Chapter 231: The Depressed Dou Wei

"Respected Emperor of Great Song, for many years, Great Song and the Northern Di have been in constant conflict, with numerous casualties among soldiers. The great Khan no longer wishes to see the smoke of war rise again; he hopes both countries will cease hostilities and open a Border Market. He hopes Your Majesty the Emperor will agree."

The officials were all in place. Tiemuta bowed slightly, but did not perform the kowtow.

He was the head of this Northern Di delegation.

Yet, no one on this trip knew his true identity.

After deciding on the strategy of a temporary truce, he had volunteered to come to Great Song.

Firstly, it was to accumulate prestige for himself, providing more leverage when competing for the Khan throne in the future.

Secondly, it was to witness the strength of Great Song with his own eyes.

Traveling from Yanzhou to Jinling, he first saw the desolate Yanzhou.

Through observation, he discovered that although the people of Yanzhou were poor, they seemed to possess a unique spirit.

This spirit was like a tender sprout stubbornly growing on scorched earth.

Leaving Yanzhou, the further south he went, the more prosperous it became.

However, the people and officials beneath this prosperity were immersed in comfort.

And upon arriving in Jinling, he was truly shocked by the prosperity and splendor of the Capital City of Great Song.

It was just that the people here were even more decadent; even the guards were leaning lazily in the gatehouse, forgetting their duty to inspect.

This was absolutely impossible to occur in the Northern Di.

Witnessing all this, his ambition grew wildly like vines.

He realized that the only obstacle to the Northern Di moving south was Yanguan, and was Yan Wang.

Once Yanguan was taken and Yan Wang destroyed, Great Song would be as vulnerable as an infant before the Northern Di.

Zhao Heng sat upright on the Dragon Throne; he had never felt his spine so straight before.

"Xu is truly a lucky star for the Imperial Clan..." Zhao Heng sighed inwardly.

Since his ascension to the throne, there had never been a time that made him feel as happy as now.

The arrogant heads of the powerful clans were lowered, and the prestige of the Imperial Clan was higher than ever before.

Now, even the Northern Di, which Great Song used to tremble at the mention of, had taken the initiative to sue for peace.

This gave him the illusion that Great Song had returned to its peak era.

Under the pens of the historians, these achievements would be recorded in his name.

"Late Emperor, do you see today? Only by letting me inherit the throne could Great Song have today's glory," Zhao Heng shouted in his heart.

With a surge of emotion, he looked toward Tiemuta.

"Go back and tell your Khan: I, out of concern for the lives of Great Song's soldiers, am also unwilling to start a war again. If you dare to invade our borders in the future, I will certainly make you pay!" Zhao Heng said sternly.

When these words were spoken, Dou Wei felt a tremor in his heart and hurriedly looked at Tiemuta's expression.

He saw Tiemuta suddenly reveal an angry look, but he suppressed it immediately.

At this moment, he breathed a slight sigh of relief.

In his view, this Emperor of Great Song seemed to have been blinded by victory during this period.

Not only did he look down upon them, but he now actually spoke such harsh words to the Northern Di envoy.

"Yes, respected Emperor of Great Song," Tiemuta said with his head lowered; the Emperor of Great Song had naturally enraged him.

To every Northern Di person, Great Song was nothing but meat on a grill.

This Emperor of Great Song actually dared to rebuke him like this.

If it were in the past,

he would surely bring troops to give Great Song a lesson upon returning to the Grassland.

But now, he could only suppress the fire in his heart.

Before there was a new opportunity to attack, the wolf must lie in wait.

Zhao Heng laughed heartily, called over the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial, and said, "The Northern Di envoy will be staying for these two days; you of the Court of State Ceremonial must entertain him properly."

An official stepped out and made a gesture of invitation.

Tiemuta followed the official and exited the Golden Throne Hall.

After the Northern Di envoy left, Zhao Heng said, "Regarding the matter of Yan Wang being permitted to open the sea at Yanguan..."

"Your Majesty, I have thought it through. The sea is vast enough to accommodate both the Liang Family and His Highness Yan Wang," Liang Kai said.

Zhao Heng's gaze swept over Dou Wei, Xie Duan, Han Zheng, Fan Xinglun, Wang Zi'an, Xiao Cheng, and others.

Seeing that they had no intention of objecting, he said, "In that case, the two matters raised in Yan Wang's memorial are approved."

The morning court session ended.

After leaving the Imperial Palace, Dou Wei immediately ordered someone to invite Liang Kai and the others to a manor outside Jinling City.

Only, compared to last time, one family was missing again; only six families arrived.

The Ma Family did not come last time, and this time, the Xie Family did not come either.

Dou Wei gave a light huff.

In the current imperial court, the Deposed Crown Prince, his nephew the Third Prince, and Han Zheng's nephew the Second Prince had been competing for the position of heir.

The Xie Family had already been somewhat reluctant regarding the previous obstruction of Yan Wang's trade.

After all, Xie Huanghou had always had the idea of winning over Yan Wang to support the Deposed Crown Prince.

Now that the obstruction had failed, Yan Wang also occupied the geographical advantage of the Border Market.

Nowadays, with the matter of the Artillery, the Xie Family was likely unwilling to target Yan Wang.

Because it was very clear that for the Xie Family, currying favor with Yan Wang could yield greater benefits than offending him.

"It is no longer possible to curb Yan Wang's trade. With the Border Market in his hands, Yan Wang will surely retaliate against us and forbid the merchants under our command from participating in the Border Market."

After Han Zheng, Wang Zi'an, Fan Xinglun, Liang Kai, and Xiao Cheng sat down, Dou Wei said slowly.

The five men nodded one after another, and Wang Zi'an said, "The profits from this Border Market are extremely lucrative, and this time there are no restrictions on the Border Market; horses, cattle, and sheep can all be traded. It really makes one drool."

Changing the subject, he complained to Dou Wei, "Dou Prime Minister, by curbing the trade of Yan Wang, aren't you harming us? Now that we have offended Yan Wang, we cannot take advantage of this Border Market at all."

Han Zheng deeply agreed.

The Wang Family and the Han Family are closest to Yanguan, so they naturally had some geographical advantage in this Border Market.

They had already lost some Silver by giving up trade with Yan Wang, and now they would lose a great deal of Silver at the current Border Market.

By comparison, Dou Wei's idea had not curbed Yan Wang at all.

So he said, "Curbing Yan Wang in trade really has no benefits; it would be better to let the merchants return to Yanzhou and take goods from the Prince's Mansion, and as an exchange, let Yan Wang allow us to participate in the Border Market."

"This idea is good," Wang Zi'an clapped his hands in agreement.

Liang Kai was also somewhat tempted.

Reaching Yanzhou by sea is also very convenient; the Liang Family is located in the south of Dasong and has always lacked horses. If they could buy horses at the Border Market, it would be excellent.

Fan Xinglun looked at Liang Kai, and the two exchanged glances and nodded one after another.

The Fan Family is stationed in Jiaozhou, with Jiaozhi to the south.

For him, he naturally also needed horses from the Grassland.

After all, the horses of the Northern Di are recognized as tall and possess sufficient endurance.

Dou Wei sighed softly, feeling quite depressed.

Since everyone said so, he completely gave up the idea of curbing Yan Wang in trade.

Because it was completely useless.

Rather than that, it would be better to take the initiative to do business with Yan Wang, as this would still allow them to earn lucrative profits.

But he would not give up halfway on the matter of curbing Yan Wang.

He did not want Yan Wang to die, nor did he want Yan Wang to continue to grow in power.

The best would be a half-dead Yan Wang.

One who could both hold down Yanzhou to resist the Northern Di and pose no great threat to them.

That way, when they wanted to deal with him, they could do so without needing to expend much effort.