Xiaoyao Xiaojunhou

Chapter 268
When Zhu Xiuyuan heard this, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly, five days, five whole days!
He had to endure Li Jiye for such a long time, and he couldn't help but sigh, feeling very tired.

However, Zhu Xiuyuan didn't show it. He just smiled and said: "Brother Li, it's okay. If you have any questions, just ask..."

After Li Jiye heard this, he was so excited that he rubbed his hands together.

He has a face as beautiful as a crown jewel, but he smiles brightly and cheerfully.

"Okay, now that Brother Zhu has said this, I feel relieved. Please excuse me during this time, Brother Zhu..."

"But... on the fifth day, the imperial sister and I will leave and follow the last batch of ships upstream to return to Liang Kingdom."

Zhu Xiuyuan looked at his expression, as if he was very nostalgic and couldn't bear to leave.

Although Zhu Xiuyuan would be free in five days, he really couldn't laugh out loud, so he had to hold it in.

……

Zhu Xiuyuan and Li Jiye stood side by side on the pier. Under the breeze, their hair was flying and their clothes were fluttering.

They chatted and pointed at the river, feeling very comfortable.

Dong Cheng and others were standing in the middle of the pier.

They lined up neatly, stood respectfully, and did not talk to each other.

Seeing Zhu Xiuyuan and Li Jiye chatting, they were eager to join, but they dared not.

Li Jiye, as the Liang State envoy on this mission to Chen State, was quite humble in his treatment of others.

Although he didn't pay much attention to Chen Guo's people, he was very self-sufficient and seemed indifferent.

But compared with the previous envoys from the Liang Kingdom, they were much better.

However, Dong Cheng, Li Linzhou and others have been officials for a long time and are familiar with official affairs.

The awe of the Liang envoys lingered, and the concept was difficult to change.

In a short period of time, they could not reach the level of Zhu Xiuyuan and dare to talk with the Liang envoy.

Besides, the envoys from the Liang Kingdom didn't pay much attention to them. It was a waste of time and they were asking for trouble.

Two quarters later.

The sun slowly rises in the east, and the morning sun first appears, with thousands of rays of light, and only the colorful clouds on the horizon can be seen.

The morning sun shines down like golden light, directly cutting through the mist on the river.

Suddenly, the field of vision is as wide as usual.

Zhu Xiuyuan faced the breeze on the river, took a deep breath, and looked into the distance.

I saw sparkling waves on the river, fine golden light, and a panoramic view of the distant views of the river and the scenery on the other side.

"Brother Zhu, what a scene of the rising sun on the river! I really want to draw this scene into a painting, hang it in the study, and watch it from time to time. This trip to Chen as an envoy is not in vain!" Li Jiye praised with a smile.

Just as Zhu Xiuyuan was about to say something, he suddenly saw an abnormality at the junction of the river and the sky, with a large number of black spots appearing and shadows appearing.

A fleet suspected of transporting tribute.

So Yao pointed and asked: "Brother Li, what do you think that is? Is that the fleet we have been waiting for for a long time?"

Hearing this, Li Jiye stopped admiring, looked around, and said happily: "Brother Zhu is right, those are indeed the fleet transporting tributes, they have arrived!"

Dong Cheng and others behind him also stretched their necks after hearing this.

Looking far into the distance, pointing, and whispering.

Nearly.

Those shadowy little black dots are indeed fleets transporting tributes.

They have tall masts and large ships, running across the river, one after another, like giant beasts moving, one after another.

Zhu Xiuyuan's eyes twitched slightly, and he felt faintly uncomfortable as he watched the large ships passing by one after another, seemingly never stopping.

As soon as his mind moved, he thought that this alarming situation would last for five days and five nights, which made Zhu Xiuyuan feel even more uncomfortable.

Because these big ships are loaded with food, cloth, ironware, porcelain, tea, salt and other things from the state of Chen.

Farmers worked hard to grow grain, silkworm farmers worked hard to weave cloth, blacksmiths worked hard to forge iron, tea farmers worked hard to make tea...the fruits of their hard work were handed over to the imperial court without even enjoying it, and the imperial court presented it as a tribute to Liang country.

These big ships are all the hard work of the people of Chen State!

Among the three kingdoms of Liang, Chen and Yan in the world, Chen is the most prosperous.

However, Chen Guo's prosperity is limited.

It only enriches the upper class and the powerful, while the people at the bottom remain impoverished.

They worked hard for a year and could barely keep themselves from being hungry.

For Zhu Xiuyuan, he was originally a time traveler and did not really agree with his identity as a "Chen Guoren".

But his wife was from Chen, and Dong Shuyu and his father-in-law were also from Chen.

More than a month ago, Jiangzhou suffered a series of natural and man-made disasters, which were so horrific that it was like a hell on earth.

Zhu Xiuyuan resolutely fought against the natural disaster and fought side by side with the people of Chen State in Jiangzhou, united as one...

After this time, Zhu Xiuyuan's mentality had already changed.

I have a slight sense of identification with the identity of "Chen Guoren".

However, this sense of identity has not yet brought Zhu Xiuyuan pride, faith, and strength.

He was slapped hard by reality——

Chen Guo actually wanted to pay tribute to Liang Guo!

Historically, only weak countries would pay tribute to strong countries.

At first, Zhu Xiuyuan didn't think much of it.

Just pay tribute, it seems that the word "tribute" is just the flowers in the moonlight in the mirror, no matter what, you can't meet it.

Until now, I have seen the "hard work" being lost one after another.

Seeing the fruits of labor of the people at the bottom being "squandered".

Zhu Xiuyuan felt strange in his heart, feeling humiliated, angry, but helpless.

Zhu Xiuyuan was depressed there, lost in thought, clenching his fists secretly.

At the same time, Li Jiye was in high spirits, talking to the officers and soldiers of the Liang Kingdom who were escorting the fleet, and told them to pay attention to navigation safety and so on.

On the other side, Dong Cheng, Li Linzhou and other yamen officials were amazed at the size of the ships and the continuous fleet...

Zhu Xiuyuan was the only one standing proudly on the pier, his mind wandering and his face ashen.

Like an outsider, he silently watched everything on the dock.

At some point, the Liang soldiers received Li Jiye's teachings and boarded the ship to continue escorting the tributes and harvesting the "hard work" of the Chen people back home.

Dong Cheng and others also stopped marveling and returned to the middle of the dock, lining up in order and preparing to return.

Zhu Xiuyuan was in a trance, lost in thought, silent, and had been immersed in an emotion called humiliation.

He seemed to vaguely remember that when everyone left the dock after watching the fleet, he met Cui Chengxiu, the previous "reception officer for the envoys of the Liang Kingdom" on the official road at the exit.

Cui Chengxiu had a wide body and a fat body. He was dirty and messy, and his clothes were all turned into strips of cloth, fluttering in the wind.

However, under the supervision of the two Jinwu Guards, they still worked hard to "splash the streets with clean water and pave the roads with loess."

When Cui Chengxiu saw Zhu Xiuyuan, he seemed to have knelt down and begged for mercy.

Crying that he was wrong, he asked Zhu Xiuyuan to spare him.

It's just that Zhu Xiuyuan was immersed in humiliation, blind and deaf.

Walked directly past him.

Until the moment he got on the carriage, Zhu Xiuyuan suddenly became enlightened, his heart became clear and clear, as if he had cleared away the clouds and seen the blue sky.

His face lit up with joy, he laughed out loud, danced, and shouted loudly: "I have it!"

(End of this chapter)