The banquet held in the Chengxian Hall in the evening was very luxurious and sumptuous. The palace had not been so extravagant for a long time. In order to show respect for the Daliao imperial envoy, even Queen Su Jianli came over and toasted Xiao Luan in person. They talked a few words.
After saying a word of condolences, Su Jianli did not stay at the banquet for a long time. He accompanied Emperor Xiao and Liu Ling to say a few words and then returned to his palace.
And Xiao Luan, who was very proud of having just been a teacher to Liu Ling, the loyal king of the Han Dynasty, was immediately shocked when he saw Su Jianli. It was not that he had never seen a beautiful woman before, but it was the first time he had seen such a graceful and luxurious woman.
Although he had also met the wife of Yeluji, the king of the southern palace of Liao Dynasty, Princess Xiao had a wild temperament like a she-wolf, and she was a completely different type of person from Su Jianli.
If Princess Xiao is a rose with thorns, then Su Jianli is a graceful peony. Fortunately, Xiao Luan knew his identity and did not show any rude behavior. But in his heart, he couldn't help but think,
Why can't I find such a woman as my wife?
With his status, although he is not respected in Daliao, there are still many women who take the initiative to embrace him, but those women are like dewdrops in the morning, they will disappear without a trace as soon as the sun comes up. So in Xiao
Their shadow will not be left in Luan's heart, and those women who want to gain wealth from him are not worthy of his nostalgia.
So after Su Jianli left, he even felt that the originally luxurious dinner was boring.
But in general, the atmosphere of this dinner was very harmonious. Both the guests and the host deliberately kept silent about the interception of the Xixia cavalry on the way. Emperor Xiao couldn't stop praising the greatness of Yelu Xiongji, the hero of the Liao Kingdom, saying that he was the leader on the grassland.
The wolf has the strongest body and also has wings that only the Wolf King has. As long as the Wolf King flutters its wings and flies high, the whole world will surrender under the Wolf King's feet.
Xiao Luan also praised Emperor Xiao's wisdom. He said that only the smartest people would make the right choices. Only those who loyally stand by the Wolf King would get the richest pastures and the flowers of the Central Plains.
The world also praised Liu Ling, the loyal king of Han Dynasty, for his bravery. Under the care of the Wolf King, he gained the greatest courage and defeated the menacing 200,000-strong army of the Zhou Kingdom.
All the civil and military officials of the Northern Han Dynasty took turns toasting to Xiao Luan. Unknowingly, Xiao Luan, who thought he had a great capacity for drinking, got drunk. He even forgot how he got back to the room, let alone the handle that Emperor Xiao had given him.
Did Yu Ruyi bring it back? In his sleep, the corners of his mouth curled up, as if he had had a sweet and beautiful dream.
The next day, he didn't wake up until three o'clock in the morning. He wanted to sit up, but he didn't have any strength and his headache felt like it was about to split. Xiao Luan thought for a while and thought that he would stay in Northern Han for a few days anyway. As for Sui Gong's
It would not be too late to bring the matter up to Emperor Xiao tomorrow, so he drank a bowl of hot soup under the service of the maid and fell asleep again.
Two Khitan warriors stood loyally at his door, their hands always on the handles of the scimitars at their waists. Both of them received very generous rewards, each of them twenty taels of gold and five bolts of brocade.
, and two fine horizontal knives used by the Han people.
This made both of them very happy that they did not die under the sword of the Xixia cavalry. With such a reward, they could live a good life even after returning to Youzhou.
Chengxian Hall
Emperor Xiao also drank a lot last night, but he didn't give himself an excuse to sleep in. After returning to Chengxian Hall, he continued to review the memorials as usual until the end of the day, when he lay down to rest.
I freshened myself up under the waiter, then sorted out the memorials for review and went to the Zhengtai Hall for the morning.
The memorial on the top of his desk was rushed six hundred miles from Ping'an County, Gyeongju. Emperor Xiao read Zhou Yangong's memorial twice, and he was so angry when he read it the first time.
He threw the teacup on the case. If Xiao Liuzi hadn't knelt down to dissuade him, he even wanted to overturn the Long Case. When he read it for the second time, his mood had obviously calmed down a lot, except for the occasional cold flash in his eyes.
It scared Xiao Liuzi until he felt uncomfortable all over.
After thinking about it, Emperor Xiao decided to suppress the memorial and put it on the dragon table without bringing it to the court. Although he was an emperor, some things were still difficult to do as he pleased. The common people said that it was good to be an emperor, and they thought that being an emperor was a good thing.
Who would have thought that the emperor's grievances were no less than theirs. Sometimes, ordinary people could make decisions simply and neatly, but the emperor could not.
The Ouyang family and the Su family, these two famous families, are now like two cancers in the Northern Han Dynasty. With these two cancers, the body of the Northern Han Dynasty, which is not strong, becomes increasingly weak. Although the Su family is not rebellious, it is
They have never planned to share the same boat with the Northern Han Dynasty. They can secretly communicate with the Later Zhou Dynasty when the Later Zhou Dynasty attacks, and they can also secretly communicate with the Western Xia Dynasty when the Western Xia Dynasty attacks. Anyway, no matter who is the emperor, the Su family will be ready to follow the dragon.
As for the Ouyang family, the late emperor used too many people named Ouyang in order to stabilize the family. Although Zhongshu Ling Ouyang Renhe stepped down, there are still at least seven or eight people named Ouyang in the court, and almost all of them have high positions!
Four of the twelve state capitals in the country are controlled by the Ouyang family, especially Qingzhou Prefecture, the lifeblood of the Northern Han Dynasty. The largest granary is in the hands of Ouyang Zhuan.
Anyone who is not a fool can see Ouyang Zhuan's rebellious intentions. When Liu Ling led a hundred thousand troops to fight against Zhou soldiers in the south, he seemed to be taking the opportunity to rebel. If Emperor Xiao was not determined to give him more troops,
And Gyeongju Prefecture has suffered from successive droughts. Most of the people are in exile and it is really hard to recruit soldiers. It would be strange if Ouyang Zhuan doesn't fight back!
Moreover, Ouyang Ming, the governor of Huaizhou County in the north, and He Kun, the commander of the Jianxiong Army, are sworn brothers. The yamen of the commander of the Jianxiong Army is in Huaizhou Prefecture. If the Ouyang family is cornered, there is no guarantee that He Kun will not be attracted by the Ouyang family. Six
Wan Jianxiong's army is the barrier to the northwest of the Northern Han Dynasty. If Jianxiong's army rebels, the Northern Han Dynasty will not be far from being destroyed.
That's why Emperor Xiao promoted He Kun again. With his achievements in conquering two barren small counties in the later weeks, he could not have received such a high reward. He was granted the title of marquis and general, and he was already the number one among the military generals. That's not it.
Just to appease him and prevent him from being bewitched by the Ouyang family and rebel?
The south is finally stable, but the north makes people feel uneasy. If the loyal king Liu Ling is not intimidated by the victorious military power, there is no guarantee that someone will not take the opportunity to cause chaos in such a corrupt national situation.
When Emperor Xiao, who was worried, arrived at the Zhengtai Hall, hundreds of officials were already waiting in the main hall. Because the Northern Han Dynasty was so small, the hundreds of officials who went to court were not divided into officials of the three dynasties, officials of the six dynasties, and officials of the ninth dynasty.
Basically, Beijing officials above the fourth rank must attend the morning court every day.
After three cheers, the civil and military officials took their places.
An Yuan, the deacon and eunuch of the Zhengtai Palace, shouted in a male duck's voice: "If there is any problem, report it early; if there is no problem, leave the court!"
Everyone knows that this is just a statement. Ever since Emperor Xiao came to the throne, there has never been a day when the court has nothing to do. Things big and small did not seem cumbersome to the late Emperor Liu Ye, and Liu Ye did not seem to have so many things to do when he did not go to court.
It cannot be solved. It is obvious that His Majesty is a hundred times more diligent than the late Emperor, but it seems that there are things that cannot be solved.
Liu Ling stood at the head of the hundred officials. He originally enjoyed the honor of sitting in the court, but Liu Ling felt that as a minister, he should act like a minister. The little eunuch would carry the stool up every day, but he never sat on it once
Pass.
Emperor Xiao felt tired for the first time in the morning today. Even when he was seriously ill some time ago, he had never felt such a powerless feeling. Although he seemed to be in good spirits, no one could notice the tears in his eyes.
haggard.
"Lu Sen, how are you preparing for Sui Gong?"
Emperor Xiao stretched his body to make himself more comfortable and asked.
Lu Sen went out to report: "Your Majesty, if Daliao does not increase the amount of annual tribute, the indemnity for Zhou's defeat, plus the inventory of the treasury, can barely make up the annual tribute. If it is based on what the imperial envoy Xiao Luan proposed,
Even with all the efforts of the whole country, we cannot raise the amount."
Emperor Xiao frowned. He knew the answer. Although he was upset after hearing this, he had to pretend to ask. Liu Ling had told him his plan a few days ago. Although the strategy was quite sinister, but now
That was the only way to go. Now that he had a plan in mind, he wasn't very impatient.
"This matter is not urgent. I will discuss it with Xiao Luan personally in the next few days, and we will discuss it again after the discussion is complete."
Emperor Xiao asked again: "How is the investigation of Sima Lu's case going? Has the murderer been caught?"
Pei Hao, the Secretary of the Ministry of Punishment, came out and said: "Your Majesty, according to the news we just received, the suspect who killed Lord Sima, Peng Zhan, appeared in Ping'an County under the jurisdiction of Qingzhou Prefecture three days ago. The officers of the Ministry of Punishment have now rushed to Ping'an County, but
The thief is so cunning that he has already escaped."
Emperor Xiao nodded and said: "Sima Lu is an important minister of my great Han Dynasty. Both the late emperor and I admire him very much. That Peng Zhan must be caught. I will send a letter to the sea to increase the amount of the reward. If I find this person
Those who trace the thief will be rewarded with a hundred taels of silver, and those who capture or kill the thief will be rewarded with a thousand taels of silver."
Pei Hao bowed and said: "I obey your order."
Emperor Xiao hummed and turned to look at his ninth brother. Only when he looked at Liu Ling again did a smile appear on his face.
"Prince Zhong, do you have anything to report?"
Liu Ling took two steps forward, bowed and said: "I am reporting to your majesty that my general Hua Ling is loyal to the emperor and patriotic, has outstanding military exploits, and has courage that no man can match. Now that the northwest border is unstable, I would like to send Hua Ling."
Go to Anyuan County in the northwest to recruit civilians and train new soldiers to prepare for emergencies and nip them in the bud."
Emperor Xiao nodded and said: "You can make up your mind on military matters. It's time for us big men to train their troops. The Western Xia people's ambition has long been to swallow up our country, so it is natural for them to send generals to guard the border areas. King Chu said
He is guarding the border in Anyuan, and Hua Ling can help him when he gets there."
After thinking about it, Emperor Xiao asked: "Hua Ling? Is he the Hua Sanlang who shot Sun Xuandao, the old marshal of the Zhou army, before the formation?"
Liu Ling said: "Exactly."
A few days ago, Yang Ye, who was serving in the Youwei Guard, received news through the Shadow Guard that Sun Xuandao, the general of the Zhou Army who had experienced two emperors and hundreds of battles, died of his injuries. This is definitely a news for the Northern Han Dynasty.
The good news is really encouraging.
Emperor Xiao smiled and said: "I feel relieved to have such a tiger general guarding the northwest border. According to my decree, the Jin Dynasty made Hualing a third-rank Huaihua general and a Marquis of Guan Nei. He chose a day to go to Anyuan to assist the King of Chu in training new soldiers. You can't
Lazy."
Liu Ling bowed and said: "Thank you, Your Majesty!"
What happened in the morning meeting came to Xiao Luan's ears for no reason after he woke up at noon. When he heard that Emperor Xiao approved Liu Ling's suggestion and sent Liu Ling's general Hua Ling to the northwest to train new soldiers, Xiao Luan
Immediately, his beard curled up in anger. He patted the bed and shouted: "A child cannot be taught! Rotten wood cannot be carved! Liu Ling, Liu Ling, why are you so reckless!"
PS: My neck hurts so much that I can’t even sit for a long time without sweating. I’ll give it two updates today. I don’t dare to add it to my collection. I’m sorry. (To be continued)
