allonlinenovel Chapter 310 Making trouble
Chapter 310 Making trouble
If Zhao Yi hadn't possessed exceptional wisdom, given his kind and gentle nature, he would likely have been devoured without a trace if he returned to Northern Qi in time.
Leaving aside the other princes, Prince Qi alone was no pushover.
"The eldest prince is frail and sickly. He must guard against arrogance and impetuosity, and avoid extreme joy or sorrow. If he were not of a kind nature, how could he have lived to this day?"
The Imperial Tutor warned Yan Yi, "You must not speak ill of the royal family."
He paused for a moment, then reminded her, "Think about your name before you speak or act."
Yan Yi immediately shut his mouth. When he and Yan Er were with their master, the master specially gave them new names and granted them the privilege of taking the master's surname.
His first name was Yan Jinyan, and Yan Er's name was Yan Shenxing, which was used to restrain their words and actions.
Yan Yi realized that she had made a big mistake.
Too much talk leads to mistakes, especially on foreign soil. A slight misstep can lead to being taken out of context and becoming a target of criticism.
He dared not speak ill of the royal family any longer, so he fetched a stove and dried the Imperial Tutor's hair, combing his black hair neatly and tying it up with a jade hairpin.
Yan Yi looked at the Imperial Tutor's noble and unparalleled appearance in the bronze mirror and sighed inwardly.
Unfortunately, the Imperial Tutor suffered a severe injury in his youth and was unable to have children.
Otherwise, given the brilliance of the Imperial Tutor, who knows what kind of offspring he would have borne?
"Knock Knock-"
There was a knock on the door, and a guard outside said urgently, "Imperial Tutor, the people of Great Zhou are causing trouble at the entrance of the Four Barbarians' Inn."
Upon hearing this, Yan Yi quickly stepped aside.
The Imperial Tutor rose, stepped out of the room, and asked, "What's the situation outside?"
"The people are driving us away from the Great Zhou." The guard said with a worried expression, "Ever since Emperor Jing'an exposed Princess Yizhen's deeds in the Northern Qi, the people have been causing trouble at the Siyiguan. It wasn't until news spread that you were going to be an envoy to the Great Zhou that the Great Zhou appeased the people, and the Siyiguan finally had a moment of peace."
At this point, the guard heard a commotion outside: "The people probably heard that you have arrived in the Great Zhou, so they came here to cause trouble and put pressure on us, warning us not to have any bad intentions."
The Imperial Tutor pondered for a moment, then silently returned to his room, changed into a cotton robe, and put on a cloak before leading his subordinates to the entrance of the Four Barbarians' Pavilion.
King Qi and Lord Gao also arrived upon hearing the news; the former was filled with anger, while the latter was filled with worry.
When they met the Imperial Tutor, they respectfully bowed and said, "Imperial Tutor."
Then, suppressing his anger, King Qi said, "Imperial Tutor, the people of Great Zhou are a bunch of unruly people who injured the soldiers of Northern Qi. They haven't been peaceful for long, and now they're causing trouble again. This is simply outrageous."
Master Gao, completely at a loss, said, "Imperial Tutor, in your opinion, how should this matter be handled?"
When the Imperial Tutor heard the people at the gate shouting slogans such as "The envoys of Northern Qi, get out of Great Zhou" and "Great Zhou does not welcome robbers," he frowned and said, "Leave this matter to me."
He walked out of the Siyi Pavilion and saw that the people of the Great Zhou were gathered in layers around the entrance of the Siyi Pavilion, wearing a few rough hemp clothes and carrying baskets filled with stones of all sizes.
The heavy snow fell on them, freezing their faces blue, but it still couldn't freeze their burning passion to protect their country.
The moment the people saw the Imperial Tutor, some threw stones at him.
The guards stood in unison to protect the Imperial Tutor, blocking the stone.
"Please calm down, everyone, and let me say something." The Imperial Tutor gestured for the guards to step back and stood in front of the agitated people: "The land of Northern Qi is not as rich and fertile as that of Great Zhou. In order to give the people more land to cultivate, we launched a war of aggression against Great Zhou. The two countries have been at war for a long time, but the lives of the people of Northern Qi have not improved. On the contrary, they have been plunged into misery because of the war. This is contrary to our original intention."
The people were already very agitated, and hearing the Imperial Tutor's words was like adding fuel to the fire. They took out stones and started throwing them at him.
A pebble struck the Imperial Tutor squarely on the forehead, and blood flowed down, staining his handsome face red, unexpectedly revealing a broken beauty.
The people were stunned, and the soldiers of Northern Qi panicked.
The Imperial Tutor remained calm, simply taking out a handkerchief and slowly wiping the blood from the side of his face. He then addressed the people, saying, "Northern Qi has realized that war will not enrich the people, but will only cause them hardship and financial loss. Therefore, it has decided to establish a truce and alliance with Great Zhou. The two countries will trade with each other, exchange cultures, and seek benefits for the people."
He took a sachet from his sleeve: "To show the Northern Qi's sincerity in seeking peace, we have specially brought these seeds."
The people did not trust the imperial tutor's words, thinking he was just making up some high-sounding excuses to fool them. They threw stones at him without any regard for the consequences, venting their hatred.
Until the Imperial Tutor took out the sachet.
The people released the stones from their hands and stared warily at the sachet in the Imperial Tutor's palm.
The Great Zhou Dynasty had experienced a long period of famine, which instilled in them a fear of natural disasters.
Now, hearing about seeds inevitably evokes some interest, but even more so, curiosity.
They were curious whether these seeds could help them escape famine.
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, the Imperial Tutor opened the sachet and poured out a few seeds. Some seeds were covered in white fluff, while others were black-skinned seeds that had shed the fluff.
The people's attention was immediately drawn to the seed in the Imperial Tutor's palm, their eyes filled with curiosity, wondering what kind of seed it was.
They asked curiously, "Is this...something to eat?"
One or two people, however, exclaimed in surprise upon seeing the seeds: "This...this is white sesame?"
"These are cotton seeds, shaped like silkworm cocoons, also known as white cotton. The cotton fibers that grow can be used to make cotton-padded coats to keep warm." The Imperial Tutor smiled and said, "If you plant them on a large scale, next year everyone in the people will be able to wear cotton-padded clothes and be covered with cotton quilts, and will no longer have to suffer from the cold."
When the people heard that it could keep them warm, a hint of eagerness appeared in their eyes.
They knew that cotton cloth was woven from cotton silk. The Great Zhou did not grow cotton, and the cotton cloth sold in cloth shops was all imported from overseas.
The people of the Great Zhou Dynasty used silk and animal fur to keep warm. Only wealthy families could afford these items, while ordinary people could only rely on collecting poplar catkins, willow catkins, and reed catkins to stuff into the layers of their clothes to keep warm.
Those who were slightly better off would buy animal hides from hunters and make them into clothes or blankets.
Many people freeze to death every winter.
They were tempted, but considering the treacherous tricks of the Northern Qi, they worried that it might be their scheme.
But the allure of cotton was too great; they didn't want to go hungry, much less freeze.
At this moment, someone in the crowd said, "I've grown cotton before. When you thresh the seeds and stuff them into the lining of your clothes, it's not comfortable at all. It's not as soft and warm as cotton wool."
"Yes, if it were really as good as you say, we would have planted them long ago, and we wouldn't be suffering from the frost."
"You people of Northern Qi harbor ulterior motives and want to seize our land, so why would you kindly provide us with cotton seeds?"
"I think they're just using cotton seeds as a raft to continue causing trouble in our Great Zhou and instigate internal strife. Get out of Great Zhou, we won't fall for it again."
"Get out of the Great Zhou! Get out of the Great Zhou!"
The Imperial Tutor said nothing more, but ordered Yan Yi to bring a cotton-padded jacket. He then used a dagger to cut along the seam and took out the snow-white cotton filling the lining.
The people living near the Imperial Tutor stared wide-eyed at the white cotton threads, unable to resist reaching out to touch them. They were soft and fluffy, like touching a cloud.
They were amazed by the feel of the cotton, almost forgetting their current situation. They boldly touched the cotton-padded jacket, finding it soft and warm to the touch, and were reluctant to let go.