The film and television world begins with the battle for the throne in Kowloon

Chapter 934 Generous Gift
Wei Mingshan in front of him represented the Jingzhao Wei Clan. If he were an ordinary Turk, he would definitely think that this was just a facade to introduce his origins. But Li Yan knew that Wei Mingshan's words meant that he was the representative of the highest authority of the Jingzhao Wei Clan.

He was entrusted by the entire Wei family to contact me. His power is no less than that of one of the shareholders of Datang Co., Ltd.

Seeing that Zhen had intimidated Li Yan, Wei Mingshan sat behind the desk, like a deep abyss and a mountain, with clear wind and bright moon: "We have admired the Right Wise King for a long time, but have never had the opportunity to meet him. How can we not come to congratulate the Right Wise King on his wedding this time?"

"The master of the family is old and can't stand the bumpy journey."

"So I was instructed to congratulate the Right Wise King in person and present him with a valuable gift, wishing him a happy wedding."

After saying this, Wei Mingshan pulled out an object similar to a memorial from his sleeve, stood up and held it in front of him, bowed his head respectfully and said: "This is the gift list, I hope the Right Wise King will accept it."

"At present, there are many troops on the border between the Tang Dynasty and the Turks. It is convenient for one person to travel alone, but it is inconvenient to transport so many materials. After the Turkic army retreats, the two countries will trade with each other and make the delivery at that time."

"I hope the king will forgive me."

"No problem!" Li Yan waved his hand. When the noble families in the Central Plains interacted with each other, they would always come with a gift list, which had the family seal and the signature of the head of the family on it, and was more reliable than a banknote.

Interpersonal relationships and business negotiations are all handled through gift lists, and after the deal is reached, the transaction is completed calmly.

If there are any objections, or if things cannot be done, just send it back directly to avoid the inconvenience of transporting large amounts of materials back and forth.

Li Yan nodded with satisfaction. No matter how powerful the Central Plains family was, they still did not dare to slack off and were very respectful when facing himself who had millions of soldiers under his command.

The people of the grassland live wherever there is water and grass, and they don't have fixed cities or camps. In addition, they have simple minds and are crude and straightforward, so they can't cultivate the land intensively. Otherwise, over the past thousand years, with the all-pervasive infiltration methods of these noble families, they would have firmly controlled the grassland.

It is precisely because the grassroots organizations of nomadic peoples are loose, almost non-existent.

Only when a larger tribal leader is formed, will it be worthy of contact by the aristocratic families, and most of them are people at the level of Jie Li, Tuli, Yinan, and Biheli.

Li Yan had come into contact with several noble families before when he was under Jie Li's command, but they were all small noble families and branches of large families, which were convenient for smuggling goods on the grassland. It was the first time that a large noble family with huge influence in power directly sent a core member to meet him.

Of course, this is also because Li Yan’s rise was too fast. Before these people had time to get through the links, Li Yan became the most powerful figure on the grassland.

It has long been known that when the aristocratic families of the Tang Dynasty develop to a certain level, they will inevitably seek external forces to counter the court. However, Li Yan still does not know how they do it specifically and to what extent they collude.

I can take this opportunity to better understand the methods of these noble families.

Thinking of this, Li Yan said in a very amiable manner: "Sir, you are too polite. It's our first meeting, and you are spending so much money. I really don't deserve it, right?"

"Your Majesty, there is no need to apologize."

Wei Mingshan raised his head and said sincerely: "Your Majesty has millions of soldiers under his command. His words are as powerful as gold on the grasslands. No one can match him. Although he is not the Great Khan, he has the strength of a Great Khan. He is one of the most powerful people in the world today."

"If the king stamps his feet, the city of Chang'an, thousands of miles away, will shake three times."

"Wei just wants to make friends with the king. A person like the king is willing to accept Wei's kindness, which is a great honor for Wei."

Li Yan felt extremely comfortable after hearing these words. He turned around and looked at Wu Yuanhua with a smile.

The beautiful lady sitting beside him pursed her lips gently, smiled gracefully, and showed a charming smile. She stood up slowly, walked lightly with lotus steps, and the fragrance blew slightly. She walked to the hall, took the gift list, and then returned and handed it to Li Yan.

Li Yan was well aware of the empress's grace.

Even people like Gurentu and Labutu were fascinated and their minds were shaken, not to mention the ordinary Turkic soldiers.

In other words, Li Yan has great authority now, otherwise he would not be able to keep such a beauty.

Until now, the Turks in the tent have been attracted by the charm of the empress and their attention has been focused on her.

Facing such a beauty, Li Mingshan simply nodded politely and returned to his seat, with his brows lowered and his eyes not wavering at all.

Li Yan's eyes narrowed and his heart trembled. It was exactly as he thought.

This is the backbone that supports the thousand-year-old family, the real children of the aristocratic family. As for those playboys who walk around the streets with chickens and dogs, bully the weak, and are jealous of each other, they are nothing but a decoy used by the aristocratic families to confuse the world.

Li Yan took the gift list and opened it. He was shocked. There were only a few lines of words, but they were more than a thousand pounds heavy.

Two hundred thousand taels of gold, one million taels of silver, eight hundred thousand dan of grain and fodder, eight hundred thousand pieces of silk, and countless other materials needed by the grassland, such as salt, iron, and sugar.

Finally, I would like to say a few words: Jingzhao Wei family wishes the Right Wise King of the Turkic region a happy marriage. Sincerely,
The total value of these things is no less than one-third of the conditions proposed to the Tang Dynasty this time. However, this is just what a single noble family took out. Previously, Li Yan's conditions were demanded from the entire Tang Dynasty.

He took a deep breath and gained a new understanding of the words "rich enough to rival a country". Li Yan raised his head with complicated eyes and looked at Wei Mingshan: "What does Wei want to get from such a generous gift?" "Your Majesty has misunderstood!"

Wei Mingshan smiled gently: "Wei Shi dare not make unreasonable demands, we just want to make friends with the Right Wise King and gain his friendship."

Jianghu is not about fighting and killing, but about human relationships.

This sentence echoed in Li Yan's mind again. The noble family on the opposite side was so smooth and tactful that no matter how harsh they were, they could not hold on at this moment.

"it is good!"

Li Yan stood up and smiled heartily: "From today on, Jingzhao Wei is my friend."

After saying that, Li Yan took out a copper token with a golden tiger descending from a mountain and cloud patterns from his arms and handed it over: "This is my token. Anyone holding it can travel freely in the Turkic territory."

"Those who hold the token can even come to the king's tent and the Khan's court to ask for an audience directly."

Li Yan finally looked at Wei Mingshan meaningfully, and said in a resounding voice: "Every force that possesses the token is my friend."

As soon as he finished speaking, Wei Mingshan was overjoyed.

Originally, the head of the family wanted to wait until the two families had a peace talk before trying to contact the Right Wise King. But Wei Mingshan felt that it was precisely because the situation was uncertain and everyone was waiting and watching that showing goodwill now made the friendship seem precious.

When things are settled, I don’t know how many noble families will try to curry favor with me. At that time, no matter how many gifts I give, it will not reflect their importance.

With money paving the way, Wei Mingshan had already heard from the Turks that before him, except for Hou Junji, no other aristocratic family had taken the lead.

This time, he took such a big risk to meet the Right Wise King, and indeed, he got what he wanted.

The Right Wise King promised that with this token, the gifts given out would not be a loss. With the Turks as foreign aid, there was no need to worry about Li Shimin's oppression again.

Wei gained a sense of security, Li Yan gained a huge fortune, and both families were happy.

Afterwards, Li Yan set up a grand banquet to entertain Yuan Yan's guests. During the banquet, the two of them had a great conversation and felt that they had met each other too late.

Li Yan now has three identities: Li Chengqian, Right Wise King, and himself.

Li Chengqian's ultimate goal is to eliminate the aristocratic families. But for the Right Wise King, the enemy of his enemy is his friend, and he needs to make friends with the aristocratic families.

As for Li Yan, he had already transcended the restrictions of the secular world. No matter what his status was, it would not affect his making friends with outstanding people from aristocratic families. Many of these people were knowledgeable, intelligent and talented, and they were not something that Li Yan could underestimate.

Originally Li Yan thought that the Jingzhao Wei family was a special case. However, what happened next was beyond Li Yan's expectations.

Over the following ten days, there was a constant stream of visitors every day, and all the major wealthy and powerful families and aristocratic clans sent envoys, including the Longxi Li family, the Zhaojun Li family, the Boling Cui family, the Qinghe Cui family, the Fanyang Lu family, the Xingyang Zheng family, and the Taiyuan Wang family.

The Wang family of Langya, the Xie family of Chenjun, the Yang family of Hongnong, the Xiao family of Lanling, and the Wang family of Taiyuan.

There are actually many of the Five Surnames and Seven Affiliations and the Eight Great Families of Guanlong, as well as many wealthy families in Shandong and Chinese clans in the south of the Yangtze River, such as Zhu, Zhang, Gu, Lu, Pei, Liu, Xue, Du and other local aristocrats who were once prominent.

By the end of the reception, Li Yan was numb and dumbfounded. It seemed that Li Shimin's Tang Dynasty defense line had become a sieve. Hundreds of thousands of troops guarding the border were useless to the envoys of those big families, which showed the power of these families.

During this period, Hou Junji came several times and said that Li Shimin was delayed by some matters.

Li Yan privately speculated that it was probably these aristocratic families who found various excuses to delay Li Shimin's itinerary.

By the time half a month had passed, the lists of gifts Li Yan had received had filled up his desk.

Looking at these mountains of "human relationships", Li Yan thought to himself that if all of them were redeemed, the gold alone would be no less than three million taels, which was equivalent to the income of the Tang Dynasty's treasury for three years.

If other jade artifacts, treasures, and various materials and valuables were added in, Li Yan roughly estimated that the total value was no less than the total treasury revenue of the Tang Dynasty in five years.

Li Yan was secretly shocked. Now he looked at his own conditions and blushed. He had already mustered up the courage to ask for it, but it still seemed petty. The Tang Dynasty was really too rich, but all the money was concentrated in the hands of the aristocratic families.

When we think about the fall of the Ming Dynasty in later generations, Chongzhen mobilized the entire court to raise funds and collected 200,000 taels of silver for military expenses. After Li Zicheng's army entered the capital, they searched and looted, and finally dug out 70 million taels of silver. And this is just the recorded money.

In times of chaos, the actual amount of money that the rebel soldiers looted and hid privately, and the generals of all ranks intercepted privately, is likely to be several times higher.

(End of this chapter)