The King of Nanzhao was not sure what this meant, but some people in the crowd had been to the Tang Dynasty and were familiar with some of its customs and habits. After seeing this, these people chose to shut up.
The Tang Dynasty Crown Prince mocked the Queen Mother. This was a matter between the top leaders, and no one, including the King, said anything. Even if we knew about this, if we stood up and said something nonsense, we, the little shrimps, would be the ones who would be sacrificed in the end.
Besides, whether the king knows it or not is known only to the king. If the king pretends to be ignorant while knowing the truth, and we go out to try to be clever, we will be seeking death.
What followed was a series of tedious rituals, such as kneeling down to pay homage to these people in the ancestral temple. Of course, that was Princess Yongning and the Nanzhao royal family kneeling down. For Li Xiang, he only needed to bend down slightly, and the matter would be over.
This was already a great honor. If he were in Chang'an City, Li Xiang probably wouldn't have needed to kneel down to worship Princess Yongning, let alone Cheng Luan's ancestors. Now, just standing at the door for a while was already a lot.
After everything was done, it was time to visit the Queen Mother, but the Queen Mother herself saved the matter, so Li Xiang just bowed in the direction of the Queen Mother and kept things simple.
Not to mention anything else, just the fact that Li Xiang went through a series of procedures left a good impression on the high-level people in Nanzhao. In their hearts, Li Xiang was the third most important person in the Tang Dynasty. Even if he was an ordinary royal family member of the Tang Dynasty, I am afraid that people would not follow you to go through these cumbersome etiquette.
On the surface, the two countries are equal, but the specific situation still needs to be analyzed in detail. Your Nanzhao has a population of at most one million, which is not as large as a larger city in the Tang Dynasty. If Li Xiang was really unhappy, these ceremonies could probably be omitted, but Li Xiang still participated on time, which shows that he is very approachable.
"Come and meet your brother-in-law."
After this series of ceremonies were completed, it was almost time for dinner. However, there was another procedure before dinner, which was to let Li Xiang get familiar with the people of the Nanzhao royal family.
Li Xiang knew the boy in front of him. He was the eldest prince of Nanzhao. This guy wanted to go to Chang'an with Li Xiang, but Li Xiang had not agreed yet. He had not formally agreed at that time. Now with the matter of the list from Prince Zhennan, it was even less likely that Li Xiang would agree directly. He was thinking about how to reject this matter.
If he wanted to develop a vassal state, then this kid must follow him back to Chang'an, and only then would it be legitimate. But if he wanted to completely occupy this place, then there must be chaos here. If it is so stable, it would be disadvantageous for Li Xiang to come here.
The people there are already living a good life. Don't spread the word about how powerful your Tang Dynasty is. After you came, you plunged this place into war. It will probably take more than ten years to win back the people's hearts.
But if there had been fighting before you arrived, and the people were living in dire straits, and you had come from the north and made their lives stable again, then the people would be grateful to you. As for their former royal mothers, would they even remember them? Thinking of them would only bring pain, and they would not want to think about them at all. As for the younger generation, they might even regard these former royal family members as sinners.
Li Xiang understood this mentality very well, so he could not agree to let this kid go to Chang'an now. He had to let the Prince of Zhennan and the King fight each other, and then he would see the situation and make a decision.
After the boy and the other princes finished kneeling, Li Xiang immediately asked his men to bring out gifts. Although he had given gifts last time, this time he was the man's brother-in-law, so he had to kneel down to present the gifts. These were all high-end study treasures purchased from Chang'an City.
After all, it is a small border country. Although it also has the Four Treasures of the Study, they are far inferior to those produced in the Tang Dynasty. When Qian Ping took out the gifts, even though these people were princes of foreign countries or young masters of major families, their eyes lit up at this moment. The gap in products between the two countries was too big, and it was also because their countries were too small.
At this time, Li Xiang may also understand the emperors of all dynasties. When the emperors of all dynasties interacted with the kings of the vassal states, it was no wonder that these emperors looked down on them. After all, they had the same expression for every thing we took out. You have at most one or two things that can catch the emperor's eye, so why should they look down on you?
When Li Xiang first arrived, the King of Nanzhao wanted to settle this matter, but Li Xiang never gave a direct answer. However, Li Xiang did not express any objection, so the King of Nanzhao had the news spread. When Li Xiang returned to the capital, he would definitely bring this person with him. Now it was time to settle the matter.
According to the previous schedule, after Li Xiang got married, he certainly could not stay here for too long, so he had to return to Chang'an in a dozen days. In addition to the eldest prince, there were some other young talents, and they now had to start packing their luggage and the people who followed them.
"These children won't gain much knowledge in Nanzhao. When Your Highness returns, I implore you to take them back to Chang'an so they can study the world's most profound Confucianism. This will give them a bit of scholarly spirit, so they can better guard the southern gate of the Tang Dynasty in the future."
In order to accomplish this, the King of Nanzhao could be said to have lowered his position very low. Li Xiang was a little embarrassed for a while. He didn't know how to push away the King of Zhennan before, and now he didn't know how to push away His Majesty the King.
Li Xiang kept winking at Lord Cui, saying that this matter concerned the affairs of your Ministry of Rites, and Lord Cui also knew what Li Xiang was thinking, so he needed his help now.
"Your Majesty, the prince is coming to Chang'an. This is an honor for all of Chang'an. However, because there are so many princes from various countries visiting Chang'an, the emperor has ordered the establishment of guild halls for various countries. The site selection for the Nanzhao guild hall has been delayed, so the prince may wish to hold off for a while..."
The Cui family wasn't stupid, so after receiving Li Xiang's gaze, they immediately connected the situation in Chang'an City. It wouldn't be easy to stop you, but delaying you for a while wouldn't be a problem...
