"Your Majesty is too worried." Chen Ke said with a hearty smile: "As your Majesty's most important minister, your Majesty, your Majesty, you should be a retinue of the Pishi Army, as you should be!"
"The scholar was so complimentary that the little king was frightened..." Yelu Yixin stroked his beard and said sincerely: "I would also like the bachelor to explain it clearly to your country to avoid misunderstanding."
"It's easy to talk about." Chen Ke nodded and smiled, then greeted Xiao Feng and said, "It's really an honor to have King Zhao and Lord Xiao come together this time. My Majesty must be very happy." Yelu Yixin is the Privy Councilor of the South Academy of Liao Kingdom.
Envoy, named King of Zhao, the most favored minister under Yeluhong's throne. Xiao Feng is the envoy of the South Court of Liao Kingdom and the most important minister of the descendants. It is already a great honor for these two to come alone, but they come together. It is really
Surprising.
"I, the kings and ministers of the Great Liao Dynasty, all respect His Majesty the Southern Dynasty, and I wish His Majesty the Southern Dynasty a long life. Your Majesty specially sent us two to express this wish." Yelu Yixin said with a smile: "What's more, the little king is on an envoy for the first time. I'm afraid he won't be considerate.
That’s why we specially invited Mr. Xiao to come with us.”
"Actually, the official was obsessed with the scenery of the Southern Dynasty, so he asked the prince to be a deputy envoy," Xiao Feng said with a smile, "It's obviously a false envoy for public benefit." The three of them laughed together.
Then Chen Ke asked about the well-being of the Liao emperor, the emperor's uncle, and others.
Yelu Yixin and Xiao Feng looked at each other, and the latter smiled and said: "Your Majesty is very energetic and fierce, and he is very good at all times. The queen is very good, and the emperor's uncle is also very good..."
Seeing that he was speaking vaguely, Chen Ke stopped asking further questions and soon entered Xiongzhou City and invited the Liao envoy to come to the post house to rest. He would host a banquet in the evening and set off for Bianjing the next day.
The diplomatic affairs between the two most powerful countries in the Eastern world cannot be careless. What's more, they are guests who come to celebrate the emperor's birthday, so they must be received seriously. From food, drink, accommodation, transportation to security, there is no mistake. Fortunately, Chen
Ke came to Xiongzhou City half a month ago and brought Zeng Bu with him as a good helper.
Zeng Bu was a very strict person, and he carefully discussed the details of the reception with the two superiors one by one until they felt that everything was at ease, and then they made arrangements. At this moment, the Liao envoy came. The reception was smooth and smooth, without any mistakes.
But what disappointed Zeng Bu was that the two Liao envoys were a little absent-minded. After staying in the exquisite and comfortable VIP room, they sent him out. They worked hard to prepare a meal, but it was just playing the piano to an ox...
When he returned to the courtyard where he lived, he saw only Chen Ke. Zeng Bu spat and said, "Are these guys pretending to be fake?"
"No." Chen Ke poured him a cup of tea and said with a smile, "I know both Yelu Yixin and Xiao Feng. I guarantee they are fake."
"Then what are they guilty of?" Zeng Bu frowned and said, "They guard me as much as they would a thief, for fear that I might steal their things."
"Did you also notice?" Chen Ke smiled lightly and said, "The Liao people are very abnormal this time."
"What's abnormal?" This was Zeng Bu's first contact with people from Liao.
"Too... so humble." Chen Ke thought for a moment and used a suitable word to describe it: "I have been on a mission to the Liao Kingdom and also received Liao envoys. When was there any time when they were not bossy and arrogant to the point of making people angry?"
"Yes, I thought they were doing it for your sake this time." Zeng Bu smiled and said, "See how much they respect you."
"That's why I'm surprised. Although I have a little reputation in the Liao Kingdom, how can I make the prince bow down?" Chen Ke shook his head and said: "It's abnormal, it's really abnormal."
"Could they have some trick up their sleeves?" Zeng Bu frowned.
"I don't know." Chen Ke stood up and said, "Uncle Lu Hui has gone to his brother to report the situation." Lu Gongzhu's younger brother Lu Gongru is the magistrate of Xiongzhou and is responsible for the defense of the border town.
"Yes. Be careful when sailing a thousand-year-old ship. You must not fall into the trap of the Liao people." Zeng Bu nodded.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Brother Chen Ke was worried about the Liao envoy's anomaly, but little did he know that the Liao envoy himself was also troubled...
In the main room of the post house, Yelu Yixin put on a comfortable and gorgeous silk robe from the Southern Dynasty and played with the Southern Dynasty porcelain on the table that looked like mutton-fat white jade. This was his usual favorite. But at this moment, his eyes wandered and he seemed absent-minded.
Hearing the knock on the door, he hurriedly turned around and saw Xiao Feng coming in. He hurriedly asked, "Are everything settled?"
"Yes." Xiao Feng nodded and said: "It is arranged in the innermost room. The three floors inside and outside are full of the most loyal guards. It is guaranteed that no bird can fly in..." After a pause, he said: "It can't fly out either."
"Sit." Yelu Yixin asked him to sit on the right side and said worriedly: "I think maybe the secret will be exposed..."
"Yes," Xiao Feng said with deep sympathy: "What a ghost, the escort turned out to be Academician Chen. I don't know if he was guilty or something. I actually heard him testing every word, as if he had noticed something strange."
"The man named Chen is the most cunning and cunning. It is really difficult to hide from him." Yelu Yixin sighed: "As soon as I saw him, my heart was in my throat."
"Yeah..." Xiao Feng also sighed, and the two of them fell into silence. After a long time, he raised his head and said, "Why don't you try to persuade that person to turn around."
"Impossible." Yelu Yixin shook his head and said: "Not to mention how to escort, but just talk about that person's temper, don't you know? Eight horses can't take back what he decided! If you dare to do it again, don't you know? Hey, believe it or not, your head is not safe!" After a pause, he said: "It's better to let your guy go back, there is someone in the country to control him, so we can rest assured."
"Do you think I didn't persuade you?" Xiao Feng said with a bitter smile: "My man said that he will live and die with your man. If he doesn't go back, she won't go back either."
With a 'pop' sound, Yelu Yixin smashed the porcelain bowl. He was obviously very angry at the attitude of the two men. But he soon realized that the other party was not one of his own, so he quickly held down the fire and said in dismay: "They are facing each other. It’s nonsense, but it scares us!”
"Since we don't want to go back, we have no choice but to go on." Xiao Feng pretended to think about himself: "Actually, even if Bachelor Chen is suspicious, as long as we keep a close eye on the person and don't let them meet, there will be no danger."
"That's easy to say." Yelu Yixin rolled his eyes and said, "With that unrestrained temper, how can you handle it? I don't have that ability!"
"Then we can't let him... mess around." Xiao Feng said with a serious face: "It concerns the safety of Daliao's society, how can we just obey?!" He said this quite tactfully, but it was actually a subtle criticism. Yelu Yixin is so charming!
"Oh, okay." At this critical moment, Yelu Yixin didn't care about him. He nodded and said: "I will try my best, but there is no guarantee that I can persuade him."
"I will make an agreement with him right now." Xiao Feng gritted his teeth and stood up and said: "If he agrees, he will continue to go south, otherwise, he will be kidnapped back at the risk of death!"
"People say Brother Xiao is a loyal man, but today I found out that the rumors are true!" Yelu Yixin said with a somewhat moved expression, "Just wait, let's go together at night. If we don't agree, we won't leave!"
"Okay!" Xiao Feng clasped his fists and said, "Only if the prince follows his lead!"
"Alas," Yelu Yi said with a hard smile: "We can help each other in harmony, we can help each other in harmony..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The banquet in the evening was quite satisfactory. Although the etiquette was exactly the same, there was no competition in literary talent, martial arts, or drinking capacity... These are reserved items between the envoys of the two countries, which always made people feel that they forgot to add salt in the cooking, which was really bland and tasteless.
What was even more strange to the people of the Song Dynasty was that the people of the Liao Dynasty, who were usually very fond of wine, actually drank a little and no one drank too much. In short, the envoys of the Liao Dynasty were extremely well-behaved this time. They were afraid of stepping on the ants of the Southern Dynasty when they walked, lest they would have an affair with the people of the Song Dynasty.
What happened? The banquet ended early and everyone went back to their rooms to sleep.
This made the Song people even more worried. Did the Liao people want to seize the city at night?
It’s no wonder people in the Song Dynasty were worried, because the predecessor of Xiongzhou City was Waqiao Pass. Since the Tang Dynasty, the Han people had set up officials here to protect themselves from the Khitan. It is located to the north of Baiyangdian, south of the Juma River, and connected to the important towns in central Hebei in the south.
The position is very important. When Shi Jingtang ceded the Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures to the Liao Kingdom, the three passes including Waqiao were owned by the Khitan. Later, Chai Rong used troops against the Khitan and recovered the Ying, Mo and San of the Yanyun Sixteen Prefectures.
Pass', and then built Xiongzhou at Waqiao Pass and Bazhou City at Yijin Pass to show that they would never give up. This established the national boundary between the two countries today.
After that, the Khitan people never forgot to regain this "Four States and One Pass"... They always said that this place was ceded to them by the Emperor of the Central Plains. If Chai Rong took it back, it would be an invasion of their territory, so they must take it back. Could it be that this
This time they don't plan to waste any more words. Do they want to take back Xiongzhou City by cooperating with the inside and outside of the envoy?
Chen Ke had to admit that at that time, he thought about the Trojan horse plan to massacre the city, Li Xiangyang entering the city to explode arms, Walter defending Sarajevo...
In short, all kinds of worrying thoughts occupied Xueshi Chen's delicate heart, making him extremely nervous.
At this time, Lu Gongru brought an astonishing news. The spies came to report that the most elite Pishi army in the Liao Kingdom was concentrated in Luanhe, less than a hundred miles away from Xiongzhou!
"Nanqiu!" Lu Gong showed a ferocious expression on his usually lazy face, and drew out his long sword and said: "Strike first will gain the upper hand, and then you will suffer disaster. Chop them clean before talking!"
Everyone was quite moved. Since they knew that the Liao delegation came with evil intentions, of course they had to be eliminated first.
But the people who made the decision here were Lu Gongru and Chen Ke. The former was the highest military and political officer of Xiongzhou, and the latter was the imperial envoy.
"What do you think of Zhiqing?" Chen Ke asked. Lu Gongru's courtesy name is Zhiqing.
"This..." Lu Gongru really couldn't make a decision. After all, after the Chanyuan Alliance, the two countries had not known each other for a long time. What's more, there was still the bond of the alliance, and the Liao Kingdom had always kept its promise. How could it suddenly break the agreement?
"You are talking." Lu Gong said angrily: "How can you hesitate at this time!"
"This matter is really closely related." Lu Gongru gathered his thoughts and said, "If we strike first, we will be the first to tear up the peace treaty!"
