Deputy Zhou Guo also felt something was wrong as he walked. He stopped, touched his arms, and then looked back at the servants who were still welcoming guests at the gate, as well as the few people dressed as scholars who had just responded to him.
Didn't they have a huge quarrel just now because of their Zhou Kingdom?
Why are we all together now, counting the banknotes in our hands and talking?!
The deputy envoy of Zhou State suddenly realized something and stamped his feet angrily, secretly thinking: Damn it!
This messenger was actually deceived!
…
another place
The Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and the Minister of the Ministry of Justice met each other accidentally, and then they went to their seats together.
The Minister of the Ministry of Personnel looked at the Minister of the Ministry of Justice and said, "Old Zhang! How much money did the singer repay you just now?"
The Minister of Punishment said: "Five thousand taels! In fact, it is not worth this price! But I just listened, and none of the people who sang the ceremony reported less than five thousand taels! It's too cruel!"
The Minister of the Ministry of Personnel waved his hand: "You are quite good, but I am outrageous! It was originally an authentic work of Zhao Daru, the Great Chu. Good guy, the singer was directly reported to be the calligraphy sage Wang Xizhi! Eight thousand
Liang! How dare you shout! If I really had Wang Xizhi’s authentic work, I wouldn’t be willing to sell it even for one million taels, let alone eight thousand taels! Let alone give it as a gift!”
The Minister of the Ministry of Personnel is usually good at calligraphy, and he likes to collect all kinds of famous calligraphy. If he really has an authentic work of Wang Xizhi, let alone give it away, even if others want to borrow it, it is probably impossible!
Why don't you arch your baby?!
The Minister of Punishment laughed and said: "What do you think this is? I heard about ten thousand taels just now."
The Minister of Civil Affairs was shocked and said: "Ten thousand taels?! This is too cruel!"
The Minister of Punishment said: "The prince must have his reasons for doing this!"
The Minister of Civil Affairs nodded in agreement: "That's right, it's too bad!"
…
Not far from the entrance of Prince Xian’s Mansion
A young envoy from the State of Zhao looked at the envoy from the State of Zhao and said, "Sir, how much are we going to give this time?"
Zhao Guozheng said: "Don't worry, I have prepared two thousand taels this time. As a gift, one thousand taels is quite a lot!"
The young envoy nodded and said: "Two thousand taels is indeed a lot. This time we have given enough face to this wise prince. I guess most people can't give this much, right?"
Zhao Guozheng said: "I only sent one thousand five hundred taels as a gift to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince on his wedding. This time, these one thousand taels represent our mission. If we send more, they must also choose
There’s nothing wrong with it.”
The young envoy nodded and said with a smile: "That's right, that's right! I'm afraid the people who accept the gifts from Chu State will secretly praise me, Zhao, for the great power of our country."
Zhao Guozheng had a smile on his face: "Of course! Let's go! Come in with me!"
With that said, the envoy of the State of Zhao walked towards the door of Prince Xian's Mansion.
The entrance to Prince Xian's Mansion
Several people dressed as scholars continued to gather loosely at the entrance of Prince Xian's Mansion, chatting with each other as if chatting.
Scholar A: "Just now, the Zhou Kingdom paid 30,000 taels of tribute! It's really the style of a great country!"
Scholar B: "Thirty thousand taels! It is indeed a big country!"
Scholar C: "That's right, a strong country is different! And people also say that it is a modest gift on behalf of the Zhou Kingdom. Listening to this wording, it is not only grand, but also very humble!"
Zhao Guozheng confidently walked to the place where the ceremony was held with two thousand taels in his pocket. When he heard these words, his heart suddenly skipped a beat.
How many?
The Zhou envoy gave thirty thousand taels?!
Are the Zhou envoys collectively crazy?!
What are you picturing?
However, if we follow those words, it would be somewhat reasonable to represent the thirty thousand taels of the entire Zhou Kingdom.
Could it be that when the Zhou envoys arrived, they had already received the news that the Prince Xian was getting married, so they had prepared congratulatory gifts in advance?
However, didn't the envoys of the Zhou State say that they were here to check the truth this time, and then took advantage of the weakness of the Chu State to join forces with Zhao to attack the Chu State together?
Why would you give the Chu State a gift of thirty thousand taels?!
Could it be that sending 30,000 taels to the Chu State at this time made the Chu State take the Zhou State lightly, making the Chu State think that the Zhou State had a friendly attitude towards the Chu State, and thus took this opportunity to launch an offensive?
If you think about it carefully, it's not impossible.
However, regardless of whether Zhou Guo had this idea, the gift of 30,000 taels of silver was actually real.
Since the Zhou State has given thirty thousand taels, then if the Zhao State, which is far richer than the Zhou State, gives less, wouldn't it mean that it falls behind the Zhou State for no reason?
Doesn’t it mean that their Zhao State is inferior to Zhou State?
To make Chu State look down upon their great Zhao?
No! I can’t give you any less of this gift!
Just when Zhao Guozheng was letting his thoughts fly and weighing the pros and cons...
The place where a few scholar-looking people gathered in front of Prince Xian's Mansion.
Scholar Ding: "It's just 30,000 taels of silver. What's this? The State of Zhao hasn't sent a gift yet! The people of the State of Zhao are richer and stronger than the State of Zhou, and they deserve to be a big country! Can't the State of Zhao give us 50,000 taels?"
Who is Zhou Guo? He has no knowledge at all!"
Scholar A: "That makes sense! It is said that the State of Zhao is the richest in the world, and it is also the most prosperous place in the Central Plains for literature and art. Isn't its structure inferior to that of the Zhou State?"
Scholar B: "What I want most in my life is to study in the Imperial Academy of Zhao State. And it is said that the capital of Zhao State is much more prosperous than Zhou State! Are they going to give you only 50,000 taels?! Who are you looking down on! Why?
They said, they also have to pay 80,000 taels! I think it is 80,000 taels!"
Scholar C: "Yes! He is worth this price! The strength and financial resources are here! Eighty thousand taels! One less penny shows distrust of Zhao Guo's national strength!"
When the Zhao envoy heard this, he finally stopped, turned around, looked at a few people, and whispered: "I can't stand it anymore, let's go, go back and prepare more!"
At this time, the singer did indeed see them and came over and said: "Your Majesty, why are you leaving? Your Majesty is still waiting for you and all the envoys who have come from afar at the dust-washing banquet!"
"Your Majesty also said that this is a double blessing, one on top of the other! I'm just waiting for you all to come and take your seats."
Zhao Guozheng waved his hand and said: "The gift was forgotten in Honglu Temple. I have to go and get it."
The person singing the ceremony laughed and said: "Oh, you have come all the way, how can I accept your gift? Sending goose feathers thousands of miles away, the courtesy is light and the affection is heavy. You are really too ignorant to be polite!"
The envoy of Zhao Guozheng shook his head and said sternly: "This is not okay! This is a gift from our country, Zhao, to your country. If it only represents this envoy, it is fine. However, when it comes to the dignity of our country, it is not enough.
It’s too careless!”
Seeing the envoy of Zhao Guozheng leaving with many envoys, the person singing the ceremony, as well as the few scholar-looking people around him, all showed treacherous smiles.
The dean and the prince are really good at calculating!