Uncle Detective Di Renjie, I build a crime-solving team

Whether the emperor can make this decision himself is not something Barkley is currently concerned about.

What he was concerned about was whether, if he made a decision here and agreed to Li Mingyuan's request, Zanpu would be willing to give up Kalai after returning home.

As one of the old Tibetan nobles, he knew more about the Zanpu's family affairs than the newly rich.

Kalai, who became a spy because of him, was a distant relative of the Tibetan king. Before the founding of Tibet, his ancestors were nobles. Later, when Songtsen Gampo established Tibet, he married a younger member of his family to Kalai's grandfather.

Kalai's grandfather had a son, Kalai's father, with a relative of Songtsen Gampo. Kalai's father then married into another old noble family, and Kalai was born.

It can be said that Kalai possesses the bloodline of an old noble family and the Tibetan royal family, making him extremely noble.

Although he was the one who instructed Kalai to act as an intermediary in the Tang Dynasty last time, his original intention was good. He hoped that Kalai could make new contributions and, incidentally, return to Tibet and not come to the Tang Dynasty again.

He and the remaining envoys could emulate Tang Jian, the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies during the early Tang Dynasty, and shout before their deaths, "What is there to regret about the likes of Barkley?"

But now it has backfired.

If he agrees to Li Mingyuan's request, regardless of whether they confiscate all the weapons and crossbows or not, the two old noble families behind Kalai will also deal with him.

His own family, for the sake of the overall situation in Tibet, would never protect him to the death.

"What a headache."

He covered his head, looking rather upset.

Upon noticing the change in his mood, Li Mingyuan naturally understood what was going on.

Li Cunxi had already provided him with accurate intelligence about the internal conflicts among the nobles of Tibet.

Of course, if it weren't for accurate intelligence, Li Cunxi would never have sent that spy, Kalai, back.

Once Kalai returns to his country, there will be countless opportunities to stir up trouble, such as the old Tibetan nobleman Bakli in front of him.

"Envoy, His Majesty the Emperor of our Great Tang Dynasty is benevolent and has already shown his sincerity. Can't you, envoy, make some contribution to the alliance between our two countries?"

Li Mingyuan was aggressive, staring intently at the restless Barkley, as if forcing Barkley to make a decision.

After much deliberation, Barkley let out a long, quiet sigh.

"I'm afraid I can't make this decision."

"I urge Minister Li to speak to His Majesty the Emperor of your country, saying that this foreign subject cannot make the decision himself, and can only send an envoy to return to Tibet immediately to raise this matter with our Tibetan King, and then let the King make a decision."

Upon hearing this, Li Mingyuan remained silent, picked up his teacup, and began to sip his tea slowly.

It doesn't matter if he doesn't agree; he has plenty of time to wear Barkley down.

If it takes an extra hour or two, Wang Xiaojie's army can travel a longer distance and launch an attack on Tibet sooner.

Barkley looked at Li Mingyuan with longing eyes, then turned to Wu Yancheng, who was bowing his head and remaining silent.

After a while, Wu Yancheng finally raised his head and held up five fingers at Barkley.

The thought that he had arrived in the Tang Dynasty and hadn't even properly kept the flying coins in his pocket before having to give them all away to Wu Yancheng immediately made him feel heartbroken and sad.

"Those who accomplish great things don't concern themselves with trifles. A mere 500,000 taels of silver is acceptable!"

Barkley gritted his teeth and nodded.

Wu Yancheng immediately stood up and said loudly:

"Minister Li is utterly unreasonable!"

"The Tibetan envoy has come from afar to sign a treaty on the orders of the Zanpu (Tibetan king). His Majesty had already agreed to this before. Why is Minister Li making this request now?"

"The alliance between the two countries was originally intended to ensure that the people of both countries could live and work in peace and prosperity, free from the suffering of war, and to promote mutual benefit and exchange of goods! At this crucial moment, is Minister Li's behavior going to ruin the alliance between the two countries?"

"If Minister Li insists on going his own way, I will absolutely not agree!"

"Since Minister Li is unwilling to ask His Majesty for this, I have no choice but to overstep my bounds and do it myself!"

Li Mingyuan, a man of impeccable manners, was already rolling his eyes inwardly.

As the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies, he had to be a stubborn and single-minded minister, while facing Wu Yancheng, who pretended to be greedy for money.

He thought that the two of them could wait and see about their identities, but little did he know that Wu Chengsi's original plan was to make him the one blocking the way.

After subtly showing his disdain for Wu Chengsi, Li Mingyuan suddenly stood up, flicked his sleeve, and knocked a cup of fine tea to the ground.

"You are presumptuous!"

Wu Yancheng, with his neck stiff, said:

"Minister Li, stop your nonsense! For the sake of our alliance, I, Wu Yancheng, would rather go through fire and water than back down an inch!"

Barkley was overjoyed, thinking to himself:

"Quickly, start fighting! Start fighting!"

Li Mingyuan glared at Wu Yancheng, his anger blazing:

Do you really think that your uncle's return to the court will make me tolerate you more?

"Let me tell you, you greenhorn, if you want to work diligently under my command, you must understand the difference between superiors and inferiors!"

"I will certainly report this matter to His Majesty today and have you, you brat, punished!"

Wu Yancheng, of course, was completely unafraid, displaying a truly righteous and awe-inspiring demeanor:

"Minister Li, please go ahead and file your complaint. My intention is to maintain good relations between our two countries. How could I be afraid of your attempts to distort the truth?"

"Even if I were to appeal to His Majesty's throne, I would not be afraid. I would simply argue with you!"

Li Mingyuan simply stopped talking to Wu Yancheng and left in a huff.

Before long, only Wu Yancheng and a group of Tibetan envoys remained in the reception room. Barkley got up and went outside to look around. After confirming that Li Mingyuan and the others had left, he came to the side of the furious Wu Yancheng.

Wu Yancheng was furious; his eyes were wide open, and his eyelids were trembling.

“Minister Wu, Minister Li is being rather unreasonable. The foreign minister’s proposal was meant to resolve the issue between the two countries, but Minister Li not only refused, he even argued with you, Minister Wu.”

"In my opinion, it is a good thing for the two countries to form an alliance. Although Kalai fled after his mission as a spy, I cannot decide his fate for the Zanpu. It would be a real pity if the two countries were unable to conclude an alliance because of a mere individual!"

"I would like to ask the Vice Minister of the Imperial Academy to explain the implications to your Minister of State. I also have a token of payment to send you..."

Barkley took out ten flying coins from his pocket and stuffed them into Wu Yancheng's arms.

Wu Yancheng had already seen the quantity and amount of the flying money tokens, and immediately grinned from ear to ear.

"Presumably, Your Excellency holds a high position of power in Tibet; otherwise, you wouldn't be able to spare so much silver."

"Each one is worth 50,000 taels of silver, and ten of them would be worth a full 500,000 taels of silver. Don't you feel any pain?"

Barkley chuckled, giving him a knowing look.

"Silver is just a tool. If it is given away for the sake of goodwill, then it is worthwhile."

"I think it's worth it to exchange 500,000 taels of silver for a friend."

"And I, a Tibetan, also very much hope to befriend a young talent like you."

"I also hope that you can treat me as a friend."