Chapter 1075: I can introduce you to a reliable band of horse bandits

Changancheng.

Great Ming Palace.

An official from the Ministry of Rites came to report.

"Your Majesty, Great Tang has sent envoys to Great Qin again.

The purpose of the mission is said to be to discuss trade with the three major powers: the Arabian Empire, the Byzantine Empire, and Kievan Rus."

Qin Mu laughed.

These Great Tang officials are useless at everything else, but they are great at playing dirty tricks.

Great Tang had just formed a four-nation alliance with these three major powers to deal with Great Qin.

But with one move of economic differentiation from Great Qin, giving the Byzantine Empire a little sweetness first, the four-nation alliance was immediately on the verge of collapse.

In the blink of an eye, Great Tang was turning its spearhead toward these three major powers again.

"Let them come up; I want to see what little conspiracy they have prepared this time."

Proclaim the Great Tang envoys to the throne room!

High-pitched calls echoed out.

Before long, Old Li and Fang Xuanling ascended the throne room together.

"Greetings to the Great Qin Emperor!"

Qin Mu noticed that neither of their expressions was very good.

He knew they must have heard something on the way here.

Who told them to come to Changancheng at this exact time?

Wei Zhongxian had just released the news, and it was the hottest time for public discussion about Great Tang.

They had basically delivered their faces to be slapped.

"Minister Fang, Old Li, I remember it hasn't been long since you last left, right?

Why are you back so soon?"

Old Li answered with a sheepish smile.

"The two countries are interdependent, so we should have more exchanges."

This was very fake.

Although it was acceptable as diplomatic pleasantries,

it still drew looks of disdain from the Great Qin court.

Interdependent, my foot!

It was clearly Great Tang that needed Great Qin, while Great Qin never needed Great Tang's help.

Qin Mu smiled slightly and didn't expose them.

"Minister Fang, Great Tang is now in decline, and its national strength is not what it used to be.

Have you considered coming to serve in Great Qin?

If you come now, I can still give you the position of Minister of Rites."

Back when they were in Tibet, Qin Mu had tried to win over Fang Xuanling.

At that time, Great Qin was short of people.

If Fang Xuanling had defected earlier, he might have been a Chancellor by now.

But he couldn't bear to abandon Li Er and returned to Great Tang.

Mentioning it again this time, the promised position had dropped to Minister of Rites.

The Ministry of Rites ranked after the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Revenue, but it could still be considered a top-tier important position.

Fang Xuanling was very embarrassed.

Old Li was right beside him, staring at him intensely,

as if afraid he would be lured away by the Great Qin Emperor.

"Your Majesty, Great Qin has plenty of talent; one more official doesn't make a difference, and one less doesn't either.

It's better to let me stay in Great Tang; Great Tang needs me more."

Qin Mu was just saying it casually.

Fang Xuanling hadn't defected before, so he certainly wouldn't now.

These civil officials sometimes value their reputation more than anything else.

"Hahaha, I was just teasing you.

Tell me, what is the real reason for this mission to Great Qin?"

Finally, it was time to talk business.

Old Li wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

"Great Qin Emperor, regarding this person Master Bianji, it was definitely not supported by Great Tang in secret!

I don't know how he got mixed up with those clans.

Wang Jing is a wanted criminal in Great Tang; that he could go and defect to him is enough to show this force...

As for Pei Ji appearing by their side, he also did it behind the Great Tang court's back.

From beginning to end, the Great Tang court was unaware of this!"

Qin Mu sneered.

Old Li had pushed all the responsibility away cleanly!

... not belonging to Great Tang.

"Not acknowledging Master Bianji, not acknowledging Wang Jing, that's understandable.

But even Pei Ji, you don't acknowledge him either?

It was a waste of Pei Ji working so hard for the Great Tang court."

This made Old Li blush.

Although Qin Mu didn't know the specific relationship between these people yet,

he could be certain that Pei Ji absolutely did not act on his own initiative to betray Master Bianji.

The reason was simple: Pei Ji needed a backer.

Qin Mu paused.

Looking straight at Old Li, he stated the basis for his judgment.

"Pei Ji betrayed the clans; if he were hiding it from the Great Tang court, his only way out would be to surrender to Great Qin.

But Pei Ji did not surrender, which is unreasonable.

Pei Ji couldn't be tired of living and seeking death.

The most reasonable explanation is that Pei Ji did this for the Great Tang court.

His backer is the Great Tang court!"

This analysis left Old Li speechless.

His lie was exposed on the spot!

The embarrassment was written all over his face; even though Old Li's skin was already thick, it still flushed red.

Fang Xuanling watched helplessly as Old Li lied and was then exposed.

He was also quite speechless about this maneuver by Old Li.

But he couldn't not save the situation.

"Your Majesty, actually this is the reason for our mission to Great Qin.

Great Qin also has a grudge against the clans, so why not join forces with Great Tang to jointly exterminate them? I remember Great Qin has a new crime called 'anti-social crime', right? Since they have been convicted, we can't just watch them remain at large!" Fang Xuanling's words were quite sophisticated.

He used Great Qin's own laws to lobby Great Qin.

At this point, it was impossible to refuse.

Qin Mu nodded, very satisfied with Fang Xuanling's performance.

Unfortunately, he was unwilling to defect to Great Qin.

Staying in Great Tang was somewhat of a waste of his talents.

"The clans are enemies of Great Qin, but their assets and foundations are all in Great Tang.

If you want Great Qin to take action, that's fine, as long as Great Tang opens its borders and lets the Great Qin army enter and exit at will.

Great Qin will take care of the matter of exterminating the clans!" ===== CHAPTER 1077 =====