I was a conman in the Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 372 The lion opens its mouth

Chapter 372 The Lion Opens His Mouth

The next morning, just as dawn broke, Wang Wenzhou was woken up by Wang Chengen. Today was the day for peace talks, and Wang Wenzhou had to preside over them.

Yesterday, Wang Wenzhou slept with Liu Rushi's best friend and hasn't gone home yet. He's feeling uneasy and wants to go home first.

As soon as Wang Wenzhou arrived at the palace gate, Wang Qiang hurriedly came to greet him.

"Young Master, I was so worried about you all day yesterday while you were in the palace. Where is my Hanxue?" Wang Qiang asked.

Wang Wenzhou was unaware that the girl who cried yesterday was Liu Hanxue, the baby Wang Qiang liked. Of course, given Wang Wenzhou's character, he would definitely fall asleep. Right now, Liu Hanxue was wiping away her tears as she went to the Tian residence with Li Xiangjun and Dong Xiaowan. In name, the three of them were already Tian Wan's concubines, and of course, Tian Wan was Wang Wenzhou's scapegoat.

Wang Wenzhou said awkwardly, "Xiaoqiang, there were too many things to do yesterday, and I drank too much. I forgot about your baby Hanxue. Don't worry, your baby Hanxue won't run away. After the negotiations are over today, I'll help you bring her home tomorrow."

"Alright!" Wang Qiang nodded helplessly and said, "Young Master, Mu Yiyun is here. She says she has something to discuss."

Wang Wenzhou nodded and asked, "Where is she?"

Wang Qiang replied, "Inside your sedan chair."

"Alright!" Wang Wenzhou said, "Let's go back to the manor first."

As soon as Wang Wenzhou got into the sedan chair, Mu Yiyun smiled and began to take off her clothes.

"Baby, let's talk this out. Don't just take your clothes off all the time!" Wang Wenzhou said helplessly. Everyone knew he was a womanizer. Even Liu Rushi, his girlfriend's best friend, had seduced him. He had slept with his girlfriend's best friend. He had to keep this a secret. If it got out, Wang Wenzhou didn't dare to imagine the consequences.

Mu Yiyun smiled bitterly to herself, "Wang Wenzhou, you lecherous man, why don't you like her?"

"Baby, stop fooling around, let's get down to business!" Wang Wenzhou also admired Mu Yiyun quite a bit. This girl was really too bold. She took off her clothes, knelt down next to him, and took his mouth into her mouth.

Mu Yiyun looked up at Wang Wenzhou and said seriously, "Prince Rui plans to assassinate Hauge when the peace talks end today. He asks you to relax the security around the Honglu Temple."

"What a hero, Xiao Gun! He even killed his own nephew!" Wang Wenzhou mocked.

Mu Yiyun shook her head helplessly. Wang Wenzhou, that madman, never said a kind word.

“Okay!” Wang Wenzhou nodded and said, “There’s no problem with this. Your men should be careful not to get caught again. Anyway, even if you beat me to death, I will never admit that I knew about this beforehand.”

"Lord Wang, rest assured! Prince Rui has only sent out experts, so the matter will be handled cleanly and efficiently without leaving any loopholes," Mu Yiyun quickly said.

"Is there anything else?" Wang Wenzhou asked.

“That’s all!” Mu Yiyun replied.

"Go on your way if there's nothing else! My kidneys haven't been feeling well lately, so I won't be able to offer you any Mengniu milk!" Wang Wenzhou said with a smile.

Mu Yiyun felt very wronged. Why didn't Wang Wenzhou like her? Fortunately, Dorgon didn't know about this and thought that Wang Wenzhou had already slept with her. Otherwise, she would definitely have been replaced by someone else.

When Wang Wenzhou returned home, Liu Rushi indeed had a long face. His nemesis hadn't come home all night; without a doubt, she'd been out fooling around.

Wang Wenzhou would certainly not admit that he slept with Liu Rushi's best friend. He explained in a serious tone that he was busy with official duties yesterday, and the emperor insisted that he stay overnight for a long talk.

Liu Rushi knew that anyone who believed Wang Wenzhou was doomed. But she also understood that some things couldn't be taken too seriously, otherwise life would be unbearable. So she could only turn a blind eye and not argue with Wang Wenzhou.

Wang Wenzhou took a sip of milk and asked, "Where did Wang Ying and the others go?"

Liu Rushi replied, "Zhang Jiao sent a letter yesterday saying that she would be able to arrive in the capital today, and Wang Ying and the others went to pick her up."

Sun Rurui quickly said, "Husband, it's not that I don't want to go, but Sister Wang Ying is afraid that I will have a miscarriage, so she won't let me go."

"Good girl!" Wang Wenzhou hugged Sun Rurui and kissed her, then said with a smile, "Perfect timing, I'm going to negotiate later, Rurui and Ruru come with me."

"I'm not going, Liu Xiaohua can't live without me!" Liu Rushi didn't want to go out with Wang Wenzhou and embarrass herself.

Wang Wenzhou curled his lips and said, "Ruru, you've gone too far. You've been hanging out with your friends these past few days, and Liu Xiaohua has even left you. You're clearly just making excuses!"

"Sigh..." Sun Rurui sighed. She really should have gone with Wang Ying and the others to pick up Zhang Jiao. Now look what happened. She's bound to embarrass herself if she goes out with her nemesis.

After having a full breakfast, Wang Wenzhou, along with Sun Rurui and Dayuer, arrived at Honglu Temple.

Upon seeing Wang Wenzhou, Hauge, contrary to his usual behavior, greeted him warmly, saying, "Greetings, Lord Wang! It was my fault last time, please don't be angry."

Wang Wenzhou smiled slightly. "That idiot Hauge doesn't even call himself 'I' anymore. It seems Huang Taiji intends to accept this and pay tribute to become a vassal."

Wang Wenzhou asked, "Xiao Ge, has your father agreed to pay tribute and become a vassal?"

"Your Majesty, my father says that our family has been citizens of the Ming Dynasty for generations, and he humbly requests His Majesty the Emperor to bestow this title upon us," Hauge said hastily, bowing with his hands clasped.

Wang Wenzhou shook his head with a wry smile. Zhu Youjian was so stubborn. Once he had a little money, he didn't want to negotiate peace with the Tartars anymore. He insisted on annihilating them! What's wrong with the Tartars paying tribute and becoming vassals?

Although Zhu Youjian had made up his mind, Wang Wenzhou still wanted to try his best to force the Tartars to agree to some conditions so that the Ming Dynasty could gain some benefits, and see if Zhu Youjian would change his mind after seeing this.

Wang Wenzhou said with a smile, "Since that's the case, it makes things easier! Xiao Ge, how much silver do you plan to pay as tribute to the imperial court each year?"

Hauge shook his head with a wry smile. "Wang Wenzhou, you mad dog! I'm not stupid, it's your Ming Dynasty that's stupid! Look at your Ming Dynasty's vassal states. Although they come to pay tribute every year, the things they bring back are worth several times more than the tribute. My Qing Dynasty has already agreed to become a vassal state, and you're still extorting us like this?"

"Lord Wang!" Fan Wencheng cupped his hands and said, "Liaodong has a sparse population and scarce resources, and we really don't have much silver. I wonder if we could offer Liaodong specialties as tribute?"

"Yes!" Wang Wenzhou nodded and said with a smile, "Of course! How about this, you will offer 10,000 fine horses as tribute every year."

"Pfft..." The Qing officials were stunned. Wang Wenzhou, you're asking for an exorbitant price! Ten thousand fine horses a year? Your Ming Dynasty wants them, but does the Qing Dynasty dare to give them to you? In a few years, you'll have tens of thousands of elite cavalry, and the Qing Dynasty's only advantage will be gone. Then the Qing Dynasty will be at the mercy of the Ming Dynasty.

"Lord Wang, you are unaware of the situation!" Fan Wencheng said with a wry smile, "In recent years, Liaodong has suffered from disasters year after year, especially this year, a once-in-a-millennium disaster, all the grain was destroyed. Liaodong doesn't even have enough grain to feed people, how could there be enough grain to feed horses?"

Wang Wenzhou chuckled to himself. What kind of once-in-a-millennium disaster was this? It was clearly my men who set the fire.

"You mean... you want food?" Wang Wenzhou asked.

Fan Wencheng nodded and replied, "That is precisely the intention of our Great Qing!"