GBP Chapter 238 Midnight Confrontation
Chapter 238 Midnight Confrontation
Regarding the winter hunting festival exchanged between the two countries, political issues, both overt and covert, dominated the discussion.
The struggle for the throne between Yelu Hongji and Yelu Chongyuan, the struggle for the state between Yelu Hongji and Han Ming, the struggle for calculation between Han Ming and Yelu Chongyuan...
All these things were vividly reflected in this winter hunt. Looking back, among the three, Han Ming was passively responding to the moves, Yelu Hongji was actively seeking to attack, and Yelu Chongyuan was watching the show silently.
It seems that only Han is at a disadvantage and passive position, but in fact, facing various encirclements and suppressions throughout the Liao Kingdom, Han Ming and the entire delegation have done a remarkable job and there is nothing wrong to find.
After all, for envoys sent to other countries, the best outcome is to be able to balance the strengths and weaknesses of both sides to a certain extent and not drag the country behind them into trouble.
Therefore, although Han Ming proposed that the reward for the Winter Hunting Festival be the position of "Grand Marshal of the Army of the World", after the statistics were taken, Han Ming was still "slightly" lower than the first place.
According to the hunting statistics, the first place belongs to Yelu Helubu, the son of Yelu Hou, the deputy envoy of the Northern Court of the Liao Dynasty and the assistant minister of the Ministry of War.
Many people were surprised and puzzled by this result. After all, when Han Ming first proposed this award, many people thought that he was confident and determined to win it.
But at the moment, this result is very strange. Although there is a lot of discussion within the Liao Kingdom, it has not caused any problems.
But for Yelu Hongji and Yelu Chongyuan, it was a earth-shaking earthquake.
Although neither of them said anything, they still had different thoughts and considerations about Han Ming.
Finally, under everyone's strange gaze, Yelu Hongji awarded the title of Grand Marshal of the Army to Yelu Helubu.
That night, at He Zhengru's reminder, Han Ming quietly slipped out of the entire Nabo and headed north for the second time, rushing to the Baihe River to meet Yelu Chongyuan.
Looking at the scenery along the way, which was even colder and more desolate than during the day, Han Ming actually felt a sense of déjà vu.
When they arrived at the bank of Baihe River, a tent caught their eyes. Han Ming looked around and found that the six "bulges" that he had seen during the day were gone.
"Lord Han!" A familiar voice echoed across the wilderness. Xiao Ge rode over on horseback and brought Han Ming into the tent.
There were not many people in the tent, only Yelu Chongyuan and his son, and Xiao Ge who had just led the way.
"Your Highnesses, I believe there is no need for me to introduce this Marquis Han."
"Marquis Han, this is my great uncle of the Liao Dynasty, His Royal Highness the King of Qin, Yelü Chongyuan; and this is his son, His Royal Highness the newly crowned King of Chu, Yelü Nerugu!"
Xiao Ge didn't waste any time and started introducing each other directly.
This was the second time Han Ming met Yelu Chongyuan and his son. The first time was during the winter hunting festival, when they met during the day when they were asking for rewards.
At that time, because I asked for the position of "Grand Marshal of the Army of the World", the father and son looked at me with murderous eyes.
"A humble official greets your Highnesses." Han Ming bowed as if nothing had happened.
"Please stand up, Lord Marquis." Yelu Chongyuan helped the other person up with a smile, and then asked Han Ming to sit down.
"I had no choice but to choose this time to meet you tonight. I hope Your Majesty can forgive me."
Yelu Chongyuan took the initiative to apologize with a fist, as if intending to ease the previous conflict.
"Your Highness, what are you talking about? It is a great honor for a foreign minister to have an audience with Your Highness. I dare not have any extra thoughts."
Flattery never wears out, and Han Ming's praise of the other party and his disparagement of himself made Yelu Chongyuan and his son feel much better.
"You are too polite, Lord Han. I am truly honored to have the assistance of a talent like you."
Yelu Chongyuan smiled and complimented Han Ming, as if the previous invisible contradiction did not exist.
After a long time, seeing that they had not yet gotten to the point, Xiao Ge and Yelu Nerugu decisively stopped the two and took the initiative to talk about the issue of cooperation.
"Actually, before the formal meeting, I'm still a little confused. I wonder if Marquis Han can teach me?"
Yelu Chongyuan saw his son's eyes and nodded slightly to show that he understood.
"Your Highness, please speak. Anything that an outsider can answer will be explained without reservation."
Han Ming acted frankly, leaving Yelu Chongyuan and the other two looking at each other in bewilderment.
"Logically, Marquis Han sought the cooperation of the king and his men, so why did he ask Your Majesty for the title of Grand Marshal of the Armies in broad daylight?"
"Since you asked for this reward, why did you give it away in the end?"
"This prince is truly puzzled, and I hope that the Marquis can explain everything to me."
Although Yelu Chongyuan's words seemed calm, the confusion and dissatisfaction in them made Han Ming laugh.
"Your Highness, you know that the foreign ministers' actions are a means to help you two escape from this dangerous situation."
Han Ming's lips curled up slightly, with a smile that showed he was in control of the situation.
"Why?" Nerugu asked with a frown.
"The deep conflict between Your Majesty and Your Highness has been going on for a long time. When you first ascended the throne, in order to win over the people, you generously rewarded them with various powerful positions and honors."
"The Liao Dynasty is now peaceful and stable, and your Majesty's reputation is no longer vulnerable to rumors. I naturally don't want to let your highness continue to live a carefree life."
Han Ming easily explained the situation between Yelu Chongyuan's uncle and nephew in just two sentences, which was a tense situation.
"To this end, they even planned to assassinate the diplomatic corps, using diplomatic issues to forcibly confiscate His Highness's various powers."
As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of the three people in the tent changed. Although they had already made their judgment, they still felt a little embarrassed when Han Ming said it.
"My Lord, be careful with your words! How dare you slander our Emperor like this!"
Yelu Chongyuan took the initiative to speak and pretended to warn Han Ming, but in fact, these words were the funniest coming from his mouth.
"Hahaha, Your Highness, why are you so flustered? I, the minister, should be more decisive!"
Han Ming flicked his sleeves, stood up and paced back and forth in the tent.
"This Marquis asked His Majesty the Liao Kingdom for the title of 'Grand Marshal of the Army of the World' simply to follow the trend."
"Although he has long considered relinquishing military power, he has not dared to act rashly. He is afraid that Your Highness will raise his voice and cause unrest in the country, thus challenging him."
"So if you can find a reasonable excuse to take back the position of marshal, he will definitely let down his guard against you."
"After all, an idle prince with no power or wealth can't shake his status at all."
"Therefore, the foreign ministers are using this opportunity to reasonably request a reward. For the sake of the greater good of exchanges between the two countries, His Highness will certainly voluntarily hand over military power."
"And His Majesty of Liao was able to save face and easily withdraw military power, thus avoiding offending either side."
"As for giving up the reward, isn't that what I should do? How can a mere envoy like me be worthy of being the Grand Marshal of the Liao army?"
"I wonder if there are still 'Dragon Sikkim' monitoring your Highness's tent?"
Han Ming's words made the three of them widen their eyes and look at each other in surprise.
"How did Lord Han know that 'Long Xijin' had withdrawn the surveillance today?" Nerugu was a little bit unbelievable.
"This is all within my expectations. To your Majesty, the threat posed by the two princes is less than that posed by Han alone."
Han Ming chuckled, raised his tea bowl and drank the hot goat milk.
"The young prince and his son would like to thank the Marquis for his help!"
Seeing Han Ming's wisdom, Yelu Chongyuan bowed with some conviction.
"Hey, Your Highness, you're too polite!" Han Ming raised his hand and waved gently.
"Although the foreign ministers have resolved your dilemma, how to continue to fight your Majesty at home and how to completely escape this impasse still requires your Highness's own efforts."
Han Ming's last sentence reminded Chongyuan and his son not to think that the matter was over. Without military power, the situation in the struggle between him and Yelu Hongji would become more biased towards the other side.
"Your Majesty, rest assured about this. Although I don't have nominal military power, my son and I have many allies within the Liao Dynasty."
Yelu Chongyuan smiled mysteriously and was very fond of the gift Han Ming brought him when they first met.
"As for the foreign ministers and the delegation's future actions within the Liao Dynasty, I hope that Your Highnesses and Prime Minister Xiao will provide them with guidance."
Han Ming took the initiative to mention the cooperation between the two parties. Chongyuan and his son and Xiao Ge all accepted it with a smile, and the three of them patted their chests and said that there was no problem.
The four of them were having a great time afterwards. Chongyuan held Han Ming's hand tightly and refused to let go, as if he felt that they had met too late.
By the time the night talk was over, the sky was slightly bright. Finally, under the reluctant gazes of Chongyuan and his son, Xiao Ge saw Han Ming off and headed south back to Nabo.