This ancestral house, located in the core area of Heishui Village, has an extremely lofty status in the hearts of Yalong and even all Shazhou people.

The ancestral house adopts the traditional construction pattern of Shazhou area, the surrounding is closed and the middle is open, taking the meaning of reaching the heaven and earth, most of the materials selected are stone, the foundation is built of solid stone, the steps are cut by stone slabs, and even the roof tiles are stone chips, which are very customary.

The lobby is quite spacious, and the portraits of the ancestors of Shazhou are enshrined in the north, and seven chairs stained with mottled traces of time are lined up, and the two rows below are the seats of the heads of each department.

Luo Yaozong naturally sat first on the left.

As for those young generations, they can only stand behind their parents.

Lu Shen only walked into the lobby with three personal soldiers, and Luo Yaozong bowed slightly at him.

According to the pre-arranged ritual, Lu Shen came to the incense case, took the long incense from the tiger-headed Luo Hengshan, bowed to the portrait and rank above, burned the incense three times, and then inserted the long incense in the furnace.

Courtesy.

Looking at the pious worship of this young marquis from the Qi Kingdom, everyone's expressions were slightly complicated.

There are still hostile eyes, but there are also some who decide to wait and see.

"Lu Hou, please take a seat."

Luo Yaozong pointed to the empty seat under his head.

"Thank you."

Lu Shen looked calm, stepped forward and sat down.

Luo Yaozong coughed lightly twice and looked around at everyone: "Brothers, this is Lu Shen, the minister of Qi and the Marquis of Shanyang. After he learned the idea of our Shazhou people, he deliberately rushed over the Yunling Mountains to talk to everyone face-to-face. ”

Next, he introduced Lu Shen to the heads of the other six departments.

Shen Min, the head of the Tieyang tribe who was sitting first on the right, looked at Lu Shen, his eyes were calm and deep, and there was no hostility on the surface.

However, Shen Tianyi, who was standing behind him, had a gloomy expression, and his attitude towards Lu Shen was self-evident.

After Luo Yaozong finished speaking, Lu Shen said unhurriedly: "Leaders, for more than a hundred years, Shazhou and Daqi have been watching and helping each other like brothers, this is an indisputable fact. But nineteen years ago, because of the mistakes of our dynasty, 8,000 of your heroes were unfortunately ambushed and sacrificed, which is also a fact that no one can deny. ”

When he said "like brothers", a few sneers sounded in the lobby, and the faces of some leaders were also very ugly.

However, when he was very frank in pointing out the truth of the bloody incident in Yanziling, the situation that was about to boil eased slightly.

Since Lu Shen opened his mouth, Luo Yaozong sat upright with his eyes and nose, and did not react to the commotion around him, and it seemed that he would not come forward to help Lu Shen say something.

Lu Shen took in everyone's reactions, and then said straight to the point: "Lu has three things here, one of which is to apologize to the various ministries of Shazhou for the incident of nineteen years ago on behalf of me to His Majesty and the subjects of Daqi. Second, Lu prepared a small gift, 300,000 taels of silver, 200 carts of grain and materials, and a method of farming improvement given free of charge, so as to slightly make up for the losses caused by Daqi to various departments in Shazhou. Third, Lu is entrusted by His Majesty to discuss with you all matters of cooperation between Shazhou and Daqi, including mutual market trade, exchange of goods and services, and mutual assistance. ”

Hardy, the head of the Jinchuan tribe who was sitting next to Shen Min, suddenly adjusted his sitting posture.

He was very interested in the third thing that Lu Shen said, because the merchants from the north had a great appetite, but the two sides had a big difference in the price of goods.

It's obviously better for two to compete than to have one, and Hardy knows this very well.

But just as he was about to answer, Shen Min next to him coughed lightly, and at the same time glanced at him meaningfully.

Hardy immediately came to his senses and pressed the urge to speak.

On the other side, Na Yan, the head of the Dashi Division, said coldly: "Lu Hou is really as bright and upright as rumored, and he simply brought over the grievances of the year with a single sentence. In fact, this is also normal, after all, for Lu Hou and the emperor of your country, the things of nineteen years ago have long been blurred. But for us Shazhou people, it was 8,000 bloody lives, and among those people were our fathers and brothers. Of all the people here today, apart from Lu Hou and your subordinates, who doesn't have a few relatives who died outside Heluo City nineteen years ago? ”

He paused slightly, and looked at Lu Shen's eyes with a cold light: "Could it be that in Lu Hou's opinion, 300,000 taels of silver and 200 carts of grain can buy 8,000 lives in Shazhou?" ”

The situation instantly became tense.

Lu Shen replied calmly: "These silver and grain are not worth mentioning compared to the eight thousand warriors of Shazhou. ”

Na Yan laughed and said, "Since Lu Hou understands this truth, why do you want to say all that nonsense? ”

"In the eyes of the leader, this is nonsense, but Lu has a different opinion."

Lu Shen calmly took over the conversation and said, "Regarding the first thing, of course Lu will not just talk about it. As long as the seven leaders agree, Lu will hold a solemn sacrifice on behalf of His Majesty in Shazhou, and pay tribute to 8,000 warriors in the name of the Great Qi court. ”

Na Yan was slightly stunned, and then asked with a straight face: "Really?" ”

Lu Shen nodded and said, "There is no lie." ”

Among the seven heads, Na Yan has a cold temperament and is not very easy to deal with, but those who are familiar with him know that he is not the kind of character who is unreasonable.

Hearing Lu Shen's solemn promise at this moment, Na Yan did not continue to refute, but fell into deep thought.

Seeing that the atmosphere began to ease, Yang Jin, the head of Shuixi, who was sitting in Lu Shen's row, said in a deep voice: "Lu Hou's words are indeed sincere, but after all, it is too late, a full nineteen years late. The old brother just said very clearly that the hatred in the hearts of Shazhou people in the past nineteen years has long become a dead knot. Even if we people can understand Lu Hou's distress, the clansmen will not accept it. We also know that Lu Hou has helped a lot of Luo family girls in the capital of Qi State, and Hou Yu's punishment is inseparable from your contribution, so we have no opinion on you coming to Heishui Village as a guest, but this is different from the request you made today. ”

"Leader Yang is right, nineteen years is indeed too long, which makes this matter more and more difficult to solve."

Lu Shen turned his head and said sincerely: "But I want to correct Chief Yang a little, in the past nineteen years, I haven't thought about making up for it to Your Majesty." As early as 14 years ago, when His Majesty first ascended the throne, he had already sent envoys to Shazhou, and he had sent several envoys in the future, but they did not seek Shazhou's understanding. It is true that the fact that all ministries in Shazhou have the right to refuse does not mean that our majesty has not done anything, which is also two different things. ”

Luo Yaozong, who was sitting next to him, felt a little appreciation in his heart, this young man's attitude of not being humble or arrogant was indeed different from ordinary people.

Yang Jin didn't get angry because of this, but frowned and said: "No matter how eloquent Lu Hou is, you have to recognize the fact that Shazhou doesn't want to have another sad old incident nineteen years ago. Eight thousand Erlang was buried outside Heluo City, and from then on, Shazhou could no longer become a dependency of the Qi State. ”

Lu Shen said calmly: "Leader Yang is wrong again, Lu's purpose here is very clear, not to let Shazhou and Daqi return to the relationship of twenty years ago, but to establish a new relationship." ”

"A new relationship?"

Yang Jin was slightly puzzled, and the other leaders also cast curious glances.

Lu Shen looked around at everyone and said eloquently: "The silver and grain I just talked about are just a little insignificant thoughts, and what can really improve the relationship between Shazhou and Daqi is the third content. Shazhou is located in the southwest border, although the scenery is beautiful, the traffic is very inconvenient, and there are not many fertile fields. Daqi is willing to open up the market, and good seeds, grain, fine salt, and iron tools will be sold in Shazhou at relatively low prices. At the same time, the abundant medicinal materials, logs and stones in Shazhou can be sold down the river and sold to all parts of the south of the Yangtze River. ”

Hearing this, Hardy couldn't help but twist his body, and the eagerness in his eyes couldn't be concealed at all.

Lu Shen continued: "Shazhou is no longer a vassal of Daqi, but is in a completely equal position to trade with Daqi. The leaders can certainly understand the difference, and more importantly, Shazhou can rely on trade with Daqi to make the people's lives rich and comfortable. Shazhou can become better, and the leaders, as the key figures in promoting this major event, will definitely be able to leave their names in the rich history of Shazhou for future generations to admire and pay tribute to. ”

"That's a good point."

Hardy finally couldn't help but sigh, and Yang Jin, who had always been upright and stubborn, also became silent, because Lu Shen's sketch hit his weakest point, that is, to keep the Shuixi people fed and clothed, and from now on there was no need to worry about survival.

Luo Yaozong was still calm, but a secret sigh naturally floated in his heart: No wonder the Qi people said that the female university was not staying, and the child Jiujiu revealed the internal situation in Shazhou.

Fortunately, this was something he acquiesced to, so he didn't get angry.

The people who can see this clearly are not only Luo Yaozong, Shen Min, who has always been silent, suddenly smiled faintly, and said leisurely: "I can't imagine that Lu Hou is not only good at leading troops to fight, but also has the ability to predict the prophet. Within a few days of your arrival in Shazhou, you will be able to gain insight into the thoughts and weaknesses of each of us, and prepare for the right medicine in advance. ”

Lu Shen has been focusing part of his energy on this person, and said calmly when he heard this: "Leader Shen praises falsely. In fact, this is not a lot of ability, Lu Mou's trip is only sincere, so he naturally has to think carefully in advance. Lu has always adhered to the idea of admitting mistakes if there is a mistake, since the matter has happened, we must find a way to try our best to make up for it, so whether it is a ceremony to worship, or silver and food, or even the future of Shazhou and Daqi on an equal footing, it all stems from the indebtedness of Your Majesty. ”

"I believe in Lu Hou's sincerity, but it's just ......"

Shen Min paused slightly, and chuckled: "Your Majesty sent such an important minister as Lu Hou to Shazhou to strive to promote this matter, I'm afraid it's not just because of the fault of the year, right?" ”

Lu Shen noticed that the eyes of the others were focused on him, and said unhurriedly: "Please also ask Leader Shen to make it clear." ”

Shen Min said: "I heard that the Jing Kingdom in the north has annexed the Zhao State, and the Yan State is already in their pocket, and the next Jingguo Emperor's target will definitely be directed to the south, maybe the Jing army has already begun to move at this time." At such a tense moment, Lu Hou, as an indispensable figure in the border army of Qi State, did not go to the frontier to command the army, but ran to the irrelevant Shazhou, which is really incomprehensible. ”

He sat up straight, looked at Lu Shen fixedly, and his tone became cold: "Lu Hou, what purpose are you hiding?" ”

(End of chapter)