I want to ruin the country

Li Sheng said with a bitter face,

"But they want 20 million taels of silver, and we can't even afford that even if we sell everything we have!"

Li Cunxuan disagreed and said,

"My lord, there's a saying in the Great Qing Kingdom: if you ask for a high price, you'll pay it back on the low price. We can negotiate!"

Li Sheng said,

"That being said, what should we do now that we are stuck here?"

Li Cunxuan laughed,

"Your Majesty, this is their method. It's nothing more than one person playing the red cop and the other the white cop!"

The Left Councillor said,

"Are they trying to profit from this personally?"

Li Cunxuan said,

"It's not impossible. At night, I will go visit that Special Envoy Li and find out what they are thinking!"

Li Sheng nodded.

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Lord Councillor!"

Li Cunxuan stroked his gray beard and said,

"Your Majesty must also be prepared. Since the Great Qing Emperor has spoken, I'm afraid it will cost some money!"

Li Sheng asked hurriedly,

"Then how much do you think it will cost?"

"I estimate that we must come up with at least one or two million silver coins, otherwise, the emperor will lose face!"

Li Sheng felt relieved.

"We can still come up with one or two million silver coins, so I'd like to ask the Minister of State to go and sound out the situation tonight and bring some more things to Envoy Li to shut him up!"

Li Cunxuan smiled and said,

"Please rest assured, Your Majesty. I will never let you down!"

In the evening, Li Cunxuan really came to visit Li Hongzhang.

Li Hongzhang expected him to come, and had been waiting quietly in the house, drinking tea.

After the two exchanged greetings, five or six of Li Cunxuan's followers came in one after another, all holding gifts in their hands.

Li Cunxuan introduced,

"Special Envoy, this is our country's specialty ginseng, this is our specialty silk, and this ruby, there's no bigger one than this. These are tributes to the Emperor. Please accept them!"

Seeing Li Hongzhang sitting there unmoved, Li Cunxuan gritted his teeth and took out another banknote from his pocket.

"Special Envoy, this is a hundred thousand taels of silver. Please accept it. Prince Gong won't need you to negotiate any further!"

Li Hongzhang felt a little hot in his heart when he looked at the banknotes. After a moment's hesitation, he pushed his hand back.

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, since you are here, let's sit down and have a good chat. I will not accept these gifts. Please let them take them away!"

Li Cunxuan was a little angry. One hundred thousand taels of silver, even a prime minister like me can't earn that in my lifetime if I rely solely on salary. You don't even look at it, aren't you too greedy?

How much do you want? You think you're Prince Gong? We've got to prepare one for him!

You are just a small fifth-rank official. If you hadn't come with Prince Gong, I wouldn't have paid any attention to you!

Li Cunxuan suppressed his dissatisfaction and said,

"Lord Li, please accept it. It is at least a token of our king's kindness!"

Li Hongzhang stood up and said seriously,

"I will not accept these things, Prime Minister. If you have nothing to say, please go back!"

Li Cunxuan was a little confused. It seemed like he really didn't want it. Was it because he thought it was too little or what?

He said hurriedly,

"Special Envoy, do you think this is too little? If so, please feel free to ask for anything. I will report back to the King immediately!"

Li Hongzhang laughed,

"Your Excellency, Prime Minister, you have misunderstood. My annual salary is only a little over a hundred taels of silver. How can I think one hundred thousand taels is too little?

However, no matter how much silver this is, I cannot accept it. If I extend my hand to it, I will be letting the emperor down!"

"Uh, this..."

Li Cunxuan's CPU was a little overheated. What did it mean? He was an envoy who didn't accept gifts. This was the first time for a young lady to get married!

Li Hongzhang said,

"Your Excellency, the Prime Minister, can go back and reply to your King. Now that our Emperor has spoken, let's see how to respond.

Even Prince Gong coming here won't work, does that mean the Emperor has to come in person?"

Li Cunxuan waved his hands hurriedly,

"No, no, sir, our king fully agrees with the emperor's opinion!

Establishing a joint fleet would be a hundred benefits for our country, but Lord Li knows that our country's financial resources are limited, and we simply cannot come up with 20 million silver coins!"

Li Hongzhang said,

"Whether the money can be taken out is a matter of conditions, and whether one is willing to take it out is a matter of attitude. Building an ironclad fleet is a done deal, and that won't change!"

"Yes Yes Yes!"

Li Hongzhang said again,

"The Emperor said, with you it doesn't matter, without you it doesn't matter either. This is how it is, you guys can handle it as you see fit!"

Li Cunxuan said hurriedly,

"Your Majesty is right. We are grateful for your mercy!"

Li Hongzhang continued,

"We came to your place. The protagonist is the prince. I am just an attendant guard. I don't have any face. Whatever happens is fine.

But if your Highness loses face, this is the Emperor's brother, you should consider the consequences yourself!"

Li Cunxuan saw that Li Hongzhang was stubborn and would not budge, so he had no choice but to say goodbye.

"In that case, I will return to report to the king. Special Envoy Li, please rest in peace!"

After Li Cunxuan left, Prince Gong came out from the inner room.

"Haha, this old guy wants to defeat them all!"

Li Hongzhang said,

"They've made a good calculation. By spending two or three hundred thousand on us, they could potentially save millions!"

Prince Gong smiled and said,

"You have a thousand tricks, but I have a set rule. Without 20 million, no deal!"

Li Cunxuan went straight back to the palace to see Li Sheng.

After recounting the whole story, Li Sheng's brows turned pale.

"What should I do?"

Li Cunxuan's confidence was also greatly diminished, but Li Sheng was young, and all matters of the court depended on him, so he could not show helplessness, and said,

"Your Majesty, there's no impenetrable fortress. If Special Envoy Li can't take it, let's just capture Prince Gong. He's only a child of seventeen or eighteen, and I think he'll be much easier to deal with than that old fox, Special Envoy Li!"

The next day, Li Sheng hosted a banquet for Prince Gong and others at the palace.

This time the banquet was held at separate tables.

Li Sheng and Li Cunxuan accompanied Prince Gong in the West Hall, while Park In-yong and two other councillors accompanied Li Hongzhang in the East Hall.

Upon seeing this arrangement, Prince Gong and Li Hongzhang smiled at each other and took their seats.

There are royal banquets, delicacies from land and sea, musical instruments, singing and dancing.

When they were half drunk, Li Cunxuan clapped his hands and a dozen girls came up. They were wearing gauze as thin as a cicada's wing and danced the Colorful Skirt and Feathered Dress Dance.

The Colorful Feather Dance they performed was different from the traditional Colorful Feather Dance. It was a modified Colorful Feather Dance, less graceful and more unrestrained, with some difficult moves incorporated into it.

Their graceful figures and light dance moves make them look like fairies in the sky.

Especially the girl in red in the middle, she is a peerless beauty with a bright face, a graceful figure, and seems to be boneless.

Prince Gong's eyes were like hooks, staring at the girl in red, unable to move away at all.