Chapter 230 A Gift
In a large hall where no one else was.
Envoys from various countries gathered here.
They were called envoys, but in fact they were all former emperors of various countries.
It is true that he abdicated and made way for someone more capable after issuing the edict of repentance, but this does not mean that power would instantly transfer to the hands of the new emperor. It was nothing more than a new person sitting on the throne. But if one wanted to truly control the government, it was not enough to just sit on the throne.
It may be an exaggeration to say that the substance remains the same, but the impact is bound to be not as great as imagined.
Without trusted ministers and ministers who faithfully carry out his orders, a powerful emperor who can influence the interests of all parties in the court is nothing more than a puppet.
It is not easy to be a good emperor.
Emperor Zong Ming, who has always been criticized in this regard, has reached the pinnacle by simply not doing anything.
To a large extent, these people who came to the Xia Dynasty still had extremely critical influence on their country.
"We have done everything he asked and even sent protons. Why won't he even meet us?"
The former emperor of Dai Viet had a look of worry on his face.
As the weakest of the several nations, it was the last one that Gu Dan visited, and it didn't even have the slightest bit of resistance - there were only two Grandmasters left in Dai Viet, and they wanted to fight against those above the Grandmaster? That was too ridiculous.
But precisely because of this, the trip to Dai Yue was the most uneventful. After meeting Gu Dan, the Dai Yue Grandmaster was only hit by one palm from Gu Dan before he decided to give up resistance without hesitation.
As the saying goes, "Misfortunes often bring good fortunes." Since Da Yue is weak enough and has few masters, it suffers the least damage. Even if it needs to divide up a few percent of the national treasury reserves, the amount will be much smaller.
If we consider the losses, Dai Viet is definitely not the worst-hit one.
When it comes to loss of supplies, Daqi is definitely the most unlucky.
As for the Grandmaster's disappointment, Dayong also had something to say.
From this we can see that sometimes being a little weak is not necessarily an acceptable thing.
It was precisely for this reason that he had placed great expectations on this trip to the Xia Dynasty, and was even willing to send one of the few national protectors to the Xia Dynasty, just to ensure that it would not be weaker than the other countries.
His intention was nothing more than to please the person behind the Xia Dynasty. He did not ask for any privileges for Dai Viet, which he still had in mind. He just hoped that the Xia Dynasty would not change what it said when it was founded.
Adhering to the principles of Mohism! This is what he values most.
The ten principles of Mohism cover many aspects, but the one he admires most is the word "non-aggression"! Non-aggression does not mean not to attack, but not to fight without justice.
Although it is not up to them to decide what is righteous and what is unrighteous, with this excuse, it is not good to turn against them and suppress Dai Viet again, right? Dai Viet gained almost nothing from the four countries' invasion of Yue. Instead, the long-term war has greatly increased the burden on Dai Viet. If they can continue to win, it would be nice to divide up Dai Viet's wealth. The problem is that they lost the war in the end. They also had to pay compensation to the Xia Dynasty, which led to a situation where their own internal affairs were almost corrupt.
If there is no time to recuperate, the foxes in Dai Viet will start howling, and maybe a few more stone men can be salvaged from the river.
Faced with this situation, he did not complain about himself. After resigning from the throne, he personally went to the battlefield just to see Gu Dan again. He did not ask for any promises, even if it was just to make himself feel at ease. If he could get some guarantees or unexpected surprises, it would naturally be the best thing.
As a result, when he arrived, he found that the other countries thought the same as he did!
They are all thousand-year-old foxes, so why do they need guidance? Everyone knows very well that as long as that person has not died of old age, or a strong man who can surpass the master level does not emerge in each country, the future era of this world will definitely be the era of the Xia Dynasty! Don’t look at Wang Mang who seems to be a little stretched and even scolded now, but what he lacks is nothing more than some sufficient talents who can manage the four directions!
As long as we wait a few more years and select officials with suitable talents, the entire country will surely be renewed. By that time, if the four countries want to join in the fun, they will be in vain.
The gifts sent by the four countries were quite generous. The former monarch came to visit in person, which was reasonable and respectful. So why didn't he even want to meet him?
This really made people feel uneasy, and the weakest country, Da Yue, was also the most frightened.
Although their territory is small, their conditions are poor! Although they don't have much wealth, their people are poor! Although they are a defeated country, they still sent a master!
Don't look at the face of the monk, look at the face of the Buddha, do you still want Dayue to kneel down and beg? If it works, it's not impossible . "The thoughts and ideas of such people are different from ours. Everything in the mundane world is probably not worth pursuing for them. Don't judge others by yourself."
The former emperor of Dayong was relatively calm, but after witnessing with his own eyes how Gu Dan easily killed Dayong's secret killer, he no longer had any spirit of resistance.
Anyway, it is impossible to correct the other party's attitude through force. In this case, we have no choice but to correct our own attitude.
When you are in a superior position, others need to try every means to guess your attitude. A raised eyebrow or a curled lip can be interpreted in thousands of ways.
But when you are in a lower position, you must change your mindset and try to understand what others mean.
"That's absolutely true!"
The former emperor of Daqing also nodded repeatedly, agreeing with what he said.
When it comes to the previous conflict with Dayue, several countries have to step back a little, as Daqing is the one who offended them the most.
However, the royal family of Daqing was not completely liquidated by Gu Dan. Even the punishment was not much different from that of other countries. It was completely fair. The people of Daqing were not made to live in misery because of the previous hatred.
Judging from his courage and broad-mindedness, the other party is definitely not the kind of person who would kill everyone and their entire family at any time.
He never used force to justify himself, which made people admire him and dare not disobey him.
Benevolence, righteousness, and morality, these four words are easy to say, and everyone can talk about them, but how difficult is it to really practice them? That person did it, so they were very convinced, and whether they were intimidated by force or not, they all showed their greatest sincerity.
If the other party was a person who wanted to kill everyone without mercy, what would have greeted the Xia Dynasty at this time would not have been a carefully prepared gift, but countless armies forced to fight to the death.
Gu Dan did not exhaust all the resources, and they did not fight to the death, which is good for everyone.
"I am a layman."
The former emperor of Dai Viet said helplessly: "It is really impossible to fathom the nature of such a great man."
If you are poor long enough, you will inevitably become a little petty.
Simply put, I understand the truth, can you give me a definite answer? It will also give me peace of mind!
"What's so hard to figure out? You're not familiar with anything above Grandmaster, and you're not familiar with Grandmaster?"
The former Emperor of Dayong shrugged slightly. "Think about what most Grandmasters are like. It's about the same."
After hearing these words, the former emperor of Dai Viet was stunned.
What does a master look like? Of course, there is no need to talk about martial arts.
If they put aside their use of force, what would most masters actually be like?
As emperors who once held great power, the Grandmasters were not unattainable and they knew a lot.
When a person's physical strength reaches the peak of the world and there is no way out for the rest of his life, what else can these people do?
The choice of most masters is to continue to indulge their desires.
For example, taking hundreds or thousands of concubines, playing around in the human world for thirty years, pursuing the elusive innate realm, raising the banner of rebellion in a country that is about to collapse, and creating a doctrine to uphold the morality in one's heart. These are all personal desires. Of course, the nobler ones can also be called ideals.
For many people, it is a tragedy that the road cannot be reached to the end; but when the road has reached the end and there is no way forward, isn’t that also another kind of tragedy?
Even not inferior to the former.
This is what a master who has reached the pinnacle of the secular world is like.
This is also the path that most of the Grandmasters will choose. Most of them are already able to do things based on their hearts. No matter whether it can be accomplished or not, you just say whether you did it or not! In addition, most of the Grandmasters are actually very lonely.
Yes, lonely.
Only when facing people of the same generation or even strong people of the same level can one be in a good mood for conversation.
A lifespan of one hundred and twenty years may not seem like a long time.
But in such an era, how many people can live past 70? For ordinary people, even if they have not faced natural disasters, man-made disasters, wars, and chaos, the extremely heavy labor has already deprived them of their vitality. Living past 40 is considered a long life.
To become a Grandmaster, even if one starts climbing the martial arts path from the beginning, it would take at least thirty or forty years. Mo Qiu, who was known as a natural saint, did not become famous until he was forty years old.
For many grandmasters, it will only be later.
By the time they become masters, there will probably be only a few people of their generation left.
When you reach the peak of your life, and your body is even in a "young" state relative to your lifespan, one thing you must face is seeing the few familiar faces around you gradually grow old.
After they are truly familiar with and adapted to the Grandmaster's strength, how many people will still be able to stay with him? It's not that the Grandmaster is heartless and lonely by choice, but after experiencing this personally, many people started to watch.
If we are not of the same generation, what is the point of dealing with each other?
After a few years or even ten years, the person may no longer be here.
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After experiencing this several times, even a master who was originally quite enthusiastic would gradually lose his enthusiasm, so that he would appear to be aloof and unnoticeable to outsiders.
If a master also needs to be branded with some marks, then apart from strength, loneliness is undoubtedly one of the biggest marks.
"You mean, after all the people familiar to that being pass away, he might not stay in Dayue or the Xia Dynasty?"
The former Emperor of Dayong was somewhat puzzled. "But what does that have to do with us? Can we live to that time?"
Indeed, apart from the fact that Gu Dan is getting old, or there are strong people of the same level in the country who can fight against him, there is another possibility that he will leave on his own.
But before that, he has to wait until all the people he is familiar with have grown old and there is no place worth lingering about.
Let’s not talk about anything else, just say that the current Emperor Xia is just in his early thirties, which is far from being old, and he will definitely live longer than them.
What should we do in the intervening decades? We can’t expect the other party to just wave his hand and leave tomorrow, never to come back, right?
I wouldn't even dare to do this in my dreams! "Don't think too highly of yourself. Is there a possibility that what he meant is that to that being, we are no different from ordinary people? He doesn't pay as much attention to us as you think, so he doesn't need to come out and explain anything to you."
Qi Yinglong, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke, but what he said was not pleasing at all.
Because Gu Dan showed an attitude that he didn't want to be exposed in front of others, people used pronouns when referring to him instead of calling him by his name. Anyway, everyone who could discuss with them knew who they were talking about.
Qi Yinglong, who had been severely taught a lesson by Gu Dan, turned out to be the calmest one.
At least he believed that Gu Dan would not betray his promise, otherwise why would he say those words in the Daqi Palace? "It is enough to manage the country well, promote the Mohist way, make the people live better, and do your own things well. If he doesn't come to us, it means that he has not changed his mind. If he really comes, it may not be a good thing."
Qi Yinglong said so.
"Oh."
The former emperor of Dai Viet also sneered.
Daqi's family is big and powerful, they can withstand the hardships and have enough confidence, but Dayue doesn't have that!
People from different countries cannot work together!
Daqi didn't want to see that person again. The more he missed her, the more he thought about it. Not to mention being spineless, it was acceptable for him to give up his dignity.
The atmosphere was somewhat tense, and the eunuch who stayed outside the main hall shouted loudly: "Emperor Xia has arrived~"
A call finally broke the tense atmosphere.
Several envoys were adjusting their facial expressions. The slightly unhappy atmosphere previously disappeared, and everyone had a smile on their face to varying degrees.
I wouldn't say he's very friendly, but at least he doesn't look like he doesn't want strangers to approach him.
Not long after, Wang Mang's steady footsteps came from afar and he walked into the palace with a package in his hand.
"Are all of you here? That's great."
When he met these people, Wang Mang did not hesitate at all and spoke enthusiastically as if he were very familiar friends.
"May I ask Your Majesty, is there anything I can help you with? If you need anything, there is nothing I cannot help from Dayong."
Before anyone else could say anything, the former Emperor of Dayong spoke first, and his main point was that he was rich and powerful.
A country that has continued from the Grandmaster's disaster to the present day, although it has always been low-key, the wealth within is extremely astonishing, not inferior to Daqi at all, and even better.
If the Xia Dynasty could be appeased by just giving some things in exchange for the stability of Dayong, then I would not feel sorry at all and would even be eager to do so.
"No, no, no."
Upon hearing this, Wang Mang shook his head repeatedly. Instead of nodding in agreement, he said seriously: "When the Xia Dynasty was first established, you have already sent a generous gift on behalf of various countries. The Xia Dynasty claims to be a country of etiquette, so how can we ask for more? As the saying goes, it is impolite not to reciprocate. We cannot let you prepare gifts only for the Xia Dynasty. The Xia Dynasty also has gifts to give, which are not inferior to you!"
"Gift?"
Several former emperors looked at each other.
What kind of gift could the newly established Xia Dynasty have? And they dared to say that it was not inferior to the gift they carefully prepared! Even the supplies were sent by them, and even now there are still a large number of people from various countries in Yuzhou helping to deal with the impact caused by the breach of the Yuan River.
Apart from supplies and manpower, what other gifts could make Emperor Xia so proud, and even dare to say that they are not inferior to theirs?
You can't be prepared to cede a state to a country, right?
I don't dare to take it even if I give it to you! Throwing away the messy thoughts in my mind, several people have made up their minds.
Even if the other party takes out a goose feather, divides it into several petals, and gives them to you, you will definitely nod and say you are satisfied.
This prevents the other party from using other excuses to cause trouble.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Wang Mang lifted the package and gently opened a corner to reveal what was hidden inside.
Inside are pills that are almost milky white in color?
Several people looked at each other.
What era is it still giving away elixirs? We don’t know that Emperor Zong Ming was deceived by alchemists for more than 20 years, right? And looking at the number of elixirs, it’s a bit too much.
Scarcity makes things valuable, which shows that those pills are by no means good things.
Even if you want to be perfunctory, there is no need to use the events of Dayue's previous dynasty to mock us!
Could it be that this method is used to remind us not to think about those messy things, and not to try to seek immortality and surpass the Xia Dynasty?
With different thoughts in mind, several people stood there for a moment.
Then he reacted and praised dryly: "Good stuff, Emperor Xia is thoughtful!"
(End of this chapter)