Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 616 Because the Barbarians Are There
These theoretical differences were originally just minor matters. However, since there were so many people participating in the ceremony, even forces that were hostile to each other had to meet, so the theoretical issues became truly troublesome matters.

The first to cause trouble were indeed the Yuan and Ming families.

After receiving the official notice, Sun Shiwan took action. A few days after communicating with Guo Kang and others, he quickly prepared the gifts, brought hundreds of servants, and carried dozens of large boxes to the palace with great fanfare.

Sun Shiwan's entourage were all good at speaking and handling things. Along the way, they kept beating gongs and drums, shouting slogans such as "Great Yuan congratulates Great Qin" and "Gifts of a Thousand Golds", and walked around the streets, wishing that the whole city would know.

When more people gathered around, Sun Shiwan stopped for a moment and told the people around him that he was here on behalf of the Yuan Dynasty to congratulate the princess of the Roman Khanate on her wedding. These treasures were a gift for meeting, and he hoped that everyone could develop good relations and establish a closer alliance. This would be of great benefit to the court and ordinary people.

Most of the citizens were not very interested in these words. But Sun Shiwan immediately announced that the Khanate was holding a celebration and the Yuan Dynasty envoys, as guests, had to help out and add to the fun.

Under his orders, the men opened several boxes and dumped the coins out handful by handful. The citizens immediately became excited and rushed forward to fight for the coins. People who were watching the excitement from afar also hurried over to join the battle. More and more people came, blocking the nearby roads and small squares. It was not until the patrolling army came and drove the citizens away that peace was restored.

Of course, after that, Sun Shiwan and his men became famous. A few days later, Greeks came to the scene with wooden rakes, trying to look for coins that had been stepped into the soil and thus not picked up. After that, Sun Shiwan went to Guo's mansion again, and in addition to giving gifts to show his goodwill, he also specifically mentioned the issue of the waterway and the canal.

The Guos told him the truth that they had no legal basis for the matter, and Sun Shiwan didn't care, saying that it was good for everyone to be friends. After explaining it, he left.

Now, the whole city knew that the Yuan Dynasty was rich and powerful, and had a close relationship with the Guo family. It was said that they were going to open up a new trade route and help everyone get rich together. Many officials also heard the news and started to discuss it.

Taking advantage of this good momentum, Sun Shiwan hurriedly sent someone to deliver a name card, saying that he wanted to visit Guo Kang. The messenger also specifically said that Sun was very optimistic about him, so he hoped to be ranked first and last in the order of guests. Although he himself did not care much about these false names, he believed that this was still necessary for the sake of the country's reputation and dignity, and to show more people the willingness of both parties to cooperate and attract more investors.

Guo Kang was very worried when he got the news. According to the previous plan, the position was to be reserved for the Wu Wang Mansion, and Tuo Huan had sent someone to inform him and Zhu Wenkui. Sun Shiwan suddenly appeared, which caught everyone off guard.

Logically speaking, it would be a bit bad to change the position now. But Sun Shiwan looked determined to win, and had already built up momentum, so it was obviously not easy to ask him to give in secretly. On the other hand, he gave too much - at this moment, the funds were just needed, and if he could pay, many things would be much more convenient in the future, so it was not easy to refuse directly.

Guo Kang was not very good at handling these matters, so he had no choice but to ask Tuo Huan. Tuo Huan had no other options for this, so after thinking about it, he could only call Zhu Wenkui over and ask him himself.

However, Zhu Wenkui actually had no experience in dealing with this kind of thing. He didn't know how to deal with this kind of diplomatic etiquette issue. If he just gave it up, it would inevitably make people feel very embarrassed. But if he couldn't come up with enough reasons and just insisted on arguing, he would appear rude in front of many countries and would also embarrass Guo Kang and others.

So, he thought about it and suggested meeting Sun Shiwan and asking him to come out together. At that time, he would listen to the other party's reasons and debate with him. He felt that the Ming Dynasty still had many advantages in terms of legal principles and morality. He should be able to argue with reason and leave Sun Shiwan speechless. In this way, he could prove himself to his father and others and give everyone an explanation.

Of course, if he loses, there are ways to deal with him. The monk Daoyan who just came from the Central Plains is a very knowledgeable person. If he really can't win the argument, he can ask him for help. It should be enough to deal with Sun Shiwan and the others. However, this old monk is busy all day long. Zhu Wenkui always feels that he is unfathomable and looks like a very strong but completely uncontrollable person. Unless it is absolutely necessary, it is better not to rush to call him.

In this way, the three of them simply finished their discussion and arranged a meeting, inviting Sun Shiwan to come over, saying that they wanted to discuss the position issue in the ceremony face to face. Sun Shiwan was not stage-frightened, and immediately agreed and arrived at the palace on time.

After everyone met and exchanged a few simple greetings, Sun Shiwan took out a box and handed it to Guo Kang.

"This is..." Guo Kang was curious for a moment.

"This is the tea that I brought specially for you to try." Sun Shiwan said enthusiastically, "You don't have to be polite, sir. It's just a small gift for meeting you." After saying that, he even glanced at Zhu Wenkui on purpose.

Zhu Wenkui didn't think about giving gifts, and was a little embarrassed. However, Sun Shiwan just continued to speak: "I heard that the wedding ceremony is complicated, and you will have to give a lot of money and gifts. Although the Guo family is also a big family in Haixi, the cost will not be small. Otherwise, Sun will also help sponsor some gifts to help you hold the scene, what do you think?"

"You're welcome. No thanks." Guo Kang waved his hand quickly: "My family can still afford the money. But thank you for your concern."

Seeing this, Sun Shiwan nodded and said nothing more. However, this statement did adjust the atmosphere. After all, someone is willing to take the initiative to help you pay the gift. No matter what his intention is, at least his attitude is really in place. Therefore, Guo Kang couldn't help but soften a little.

"That's right." Tuohuan took the initiative to say, "We are now arranging the seating arrangement for the wedding. We have also understood your request. However, the Ming Dynasty also hopes to be ranked first and last, and has also put forward very convincing reasons. We have considered it and think it is better to invite both of you to come over and discuss it in person."

"Even so, I shouldn't debate with him." Sun Shiwan shook his head and said, "Everyone knows the relationship between the Wu Palace and the Ming Dynasty. Even ordinary vassal states generally do not have diplomatic powers, not to mention that the current relationship between the Wu vassal state and the Ming Dynasty central government is difficult to simply explain. Moreover, they do not have special authorization from the Ming Dynasty court."

"These are just official statements. From a personal perspective, I don't think this is necessary." He said to Zhu Wenkui, "Mr. Zhu is working hard here, probably to maintain the reputation of the Ming Dynasty. However, the Ming Dynasty is too far away. Even if it succeeds, people don't have a real feeling for it and can't really do anything with it. Even if it fails, those who need Ming Dynasty products will not stop buying them."

"My Great Yuan and the Ming Dynasty are enemies fighting for legitimacy, but there is no need for me to lie about this matter." He shook his head and said, "I don't mean to belittle your country. Our two countries have fought many times, and no Yuan Dynasty leader does not value the strength of the Ming Dynasty. But it is precisely because of its strength that I dare to say that it makes no difference whether or not to do these things, because it no longer needs these fancy techniques. Your efforts actually have no effect."

After hearing this, Zhu Wenkui was stunned for a moment.

"Well...it may not have any impact on you, and it may be the same for Europeans." He thought for a moment and replied, "But it still has an impact on me."

"What do you mean?" Sun Shiwan asked curiously.

"The country was established by our Zhu family, and we are the ones who benefited the most." Zhu Wenkui said, "I am very clear about this. Even though we have been stranded in the West and have to rely on relief to survive, the host countries are willing to give us so much relief, isn't it because we have the name of the Ming Dynasty?"

"Since I have gained these benefits from this position, I don't think I can shirk the relevant responsibilities." He also shook his head: "This really can't bring me any direct additional benefits, but if our own people in the Zhu family hesitate and calculate the gains and losses when they need to stand up for the reputation of the country, what will others think? If everyone sees this kind of behavior, will anyone be willing to contribute to the court in the future?"

"I really can't get any direct benefits right now. I want to do this simply because I want to fulfill my duties. If I have to say, the immediate benefit I can get is probably the satisfaction of doing my best, which makes me feel good. For me personally, this is enough."

"What's more, right now in Europe, we are indeed using the name of the Ming Dynasty to gather people and soldiers to carry out the grand work of spreading enlightenment. This is a policy that has been advocated by sages of all generations. Even ancient saints would not object if they saw it. Without this reputation, it would not be so easy to gather people to do great things in our current situation. Therefore, for the sake of our cause, we must strive for this position."

"You really want to educate the barbarians over there? Why?" Sun Shiwan frowned and seemed to understand for a while before asking.

"Because... uh, the barbarians are right there." Zhu Wenkui didn't know how to analyze it, so he just forced an answer.

This time, Sun Shiwan was silent for a moment, then nodded silently.

(End of this chapter)