paranoianovel Chapter 2296: A Certain Great
Chapter 2296: A Certain Great
Li Shen held his head high and chest puffed out, with a professional smile on his face:
"Excuse me."
"Thank you, Your Highness Prince Ji."
Li Shen walked directly to the front. This was the sense of superiority that came from the Celestial Empire.
After sitting in the first seat, Li Shen raised his hand:
"Everyone, please take a seat."
The most embarrassing thing at this moment is to first identify the new king of Yanqi. He was originally the host, but was completely replaced by Li Shen.
Of course he had heard of His Royal Highness Prince Ji, he was the old prince's younger brother and also a nobleman.
It is rumored that King Ji is very powerful and his wealth alone is enough to compare with the entire Yanqi.
It is hard to imagine how rich this King Ji was.
At this time, Shi Tou took out a pair of silver bowls and chopsticks and began to taste each dish.
Li Shen didn’t know what it was like for other princes to eat outside, but he was afraid of death because there were too many people who wanted him dead.
The army here is not safe either, because there are many children from aristocratic families here.
Taking advantage of this time, Han Wei began to introduce Li Shen, starting with the generals of the Tang Dynasty and then the nobles of Yanqi.
Every time someone was introduced, that person would stand up and salute, and Li Shen would respond with a smile and a nod.
Li Shen was very familiar with this part. He had often encountered such parts in his previous life, but every time he was the one who stood up and nodded.
Two quarters of an hour passed quickly, and Shitou put away his silver dishes and chopsticks, then took out a set of jade tableware.
The emerald green bowls and plates are thickened with golden auspicious cloud patterns.
The wine glass made of mutton-fat white jade is inlaid with a circle of gems.
Each one looks extraordinary.
Everyone who saw this secretly sighed, saying that he was indeed a wealthy god of wealth, and that it was indeed luxurious.
Little did they know that Li Shen made this set of tableware simply for showing off and rarely used it.
Because it is too smooth, it is more difficult to pick up than other things, especially chopsticks, which will break if you use a little force.
Li Shen didn't know how many chopsticks he had broken.
"Everyone." Li Shen raised his glass and looked at everyone. Everyone also looked at Li Shen. Li Shen smiled and said:
"This king knows that everyone present here is loyal to the Tang Dynasty. All the rebellious acts they committed in the past were done by the former King of Yanqi who was bewitched by the Western Turks.
It has nothing to do with anyone present here.
Now that the main culprit has been eliminated, you can rest assured that the Tang Dynasty will never embarrass you again."
"Thank you, Your Highness Prince Ji, for your understanding." Xian Nazhun was the first to express his gratitude.
"Your Highness Prince Ji is very understanding of justice."
"We are loyal to the Tang Dynasty."
The other nobles followed suit.
Li Shen nodded with satisfaction and continued:
"I know your loyalty, but in recent years Yanqi has been wavering and has repeatedly attacked our Tang merchants.
This will make the Khan of Heaven furious, and he will send troops to punish you.
The people of Yanqi have suffered from the war, tens of thousands of soldiers have died on the battlefield, and the people are living in dire straits. Seeing this, my heart is filled with grief.
I hope you can learn from this and remember the lesson in the future.
The Western Turks have evil ambitions. They are just using you as shields to test the strength of the Tang Dynasty's sword.
What about now? Have they come to rescue you?
But our Tang Dynasty is a country of etiquette, not a heartless and ungrateful people like them. If Yanqi is in trouble, the Tang Dynasty will definitely lend a helping hand.
Who is strong and who is weak? I believe that everyone here should know how to choose."
Li Shen's words plunged the scene into silence, and everyone listened and thought quietly.
It was clear that King Ji's words were just a brief explanation of the attack on Yanqi.
The old King of Yanqi was deceived by the Western Turks and became disloyal to the Tang Dynasty, so the Tang Dynasty sent troops to attack.
It also explained that it had nothing to do with these people, which meant that their past sins were forgiven.
He also told them that cooperating with the Western Turks would not end well, that the Western Turks were ruthless and ungrateful and would not help them fight against the Tang Dynasty.
Li Shen's performance impressed the governor Han Wei. They used force to intimidate and then selected a pro-Tang royal family member to succeed the throne.
When Prince Ji came, he appealed to people's emotions and reasoned with them, adopting a conciliatory policy.
"Don't worry, Your Highness Prince Ji. We have always been loyal to the Tang Dynasty, but we dare not resist under the tyranny of Old Yanqi.
We have also advised him many times, but to no avail.
This brought punishment from the Khan of Heaven.
We have learned our lesson and are willing to remain attached to the Tang Dynasty for generations, becoming its vassal states, paying tribute year after year and submitting to its rule year after year."
Xian Nazhun stood up and solemnly stated his attitude to Li Shen. He had just taken this position, and without the support of the Tang Dynasty, he would be pulled down soon.
He naturally knew how miserable the outcome would be.
"Good! This makes me feel relieved. Let me offer a toast to you all. May both countries enjoy peace and prosperity."
Li Shen stood up, raised his glass, and drank it all with everyone else.
Li Shen put down his wine glass, took a bite of food, and said casually:
"In fact, if it were me, I would not suffer in this remote place. I would rather hand over Yanqi to the Tang Dynasty.
Then I will change into a noble of the Tang Dynasty and live in Chang'an City."
Hmm? Everyone looked at King Ji, even the first one. What did King Ji mean by this?
Could it be that he wants to annex Yanqi?
"Why does Your Highness Prince Ji say so?"
Han Wei, who was standing by, heard this and asked very cooperatively.
At the same time, he thought to himself that this was indeed the case. Prince Ji had made his attitude clear when he rode into the palace.
No matter what, it is the royal city and represents the emperor.
Although they defeated Yanqi, they could establish the King of Yanqi and even have the final say in Yanqi, but they would not humiliate the King of Yanqi.
They didn't even dare to live in the royal city, nor did they dare to loot the things in the royal city.
This is the rule and a respect for the royal power. If they lived in the palace, they would probably be close to death.
Not to mention them, even Li Shen, the Prince of Ji, cannot stay here unless he is the crown prince.
Of course, this does not include wars of annihilation.
The fact that King Ji rode into the city on horseback showed that he did not respect King Yanqi. Combined with what he had just said, it seemed that King Ji had big plans.
Thinking of this, Han Wei felt a little bit of anticipation. The military merit of defeating Yanqi is different from the military merit of expanding territory.
At this moment, everyone was waiting for Li Shen's answer, and the nobles of Yanqi were feeling uneasy.
Li Shen spoke very naturally:
"What is there to think about? Yanqi is just a tiny place with scarce supplies and the people are poor and destitute.
How could it possibly compare to the prosperity of Chang'an City?
Governor Han has also been to Chang'an, right? What do you think of Chang'an City compared to here?"
"This... I think the difference is like heaven and earth, and they cannot be compared."
(Han Wei is a real historical figure who participated in the Western Expedition and is not a fictional character.)