Zhang Wuji said: "Why should I receive him? I am an emperor after all. How can I receive a foreign minister? I should send some senior civil and military officials to the Daming Hall and call the queen. This is the highest courtesy I can give him."
Zhou Zhiruo smiled and said, "That's right, Liu Bowen is just an outsider, so let Liu Bowen come to the palace to see the emperor."
…
A quarter of an hour later, more than a dozen people arrived at the Daming Hall, led by a gentle and elegant man.
This person is the leader of all the literati in the world, Liu Bowen.
Seeing that there were twenty or thirty civil and military officials in the Daming Hall, all of them high-ranking officials, Liu Bowen felt relieved that Zhang Wuji also knew the etiquette.
When he came to a place not far in front of Zhang Wuji, he bowed hastily but did not kneel. After all, he still had the pride of a scholar.
"Foreign minister Liu Bowen meets the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty."
Since the other person greeted him with a smile, Zhang Wuji naturally couldn't put on a stern face at this moment.
He stood up from the dragon throne and said, "You are too polite, sir. I, Zhang Wuji, was just a cult leader a few years ago. The terms "Your Majesty" and "No Majesty" were just words for outsiders to hear."
"I have a very close relationship with your family's Chongba. In the past, we could be considered a family. Now that you have come to my Ming Dynasty, it's like coming home."
When Liu Bowen heard this, his face suddenly turned ugly.
[Zhongba, these two words, looking at the whole Jiangnan, whoever dares to say them out loud, will be beheaded].
In the Daming Palace, the civil and military officials under Zhang Wuji were naturally trying hard to suppress their laughter.
Although Liu Bowen was angry, he didn't want to show it at this time. After all, Zhang Wuji had humiliated his emperor. If he didn't fight back, and it got out in the future, he would not be able to live with Zhu Yuanzhang anymore.
Therefore, Liu Bowen changed his mind and said, "Your Majesty, my majesty heard that you have just unified the north, and that Zhao Min only relied on her body and beauty to save her life from your hands."
"My Majesty knows that Zhao Min's cultivation is very high and is no less than any other man. My Majesty is afraid that you can't withstand it, so he sent you two of the best Tianshan Snow Lotuses."
"This thing nourishes yin and replenishes yang, and is especially effective for men. It's just a small gift, not a token of respect. I hope Your Majesty will accept it."
After hearing this, all the civil and military officials under Zhang Wuji's command changed their expressions drastically.
Even Zhao Linger and Zhou Zhiruo were extremely angry.
However, no matter how angry the people present were, Zhang Wuji's face remained calm.
He just turned around and glanced at Zhou Zhiruo.
Her eyes were filled with confusion and bewilderment, as if to say, "Zhiruo, what do you mean? You're the only one who knew about what happened between Zhao Min and me, and now it's spread all over Jiangnan. What do you mean? Don't you care about your man's innocence?"
Zhou Zhiruo was also shocked after seeing this look, but before she could explain anything, Zhang Wuji retorted to Liu Bowen: "Mr. Bowen, you really can make decisions from thousands of miles away. I thought I was very secretive about this kind of thing. What happened between Zhao Min and me happened in a dark and windy place, where there was no sky or earth. I'm also wondering how you knew it."
"But it doesn't matter. If it gets out, let it get out. I'm a man and I don't care. At night, I will eat these two Tianshan snow lotuses and then fight Zhao Min for three hundred rounds."
"But this time, when Mr. Bowen goes back, please help me bring some gifts to Chongba."
"In our northern part of China, we only harvest one crop of rice a year. It has absorbed all the essence of heaven and earth. After all, Chongba had experience working in the Beggar Gang in his early years, so he must have experienced the feeling of not having enough to eat."
"When you go back, be sure to bring a bag of rice for Zhuge Liang. In such troubled times, having enough food is the most important thing. Zhao Min has been defeated, and who knows who will be the next."
When Liu Bowen heard this, his face turned pale.
…
This meeting with Zhang Wuji was very different from the last time.
The last time Liu Bowen met Zhang Wuji, he could at least see some elegance in Zhang Wuji. But this time, it was not elegance at all, he was simply vile, so vile that it was unreasonable.
Liu Bowen naturally has endless wisdom when dealing with scholars and people who play by the rules. However, if Zhang Wuji continues to be so shameless, Liu Bowen will be at his wit's end.
Therefore, after thinking for a while, Liu Bowen said to Zhang Wuji: "I appreciate your kindness, Your Majesty. I will definitely bring your rice back."
"If you could ever meet His Majesty, and eat a few mouthfuls of the rice you gifted me, it would be a beautiful story in the world."
"However, this time, I, a foreign minister, have come to congratulate Your Majesty on unifying the north. Yuan Ting has lasted for a hundred years and has destroyed all the people in the world. Your contributions to our Han people are enough to be recorded in history."
…
The first half of Liu Bowen's words was still mocking Zhang Wuji, but the second half came from his heart.
Even at this moment, Zhang Wuji, who pretended to be cynical, still heard some sincerity.
Zhang Wuji said seriously: "Sir, you are too polite. Yuan Ting was indeed destroyed by me."
"But in the final analysis, it is all the credit of the people of the world. In my early years, I, Zhang Wuji, was really just a cult leader. If I had relied on myself alone, I would have been crushed to ashes long ago."
"Sir, you just mentioned the four words 'recorded in history', but in my opinion, I should not be the only one who should be recorded in history."
"There is also Zhu Yuanzhang, Zhang Shicheng, Chen Youliang, Guo Zixing and others, whether dead or alive, each of these people is a great hero. If it weren't for these people who went forward one after another and beat the Yuan court half to death, how could I, Zhang Wuji, have taken such a big advantage? If you ask me, the people whose names I just mentioned, as well as the many people whose names were not mentioned, should all be recorded in the history books. The tyrannical Mongols were not overthrown by me alone, but by people with lofty ideals all over the world."
…
Zhang Wuji's words were shocking, and Liu Bowen, the entourage behind him, and the Ming civil and military officials present were all shocked.
Liu Bowen sighed: "Your Majesty is righteous and takes credit for his achievements without being arrogant. You are indeed a leader in the world. It is only natural that you have achieved what you have today."
Zhang Wuji laughed heartily: "That's right. Those who overthrew the Mongols were originally people of the world. Even you, Mr. Bowen, and the civil and military officials around your Majesty, as well as the civil and military officials who followed me, all had a share of the credit."
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