Qin Dynasty: Who offended my frail and sickly minister?

Zhou Wenqing had no idea that the Qi state had almost driven the entire court officials crazy just to wait for them.

This Qin envoy is a bit strange; he keeps coming and coming, but he just can't seem to get here!

According to the diplomatic customs of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, before sending envoys to visit other countries, each state would first send an advance courier on horseback to deliver official documents to the country they were visiting.

The official document must clearly state the rank of the chief envoy, the number of people in the delegation, the expected date of arrival, and the reason for the mission, so that the host country can plan the accommodations in advance, arrange the reception procedures, select the chief receiving official according to the equivalent rank, adhere to diplomatic etiquette, and avoid any breaches of etiquette.

Therefore, according to the official document, the official in charge of receiving the guests should be the same as the chief envoy of Qin, namely Zhou Wenqing, the Grand Master of Agriculture and Minister of Grain Administration of Qin.

Wait a minute... Zhou Wenqing!

Is this the Zhou Wenqing they know?

Zhou Wenqing, the Inner Historian, established the Bureau of All Things!

It should be noted that the State of Qi was renowned throughout the world for its prosperous commerce.

Since the Qin King's birthday banquet, the various novel artifacts brought back by the envoy from the Qin Department of Hundred Items have become a sensation among the royal family and noble circles of Qi. After several rounds of bidding and speculation, they have become extremely rare and sought-after treasures that princes and nobles are vying to hoard.

Everyone in the world knows that all the utensils in the Department of Hundreds of Items were made by Zhou Wenqing, the chief envoy of the mission.

If we can seize this opportunity to reach a trade agreement with them, it would be a great deal!

Therefore, although the Qin envoy had clearly stated that he was there for academic exchange, there was still an undercurrent of unrest throughout the court and among the people.

If my family could secure this deal...

For a time, the entire state of Qi was bustling with activity, secretly vying for the upper hand, creating quite a stir. And now, with the outcome of this struggle finally in sight—

Suddenly, the news of Zhou Wenqing's attack and death spread like wildfire throughout the world.

And the news was confirmed, causing a nationwide uproar.

The Qi court and the public: "!!!"

Even if they were heartbroken and cursed the assassin's ancestors for eighteen generations, it was all in vain. The dead cannot be brought back to life. They had almost accepted that the trip was probably doomed, and the reception had lost its meaning. The official in charge of receiving them was even going to be dismissed...

The second document has arrived.

The Qin envoy was replaced by Fusu, the eldest son of the Qin state.

The Qi court and the public: "!!!"

As the heir apparent of Qin, Fusu's status was far beyond that of ordinary court officials, so the level of hospitality he received naturally had to be raised a notch.

Generally speaking, someone of equal status should be dispatched.

But... it's not just the eldest prince of Qin who is young; the heir apparent of Qi is also young.

Moreover, since the eldest prince of Qin is old enough to be a lord, Qi cannot be inferior in terms of pomp and circumstance, can it?

The Qi court and the public were thrown into chaos once again, with ministers debating repeatedly in the inner court without reaching a conclusion.

Just as the court assembly was in the midst of a heated debate, another urgent report crashed into the palace—Prince Fusu of Qin had been ambushed by assassins on his way!

The ruler and his ministers of Qi were all dumbfounded and looked at each other in disbelief.

So, are you coming or not?

Before long, the third document arrived.

Oh, you're coming again?

The people of Qi were devastated and had no tears left to shed.

Okay, then let's change it again.

While the delegation was still en route, the Qi state was in complete chaos, with the officials in charge of receiving them changing time and again, and the reception plan being revised three times.

Now that we've finally reached Qi territory, we have to be careful.

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I've done a major revision; this post is a bit shorter now. I'll add more later.