Chapter 25: The Emperor's Mind is Hard to Fathom (Part 1)

  Fierce! Too fierce! Yu Shannan now feels that the Xiao master beside him is really too ruthless, installment payments, this can be thought of, and it's unknown how such a wonderful method was thought out in his brain. On the surface, it's called their great prince to accept the excellent culture of the Great Sui, but everyone knows that Gao Yuan is preparing to hand over the throne to the great prince, because the great prince has both bravery and strategy, and is also a warmonger. Now handing over the great prince is equivalent to holding hostage the future king of Goguryeo. Moreover, in Luoyang City, there are thousands of ways to corrupt the great prince, even if he doesn't get corrupted, making him disabled for life is not a problem. Finally, ceding territory is even more wonderful, since you borrowed Pingcheng Castle in Lelang Commandery as your capital, we don't want it anymore, what we want now is your backyard, will you give it or not? One ring after another, each one more ruthless than the last.

  "This, this, this, Lord Xiao, it can't be said like that. The Crown Prince has grown up in Goguryeo and may not adapt to the Central Plains. Our rear counties are our ancestral lands, how can we easily give them to others?" Pei Chen gradually discovered the terror of the young Lord Xiao.

  "Oh? Lord Pei says so, which means he agrees with my previous suggestion of installment payments. As for the Crown Prince's problem of not adapting to the local environment, it's not difficult. Our Majesty built the canal specifically to bring the Crown Prince over. If the Crown Prince wants to eat something, we can get it from Goguryeo. With the canal, it won't take much time to come and go. As for your mention of the ancestral land being in the rear, does that mean you want to cede the fertile land to us?" Xiang Shouren said with a smile.

  Looking at Xiao Shouren's smiling face, Pei Chen couldn't help but feel a chill, as if he was the little chick being stared at by a fox, and Xiao Shouren was that fox.

  "This, this, this, Xiao Daren, you're intentionally making things difficult for me." Pei Chen suddenly stuttered again.

  Xiao Shouren was immediately displeased when this old man called him "Xiao Daren". Xiao Daren, Xiao Daren, it's fine for his own people to call him that, but hearing Pei Chen's half-baked Mandarin made Xiao Shouren furious. Being called "Xiao Daren" by Pei Chen was like being called a young master or something, was he implying that he was too young?

  "Lord Pei, how can I not hear even a hint of sincerity in your words? I'm trying to help you come up with a plan and not only do you refuse to accept it, but you also keep calling me 'little lord'. Are you bullying me because of my young age?" Xiao Shouren grasped this small weakness tightly. In negotiations, there must be disagreements, and since opinions are divided, they need to reach a consensus, which inevitably requires a battle of words. This is just like attacking a city - the best defense is offense, whoever attacks first seizes the initiative.

  Xiao Shouren's words were met with a slight nod of approval from Yu Shenan, who was standing beside him. Only by grasping the initiative would they have an advantage in future negotiations.

  As expected, Xiao Shouren's words immediately stunned the Koreans. Except for Pei Chen, the other Koreans apologized profusely and said it wasn't them. Pei Chen's face was also red with anger, and the confident look he had when he entered the door earlier was gone.

  "Is Lord Pei's silence a sign of agreement with my views? If you don't apologize to me, then it's truly impossible to continue the discussion. I am responsible for receiving your Goguryeo envoys and negotiating this matter on behalf of His Majesty's orders. You keep calling me 'this official' as if you think His Majesty has no ability to judge people?" Seeing that this tactic didn't intimidate Lord Pei, Xiao Shouren picked up the teacup from the table, slowly took a sip, put it back in its original place, and then slowly administered another dose of strong medicine.

  Yu Shi Nan's eyebrows furrowed upon hearing Xiao Shou Ren say this, for Xiao Shou Ren was indeed too bold. However, no one could find any flaws in his words, which were reasonable, well-founded and measured.

  Yu Shinnan initially taught Xiao Shouren and Tan Zhiyi that there were only six things to pay attention to, namely, reason, evidence, and moderation. As long as everything did not deviate from these six words, then it was fine.

  Xiao Shouren is now learning very quickly, and has immediately started practical exercises, and has even taken such a strong dose.

  Although Pei Chenlao was old and difficult to deal with, when Xiao Shouren slowly said these words, he couldn't help but change his expression.

  Who doesn't know that Yang Guang was born with a good face, and when he was the crown prince, it was still okay, his father Yang Jian was on top of him, in order to show a loyal and honest crown prince, he didn't dare to show off his pride and arrogance, but now that he's become the emperor himself, all the bad habits accumulated over the years have burst out, and they've even intensified.

  The Goryeo envoys were already sweating profusely, and Xiao Shouren was pressing them step by step, beating them until they had no power to resist. If this continued, it was estimated that they would be defeated even more miserably.

  "Since you are so insincere, there is no need for us to continue talking. Continuing would be a waste of time. You should go back and consider the three points I just mentioned. Once you have reached a consensus, come back and notify me, then we can talk again." Xiao Shouren waved his hand and said, then walked towards the back hall.

  Wait until Xiao Shouren left, no longer see his back, everyone was still stunned there, just like that he walked away, didn't even finish talking and already left, but what can you do, they've all left, you can't pull them back, can you?

  Xiao Shouren went back to take a bath, changed his clothes and was pulled by Yu Shen Nan to report to Yang Guang on the battle results of the day.

  After arriving at the Tiger's Roar Hall, they saw Yang Guang. After shouting "Long live" three times, Xiao Shouren remained kneeling and silent, while Yu Shi'nan reported on this round of negotiations. After Yu finished speaking, he also presented the records of the negotiations recorded by the secretary to Huang Gonggong for Yang Guang's review.

  Yang Guang flipped through the clerk's notes, nodding his head from time to time, occasionally bursting into laughter, having seen something interesting and unable to hold back his giggles.

  "Not bad, not bad at all, Xiao Shouren. You have indeed lived up to my expectations. I was worried that you wouldn't be able to handle this task, but it seems you've exceeded my imagination. This matter I entrusted to you is in good hands." Yang Guang put down the memorial in his hand and nodded repeatedly, praising Xiao Shouren.

  "This is all the result of Your Majesty's wise discernment, I am just following Your Majesty's instructions and discussing with them, using the reasons you taught me to reason with them. The golden words you spoke were so stirring that they naturally made these unenlightened people convinced." Xiao Shouren started by flattering him shamelessly.

  Yu Shinan's eyes twitched slightly at the corner, and Xiao Shouren was too much. If he didn't know him personally, he wouldn't have known what kind of person he was, and they hadn't been through anything together. At first, hearing him talk like this wasn't a big deal, but after spending time with him these past few days, Yu Shinan already knew what Xiao Shouren was like - cunning, clever, straightforward, seemingly simple-minded but actually extremely cunning, quick-witted and slick when dealing with things, but also not one to hold back when he needed to speak up. And yet, this kind of person was now standing in front of him, shamelessly flattering him, no, not just flattering, but fawning all over him like a bootlicker.

  "Oh? Heartfelt admiration? If it's really like Xiao Shaoqing said, then why did the Goguryeo envoy Pei Chen insist on seeing me just now?" Yang Guang listened to this flattering remark and felt very comfortable, not getting angry but instead smiling at Xiao Shouren with a playful tone.

  This question scared Xiao Shouren badly, it was clear that he knew he had bullied Pei Chen that old guy, and now he had to think about how to answer, answering well would not be rewarded, but if the answer was bad, then just now would be a crime of deceiving the king, and his head would be chopped off like a watermelon.

  Wiped away the sweat that had formed due to nervousness, he secretly glanced at Yang Guang sitting in the taishi chair and found that Yang Guang was not angry, but instead smiling at him. Xiao Shouren finally calmed down, knowing his life was not in danger, it was just his own overthinking. Probably at this moment, Yang Guang himself would have liked to personally bully that old scoundrel Pei Chen.

  After grasping Yang Guang's idea, it was easy to handle. Xiao Shouren turned his mind and began to answer Yang Guang's question.

  "I humbly report to Your Majesty, I think they must have heard Your Majesty's great teachings from me today, and I only learned some superficial knowledge, so it is impossible for me to explain even a fraction of these great teachings. After they return, the more they think about it, the more they will feel uneasy in their hearts, as the saying goes: 'Hearing the Way in the morning, one can die in the evening.' Therefore, they are eager to see Your Majesty, hoping to receive your teaching personally and hear you talk about your great achievements and imperial merits."

  Yu Shengnan, standing beside Xiao Shouren, was truly convinced, thoroughly convinced. He had just been worried about this kid, but when he saw Yang Guang's expression, he knew his worries were unnecessary and didn't come forward to plead for mercy. Unexpectedly, Xiao Shouren reacted so quickly, immediately grasping the emperor's thoughts, and as soon as he opened his mouth, he began to flatter shamelessly, with one wave of flattery after another.

  "Haha, very good, very good, you're quite eloquent. Actually, I already knew what they wanted to see me for. I'll tell them now. What Xiao Ai means is what I mean. For matters of negotiation, go talk to Xiao Ai, don't come find me, I'm busy." Yang Guang said with a smile.

  "Thank you, Your Majesty. I, your humble subject, am filled with trepidation and fear that I may not live up to the sacred trust placed in me, and when the time comes, I will have no choice but to accept the blame for my mistakes." Xiang Shouren hastily lowered his head, answering with utmost sincerity and trepidation.

  Xiao Ai Qing stood up and spoke, no need to be polite, I have entrusted the matter to you, so go ahead and do it boldly. I say you can do it, then you can do it. Yang Guang finally called Xiao Shou Ren to stand up and respond.

  Xiao Shouren always thought that Yang Guang had forgotten that he was kneeling, and planned to make him continue kneeling. It turned out that he hadn't forgotten after all. Thank goodness, finally don't have to kneel anymore.

  "I heard that Xiao Aiqing has written a great poem, 'The world's wind and clouds are in this sky, the jade flute blows through the dragon's sleep.' Is this true?" Yang Guang stared at Xiao Shouren with a slow and gentle tone, his eyes emitting a piercing light that made Xiao Shouren's heart tremble.

  As soon as this was said, Yu Shinnan and Xiao Shouren were frightened again.

  It's started trial signing now, so updates must be a bit regular from now on. So, at least 6,000 words will be updated every day, with Chapter 31 at 0:30 and one chapter at 12:30 in the afternoon, rain or shine. Kneeling down to beg for collection, clicks, votes, and comments!