Just when Xiong Huai secretly guessed King Yan's intentions, Qu Yuan walked to Gongzi'an's side and said with a heavy face: "King, King Yan does not hide stone grinding, but sends it all the way to the Chu State, which solves the urgent need of my Chu State. ”

Xiong Huai was stunned when he heard this, and looked at Qu Yuan in surprise. The stone mill was the first thing discovered by the Chu State, and the King of Yan gave the Chu State what it already had to achieve his virtue.

In the face of this kind of thing, Chu State is also broad-minded if he doesn't secretly scold King Yan, so why should he reward King Yan with a heavy gift?

Isn't this already stepped on by King Yan, and then stretched out his head again, and let King Yan slap him again?

It's just that Xiong Huai saw that Qu Yuan's face was heavy, not like he was joking, let alone talking back.

Seeing this, Xiong Huai's heart sank.

Then, Chen Zhen seemed to remember something, his face changed, and he hurriedly walked to Qu Yuan's side, and also spoke: "King, Zuo's words are reasonable, King Yan is very gracious, and my Chu State will thank him heavily." ”

Seeing this, Xiong Huai frowned, then his thoughts turned, and then his face changed.

The matter of the stone mill is no longer a secret, and it is about to be made public, so what the two countries of Qi and Chu did before cannot be hidden from others, and others will inevitably know that the flour they enjoy must have been severely cheated by the two countries of Qi and Chu.

Other countries can't help Qi and Chu, and the nobles of other countries can't help Qi and Chu.

They have never been taken to heart by Qi and Chu.

But what about the people in the Chu State?

Xiong Huai had already remembered at this time that when he first sold flour, he not only sold it to the Sanjin Dynasty and Song Qi and other countries, but also sold a lot of it in the country.

If the rich and powerful in the country knew that the flour they enjoyed was an ordinary thing, they were taken away by the king of Chu with a large amount of money.

This...

If it were any other time, they would definitely have to praise the wise King of Chu.

However, when the people hesitated and the nobles were separated, let them know about it, which would definitely make them hate him, the king of Chu, even more.

Therefore, what King Yan sent was not a stone mill, but a step, and an opportunity that could be announced to the public in advance, appease those nobles, and take the opportunity to win the hearts of the people.

Thinking about it, Xiong Huai's face changed, and then he said with a solemn face: "King Yan has a heart, and it is difficult to thank you for this kind of affection." ”

As he spoke, he groaned for a while, and said: "We have a rare beast rhinoceros, whose skin is made of leather armor, which is very strong and difficult to hurt with knives and arrows. The widow was willing to give 500 pairs of rhinoceros armor as a gift. In addition, there is a place called Tangyi at the mouth of the river in the eastern part of the Chu State, and the widow is willing to use this place as the land of Yan Wang Tang Mu to thank King Yan. ”

Seeing this, Gongzi An couldn't help but smile, this time the purpose of sending out the stone mill and the stone mill was all achieved.

In fact, he came to Chu this time, not only to give gifts, nor to step on the body of the king of Chu to achieve the virtues of King Yan, but actually to test the state of Chu.

Not long ago, the news that the king of Chu had wantonly killed his ministers in the country reached the Yan State, which not only stopped the Ejun who was already preparing to return to China, but also made the Yan State full of hesitation about the Chu State.

Is the king of Chu already old and confused, so he did this kind of thing that hurts his relatives and makes his enemies happy.

Because of the hostile relationship between Qi and Chu, Yan couldn't help but focus its diplomacy on Chu, and if Chu was weakened, it would be extremely unfavorable to Yan.

Once the Qi State is not restrained by the Chu State, the focus will be on the Yan State again, and with the thin and small body of the Yan State, it will not be able to bear it at all.

Therefore, in order to test whether the King of Chu is already old and mediocre, and in order to decide where the next diplomatic focus of the Yan State is, this action was held.

Now it seems that although the king of Chu killed the minister, he was not without scruples, and he still cared about his reputation.

And...

Gongzi'an looked at Qu Yuan and Chen Zhen who were accompanying him, and couldn't help but praise in his heart, there are still many great sages in the Chu State, and they are also trusted by the King of Chu.

Such a Chu State will definitely not weaken easily, and it can become a strong opponent of the Qi State in the next ten or twenty years. Only a strong Chu State is worthy of Yan State to continue to bet.

So...

Gongzi made a decision in peace of mind, so he did not shirk the gift given by the king of Chu and said: "Thank you for the gift from the king." ”

Xiong Huai saw that Gongzi An accepted his gift, he breathed a sigh of relief, paused, and spoke again: "I don't know what the third thing Gongzi came from?" ”

When Gongzi An heard this, he smiled and said, "King, it has been nearly two years since Ejun went to Yan. The widow saw the monarch of E, and praised his ability more than he spoke. Therefore, the widow has another reluctant request, hoping that the widow can stay in Yan to assist the widow. Of course, in return, the widow hopes that the king will not dislike the foolishness of the subordinates, and that he will have the honor to serve the king. ”

Xiong Huai was stunned, he never thought that these three things were actually the exchange of ministers between King Yan and the Chu State, and the object of the exchange was still the richest Ejun of the Chu State.

The exchange of ministers, in a sense, is also an exchange of hostages.

As his own courtier, E Junqi can certainly be a hostage.

However, Ejun went to Yan for two years and has not returned yet, and now Yan suddenly said that he wanted to keep Ejun in Yan.

Is this a request from King Yan, or is it a request from Jun E?

The gap is huge.

At this time, Xiong Huai looked at Gongzi An intently, intending to see something from his face.

It's just that Gongzi An has a calm face.

Seeing this, Xiong Huai suddenly sighed.

Yes, the Yan State still needs the Chu State to contain the powerful Qi State, so it is impossible for the Yan King to detain the Ejun.

Therefore, the reason why King Yan wants to keep Ejun is probably because Ejun took the initiative to ask for it.

As for why!

Xiong Huai naturally knows.

Although the last time the countries invaded Chu, Xiong Huai was worried that Ejun would suffer misfortune, so he took the initiative to send Ejun to Yanguo.

However, Qin and Han ravaged Hanbei, and Ejun's fiefdom was also wreaked, and then, Xiong Huai took the opportunity to take back all the fiefdoms in Hanbei and turn them into food provinces.

Although the situation at that time was that the land of Edi had already been taken by Korea, it was a gift for him to convert the feudal monarch into a food eup.

However, the fiefdom is still gone.

Especially when Ejun has a lot of merits, after Ejun learned about this, he didn't know how to face him, the king of Chu, so he stayed in Yan Country and did not return for a long time.

And then there was this exchange of ministers.

Xiong Huai can understand Ejun's choice, but at the moment, he is very uncomfortable in his heart.

Even the Ejun, who has always been loyal, and even the Ejun, who has always cared little about the fief, are so concerned about the loss of the fief, let alone other people?

It is true that the monarch of E is unwilling to return, and he, the king of Chu, is sorry for him.

But!

Xiong Huai remembered all the circumstances afterwards, and his eyes became extremely firm: there is nothing wrong with being a widow!

Thinking about it, Xiong Huai looked at Gongzi and smiled: "However, the widow has long known the good name of the son, and thanks to the son's refusal, he is willing to assist the widow from Yan Kingdom, which is the honor of the widow." ”