On the second day after the Peace Negotiation Office announced the end of the peace talks, Jing State held another grand court meeting.
All the officials gathered in the Fengtian Hall.
At no other time in Jing State's history had grand court meetings been held so frequently within a year as they are now.
After the ceremony, Sheng Boyuan stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, Queen Mother, I have fulfilled my mission and finally completed the peace talks with the special envoy of the Miscellaneous Family. As long as Your Majesty affixes his imperial seal and issues an imperial decree, the two parties will naturally conclude a contract. As for the content of the contract, it has been sent to the officials in the palace before the court meeting."
The Queen Mother nodded gently and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Lord Sheng. What do you think? If no one objects, the peace talks can be concluded."
The Honglu Temple has been officially renamed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Yu Xingshu, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, stepped forward and said, "I, Yu Xingshu, oppose most of the contents of this peace talk."
All the civil and military officials looked at Yu Xingshu. No matter what they were thinking, their faces were expressionless. From a distance, they looked like sculptures, devoid of any human touch.
Yu Xingshu was the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and his say in foreign negotiations was no less than that of the Ministry of Rites.
"I wonder what your opinion is, my dear Lord?" The Queen Mother's tone was very gentle.
"I think that many of these treaties are obviously not of interest to you, and could have been more beneficial to our Jing country. However, Sheng Boyuan gave up the interests of Jing country and its people in order to please you, or for other purposes. This is really a betrayal!"
Sheng Boyuan said angrily, "Ridiculous! The reason why I gave up some minor benefits is not to sell out my country, but for the overall interests of the human race. Otherwise, my family would never give up the Holy Dao Town Sealing. If you only think about the small profits, how can you know the great interests of your family and country? We give up a little bit of profit, not only for Qing Country to see, but also for other countries to see, so that they know that our Jing Country is a country of etiquette, a country of friendship and harmony. In the future, other countries will respect us more and be more willing to cooperate with our Jing Country."
Yu Xingshu sneered, "Every inch of Jingguo's land was won by absolute force, never by courtesy. Previously, Jingguo was weak, and we were polite and willing to cooperate with other countries for mutual benefit, but what did we get? Wuguo's oppression, Qingguo's invasion, Qiguo's contempt! Respect? There is only a pure interest relationship between countries. If you are strong, they will be weak, and if you are weak, they will oppress you. This is an eternal truth. Fang Xusheng once said that justice is only within the scope of the sword of tongue! Now Jingguo is at its peak and can already stand shoulder to shoulder with the strongest countries. . In front of those old powers, Jingguo can give up some interests, strive for development space, and slowly grow stronger, but in front of the obviously declining Qingguo, it is still so tolerant. This will not let other countries see our etiquette and kindness, but will only let other countries see our weakness and bullying, and see that we were beaten and scared in the past and are still kneeling now! Qingguo is not worthy of accepting Jingguo’s true friendship, and is only worthy of being slaughtered by Jingguo under a false guise. They only deserve to get the leftovers that Jingguo doesn’t want, and they are not worthy of and must not compete with Jingguo for interests!"
"You are talking nonsense! As long as our Jing country shows enough goodwill, other countries will definitely treat us with courtesy." Sheng Boyuan said.
"How about we do an experiment? You treat me well and then I'll slap you in the face!" Yu Xingshu did not hide his anger and contempt.
"How dare you! This is not the place for you to act wild!"
"Jingguo is not a place where you can sell out your interests at will!" Yu Xingshu was not afraid at all.
Many officials vaguely realized that the dispute between the two was actually a struggle between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Rites for control of foreign affairs, and also a struggle between the radicals and conservatives of Jing State, or in other words, a struggle between hardliners and moderates.
"Why, do you want to deny the negotiation results of the Peace Negotiation Department?" Sheng Boyuan asked.
"That's right." Yu Xingshu said.
"You stood aside during the peace talks, but now you are making accusations. This is outrageous!" Sheng Boyuan said.
"During the peace talks, you insisted on your own way and refused to listen to any advice. Even Fang Xusheng was driven away by you. What use would I be there for?" Yu Xingshuo asked in return.
Sheng Boyuan said angrily, "Prime Minister Fang ate stinky melon during the peace talks and called it a lingering smell, causing the conference room to stink for days. He blamed me? I wouldn't have dared to chase him away even if I had ten guts. He just didn't want to negotiate and left on his own! You all know the conditions set by Fang Xusheng, which almost drove everyone in the Za family away!"
The officials present looked at Fang Yun helplessly. He was the only one in the entire human race who could eat stinky prickly melon on such an important occasion.
"That's just a negotiation strategy, asking for a sky-high price first. But you, the person who presided over the peace talks, not only clearly handed over Jingguo's bottom line, but also gave in step by step. Aren't you a traitor?" Yu Xingshuo said.
"I will not continue to argue with you! Queen Mother, I want to ask you, do you accept the result of this peace talk?"
Everyone looked at the Queen Mother.
After a few breaths, the Queen Mother sighed and said, "As a woman, I may not think as much as you do, but I know one thing. The result of this negotiation is far better than the expectation of setting up a temporary peace negotiation department. As long as you hand in the civil servant examination and join the Miscellaneous Family Holy Way, the Miscellaneous Family and the Qing Kingdom will give up their hostility and promise not to use the Holy Way to suppress and seal, so that my Jing Kingdom will have a chance to breathe. I know that some people are not convinced, but I want to ask you, apart from this, what other means do you have to prevent the Holy Way from suppressing and sealing?"
The whole audience was silent, including Yu Xingshu who strongly opposed it.
"Well, who has any objections?" The Queen Mother's voice was less tired and more solemn.
"I have objections."
Fang Yun's voice echoed in the Fengtian Hall.
"Please speak, Lord Fang." The Queen Mother tried her best to control her emotions.
The officials looked at Fang Yun with their own thoughts.
"If Jingguo wants to be worry-free for decades, this peace talk is the best choice. Not to mention that the thief Sheng is ignorant and sells out the interests of the country, even if it is ten times more serious than this, it is acceptable."
While Fang Yun was speaking, Sheng Boyuan was furious and wanted to interrupt him, but as soon as he opened his mouth, an inexplicable power emanated from Fang Yun, like a mountain hanging over his head or a sharp sword at his throat, forcing him to be unable to utter a word.
Sheng Boyuan clenched his hands, veins on his forehead bulged, and hatred flashed in his eyes.
Fang Yun glanced at Sheng Boyuan inadvertently and continued, "However, our Jing country is still unable to escape danger. If we retreat this time, there will be no possibility of rising again, and even... the country will be in danger!"
Many people sighed softly, and everyone knew what danger Fang Yun was referring to.
Chen Guanhai will die.
Once Saint Chen Guanhai dies, Jing Kingdom can only last for two or three years at most. After that, the surrounding countries will inevitably unite with their own semi-saints to swallow up Jing Kingdom.
There can be no country without a saint.
In a sense, the current Jing Kingdom, whether it negotiates or not, will eventually escape the fate of being annexed.
Sheng Boyuan felt the pressure disappear, and immediately said: "Since Fang Xusheng brought up this matter first, I will speak frankly today! A few years later, if Jingguo encounters a catastrophic disaster, we can still use the concessions made in this peace talk to gain preferential treatment from Qingguo and the Zajia family. If we resolutely refuse to negotiate, when the Saint Dao Town Seal comes, a few years later, my Jingguo will surely suffer the most brutal revenge!"