Chapter 311: Do You Agree?

Xiao Baoyue's first reaction wasn't anger, or rather, she didn't have time to be angry. Her first reaction was—

How dare he?

This is the Southern Barbarian tribe chief, unlike the Northern Xianbei, which is a big family with a big business, and one hair pulling the whole body; and it also needs to talk about the Great Power's tolerance and system. If the barbarians don't care about anything and start to be ruthless, who cares about what envoy or not! Since the Eastern Han Dynasty, there have been many barbarian rebellions. Now the tent is full of barbarian guards, and outside is the barbarian army, which is equivalent to being completely controlled by the Southern Barbarians. It's okay to speak hard, but to directly provoke with war, aren't you afraid that the barbarians will chop you up regardless? Can the Wenyang tribe fully protect you? Not to mention that he is a fake envoy, even a real envoy wouldn't dare to do this, how dare he...

(The notes on the terms Northern Dynasty and Eastern Han Dynasty were written before, so I won't repeat them)

But then again, his thief's courage is sky-high, what is there that he doesn't dare to do?

Wang Yang didn't dare to do everything. At least without certainty, he wouldn't rashly use his life to be reckless.

First of all, Xiao Baoyue didn't know that Wang Yang was mixing well in the Wenyang tribe. For the Wenyang tribe, he was far from being an outsider envoy. Secondly, Wang Yang's response seemed to be answered immediately, but it was actually planned according to the situation.

He had already seen that Le Le Luo Luo and Ang Ta were fierce on the surface, but in fact, they were cowardly and had their own concerns.

If the two really wanted to fight, they would just end the negotiation, send the silk without a sound, pull the Wu Ning barbarians to send troops, and fight hard. Why bother comparing verbally here? They were not trying to fight for their lives at all, but testing the bottom line, wanting to force the other party to show weakness and retreat by momentum.

So don't look at Ang Ta's arrogant and fierce performance, it's just a paper tiger.

What is the characteristic of a paper tiger? If you shrink back, it will bare its fangs and claws; if you poke it forward, it will deflate.

In the confrontation with the Wenyang barbarians, the Yongning barbarians absolutely didn't want to be enemies with the imperial court, and they were reluctant to give up the silk trade in Jingzhou. And the Wenyang barbarians had no silk, and their only reliance to resist the Yongning barbarians was Wang Yang, and the tribe's future was also in Wang Yang's hands. Once something happened, they would definitely protect Wang Yang.

One side didn't dare to turn against him, and the other side would support him even if they turned against him. This was the confidence that Wang Yang dared to suppress the Yongning barbarians in the guest field.

And forcing Xiao Baoyue to take a stand, first to increase the prestige of his own side, second to isolate Ang Ta's power, third to weaken Xiao Baoyue's aid, and fourth to provoke the alliance between Xiao and the barbarians, was done casually. One arrow and four carvings, carving Xiao Baoyue into a state of being caught off guard and in a dilemma.

Xiao Baoyue hated Wang Yang to the bone, but she couldn't openly stand on the side of the barbarians. Moreover, the reason she could be an honored guest of the Yongning barbarians was because of the silk trade and because she was behind Jingzhou and the Great Qi. If the Great Qi couldn't suppress the Yongning barbarians, her status in the barbarian tribe would inevitably decline. So she was happy to see Ang Ta being beaten, but she was really unwilling to be teased and used by Wang Yang like this. After thinking about it, she said:

"Houzeng has lived in the wilderness for a long time and doesn't know the etiquette of our dynasty. He was in a rage and spoke harshly for a while. He definitely didn't mean to insult the national body of the Great Qi, let alone go to war with the Great Qi... right?"

Xiao Baoyue looked at Ang Ta.

Ang Ta only felt that this pair of dog men and women were pressing and soothing, forcing and persuading here! It felt like being set up together. But the Prince of Badong held the silk business in his hands, and this woman represented the Prince of Badong, so her face couldn't be ignored. Furthermore, he couldn't afford to offend the Han court now. In the past, he could just ignore his family wealth and hide in the deep mountains after turning against them, but now if the Wenyang barbarians took the opportunity to make trouble, it would be internal and external, facing enemies on both sides. This was not the act of a wise man.

But he was unwilling to bow his head just like that, fearing that he would be pinched by Wang Yang and get an inch and want a foot. If it were just Wang Yang, it would be fine, but he was most worried that the Wenyang tribe and Wang Yang would do things together and force him to submit...

"Of course I have no intention of going to war, but this is after all our barbarian internal affair. The Han envoy is a guest, and it is natural to listen and witness, but to reach out to break our right and wrong... hehe."

Ang Ta sneered, his face full of wildness and unruliness:

"Although our barbarian tribe is not as strong as the Han, we will not be manipulated by others! Mountain eagles don't interfere with foxes and rabbits fighting for nests, and tigers don't interfere with wolf packs fighting for food. The Han envoy should sit on the side and save your breath. Didn't the Han envoy not speak before seeing Miss Xiao? This is the duty of a guest!"

Ang Ta was also responding to changes. He originally invited Xiao Baoyue to gain an advantage in the negotiation. Now seeing that Xiao Baoyue was not Wang Yang's opponent, he immediately changed his way of speaking.

Xiao Baoyue had no intention of managing the broken affairs of the two barbarian tribes fighting. She pretended to be the Prince of Badong's envoy to come to the barbarians to get the real evidence of the Prince of Badong colluding with the barbarians. Now that she had succeeded, she should have left the barbarian territory and returned to the capital, but Ang Ta refused to let her go and begged Xiao Baoyue to stay for another day to help him hold the Wenyang tribe. In order to get out as soon as possible and avoid Ang Ta's suspicion, she had today's trip. She originally wanted to use a fake identity to suppress the Wenyang barbarians, but she didn't expect the other party to also invite a fake envoy! The fake identity was actually higher than hers. It was really bitter and couldn't be said...

Now hearing Ang Ta step on Wang Yang, Xiao Baoyue immediately followed:

"'Although the cook does not manage the kitchen, the corpse priest does not cross the sacrificial vessels to replace them.' The duty of an envoy is to communicate the king's orders and be friendly with neighbors. Barbarian affairs should be decided by themselves, not something outsiders should interfere with. Now that you and I are both guests, how can we cross the line? Young Master Wang just said 'If the brocade is not enough, use land to make up for it,' which is really beyond the duty of an envoy. However, it is good to correct mistakes. I don't know if Young Master Wang agrees?"

Xiao Baoyue asked calmly, her tone exactly the same as Wang Yang's question "I don't know if Miss Xiao agrees?" before.

Although she retorted Wang Yang and felt happy in her heart, she really wasn't just for venting anger. It was more important to pull Ang Ta and indicate that the two were on the same side, making up for the negative impression caused by Wang Yang forcing her to take a stand just now. Not to mention that the backup plan she had already planned needed to borrow Ang Ta's power, just saying that as long as she was in the barbarian territory for a moment, she still needed Ang Ta's protection.

Wang Yang had long wanted to lead Ang Ta to talk about "interfering in barbarian affairs," so as to create a sense of suddenness and increase the impact of the information he threw out, which would make it easier for his opponent to fall into a disadvantage in psychology. Now that Little Deng jumped out by herself, it was just right to clean them up together.

He unfolded his folding fan and smiled slightly at Xiao Baoyue:

"I don't think so. The reason I intervened is precisely because of the duty of the envoy, and I have no choice but to do so. Before, I advised you not to entangle in old—"

"Who is entangling—"

Xiao Baoyue's voice was an octave higher, and she almost exploded on the spot!

She forced herself to endure it as soon as she spoke, and kept breathing. It was just that her pretty face was angry, her brows were like distant mountains, her hatred was like autumn water; half of her clothes were undulating, covering her sleeves, and her resentment was like autumn frost.

Wang Yang smiled: "I am entangling, I advise myself not to entangle in old grievances..."

Xiao Baoyue looked at Wang Yang's brilliant smile, wishing that a big spear would fly down from the sky and nail Wang Yang to the spot!

Unfortunately, heaven didn't fulfill people's wishes, there was no divine spear from heaven, and Wang Yang's voice continued:

"At that time, I said: You and I are guests, and the two leaders are the hosts. We shouldn't be the guests who take over the host's role. This was originally a polite remark, but I didn't expect that both Houzeng and Miss Xiao took it seriously—"

Ang Ta guessed that Wang Yang wanted to argue with words, hummed and interrupted: "You are not a guest, are you a host?"

Wang Yang shook his fan, and the smile swayed gently:

"Of course I am the host. The Wenyang tribe has decided to submit to my Great Qi, belonging to the Heavenly Dynasty, attached to the King's land. As an envoy of the Great Qi, I patrol on behalf of heaven and supervise the subordinate land. You say, am I the host?"

Thunder rolled on the sleeping couch, and a giant stone was thrown into the quiet lake!

On the side of the Yongning tribe, Ang Ta, Xiao Baoyue, and others were all shocked! Only Xin Yi was as calm as ever: Submission is submission, what's the matter?

Xiao Baoyue was not Xin Yi. She knew that the submission of the barbarian tribe was not a small matter. When the emperor ascended the throne, he wanted to gather "the strange customs admire righteousness, and the heavy translation comes to pay," which was so difficult! In the end, the Southern Barbarians couldn't gather it, and finally, the leader of the Xi tribe replaced it. The Wenyang tribe was one of the six major tribes of the Jing barbarians, and it actually submitted just like that?!

She had heard Wang Yang's theory of pacifying the barbarians and felt it was very brilliant, but this kind of thing required the close cooperation of the imperial court! You, a member of the diplomatic mission, have no festival, no edict, no money, and no soldiers. How did you make the Wenyang tribe submit?!

Xiao Baoyue was surprised and confused, as if falling into the clouds; Ang Ta was angry and afraid, as if falling into the valley.

Wang Yang first threw a stone into the valley:

"Houzeng said it well, mountain eagles don't interfere with foxes and rabbits fighting for nests, and tigers don't interfere with wolf packs fighting for food. But if this nest is under the eagle's nest, and the wolves are divided into wolves that recognize the tiger as the master and wolves that don't recognize the tiger as the master. Then how can the eagle sit idly by? How can the tiger not ask?"

Then he pierced the clouds with an arrow:

"Miss Xiao also said it very well. The duty of an envoy is to communicate the king's orders and be friendly with neighbors. Now that the king's orders have responsibilities and neighbors are not friendly, I have to manage it. Miss Xiao just said 'Barbarian affairs should be decided by themselves,' which is really beyond the duty of an envoy. However, it is good to correct mistakes. I don't know if Miss Xiao agrees?"

Ang Ta and Xiao Baoyue were both hit by the boomerang and turned pale...

——————

Note: Since the Han Dynasty and into the Middle Ages, the emperor has never been the emperor of a family or a clan, but the common master of the world. The four barbarians, regardless of whether they submit or not, have always had an indispensable position in the orthodox structure of "the world." For example, in the ritual texts of the emperor's succession, the contribution of square objects by the four barbarians has become a customary program. A typical one is "The chief of the braided hair and left-lapel style, asking for officials at the pass; the leader of the wood-clothed and grass-clothed, sailing to the court" (Song Shundi's "Edict of Abdication to the Qi King"), such programs are used to express "the orthodox arrival, all obeying the sound and education" (Song Wudi's "Strategy of Ascending the Emperor's Throne"). Regarding this point, the book "Can Xia Then Big and Gradually Admiring the Chinese Style: Huaxia and Huaxiaization from the Perspective of Political Body" by Hu Hong explains it very well, which can be referred to. And this kind of world consciousness is also one of the

Ang Ta and Xiao Baoyue were both hit by the boomerang, both losing their color...

——————

Note: Since the Han Dynasty and into the Medieval period, the Emperor was never the emperor of just one family or clan, but the common master of the world. Whether the four barbarians submitted or not, they always held an indispensable position in the orthodox structure of "All Under Heaven." For example, in the ritual texts for an emperor's succession, the four barbarians and eight tribes contributing local products had become a customary procedure. Typical examples include "The chieftains with braided hair and left-lapel robes knock at the gates to request officials; the leaders in tree-bark clothes and plant-fiber garments sail across the sea to come to court" (Emperor Shun of Song's "Edict of Abdication to the Prince of Qi"). Such procedures were used to express that "where the orthodox calendar reaches, all submit to the sound and teachings" (Emperor Wu of Song's "Strategy for Ascending the Imperial Throne"). On this point, Hu Hong's book "Being Xia Means Greatness and Gradually Admiring the Hua Style: Huaxia and Huaxia-ization from the Perspective of Political Bodies" explains it very well and can be consulted. This consciousness of "All Under Heaven" is also one of the reasons why our country has undergone countless upheavals over thousands of years, yet has always been able to return to unity like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea.