The first year of Kaibao entered the leap twelfth month, which made the end of the year seem very long. After entering the second twelfth lunar month of this year, Emperor Liu's mood improved a lot. He was used to the turmoil of the world and had nothing to worry about.
Of course, two things happened that made Liu Chengyou happy. One was that another child was born in the palace. Qin Mei, who had been in the palace for two years, gave birth to the emperor's thirteenth son. The other was that the seriously ill Duke of Wei, Murong Yanzhao, was in poor health. He gradually improved, and Emperor Liu was delighted when he heard about it, and specially summoned him and Li Gu to the palace. The three of them happily gathered for a small banquet.
Facts have proved that Emperor Liu is really not a person who can remain calm and cultivate his moral character for a long time. After a long time, he suddenly felt boring. Being freed from the heavy government affairs changed the previous life state of being upbeat and sleeping, which certainly made Emperor Liu It feels much more relaxed, but the price of leisure is that it gradually turns into emptiness.
Emperor Liu is not a person who has much interest in life. He does not have too much love for things. He does not have high requirements for food, clothing, housing and transportation. Reading and practicing martial arts are just an adjustment. It is also a kind of torture for him to devote himself to it for a long time.
As for beauty, although the beauties in the harem are very tempting, after noticing the decline in physical fitness, they also consciously control the frequency of sexual intercourse.
As for other entertainment activities, he has tried them, but they are all superficial and nothing that particularly interests him. In terms of faith, Emperor Liu is even less interested. He neither believes in Buddhism nor practices Taoism. Confucian etiquette is just a tool for governance. That's all...
In fact, in the eyes of many people, it was Emperor Liu's character that allowed him to maintain his focus on national affairs and military affairs for a long time. It was indeed a great blessing for the people of the country that the emperor did not indulge in selfish matters.
After feeling boring and boring, Emperor Liu's mind changed again, and his attention to the country and military affairs also increased. However, he did not "come back" rashly.
He began to frequently go to the three libraries to read the compilation of "National History" and "Records", discuss political strategies with historians and scholars, and personally intervene in the revision of "Han Huidian". At the same time, he continued to read case files from various ministries and departments. , Wude Division, Imperial City Division also took the time to review the secret files...
With the adjustment of these things, Emperor Liu's "emptiness" was alleviated. In fact, his performance and mentality can be described in one sentence: A man cannot be without power for a day.
On the surface, although I feel tired and want to rest due to the heavy workload of the government, once I relax, there is nothing else to do to fill it, and it is difficult to adapt.
As for delegating power, Emperor Liu can never do it completely. Everything must be under his control of the country. If something makes him feel that it is out of his control, then the dormant Emperor Liu may be able to do it again. Will show his fangs.
"Guan family, King Dongping wants to see you!"
"Xuan!"
When he learned that Zhao Kuangzan was coming to the court, Emperor Liu was practicing archery. One arrow hit the target steadily and was not far from the bull's eye. This gave Emperor Liu the illusion that if he continued practicing, his archery skills might be perfect.
Of course, an illusion is always just an illusion. Shooting a fixed target is so strenuous, let alone a moving target, let alone shooting from a mounted...
Emperor Liu took an arrow, continued to position himself to aim, adjusted his breathing, released it, the string trembled, and the arrow shot straight to the target.
"Good archery skills!" Zhao Kuangzan's admiration came to his ears, and he almost applauded.
Turning his head, he saw Zhao Kuang, the king of Dongping, wearing a white python robe, walking towards him slowly, with an obviously flattering smile on his face. Although Emperor Liu knew it was a compliment, he was still in a good mood and said to the guard on the side: "Give it to Dongping The king is preparing his bow and arrows, and I am in high spirits. Let us compete with each other!"
"Your Majesty is a master of shooting, I am ashamed of myself!" Zhao Kuangzan said modestly, but he still naturally took off his robe and took the carved bow.
"If you praise me again, I will blush! But we have agreed not to give in!" Emperor Liu laughed and praised Zhao Kuang.
Zhao Kuangzan was considered the queen of the generals after all, and he practiced riding and shooting a lot on weekdays. Liu Chengyou couldn't be his opponent in these two attacks. Plus, he had something to say, and after ten arrows, he was completely defeated.
However, maybe Emperor Liu's shooting skills really improved, and Zhao Kuangzan "barely" won.
Shaking his aching hands, he sat on the chair next to him. Yantuo quickly took a mink fur and put it on him to avoid catching cold. He signaled Zhao Kuang to agree to sit down and took a sip of hot wine before Emperor Liu asked: "What do you mean, Qing Zhao is here?"
Zhao Kuangzan now holds the position of Minister of Rites, which is considered to be a more important job than a noble one, but this does not hinder his status in the court. There are some things that do not require him to report to the emperor, but he still comes at the right time. The point is not In terms of reporting matters, it is to strengthen the relationship with the emperor and maintain emotional connection.
Of course, since he is here, he still has something to report. Zhao Kuangzan said: "The envoy from Korea was found and rescued by Dengzhou fishermen. Now he has arrived in Tokyo!"
It turned out that King Wang Zhao of Goryeo had once again sent an envoy to the court. This time the envoy was very large, with nearly two hundred people. They brought a large amount of treasures and local products, and also sent some nobles and young officials, and several others. Goryeo beauty.
In addition to paying tribute and strengthening ties with the Han Dynasty, it was also to please the court and the emperor, and at the same time, it also meant to continue to learn the system and culture of the Central Plains.
In recent years, relying on the good relationship with the court, the King of Goryeo has achieved great results in domestic reforms. The royal power has been strengthened and he has made ample benefits. In addition, the economic ties have become increasingly close, and the relationship between the two countries is in a positive state. In the sweet phase...
However, this envoy was destined to have bad luck. During the journey across the sea, he encountered a shipwreck, the ship capsized, and almost no survivors. What Zhao Kuangzan reported was that the only survivor, named Shizan, luckily landed on the island. Rescued by fishermen out to sea.
This shipwreck was also a disaster for the Goryeo Kingdom. Not only was a large amount of tribute money lost, but more importantly, among the lost mission personnel, there were too many young talents from Goryeo, whom Wang Zhao had high hopes for. , the future of the Goryeo Kingdom...
In this regard, Emperor Liu had some dark thoughts in his heart, which was reflected in a slightly unkind smile on his face as he waved his hands: "The sea is vast, deep and ruthless, and I don't want to see such a disaster happen. The loss of the envoy is extremely regrettable, and the court should express its gratitude. The envoy who survived went through a life-and-death crisis, and it was not easy. The Ministry of Rites took good care of him. In addition, an envoy was also arranged to go to Goryeo to offer condolences in return. Bar!"
"Yes!" Zhao Kuangzan responded with his hands raised.
"In addition, Ding'an State has sent envoys to the court again, and I hope they can be included!" Zhao Kuangzan said.
"Huh?" Emperor Liu keenly sensed something was wrong and said, "They are far away in the Northeast, their hometown on the Bohai Sea. How can they be included? What happened behind this?"
"Your Majesty is wise!" Zhao Kuang praised him, and then explained: "According to the envoy, they have a small territory, few people, poor country, and weak army. They are no longer able to be independent. Recently, the military threat from the Liao Kingdom has become more serious, and they may be worried about the destruction of the country.
.What they are asking is for a small number of nobles to move out and come over the sea to surrender!"
"Isn't this fantastic?" Emperor Liu couldn't help but shook his head, pondered for a moment, and raised a point: "Since they have thoughts of abandoning the country, they obviously feel a crisis. Could it be that the Liao Kingdom really wants to use troops to destroy it?"
Zhao Kuangzan then said: "I believe that this possibility is not impossible. Although Ding'an Kingdom is just a small country formed by a group of survivors, it is unlikely to cause serious trouble, but after all, it is located in its rear and does not obey its rule. If in order to eliminate hidden dangers behind it,
There is no guarantee that there will be no troops. With the strength of the Khitan people, it is not difficult to wipe out just a few and ensure the safety of the country!"
"Since people have asked for help in Tokyo, as a big country, naturally they cannot ignore it and should shoulder their responsibilities!" Emperor Liu expressed his attitude and turned to ask Zhao Kuangzan: "How do you think the court should respond?"
Zhao Kuangzan had obviously prepared a plan and reported: "The two countries are separated by mountains and seas, and there are Khitans blocking each other, so it is obviously unrealistic to attach them to each other. I believe that the Ding'an Kingdom's occupation of the Bohai Sea is more importantly backed by Goryeo. Now the Goryeo envoy is in Beijing
,Mo Ruo can think of a way to go to Korea..."
After listening to his suggestion, Emperor Liu immediately came to his senses and smiled at Zhao Kuangzan: "Okay! Let's do it this way! Zhao Qing will coordinate this matter!"