Chapter 539 [First Update] 539
Liu Ju seemed to understand Liu Tan's meaning: "Are you saying... Jiaozhi is going to cause chaos?"
Liu Tan said, "The Prime Minister of Jiaozhi came to see me today on behalf of their Ninth Prince."
"Ninth Prince?" Liu Ju's expression was somewhat puzzled. "The Ninth Prince of Jiaozhi...isn't he only ten years old?"
Liu Tan replied, "Yes, he is only ten years old. His eldest brother is also the nephew of the Prime Minister of Jiaozhi and is already twenty-three years old. But the Prime Minister chose the Ninth Prince."
Liu Che had been quiet just now, but now he said, "It seems... they want to change the dynasty."
Liu Ju was slightly stunned: "Change of dynasty?"
He originally thought that the Prime Minister of Jiaozhi wanted to push a puppet to power, but he didn't expect that the other party actually wanted to change the dynasty?
Liu Tan said, "I think so too. Most people push puppets to gain more power, but the Jiaozhi Prime Minister, as a member of a royal family, already has great power. If he wants to go further, what else can he do?"
Liu Ju had always believed in this. He frowned and asked, "Does the King of Jiaozhi know about this?"
Liu Tan thought for a moment and said, "Maybe he doesn't know yet, otherwise his attitude wouldn't be like that. Of course, whether he knows now depends on whether the Prime Minister is sincere."
Liu Ju shook his head and said, "I don't think the Prime Minister is a good partner."
Liu Tan turned to look at him and asked, "Why? Isn't it a good opportunity to take advantage of him if he wants something?"
Liu Que said, "He's different from the King of Jiaozhi. He has rebellious intentions, which proves that this person is definitely ambitious. We want to control Jiaozhi, or at least control Jiaozhi's ports. Will he be willing to let the Han control him forever? Will he just agree on the surface, and then turn against us once he is in power?"
Liu Tan asked, "Then the King of Jiaozhi wouldn't do that?"
Liu Chuan said, "Perhaps, but with the Prime Minister's threat, he won't. Why is the Prime Minister so sure of supporting the Ninth Prince's ascension to the throne? Isn't it because he already controls most of the power in the court? If the King of Jiaozhi wants to turn the tables, he will have to deal with all these people. By then, Jiaozhi will be severely weakened and unable to resist our conditions."
Liu Tan listened and thought it made sense. He asked, "So... are you going to help the King of Jiaozhi?"
Liu Che had been listening to his two sons' discussion. No, to be more precise, he was listening to his eldest son's teaching of his younger son. But now he said, "No, look at the eldest prince."
Liu Ju and Liu Tan both looked at him, but Liu Che did not explain why he said that. He simply waved his hand and said, "Okay, go back and rest early. Ju'er, give the order to set off in five days."
Some things can be taught step by step, but some things cannot. Teaching everything step by step will only ruin the child. His sons need to have their own independent thoughts. Unless there are big things, Liu Che will choose to let them do it themselves and will not even give this reminder.
Liu Ju was already used to his father's teaching method, so he stood up and said, "Your son will take his leave."
Liu Tan was still thinking, but upon hearing his words, he quickly stood up and said, "I'll take my leave."
After saying that, he followed Liu Ju out.
After he left, before he could say anything, he saw Liu Ju suddenly stop and turn to look at Liu Tan. He reached out and touched his head and said, "If you don't like these, then don't worry about them."
Liu Tan understood what Liu Ju meant. He was indeed not naturally good at these things. He had heard of the stories of forming alliances but was not very good at applying them flexibly. Therefore, his methods had always been simple and crude. He would either scare the other party to the point of not daring to resist, or replace them with someone who could cooperate.
The situation in Jiaozhi might be a bit complicated, so his method is not the best.
Liu Tan thought for a moment and said, "It's nothing. We need to finish it right from the beginning. If we can solve it within five days, we'll solve it. If we can't, we can let Father choose someone."
He never worried about what would happen if he messed up, especially now it wasn't really a mess.
Liu Ju looked at him carefully for a long while, and only after confirming that Liu Tan was not competing with him did he say with confidence, "Okay."
In fact, Liu Tan knew very well that five days would only be enough to reach a preliminary agreement.
But Liu Che would never let him stay in Jiaozhi, so Liu Tan only needed to set the tone for this matter.
After Liu Tan returned, he thought carefully about what Liu Ju and Liu Che said. He felt that they were all right, but... he didn't intend to do that.
This is too complicated and can easily put pressure on the person who takes over.
But his father was right, he could get in touch with the eldest prince.
You can't be too proactive in contacting the eldest prince. Liu Tan only needs to look at the eldest prince a few more times when meeting the King of Jiaozhi.
I have to say that the eldest prince is really a filial son, at least he shows great filial piety.
He also keenly felt the scrutiny of His Royal Highness the King of the Northern Territory, and his expression changed for a moment.
Liu Tan originally wanted to leave a clue, but when he saw his expression became very stiff and a little frightened, he was very puzzled. What did this mean?
The King of Jiaozhi seemed to be afraid of something as well. He looked at Liu Tan and gritted his teeth and said, "I understand what Your Highness said before. Everything else can be discussed, but the issue of stationing troops..."
Liu Tan came back to his senses and looked at him and said, "Then I can also say that everything else can be discussed, but this one must be there. Otherwise... who knows what the port will look like?"
The Jiaozhi King showed some hesitation, so Liu Tan continued, "Actually, you can also choose a place as a base for Han officials and troops. That place will be under the direct jurisdiction of the Han Dynasty, and the rest of the country will be under your own political control. This is the biggest concession I can make."
After Liu Tan finished speaking, he felt that this method seemed familiar. After thinking about it, he suddenly realized - isn't this the concession?
In later generations, the concessions of the flower-growing families were also located near the ports.
And now he is probably even more of a bandit, not even wanting to pay the rent, and even wanting to interfere in other people's military and political affairs.
But this is how the world is, where the strong prey on the weak. The only thing he can do is to accumulate some capital for this nation or the country on this land.
When the King of Jiaozhi heard this, he thought it was not a bad idea. The main reason was that it was better to let the Han Dynasty control a place than to hand over the entire Jiaozhi Kingdom to them, right?
The King of Jiaozhi had already planned to demarcate the area near the port. After all, they only wanted Hepu Port. Although Xuwen Port had been bombed, the foundation was still there and they could build a new port.
After Liu Tan reached a preliminary agreement with the King of Jiaozhi, he suddenly said, "Over at Xuwen Port..."
The King of Jiaozhi was thinking about them and Xuwen Port when he heard this, and he suddenly became nervous.
The eldest prince was very disappointed, thinking that the other party not only wanted Hepu Port, but also Xuwen Port.
Then he heard the terrifying King of the North say, "Don't be nervous. I just want to say that rebuilding Xuwen Port might be difficult. We have experience in this area. If you don't mind, we can help build the port. Of course, there are conditions."
The King of Jiaozhi asked in a deep voice, "I wonder what His Royal Highness the King of the North's conditions are?"
Liu Tan said, "I haven't thought about this yet. Let's talk about it after I think it over."
He just had a sudden idea, remembering that in the future, flower growers would help others build infrastructure in exchange for various things, but Liu Tan thought about it and seemed that there was nothing he wanted to exchange for the time being, so he put it aside for the time being.
But the King of Jiaozhi was tempted. He knew that the Han port should be better than Jiaozhi just by looking at the tall ship of the Han Dynasty. After all, the port of Jiaozhi could not allow the ship to dock. At the beginning, whether getting on or off the ship, Liu Tan and his men had to sit in a small boat and lift it up and down.
He found that His Royal Highness the King of the North was really a pain in the ass. It was frustrating when he made conditions, and it was also frustrating when he didn't make conditions!
After a few polite words, Liu Tan left, preparing to go back and think carefully about what he would exchange for the construction of the port.
It does not seem to be a good idea to blindly show off your strength and fight violently. The harder you suppress them now, the harder the opponent will rebound when the big man's strength is not so strong in the future. So you can show off your muscles at the beginning, and then talk slowly. It is best to assimilate the opponent in the future.
The city specially allocated to the Han Dynasty is used for this purpose. The city built by the Han Dynasty is definitely stronger than that of Jiaozhi. By using some benefits to lure people from other Jiaozhi countries, one day this place will become something comparable to the royal city. Even the royal family will have to look at the Han Dynasty's face if they want to do something.
Well, peaceful evolution, peaceful evolution.
Liu Tan left in a cool manner, but the king and the eldest prince of Jiaozhi were a little embarrassed.
The father and son exchanged a glance, and the Jiaozhi King suddenly sighed and said, "His Royal Highness the King of the North seems to admire you very much."
The eldest prince said with a very grim expression, "Father."
His father didn't even look at him. He simply said, "Go ahead. If you can convince His Royal Highness the King of the Northern Territory to build Xuwen Harbor and lower the conditions, I will make you the Crown Prince."
The eldest prince said softly, "Father, this matter can still be discussed."
"But they're leaving in four days at most. You know how difficult it is to get the Northern King to give in within four days."
The eldest prince was silent for a while before he said, "I understand, son."
After he finished speaking, he retreated quietly. The King of Jiaozhi looked at his back and suddenly sighed. His back, which had just straightened, also hunched over, as if he had aged ten years in an instant.
After Liu Tan returned, he thought about what to exchange with Jiaozhi. His first thought was to exchange for the Wuzhu coins that could be used in Jiaozhi transactions.
But after thinking about it, it seems that it is not necessary. As long as the port city is built, Jiaozhi will naturally be able to recognize Wuzhu coins in the future.
As for the rest... we have to think carefully about it. We can't just help for free, and the construction of a port obviously cannot be exchanged for political power.
Of course, before that, he needs to talk to the prime minister again. In any case, no matter who comes to power, he must ensure that this city can be built.
However, since it was too late, he decided to wait until tomorrow. Suddenly, he heard that the eldest prince of Jiaozhi wanted to see him.
Liu Tan felt a little strange, but he still let the eldest prince in. He wanted to see what the other party wanted to do.
The eldest prince arrived wearing a cloak, which made Liu Tan frown. In Jiaozhi's current weather, wasn't he afraid of getting a heat stroke? Or was he hiding from something? What secrets did he have in mind when he came to see him?
Just when Liu Tan was thinking about this, he saw the eldest prince taking off his cloak. Liu Tan's expression suddenly became very strange. The other party's clothes were too cool. Basically, they were just some accessories made of gems covering the important parts.
The eldest prince glanced at Liu Tan, then walked slowly over and knelt down beside Liu Tan, revealing his smooth back and uncovered buttocks.
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