After rebirth, I made the princes cry

The entrance to the Xie Valley is the end point of the Baoxiade Road.

That night, the delegation stayed in Meicheng, thirty miles away from the entrance of Xiegu Valley. According to Jiang Baiji's arrangement, the delegation would stay in Meicheng for two days to rest. The dinner that day was the most sumptuous dinner in the past two months. The magistrate of Meicheng even arranged singing and dancing in the yamen to entertain the guests. He was a genuine Han Chinese. Before the fall of Xiyu, he was an official in the Meicheng County Yamen.

Now it seems that this man has been raised fat by the Northern Han Dynasty. He held the wine cup high and talked about the legend he had experienced: "At that time, I was called a clerk, but in fact I was a servant raised privately by the county magistrate with official funds. Clerks should have salaries, which were official funds allocated to the county government by the court, but I didn't get a penny at that time. I was just exempted from taxes and labor service at home, and I had two meals a day, which was public grain. I was also an honest person. I didn't know that clerks could collect private taxes. My family was so poor that I couldn't even open the pot, and my wife and children were starving. I felt really guilty and plucked up my courage. I stole half a bucket of moldy beans and chestnuts from the county magistrate's private warehouse and took it back home to feed my wife and children, but I was reported.

That time, I was whipped a full hundred times, and my cousin was also whipped because he was sold to the Qian family in Meicheng as a slave. The head of the Qian family in Meicheng was the governor of Chang'an at that time. Although it was impossible for him to stand up for a slave, my cousin was highly regarded by the Qian family's steward because he was a good carpenter. The steward was actually also a slave, but he had a say in front of the Chang'an governor. The Meicheng County Magistrate did not dare to offend him, so he did not dismiss me.

When we heard that Luoyang had fallen, the county governor immediately packed up his valuables and fled to Yizhou. Not long after, the governor of Chang'an also fled back to Meicheng. My cousin followed them and asked me to leave my hometown as well. Fortunately, I did not listen to their instigation, otherwise, I would still be a slave now. How could I have such a good fortune? "

The Lord of Shenyuan Palace saw a cup of goat's milk in front of him and had already raised it, but suddenly he couldn't drink it anymore and put the bowl down again.

The third prince couldn't stand the behavior of Meicheng Ling even more. His eyebrows stood up, but he felt speechless.

The culprit for losing half of his country was his Sikong royal family. He was just a county official, and he surrendered to the Qiang people for self-protection. Could he still angrily denounce the poor and corrupt Meicheng magistrate who surrendered to the enemy and betrayed the country when Dayu was in power? Shouldn't he be servile to the Qiang people just for the sake of peace and wealth? !

Nanci drank a sip of wine calmly and put down the cup gently: "At that time, the internal strife of the royal family of Dayu had not yet completely stopped. Mediocre people like Qian Zhanxian and Li Weishang have always been greedy for money and naturally afraid of death... I was distracted earlier and didn't listen carefully to the surname of the Meicheng magistrate."

His eyes turned to Jiang Baiji.

Jiang Baiji was stunned.

The Meicheng Ling is such a lackey, why would he care about his last name?

Yingshu smiled and said, "I heard it clearly. The magistrate of Meicheng claimed his surname was Liu."

"It is understandable that Liu Lingjun did not follow Qian Zhanxian to migrate south, just like many people in Xiangyang City were unwilling to leave their homes."

This sarcasm made the third prince feel cheerful.

At that time, Duke Dengling was stationed in Xiangyang to defend it. Although Northern Zhao unilaterally declared that Xiangyang had become its territory, Duke Dengling ignored the imperial edict of the Northern Zhao emperor and surrendered the city. The Northern Zhao emperor was furious and intended to attack Xiangyang. However, Wang Lan mobilized the Jiangdong military and lifted the siege of Xiangyang without any effort. Duke Dengling did not surrender to the Hu, and none of the people in Xiangyang city surrendered to the Hu either. But now, have they ever suffered from slavery?

Sikong Nanci is indeed worthy of being the confidant of the female minister. Is he so good at talking?

Yingshu didn't just sit there doing nothing either.

"Liu Lingjun was whipped a hundred times, so his injuries should be serious, right?"

The governor of Meicheng was overjoyed.

He just understood Gui Sujun's sarcasm and didn't know how to retort, but he didn't expect that Dong Yu, the female minister who was said to be very smart, would take the initiative to bring up the issue. Women are women, even if they have good looks, their brains are already covered with rouge and powder!

"My life was hanging by a thread at that time. Thanks to a neighbor who sent a message to my cousin, my cousin hired a doctor for me and I was able to save my life."

"Although your cousin was a slave, he still had the ability to support his relatives and friends. I believe that even if you followed your cousin to migrate south, you can still live and work in peace under your cousin's care. However, your ambition is greater than your brother's. You are being modest when you say that you are lucky. You are good at planning and seizing opportunities."

The third prince felt even more refreshed.

These two powerful mouths are used to refute despicable and shameless villains with great power, and they are really teasing and joking to their own people without showing their fangs.

The next day, the third prince was furious.

At that time in Hanzhong, the third prince was still studying hard and did not go out shopping. But yesterday he was stimulated by the Meicheng Order, and today he went out for a stroll on purpose. What did he see?

The survivors whose eyebrows were shaved off were tied up hands and feet and taken to the Wumei Warehouse of Meicheng Yamen. Anyone wearing cloth on the street could kick them. It was said that these Wumei slaves were the result of their fathers or even ancestors who attempted to migrate south but failed. Not only were they turned into official slaves, but even their descendants were extremely lowly Wumei slaves.

They were not even qualified to be slaves of the Northern Han nobles.

A piece of silk was their selling price. Qiang civilians bought them home, whipped and scolded them, and tortured a slave without eyebrows to death, but they were still given supplies. The Northern Han court undoubtedly wanted to warn the survivors who were fortunate enough not to become slaves without eyebrows that they were already too lucky and must be even more servile so that they could escape the fate of being treated like pigs and dogs.

These people will hate Dayu and even their own ancestors.

But they were so humble, like walking corpses. They were scolded and whipped, but there was not even an expression of pain or sorrow on their faces. Among the remaining people in the county, there was even a child of five or six years old, but this child seemed to have lost the ability to feel sad, happy or angry. His empty eyes stared at the crowd that seemed to have nothing to do with him.

Even after being beaten, his eyes remained emotionless.

"stop!"

When the Third Prince shouted out these words, he had already returned to the Yamen in Meicheng. He saw a slave without eyebrows being beaten by a Yamen official. She was a very young woman, skinny and with a face that was swollen beyond recognition. He could not even find her eyes on that face, but the strange thing was that he could sense empty gazes. The woman's hair was pulled by the Yamen official, and she was forced to raise her face. Her upper body was almost naked. The Third Prince realized belatedly that this woman was not only young, but she was even a girl.

"Your Excellency, this eyebrowless slave can actually speak Chinese. The county magistrate orders him to be skinned alive."

"You can speak Chinese, too. Should you be skinned alive?!"

"I am a Qiang, not a Wumei slave!"

The third prince clenched his fists. At this moment, he felt a sharp pain in his chest, as if his heart was pierced by an arrow. He had never been so angry, nor so ashamed.

Yingshu heard that the third prince had beaten up the Meicheng governor.

Today she decided to recuperate and did not go shopping. Now that she has recuperated, she still has to go and see the Third Prince showing off his power. They are all a team and must unite.

The Lady of Shenyuan Palace drank the bitter tea that the Third Prince had cooked for several days in a row, and she did not bear any grudge in her heart. She had already found it difficult to tolerate the sarcasm of the Meicheng Order last night. When she heard that the Third Prince had beaten the Meicheng Order, she felt that it was more important to go to the arena together than to comfort the Third Prince. Without waiting for Yingshu to ask, she stood up firmly. The chief envoy and the deputy envoy both went up to the arena. Nanci, the leader of the delegation, was of course unwilling to fall behind. He was the only one who remembered that among the large box of medicinal materials sent by Zhou Chang, there was one that was specifically used to treat bruises and injuries, so he asked Liang Hui to find it and send it directly to the court of the Meicheng County Government.

In front of the court, Dianjun and his entourage happened to meet Jiang Baiji and his wife. When Yingshu saw Jiang Baiji's frown, she smiled brightly, which immediately attracted Gao's gaze. She actually smiled and nodded slightly at Gao.

The magistrate of Meicheng certainly did not dare to interrogate the right deputy envoy of Dayu in court, even though he had become an official of Northern Han and was not afraid of the prince of Dayu. However, as a mere county magistrate, he did not have the courage to damage the diplomatic relations between the two countries. Just now, he was handling affairs in court, and the third prince broke in. He was punched and blocked by the third prince in the court. He had no choice but to send someone to inform General Jiang. Now that he saw his savior, he knelt on the ground with a sad face. Before he could say anything, Jiang Baiji bowed to the third prince and said, "But did the magistrate of Meicheng offend the envoy?"

"If the officials of Northern Han had not spoken nonsense and insulted our country's prestige in front of me, I would not have been so angry and started to teach them a lesson." The third prince's eyebrows were still raised, his right hand was clenched into a fist, and his left hand was holding his right wrist. His right fist kept turning, as if he had used too much force and sprained his wrist.

Everyone looked at the face of the Meicheng magistrate.

If necessary, hit someone in the face.

Yingshu felt that the Third Prince's fist was quite powerful, and the right cheek of the Meicheng Order was visibly swollen.

It was certainly unreasonable for an envoy to hit an official of another country because of his rude words, but Ying Shu pretended not to understand and nodded as if she had suddenly realized something: "I just heard that Your Highness was violent towards the Meicheng magistrate, and I knew there must be a reason. It turns out that the Meicheng magistrate committed such a serious crime. It's no wonder that Your Highness was angry and didn't hesitate to hurt her body in order to protect our country's national prestige."

"Your Highness, is your wrist injured?" The Lord of Shenyuan Palace saw that the Third Prince was spinning his fist. He initially thought that he was still angry and wanted to punch him again, but when he heard Yingshu say this, he immediately showed concern.

Third Prince:...

Meicheng Order: ...

He could take a beating but could not be wrongly accused, so he howled at the top of his voice: "Your Majesty, you cannot listen to the one-sided words of Yu Shi. It was Jiao Sujun who broke into the court and asked me what Wu Mei Cang was, but he did not even listen to my explanation. He then asked me whether I had ordered the execution of Wu Mei Nu. I responded respectfully and told Jiao Sujun that Wu Mei Nu could not learn Chinese privately, and that learning Chinese privately was against the law and should be punished by skinning. But Jiao Sujun attacked me, and I did not offend Jiao Sujun."

"Mr. Liu, you didn't say you were exercising your authority in accordance with the law. You said that the Yuanmei slaves, as the remnants of Xiyu, were the most lowly group in the Northern Han Dynasty, worse than straw dogs. You can let them die however you want."

"I am wronged. I was just anxious at the time and didn't emphasize the word 'according to the law'..."

Jiang Baiji had roughly understood the situation, and was extremely angry that the Meicheng magistrate had chosen to execute Wumei Slave today, and happened to be bumped into by the third prince of Dongyu. Jiao Sujun was taking advantage of the situation to interfere in the internal affairs of the Han Dynasty. The Meicheng magistrate was allowed to be beaten, but the Wumei Slave who learned Chinese privately could not be pardoned.

"It sounds like it's just a misunderstanding." Jiang Baiji bowed to the Third Prince again. "At the dinner yesterday, the Meicheng magistrate drank a few too many glasses of wine, and the words he said were not very pleasant to the noble envoys. When he responded today, he made some mistakes in his words, which led to the envoys misunderstanding that he intended to kill the survivors. However, our country's laws do stipulate that Wumei slaves are not allowed to learn Chinese privately, otherwise they will be punished by skinning and torture. The Meicheng magistrate is indeed exercising his authority."

"Wu Meinu is originally a Han Chinese. Why does your country's laws prohibit Han Chinese from speaking Chinese?" the third prince asked in a cold voice.

"This is my internal affairs. Your Excellency should not interfere, right?"

The third prince was stumped by the question.

"Back in Hanzhong, I heard Lady Gao talk about some things about Wumei slaves." Ying Shu helped out: "According to Lady Gao, among the survivors of Xiyu, only those whose fathers, grandfathers or relatives did not obey the laws of your country, such as those who knew that Xiyu was destroyed and Guanzhong was under the jurisdiction of the Northern Han Dynasty, but still tried to escape to the jurisdiction of Dayu, their children, grandchildren, and even relatives would be confiscated into Wumei Warehouse and become Wumei slaves, and no pardon would be given."

Gao was named, so she couldn't just watch the fun: "That's true."

"Then I have a question. The Meicheng magistrate said yesterday that his cousin had already moved south. According to the laws of your country, he should be confiscated into the Wumei Warehouse and sentenced to be a Wumei slave. He doesn't need to learn Chinese privately, but according to the laws of your country, even if he can speak Chinese, he can't. If he does, won't he be skinned alive and put to death?"

The third prince's eyes lit up: "That's right!"

“Now Yu and Han are discussing the establishment of diplomatic relations. Although our dynasty cannot interfere in your country’s internal affairs, if your country’s laws are harsh on the remnants of Dayu and condone your officials and dignitaries to harm the remnants of Dayu, as envoys of Dayu, we also have the right to protest. I have just pointed out that your country’s laws cannot treat the remnants of Dayu equally. Therefore, we lodge a protest and ask General Jiang to order the temporary punishment of Wumei Nu. Otherwise, there is no need to discuss the establishment of diplomatic relations anymore.” Yingshu’s attitude was very tough.

Gao smiled and said, "The envoys have already arrived in Northern Han, and are only a few days away from the capital. You can't go back on your word for such a small matter."

The threat is quite serious.

The magistrate of Meicheng could not help but straighten his spine. "Left Deputy Envoy, I am different from Wumeinu. Although my cousin fled, I have already submitted to the emperor. I did not stop hundreds of survivors in Meicheng from fleeing, and I also married a Qiang woman. I have become a Qiang citizen. The laws of the Han Dynasty do not have any provisions that are harsh on the survivors. You envoys should not use the proposal of establishing diplomatic relations as a threat to interfere in the internal affairs of the Han Dynasty."

"When did you marry a Qiang woman?" Yingshu asked.

"It happened 20 years ago. Now, all my children are of Qiang nationality."

"When I heard you tell me about your experience yesterday, I felt strange. I thought that you were an official in Da Yu, and you definitely couldn't support your wife and children. You had to steal your superiors' private grain to save them from starvation. It turned out that you were lying. You have been married to a Qiang woman for twenty years. Either you divorced her and remarried, or you never married at all. No matter the former or the latter, you lied.

How could a man who divorced his wife and married another for the sake of wealth and status risk stealing grain to feed his wife and children? Isn't the purpose of your words to slander the ruler of Dayu as unkind and indulge the rich and powerful and officials to exploit the people? You slandered the ruler and ministers of Dayu in front of the envoys of Dayu, and today you deliberately executed the survivors of Dayu with the death penalty to anger the envoys. You are just a magistrate of Meicheng, and you dare to hinder the establishment of diplomatic relations. "

Yingshu raised her eyes and looked at Jiang Baiji: "Lady Gao just mentioned a few trivial matters. If General Jiang also thinks so, then I have to question whether Northern Han has any sincerity in negotiating and establishing diplomatic relations. The envoys of Dayu have already entered Han and obtained the official seal from General Jiang. Your Highness, you can immediately write a memorial and order the envoys to take the official seal issued by Northern Han back to the country to report to His Majesty and state the details. We will stay in Meicheng and wait for His Majesty's further decree."