Chapter 33
◎I am the most suitable person to serve as the successor. ◎
When the Northern Rong delegation entered the capital, the "receiving envoy" had to coordinate and arrange all the food, clothing, daily necessities, etiquette, and personnel matters during their stay in the capital. The matter was complicated and involved dealing with various departments of the court. Since it involved foreign envoys, it represented the prestige of the Great Yan Kingdom to a certain extent. It was a prestigious and rewarding job that also provided valuable experience.
Therefore, as soon as news of the Northern Rong delegation's arrival in the capital arrived, the selection of the "responsible envoy" became a hot topic of discussion in the court.
Throughout history, the monarchs of the Great Yan Dynasty would typically appoint their most favored ministers or princes as "successors." If a minister was chosen, that person would undoubtedly become a rising star or a key minister in the court.
If a prince is chosen, it carries even greater significance—the Great Yan dynasty did not have a crown prince; the successor was designated by the emperor's deathbed edict. Therefore, ministers were extremely cautious about choosing sides regarding the prince's position, never easily taking sides. However, the chosen successor was a highly influential indicator; historically, princes selected were heavily favored by court officials, and most of them successfully ascended the throne.
Simply put, once a prince is selected as the successor, it is almost equivalent to being designated as the heir apparent.
The people of the First Prince Lin Qi and the Second Prince Lin Nan had taken advantage of their visits over the past few days to subtly probe her for information.
She wasn't surprised that Lin Tan had come for this reason.
"What advantages does Your Highness believe you have, and why should I," Xie Yutang traced a circle of his fingertip on the rim of his cup, "help Your Highness?"
This is asking him what his hand is.
Lin Tan hesitated.
Xie Yutang withdrew his hand, adopting a gesture of seeing the guest out: "When asking for help, one must be sincere. Since the Third Prince has not yet made up his mind, why don't you leave first?"
She was so resolute.
Lin Tan was indeed weighing the options. Although the Guo family was willing to help, Guo Shouzhen was the commander of the Imperial Guards. The emperor's close ministers were most wary of taking sides, and rashly offering advice would not only be useless but would also backfire. Xie Yutang, on the other hand, was already quite favored, and recently she had become incredibly popular in the capital because of the arms smuggling case. If she could whisper in the emperor's ear, even if the matter did not succeed, it would definitely be beneficial and harmless.
But... is Xie Yutang really willing to help him now?
Just as he was hesitating, Xie Yutang said, "Huaijin, return the things that the Third Prince sent. Miss Guo wants this Udumbara flower, and we won't take what she loves."
Xie Yutang's sarcastic remarks put Lin Tan's mind at ease—he knew it; how could she possibly let him go? It turned out she was just jealous. The frozen smile on Lin Tan's face returned, becoming even gentler: "Tangtang, what are you saying? Since I've given it to you, it's yours, and no one can take it away from you."
"I was wrong in the past. I was always busy with official business and neglected your feelings. During the time you were recuperating at home, I also reflected on myself. Today I came to visit with the utmost sincerity."
Lin Tan paused for a moment, and Xie Yutang understood. He raised his hand, and Wo Yu led the servants out.
Only the two of them remained in the room. Lin Tan leaned forward and lowered his voice, saying, "To be honest, I've made quite a few preparations over the years..."
He recounted in detail which court officials he was on good terms with, what assistance he could obtain, and which departments would do him favors. As Xie Yutang listened, he secretly compared it with his memories from his previous life. What Lin Tan was saying now was only a general outline, and there were even a few places where he deliberately misled people, but judging from his character, it was indeed a great deal of sincerity.
To be fair, Lin Tan's management was quite good. If Xie Yutang had intervened as in his previous life, he would still have been the one to take over the position.
"Can I use these resources of His Highness, Third Prince?"
"nature."
Lin Tan made her decision and no longer hesitated, saying generously, "Tangtang, please use it wherever you can."
It's better to cooperate with others than to ask them for favors. Only by tying the other party's interests to your own will they truly do their best. If Xie Yutang can help him become the successor, it wouldn't be a bad idea for her to share these resources and connections.
As their conversation drew to a close, Huaijin knocked on the door at the opportune moment: "Miss, someone from the palace has come to urge us; they've been waiting for almost half an hour."
Xie Yutang had just recovered from his serious injuries, and the emperor was concerned about him. He would summon people to the palace from time to time. It was not so much to have the imperial physician examine him, but mainly to keep the old man company, play chess, and chat. He had been summoned once a few days ago, and now he had sent someone again today.
Such favor is enviable.
Lin Tan joked, "Tangtang has seen my father more times than all of my brothers and I combined."
"Your Highness is too kind." Xie Yutang got up and walked out of the house. "I have already made plans for the matter Your Highness entrusted to me, but it is hard to say how confident I am. I will do my best."
Lin Tan was overjoyed that Xie Yutang agreed so quickly and said, "That's wonderful."
When Xie Yutang arrived at the palace, Imperial Physician Liu took her pulse. With Su Lu healing her injuries and channeling her internal energy, plus the various famous and precious medicines being used to replenish her body as if they were free, even the most serious injuries would have healed long ago. Imperial Physician Liu simply advised, "Your Highness has just recovered from a serious illness, so you should rest and recuperate more and avoid overexertion."
The emperor seemed to remember something and casually remarked, "I've heard that quite a few people have been visiting your residence recently?" Before Xie Yutang could reply, he waved his hand impatiently, "If you don't want to see them, then don't. Those old fogies just love to bother people."
"Your Majesty, you are unaware of this." Eunuch Wei stepped forward to serve tea, glanced at Xie Yutang, and said with a smile, "I have heard that the Third Prince visited the Princess's residence today."
The emperor chuckled upon hearing this and pointed at Xie Yutang from afar, saying, "So that's why you're so late today. It turns out that the annoying old man has become me."
Xie Yutang burst out laughing.
The emperor held up his teacup and blew on his beard: "Look at this girl, still smiling."
"Father."
Xie Yutang drew out the last syllable and sat down beside the emperor quite consciously, "How about I play chess with you, Your Majesty?"
The emperor had two great hobbies in his spare time: drinking tea and playing chess. He preferred to drink tea alone, but he loved to find others to play chess with.
The ministers were most afraid of being summoned by the emperor to play chess. They dared not win, and if they lost, they would be scolded. After a game of chess, they were trembling with fear, and their minds were filled with things unrelated to chess.
Xie Yutang was different. Not only did she dare to win, she insisted on winning, even resorting to cheating to win. Although she also gave the emperor a headache, she was ultimately much more interesting than those ministers.
Xie Yutang went to Yingkou and hadn't seen anyone for almost half a month. The emperor had been itching to play, and when she mentioned it, he immediately ordered Eunuch Wei to bring up the chessboard. He also made sure to set the rules beforehand: "Let's make it clear first, no cheating."
After a while, the emperor casually asked, "These past few days, there has been a great deal of debate in the court regarding the selection of the envoy to take over. Tang'er, do you have any thoughts on this?"
Xie Yutang's heart skipped a beat. The Emperor had summoned her today for two reasons: first, to confirm that there were no problems between her and Lin Tan, and second, to discuss the selection of the successor.
She showed no emotion on her face, slowly placing a chess piece before saying, "Father, do you want to hear the truth or a lie?"
The emperor was used to her unconventional nature: "Tell me some lies to make me happy first."
Xie Yutang sincerely said, "Father is wise and powerful, insightful and insightful, and has made every plan perfect. As long as Father takes a liking to someone, I will give him my full support!"
"You silly girl," the emperor chuckled, "tell me the truth."
Xie Yutang said, "Me."
The emperor paused, his hand holding the chess piece still: "What?"
Xie Yutang said solemnly, "Father, the most suitable person to serve as the successor is me."
The emperor and Xie Yutang looked at each other for a moment, then the emperor calmly put down his black piece and captured one of her pieces: "Tell me about it."
"In my opinion, a person who is capable of taking over the post of envoy must meet four conditions."
"As the envoy in charge, you are not only responsible for the safety of the Northern Rong delegation, but also need to be vigilant at all times to prevent anyone within the delegation from having ill intentions. I was born on the frontier and first saw the Hu people on the battlefield. I am also skilled in horsemanship and archery, and can fight back with force when necessary without being at a disadvantage - this is martial skill."
"The envoy in charge must be well-versed in literature and history so that the mission can gradually understand the profound culture of our dynasty. He must also be familiar with the etiquette of both countries, such as the ceremony of receiving books and the ceremony of bestowing gifts, so as to help the mission become familiar with our dynasty's etiquette and avoid making mistakes during grand ceremonies. Your son has applied to the Emperor to study at the academy and has been studying the classics with scholars for some time. He is also quite familiar with etiquette and can provide guidance to the members of the mission. This is the literature."
"The reception and banquets for the mission are complicated and involve many departments. The envoy in charge needs to be familiar with the procedures and personnel in charge of the mission in North Korea and China. This is the political aspect."
"The expenses of receiving the mission are enormous. From the Maritime Trade Office, prefectures and counties, foreign affairs post stations along the way, to the banquets, accommodations and imperial rewards after the mission arrives in the capital, everything requires money. However, the wars of the previous years have already consumed a huge amount of financial and material resources. The lower reaches of the river were also flooded before the New Year. Father Emperor is compassionate towards the people and is unwilling to increase taxes. Now the silver in the national treasury that can be used is quite limited. I think that how to make good use of the limited resources to host this mission, so as to avoid extravagance and waste, and show the great power of our Great Yan in pacifying distant peoples, is the most important issue that should be considered when receiving the mission."
Xie Yutang explained the matter from four aspects: "civil and military affairs, economics and politics," with clear logic and well-organized structure. When the last word was uttered, the room fell into complete silence.
"On the political front, there are many in the court more suitable than you, so you can't be considered to have an advantage. However..." The emperor became interested in the last point, "How do you plan to solve the financial problem?"
Xie Yutang held up two fingers: "Increase revenue and reduce expenditure."
"Let's start with cost-cutting. Your Majesty, after reviewing the documents, I found that the largest expense among all expenditures is 'gifts.' 'Gifts' include 'return gifts' and 'special gifts.' 'Return gifts' are gifts given by our dynasty based on the estimated value of the tributes from the Northern Rong. However, our dynasty's valuation has always been too high, and the return gifts given have far exceeded the value of the tributes."
“The ‘special bestowal’ was a separate reward given by the Emperor to the mission in his capacity as the Son of Heaven. The rewards were mostly gold, silver and jewels, as well as silk and perfumes, and were distributed according to the number of people in the mission. In other words, the more people in the mission, the more rewards they would receive.”
"If I were to take over as envoy, I would cut costs in two ways: first, by setting reasonable valuation standards to ensure that the value of tribute and gifts is roughly equal; second, by negotiating with the Northern Rong to control the number of people in the delegation, but also by correspondingly increasing the treatment of each person, and by indirectly limiting the gifts by controlling the quantity of tribute items."
This is indeed a feasible solution. Simply reducing the amount of tribute "gifts" from the Da Yan side would definitely displease the Northern Rong. However, Xie Yutang first limited the number of tributes offered by the Northern Rong before reducing his own, emphasizing a fair trade. Furthermore, although the number of people in the delegation decreased, the treatment of each member increased, which naturally drew the other side to his side, resulting in much less opposition.
As for 'politics'—
Xie Yutang placed a white piece, which connected the previously scattered and useless pieces, sweeping away the previous slump and even showing a faint momentum to counterattack the black pieces. "Single Chen alone does not have much of an advantage, but what about with the Third Prince?"
The emperor raised an eyebrow.
"His Highness the Third Prince told me that he would show the utmost sincerity, and that all the resources and connections he possesses would be at my disposal." Xie Yutang's words, though seemingly innocuous, were mostly true, but how much they differed from Lin Tan's true intentions was a matter of opinion.
"His Highness the Third Prince has served in the Privy Council and the Court of State Ceremonies, and is quite familiar with the rules and regulations and the people involved in these places. Furthermore, there are many wealthy merchants in Jiangnan who possess enormous wealth but lack corresponding social status. His Highness the Third Prince is willing to step forward and persuade these wealthy merchants to pay for all the 'gifts' bestowed by our dynasty. In return, His Highness the Third Prince will petition His Majesty to obtain some 'official titles' for them."
This was a plan devised by Xie Yutang and Lin Tan. Lin Tan had accumulated wealth in Jiangnan for many years, and many of the wealthy merchants were even cultivated by him. These people were practically his personal treasury. In his previous life, Lin Tan had the confidence to raise an army because of the existence of this treasury.
The black stone in the emperor's hand remained untouched for a long time.
Xie Yutang stood up, clasped his hands in a salute, and said loudly, "Your subject believes that with the Third Prince's assistance, your subject will certainly live up to the duties of the envoy."
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