kingnovel Chapter 1316 The Trouble Has Been Small
Chapter 1316 The Trouble Has Been Small
Ōtomo Maro is a little afraid of Lu Bodō.
Because Lu Botang was tall and strong, like a black bear that suddenly jumped out of the forest, just one glance was enough to inspire fear.
Moreover, he knew what the "knife tip" Lu Botang was talking about was, so he naturally didn't want to eat it at all.
“General…” He looked away, not daring to look Lu Botang in the eye. “Our country is not a small place, and we are talking about an exchange. We will give your country a method to kill locusts, and your country will give our country rice seeds. In your country’s terms, this is called… mutual benefit.”
"Screw your mutual benefit!" Lu Botang subconsciously reached for his waist, only to find it empty. "I'm telling you right now! If you can take away even a single high-yield rice seed from my Great Zhou, I'll change my name!"
Ōtomo Maro blinked: "What is your name...?"
Upon hearing this, Lu Botang paused, then flew into a rage, grabbed a standing bronze candlestick from the side of the hall, and charged straight at Ōtomo no Maro.
"Come back!" General Lin shouted immediately.
Despite his rage reaching the top of his head, Lu Botang abruptly stopped in his tracks.
To him, every word of General Lin was a military order, a majestic mountain that he could not, dared not, and was unwilling to disobey.
General Lin strode forward, snatched the candlestick, and whispered angrily, "What do you want to do? Smash him to death on the spot? In the imperial court, His Majesty is above, and all the officials are beside him. If you dare to use force, it will be a great disrespect to His Majesty!"
Lu Botang moved his lips, forcing himself to regain his composure.
Seeing the faint smile on Ōtomo Maro's lips, he gritted his teeth: "Master, didn't you see? That Japanese pirate has been provoking us! From the very beginning, he was after our rice seeds. Rice seeds are the lifeblood of our people, how can we give them to them!"
"That's none of your business to resort to violence in the palace!" General Lin grabbed him by the back of the neck and whispered, "Apologize to His Majesty! You behaved improperly in the palace and even tried to act violently. I've wasted all those years of pampering you!"
Hearing the lingering fear in General Lin's voice, Lu Botang suddenly came to his senses.
If I had smashed the candlestick on the head of the Japanese pirates, then today's court assembly... would probably not have ended well.
I was impulsive and reckless, and not only did I almost implicate my master, but I also nearly disgraced His Majesty and the Great Zhou!
A wave of fear washed over me.
He was not afraid of pain or death, but he was terrified of disappointing his mentor and the emperor who appreciated him.
"Boom-"
He knelt down, facing the emperor, and said, "Your Majesty, I have acted improperly in court and nearly caused a great mistake. I beg Your Majesty to punish me!"
The emperor lowered his eyes and remained silent.
In the eyes of the officials, he seemed to be pondering how to punish Lu Botang.
But only he knew that he felt no anger at all, but rather a hidden annoyance.
He was secretly annoyed that Lu Botang, that brute, wasn't quick enough, yet he always listened to General Lin.
That bronze candlestick, as tall as a person, would be nothing more than an ordinary blunt weapon in the hands of an ordinary person, but in the hands of a fierce general like Lu Botang, it was a deadly weapon that could take a person's life in an instant.
If only we could give the Japanese envoy that much...
"Sigh." Thinking this, the emperor sighed.
Lu Botang: Oh no, oh no, I've really messed up. I've let down my master's teachings, I've let down His Majesty's appreciation, and I've brought shame to the Great Zhou.
The Emperor: This trouble wasn't serious enough, what a pity.
"...That's enough." The emperor looked tired and waved his hand. "I know that your old injury has flared up recently, and you are in great pain, with a fiery temper and a restless mind. So I will not hold it against you any longer. Take your place in the ranks."
Lu Botang stared at the emperor, his head buzzing, and he froze on the spot.
What old injury?
What relapse?
What causes excessive liver fire?
How come he knew nothing about this?
General Lin secretly kicked him in the buttocks.
He was startled and quickly bowed and stood up: "Thank you for your mercy, Your Majesty!"
After returning to the ranks of military officers with General Lin, he stroked his chin and gradually realized what he meant: "Master, perhaps you... shouldn't have stopped me just now."
General Lin: I was careless.
The hall fell silent for a moment, and the officials wore various expressions.
The Emperor raised his eyes and looked at Ōtomo no Maro: "The envoy previously said that he wanted to exchange a method for eradicating locusts for grain seeds from my Great Zhou. I ask you, do you have any evidence to prove your method for eradicating locusts? Can you guarantee that it will be foolproof?"
Upon hearing this, Ji Benchang's expression changed slightly, but he did not speak.
Ōtomo no Maro was overjoyed: "Your Majesty, it is indeed effective! When our country suffered a disaster last year, we used this method to save a lot of grain!"
The emperor's eyes showed curiosity: "Oh? I'm somewhat intrigued by that."
Ji Benchang's breath hitched. He propped himself up on his right leg and knelt down.
"Your Majesty! Absolutely not!" His voice echoed throughout every corner of the Golden Palace: "This high-yield rice variety was carefully cultivated by Lord Shen and is the hope for our Great Zhou people to have enough to eat in the future. Now that this rice has not yet been planted all over our country's arable land, how can we allow it to be given to foreign countries? Your Majesty, I implore you to reconsider!"
"I second that proposal!"
Chen Shengshen knelt beside Ji Benchang: "Your Majesty! The Japanese envoy wants to exchange locust control methods for rice seeds, which is actually taking advantage of the situation. I beg Your Majesty to reconsider!"
General Lin also stepped forward: "Your Majesty, this old minister also believes that this is unacceptable. Grain seeds are the foundation of the military and the nation, and should never be easily given to foreign countries!"
Lin Ai bowed and echoed, "Your Majesty, the Japanese envoy is using the method of locust extermination to coerce us into giving us rice seeds. This has already violated the etiquette of diplomatic relations. Your Majesty need not give in."
One dissenting voice after another rose in the hall, some soft and some loud.
Seeing the anxiety on the faces of his officials, the emperor felt helpless inwardly.
He was just trying to trick the Japanese envoy; he would never actually promise to give away high-yield rice varieties.
Today, let alone 50%, he won't even budge on a single grain.
Just as he was about to speak to reassure Ji Benchang and the others, a different voice suddenly rang out in the hall.
"Your Majesty, this old minister believes that the Japanese envoy has come from afar to convey the law. Although he has a request to our Great Zhou, it can also be considered a demonstration of good relations between the two countries."
Guo Bizheng stepped forward and said earnestly, "I believe that we should not immediately provide rice seeds. We can first have Lord Ji and the agricultural officials of the Ministry of Revenue verify the authenticity of the method, and then discuss the matter of changing the seeds in a more thorough manner. In this way, we can maintain the dignity of our Great Zhou Dynasty and also seize the opportunity to eradicate locusts. It is a win-win solution."
Upon hearing this, the emperor's expression remained unchanged.
Ji Benchang flew into a rage: "Guo Bizheng! You're siding with outsiders!"
The Japanese pirates were clearly taking advantage of the chaos, but he described it as "showing goodwill"!
Tell me, in this world, where is there any way to show goodwill through coercion?!
"I think you've really gone mad!" Ji Benchang pointed at him: "What 'win-win solution'? How can you put the people of our Great Zhou, and Lord Shen's good intentions, in such a way?!"
Guo Bizheng frowned: "I only want to consider the overall situation. Lord Ji, why did you drag Lord Shen into this?"
Ji Benchang gritted his teeth: "No matter what, my Ministry of Revenue will not give Japan a single grain of rice."
Ōtomo no Maro: "Minister Hu, please don't be like this... Don't you Zhou people always say, 'Words can be easily negotiated'?"