On this day, General Yue Heng led 10,000 troops to safely escort the Empress and others back to the capital, where the Emperor and his officials went out to greet them.
Accompanying the Empress back to the capital were not only some concubines, princes and princesses, but also many families of high-ranking officials.
They were kidnapped by barbarian soldiers, rescued by Li Guang, and returned to the capital two months later.
The atmosphere at the scene was somewhat tragic. It could be described as a reunion after a long separation. There were sobs everywhere, and everyone around was deeply moved.
At this time, the eldest prince, Li Hui, also went out of the city with the emperor to greet the empress. Upon seeing the empress, Li Hui burst into tears.
Li Hui was truly heartbroken this time. The emperor ignored him, the ministers distanced themselves from him, and his former authority was gone. All of this was because that damned little prince was still alive.
Li Guang's appearance overshadowed his own, giving rise to a strong sense of crisis. Now, only the Empress could save him, and he believed that his mother would not abandon him.
From now on, he will rebuild his power and eliminate Li Guang no matter what. The Li family's empire will surely belong to Li Hui.
Seeing Li Hui so heartbroken, the Empress assumed it was because he missed her, and she felt a pang of sadness, embracing Li Hui and weeping bitterly.
After crying, Li Hui forced a smile and came to visit the little princes and princesses. The children were so frightened by Li Hui's appearance that they burst into tears.
The scene was incredibly awkward yet hilarious; those around them tried their best to hold back their laughter.
More than ten days passed in the blink of an eye. He Lin had been staying at the post station of the Honglu Temple and was not allowed to go out without permission. This made He Lin extremely anxious. The emperor of the Great Northern Dynasty had not summoned her for so long. Did they have some plans?
During this period, He Lin was worn down and lost all her temper. In previous years, the two countries had frequently sent envoys to each other to maintain their relationship.
At that time, in order to ensure the stability of the border and prevent attacks from foreign countries, the Great Northern Dynasty adopted a policy of appeasement.
He Lin's mission to the Northern Dynasty this time was intended to continue the previous policies.
However, the situation has changed now. The Great Northern Dynasty may not agree to the demands of the foreign country. It seems that I have a long way to go this time.
Finally, half a month later, the emperor summoned the envoys from the foreign country, which made He Lin overjoyed.
The emperor summoned He Lin after the morning court session, before the civil and military officials had left the court.
He Lin was led to the imperial court. He secretly glanced at the emperor of the Great Northern Dynasty and saw him sitting on the high platform, with civil and military officials standing on both sides. The atmosphere was solemn, and no one dared to breathe loudly.
Although it was He Lin's first time in the Central Plains, he was still familiar with some of the court etiquette of the Great Northern Dynasty.
He Lin came to the emperor's dragon desk, knelt on one knee, and kowtowed to the emperor.
"He Lin, the envoy from the foreign country, pays his respects to His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Northern Dynasty."
Since he was an envoy from a foreign country and not a subject of the Great Northern Dynasty, he only needed to kneel on one knee.
Under normal circumstances, the emperor would say "No need for formalities, rise," at which point the envoy could stand up and speak.
But He Lin waited for a long time, and when the emperor didn't speak, she assumed he hadn't heard her, so she said it again:
"He Lin, the envoy from the foreign country, pays his respects to His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Northern Dynasty."
To He Lin's surprise, the emperor still did not speak, which greatly surprised her.
Having no other option, He Lin spoke for the third time and then quietly awaited the emperor's reply.
Although he did not receive a reply from the emperor, someone quietly came to his side and whispered a few words in his ear.
“As a country that is equal to the Great Northern Dynasty, the envoys sent by the Great Northern Dynasty are allowed to kneel on one knee.”
But you are an envoy from a foreign country, a defeated nation. If you still think you can stand on equal footing with the Great Northern Dynasty and kneel before its emperor, then you can go back now. The soldiers of the Great Northern Dynasty will teach your emperor a lesson.
If you consider the vassal state to be a vassal state of the Great Northern Dynasty, then you should kneel and pay your respects properly. Didn't your emperor tell you that?
He Lin was stunned. The man's meaning was very clear: if the foreign kingdom was unwilling to submit to the Northern Dynasty, the Northern Dynasty would send troops to conquer the foreign kingdom, and the two countries would once again go to war.
If the foreign state is willing to submit to the Great Northern Dynasty at this time, then I must kneel down and kowtow to the emperor of the Great Northern Dynasty, performing the rites of a subject to a ruler, before we can proceed with the next step of the conversation.
Unable to decide between these two options, even with the emperor of the foreign country present, he was unable to give an answer. He had come up with many arguments, but they were now completely useless, and he was at a loss for what to do.
At this moment, the emperor finally spoke.
"He Lin, when you came here, didn't your emperor tell you anything? What are you doing here all this way? You didn't just come to probe, did you?"
I do not want to hear anything about seeking peace, nor do I want to hear anything about a perpetual alliance between the two countries.
You can go back now and tell your emperor that I have given your vassal state three months to make a choice. If you have nothing else to do, please return.
Furthermore, please take everything you brought back with you. Our Great Northern Dynasty lacks nothing and has no interest in these things. Court adjourned.
After the emperor finished speaking, he was the first to leave the court, and the other ministers also began to leave one after another.
At this moment, He Lin was completely dumbfounded. Not only the emperor of the Great Northern Dynasty, but also all the court officials, none of them were willing to pay him any attention.
At this moment, a eunuch walked over and said:
"Doctor He, the court has already adjourned, why are you still not leaving?"
He Lin looked around. Everyone had left, and there was no point in her staying there anymore.
He Lin stood up and left silently.
It seems the emperor of the Northern Dynasty will not summon me again. They have given the vassal state three months, and their intention is very clear. I should return to the vassal state as soon as possible and report this matter to the emperor.
The next day, He Lin and her entourage, carrying twenty cartloads of valuable gifts brought from the foreign country, slunk back to China.
At this time, Narcissus Village presents a lively scene, with every household harvesting sweet potatoes.
Although they encountered war this year, the weather was relatively favorable, and their sweet potato harvest was quite good. After keeping enough sweet potatoes, people washed the remaining ones, sliced them, dried them, and then sold the dried sweet potatoes to Zhao Xian.
There is a granary in the village, which contains many huge granaries. Zhao Xian used one of the granaries when he was storing barnyard millet.
In order to store the sweet potato chips that had been purchased, Zhao Xian asked the village head to repair the remaining granaries and rent them himself to store the sweet potato chips.
With these granaries, Zhao Xian solved the problem of storing dried sweet potatoes, and could then confidently and boldly purchase them.
These dried sweet potatoes are excellent raw materials for brewing baijiu (Chinese liquor). With sufficient raw materials, more baijiu can be produced.
Zhao Xian knew that the market demand for baijiu was currently far from meeting the supply, so no matter how much baijiu he produced, he wouldn't have to worry about sales.
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