The officials looked at the two foreign envoys, who were embarrassed by the King's wit, and their faces flushed, and they couldn't help but burst into laughter. At the same time, everyone deeply admired the King's wit. He was only three or four years old, but his reaction was so fast. They couldn't help but feel fond of the King.
Even Changsun Wuji, who was very secretive and had no expression on his face, couldn't help but shake his head and smile bitterly when he saw Li Hong making such a fuss. His love for the little guy grew in his heart, and he wished he could have such a smart and clever grandson.
Wu Mei shook her head helplessly. This little naughty boy was simply lawless. He was probably the only one who could come up with such a bad idea.
But before everyone had fully enjoyed the pleasure of the King of Dai teasing the foreign envoy, they heard the foreign envoy cheating and the King of Dai firmly said, "I can do it."
"Hong'er, stop messing around and sit back down quickly." When Wu Mei heard Li Hong say "I can", she couldn't help but tremble, and hurriedly said seriously.
Now this little monkey is her darling. Wu Mei loves Li Hong very much, but she can't bear to let the little guy's arms go into the boiling oil pan.
The ministers were even more stunned. This king really dared to say anything. He was really a child who spoke without restraint. If that little arm was put into a boiling oil pan, he could be eaten directly after taking it out.
The Western Turkic envoy's face was even uglier at this moment. Being laughed at by the ministers of the Tang Dynasty, he wished he could find a hole in the ground to crawl into. Looking at the giggling face of the king, he felt as if he was stripped naked and standing in front of everyone, enduring the humiliation of being naked by the Tang people.
So he made up his mind, not caring that being angry with a child would only make him lose face, and snorted, saying, "If the King of Dai dares to take something out of the boiling oil pan, I will immediately return to Western Turkestan to report to the Khan and persuade him to surrender to the Tang Dynasty and continue to respect the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty as the Heavenly Khan!"
...
...
When Li Zhi, Wu Mei, Zhangsun Wuji and other officials heard the Western Turkic envoy's firm words, their faces froze and their hearts moved. This suggestion was simply too tempting!
If the Western Turks could continue to respect the Tang emperor as the Heavenly Khan, it would not only restore the prestige and deterrence of the Tang Dynasty over the Western Regions when the previous emperor was alive, but also bring supreme glory to the Tang Empire today! Such fame and fortune are much more important to people of this era than any gold, silver and treasures.
But when everyone thought about the fact that they had to fish something out of a boiling pan of oil, their expressions suddenly turned gloomy, because it was simply impossible. No matter whose arm went into the boiling pan of oil, it was impossible to take it out intact, let alone fish something out of the pan.
Suddenly, the entire Linhu Palace fell silent. Even the elegant music stopped involuntarily because of the words of the Western Turkic envoy.
"Hehe...are you serious? A gentleman's word is as good as gold." Li Hong's childish voice sounded extremely loud in the Linhu Palace at this moment.
"Hong'er! Stop making trouble and come to your mother." Wu Mei said nervously and hurriedly, threatening and intimidating Li Hong.
Even if he didn't want the reputation of the Heavenly Khan, he couldn't let his child take such a serious risk of becoming disabled.
"Yes, if you, King Dai, can do it, I will immediately return to Western Turkestan to persuade the Khan to surrender." The Western Turkestan envoy said proudly despite Wu Mei's obstruction.
He didn't believe that such a dangerous and even deadly thing could not scare a child of three or four years old. As for the near humiliation in the court today, compared with the battle between the two armies, it seemed not a big deal.
Li Zhi suddenly spoke slowly, "This Western Turkic envoy, as an adult, made such a bet with my three-year-old prince. Isn't he afraid of being laughed at if it gets out? Where will you put your Western Turkic face in the future? It's really shameless. You can go back now and tell Shaboluo that I will not withdraw my troops. Also, tell him everything that happened in the court today. I want to take it back."
"Your Majesty..." The Western Turkic envoy was panicked. He was just busy thinking about how to regain his face after being humiliated by a three-year-old child, and forgot the main purpose of his visit. Now, hearing the Tang emperor's domineering and cold response, the Western Turkic envoy felt a sinking feeling in his heart. It seemed that peace talks would be difficult to achieve.
Li Hong's bright eyes rolled around, and while they were talking, he called Hua Meng to the side and said a few words in a hurry in her ear. Hua Meng nodded blankly while listening, and then hurriedly ran to the back of Linhu Palace.
"Father, mother, today is the auspicious day for your mother's canonization, and it is also a auspicious day for our Tang Dynasty. Why bother with him? This envoy does not believe that there are many talented people in the Tang Dynasty, and does not believe that I can fish something out of the boiling oil pan, so I will demonstrate it to him. It's just that..."
"Just what?" The Western Turkic envoy hated Li Hong to the core at this moment, and he wanted to quickly set up a pan of oil and throw this little thing in to fry it.
"As long as you write down what you just said, I will make a bet with you. Do you dare?" Li Hong continued to provoke.
While provoking the Western Turkic envoy, Wu Mei, with a frown on her face, clenched her teeth and bulging veins on her hands, secretly made an OK gesture.
Li Zhi was also very fond of this prince, especially after he helped the crown prince out of trouble today, which made him like Li Hong even more to the core. Otherwise, he would not have said such domineering and protective words to the Western Turkic envoy just now.
Now, hearing that Li Hong was not going to give up, she was about to open her mouth to stop him, but Wu Mei gently pressed her hand down.
Wu Mei still doesn't understand what the OK gesture she made to this little thing means, but in the harem, every time the little guy left his palace and she had something to tell him, she would see the little guy making this gesture with his back to her.
Now seeing that the little guy was still pestering the Western Turkic envoy, he couldn't help but feel relieved. He didn't know what tricks this little guy would play again, so he signaled Li Zhi to wait and see.
Seeing that His Majesty and the Queen no longer wanted to stop him, the officials in Linhu Palace all frowned and shouted, "Your Majesty, please don't do that. The King of Dai is so smart, lovely and clever. You must not..."
"Wait a minute, if anyone doesn't believe it, you can make a bet with me. If you don't believe me, just stand..." Before Li Hong finished speaking, the ministers in the court suddenly became quiet, with their heads lowered, concentrating on studying the food on the table.
There was also a faint voice coming from below: "Hey, today's dish is good, much better than the last banquet."
"Yes, and this wine is much mellower than the last time."
“Yes, look at this dish…”
Li Zhi couldn't help laughing when he saw this scene. How could he not understand that the ministers must be fooled by them? He also remembered the bet he made with Li Hong about making ice in Taiji Hall that day. With the previous experience, it seems that the ministers will not be fooled by the little things today.
Wu Mei looked at the reactions of the ministers and felt relieved. Li Zhi had vividly described to her the bet she had made with the ministers in the Taiji Hall that day. Because of this, she had made the little naughty boy kneel at the palace gate for nearly an hour. The money from the bet with the ministers was still with her.
At this moment, Hua Meng came over from the back with an oil pan. After moving a few tables in the middle of the Linhu Hall, he ordered people to put the oil pan on the stove.
Li Hong stood up from in front of Crown Prince Li Zhong, walked slowly to the oil pan, stood side by side with the Western Turkic envoy, looked at the fire burning under the oil pan, and said to the Western Turkic envoy: "It's not too late to regret now."
"King Dai, I will never regret it." The Western Turkic envoy stood proudly. He believed that all this was just a bluff. When the oil in the wok boiled, the King Dai would definitely admit defeat.
Of course, he is just a child of three or four years old. He must have been spoiled by the ministers. That's why he is like this. Otherwise, why did the ministers become silent after he spoke? They must be afraid that this king would say bad things about them in front of his father.
The Western Turkic envoy was smart enough to speculate on the silent reaction of the ministers. He became more certain of his reasoning and raised the written bet in his hand, signaling the King of Dai that he could start.
Li Hong asked Hua Meng to pick up a spoon, scoop a spoonful of oil from the wok and pour it into the fire. The blazing fire suddenly burst into long tongues of fire after meeting the oil, making people's cheeks hot.
"Now you see it clearly, you know whether it is oil or not," Li Hong asked.
"Look...see it clearly." The Western Turkic envoy didn't expect that there was really oil in it. The flames just now had already scared him.
"Do you have copper coins? Lend me some." Li Hong said to Xu Jingzong beside him in a relaxed manner.
Xu Jingzong hurriedly took out a few copper coins and held them in his hand. Li Hong picked five and held them in his small hand, then handed them to the Western Turkic envoy: "Please throw the copper coins into the oil pan, otherwise I will take them out and you will accuse me of cheating."
When everyone saw this scene, they couldn't help but start to get nervous again. They didn't expect that the little King Dai was not bluffing and was really going to get the money from the oil pan.
They were not nervous just now because they did not see the oil pan. Now, seeing the blazing fire roasting the oil in the pan, everyone in the palace suddenly became nervous. Wu Mei and Li Zhi also sat at the top and watched this scene nervously. Wu Mei's jade hands were sweating because of nervousness. Her heart was in her throat. She held Li Zhi's hand tightly, but she couldn't help shaking.
The Western Turkic envoy threw five copper coins into the wok as instructed. The oil in the wok began to bubble and boil slowly. It was obvious that it had heated up and would become boiling hot in a short while.
Everyone looked nervous and solemn, with their eyes wide open, staring motionlessly at the oil in the wok boiling, with billowing green smoke rising from the wok.
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