RPAGF Chapter 176 Compensation
Chapter 176 Compensation
In the afternoon of the second day, Hu Zhiyi and his party were led by a eunuch from the palace to the imperial study of Yu State.
"crunch"
The door opened.
After entering the room, Hu Zhiyi and the others respectfully saluted Ji Lingyan, who was sitting behind the desk, and said, "Your Majesty."
Ji Lingyan looked at the leader who came in and raised his hand slightly, "Excuse me, I wonder what His Majesty An Guo wants to discuss with me?"
Hu Zhiyi stood up and took out all the prepared things and held them in his palms with a very respectful attitude, "Your Majesty, once you see these, you will understand the purpose of our trip."
At this time, Ji Lingyan's doubts became more and more intense. He winked at the eunuch next to him, indicating him to go and get it.
The eunuch who caught his gaze hurried forward, took the thing from Hu Zhiyi's hand, and presented it to Ji Lingyan.
Ji Lingyan lowered his head to check, his expression gradually darkening, especially the last sentence of the document, Yun Zhi's implicit threat.
"Your Majesty, you don't want your country's theft to be known to the world, do you?"
He suddenly raised his head and stared at Hu Zhiyi fiercely, "What do you mean by this, An Guo?"
"Your Majesty, these are the evidence that your country has stolen our rice seeds. Your Majesty has sent me to ask what is going on?" Hu Zhiyi said neither humbly nor arrogantly.
Ji Lingyan slowly tightened his hands on the table, crumpling the paper containing the evidence of Yu State's theft into a ball in his hand.
After a moment, he loosened his hand again, as if the anger just now had never existed.
"I am not familiar with what you are saying. This matter cannot be based solely on your country's words. I will investigate this matter thoroughly. If it is true as you say, I will not tolerate it."
Hu Zhiyi bowed slightly and said, "Thank you very much, Your Majesty. I hope Your Majesty can give our country a satisfactory answer as soon as possible."
After a confrontation, Hu Zhiyi and others left the imperial study and waited for the final decision of the Emperor of Yu.
An envoy who returned to the embassy muttered quietly, "He still knows nothing. I'm afraid there's no one in the entire Yu Kingdom who knows more than him. Now he's pretending to be ignorant. I want to see what he can say next."
The envoy who heard his mumbling patted him on the shoulder and said, "Don't be so impatient. Let's see how the King of Yu responds to this matter. We just need to wait patiently for good news. When His Majesty summons us, we will argue with you and obtain the greatest benefits for our country."
Hu Zhiyi also spoke up, "That's right. Let's just wait patiently, remain constant in the face of ever-changing circumstances, and do what needs to be done."
In the next few days, the Anguo envoys all stayed quietly in the embassy.
On the other side, in the imperial palace, Ji Lingyan was furious about this matter.
"What a bunch of trash! You can't even handle such a small thing, and yet An Guo caught you!" Ji Lingyan yelled at the ministers below.
"It's fine if they have evidence, but they can't do anything about your refusal to admit it. Lord Yu, Lord Wu, and Lord Qin, the three of you are primarily responsible for this matter. Tell me why they even knew the hiding place."
Ji Lingyan had expected that An Guo would find out. It was better to catch the thief red-handed than to catch him red-handed. As long as they didn't find the hiding place, they would deny it.
But now.
"Shouldn't the three of you give me an explanation?"
Lord Yu was the first to kneel and plead guilty. "Your Majesty, please calm down. This matter was our negligence. We never imagined it would develop to this point. However, we can guarantee that there was absolutely no mistake in our actions. It must have been a spy within the clan who let An Guo know about this."
Lord Wu continued, "Your Majesty, we are willing to redeem ourselves from our crimes and make meritorious contributions to apprehend the spy as soon as possible, while also finding a way to address An Guo's accusations."
Lord Qin also echoed, "Your Majesty, please rest assured that we will do our utmost to turn the situation around."
Ji Lingyan looked at the three kneeling people, his anger still lingering. "The Anguo dared to directly reveal our hiding place. They must be confident that we won't be able to find the person who leaked the information. Let's put this matter aside for now. The most urgent task now is to deal with these Anguo envoys."
After saying this, Ji Lingyan looked at Zhu Yuanhe who was standing beside him and asked, "Does my dear Zhu have any good ideas?"
"It's impossible to return those seeds, so it's better to buy them."
"Will they agree?"
Zhu Yuanhe bowed and said, "Your Majesty, An Guo has come here simply to seek an explanation. If we are willing to pay a high price for these seeds and provide some other compensation, perhaps they will return satisfied."
Ji Lingyan nodded, "Then I'll leave this matter to you. Make sure you handle it properly."
Zhu Yuanhe replied, "Your Majesty, rest assured. I will definitely fulfill my mission."
Three days later, the ministers of the two countries met.
"Lord Hu, our country has thoroughly investigated what you are talking about. Some of our ministers secretly committed such shameful acts to gain His Majesty's favor, and His Majesty was unaware of this. We have now ordered the severe punishment of those involved."
"As an apology, our country is willing to purchase this batch of seeds and give Anguo corresponding compensation. What do you think, Lord Hu?" Zhu Yuanhe said.
Hu Zhiyi looked as if he had suddenly understood. "So that's how it is. It was all a misunderstanding. Now that we've investigated it clearly, there's no need for Yu State to buy these seeds. They can just return them to us."
Zhu Yuanhe's expression changed slightly. "Master Hu, I'm afraid that won't work. Some of these seeds have already been used by that group, so they can't be returned intact. It's better for us to follow our previous agreement and provide appropriate compensation."
Upon hearing this, Hu Zhiyi exchanged glances with several envoys. They were not surprised that they made such a decision.
After all, in the eyes of the people of Henan, with this batch of seeds, the yield will always be high, so they will try every means to keep this batch of seeds.
Little did they know that even if they selected the best seeds, the purity would not be as good as the first batch, and the yield would naturally become lower and lower.
Hu Zhiyi put on an awkward expression. "Our emperor sent us here to bring back these seeds intact. Now, in this situation, it's really hard for us to report back."
Zhu Yuanhe hurriedly said, "Master Hu, we can discuss the terms of compensation. We will definitely satisfy An Guo."
Hu Zhiyi frowned slightly, shook his head gently, and looked at Zhu Yuanhe with a firm gaze. "Master Zhu, this is not a question of how much compensation to pay. This is about the integrity of both countries. Yu State is in the wrong for using our seeds without permission. If we cannot return them, I am afraid it will affect the relationship between the two countries."
"Lord Hu, please be more accommodating. Otherwise, in addition to compensation, our country can give An Guo more preferential treatment and support in other aspects."
Hu Zhiyi was silent for a moment, then said, "Master Zhu, please allow me to discuss this with the envoys again."
"Then I'll have to trouble you, Master Hu."
Hu Zhiyi and the Anguo envoys walked aside and discussed in a low voice.
"Sir Hu, now that Yu State is unwilling to return it, it will be difficult for us to return and report."
An envoy spoke in an awkward manner, but his eyes were signaling to Hu Zhiyi to ask for more when the time came.
"Alas, it may not be easy to get it back, and they have already used part of it. It seems that we can only agree to their compensation." Another envoy sighed and shook his head.
"Then ask for more so we can report back."
Zhu Yuanhe, who was standing aside, saw a group of envoys gathered together, sighing and groaning, with faces full of embarrassment. One or two of them even looked pained and reluctant.
I do not know how long it has been.
"Master Zhu, we have discussed it and decided..."