Opposition
When Xie Xuanchen voiced his opposition just now, many people were actually angry with him— since the talks were going so smoothly, why was he butting in like that for no reason? 500,000 really wasn’t much, so why was he bothering to anger the people of Beirong for such a small amount of money?
The conversation between Xie Xuanchen and Ye Luyan became more and more heated, and in the end, it felt like a war was almost breaking out, but no one in the hall dared to speak. Everyone thought that the negotiations were going to fall off there and then; after all, why would the Ye Dynasty dare to pick a fight with Beirong? Nevertheless, they never expected that Xie Xuanchen’s oppressive power towards foreign countries was even greater than they imagined.
In the end, it turned out that Beirong was the one who didn’t dare to risk things.
But no matter how it was said, the results were rather good. Prime Minister Song quickly came up to smooth things over, painstakingly trying to shift the topic of conversation as he dared not talk about state affairs anymore. Today’s result wnt much better than they had expected, so it wouldn’t be too late to talk about the further details on another day.
Singing and dancing resumed in the hall. The dancers of the Imperial Performance Division pranced around lightly and danced with vibrance again. Everyone in the audience seemed to have forgotten what happened just now as they continued to chat and laugh happily.
Though, there was nobody who could revert to their once peaceful and leisure attitude. No one was brave enough to speak up, but silently and discreetly, there were eyes that occasionally glanced towards Xie Xuanchen.
Xie Xuanchen swapped out a new wine glass, lowered his head to drink and seemed completely different from the person who had murderously suggested a commencement of war. Mu Mingtang took the initiative to pick up the jug and poured a full glass for Xie Xuanchen, “Calm down, they aren’t brave enough to mention the topic of tributes again, so you don’t have to anger yourself.”
“I have calmed down for a while,” After Xie Xuanchen finished speaking, he sighed in a low voice, “There are no permanent friends between any two countries, so no matter what Beirong does, I’m not surprised. I’m just even more angry with my own people.”
Beirong and the Ye Dynasty were in charge of their own affairs, so Xie Xuanchen was able to completely understand Ye Luyan’s desire to take advantage of the Ye Dynasty’s benefits. However, he couldn’t accept that the people of his own country remained submissive and allowed themselves to be easy prey.
Both the Emperor and the Prime Minister of the country already agreed to use annual tributes as a way to seek peace,so what else could he expect from the Beirong people? How could the people blame others for taking advantage of them when they didn’t want to even stand up for themselves?
Mu Mingtang sighed silently when she heard it since she knew that this topic was heavy and unsolvable. No matter how much the courtiers throw their heads and hands in protest, it would be of no use if the rulers above did not listen. Mu Mingtang filled up some wine for Xie Xuanchen and said, “You shouldn’t drink too much; this glass is enough for today.”
After she finished speaking, she added casually, “I know, but you’re still here.”
The Emperor and the Prime Minister were fatuous and weak, but he was still there.
If the court was fatuous, then change the court; if the ruler was incompetent, then change the ruler.
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