Zhu Yuanzhang, who commanded the wind and rain, lived a long and arduous life.

The lingering sound of music echoed through the Honglu Temple Guesthouse!

These four characters are usually used to describe something wonderful or a song.

But as things stand, that's clearly not the case.

Inside the guesthouse, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.

The crowd, who had been filled with righteous indignation just moments before, suddenly calmed down, their faces turned ashen, and slowly, fear began to show in their eyes!

Upon hearing the news brought by the soldier, Hu Xueyan suddenly stood up and exclaimed, "What! Is this true?"

After she finished speaking, she suddenly felt as if all her strength had been drained away, and she slumped weakly onto the vermilion pearwood armchair, gradually falling silent.

After an unknown amount of time, Hu Xueyan finally managed to suppress her shock and said sharply, "We have always maintained peaceful relations with Annam, yet they dare to wage war without declaring war?"

The doorman's voice trembled slightly.

"Great-Grandpa, be careful on your journey. Yao Yao will continue boiling water and wait for you to come back. Also, Great-Grandpa, you only told us about the second of the three battles with the White Bone Demon. Yao Yao wants to hear about the third battle today!"

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes widened. It had doubled again?

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed heartily: "Well done, well done!"

Zhu Changye was somewhat surprised: "This... can be explained in this way? I admire you."

Although the Ming Dynasty cannot do that now, its national strength means that it doesn't take small countries seriously.

Upon hearing this, Li Jinglong responded indifferently, "I see, hello Miss Hu."

After saying that, they remained silent for the rest of the way.

This scene left Hu Xueyan stunned and rooted to the spot.

Hu Xueyan quickly echoed, "The old Taoist's meaning is also the meaning of our Champa Kingdom."

Once outside, Zhu Changye called out and then walked outside.

But Li Jinglong didn't accept them, which means he didn't dare to.

Then Zhu Changye went up and knocked on the gate of the mansion.

But that's five times more...

Is the person willing to do it?

Some people had tears in their eyes: "Annam has always been brutal. Every day we delay, many more of our people will be slaughtered. Every second counts, this is a real race against time!"

“This is a matter of great importance. If we delay even a moment, the people will be slaughtered and lives will be lost. I believe that as a Taoist priest, you would not want to see such a scene.”

"It's alright." Zhu Changye waved his hand dismissively, then stared at Hu Xueyan with interest and said, "Miss Hu said this morning that we would never meet again, so why are you here again?"

At that moment, all the envoys knew what Hu Xueyan meant by her words.

Hu Xueyan took a deep breath, not daring to think any further.

The Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies shook his head: "I am but a lowly official, and naturally I have no chance to see His Majesty. The memorial has been submitted, and as for when His Majesty will approve it, I will know."

"no!"

"Yaoyao, Grandpa has some guests here. I'll tell you a story later."

Before long, palace servants came to find Zhu Yuanzhang with small, quick steps.

Zhu Yuanzhang asked calmly, "What is it?"

Zhu Yao pouted and urged him on.

But... I just told him it was goodbye forever, do I have to beg him now?

But who else could we find besides him?

He couldn't even see Lord Zhan, let alone go to see the Crown Prince, whom he had only met twice.

Zhu Changye understood: "There's no rush. Xiong Ying and I have already discussed how the court will handle this matter. We can discuss it slowly in a couple of days. Is there anything else?"

Zhu Changye stood up from the pavilion and walked into the house.

she couldn't help but ask.

He planned to go see Zhu Yuanzhang later. It was really too much to ask His Majesty for help so late at night, but Li Jinglong was cunning and had already figured out that Zhu Yuanzhang valued the matter of the abbot very much.

The Ming Dynasty civil officials discussed it and were prepared to agree.

Before coming to the Ming Dynasty, she had conducted investigations on some of the high-ranking officials there.

Hu Xueyan gritted her teeth. Sure enough... her identity was less than one-tenth as important as the old Taoist priest's!

Zhu Changye agreed.

"Huh?" Zhu Yao was a little frustrated: "Then the guests won't be able to drink tea. Oh dear, if I had known this would happen, I should have boiled the water earlier."

"In this way, to express our apology, we are willing to offer your Tianyun Temple a thousand taels of silver, a hundred taels of gold, thirty ivory pieces, and fifty jade pieces, as long as you can introduce me to Lord Zhan."

The three of them entered the mansion.

Li Jinglong was flattered and overwhelmed.

Li Jinglong responded and then handed it over.

He smiled and said, "Your Majesty, it's like this, the envoy from Champa..."

This really troubled Zhu Yuanzhang, and it also piqued his curiosity.

Li Jinglong trembled and hurriedly stood up, personally serving tea to Zhu Changye: "Ahem, Master Zhu, I am very grateful for your consideration for a junior like me!"

"Old Taoist priest, you!" Hu Xueyan's eyes widened.

"Master Zhu, why did you come over in the middle of the night? If you had something to do, you could have just sent someone to let me know, and I would have come directly to your Tianyun Temple."

Seven times, that's almost enough to exhaust the entire nation's resources!

By sending tribute to the Ming Dynasty every year, they are essentially declared dead in name only, and will likely be dependent on the Ming Dynasty for the rest of their lives.

As soon as the Champa envoy entered Tianyun Temple, a member of the Imperial Guard came to report to him, but the Imperial Guard could not enter and therefore did not know what the Champa envoy wanted to see his father about.

He bent over, still in the posture of pouring tea: "But I am an honest official and have never committed such a corrupt act... You must not say that."

Seeing that he did not reply, Zhu Changye thought for a moment and said, "Does the Duke of Cao think it's too little? How about this, I'll have the Kingdom of Champa give you more, specifically some for the Duke of Cao, what do you think?"

Li Jinglong's lips twitched; he had actually agreed.

My dad has never had a good impression of foreigners, so maybe that's why he said those harsh words.

Hu Xueyan said calmly, "Some of the tribute items need to be discussed in detail."

"Well, Mr. Zhu, please continue drinking your tea. I'll go take care of some business for you."

But he dared not be greedy in front of Zhu Changye.

Chen Hong said, "Wow, that's amazing. This person is really lucky; he actually managed to guess all of these correctly."

Money can be earned back, but when a person is gone, everything is truly gone.

This mansion before us is the residence of Li Jinglong, the Duke of Cao of the Ming Dynasty!

hiss!

The old Taoist priest knew Duke Cao!

But what they knew was that without the intervention of the Ming Dynasty, their country would soon be devastated, with nine out of ten houses empty and the land barren!

Just moments before this news arrived, they were still accusing Zhu Changye of spreading alarmist rumors.

But she didn't dare interrupt the old Taoist priest, fearing that this only relationship she had in the Ming Dynasty would be severed.

Zhu Changye really did come to see him late at night.

The old Taoist priest's status in the Ming Dynasty was far too high, wasn't it?

Hu Xueyan tried her best to keep smiling, even though she was furious inside.

The palace servant knelt cautiously and said, "Your Majesty, Annam wishes to triple its tribute and requests that Your Majesty grant Annam's submission to the Ming Dynasty."

Zhu Changye thought for a moment and then said, "It's about Champa. Something has happened there, and we need to see Your Majesty as soon as possible."

Chen Hong carefully served him from the side.

She naturally wouldn't reveal all her cards.

Li Jinglong suddenly realized.

"Old Taoist priest, who should we go to?"

But...but!

If the people of the Ming Dynasty were to suffer such a calamity, it would be his turn to take action, while Hu Xueyan would just be watching the show.

Come back tomorrow?

The envoys all spoke up.

Is there something urgent at the Court of State Ceremonial so late?

"Oh, alright, would you like some tea, Grandpa? Yao Yao will make some tea for you and the guests."

Hu Xueyan grew anxious and said dejectedly, "Don't add any more! Fine, five times the tribute! We'll add five times the tribute on top of what we already have!"

"This... please be sure to inform them..."

At first, he paid a lot of attention to Hu Xueyan, but after Hu Xueyan introduced herself, he lost interest.

When the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies heard that they wanted to triple their tribute to the Ming Dynasty, he couldn't help but feel that something was amiss. Since he had no authority to make the decision, he sent Hu Xueyan away, saying, "I need to submit this to the Emperor for approval."

Hu Xueyan approached Zhu Changye, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "Old Taoist Master, it is my fault for disturbing you so late at night."

That sound…

Hu Xueyan's pupils contracted slightly as she looked towards the pavilion in the backyard, where Zhu Changye was indeed.

She gritted her teeth and quickly went to the Ministry of Personnel's duty station.

Zhu Changye smiled and probed, "It concerns the tribute issue of Champa. They want to pay tribute earlier and increase it fivefold. Will the court agree immediately?"

"Master... Master, are you looking for my husband?"

Through the flickering candlelight, Hu Xueyan could even see the shadow of a little girl running around in one of the rooms.

"Hurry up and get it done, or all of Great-Grandpa's guests will be leaving."

Zhu Yuanzhang smiled. He didn't hide anything from his relatives, and the fact that his father consulted Li Jinglong first when he needed something showed that his father trusted Li Jinglong a lot, which made Zhu Yuanzhang look at Li Jinglong more favorably.

Gritting her teeth, Hu Xueyan quickly left the palace and headed towards Tianyun Temple in Yingtian Prefecture!

Hu Xueyan nodded, a lingering frown on her brow, and hurriedly asked, "My lord, what is it? What did His Majesty say?"

"This matter should be addressed sooner rather than later. If Annam conquers us and then we come to submit to the Ming Dynasty, it will be too late!"

As soon as Hu Xueyan entered, she was immediately asked by the disciples of Tianyun Temple if she had come to see the abbot.

no! !

What did you see?

A Duke of the Ming Dynasty actually showed such respect to the old Taoist priest, even with a hint of ingratiation.

Li Jinglong thought he valued the relationship between Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Changye enough, but now he knows he underestimated it.

"He's asleep, but my master hasn't slept since it was Your Excellency's arrival!"

Zhu Yuanzhang's cloudy eyes suddenly widened, and his hand holding the teacup froze for a moment. But after the initial surprise, his face actually lit up with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Li Jinglong felt honored.

But if he is the emperor's tutor, he should live in the palace, not outside of it.

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but laugh.

Zhu Yuanzhang's face slowly darkened, and he snorted, "Nonsense! Is this just a guess? If you didn't have a precise grasp of the situation, could you guess one for me?"

Who exactly is the old Taoist priest?

Hu Xueyan was extremely curious.

Li Jinglong was clearly woken from a sweet dream, yawning repeatedly along the way, but he still tried his best to talk to Zhu Changye.

Ok?

Zhu Yuanzhang paused for a moment, put down the vermilion brush he used to review memorials, leaned back in his armchair, and took a sip of tea.

Before Hu Qingxuan even entered the Ministry of Personnel, she was stopped by a minor official: "A second-rank official of the current dynasty, how dare you, a foreign country, just see him as you please? Get out of here!"

Swish!

Hu Xueyan instantly understood something, and her heart began to pound violently.

Why is this doorman so afraid of the old Taoist priest?

As soon as his grandson Zhu Xiong Ying returned, he quickly found someone to bring him over, and then had his grandson tell him everything.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yao's eyes regained some color.

Hu Xueyan understood.

This old Taoist priest has clearly seen through it!

After thinking for a moment, Zhu Yuanzhang said calmly, "Leave it to the side. Tell the Court of State Ceremonial that we don't have time to approve his memorial right now."