So the servant removed the fruit plate in front of Cao De'an and replaced it with a new one, and Cao De'an started eating in public.
Sheng Boyuan whispered, "Master Cao, we shouldn't act on impulse. Zongsheng is not an ordinary person, how can we force him to participate in the peace talks?"
"The civil servant examination is beneficial to the holy way of the various schools, and will certainly greatly enhance the patriarchal saint. It is only natural to ask the patriarchal saint for protection. What's more, we are all human beings, so isn't it natural for the patriarchal saint to protect us?" Cao De'an asked back.
Sheng Boyuan said: "You and I both know why the patriarch cannot protect Jingguo. These high-sounding words cannot fool anyone. If the stalemate continues, it will be extremely detrimental to the peace talks."
"Then, it will be beneficial to Jingguo if we complete the peace talks quickly?" Cao De'an said and ignored Sheng Boyuan.
Sheng Boyuan had no choice but to apologize to Hong Maoshan: "Mr. Hong, you have also seen that I really cannot convince Prime Minister Cao."
"Forget it. I will send the letter to Dongsheng Pavilion right away."
Hong Maoshan immediately held the official seal and delivered the letter. After delivering the letter, he said, "I have already delivered the letter to Brother Gan Yu. He said he would definitely give me a reply."
Sheng Boyuan exclaimed: "Thank you, Mr. Hong, for your help. Compared with your broad mind, some of us Jingguo people are really not gentlemanly. I apologize to you on their behalf."
"You're welcome. I just want to resolve the hatred between the two families, so I will naturally do my best. I'm not afraid that the conditions required by your Jing country are high. I'm just afraid that some people don't want to negotiate." Hong Maoshan looked at Sheng Boyuan with a smile.
Sheng Boyuan raised his head and said, "Don't worry, Mr. Hong. As long as our family is sincere in peace talks, I guarantee that the talks will go smoothly. If anyone in Jing Country dares to obstruct the peace talks, I will fight him with all my strength and let the world see his true face!"
"With Minister Sheng's words, I feel relieved. I heard that Jing State wants to establish a Minister of Rites. In my opinion, Minister Sheng is the only candidate." Hong Maoshan said.
Sheng Boyuan shook his head and said, "If the Minister of Rites Pavilion can really be established, it doesn't matter whether I serve as the Minister of Rites or not. However, I am afraid that some people will be blinded by greed and use the title of Minister of Rites to deceive the public and defraud the Palace of Rites. This is an unforgivable crime!"
Some officials present looked at Sheng Boyuan in surprise.
It was Fang Yun who proposed to set up the Li Xiang Pavilion, and Sheng Boyuan's words were obviously referring to Fang Yun. Even if Fang Yun really deceived the Li Palace, it was for the sake of Jing State. The Shangshu of Jing State blamed Fang Yun for this, which was unacceptable anyway.
This means that in Sheng Boyuan's eyes, the Holy Court and the Ceremonial Hall are more important, and as for the Jing Kingdom and the Jing people, they are secondary.
Cao De'an said, "Minister Sheng, it would be a waste of your talent for you to stay in Jing State. I think it would be better if I could join forces with the officials of Jing State to recommend you to the Holy Academy. Perhaps in a short time, you will be promoted to a great scholar and become a minister of the Palace of Rites."
Sheng Boyuan said sternly: "The Jing Kingdom is not settled yet, how dare Sheng leave? Don't mention this matter again."
Some officials showed disdain in their eyes. It was true that Sheng Boyuan wanted Jing State to be strong, but he only knew how to do things using the methods of the Hall of Rites or etiquette, and etiquette could only assist in government affairs at most. If the Hall of Rites completely took over Jing State, then Jing State would inevitably decline rapidly.
The scholars of the human race have long reached a consensus that they would rather let scholars of various schools control the government than let people in the Hall of Rites control the country.
Dongsheng Pavilion did not respond for a long time, so the two sides sat in the conference room and stopped talking. Most of them held official seals and flipped through the discussion list.
Soon, a miscellaneous official said angrily: "You Jing people are so despicable!"
"Speak with evidence!"
"Look for yourselves. Someone on the discussion board is saying that the Miscellaneous School wants to force Qing Jun to commit suicide in exchange for Jingguo's civil servant examination!"
After hearing this, both sides had their own thoughts.
The officials of various families were shocked and angry. The officials of Jing State, except for a few people like Sheng Boyuan, were secretly praising the person who leaked the information, saying it was a stroke of genius.
Although the Za family did not want to force Qingjun to death, they did want to force Qingjun to abdicate. No matter what, once Qingjun got the news, he would definitely be on guard against the Za family, which would lead to a rift between the Za family and the royal family.
Various countries were discussing this matter, and most people actually believed that the Miscellaneous School could do such a thing, because compared with such a major event as the civil service examination that could enhance the Holy Way, let alone the death of King Qing, even if King Qing died for three generations in a row, it would be insignificant in the eyes of the Miscellaneous School.
Another hour passed and there was still no reply from Dongsheng Pavilion, so everyone had to continue waiting.
Before I could receive any information from Dongsheng Pavilion, I got some news from the capital of Qing Kingdom.
Qing Jun actually issued several imperial edicts in succession, making major adjustments to the generals inside and outside the capital, replacing them all with people who had nothing to do with the Zajia family.
Moreover, King Qing successively summoned officials from various schools of thought such as military strategists, Confucianists, and engineers from the Qing State.
Only the miscellaneous officials were not summoned.
The atmosphere in the officialdom of Qing State became weird.
After hearing the news, Hong Maoshan and other miscellaneous officials all agreed that this was Fang Yun's conspiracy. However, this kind of thing could not be solved immediately, so they could only continue to focus on the negotiation table.
It was late at night before Dongsheng Pavilion responded.
After reading Zong Ganyu's letter, Hong Maoshan said helplessly, "Everyone, the people from the East Saint Pavilion have already delivered the document to the Zong Saint's study, but the Zong Saint did not approve the document. The East Saint Pavilion means that this means that the Zong Saint did not agree."
Cao De'an immediately stood up and said, "If you can't protect Jingguo, why should the civil servant examination be sent back to Zajia?" After saying that, he turned around and walked away.
Some officials followed Cao De'an out.
The Negotiation Department has less than three-quarters of its personnel.
Sheng Boyuan was extremely angry. He originally thought that the people of Jing would be united in completely resolving the threat from the Za family. However, based on what happened today, it can be judged that Fang Yun did not want to negotiate at all, and those officials who were close to Fang Yun actually found excuses to leave, obviously obstructing the negotiations.
When Cao De'an was about to walk out of the conference room, Sheng Boyuan said loudly: "Prime Minister Cao, do you want to watch the chaos in the officialdom of Jingguo and the Holy Dao Zhenfeng descend on the country? For the sake of Jingguo, sacrificing the civil service examination is our best choice!"
"This is the best choice, but it is not the right choice." Cao De'an said as he left.
"Then tell me what is the right choice!" Sheng Boyuan roared.
"You don't care about Jingguo and the people, so naturally you don't understand. If you have the opportunity to go to the streets and fields and ask them, you will know who is the right choice." Cao De'an's voice disappeared around the corner.
"Fang Yun is unparalleled in the world, but he is not absolutely right! He can make Jingguo flourish, but it is also him who put Jingguo into trouble! You, why don't you understand! What we need is tolerance, not making enemies everywhere! Do you think that I, Sheng Boyuan, am willing to bear this infamy? What do the peasants in the streets and fields know? They only know how to praise those who are good to them and scold those who are not good to them. What do they know!"
“The Jing people have stood up, but you and some officials are still weak in the knees!”
The Minister of Works, who was in charge of negotiating the engineering technology, left as well after he finished speaking.
After a long time, Hong Maoshan looked at Sheng Boyuan who was in a daze and said, "Shall we talk about this later?"
Sheng Boyuan gritted his teeth and said, "We will negotiate the terms within two days. If they agree, then fine. If they don't agree, don't blame me!"
After two days, the peace talks ended.