BXBX NOVEL Chapter 171 - Do You Mind Changing Your Weapon? (1)
He put away the banknotes and went back to his room to wash up. Then he changed his clothes and got into the carriage to leave.
Soon after, he arrived at the great general’s residence.
Meng Bai had already stepped down from his position as great general, but everyone was still used to calling him great general.
When Zhou Shu saw Meng Bai, Meng Bai was sitting on a rocking chair under the shade of a tree like an ordinary old man.
“Greetings, Great General.” Zhou Shu arrived in front of Meng Bai and cupped his hands.
Meng Bai opened his eyes and said with a smile, “Welcome. I won’t stand on ceremony with you. Feel free to sit.”
He didn’t stand up. It was not because he was rude to Zhou Shu but because his physical condition was truly deteriorating day by day.
“What are your orders, Great General?” Zhou Shu said respectfully.
Meng Bai was a legendary figure, and he was old enough to be Zhou Shu’s grandfather. It was not wrong to be respectful.
“I don’t have any orders.” Meng Bai shook his head. “You Marquis, you are the official envoy of the diplomatic mission, so I naturally have to explain these things to you.”
For this trip to Great Qin, it was unknown what Emperor Yuan Feng was thinking, but he actually had Meng Bai follow the diplomatic mission.
Could it be that he didn’t know that Meng Bai’s current condition couldn’t withstand hardship?
Even though Mi Ziwen and Meng Bai had both said that it was Meng Bai who wanted to follow the diplomatic mission this time, Zhou Shu still didn’t understand why Meng Bai did this.
He had heard of emperors casting people aside once they were no longer needed, but Meng Bai was already in such poor condition. By right, Emperor Yuan Feng didn’t have to deal with him anymore.
He sent an old official with outstanding achievements to follow the diplomatic mission. Was he not afraid that if Meng Bai died on the road, his name would be forever tarnished?
Zhou Shu was puzzled, but he didn’t ask Meng Bai.
From Meng Bai’s appearance, it really didn’t seem like he was forced by Emperor Yuan
Feng.
“There are a total of two thousand guards in the diplomatic mission this time. The ones selected are elites from the Country Protector Army and the Demon Executing Army. There are also some people from the Divine Constable Bureau. The commander of the guards is General Chen Ji. He has followed me for many years and has always been reliable. He has never made any mistakes,” Meng Bai said to Zhou Shu.
Although he would move along with the diplomatic mission, considering his status and physical condition, it was impossible for him to be the commander of the guards.
After hearing Meng Bai’s explanation, Zhou Shu had a more direct understanding of this diplomatic mission.
It had to be said that this diplomatic mission was an enormous entity.
Apart from the 2,000 guards, the rest of the people, including Zhou Shu, the official and deputy envoys, the staff, and the servants and maids, numbered in the thousands.
A diplomatic mission with more than 3,000 people gave Zhou Shu a headache just thinking about it.
Fortunately, he was the leader and didn’t need to worry about many trivial matters.
“Great General, what do I need to do?” Zhou Shu really didn’t know what he was supposed to do as the official envoy.
Meng Bai had arranged guards, and Shi Songtao had arranged the other trivial matters in the diplomatic mission.
After thinking about it, he still felt that he was most suitable as a mascot.
“You don’t need to worry about these trivial matters. The only thing you need to worry about is how to let Great Xia host the next Ten Nations Martial Arts Tournament,” Meng Bai said.
“Great General, I can’t guarantee that.” Zhou Shu shook his head.
He didn’t even know what kind of challenges Great Qin had set up, so he naturally wouldn’t take on everything.
To put it bluntly, Zhou Shu didn’t care whether or not Great Xia would be able to become the host of the next Ten Nations Martial Arts Tournament.
As for gaining merit? Only someone without a noble title like Shi Songtao was in a hurry to gain merit.
He was already the You Marquis. Did he need to gain more merits?
“Just do your best,” Meng Bai said casually. Then he introduced the identities of the various generals in the diplomatic mission to Zhou Shu.
After Zhou Shu memorized them, before leaving, he finally couldn’t help asking, “Great General, let me say something more. Why do you have to follow the diplomatic mission?”
“You have your mission, and I also have mine. These have nothing to do with you, so you don’t have to worry.” Meng Bai shook his head. “You only need to treat me like an ordinary staff officer in the diplomatic mission.”
An ordinary staff officer? How can you be ordinary! Zhou Shu thought. But since Meng Bai isn’t willing to say anything, I shouldn’t probe further. Anyway, I’m just curious.
Who cares what motives Meng Bai has, as long as it doesn’t affect me.
Zhou Shu was very clear about his decision. He was going to Great Qin to find workers!
Everything else was up to fate…
…
The next morning, Zhou Shu departed from the You Marquis’s mansion and arrived at the gathering point of the diplomatic mission. The composition of the diplomatic mission this time was very complicated. Many people had been transferred from various parts of Great Xia, so they had arrived at the capital early and checked into the post house.
Zhou Shu thought that he had arrived very early. But when he arrived, Shi Songtao was already having a meeting with a group of people.
“Hello, everyone.” Zhou Shu waved at the crowd. Then… he didn’t know what to say.
“Marquis, this is…” Shi Songtao’s expression darkened, and he stepped forward to break the stalemate. One by one, he introduced the members of the diplomatic mission to Zhou Shu.
They were mainly the Forging Masters and the officials of the Ministry of Rites. The officials were in charge of formal negotiations with Great Qin.
As for the Forging Masters, they were responsible for dealing with the difficult challenges set up by Great Qin.
After all, it was related to forging.
What puzzled Zhou Shu was that the diplomatic mission only had Forging Masters but not even one Grand Craftsman.