“Yes.” The nearby palace attendants acknowledged, immediately clearing away the tableware in front of the dozen or so envoys, and before long replaced it with gold bowls, silver chopsticks, and night-glow cups, pouring grape wine as well.
The Western Xia envoys were stunned.
These items were what they had offered as tribute last year—and now they were being used to entertain them this year? If they were to offer the same items again, wouldn’t that put them in an impossible position?
“His Majesty sympathizes with how the various envoys, traveling from afar, must feel homesick after months away from home, so he specially prepared these, so that everyone might feel a sense of returning home,” Hua Chun said with a smile. “Please convey His Majesty’s goodwill toward Western Xia to your king.”
“Of course, of course…” several envoys nodded repeatedly, responding with awkward smiles.
The lead envoy signaled to the rest, then cupped his hands and said, “The banquet hasn’t formally begun yet—might we withdraw for half an hour? We’d also like to organize our tribute gifts.”
“You may.” The Emperor nodded. “Once the banquet officially begins, I’ll have someone come fetch you.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
The Western Xia envoys, one by one with grave expressions, hurried off quickly.
“Everyone may wander freely about Furong Palace,” the Empress Dowager said. “This old one will also go rest in the back hall for a while—we’ll gather again when the banquet begins.”
“Yes.” The harem consorts all acknowledged, and the officials broke into small groups, beginning to chat and murmur among themselves.
Hua Chun let out a breath of relief, leaning back in her chair to drink some tea.
“You were quite well prepared today.” He Chang’an watched Prince Xi’s retreating back and said to Hua Chun with a smile, “The Prince must have taken offense.”
Pursing her lips, Hua Chun said, “In this world, you can’t please everyone all the time. Sometimes you have to pick a side, and once you do, you stand firm without wavering. I long ago decided to be loyal to His Majesty, so being resented by others is unavoidable.”
“You’re really not afraid at all?” He Chang’an raised an eyebrow.
He probably hadn’t seen enough of how dark things could get in the palace. This proud, unyielding bearing could only survive so peacefully because the Emperor protected her.
Hua Chun smiled. “Don’t worry, Second Brother, I’m well prepared!”
As she spoke, she pulled He Chang’an off to a corner and lifted her official robe to show him: “Look, armor guards, spiked wrist guards—I’ve prepared everything! Whether it’s an open blade or a hidden spear, I’m not afraid!”
He Chang’an couldn’t help but laugh, and seeing the proud expression on her face, instinctively reached out to pat her head.
But his hand froze halfway there when he realized—Jinghua was a man. Between men, how could such a gesture be appropriate?
He paused, then casually withdrew his hand as if nothing had happened, helping her close her official robe instead. “As long as you protect yourself this well, Second Brother can rest easy.”
Hua Chun froze for a moment, looking down at his long, slender fingers fastening her sash, and unexpectedly felt her face flush a little.
The Emperor turned his head, curious about where the person beside him had gone, and glancing around, spotted the two of them huddled intimately together in the corner. He Chang’an was reaching out to adjust Hua Jinghua’s collar, while the latter, red-faced, murmured something quietly, the two heads nearly pressed together.
His eyes darkening slightly, Yuwen Jie turned away. “Eunuch Qin, fetch the Prime Minister.”
“Yes.” Eunuch Qin acknowledged, spotted Prime Minister Hua, and hurried over to bring her back.
“Your Majesty?” A smile still lingered on her face, clearly left over from whatever she’d just been discussing with He Chang’an.
Yuwen Jie said coldly, “When the foreign tribute is presented later, find a way to get ten gold mines from them.”
What? Hua Chun was startled, her smile vanishing immediately. “Your Majesty, getting gold mines is doable, but wouldn’t ten be too many? They’re only envoys—I doubt they have the authority to decide that.”
“My Prime Minister can accomplish anything,” Yuwen Jie raised his eyes, looking at her with dark, deep eyes. “Don’t disappoint my expectations of you.”
Hua Chun: “…”
This was clearly deliberate difficulty. The people of Western Xia weren’t stupid—although they’d mined quite a bit of gold in recent years, officially they’d only announced just over twenty mine sites. Even if privately they might be hiding some unreported ones, going by the official count, asking outright for half of it wasn’t realistic at all. Might as well just send troops to take it by force.
Pressing her palms together, Hua Chun looked at the Emperor with a flattering expression. “Your Majesty, I think five is already the absolute limit. If it really doesn’t work, even two would be acceptable—what do you think?”
“Ten.”
“But if they absolutely refuse, even with the most eloquent tongue, this official has no way to force it. Let’s take it step by step—how about three this year?”
“Ten.”
“I truly think it’s impossible…”
“Ten.”
“Fuck!” Unable to bear it any longer, Hua Chun raised her right hand and flipped Yuwen Jie the middle finger.
This was simply shameless, unreasonable, defying all objective laws—did difficulty for her come with a reward or something?!
The Emperor froze, looking at the gesture, then at her face. “What did you just say?”
“I said!” Hua Chun straightened her back, glaring with wide eyes. “Ten is impossible!”
“Hm?” The Emperor’s eyes half-lidded, dark light spreading within them, falling on her like a branding iron, burning her all over.
“It’s… it’s not impossible to secure for Your Majesty.” Her expression collapsing, Hua Chun still caved, bending down, forcing a smile as she bowed. “Since Your Majesty has instructed thus, this official will certainly do everything possible—never giving up until the goal is achieved!”
“That’s more like it.” The Emperor nodded loftily, then turned and walked into the back hall, leaving her alone, disheveled in the wind.
“This… is a bit tricky,” He Chang’an said, standing nearby, rubbing his chin. “The Western Xia envoys are difficult to deal with every year. It would already be good if the tribute this year is a bit more generous, and now His Majesty wants ten gold mines.”
Hua Chun nearly cried, all her earlier good mood completely gone. Her face fell as she looked at He Chang’an. “Second Brother, do you think His Majesty is like a vampire?”
“What’s a vampire?” He Chang’an was baffled.
“It’s a ghost that likes to drink human blood,” Hua Chun gritted her teeth, “the kind that won’t stop until they’ve drained you completely dry!”
Suppressing a laugh, He Chang’an shook his head. “It’s not that terrifying. If you truly can’t manage it, surely His Majesty won’t blame you.”
Who says he won’t! Hua Chun stared up at the sky. This favor she’d worked so hard to earn—if this matter wasn’t handled properly, the Emperor would surely take it back. And that would be the least of it; given his temperament, after taking it back he might even come looking to make trouble for her!
Being Prime Minister was truly hard!
Crouching in a corner, she spent an hour rehearsing mentally, and by the time the evening banquet finally began, Hua Chun sat upright and dignified, watching very seriously as the envoys came forward to present their gifts.
“Western Xia is a remote land, and this year’s harvest wasn’t very good either,” the man said, cupping his hands. “But to show Western Xia’s loyalty to Great Liang, we have still brought three thousand head of cattle and sheep, five hundred fine horses, eight hundred bolts of silk, and thirty thousand dan of Western Xia rice. We hope Your Majesty won’t find it lacking, and will accept Western Xia’s sincerity.”
Compared to last year, though these items weren’t especially precious, the actual quantity had increased quite a bit—probably they’d originally prepared night-glow cups and the like too, but Hua Chun’s earlier move had blocked that off.
The Emperor said nothing, the Empress Dowager didn’t look up either, and the officials all around fell silent at the same time.
Hua Chun smiled as she looked at the envoy and said, “Sincerity varies from person to person. Western Xia is a small nation—being able to offer this much is no small feat.”
The envoy glanced up at her, a flicker of displeasure in his eyes, but he didn’t dare say anything.
They could call themselves a small nation, but when others kept saying so, with that air of looking down on them, it made them a bit angry.
Another envoy standing nearby said, “These are merely the opening act. Though Western Xia is small, its people are many. We further offer three thousand pearls, one thousand dairy cows, and ten thousand liang of gold, merely as a small token of our respect.”
Hua Chun nodded, clapping her hands. “If Western Liang were to come pay tribute and offer up ten thousand liang of gold like this, all of Great Liang, from the officials down to the common people, would surely be quite astonished.”
But Western Xia itself produced gold—what was so remarkable about ten thousand liang?
Out of politeness, Hua Chun didn’t say that second half aloud, but the envoys below understood perfectly well, and their expressions grew unpleasant for a moment.
This business of presenting tribute was little different from negotiation—whoever showed weaker resolve would end up being taken advantage of.
The lead envoy, unable to hold back, stepped forward and said, “Though our tribute may not be abundant, in recent years Western Xia’s military strength has grown considerable, perhaps not inferior to the garrison forces at Great Liang’s borders—at critical moments, we could even assist Great Liang in battle.”
Oh-ho, flaunting military strength? Hua Chun straightened her back even further. “Western Xia’s goodwill is much appreciated, and His Majesty must surely be pleased. The border between Great Liang and Western Xia has recently been reinforced with quite a few new trebuchets and iron cannons, with far greater destructive power than manpower alone—though they do tend to misfire easily. Should they accidentally injure any Western Xia border soldiers one day, this official offers an advance apology on behalf of our careless soldiers, and hopes the King of Western Xia will be understanding.”
Everyone: “…”
That remark was shameless to the extreme—a blatant threat!
Even He Chang’an shook his head listening to this, and the Western Xia envoys turned pale: “Iron… cannons?”
“Yes, they’ll be put into use soon,” Hua Chun said with a smile. “You may not have seen them before—it’s essentially explosive powder, fired from a cannon, capable of blasting down half a city wall, leaving no one alive within a three-zhang radius.”
That powerful?!
Not only were the Western Xia envoys frightened, but Great Liang’s own civil and military officials were startled too, though being seasoned performers in officialdom, they tacitly refrained from exposing the Prime Minister in public.
The Western Xia envoys fell collectively silent, and Hua Chun continued, “I hear quite a few of Western Xia’s gold mines are located near the border. I’m rather curious what a gold mine actually looks like. Since you’ve all traveled so far with such abundant sincerity, why not send a few gold mines to Great Liang as well? That would help us add a bit more safety equipment to the cannons, to prevent them from misfiring so easily.”
“This…”
“If it’s too difficult, that’s fine too.” Prime Minister Hua waved her hand amiably. “If anyone in Great Liang is curious, they can go take a look themselves. When I have some free time, I could even take some border soldiers along to broaden their horizons.”
The Western Xia envoys wanted to cry. They hadn’t expected Great Liang’s Prime Minister to be this shameless—they certainly hadn’t planned for this turn of events when they discussed strategy beforehand!