Chapter 54 Competition
Following King Jing's itinerary and arrangements, envoys from Xuanyuan and Youyuan countries have also arrived in Jinxiao City.
King Jing first arranged for the people in the Honglu Temple to receive the guests according to the etiquette of their respective countries, then presented the gifts that had been prepared, and finally formulated a plan for the competition.
Du Shaoqing wondered, "Aren't we going to show them how wealthy we are this time?"
King Jing shook his head and pointed out that the reception in previous years was nothing more than eating, drinking and having fun, so that these envoys could feel the wealth of the brother country, but this time he wanted to change the way, "Show them our most courageous warriors in Chitian, arrange the venue, and when the northern tribal countries arrive, we will have a competition."
Du Shaoqing has been in this position for many years, and he has never thought about getting promoted or getting rich. As long as he can keep his head and return home safely, he will be fine. He does not interfere with King Jing's decisions. "Since Your Highness wants the whole world to submit, then let Your Highness do as he pleases."
As the year draws to a close, the northern tribal kingdom finally arrives at Jinxiao City on the eve of the heavy snow.
Chu Sishui in the Rui Palace heard that one of the items in this year's reception plan was changed to a competition, "King Jing is really pushing it forward with something new."
Rong Zhuo, "As long as nothing goes wrong, his plan is pretty good."
Chu Sishui slowly moved over and said, "I heard that you asked your father for another job, still in the Ministry of Works."
Rong Zhuo held her on his lap. He could already walk a few steps now, and could even sense the strength of her sitting on him. He didn't want to waste any more time. "After the envoy leaves, I will go to the Ministry of Works."
She said happily, "Really? So what do you want to do?"
Rong Zhuo, "I haven't thought about it yet. I'll make a decision after hearing news from Vice Wang and his team next year."
Chu Sishui said, “I can’t wait to see you killing everyone. It would be best if all the people in the six departments surrender and shout, ‘Your Highness Prince Rui is mighty, you are the crown prince sent from heaven, please protect the Red Sky…’” At the end, she bowed exaggeratedly.
Rong Zhuo smiled and grabbed her hand, "Give me psychedelic soup every day. When I join the Ministry of Industry next year, what will you do every day?"
Chu Sishui, "Of course it's to develop my business. You don't know that my shops are now all over Jiangdong. The next step is to occupy Jiangzuo, and the next step is the entire Chitian Kingdom. By then, I will be a well-known wealthy businessman, and you will have to cling to me."
Rong Zhuo smiled and said, "My salary is only 1,800 taels. Well, I have to ask Boss Chu to support me."
Chu Sishui, "You are such a pretty boy, your looks really appeal to me, so I am keeping you with reluctance, what else can I do?"
Rong Zhuo glared at her. She was the only one who could call the crown prince a gigolo.
If you compare the relaxed and lively atmosphere of Prince Rui's Mansion, the lights in Prince Jing's Mansion have to be lit at the crowing of the cock, because their master is in the limelight.
After King Jing finalized the last matter of the day, he brought people from the Honglu Temple to the post station where the envoys lived. Dozens of horse-drawn carriages rumbled by, attracting all the people on Zhengyang Street.
"I heard that this year His Royal Highness Prince Jing is in charge of foreign affairs, and he has specially added a competition."
"Then our mighty army will scare them out of their wits, haha..."
The vehicle moved forward amid the discussions of the crowd, and after an incense stick of time it finally arrived at the arena.
King Jing first stepped forward to express the host's warm welcome, then expressed his best wishes for this negotiation, and finally announced the rules of this competition:
"To be honest with you, my envoys, our Chitian Mighty Army has developed a new way of fighting this time. One is for two people to compete on horseback. The one who falls off the horse first will enter the second round of archery competition first."
"The second round of archery is not about who hits the target the most times, but about who misses the target the most times. The arrows are all made of wood, and the arrowheads are made of cotton mixed with lime powder. Someone will move the target, so the second round is about teamwork and which team coordinates better."
"The third round is even easier. It mainly involves the crops of various countries. As long as you get the crop with the highest yield, you win."
As soon as he finished speaking, King Jing led the envoys of the three kingdoms and the warriors of the Red Sky Kingdom into the arena.
When the gong sounded, the envoys from the three kingdoms were in chaos. Everyone used their spears to prevent the other from cheating and falling off their horses. Only the warriors from the Red Sky Kingdom used their own inner strength to fall off their horses safely.
The second round of archery was not a difficult task for the Youyuan Kingdom and the Tribe Kingdom. After the two sides reached an agreement, they chased the person who moved the target together and made every arrow miss the target.
Upon seeing this, the warriors of the Chitian Kingdom immediately joined forces with the envoys of the Xuanyuan Kingdom, and finally won by a narrow margin thanks to one more arrow.
As for the third round, the envoys from Xuanyuan Kingdom were the most confident. "We have selected the most suitable millet for production. Even in a severe drought, we can guarantee a stable harvest. The people of Xuanyuan Kingdom will not go hungry even in a year of famine."
King Jing nodded, Xuanyuan Kingdom was rich in resources and indeed had the strength to do so.
Next are Youyuan Kingdom and Tribe Kingdom. Both countries are located in the north, and the extremely cold land can only grow wheat.
However, due to their small land area, even growing wheat cannot meet their own needs, so these two countries often purchase grain crops from Chitian Kingdom.
After introducing the foreign envoys, King Jing motioned Du Shaoqing to step forward.
Du Shaoqing held barley, sorghum, corn, chestnut, and rice in his hands. "The territory of Chitian Kingdom is rich, and farmers grow hundreds of kinds of grain. The ones I have are only the ones with the highest yields. Every year after the autumn harvest, Chitian Kingdom sells tens of millions of dan of grain to other foreign vassal states. When it comes to the abundance of grain, Chitian Kingdom is the best."
The envoys from the three countries had no objection. They knew before their mission that they were here for the purpose of negotiating trade agreements among the countries. Now that the Chitian Kingdom has shown the demeanor of a great power and is willing to unite with the countries to open up business and trade, the purpose of their mission has been achieved.
As the end of the year was approaching, the envoys of the Three Kingdoms were invited by King Jing to go to the central street of Jinxiao City to have fun with the people.
In order to ensure today's prosperity, King Jing specially dispatched troops to garrison and also paid for fireworks out of his own pocket, making the Wangsun River near Zhengyang Street as bright as day. For a moment, everyone was immersed in such a beautiful and splendid night.
Chu Sishui, who had just finished the New Year's Eve dinner in the palace, pushed Rong Zhuo and was also lost in the splendor of the fireworks.
Rong Zhuo said, "That's a bit too much."
Chu Sishui asked, "Are you saying that it was unwise for King Jing to spend a lot of money on this foreign envoy?"
Rong Zhuo said, "If this money is used for construction projects, it will benefit many people."
Chu Sishui said, "But I heard that King Jing paid for it out of his own pocket."
Rong Zhuo said, "That's why it's unwise. Forget it, tonight is New Year's Eve, let's not discuss these mundane matters."
Chu Sishui also agreed and continued to push him towards the crowd.
Just as Rong Zhuo said, King Jing was indeed too much. On the day when the foreign envoys left Jinxiao City, King Jing prepared a thousand hu of grain seeds, three thousand pieces of colorful clothes, a thousand pieces of agricultural tools, a thousand kilograms of iron, and some precious spices for the envoys in order to show the demeanor of a great country.
The dazzling array of vehicles and ships makes the people of Jinxiao City proud.
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