The royal seal lay on the ground, and so did the King of Yue and his ministers.
Zhang Youren made a clear show of lofty aloofness, and the King of Yue could not help lowering his head a little further.
After struggling for a long time, the King of Yue finally squeezed out a question: "What guidance do you have for me, sir?"
He was deeply unwilling, but he had no choice. Before, Zhang Youren had been the one enduring everything. Now that King Zhou had achieved his aim, it was naturally his turn to endure.
Zhang Youren remained bewildered for a long while.
Guidance? I could hardly presume to offer guidance.
He had no idea what had happened. He had simply endured, endured, and endured some more. How had their positions as host and guest suddenly reversed?
He truly did not know what to do next, and King Zhou had specifically instructed him not to speak.
Silence.
For a time, the only sound in the great hall was the defending general's barking. He dared not stop.
After a long while, the King of Yue stood, flicked his sleeves, and gently shook the dirt from his clothes.
He had offered both outward deference and real submission, yet Zhang Youren still said nothing. The meaning was obvious: he had not given enough.
Indeed, though a king like him had already barked like a dog and sworn eternal submission, those were ultimately things he could overturn at will.
Had he not said such things during his court visits last year and the year before?
When Great Shang had been powerful, had there been any shortage of people submitting?
Yet the feudal lords had rebelled all the same.
"I understand. What does King Zhou want me to give?"
The King of Yue spread