I'm the Farmgirl You Can't Mess With

Chapter 1355: Side Story: Having the Whole World in View (32)

Editor: Atlas Studios

Meanwhile, the newlywed Qi Wenjin was brimming with excitement. After sending his brother-in-law to the academy, he did not interfere much in the Lu family’s matters.

Since his wife wanted to do it herself, he naturally had to fulfill her wish.

Seeing the smug look on his face, Little Leopard and Little Fu had obviously forgotten their agreement. They both came to look for him. “Big Brother, when are you going to help us intercede?”

Only then did Qi Wenjin remember the deal he made with his brothers back then. He coughed lightly and said, “It’s not hard for me to plead on your behalf, but I reckon they won’t agree. At the very least, they’ll only let you go after you get married.”

“But everyone in our family gets married late. Even you older brothers haven’t even gotten married yet. By the time it’s your turn, it’ll be too late.”

Little Leopard and Little Fu looked at him pitifully.

“That’s why I thought of a better way. It’s a waste of one’s youth if you don’t live boldly while you’re young. When I was seven or eight years old, your big brother also said that he wanted to pacify the west and stop them from coming to Great Qi to plunder again. Since you have such a grand goal, I’ll naturally help you achieve it.”

Little Fu looked at him suspiciously and asked, “What do you have in mind?”

Qi Wenjin went forward and put his hands on his two younger brothers’ shoulders. Smiling, he taught them, “Although there are occasional conflicts between Great Qi and Western Europe, overall, everyone is still on friendly terms. Didn’t those Westerners reprimand the pirates openly like us? Therefore, you can’t shout and kill as soon as you go to the West. We have to maintain a friendly attitude and interact with them, understand?”

Little Fu looked past him at Little Leopard on the other side and said, “I think this is very similar to what my big brother said.”

Qi Wenjin smacked his head and said, “Nonsense. I was the one who said this and I was the one who came up with the method. Your big brother merely helped me perfect it.”

Little Leopard asked impatiently, “What is it exactly?”

Qi Wenjin enunciated each word clearly. “A diplomatic mission to the West!”

He shook his head and said, “As Great Qi’s envoys, the two of you will head west. Whenever you encounter land, go ashore and take a look. If there are countries, go up and greet them, exchange credentials, and take note of the goods and customs of their countries. There are many countries in the west. After you go ashore, try to gain an understanding of the relationship between the countries. Talk to the locals and aim to enhance the relationship between the two countries. Didn’t Tiger Head say that Joao was imprisoned for fighting for the throne? Let’s see if we can get him out to support him. Even if he can’t become the Emperor, it’d also be good if he can establish his own influences. Through him, Great Qi will have some political power in the west.”

The Central Plains had more than 2,000 years of history, and Qi Wenjin had read history books since he was young. Even if he wasn’t a scheming person, he still understood this.

Qi Wenjin patted his two younger brothers’ heads and said, “Our Great Qi only has economic dealings with the West now. We don’t have any influence on their politics at all, so we’ve got to start from scratch. Don’t be anxious. Take it slow. In short, just don’t get yourself killed there.”

Little Leopard stroked his chin and said, “Will Father and Mother agree?”

Qi Wenjin gestured. “60%.”

Little Fu rolled his eyes and said, “What if Brother Crown Prince and my big brother are included?”

Qi Wenjin glanced at him and said, “They’re already included. Even your Brother Tiger Head and Brother Lionie’s method of rolling around is included. There’s only a total of 60% confidence.”

Although Little Leopard and Little Fu were disappointed, they were still excited. Clenching their fists, they said, “60% is already very high. Big Brother, I’ll leave everything to you!”

Thus, after dinner, Little Bear carefully mentioned to his parents, “Father, Mother, Little Leopard and Little Fu are not young anymore. These two brats are thinking about going to the West every day and are not in the mood to study at all. Since that’s the case, why don’t we let them represent the Imperial Court to go to the West?”

Little Lion immediately added, “That’s right. The envoys of the Western countries have all come to Great Qi, but Great Qi has never sent any officials to those Western countries. Just based on the words sent back by the merchants, we can only gain a superficial understanding. Why don’t we let them see for themselves what the Western countries are like?”

Tiger Head immediately recited according to the script. “We’ll announce Great Qi’s name along the way and let other countries see our prestige. This will definitely leave a mark in history.”

Wasn’t this a classic example of Zheng He going to the west?

Just as Mu Yangling was about to educate them about frugality, she heard Qi Haoran say lightly, “Sure, but there’s no money in the national treasury, and your mother and I won’t fork out the money either. What national treasure do you plan to take out to make other countries submit? Also, how many ships, supplies, and people do you plan to take with you for the diplomatic mission?”

Little Bear was stunned for a moment, surprised that his father would agree so quickly. Then, he immediately reacted and said hurriedly, “Don’t worry about this, Father. We definitely won’t spend too much from the national treasury.”

Tiger Head continued excitedly, “That’s right, that’s right. There are many treasures that Westerners don’t recognize. Not to mention anything else, there are countless treasures in your and Royal Uncle’s private stash.”

Qi Haoran jumped up. “So you guys have designs on our spoils of war. That’s meant to be passed down to the descendants. No way will I let you take them.”

After saying that, he added, “Absolutely no way!”

Lu Deyin looked at King Rong’s family in shock. She didn’t expect King Rong’s family to interact in such a manner.

Little Lion immediately advised his father righteously, “Daddy, we’re doing this for the good of Great Qi. Think about it, if we sail around in the envoy ship, Great Qi will be famous in the world. When that happens, won’t the Great Qi dynasty be even more prosperous than Great Tang?”

“The Tang Dynasty’s golden age didn’t even last a hundred years,” Mu Yangling said coldly. “If you guys are so overly-ambitious, Great Qi probably can’t even compare to the Tang Dynasty.”

Little Bear scratched his head in distress. He didn’t expect his mother to be the one who objected the most. He asked, “Mother, haven’t you always encouraged us to go out and broaden our horizons?”

“That’s right. I’m not stopping you now, but I’m not letting you go out to be extravagant and wasteful. You might think that you’re not wasting anything, but I don’t think it’s worth it to bring so many ships out just to show off the country’s prestige.”

“But the Westerners sent their envoys to Great Qi. You even asked us to learn from them.”

Mu Yangling knew that he didn’t understand what she meant, so she emphasized, “I have no objections if you want to go on a diplomatic mission to the West now, but the premise is that you won’t be dragging our national treasures around the world. The cost of a diplomatic mission for an official in the West isn’t high. Do you know why?”

Tiger Head immediately raised his hand. “I know. They came out with a merchant ship, and their own ship is also full of goods. When they reach a port, they will sell those goods to earn money and buy local produce before continuing on their way.”

Mu Yangling nodded. “That’s right, but the officials of Great Qi don’t see merchants as their equals. Not to mention traveling on the same ship, I’m afraid even traveling together will make them feel uncomfortable, let alone doing business together. I’m afraid the jewelry brought on board will end up being distributed to various countries.”

“Every voyage will take three to four months, or even half a year, each time mobilizing dozens of ships. Aside from shipwrights, officials, soldiers, and servants, have you calculated how much supplies you will bring?” Mu Yangling said, “I don’t object to you going on a diplomatic mission, but first, you have to settle this aspect first. Great Qi will provide you with ships, shipwrights, and soldiers. A certain amount of supplies is also fine. We can even give you some of the treasures in our private vault, but can you guarantee that you can travel the world with just these things?”

Qi Haoran pulled Mu Yangling up and looked at his sons faintly. “The best way is for you to persuade the Imperial Court to let the diplomatic group do business along the way. However, from your father’s many years of experience, this is harder than ascending to the heavens.”

Because Fan Zijin loved to do business, he was often despised by some officials in private, for they felt that his actions had lowered his status.

Therefore, it was almost impossible for the officials to agree to let them be self-sufficient like the Western diplomatic groups. It was also impossible for the national treasury to pay for everything. Considering the frugal personality of Qi Xiuyuan and the stingy habits of the Ministry of Revenue, it was simply impossible.