Chapter 1069 Xiqu's Plan

Imperial City.

The Xiqu delegation has been in the Daqian Imperial City for some time.

Logically speaking, the Xiqu delegation should have returned.

But because the marriage proposal had not been finalized, the Xiqu delegation still stayed in the imperial city.

Xiqu married a princess here, and he also wanted to marry a princess from Daqian back.

After all, marriage is one of the most effective means to deepen diplomatic relations between two countries.

Although this mission to the Daqian Imperial City took up too much time, Su Zan was not in a hurry at all.

For Su Zan, marrying a princess from Daqian would naturally be a good thing.

If this fails, it would be a good thing to use it to cause discord in the Daqian court.

Moreover, they could stay in Daqian for a longer period of time by repeatedly requesting marriage.

In this way, they will have a greater chance of obtaining the forging method of patterned steel like Daqian.

He had tried many methods before, but all failed.

Daqian keeps the forging method of patterned steel strictly secret. The craftsmen who can forge patterned steel are strictly controlled, and they have no contact with those craftsmen at all.

Their greatest hope now lies with Princess Yangjin.

If Princess Yangjin could get the forging method of patterned steel and give it to them to take back to Xiqu, Xiqu's military strength would definitely be greatly enhanced.

Su Zan knew clearly that Yun Zheng would take action against Xiqu sooner or later.

They don't have much time left to improve their military strength.

It is said that the forging method of this patterned steel was also contributed by Yun Zheng.

He couldn't get the method to make the explosives in Yun Zheng's hand, but he must find a way to get the forging method of patterned steel!

Su Zan made up his mind secretly, but he was also a little worried.

We can’t rely entirely on Princess Yangjin!

After all, Princess Yangjin is Yun Li's concubine and cannot leave the palace at will. Even if they want to see Princess Yangjin, they need to go through a series of complicated procedures.

Well, we still have to think of other ways.

Su Zan thought for a while again, and called his deputy Dan Qu, and ordered: "Select a few smart people and prepare to lurk in Daqian for a long time!"

"Yes!"

Danqu accepted the order and asked tentatively: "How about we sneak in at night..."

"no!"

Su Zan immediately extinguished Dan Qu's thoughts, "A military stronghold must be heavily guarded! Rushing in rashly will only alert the enemy and cause unnecessary casualties!"

Still want to sneak into the forging workshop of the Daqian Ministry of Industry?

What are you thinking!

How could such a place be easily sneaked into?

Danqu was speechless and had to give up the idea for the time being.

At this moment, a guard suddenly rushed in and said, "Your Excellency, someone just slipped a letter into one of our people!"

letter?

Could it be that Princess Yangjin has already figured out the forging method for patterned steel?

Su Zan stood up suddenly, snatched the letter handed to him by the guard and opened it.

When Su Zan saw the contents of the letter, his breathing suddenly became rapid.

"Good! Great!"

Su Zan was so overjoyed that he almost shouted to the sky.

Someone took the initiative to offer the forging method of patterned steel!

Danqu was also happy, but then he frowned and said, "Isn't the price they are asking too high?"

Ten thousand taels of gold!

Moreover, he said bluntly that he only wanted gold and would not accept any bargaining.

"Is it high? Not high at all!"

Su Zan didn't care, "A mere 10,000 taels of gold in exchange for the forging method of patterned steel is worth it!"

High, depends on how you compare it!

Compared with the significant improvement in Xiqu's military strength, what is a mere 10,000 taels of gold?

When he was in Shuofang, he spent 400,000 dan of grain just to hear some noise.

Compared with Yun Zheng, the other party is really conscientious.

If you want to buy the forging method of patterned steel from Yun Zheng, 100,000 taels of gold may not be enough!

Moreover, even if they are willing to offer this price, Yun Zheng may not sell it!

Danqu opened his mouth slightly and said, "But we don't have so much gold!"

How could they possibly bring along 10,000 taels of gold when they went on a diplomatic mission to Daqian?

All their belongings added together are probably worth only five thousand taels of gold, right?

Where does this extra gold come from?

"That... is a problem!"

Su Zan thought about it silently, and then ordered: "Well, you find a way to contact Princess Yangjin and see if she can come up with 5,000 taels of gold!"

"Is this... okay?"

Danqu frowned, "Five thousand taels of gold is not a small amount."

"Let's try it first!"

Su Zan waved his hand and said, "I will think of other ways! As long as we can get the forging method of patterned steel, it will be worth it! The most important thing is that we must make sure that the patterned steel forging method given to us by the other party is genuine! This is the real trouble..."

……

Prince's Mansion.

Yun Li was half lying on the recliner, chatting with Xu Shifu and Gu Xiu about the marriage.

He strongly supported marriage with a foreign king.

Now, it is very necessary for Daqian to strengthen its relationship with Xiqu.

However, Emperor Wen and several important officials in the court did not agree to the marriage.

A few days ago, the Xiqu delegation again proposed a request for a marriage alliance. When he was discussing the matter with the court officials, the censor denounced those ministers who agreed with the marriage alliance and even indirectly scolded him, the prince. He almost pointed at his nose and scolded him for being servile.

Yun Li was filled with anger, but he couldn't do anything to the Censor because of this matter. He could only keep this account in mind and plan to find an opportunity to give the Censor a good beating.

"In fact, this matter still requires the approval of His Majesty!"

Gu Xiu pondered, "As long as His Majesty agrees, it doesn't matter how much the ministers in the court oppose it!"

As long as Emperor Wen agreed, even if people in later generations wanted to criticize him, they would criticize Emperor Wen and not Crown Prince Yun Li.

"I know!"

Yun Li frowned, "The key is that my father doesn't agree now!"

Xu Shifu raised his eyes slightly and said solemnly: "I thought about it carefully yesterday. I think it is better to directly reject the marriage proposal..."

"Why?"

Yun Li frowned, "Didn't my uncle agree with the marriage before?"

"I didn't think it through before."

Xu Shifu looked worried. "Yesterday, I went to a restaurant in the imperial city and sat for a while. I heard a few people talking about this matter..."

In the eyes of those people, Daqian now has a strong military force, the northern countries have been defeated and surrendered, and the situation in Daqian is very good!

Under such circumstances, Daqian still sent a princess to marry Xiqu, which was quite servile.

Those people also said that the court was full of incompetent people. If Yun Zheng was in the court, there would definitely be no chance for other countries to marry princesses to Daqian, and no chance for Daqian to marry princesses to other countries.

Although the conversation between these people does not represent anything, it is a reflection of the people's will.

Ordinary people don’t care about the relationship between the imperial court and Yun Zheng. They only know that Yun Zheng is invincible and has defeated all the northern countries.

If the imperial court sent a princess to marry Xiqu, it would probably lose a lot of popular support.

The people's morale is still okay, but the most worrying thing is that it will affect the morale of the military.

Yun Zheng’s prestige in the army is already very high. If the army’s morale turns to Yun Zheng again, what hope can they and the court have?

Listening to Xu Shifu's analysis, Yun Li frowned even more tightly.

Xu Shifu's worries were not without reason.

Although marriage is beneficial to them, it also has disadvantages!

Just as Yun Li was weighing the pros and cons, Yan Li hurried in and said, "Your Highness, there is a memorial from Shuobei sent to the court!"

As he spoke, he presented the memorial in his hand with strict courtesy and respect.

Nowadays, any memorials from Shuobei, Northwest Protectorate and Fuzhou do not need to be reviewed by other departments and officials, but must be submitted directly to Yun Li.

Yun Li took the memorial and just glanced at it before his chest began to rise and fall violently...