The next day, Zhao Hongrun arrived at Chui Gong Hall early.
At that time, Emperor Wei was drinking tea and chatting in the inner hall with three ministers who had just arrived.
According to the usual practice, Emperor Wei would take a short nap in the Wende Hall after the morning dynasty that started at Mao hour, and then take a nap until Chen hour. Then he would have breakfast and start reviewing the never-ending memorials at around two quarters of Chen hour.
.
However, today's situation seems to be a bit special. When Zhao Hongrun came to Chui Gong Hall at around 6 o'clock in the morning, his father was still chatting with the three Zhongshu ministers.
After asking, Zhao Hongrun realized that the topic they were talking about was actually Sichuan Luo's opening up to domestic aristocratic forces.
That's right, the original agreement between Zhao Hongrun and Chengling King Zhao Wenshen and others was to open Sanchuan to the caravans belonging to the domestic princes and nobles in July, allowing the latter to freely go to Sanchuan to start trade, but now it is already the seventh day of July.
Counting the days, the first batch of caravans under the names of domestic nobles should almost arrive at Chuanluo, which is now the only free trade city in Sanchuan.
Hearing this, Zhao Hongrun also felt very curious, so he asked Zhongshu Zuo Cheng Yu Ziqi: "Master Yu, I wonder how the current situation is in Sichuan Luo?"
After hearing this, Yu Ziqi felt a little funny and said helplessly: "His Royal Highness, Prince Su, you should be better informed than me about Sichuan Luo."
Thinking about it, all he knows is nothing more than hearsay, and Zhao Hongrun is the person directly responsible for Chuan Luo. How can there be any reason for the person involved to question others?
"Master Yu said this." Zhao Hongrun rolled his eyes and said somewhat helplessly: "I'm just doing it in name."
The name he mentioned refers to the fact that last year, after he annihilated Bitatu of the Jiejiao tribe and shocked the tribes in Sanchuan, the imperial court conferred on him two false posts, one of which was the envoy of integrity, which was justifiable.
One person represented Wei State in negotiating with the tribes in Sanchuan; the other was the Grand Governor of Sichuan and Luo, who was also used to legitimately govern the 50,000 Sichuan Northern Bow Cavalry, and also control the tribes that had joined the Sichuan and Luo Alliance.
But in fact, Zhao Hongrun has never visited Sichuan Luo since then. The subsequent agreements between Wei and Sichuan Luo were handled by the Ministry of Rites of the imperial court. And now Sichuan Luo is actually under the control of the Ministry of Rites
Down.
Some people may ask, in this case, why didn't Zhao Hongrun directly hand over the affairs of Chuanluo to the Ministry of Rites?
The reason is very simple, because the Ministry of Rites cannot suppress certain princes and nobles in the Kingdom of Wei, but a certain King Su, who has gradually gained a bad reputation, can do it.
To put it bluntly, Zhao Hongrun just had a name in Sichuan Luo so that the Ministry of Rites could do things in his name, so as to prevent some people in Wei State from getting greedy and taking advantage of Sichuan Luo.
As for this matter, it can be said that everyone in the imperial court knew it, not to mention Yu Ziqi and other ministers of Zhongshu.
"Wei Chen also mentioned it casually from the adults of the Ministry of Etiquette..." Yu Ziqi laughed twice and said slowly: "After all, I have been jealous for half a year. The first batch of trade volume of the domestic noble caravans is not small.
...There was really a tsunami of people, and it is estimated that they exceeded the Ministry of Household Affairs...Affected by the appearance of these people, the profits of civilian merchants were suddenly squeezed..."
Zhao Hongrun said nothing when he heard this.
Because this was what he expected: once aristocratic merchants entered Sanchuan, the profits of civilian merchants would naturally be diluted, and they would even be jointly squeezed and suppressed by the former.
Maybe it was because Zhao Hongrun's expression was too calm that even Emperor Wei felt a little incredible and asked: "Hongrun, it seems you don't care? The civilian businessmen you supported back then are now being suppressed..."
"That is also a legitimate commercial suppression... Erchen mentioned to King Chengling and others that no one would dare to use unfair means to make profits in Sichuan and Luo. As for those civilian businessmen... If they need Erchen for everything
Supporting and paving the way for them is useless even if you think about it." Shaking his head, Zhao Hongrun said calmly.
Emperor Wei was stunned for a moment, looking at his son with some surprise, and nodded secretly.
To be fair, Emperor Wei supported his son's efforts to support civilian merchants in the country, but the essence of this support was to defeat those nobles. If Zhao Hongrun blindly used generous policies to support civilian merchants, in the eyes of Emperor Wei, it would be
Putting the cart before the horse.
As it is now, it is just right: neither can we give too many preferential treatment to civilian merchants, nor can we sit back and watch them be defeated by the aristocratic forces.
Having said that, when this son arrived in Anling, he did not take revenge on the Anling Zhao family in Zhao Laiyu, but expelled the Anling Wang family. This is a bit interesting...
Emperor Wei observed Zhao Hongrun calmly. He felt that his son seemed to have changed slightly after traveling south.
"Hongrun, why did you come to Chui Gong Hall early today?"
After chatting casually for a few words, Emperor Wei asked about Zhao Hongrun's purpose.
He knew very well that his son never came to the Three Treasures Hall for anything. If there was nothing important, he would not come to the Chui Gong Hall easily.
What? To please his father?
That’s an extravagant wish, don’t even think about it!
When Emperor Wei asked about this matter, Zhao Hongrun recalled the purpose of coming here, bowed his hands and said, "Father, I have applied to mobilize the Dangshan Army."
"Dangshan... army?" Emperor Wei was slightly startled, and then he seemed to have thought of something, and asked incredulously: "So fast?"
This sentence is so fast?, the three Zhongshu ministers were confused when they heard it, but Zhao Hongrun could understand the meaning of this sentence, and said with a helpless smile: "Qi Wang Lu Xi, gave me a gift that I could not refuse.
A generous gift.”
After that, he took out the letter from his arms that King Lu Xi of Qi asked Qi envoy Tian You to forward to him. Next to him, the eunuch Tong Xian took two steps to meet each other, took the letter from Zhao Hongrun, and respectfully
Handed it respectfully to Emperor Wei.
It is undeniable that Emperor Wei was very curious about this letter that could impress the son in front of him. After taking it from Tong Xian, he opened it and looked at it carefully. After staring at it for a long time, he took a long breath and murmured
He murmured: "Don't tell me that your heart is moved, I am also moved..."
In the hall, Lin Yuyang, Yu Ziqi, and Feng Yu, the three secretaries of the Central Committee, looked around curiously, but content with their duties, they did not dare to ask. After all, unless the father and son in front of them mentioned this kind of thing, even they would not be able to take the initiative.
Ask.
Fortunately, Emperor Wei trusted them very much. Seeing that the three of them were in a state of confusion, he did not dare to betray them, so he asked Tong Xian to pass this letter to Lin Yuyang and others. After all, he also wanted to hear the opinions of these three think tanks.
Just like Emperor Wei and Zhao Hongrun, the three Zhongshu ministers gasped in surprise after seeing clearly what was written in the letter, and then a wave of ecstasy enveloped their faces.
"Congratulations to your majesty, congratulations to your majesty." The three of them chanted in unison.
"It's all Hongrun's credit." Emperor Wei waved his hands with a smile, and then looked at Zhao Hongrun with a smile.
In fact, it was he who asked the Ministry of Rites to hand over the matter of negotiating with Qi envoy Tian You to Zhao Hongrun.
This is not to say that the Ministry of Rites does not have officials who are eloquent and good at diplomacy, but it is just because the officials in the Ministry of Rites are all civil servants and are not as confident as Zhao Hongrun in foreign affairs.
For example, yesterday Qi envoy Tian You threatened Zhao Hongrun, saying that if Wei did not send troops, Qi would tell the world about Wei's treachery. If this matter is handled by officials from the Ministry of Rites, I believe those officials will be fine.
Discourage the bad and make some concessions accordingly.
Zhao Hongrun's response yesterday was very tough. He pointedly pointed out the fact that once the Qi State lost King Lu Xi of Qi, it would become a third-rate country. He also implicitly threatened Qi's envoy Tian You, forcing the latter to have King Qi killed.
Lu Xi took out the letter.
"What do you think of this matter?" Emperor Wei asked Zhao Hongrun, his tone seemed to be a test.
If it had been in the past, Zhao Hongrun would have jumped up a long time ago, but today when he looked at his father with gray hair on his temples, he rarely said anything rebellious. After thinking about it for a while, he said: "I thought,
This is King Lu Xi of Qi preparing a way out."
Emperor Wei nodded with satisfaction, and the three Zhongshu ministers also smiled with a little surprise and a little agreement.
Yes, it was indeed King Lu Xi of Qi who was preparing a way out.
Regardless of the various promises in the letter, what Wei finally got was just the rubbings of Lu's "Secret Records of Lu Gong". But in fact, what moved everyone in the palace the most was what Qi King Lu Xi said in the letter.
Revealed kindness.
For example, there are several deep meanings hidden in the transfer of Qi's Fire Crossbow warship fleet anchored at the river boundary of Julu County to Ji Zhao (Zhao Hongzhao), who is now the left prime minister of Qi.
First of all, King Lu Xi of Qi wanted to prove to Wei that he wanted to vigorously promote Ji Zhao, the son-in-law of Wei, and he did not hesitate to hand over Qi's most elite navy to the latter.
Secondly, Ji Zhao, who owns the fleet of fire crossbow warships, will be able to guarantee his status in the Qi State in the future. Even if King Lu Xi of Qi dies in the future, the next King of Qi will not be able to get back this fleet.
Navy, because this was the royal order of King Lu Xi of Qi during his lifetime.
If someone in the Qi State is dissatisfied, Haha, Zhao Hongrun's sixth brother's wife, Kui Ji, will stand up for her husband.
She is the most beloved daughter of King Lu Xi of Qi, and her status in the royal family of Qi is not low.
As long as Ji Zhao can gain a firm foothold in Qi, it will naturally promote the friendly relationship between Wei and Qi and make the relationship between the two countries more stable, rather than just relying on a piece of covenant.
Furthermore, Ji Zhao, who has Qi's fire crossbows, warships and navy, will sit back and watch his mother country Wei be attacked by South Korea?
I believe that once South Korea goes to war with Wei State, Zhao Hongrun's sixth brother will naturally find a way to get Qi State to intervene, for example, ordering the navy to launch an attack on South Korea.
Although this cannot directly prevent South Korea from going to war against Wei, it can effectively restrict South Korea and eliminate Wei's worries.
And the reason why it is necessary to achieve this level is to use "Lu Gong's Secret Records", a secret craft document of the Lu State that is not disclosed to the outside world. I am afraid that the truth is just as Zhao Hongrun said, it is Qi King Lu Xi who is preparing a way out: giving Wei Guo
This is a great kindness, so that when the Qi State is in a state of collapse in the future, the Wei State can look at Ji Run's face and support the Qi State to prevent Qi State from being suppressed by the Chu State.
This is the biggest purpose of King Lu Xi of Qi. (To be continued.)