After traversing mountains and valleys, Qin Hui finally arrived at Angkor.
Speaking of Zhenla, like Champa, it not only maintained trade relations with the Song Dynasty, but also received investiture from the kings of both countries during the reign of Emperor Huizong of Song.
However, Jiaozhi became increasingly arrogant, always considering itself "Little China" and wanting to unify the southwest, and successively launched military campaigns against both countries.
While dealing with Champa, Zhenla also had to contend with Jiaozhi. So they simply negotiated peace with Jiaozhi, allowing Jiaozhi to teach Champa a lesson. Everyone then behaved themselves and readily acknowledged Jiaozhi as the dominant power.
As for the biggest boss in the Song Dynasty, the emperor is far away, so let's make the boss in front of us happy first.
After Qin Hui arrived in Angkor, he did not rush to meet the King of Zhenla. Instead, he concealed his identity and found a way to meet the third prince of Zhenla.
Along the way, Qin Hui bribed merchants and nobles in Zhenla to learn about the current situation in Zhenla.
The second prince was designated as the heir to the throne, but the third prince was the most popular prince among the kingdom's ministers.
In order to consolidate his position, the second prince urged the king to negotiate peace with Jiaozhi during the war, and personally went to Jiaozhi to sign a peace treaty, which greatly reduced the pressure on the northern border of Zhenla.
The fact that Zhenla sent troops to enter Song China together with Jiaozhi was also at the behest of the second prince.
The third prince was against it. He believed that the Song Dynasty was the Heavenly Dynasty of China, with its national strength at its peak and its emperor ruling the four seas. Sending troops into the Song Dynasty would be tantamount to making an enemy of the Heavenly Dynasty.
But the second prince meant that the Celestial Empire was far away and beyond reach, while Jiaozhi was very close.
Because of years of war, Zhenla was already very weak. At this time, it was imperative to end the war with Jiaozhi and use Jiaozhi's strength to quell the war between Champa and Zhenla.
The second prince's political views eventually gained the king's support, and for a time, the second prince was at the height of his power.
However, the situation has changed recently.
When news of the outcome of the war between Jiaozhi and Song reached Zhenla, the king and his ministers were all shocked.
The King of Zhenla was constantly worried that the Emperor of Song would be furious and mobilize a million heavenly soldiers to march south and crush Zhenla!
Fortunately, there was Jiaozhi to the north to block the way, otherwise the King of Zhenla would probably have had to pack up his clothes and flee to Srivijaya for refuge.
Due to the fluctuations in the war situation in the north, the power of the third prince in the Zhenla court has recently begun to rise again.
When Qin Hui met the Third Prince, the Third Prince, who was enjoying himself with a beautiful woman, dismissed everyone around him.
Although he did not yet know Qin Hui's true identity, the Third Prince was very interested in the Song people. He longed to go to Bianjing, the capital of the Song Dynasty, and experience the splendor of the Celestial Empire.
When Qin Hui revealed his identity, the third prince almost knelt down, as if he had seen his own father after a long separation.
After Qin Hui obtained more detailed information about Zhenla from the third prince, he decisively ordered the third prince to take him to see the king.
As a vassal state of the Song Dynasty, the King of Zhenla was required to perform a grand ceremony upon meeting Qin Hui.
Qin Hui immediately informed the King of Zhenla. The Holy Emperor was furious when he learned that Zhenla had assisted Jiaozhi in sending troops and sent an envoy to question him.
Like the king of Champa, the king of Zhenla said that he had no choice but to do so.
Qin Hui launched another round of reprimands and suppressions, then began to demonstrate the benevolence of the Holy Emperor, saying that he could not bear to see the southern kingdoms being bullied by Jiaozhi, and that he wanted to send a large army south to punish the traitors, uphold the Holy Way, and bring peace and prosperity to the south.
He then added that after upholding the righteous path, the Holy Emperor wished to strengthen trade relations with Zhenla (Cambodia), and the tariffs on Zhenla goods entering the Song Dynasty would be reduced to half of the original amount.
King Chenla was overjoyed.
Every year, the nobles of Zhenla would buy a lot of silk and ceramics from the Song Dynasty, but at the same time they would also transport goods to the Song Dynasty to sell.
If the Song Dynasty had indeed halved its tariffs on Zhenla, the royal family could have saved a large sum of money.
After Qin Hui met and discussed the matter with the king, he was not able to immediately change the king's mind. However, the third prince and a group of ministers began to whisper in the king's ear.
In fact, Zhao Huan never said he wanted to reduce tariffs; it was Qin Hui who was just trying to fool him.
It's the same principle as Zhang Yi deceiving King Huai of Chu during the Warring States period: deceive him first and deal with the consequences later. Anyway, the emperor hasn't said anything, so you, Qin Hui, won't be able to find me by then.
Moreover, if you, Zhenla, dare to aid the Jiaozhi rebels, once the court orders Jiaozhi to be pacified, Zhenla will be next!
Even ghosts will halve your tariffs!
The next morning, Qin Hui enjoyed the local delicacies before being ambushed and nearly killed by a poisoned arrow.
Fortunately, Qin Hui had a powerful army protecting him, which enraged him.
When Qin Hui met the King of Zhenla again that day, he immediately flew into a rage, accusing the King of Zhenla of being untrustworthy and plotting to murder the envoy from the Celestial Empire!
The King of Zhenla was immediately terrified and quickly apologized.
They then sent people to investigate, and after the investigation, they finally found out it was the second prince.
This enraged the King of Zhenla!
You unfilial son! How dare you! You even attempt to murder an envoy from the Celestial Empire!
I have already made a grave mistake by following your advice to negotiate peace with Jiaozhi. If the envoy of the Celestial Empire dies in Zhenla, it will truly be a threat to the destruction of our nation.
Perhaps the King of Zhenla did not believe it before, but in the battle between the Song Dynasty and Jiaozhi, Jiaozhi's 100,000-strong army was completely annihilated by 10,000 Song soldiers. Zhenla was in danger of losing its country when facing Jiaozhi's 100,000-strong army.
Therefore, a Song army of 10,000 men could have easily defeated and destroyed the Zhenla Kingdom.
He had heard that the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty possessed the wealth of the four seas, commanded a million soldiers, and had more famous generals than the clouds in the sky.
At this moment, the third prince and his ministers, who were trying to incite trouble in front of the king, began to stir things up again.
As a result, the second prince was deposed and demoted to a commoner!
Qin Hui's trip to Zhenla was made much smoother by Yue Fei's formidable martial prowess.
In June, the summer breeze blows through the dense forest, across the Bian River, and makes the leaves of the trees along the roads of Tokyo sway gently.
Zhao Huan was sitting by Qinghu Lake, eating watermelon and drinking chilled beverages.
Wang Kuian then presented the memorials from Qin Hui and Zhang Jun. Upon learning that Champa and Zhenla had agreed to send troops to attack Jiaozhi, Zhao Huan felt even more reassured.
The pace of Jiaozhi's conquests accelerated once again.
Once Jiaozhi is pacified, a large amount of grain can be transported from there immediately, and the price of grain in Tokyo and various southern prefectures will decrease to some extent.
Thinking of this, Zhao Huan, who had been anxious, felt all his anxiety disappear.
I couldn't help but eat a few more bites of watermelon and drink a few more cups of cold drinks.
But the news brought back by Liu Yanzong and Xie Dahai caused the emperor to become anxious again.
More than a month ago, Xie Dahai mobilized a large number of Imperial City Guards to suppress the Yinyuan Society rebels hiding in Tokyo.
Under the Imperial City Guard's relentless crackdown, nearly half of the Hidden Gen Society's members in Tokyo were eliminated.
But the remnants went into hiding, very well hidden.
According to Liu Yanzong's report, the newly appointed Vice Minister of War, Zhang Kai, hanged himself in his residence, leaving behind a suicide note in which he confessed to embezzling military funds.
Most importantly, there was a black flame symbol in the lower left corner of the suicide note.
This is the mark of the Hidden Origin Society!
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