As the night grew darker, the Emperor of Zhao and his ministers were still discussing. Ji Buxian, the Minister of the Central Secretariat of Zhao, talked for a long time but had not even finished one tenth of the matter.
Seeing that it was time for dinner, Ji Buxian had to give a suggestion: "Your Majesty, we don't need to rush to meet Xu Ren. We can ask someone to take Xu Ren to 'inspect' Zhao State. If he walks around more, he can easily squeeze out ten days or half a month for us."
This was a good idea, and the Emperor of Zhao agreed immediately. In order to show his respect, he asked the Crown Prince to accompany Xu Ren on a tour of Zhao.
At this time, Xu Ren was talking to Wen Xiaowei, and they had been talking for half an afternoon. Wen Xiaowei was negotiating on behalf of the Western Chu State this time. In addition to reminiscing about the past, he also mentioned the main points:
Simply put, the Western Chu Kingdom also wanted to build a major artery between it and the Shang Kingdom!
But the requirements of Western Chu were a bit high: first, it could not overlap with the "Zhao-Shang Kingdom" artery, and it could not be extended from Zhao to Western Chu.
The Western Chu State's request was to go directly east, bypass the Eastern Chu State and then follow the Yangtze River to the Yue State on the East China Sea; then go north along the coast to connect with the Shang Kingdom.
Only after the construction of this artery is completed can it be connected with the artery of Zhao State.
This requirement is not just high, it is completely unreasonable! It is more reasonable for the Western Chu State, but it is completely unsuitable for the Shang Kingdom, because if this artery is really built in this way, it will bring too little benefit to the Shang Kingdom.
But Xu Ren did not refuse outright, he just said that the matter had to be discussed back in the Shang Kingdom.
Although Wen Xiaowei was young, he was the young master of Jidao Sect and had a good political vision. It was getting dark, so Wen Xiaowei pulled out his trump card: "Mr. Xu, can we build the 'Western Chu-Shang Kingdom' artery first? If the Shang Kingdom is willing to connect with Western Chu first, then we are willing to offer twice the conditions and rewards of Zhao."
Xu Ren smiled and said nothing. After a while, he repeated, "I can't make the decision on this matter. If Master Wen really wants to negotiate, please go to the virtuous king. As long as the virtuous king speaks, everything will be fine. Similarly, if the virtuous king doesn't speak, nothing will be possible."
Wen Xiaowei hit a snag, and also understood Xu Ren's intention to send the guest away. But as a politician, he had to be thick-skinned. Wen Xiaowei smiled naturally and brilliantly, "Mr. Xu, in order to welcome Mr. Xu, we specially prepared delicacies from the Western Chu Kingdom. I wonder if you would do me the honor?"
Having said that, Xu Ren couldn't refuse. If he refused, it would be "disrespectful", and if he didn't, it would be a quarrel.
Xu Ren hesitated for a moment, showing a bit of embarrassment, and then he 'reluctantly' accepted Wen Xiaowei's invitation.
Xu Ren was in a very difficult situation. He came to Zhao State, but he had to attend the banquet of Western Chu State first. However, Xu Ren could not refuse Wen Xiaowei's speech.
Moreover, this matter seemed to be caused by the negligence of Zhao State itself.
If it was someone from Wei who invited him, Xu Ren would definitely refuse, because Wei and Zhao were sworn enemies. You can't be a fence-sitter. But Western Chu and Eastern Chu were sworn enemies, but the relationship with Zhao was still okay.
However, this is Zhao's territory after all, so it's not so easy for Wen Xiaowei to intercept. As soon as he left the gate, the crown prince of Zhao came in person, "Mr. Xu, the emperor has arranged a dinner and invites you to attend."