Volume 5: Fellow Traveler Chapter 835: The Little Bully Makes Trouble
Even when he stood outside the gate of the house in the south of Huitong South Hall in Dongjiang Mixiang, which was specially used to receive the Korean envoys, Zhu Er's expression was still a little confused. He was suddenly given a big task without any preparation, and it also came with a very important secret of a fake imperial edict. For Master Zhu Er, who had never had the opportunity to get involved in the court affairs, it was definitely not a pie in the sky.
That was because he was bombarded with blasts all over his body by the cannons in the sky! When would it be Zhu Er's turn to take on such a task?
But he didn't need to look to know how high-spirited the expressions of Zhang Dakuai and Ji Jiu behind him were. He could even guess that the two guys must have felt that being able to take on this task represented the trust and reliance of the emperor. So, after standing there for a long while, he suddenly turned around and dragged the two men aside with one hand each.
Before the two guys could question him, he whispered, "The emperor wants us to invite the King of Zheshan from Goryeo to visit the capital, but can we really just report it and go to see him? In the past, when the Goryeo delegation came, there was never such a thing as the sons of noble families coming forward to invite and entertain them. This is unusual, and if it arouses their vigilance, how can we find out?"
Zhang Dakui was always straightforward. He was stunned for a moment, scratched his head and asked, "What should we do?"
Ji Jiu, who had just been in a state of panic, gradually calmed down. He glanced at Zhang the big guy with disdain, and then said with some annoyance: "Brother Zhu is right. The Goryeo envoys have nothing to do with us, the children of officials. It has nothing to do with us. The most important thing is that we are not in the Imperial College now, so we can't even use the excuse of coming to see our future classmates as an excuse."
"That's right. I just feel that if we go straight to them like this, it's like we are using them to highlight their dignity!" Zhu Er felt very comfortable when Ji Jiu called him Brother Zhu Er. He nodded to Ji Jiu very friendly and said to Zhang Dakuai, who looked confused, "So, we have to outsmart them, not outmaneuver them."
Zhang the big guy frowned irritably: "But we didn't intend to fight... We are not here to fight with others!"
Zhu Er's smile froze on his face. It was impossible to talk to a man who only cared about muscles! So he looked at Ji Jiu with hope, hoping that this guy, who was also famous for his cunning when he was in the Banshan Hall of the Imperial College, could come up with a feasible idea.
The three of them were informed by Zhang Shou to gather together. When Zhu Er was confused, the other two were so excited that they rushed here without any discussion. At this time, Zhu Er placed his hopes on Ji Jiu, who was racking his brains and thinking hard, when Zhang the big guy muttered in annoyance.
"If it really doesn't work, why don't we use Zhang Chen's excuse? Didn't they say that this Zheshan Jun openly rode a sedan chair to the city gate? We can just rush in and teach him a lesson, and then laugh it off. Isn't that great?"
Zhu Er was speechless. Do you have any misunderstanding about "a smile to end all grudges"? Besides, can this word be used in this place? However, just as he was about let Zhang Dakuo know that things should not be done so simply and crudely, he heard Ji Jiu suddenly lightly fist-bumping.
"That's a good idea! And it's more in line with our past trouble-making characteristics!"
Zhu Er was really dumbfounded that he was the one who caused the trouble. However, he had to agree with Ji Jiu's next words, which were spoken very quickly. So, they had left their followers waiting not far away, and now Zhu Er led the way, followed closely by Ji Jiu and Zhang Dakuo, and the triangular lineup marched forward in a heroic and confident manner.
They had just stopped here, and several soldiers guarding here felt a little strange. Seeing people retreating and coming back, the older one stepped forward to stop them and said, "This is Huitong South Pavilion, we don't receive outsiders..."
Before anyone could finish their words, Ji Jiu shouted, "What do you mean by foreign guests? We all know that this is Huitong South Pavilion, and we usually receive envoys from Korea, Ryukyu, Japan and other foreign countries. But this is the territory of our Ming Dynasty. Since when did we Ming people become foreign guests when we came here?"
This was an obvious substitution of concepts. If the Admiral and the head of the Ministry of Rites of the South Pavilion were here, they would naturally be able to refute Ji Jiu. However, the guards here were only a few literate or illiterate soldiers, so the person who asked the question was naturally dumbfounded by Lu Sanlang's question. Because Ji Jiu's words sounded very reasonable!
When Zhu Er saw that Ji Jiu's question had stunned the soldiers, he immediately struck while the iron was hot and said, "We know that this is the South Pavilion of Huitong and outsiders are not allowed to enter, but we are not outsiders! My father is the Duke of Zhao, his father is the Earl of Xiangyang, and his father is..."
Zhu Er first pointed at himself, and then at Zhang Dakuaitou and Ji Jiu and introduced them one by one. This kind of behavior of showing off one's father is so-and-so would cause a sensation on the Internet in later generations, but it is very normal in this day and age. When the soldiers saw their father respecting others, they naturally stood in awe.
After all, the guards at the entrance of Huitong South Pavilion were just for show. This South Pavilion only received envoys from Goryeo, Ryukyu and Japan, none of which was a real enemy country, because the five major camps of the Ming Dynasty, such as Zhenhai and Dinghai, and the overwhelming military ships were not vegetarians. Places as close as Goryeo, Ryukyu and Japan could be easily attacked.
Therefore, these guards were just a decoration, not to prevent people from the embassy from spying on intelligence, but to stop the idle people in the country who liked to watch the fun of foreigners. As for preventing the countrymen from being bribed by these guys... who could be bribed by those three small countries that were not rich?
Therefore, they were relieved when the three young men of the top nobility came to cause trouble. Good news never goes out, but bad news travels a thousand miles. They also heard a little bit about the conflict on the official road outside the city gate. However, they understood it, and several people looked at each other, and in the end, the older one coughed awkwardly.
"My three lords, it's not that we don't want to release them, but the rules are here, and we can't neglect our duties..."
Before he could finish his words, Zhu Er rolled up his sleeves and raised his eyebrows, saying, "You can't neglect your duties. Let's just rush in. Then the responsibility will be on us, right? Big guy, Ji Jiu, let's rush in!"
This kind of fighting of strength instead of intelligence is what Zhang Dakuai likes most. Although his martial arts are not that good, he is still fully capable of this kind of easy task of purely using strength to deal with a few small pawns. For a moment, the big guy took the lead and rushed in directly, followed by Ji Jiu, who always believed in fighting intelligence instead of strength, and finally Zhu Er led the way.
As a result, several soldiers were caught off guard and were directly barged in by the three men. Seeing the three men shouting and yelling as if no one was around, they thought they had no ability to drive them away, so they hurriedly sent someone to inform the person in charge, but the person happened to be going to Huitong North Pavilion.
Although Zhu Er was also hesitant, Ji Jiu suggested that they should wait and see what kind of person the man was after forcing their way in. If he was courageous and eloquent, then they could find a way to clear up the past grudges and then take him around the capital, which would be considered as fulfilling the emperor's order. If he was cowardly and incompetent, then they could make a real move and follow through with the excuse of maintaining Taizu's ancestral system. He finally thought it was worth a try.
As for the tricks, Ji Jiu took care of it all, and Zhu Er certainly wouldn't argue. He was not good at this at all. If he was good at it, then he would never escape being beaten by his father and brother whenever he made a mistake, no matter how he argued.
Ji Jiu's idea was not particularly good, but it had the advantage of not having to retreat to prepare, and could be executed immediately. Whether it would succeed depended on a short time - of course, if they failed and the news of their private entry into Huitong Hall got out, they would definitely not escape a family punishment when they returned. But Zhu Er did not have a particularly good idea, and his sister and brother-in-law said that if he could play freely this time, he would not be so reckless.
Therefore, after he broke in, he heard the big guy Zhang yelling, "Where are you, get out here!" Although veins in his temples were throbbing, he also shouted, "That Korean mountain king Li something... get out here!"
Ji Jiu almost stumbled at Zhu Er's words. Li what... Don't you know how to read? Her name is Li Li, not Li what! However, Zhu Er was Zhang Shou's brother-in-law after all, so he could only complain about this guy's ignorance in his heart.
Therefore, seeing the chaos in the yard, he, the only one among the three who had some scheming, could only helplessly step forward and grab a Korean man in white clothes, and shouted in a deep voice: "Tell your Zheshanjun to come out and talk! He can't hide even if he wants to!"
For the Korean envoys, except for the lowly people like grooms and servants, everyone else could speak fluent Chinese. Therefore, when Ji Jiu said this, the Korean man who was caught could understand it completely. So, as soon as Zhu Er let go, the man hurriedly ran to inform the envoy.
Ji Jiu was still worried that the message might not be passed on, so he arrested two more people in the same way and released the message. Then he pulled back the big, shouting Zhang and told him to stop shouting and to break into the yards to search - as for the target of the search, he did not forget to remind the other party.
He was a child who was estimated to be in his early teens. He was very easy to find, so don't make a mistake!
The three little bullies were making such a fuss that the entire Huitong Hall was in chaos. After a long while, a Korean envoy who had wanted to hide and wait for the officials of the Celestial Empire to intervene had no choice but to come out. However, when he tried his best to explain that it was because Zheshanjun's carriage had a problem, so he had to sit in the sedan chair for a while, he was choked back.
"No matter what rank you hold in Goryeo, when you come to the territory of the Great Ming, you must abide by the rules of the Great Ming! We are not here to cause trouble. I just want to ask Mr. Zheshan, since he is going to study at the Imperial Academy, he should have learned Confucian etiquette. Since he thinks that riding in a sedan chair is a matter of emergency, then can't you ride in other carriages in your delegation as a matter of emergency?"
Ji Jiu's words were full of hidden tricks, and the Korean envoy turned pale immediately. After a long while, he said hesitantly, "My lord, this mountain king is young and weak..."
"A young and weak person must ride in a sedan chair?" Ji Jiu smiled and said contemptuously, "Is it more comfortable to sit in your box-like sedan chair than in a car? Instead of stuffing people in a box and having them carried around, aren't the carriages in the team more comfortable and more conducive to a young and weak person like him?" Well, this has to do with the matter of the tribute women from Goryeo!
This time, the envoy finally gathered his courage and refuted without giving in: "But that is a carriage for the noble ladies of Goryeo brought here, and it is not suitable for the rank of the Lord of Zheshan. According to the etiquette of the Ming Dynasty, ministers of different ranks have their own carriages and horses, isn't that right?"
Although Ji Jiu was not as cunning and sophistry as Fatty Lu, he was least afraid of being debated with. Therefore, he did not have any negative emotions at all because of the envoy's rebuttal, but had a very heated debate with the other party on the ancestral system and etiquette with great interest, and the topic gradually went off the topic.
Zhu Er was watching from the side and heard the big guy looking for someone inside. He suddenly felt that the two helpers forced upon him by the emperor, one was just reckless and the other was just good at talking, were a real pitfall!
The only thing to be thankful for was that although Ji Jiu debated, at least he had a few rounds of arguments with the envoy on the other side about the identity of these Goryeo tribute women, so Zhu Er learned that there were a total of nine Goryeo tribute women, including not only the daughters of third- and fourth-rank officials, but also the daughters of some kings, all of whom were said to be famous beauties in Goryeo...
Although there has been no mention of the specific content of the edict brought by the traveler who went to announce the edict, the four words "tribute girls in accordance with the edict" have finally been confirmed.
Finally, when the debate seemed endless, he finally heard a clear voice.
"I have already apologized for riding in a sedan chair. I was just writing a letter of apology in person in my room. Goryeo is poor and remote, so the carriages are not as sturdy as those in the Celestial Empire and cannot withstand long journeys. That is why the carriage broke down on the road. It happened that we were only ten miles away from the capital at that time, so I changed to a sedan chair."
The young boy who came out was wearing a red robe, and his face was red because of anger. However, after he tried his best to control his emotions and yelled out these words, he saw that the young man who was arguing with the envoy suddenly turned his head to look at him, and the other one also stared at him, and then... the big guy who was yelling suddenly ran out and stared at him.
Zhe Shanjun, who was young and not particularly courageous, felt a little scared and regretful, but also quite ashamed and angry. It is said that the Ming Dynasty is a country of etiquette, so why do these people insist on holding on to that point?
The carriage broke down, so of course he didn't want to ride in the carriages of those women. Moreover, when they set out, in order to save money and make the journey more convenient, they all rode three people to a carriage. How could he squeeze in with those women? If he occupied a carriage, how could they sit? He himself had to leave his hometown and come to the capital of the Ming Dynasty, and they had to do the same.
Therefore, he calmed down and finally suppressed all the emotions in his heart, saying word by word: "Everyone has his own responsibility, it's all my fault. If you still think this is unforgivable, I will be responsible for it!"
