Chapter 286: The Han Envoy

"Right Haye, Tuoshan."

"Left Haye, Da Da Damu."

"Village Elder, Wu'erke."

"Military Advisor, Guo Shao."

There is actually a Han person...

Inside the bamboo house, the bamboo mat at the head of the table was empty. A complete tiger skin was spread on the mat, the tiger head still maintaining a roaring posture, but the fur had long lost its luster, looking old and dull.

Behind the seat, a bamboo curtain hung low, and a medicinal smell seeped through the gaps in the curtain, vaguely revealing several attendants surrounding a bed.

Le Luo Luo sat to the side of the lower seat, and the other four sat on the left and right. Wang Yang sat alone in the middle; one might think he was on trial.

The five people each held themselves with dignity, not looking at Wang Yang. It seemed he was just a person not worth paying attention to. If an ordinary person were sitting there, they would inevitably feel awkward, embarrassed, or restless. Wang Yang, however, sat peacefully, with no change in expression.

Village Elder Wu'erke clapped his hands, and two bare-chested barbarian men carried a low table and placed it in front of Wang Yang. On the table were three coarse pottery bowls. An attendant held a wine jar and poured them full with a *dong-dong-dong* sound.

The turbid, yellowish wine swirled in the bowl, and the strong smell of alcohol mixed with a kind of sour, over-fermented smell rushed straight into his nasal cavity, stinging his eyes until they swelled.

Wu'erke made a gesture of invitation:

"It is the custom of our village that when a distant guest comes to discuss major matters, if their heart is sincere, they should first drink three large bowls. If the Han envoy is truly sincere, please finish the wine in the bowl."

Wang Yang glanced at the frighteningly large wine bowl and sat still:

"According to the rituals of my dynasty, one cannot drink privately during official business. Although my heart is sincere, I am on an official mission, and since the official business has not been settled, how dare I drink privately? It would be better to wait until all matters are settled before drinking heartily with everyone."

Wu'erke insisted:

"Don't you Han people have a saying, 'When in Rome, do as the Romans do'? Since the Han envoy has entered our village, you should follow our customs."

The Haye and others all agreed, only Guo Shao, who sat at the very bottom, was expressionless and did not say a word.

Wang Yang said solemnly:

"Following customs is just to accommodate human feelings; upholding rituals is to establish the foundation of morality. Human feelings can be weighed, but the foundation of morality cannot be moved."

The barbarians fell silent. Wu'erke was also choked, his face looking a bit ugly, and his tone became a bit harder as he questioned:

"Stubbornly violating the host's wishes—is this the etiquette of a guest?"

Wang Yang smiled and retorted:

"Forcing a guest to follow customs—is this the benevolence of a host?"

Wu'erke was choked again.

This time, the gazes of the Haye and others were all focused on Wang Yang. Only Guo Shao just glanced at Wang Yang slightly before withdrawing his gaze, returning to his dead-as-water state.

Left Haye Da Da Damu let out a cold snort:

"If you don't follow customs, what kind of envoy are you?"

Wang Yang glanced at him and said indifferently:

"In the past, Fu Jiezi beheaded the King of Loulan, and he also did not follow customs."

Da Da Damu was furious: "You—"

"Alright," Right Haye Tuoshan suddenly raised his hand. "Do not harm the harmony between our two families because of this small matter. Since it is inconvenient for the Han envoy to drink, then let it be. Come, remove the wine and replace it with tea."

Tuoshan had spoken, and no one had any objections. Although Da Da Damu no longer argued with Wang Yang, he glared at him angrily.

Le Luo Luo, however, began to mutter in his heart: What does Wang Yang mean? Didn't he say to befriend the Left Haye first? Why did he turn around and confront the Left Haye?

Wang Yang smiled and cupped his hands: "Many thanks to everyone for your understanding."

His smile was harmonious, completely different from when he said "beheaded the King of Loulan."

Tuoshan glanced at Wu'erke, and Wu'erke asked:

"Since the Han envoy comes representing the imperial court, why is there no imperial edict or tally?"

Wang Yang looked at Le Luo Luo, his expression surprised: "Did the Shao Zouye not tell everyone?"

Le Luo Luo kept a straight face and said coldly:

"Who knows if your words are true or false."

Wang Yang shook his head helplessly, looked at the few people, his expression puzzled:

"Some time ago, my dynasty sent troops across the border, west of the Jushui River. Do you not know about this?"

The few looked at each other. They had heard a little about this news, but they were far away, and the Qi army had not approached the Wenyang Gorge, so they didn't know what they were doing. Compared to the movements near Yongning Commandery, they were still more concerned about Wenyang Commandery.

Tuoshan said: "We naturally know about this matter."

Wang Yang smiled, his gaze slowly sweeping over everyone, as if looking at a group of lambs waiting to be slaughtered without knowing it, and said slowly:

"Then do you know... what the true purpose of this troop deployment... is?"

A thought immediately arose in Tuoshan's heart, and the faces of the others also changed, including Guo Shao, who had previously been like a dead person.

Clearly, combined with Le Luo Luo's message and the previous actions of Wenyang Commandery, they had already thought of something. Of course, it was under Wang Yang's guidance. And this guidance had begun long before Wang Yang left Jingzhou, when he agreed with Liu Tan to mobilize the Wenyang troops to show an offensive posture. Although Le Luo Luo had repeatedly probed and circled, and finally reached cooperation with Wang Yang, he did not know that he had already been caught in the net, becoming a key chess piece in Wang Yang's guidance.

Tuoshan didn't answer whether he knew or not, but retorted: "What do you say it is?"

Naturally, it is looking for us...

Wang Yang's smile deepened, leaving room in his words while confirming everyone's guess:

"On the surface, it is to investigate a case, but actually, you can think of it without me saying it. Investigating a case doesn't require such a big fuss. It is just borrowing the opportunity of investigating a case to familiarize with the terrain and drill the troops. When the day of sending troops comes, they will advance from multiple routes and encircle the Wenyang tribe."

As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the room became tense.

Wu'erke and Da Da Damu looked at Wang Yang with hostility. Le Luo Luo's hostility was even deeper, with seven parts fake and three parts real. Tuoshan had depth, and although it didn't show on his face, his aura also turned cold. Only Guo Shao was expressionless, returning to his previous wooden state.

Le Luo Luo slammed the table: "Do you dare to threaten my tribe? I tell you, I do not fear the Qi army. If you dare to invade, I will—"

Wang Yang revealed a look that was both helpless and funny, his tone slow and arrogant:

"I know, it's just 'Ya Tutu Cha,' right! But we are talking so well, and we've already talked about submission and trade, so why are we 'Ya Tutu Cha' again? As the Shao Zouye, your actions are so inconsistent; how can you be the master of the Wenyang tribe in the future?"

It's up to you, play the part!

Wang Yang pointed at Le Luo Luo in his heart: Go, Pikachu!

"What are you saying!"

Le Luo Luo roared and stood up, drawing his sword from its sheath!

The Right Haye and others hurriedly used the barbarian language to stop him! Da Da Damu rushed forward, snatched Le Luo Luo's sword, scolded him in a low voice, and pressed him back into his seat.

The two hadn't discussed this scene beforehand, but the effect was surprisingly good. First, if Wang Yang wanted to secretly support Le Luo Luo, he couldn't be on good terms with him on the surface, or it would easily arouse the vigilance of the Left and Right Haye. Second, Le Luo Luo playing this black-faced role seemed to stir the scene into a state of tension, but for others, it actually played a cooling role, which was conducive to the smooth development of subsequent negotiations. Third, Wang Yang publicly belittled Le Luo Luo for not being able to be the master of the barbarian tribe; if those two powerful ministers had ambitions, they would also agree with Wang Yang in their hearts, and the resistance to their agreement to submission would be even smaller. Fourth, from Le Luo Luo's perspective, he was also unwilling to miss this opportunity to show that he was "easy to deal with."

And in the eyes of the Left and Right Haye, this conflict might not be a bad thing, because it not only expressed the attitude that should be expressed through Le Luo Luo's mouth but also didn't make the Han-barbarian relationship too stiff, leaving room for easing. As for what the personal relationship between Le Luo Luo and the Han envoy was, that was not in their consideration; being worse was actually better for them.

This conflict, with each harboring their own thoughts, was like a hot pot with delicious ingredients—boiling and rolling on the surface, but letting all the ingredients inside absorb the flavor. The diners were very satisfied with this result, but no one noticed that the person who started the fire to boil the hot pot was Wang Yang.

Tuoshan's expression didn't change, his voice cold and hard:

"The Han envoy keeps talking about friendship, but threatens us first and insults our tribe's Shao Zouye later. Is this the sincerity of the imperial court's recruitment?"

This remark sounded like a question and confrontation on the surface, but the actual atmosphere was completely different from before and after talking about the army encircling the Wenyang tribe. At this moment, it was just like the hot pot having the high fire removed. Tuoshan had already given Wang Yang a chance to "use his chopsticks" without changing his expression.

Wang Yang did not shirk and "used his chopsticks":

"First of all, it is not that I want to threaten you; I just want to explain to you why I didn't bring an imperial edict. Now that the pro-war faction has the upper hand, it is impossible for me to bring any written documents into the barbarian lands. Even if I did, I wouldn't express any intention of recruitment. As for tallies, I wouldn't bring them either; otherwise, wouldn't I be explicitly telling the world that I am here representing the Son of Heaven? Submission must be proposed by you voluntarily; this is both the bottom line and something that cannot be helped. Secondly, I am by no means trying to insult the Shao Zouye; I just feel that as the future master of the tribe, one should have a firm opinion and not talk about submission and trade one moment and 'Ya Tutu Cha' the next. Such wavering—how can it be convincing?"

Wang Yang glanced at Le Luo Luo's "furious" appearance and changed the subject: "However, my words were indeed inappropriate, and I apologize to the Shao Zouye."

After saying this, he cupped his hands toward Le Luo Luo in a standard manner.

Le Luo Luo did not answer, just glared at Wang Yang, the anger in his eyes not yet extinguished.

Da Da Damu still had one hand pressing on Le Luo Luo, seemingly afraid that he would rush up and kill the Han envoy on the spot. He turned to ask Wang Yang: "Without an imperial edict, how can we believe you?"

Wang Yang retorted: "Would you believe it if there were an imperial edict?"

Da Da Damu said with a cold face: "The words of the Han Emperor are at least more credible than your words."

"An imperial edict does not necessarily represent the Emperor's meaning. You should understand this principle. Actually, setting aside the reality of the pro-war and pro-peace factions, even if I were on a normal envoy mission, what I would be carrying would not be an imperial edict, but an official document from the Secretariat—a Secretariat Tally, also known as a Terrace Tally. Because whether to make peace or war cannot be determined yet. If I brought an imperial edict, and you complied, then everyone would be happy; but if you resisted the edict, it would damage the Heavenly Might. The Imperial Order is a heavy vessel and cannot be lightly bestowed; this is precisely the reason—"

"But you don't even have a Secretariat Tally!" Da Da Damu interrupted.

"I said before that an imperial edict does not necessarily represent the Emperor's meaning. The Secretariat drafts the edicts, the Cavalier Attendants draft the books, the Chancellery reviews and signs them, and the Secretariat issues them. With so many layers, there are many mysteries here. Do you know how many edicts are issued from the Secretariat every day? Do you think the Son of Heaven reads every word and issues every edict personally? The more hands it passes through, the more restrictions there are, and the further it is from the Holy Will. Sometimes, for routine edicts, the three departments draft them and issue them according to precedent, and the Son of Heaven only puts his imperial seal on them. There are many trivial matters, and how can he pay attention to every single one? Plus, sometimes the Son of Heaven has to accept the constraints of the system, court discussions, and the hundred officials, making it difficult to act on his own will. Therefore, I say that sometimes an imperial edict does not necessarily represent the Son of Heaven. But there are two kinds of edicts that come directly from the Son of Heaven and best represent his heart! And they also have the most authority! One is the Middle Edict, also called the Hand Edict, which is written personally by the Son of Heaven. The other is the Oral Edict, which is stated personally by the Son of Heaven—"

Wang Yang stopped speaking, looking self-important.

Everyone looked at each other, their expressions becoming more solemn. Wu'erke adjusted his sitting posture unconsciously and asked solemnly:

"So the Han envoy has an Oral Edict?"

Wang Yang put his hands behind his back and said indifferently:

"Since the conversation has reached this point, it is not appropriate to continue. You are all smart people. I will only say two points: First, the conditions for submission and trade that I discussed with you are all valid. Second, I, the Langya Wang clan, have never spoken a false word." ===== CHAPTER 287 =====