Qi Ning and Prince Yu looked at each other and then looked at Linghu Xu. Linghu Xu had already smiled and said: "That's what happened. The emperor's palace has not been repaired for many years. As a minister, I have proposed to the emperor that the palace should be renovated. The emperor has many things to do every day, so the dragon body naturally needs to be taken care of, so in order for the emperor to rest carefully, the wood in the palace must be carefully selected."
Prince Yu smiled and said: "That's right. Prime Minister, there is an ancient wood in Liaodong, which is most suitable for use in the palace. It can help sleep and refresh the mind. If you don't mind, our country of Han is willing to provide the wood for repairing the palace."
"Thank you." Linghu Xu cupped his hands and said with a smile: "The ancient trees of Han are naturally extraordinary, but the emperor has taken a fancy to the fragrant wood."
"Scale fragrant wood?"
Linghu Xu explained: "Actually, this is wood from an island in the East China Sea. Although the island is not big, there are 780,000 people who have established their own country, called Boyang Kingdom."
Prince Yu nodded and said, "I have also heard of Boyang Country, which is a small country on the East China Sea Islands."
"That's right." Linghu Xu said: "The specialty of Boyang country is the fragrant wood. The fragrance of that kind of wood can last for decades, and it can make people calm and calm, and it can promote sleep. For many years During this time, the emperor had to have a bracelet of fragrant wood, which he regarded as a treasure, so when building the palace this time, the emperor wanted to use the fragrant wood of Boyang."
Prince Yu asked: "Is there something wrong?"
Linghu Xu sighed: "Boyang country is not understanding of the world, and they have repeatedly negotiated, and they have repeatedly shied away...!"
Beitang Feng couldn't help but said: "Master Prime Minister, how dare the little Boyang Kingdom be so arrogant. Your Dongqi navy is invincible. Send an army to attack them. I don't see what they are talking about."
Prince Yu frowned slightly, but Linghu Xu already sighed: "Although what the second prince said is not a solution, the emperor governs the country with benevolence. Now it is just that we, Eastern Qi, have requests from Boyang Kingdom, not that Boyang Kingdom is invading us. The force used by Dong Qi is unreasonable, and we, Dong Qi, are by no means a country that relies on the strong to bully the weak."
His words seemed to be a pun.
Qi Ning finally said: "The Prime Minister mentioned this matter tonight. Could it be that Boyang Country has caused some problems for your country, so you want to discuss it together?"
Linghu Xu smiled and said: "Jin Yihou is indeed smart. Yes, we sent envoys several times to negotiate with each other, and they were very sincere. The King of Boyang also relaxed his tone, but he may have felt that if he agreed so easily, he would be allowed to stay in the country. Their prestige was damaged, so they raised a question, and if we could answer the question, they immediately agreed to provide scale wood."
"Oh?" Qining asked, "What's the problem?"
Linghu Xu said: "Here comes someone!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a servant came in holding a planed piece of wood of the same thickness. It was as thick as an arm, or the length of an arm. The wood was straight, and the two ends were almost the same size. Everyone looked at each other, and Linghu Xu made a gesture. , the servant held the piece of wood with both hands horizontally and came to Prince Yu first, so that Prince Yu could see it clearly, and then turned around and held the piece of wood in front of Qining.
Qining smelled a woody scent and knew that this must be the fragrant wood. For a while, he didn't know what kind of medicine was sold in Linghu Xu's gourd.
Linghu Xu sighed: "The problem with King Boyang lies in this piece of wood. Your Majesty, Jin Yihou, King Boyang asked us to identify which end of this piece of wood is the treetop and which end is the root. I am very dull." , I have never been able to figure it out, Prince Yu and Jin Yi are here today, and I just want to ask them for advice, which can be considered as helping me solve this problem."
Beitangfeng immediately said: "Master Prime Minister, this Boyang country is obviously deliberately trying to make things difficult for others. There is no difference between the two ends of this wood, and it is impossible to judge. If I were asked to identify the age of this fragrant wood, I can give it a try. "
"What the second prince said is absolutely true." Linghu Xu said: "Since King Boyang has a problem, it is naturally not simple. But having said that, if I can't give an answer, not to mention that the emperor's palace cannot be repaired smoothly, then It’s because we don’t look good either.”
Qining thought to himself that this was not necessarily the King of Boyang who wanted to embarrass Dong Qi, but rather Dong Qi wanted to test Chu and Han.
If Linghu Xu really considered the face of Dong Qi, he would naturally not leave this question to the envoys of Chu and Han to answer. Then if he admitted that no one in Dong Qi could solve it, he would not look good at all.
Prince Yu obviously knew this, but everyone naturally understood it tacitly.
"Your Highness, is there any way to identify it?" Linghu Xu looked at Prince Yu with a smile, and all the officials present here also looked at Prince Yu.
Prince Yu was thoughtful and just pondered. Although he was knowledgeable and talented, he could write poems and compositions freely, but the question raised by Linghu Xu was a bit embarrassing.
Seeing this, Linghu Xu turned to Qi Ning and asked, "Does Jin Yihou have any ideas?"
Qi Ning was calm and composed, and said with a smile: "The elder comes first, please ask Prince Yu to answer first."
All the officials present thought that Prince Yu was well-informed and talented in literature, but they couldn't answer it all at once. Jin Yihou was young, so it was naturally impossible for him to answer. His words seemed to be a sign of respect for Prince Yu, but It's possible that he didn't know how to answer, so he made excuses.
Some of the officials present here didn’t know that the palace of the King of Eastern Qi was going to be renovated, let alone that they were looking for Boyang to trade the fragrant wood. When they heard Linghu Xu’s question, everyone looked at the fragrant wood held by the servant and felt in their hearts. Wondering how to identify it.
After hearing Qi Ning's words, Beitangfeng had already ridiculed: "Jin Yihou, you don't have to be so polite. If you don't know what to do, just say you don't know what to do. Elders come first. What do you think? Doesn’t the prince know?”
The Northern Han Dynasty and the Southern Chu Dynasty were enemies. They disliked each other, and everyone knew it in their hearts. However, Beitang Feng mocked Qi Ning like this in front of everyone, which seemed very ungraceful. The officials saw that Beitang Feng was even more powerful than Qi Ning. Ning is still a few years older, but his cultivation is obviously not as good as Qining's. Qining has been calm and composed from beginning to end, thinking that the Jinyi Qi family's recognition is still different after all.
Qi Ning smiled faintly and said, "Maybe the second prince can identify the two ends of the fragrant wood?"
Beitangfeng said: "I ask myself that there is nothing I can do, but there is nothing you can do either."
"Oh?" Qi Ning said with a smile: "The second prince is so sure? Otherwise, how about you and I making a bet?"
"What bet?"
Qi Ning said: "The second prince is of noble birth, and his daily life is naturally exciting. I have no other request. If I can identify the two ends of the wood, can the second prince amuse everyone here and sing a song? , or just dance, what do you think?"
Beitang Feng was very angry, thinking that by letting me sing and dance in front of everyone, are you treating me, the noble prince of the Northern Han Dynasty, as a despicable singer and dancer? He barely controlled his emotions and sneered: "If you lose , so what?"
Qi Ning raised his hand and said: "But please forgive me, Second Prince."
Beitang Feng rolled his eyes and said with a smile: "I will not embarrass you, my prince. If you lose, I will have your hair cut off in public. Do you dare to agree?"
As soon as these words came out, everyone present changed their expressions slightly. Prince Yu had already said in a deep voice: "Don't embarrass Jin Yihou."
Although Qi Ning's offer to let Beitang Feng sing and dance meant to ridicule Beitang Feng, but Beitang Feng's offer to let Qin Ning cut his hair was not just ridicule, but a great insult.
In this era, people firmly believe that the body, hair and skin are inherited from their parents, and that the bun is the same as the head. Cutting off the bun is no different from chopping off the head. From a certain point of view, unless you become a monk and see through the world of mortals, cutting your hair is better than chopping off your head. The head is far more serious and humiliating.
Everyone thought that it was not strange for young people to be dissatisfied with each other and to bet against each other, but the conditions proposed by Beitang Feng were extremely harsh, and Qi Ning would definitely not agree.
Who knows Qin Ning smiled faintly and said calmly: "Okay!"
Beitangfeng perked up and said anxiously: "Everyone has heard it. I didn't force him, he agreed on his own. Qining, everyone heard it clearly. A man should stick to his word and never go back on his word."
Qi Ning cupped his hands and said, "Everyone, what the second prince said is absolutely true. A man who keeps his word is a shameless villain." He stood up and said to Linghu Xu, "Master Prime Minister, please help me. Prepare a big vat, half filled with water."
Everyone was stunned, wondering what Qining was going to do, but Linghu Xu nodded slightly and gave an order. Not long after, two people brought a large vat in and placed it in the middle. The vat was half full. Qing Shui, Qin Ning glanced at Beitang Feng, and then said to the servant holding the wood: "Put the wood into the water tank."
The man looked at Linghu Xu, saw Linghu Xu nodded, and then put the piece of wood into the water tank. Qi Ning walked to the water tank and took a look, then raised his hand to Linghu Xu and said: "Master, the answer It has come out, please come and watch.”
Linghu Xu immediately stood up and walked to the water tank. Prince Yu and all the officials also stood up and gathered around him. Beitang Feng followed Prince Yu and looked at the water tank. He saw the wood floating in the water tank and sneered. Said: "Qining, where is the answer you mentioned?"
"Just because you don't know, doesn't mean others don't know." Qi Ning said calmly: "Actually, this question is not difficult, and it is even extremely simple. All things in the world have qi rising, turbid qi falling, lightness and turbidity, and so do trees. In this way, the roots of the tree are slightly heavier, while the tops of the trees are lighter." He raised his finger and pointed at the wood in the water tank: "Everyone can understand at a glance that this wood is in the water, and its two ends are uneven. One end sinks slightly into the water, and the other end floats upward. Some, I think there is no need to explain which section is the root of the tree and which end is the top of the tree."
As soon as he finished explaining, everyone watched carefully and saw that the ups and downs of the wood had been determined. Sure enough, one end was slightly deeper in the water. Many people suddenly realized it. Some people already praised it: "Brilliant, brilliant, indeed brilliant, it turns out to be so simple."
In fact, this is an extremely simple physical principle. For Qi Ning, who has been born in two generations, it is extremely simple, but for people of this era, it is difficult to think of this.
Beitang Feng changed color, rolled his eyes, and sneered: "Why does the clear air rise and the turbid air fall? Qining, you are trying to make things up. Who knows if it is true or false? You can't just say this is what it is."
In fact, there are some people who think the same as Beitangfeng, and feel that this may not be the case. This is a very simple truth in later generations, but at this time, not everyone can understand it. Qining glanced at it and saw that half of the people were confused. Everyone nodded in admiration, but some were silent, and some showed suspicion, sighing in their hearts, and could only sigh: "Since the second prince doesn't believe it, it is actually very simple to verify."