Chapter 1158: Hope

The Spanish envoys were oblivious to the turmoil in the capital. Due to the smooth negotiations the day before, Andre and Antonio had a good sleep and came to the meeting venue confidently. Upon arriving, they saw Qi Haoran and Fan Zijin sitting at the negotiation table, as well as the three youths sitting in the gallery.

Knowing these two weren’t as easy to talk to as the four officials, Andre and Antonio felt uneasy.

Andre looked around and asked with a smile, “King Rong, are Lord Liu and the others not here yet?”

Lord Liu was the chief officer of the four negotiators.

Qi Haoran did not speak, but Fan Zijin solemnly told them that Lord Liu and the other three had already been dismissed and were currently under investigation for violating the laws of Great Qi. In order not to affect the friendship between the two countries, the Imperial Court specially sent the Crown Prince and them to negotiate this matter with the envoys.

Andre Antonio: “…” The two of them wanted to express that they didn’t mind that those officials were criminals at all.

Of course, such words could not be said. Hence, the two of them could only watch aggrievedly as Fan Zijin overthrew all the terms negotiated from yesterday and started anew.

Seeing as Great Qi had sent a King, a Prince, and a Crown Prince, one could tell how much Great Qi valued Spain.

The officials and envoys outside were envious of Andre and Antonio.

But Andre and Antonio wanted to shout that they didn’t want this honor. What they wanted was real benefits.

The British, French, and other countries’ envoys who were about to leave suddenly did not want to leave, for they were eager to see the outcome of the negotiations between Spain and Great Qi.

On the other hand, the Tran Dynasty and Goryeo left very quickly. After all, they had already achieved their goal, which was to express their country’s respect for Great Qi and obtain the imperial edict from the Great Qi Emperor.

Unexpectedly, the Japanese envoy also stayed behind.

As most of the pirates on the southeast coast were Japanese, Little Bear and the others did not have a good impression of this country. Therefore, even if they did not respond to the envoys from various countries who came to ask for information, they would at least reveal some useful information. On the other hand, the Japanese envoys could not get any information six out of ten times.

The opinions of the higher-ups affected the actions of the people below. As such, the posthouse was not very friendly to the Japanese. Although they were respectful on the surface, the Japanese knew that they were ostracized.

For example, if Japan and an envoy from another country both ordered hot water, the officials at the posthouse would definitely satisfy the other country before considering Japan. Every time food was delivered, Japan would be the last to receive it. Trivial matters like this kept happening.

More importantly, it was very easy for the other countries to inquire about unimportant information, but it was very difficult for Japan.

Having come to Great Qi with a mission, the Japanese envoy was extremely vexed. Seeing that Great Qi’s sea trade was booming while their own country was in chaos and their people were suffering, the general had sent him here this time to see if he could obtain Great Qi’s help.

Wasn’t it just bowing down to the other party?

If they could obtain a large amount of gold, silver, silk, and grains by becoming a vassal state of Great Qi, they were very willing to do so, just like Goryeo and the Tran Dynasty. In any case, Great Qi did not interfere in their domestic affairs and it was mostly only in name. Meanwhile, the resources obtained by the vassal states were practical.

Unexpectedly, the diplomatic letter submitted by Japan was returned. Great Qi declined on the grounds that it was difficult for them to control Japan from across the sea, but were glad that Japan had such an intention…

However, the diplomatic letters handed over by Goryeo and the Tran Dynasty were left behind and imperial edicts were issued to them. This difference in treatment made the Japanese envoy extremely anxious. Coupled with the differential treatment in the posthouse, the Japanese envoy could not sit still anymore.

He forked out a large amount of silver, desperate to know the reason why Japan was treated differently.

In the end, these silver ended up in the hands of Tiger Head, Little Lion, and Qi Wensu. That’s right, the differential treatment in the posthouse was instigated by these three brats.

They happily carried the silver in the box to hand them over.

The official from the Ministry of Revenue looked at them with a headache and begged, “Young Masters, since you don’t have an official position, this can only be considered a gift from the Japanese envoy to you. As it’s not considered accepting bribes, there’s no need to hand it over.”

“No.” Tiger Head raised his head and puffed out his chest. “These were handed to us by the officials of the posthouse. By being so law-abiding and considerate of the national treasury, they should be rewarded. Because they don’t dare to come here themselves, they asked us to bring it over.”

Qi Wensu said domineeringly, “Just accept it and store it all in the national treasury. Doesn’t your Ministry of Revenue always cry that you don’t have money? These silver are considered contributions from the posthouse officials. Keep them well and remember to use them for the benefit of the commoners.”

The officials of the Ministry of Revenue looked at the three children helplessly. Although there were two boxes of silver, the purity was not good. Moreover, what could a mere 1,000 taels of silver do?

The Ministry of Revenue was indeed short of money, but it was not to the extent that they valued this mere 1,000 taels of silver.

However, the children felt that small amounts could accumulate, and that silver with a value of 1,000 taels could do a lot of things. It could buy at least 100 plowing oxens, enough to subsidize an entire county with plowing oxens.

Therefore, they were very proud.

Seeing how they raised their heads and puffed out their chests, the officials of the Ministry of Revenue who attended to them couldn’t explicitly express their honest thoughts and could only take out pens to record the amount.

As these silver pancakes were huge and different from the silver ingots of Great Qi, it was not easy for anyone to steal them. Therefore, he could pat his chest and reassure the three young masters that this money would definitely be handed over to the national treasury and used on the commoners.

As the official of the Ministry of Revenue recorded the amount, he could not help but ask, “But why are the three young masters targeting the Japanese envoy alone?”

Tiger Head sneered and said, “That’s because they’re all wicked people. The vagabonds from their country often come to the coast of Great Qi to burn, kill, and plunder. They’re extremely detestable!”

Ever since the children became sensible, they’d been living in Guangzhou, so they had a deep loathing for the pirates. A cold glint flashed across Little Lion’s eyes as he said, “It’s not just the vagabonds. My father once captured the pirates for interrogation. The generals in their country supported the warriors to come to Great Qi to rob our country to provide supplies for their country. Hmph, they treated Great Qi as a granary and the people of Great Qi as cattle and sheep to be raised in captivity. Whenever there’s a need, they come over to slaughter our people. Do they think that Great Qi is a place that they can slaughter at will?”

“They should count themselves lucky that we’re only making things difficult for them in trivial matters. The Japanese in Guangzhou have all been wiped out by Fourth Uncle, but there are still many Japanese in Fuzhe. If they really anger us, we’ll bring our troops out to sea to destroy them for good.” Qi Wensu, too, did not have a good impression of the Japanese.

“That’s right.” Tiger Head clenched his fists and said, “We should wipe out Japan.”

Little Lion’s eyes were filled with ambition. “When the time comes, I want to be the Grand Marshal.”

“Then I’ll be the Great General and the vanguard!” Tiger Head was excited.

Qi Wensu also looked forward with hope. “I want to be a general too!”

The officials of the Ministry of Revenue looked at the three children who were looking forward to the future and expressing their wishes in shock.

However, the three children ignored them. The more they spoke, the more excited they became. They were already planning to find a place to perfect this expedition plan.

As the officials of the Ministry of Revenue watched the three children walk away, they shook their heads in amusement. “They’re children after all.”

As soon as they finished speaking, someone smacked their heads. The Minister of Revenue glared at them and said, “You can’t even compare to three children.”

The Minister of Revenue looked in the direction where the three children had left, his eyes shining. “Perhaps Great Qi will have the same achievements as Han and Tang!”

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