoy on the way and directly handed him a list - the detailed amount of money made by smuggling in various places since the Goryeo envoy was on the mission.

Goryeo was the so-called "country of Zhu Xi", which upheld the principles of heaven and eliminated human desires, to the point where even the great Confucian scholars of the Ministry of Rites exclaimed that it was too extreme. An envoy from a noble family of the Yangban actually engaged in such a lowly business as smuggling in private. If the news got out, it would be enough to cause his family to be socially dead a hundred times. The envoy, who was originally crying and trying to show weakness, just glanced at the list and immediately fell silent.

It's really a joke. The Goryeo envoys' crude skills of smuggling and bribery, dare they show off in front of Yan Xiaoge Lao, who is born to make money? It is like an ant trying to shake a tree; how ridiculous and overestimating one's own ability. The young minister does not even need to send anyone to conduct a thorough investigation. He can just do a quick calculation of the accounts of the nearby businesses and find out the trousers of the delegation!

How could a subordinate of a small country imagine such a dimensionality reduction attack? The envoys passed the list around and were immediately covered in sweat. They did not dare to show off their skilled crying skills and obediently followed the rules of the young minister.

But the Koreans were submissive, and the Japanese started to make trouble again. These Japanese claimed to be envoys from Japan and came together with Goryeo. Seeing the sudden change in the attitude of the Ministry of Rites, they kept chattering and complaining all the way. Unfortunately, the young cabinet minister didn't know much about Japan, and was in a difficult situation for the time being - he could find out the Japanese's record of making money, but who knew if the other party cared?

At this embarrassing moment, it was Prince Mu who stepped forward and resolved the problem. On the afternoon of the third day, he accompanied the young cabinet minister to meet with foreign envoys. After they introduced their names to each other, he immediately threw a few shiny copper coins in front of the Japanese men in green robes.

The Japanese envoy Kusunoki Nishinin was slightly stunned and asked someone to translate: "What do you mean, Prince?"

"I was also asked to do this." Mu Qi smiled. "Chen Laosi, who sells braised pork biscuits near the posthouse, told me that the envoy has not received the change for the ten kilograms of braised pork he bought last time. He is honest in his business and asked me to return the change to the envoy."

Kusunoki Shinobu's face changed slightly, and he immediately retorted: "I think the prince remembered it wrongly. When have we ever bought meat?"

"Your Excellency is not so forgetful, is he?" Mu Qi said, "Chen Laosi said that it was already evening when Your Excellency bought it, and he accidentally splashed some brine on Your Excellency. This stuff has a special smell and is difficult to wash off. He would rather pay with a set of clothes. Please don't mind, Your Excellency."

As soon as these words were spoken, Kusunoki Shinobu could no longer hold back his sad face as if his parents had died, and his expression immediately changed drastically - Japan was not very keen on Cheng-Zhu school of thought, but was extremely fanatical about Buddhism; everyone from top to bottom was a vegetarian, and they were ashamed of eating meat; if we were to go by real history, the Japanese shogunate would even issue the so-called "Order of Compassion for Living Beings" a few decades later, and the people who killed animals and ate meat would be in danger of being exiled. As a result, within a few years, everyone was in danger and a vegetarian island nation was created.

Although there are no such strict laws now, the trend of following suit has become deeply rooted. If the news that the envoy ate meat got back, it would definitely be a huge political landmine, enough to make the entire delegation drink a pot of hot water.

Seeing Kusunoki's eyes wandering, he hesitated and remained silent. Mu Qi smiled slightly and sat down leisurely. Chen Laosi, who sells braised pork, is a snack master that he carefully searched for after searching all over Beijing for a long time. He spent several days preparing spices, selecting meat, and adjusting the recipe. The broth he cooked is so delicious that even gods can't stand. After hawking his wares around the posthouse for a few times, he finally caught a big fish.

This method can only deal with specific people, and can be regarded as a special attack against Japan. But it is really strange, the two Crouching Dragon and Phoenix Chick near the Central Plains, one is a Confucianist and a crazy person, the other is a Buddhist and a madman; they really take the dregs and discard the essence, they are really bad at nothing they learn, but they learn bad things.

The Japanese were in low spirits and were speechless. They could only sit still and obey. The Prince of Duke Mu and the Junior Minister were only following orders to supervise. Before they understood the emperor's intentions, they could not have too many in-depth conversations with the delegation. They could only greet and chat, be polite to each other, and give gifts to build relationships.

According to the Ministry of Rites' custom, there are many loopholes in the gift-giving process. It is said that a great country has everything. Even if foreign countries only send some local specialties such as furs and folding fans, the great country will definitely give back Shu brocade, famous porcelain, gems, gold and jade, and valuable antiques. The profit can be thousands or even hundreds of times higher by reselling them, which makes the envoys tempted.

Today's procedure was the same as usual. Several envoys laid out some ginseng, dried fish and various wooden carvings they brought from home, and then stared at the two people opposite them eagerly - they heard that the prince of Duke Mu was from a noble family, so he would surely be more generous, right?

Mu Qi smiled calmly, stretched out his hand to high-five, and several clerks came in one after another, each holding a lacquer tray in their hands. On the tray were piled a pile of books, beautifully bound and with crisp paper, it was obvious that they were top-notch stuff.

The prince stood up solemnly, straightened his sleeves slightly, respectfully took a book and showed it to the envoys. On the cover, there were large, glittering gold characters:

The Complete Works of Imperial Qingci

"You all have come from afar, and I cannot repay your deep friendship." The prince said, "All countries are neighbors separated by a narrow strip of water. How can we insult the importance of diplomatic relations with ordinary things? I have thought about it again and again, and I can only return the Qingci written by His Majesty the Most Holy and Most Wise Emperor as a token of my gratitude. Everyone, the Qingci written by His Majesty is subtle and profound, and it is difficult to describe it. It is in line with the great principles of heaven and earth and the universal principles. I hope you will try your best to comprehend it and not let it down."

Dear envoys who have come from afar with deep friendship: …………

There was a moment of silence in the inn, and everyone's expression was blank for a moment. The envoys were caught off guard and didn't know how to react; the young minister was so shocked that he even stopped breathing:

Use the imperial poem as a state gift? It turns out there is this way to lick the emperor!

The young cabinet minister was conceited about his unparalleled talent, and was far ahead of others in the race to lick the emperor. Even Xia Yan, Xu Shaohu and others in the court were so arrogant that they looked down on him. But I didn't expect that in just a simple meeting, I would witness such fierce and experienced tactics!

Master! There is such a master in this world! The continued glory and favor of Duke Mu’s Mansion is indeed well-founded!

When masters meet, they appreciate each other. The young cabinet minister's heart was filled with emotions. For a moment he felt both respect and fear. It was truly difficult to describe. Fortunately, the Prince of Mu was born into a noble family and was not on the same track as them. Otherwise, if the two heroes had fought each other, the Yan Party might not have been as prosperous as it is now.

Prince Mu smiled and said, "What do you think?"

Several envoys moved their lips, but could not utter a word. Do they have to express their true feelings in front of the ministers of the upper country, saying that the stuff written by the old Taoist priest is bullshit and is only worth using for wiping one's butt apart from starting fires?

Some things are not even two ounces if they are not weighed, but they cannot be weighed even a thousand pounds if they are weighed. The envoy held it in for a long time, but in the end he had nothing to say, so he could only stand up and take the imperial poem, and then bow towards Xiyuan to express his gratitude to Master Feixuan for the great kindness of his eighteen generations of ancestors.

After enjoying the envoy's performance, Mu Qi sat down happily and leaned back comfortably on the cushion of the chair. She felt as if all the bad feelings she had accumulated from writing Qing Ci for many years had been released, and her breasts were relieved.

Garbage is indeed a resource placed in the wrong place. He realized this once again.

·

After suffering two setbacks in succession, the envoy dared not say anything more and could only talk about business honestly. Mu Qi knew basically nothing about the cumbersome formalities of submitting documents and conducting audiences. But he insisted on sitting there and listening, and even asked the system to turn on the recording function to record every detail of the confrontation between the two sides.

Given Mu Qi's nature, no matter how depressed he was, he would not haggle with the envoy to such an extent. But the situation is very different now. Judging from the clues in history books, this tribute visit was probably closely related to the sudden outbreak of the Japanese pirate rebellion a few years later. He could not help but be cautious and fearful, and even harsh and sarcastic.

The preliminary meeting lasted an entire afternoon, during which the Ministry of Rites hosted a banquet, and then everyone went back home. As soon as he turned into an alley, Yan Donglou, who was following behind him, rode up on his horse and reminded him quietly:

"Brother Mu, I think there's something wrong with this foreign envoy!"

Mu Qi was stunned for a moment: "Please give me some advice, young master."

"During the free time of the meeting, I chatted with several envoys who could speak Chinese, but the more I talked, the more strange it became." Yan Donglou whispered, "Brother Mu, you don't know that according to the old archives of the Ministry of Rites, both Goryeo and Japan were very poor. Even the dignitaries of those countries had only ordinary food, clothing, housing and transportation. But I looked at these envoys with a cold eye. They were quite particular about food and clothing, which was really inconsistent with the archives."

Mu Qi blinked. Yan Donglou could only judge based on the archives, but he was very clear about the details of the two countries. Of course, we know how barren these two pieces of land were in the agricultural era, but isn't it too arbitrary to use this to identify abnormalities?

"Maybe these envoys were born into wealthy families?" He said tactfully, "Even in the most remote and poor places, there are always a few rich people."

"If they were born rich, that would be normal." The young elder said, "But the behavior of these people clearly shows that they have become rich after being poor for a long time, and they can't hide their rusticity..."

It is said that only after three generations of wealth do people know how to eat and dress; the new money that suddenly comes with wealth can never be compared with the old money with deep foundation in terms of spending. Some knowledgeable people can also vaguely perceive the difference between the two from their behavior. The young cabinet minister was born with a talent for making money, and with a single glance he could see through the true colors of these foreign bastards.

Of course, we can only see a little bit of the basics, and we can't show the young minister's ability. He gave Mu Qi a brief explanation, analyzing the envoys' clothing habits and their taste in tea and wine, and then integrating the popular styles of foreign trade in the Central Plains, he accurately determined the time when these people became rich - at most, they had made their fortunes in the past two or three years, and most of them had become rich for no reason, so they were squandering money without restraint.

Mu Qi was completely impressed by such professional and profound judgment and had no doubts at all. But he was also puzzled:

"Where did such a windfall come from?"

"That's hard to guess." Yan Donglou shook his head: "Humph, these people are so extravagant that even the picks they use to pick their teeth are made of silver. If they continue to be so extravagant in the future, I'm afraid there will be trouble."

It stands to reason that the young cabinet minister has no right to accuse others of being arrogant and extravagant, but when Mu Qi heard the word "silver", his heart was moved. He rode his horse back silently, with so many thoughts in his mind that he even forgot to complain.

·

That night, after True Lord Feixuan, Emperor Qingmiao, and Emperor Wanshou had bathed and changed their clothes, they opened the Heavenly Book as usual, ready to once again peek into the secrets of the military solution, and by the way, eat a big melon that they had dug up from nowhere. But he only saw one line of words:

[Japan should have discovered a huge silver mine]

Master Feixuan:? ? ! ! !