Chapter 537 [Second Update] 537
Liu Tan spoke very politely. Although his previous behavior had nothing to do with politeness, he really didn't want to break off relations with Jiaozhi. A peaceful evolution would be the best. After all, war really costs money, and crossing mountains and rivers is also troublesome.
However, he was polite, but the interpreter was confused. There was no word "拘縻" in the language of Jiaozhi.
How does he translate this?
The interpreter was stuck for a long time, and finally said humbly, "Your Highness, the King of the Northern Territory, how about... first, could you explain to me what "binding" means?"
Then he just needs to translate the meaning directly, using the original pronunciation of the two words "拘縻".
Liu Tan suddenly realized that he had not really thought about the translation problem. However, an interpreter was not worth his explanation.
Fortunately, Miao Rui was with him, otherwise the interpreter he brought with him might not have understood what a vassal state and a vassal county meant.
Miao Rui knew all of this very well as he was with Liu Tan, but he usually kept a low profile and didn't speak easily.
At this time, he began to explain the meaning of "借縻". Simply put, Jiaozhi State was still under the jurisdiction of the King of Jiaozhi, but it had to pay taxes every year, and the Han Dynasty had to send troops to station there, etc.
Liu Tan was not as tolerant towards Lu Xuan when he faced Jiaozhi Kingdom.
Of course, it was related to feelings, but not so much. The main reason was that Lu Xuan himself wanted to return to Han. For someone who took the initiative to surrender, even Liu Che would be more tolerant of him, otherwise those conditions would not be agreed to.
It was to make Lu Xuan a banner for other small countries in the Western Regions to follow.
But now it seems that the demonstration effect is no longer necessary.
The two largest of those small countries in the Western Regions are now under the control of the Han Dynasty. The remaining countries have either been conquered or restrained. At least the Han Dynasty's window to the outside world is in its own hands.
Now Liu Tan needs to open another window to the outside world.
However, the Western Regions' window to the outside world is for trade, and this window to the outside world is to transport resources from other places to the Han Dynasty, so Jiaozhi State must be firmly controlled in one's own hands.
The plan he gave to the King of Jiaozhi was basically to provide honor and support to the Jiaozhi royal family, while handing over the political power, including military power, to the Han Dynasty.
Of course, only the Jiaozhi royal family was honored, and other Jiaozhi officials were still able to participate in political affairs.
If all the Jiaozhi people were to be expelled, the first thing to do would probably be to defeat them first, but Liu Tan didn't want to do it himself, so naturally he had to think of other things, such as... dividing them.
The Jiaozhi royal family sounds like they are being honored, but in reality, they are no different from being treated as mascots. So how to divide the power territory vacant after the royal family leaves is very important. Don’t those Jiaozhi ministers want to make further progress for their families?
Beautiful qualities like unity, national honor, and loyalty were only possessed by the Han Dynasty in this era. Nomadic peoples built their cohesion through faith and slavery, and the Jiaozhi Kingdom was similar.
Therefore, the lower the people are, the more pious they are, and the higher the people are, the more likely they are to turn against each other at any time, because they only care about their own interests. As for this country... as long as their family can move up a level, what does the country have to do with them?
Liu Tan was a little regretful at this time for not bringing people out, but after thinking about it, he realized that even if he wanted to bring people out, he couldn't. If he left, the workload of others would double. If he took a few more people away, Huo Guang would probably be furious.
The King of Jiaozhi's expression suddenly changed after hearing this. He immediately and coldly refused: "I admire the ambition of the Han Kingdom, but this vassal county... Jiaozhi will never be a good place."
The King of Jiaozhi said these words with great courage. At the same time, he had signaled to the attendants around him, asking them to be ready to call the guards to come in for protection at any time.
However, he didn't expect that the Northern King didn't get angry after hearing this. Instead, he smiled good-naturedly and said, "This matter is of great importance. Your Majesty, please think it over carefully. The purpose of my visit has been achieved. I will take my leave now."
After saying this, he walked away in a very casual manner. The King of Jiaozhi looked at him in astonishment, and for a moment he was a little bit confused. Just like that? No more explosions?
After Liu Tan left, he thought for a moment and said, "Let's go find the prince."
Miao Rui and others certainly would not object, but the interpreter was driven back by them. After leaving Liu Tan, the interpreter turned around and went to another place - the bedroom where Liu Fuling was.
When he arrived there, Liu Fuling was talking to the Queen Mother of Qi. When he heard that the interpreter had arrived, he quickly asked him in and asked, "How is it? What did Liu Tan do?"
After the interpreter recounted the incident, even Liu Fuling was a little surprised: "That's not right? He...he didn't do anything else?"
The interpreter shook his head and said, "No, the King of Jiaozhi rejected him, so he left. Now he should be going to see His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
Liu Fuling was surprised. He and the Queen Mother of Qi looked at each other and both felt that this was not in line with Liu Tan's personality.
He couldn't help but ask, "Could it be that Liu Tan felt he couldn't handle it and so went to the Crown Prince for help?"
After saying this, he laughed himself.
As the saying goes, the enemy is the one who knows you best. Liu Fuling did know Liu Tan quite well. At least he knew that the other party would not retreat so easily.
The Queen Mother of Qi took the opportunity to say, "In any case, he has gained nothing from negotiating with the King of Jiaozhi. Why don't you go and ask His Majesty to take the job back?"
Liu Fuling slowly shook his head: "No, he must have some tricks up his sleeve. It would be useless for me to go now. Father didn't let him take charge of this matter right away."
Liu Fuling had been talking for several days without any progress, so Emperor Wu of Han handed the matter over to Liu Tan.
After he figured things out, he realized that many things were not under his control. Liu Tan was not the Liu Tan he was six years ago, and Liu Che was not the Liu Che he was six years ago. The same was true for him.
What he needs to do most now is not to move, but to be still. Getting through this stage honestly is better than anything else.
The Queen Mother of Qi was a little anxious and said a lot to Liu Fuling. Liu Fuling had to start dealing with his mother.
After stepping out of his previous circle, he realized that his mother might really have a way of fighting in the harem, but this way could not be used in the previous dynasty. Using that way to become a prince and consolidate his position would only make people laugh.
He suddenly understood what Liu Tan had meant when he said that it was not a good thing for him to be good at women's hands.
But fortunately, he still has a chance. If he really waits until he is over fifty to understand it, it will be too late.
However, although he understood it, the Queen Mother of Qi still seemed not to understand. In the end, Liu Fuling had to perfunctorily make the Queen Mother of Qi believe that he would go to Liu to discuss the trouble, while he himself would not step forward no matter what.
Liu Tan didn't care what Liu Fuling thought at all. All he wanted now was to deal with the King of Jiaozhi and return to Chang'an as soon as possible.
The first thing he said after finding Liu Ju was: "Brother, lend me a few of your men. I want them to be good at speaking."
Liu Ju asked in surprise, "Why? The King of Jiaozhi still refuses to give in?"
Liu Tan sat down and said, "I'm thinking about it, but I think he's a little slow, so I want to help him."
Liu Ju immediately became interested: "What do you want to do?"
Liu Tan also came over and said, "The King of Jiaozhi seems to have quite a few sons, and they're not young anymore. From what I understand, he has the support of the major families behind him, right?"
After hearing this, Liu Ju scoffed, "A bunch of rabble are worthy of being called a big family?"
Liu Tan waved his hand and said, "It doesn't matter. As long as the locals think we are a big family, that's fine."
Liu Ju nodded: "That's right, the King of Jiaozhi has six sons over 20 years old and ten over 15 years old, but he still hasn't appointed a crown prince. Are you thinking..."
Liu Tan said: "Give them a hand. After all, we will support whoever cooperates with us."
Liu Ju asked, "How can I help?"
Liu Tan looked down at his hands and said, "Any help is fine. We can provide money, people, and even weapons."
Liu Ju chuckled: "You are going to make Jiaozhi restless."
Liu Tan said, "The King of Jiaozhi is old and decadent. It's boring. Let's replace him with a new one."
Liu Que said, "Don't worry about this matter. Just negotiate the terms of the Jiemi County with them when the time comes. Leave the rest to me."
Liu Tan looked up at Liu Ju and knew that Liu Ju was protecting him. As a vassal king, he had been interfering in other countries' internal affairs for too long. Even with Liu Che's approval, Liu Che asked him to negotiate with Jiaozhi, not to change the king of Jiaozhi.
He had already learned not to be polite with Liu Ju and said simply, "Okay."
Since Liu Ju wanted to take care of this matter, Liu Tan didn't ask him what he wanted to do and turned away.
However, just as he returned to his courtyard, he saw Bigao coming up to him and saying, "Your Highness, a slave just came over with a message saying that someone wants to see Your Highness."
Liu Tan asked, "Who is it?"
Bi Gao said a word with some difficulty, which was the local dialect. Liu Tan immediately understood that he was an official from Jiaozhi State. The official title translated into Chinese was equivalent to the Prime Minister of the Han Dynasty.
Liu Tan was in no hurry to ask anyone to reply. He just went in and sat down and opened the document that Liu Che had sent over before. It contained information about some important officials of Jiaozhi State.
Among them, the information about the Prime Minister of Jiaozhi is relatively detailed. He is the cousin of the current King of Jiaozhi, the brother of the deposed queen and the current queen, and the uncle of the eldest prince and the ninth prince. This family is like the Xiao family of the Liao Dynasty. They are generations of descendants. The queen of Jiaozhi can only come from this family. Even if one is deposed, another woman from this family must be married to be the queen.
It can be said that this family is basically tied together with the Jiaozhi royal family, and they prosper and suffer together. I just don’t know... what does he want from me?
Liu Tan thought about it again and again before looking up and saying, "Go give him a copy and ask him to meet you tonight."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
