This made Li Shimin anxious, and he wanted to trade one for one with me.

Cheng Yaojin said with frustration, "The biggest enemy of the Tang Dynasty right now is the Turks, which is why Baekje dares to act this way. If it weren't for the Turks, this major threat, and Baekje didn't dare to refuse mediation, our Tang army would already be in Baekje's capital by now!"

That's true... Cheng Jun nodded slightly. Right now, the Turks in the north are holding back the Tang Dynasty, preventing it from being able to spare the time to send troops to deal with the three kingdoms in the east. This is also why Goguryeo and Baekje dared to join forces against Silla.

Cheng Chumo suddenly spoke up: "Since Baekje doesn't do anything after we've given them benefits, then we should just stop giving them benefits."

Cheng Yaojin glanced at him and said, "Easier said than done. How can you get him to accept mediation without offering him any benefits?"

Cheng Chumo replied matter-of-factly, "Didn't the imperial court send people to aid Silla?"

Cheng Yaojin said, "Niu Jinda and Su Dingfang have only been gone for a short time. They need time to withstand the attacks from Goguryeo and Baekje. Baekje will not act until they see a clear advantage. As long as Goguryeo is not at a disadvantage, Baekje will not stop."

Cheng Chumo thought for a moment and said, "If that's the case, I think we can leave the envoys of both countries in Chang'an."

Cheng Yaojin was stunned for a moment, but quickly understood what he meant. Cheng Chumo was saying that the envoys from Goguryeo and Baekje should not be allowed to return. Once the situation in Silla improved, Baekje would accept the mediation. With Baekje accepting the mediation, Goguryeo, which was left with only one party, would have no choice but to submit to the rapidly deteriorating situation. In this way, the mediation would be completed.

Cheng Yaojin frowned and said, "That's one way, but the problem is how to keep them?"

Cheng Chumo pointed to Cheng Jun beside him and said, "Then it depends on Chuxia. If he can keep the Silla envoys, he must have a way to keep them."

Cheng Yaojin turned to look at Cheng Jun.

Cheng Jun stroked his chin and said, "I've got it! I've thought of a way to keep them in Chang'an."

Cheng Yaojin asked curiously, "What method?"

Cheng Jun solemnly replied, "A provocation."

Provoke?

Cheng Yaojin lowered his head in thought. What use would provoking him be at this point...?

He pondered this for a long time but still couldn't figure it out. He looked up at Cheng Jun, wanting to ask him for clarification, but found that Cheng Jun was nowhere to be seen. He asked in a daze, "Where is Chu Xiaren?"

Sitting next to him, Cheng Chumo sighed and said, "Dad, you're already hard of hearing now, what will you do when you get old?"

Cheng Chuliang also sighed and said, "At that time, the two of us brothers will have to serve you like you're our grandson."

Cheng Yaojin remained silent for two seconds, then stood up, picked up his Xuanhua axe again, and stared intently at them.

Cheng Chumo and Cheng Chuliang were filled with respect and said in unison, "He said he went back to take care of his business."

…………

Cheng Jun rode his Akhal-Teke horse, 'Adolf,' to the palace gate.

After securing the reins, he walked towards the Vermilion Bird Gate. Suddenly, he noticed a burly middle-aged man with a dark complexion standing at the entrance. He was taken aback. Wasn't this Yuchi Jingde? He quickly walked over and greeted him:

"Uncle Yuchi, what are you doing here?"

"He is your chivalrous nephew."

Yuchi Jingde turned to look at him, grinned, and said, "His Majesty doesn't like me and has ordered me to guard the city gate for a few days."

Cheng Jun immediately understood that Li Shimin was angry that Yuchi Jingde had gone to Haichi to see him at that time. He solemnly said, "Uncle Yuchi, please wait while I go and tell His Majesty."

Yuchi Jingde waved his hand and said, "Guarding the palace gates is not a demotion. We can wait until His Majesty is in a better mood."

Cheng Jun hesitated for two seconds and said, "Okay... I'll go take care of my business first, and we'll talk about it when I'm done."

"go Go."

Yuchi Jingde waved his hand and said.

Cheng Jun entered the Vermilion Bird Gate and went directly to the Court of State Ceremonial. Upon entering the office, he found it empty and summoned a subordinate official, saying:

"Go and summon Zhu Shaoqing."

"promise!"

The clerk quickly responded and turned to leave.

Not long after, Zhu Zishe, the Vice Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial, dressed in a red robe, walked in and said with a smile:

"Imperial Censor Cheng, you're finally back! If you hadn't come back, I really would have sent someone to look for you."

Cheng Jun asked, "Are the envoys from Goguryeo and Baekje arriving soon?"

Zhu Zishe nodded and said, "These two envoys arrived in Chang'an faster than expected, at noon."

Cheng Jun nodded and asked, "How are the preparations for the reception going?"

Zhu Zishe said, "I have made all the preparations."

Cheng Jun said, "Take me to see it."

Zhu Zishe was somewhat puzzled as to what was so interesting about this, since everything was done according to rules and regulations. But since he had spoken, he nodded and led him to the Honglu Guest House next door.

Cheng Jun followed him into the building, to the place where they were discussing matters. He found the place to be filled with flowers and lush greenery, and it was very impressive.

The table with cushions, writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones were all readily available.

Zhu Zishe asked with a smile, "Imperial Censor Cheng, what do you think?"

Cheng Jun turned to look at him, and said expressionlessly, "I don't think it's anything special."

Zhu Zishe was taken aback upon hearing this, and immediately explained, "Our Court of State Ceremonial has always received envoys in this way."

Cheng Jun waved his hand and said, "Can the envoys from Goguryeo and Baekje be treated the same as envoys from other countries?"

“Take Silla for example. When Silla’s envoys came to our Great Tang Dynasty as a vassal state, they brought a lot of tribute to Your Majesty.”

Will Goguryeo and Baekje bring tribute?

Cheng Jun said in a deep voice, "These two countries turn a deaf ear to what our Great Tang says and treat our Great Tang as if it were invisible. Why are you still being so nice to them?"

Zhu Zishe then realized that Cheng Jun was not planning to treat them well and wanted to give them a hard time, so he quickly said, "Please enlighten me, Imperial Censor Cheng."

Cheng Jun pointed to the decorations inside the building and said, "Remove all these decorations."

Zhu Zishe immediately summoned several of his subordinates and ordered them to move the things away.

Soon, the interior of the museum became very simple.

Cheng Jun looked at the cushions, pointed, and said, "Remove these new ones and replace them with the old ones."

Zhu Zishe said to the subordinate beside him, "Go and change it quickly."

The official hurriedly left the building with the soft cushions, and when he returned, he had two hard cushions in his hands.

Cheng Jun frowned and said, "Why change the cushion? Get a stool."

The subordinate official ran out again and returned with two stools.

Cheng Jun walked over to him, took the stool from his hand, examined it for a few moments, and frowned, saying, "Why did you take a four-legged one? Take a one-legged one."

The subordinate official was taken aback and looked at Zhu Zishe.

Zhu Zishe was stunned for a moment, then asked his subordinate, "Do you have a one-legged stool?"

The subordinate official, regaining his senses, said, "I've never bought it like this before."

Zhu Zishe looked at Cheng Jun and asked in confusion, "Imperial Censor Cheng, what do you need a one-legged stool for? You can't sit on that thing, and you can't even stand up."

Cheng Jun solemnly said, "Anyway, it's not us sitting on it, so why do you care whether it can stand up or not?"

Zhu Zishe said with a troubled expression, "The key is that we don't have any either."

Cheng Jun gestured with his hand on the stool and said, "Why don't you have someone take a saw and cut it from here?"

…………

Wudi suddenly developed a fever of 38°C, sore throat, and headache, so she is taking a day off.