Finally, the king of ancient Shu came to the capital. Fantianli left the city one day in advance, and went to the capital with the king the next day and stayed directly in the inn.
Although it was no secret that he had come to the capital ahead of time, and he had even made a public appearance in the palace, it was in a private capacity after all, and it was not considered an official state visit. In addition, Emperor Tianwu was poisoned at the time, so he could not receive him.
This time, Dashun had a prince who was the regent. When Xuan Tianfeng learned that Fan Tianli had moved into the inn, he immediately invited him. On the next morning, Fan Tianli entered the palace as the king of Gu Shu. In front of all the court officials, he kowtowed to the prince who was the regent as the current king of Gu Shu, and once again reiterated the position that Gu Shu was a small country annexed to Dashun. He also stated that during his reign, Gu Shu would always be loyal to Dashun.
Some people whispered that the King of Ancient Shu was so humble because he wanted to marry Princess Wuyang. After all, the two of them were often together these days, and anyone who paid attention to the court and the capital knew about this. With such an idea in mind, the King of Ancient Shu's humble behavior seemed a little insincere. No one could guarantee that he would change his mind once he married Princess Wuyang.
So someone raised this question, but Fan Tianli was not angry, just smiled bitterly and said: "Gu Shu has seen the might of Da Shun's army and His Royal Highness's thunder, and also lost many cities under the bombardment of thunder. Gu Shu is a small country, but it also has its own small world. We don't want to lose this world, so we surrendered to Da Shun. When the late emperor was in power, he said that listening to the slander of the former general Bi Xiu and becoming an enemy of Da Shun was the biggest mistake he made in all his years in power. I don't think I can resist Da Shun's thunder after I take the throne, so the only correct choice for Gu Shu is to surrender to Da Shun."
His words made sense, and were considered a very rational analysis, but some people in the court still found it uncomfortable, so they said sourly: "You mean, if Dashun didn't have the thunderbolt, Gu Shu wouldn't have surrendered?"
Fan Tianli asked in return: "If Dashun was not so powerful, how could it have recovered the four foreign countries?"
"you……"
"I am just stating a fact. Every powerful country has its subordinate foreign states. The reason why those foreign states choose to be dependent on them is because they are not as strong as the other party. They must rely on the other party's protection to better maintain their national destiny and survive. Gu Shu was indeed scared by Dashun, and the losses it suffered could not be recovered within nearly a hundred years. I am showing weakness to Dashun on behalf of Gu Shu. This is the demeanor that a foreign monarch should have, and it is also a wise move." He said very calmly, "Of course, if one day Dashun is defeated and even worse than Gu Shu, then Gu Shu will naturally no longer be its subordinate. By then, not only Gu Shu, but other small countries will make the same choice. So, my lords, instead of doubting whether I am sincere, you might as well think about how to maintain and continue to develop Dashun's national destiny and prestige. Whether small countries will rebel depends entirely on whether Dashun continues to grow stronger."
Some court officials were not convinced by his words, but the left and right prime ministers took the lead in applauding him, and even the right prime minister took the initiative to say: "The ancient Shu king is right. If you want others to be dependent on you forever, you must ensure that you are always ahead of others. Dashun has learned from the king's words."
Fan Tianli quickly bowed and said, "Your Excellency, your words are too polite."
The formal meeting with the king of the ancient Shu Kingdom was not pleasant, but it was also the most basic way for the two countries to communicate. Later, that night, the Sixth Prince Xuan Tianfeng held a banquet in the side hall of the Jade Palace, inviting Emperor Tianwu, the Empress, the princes and princesses, the couple of King Wenxuan, and Princess Wuyang Xuan Tiange to attend. This banquet was considered a family banquet, different from a state visit, and was held in the name of thanking Fan Tianli for saving Emperor Tianwu.
In this name, Emperor Tianwu had to attend in person. Moreover, when he heard that Fan Tianli wanted to marry Xuan Tiange, he was even more angry and wanted to ruin the marriage. Therefore, he attended the family dinner with a mission, so no matter how the queen advised him before, the anger was still on his face, which was not good.
Emperor Tianwu can now basically move independently, but he cannot walk too fast. Slowly strolling is fine.
Since it was a family dinner, there were not so many formalities. Everyone sat around a large table. Fan Tianli sat next to Xuan Tianfeng, with Prince Wenxuan's family between him and Emperor Tianwu. Xuan Tiange sat next to Emperor Tianwu. The two exchanged glances from time to time. The girl's face was full of shyness, which made Prince Wenxuan sigh in his heart: It's true that girls can't be kept when they grow up!
Emperor Tianwu was really grateful to Fan Tianli for saving him. No matter what, putting aside the incident with Xuan Tiange, Fan Tianli saved his life. This not only saved him, but also saved Dashun. Otherwise, he would have passed the throne to the eighth son without thinking, and let Liu become the queen mother without thinking. Then Dashun would have been ruled by them in the future. It was horrifying to think about it.
He drank tea instead of wine, picked up the teacup and said to Fan Tianli: "I heard that it was the king of Gu Shu who cured me of the poison, and I have always been grateful for this. Gu Shu and Da Shun were first vassal states, and then became enemies, but I didn't expect that when I was in trouble, it was the king of Gu Shu who rescued me. I keep this kindness in my heart and have no way to repay it. Today I will make a decision. From now on, for the next fifty years, Gu Shu will not need to pay tribute to Da Shun, and will receive Da Shun's support for the people of Gu Shu every year. This is my gratitude to you."
Upon hearing this, Fan Tianli quickly stood up and thanked the emperor. For an ancient Shu country that had just experienced a war, being exempted from paying tribute for fifty years was a great favor. You know, the annual tribute was not just money, but meant that the best things in ancient Shu had to be sent to Dashun, including five-treasure cloth and the most precious medicinal materials in the desert. That was not all. The annual tribute meant bowing down, which meant flattering and giving gifts every year. Once ancient Shu was exempted from paying tribute, it would have a high status and face among the desert countries, and it would have a lot of hidden help in improving the country's fortune. The benefits were immeasurable.
He stood up to express his gratitude, and he was sincere. However, after expressing his gratitude, he did not want to continue to talk too much, nor did he want to talk about other things. So he made a quick decision and said directly to Emperor Tianwu: "I came to Dashun this time, firstly to help the emperor out of his crisis, and secondly, I also have an unwelcome request, I hope the emperor can fulfill one of my wishes."
"Oh." Emperor Tianwu raised his eyelids to look at him, and his expression suddenly dimmed, no longer as sincere as when he thanked him just now. He asked Fan Tianli, "Are you going to marry my only niece?"
"Your Majesty is wise, and I have exactly the same intention." After he finished speaking, he glanced at Xuan Tiange and added, "This time I am asking for your hand in marriage, not because of a peace agreement between the two countries, but because I have a deep affection for Her Royal Highness the Princess, and I hope Your Majesty will agree."
Xuan Tiange and Feng Yuheng almost vomited at these words! Deeply in love! Can Fan Tianli say such words?
Feng Yuheng asked Xuan Tianming in a low voice, "If it were you, would you be able to say these four words that offend Ba Xin?"
Xuan Tianming shook his head, "Of course I won't. My wife has been engaged to me since she was a child, so she can't run away."
"What if you're not engaged?"
"That's hard to say. In order to trick his wife into his hand, I guess it won't hurt to say a few disgusting words to outsiders."
Feng Yuheng felt that her husband had changed. In the past, the cool Xuan Tianming would never say such a thing. Even now, he would never say it in front of outsiders. But when the two of them were together, Xuan Tianming would take off his evil charm and pride, and do everything possible to cater to her. She thought, this is the unique way for two people to get along, right? When people in love are together, they always behave differently from when they are with outsiders. ︽②︽②︽.*②阁︽②,
As expected, Fan Tianli's words successfully disgusted Emperor Tianwu, and the old emperor expressed his disgust by getting angry. He slammed the table so hard that the dishes in front of him jumped up, and then he said angrily, "How dare you! You use the fact that I was poisoned to threaten the princess to marry you. What do you have in mind?"
Fan Tianli had been prepared for this, and he did not get angry. He spoke calmly and said, "An really wants to marry Princess Wuyang, and this has nothing to do with whether the emperor has been poisoned or not. Even if this had not happened, I would still come to Dashun to propose to Princess Wuyang."
Emperor Tianwu blew his beard and stared at Fan Tianli, staring at him intently, trying to find flaws in him. However, after looking at him, he felt that this young ancient Shu man had a familiar feeling to him, a feeling that came from his ninth son, who was evil, arrogant and willful, but also cold on the outside but warm on the inside, and infinitely loyal and down-to-earth.
He suddenly felt that this might be a good child, just like his Ming'er. Once he got married, he would treat his wife very well, and the two of them would live in harmony and grow old together.
When he thought of growing old together, he felt sad again. These four words are easy to say, but how difficult it is to do it! He wanted to find someone to grow old with all his life, and finally found one, but he ruined it himself. So, in fact, he was willing to fulfill the love of young people from the bottom of his heart. He even thought that Xuan Tiange didn't need to get married for Dashun. As long as she liked someone, even if it was the most ordinary family, as long as the two of them truly loved each other, he could give that person the most honorable honor of being a prince consort.
But she didn't expect that someone would finally come to propose marriage today, and this person wanted to take his beloved niece to the distant ancient Shu, to that vast desert.
He sighed bitterly and looked at Xuan Tiange beside him. Seeing the hope and determination in the child's eyes, he knew that he might not be able to keep him. He opened his mouth and asked bitterly, "Tiange went to Gushu. Can Uncle Huang see you again before he dies?"
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