Like any other time in the past, the argument developed into a quarrel, and there was still no result. However, Zhao Zhen would not get along with Xini this time. After the dispute between the ministers, he slowly said: "The sage said, I am very happy to have friends from afar.
Since the emperor of Liao dares to come to Bianjing, why don’t I still refuse to entertain him?” He said with finality: “I will hold a welcome banquet for the Lord of Liao tomorrow, and all the ministers will attend!”
"According to the decree..." Since the emperor was so determined, the ministers had no choice but to agree.
Then a decree came down, and the mission of Kaifeng Mansion soldiers changed from encirclement to defense.
It also made Chen Ke, who was standing at the door of the Liao embassy, feel that the burden on his shoulders was lightened.
"This time Xueshi Chen won again," Zhao Zonghui said with a smile: "I hope you will have such good luck next time..." He waved his hand and said: "Let's go!" He was not interested in giving it.
The Emperor of Liao is standing guard.
"..." Staring at his back, Chen Ke felt inexplicably uneasy. This feeling had been present for a long time... From the assassination of Chen Xiliang, to the explosion in the arena, and the siege of the Liao embassy, Zhao Zongshi and his group
They all give people the feeling of being broken. Do they really plan to die after enjoying the addiction, without any regard for the fate of themselves and their families after King Qi ascends to the throne?
Chen Ke shook his head, thinking that he still couldn't be careless, he had to keep an eye on these guys at all times!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Qianyuan Festival on April 14th is a festival established to celebrate the birthday of Emperor Zhao Zhen. As a rule, the emperor will sit in the palace on this day, and all the civil and military officials will go to the palace to celebrate his birthday and offer birthday wine. Then the emperor will retire.
Entering another hall, an imperial banquet was held to entertain the ministers and foreign envoys. First, the officials drank wine to celebrate their birthdays, and then the emperor gave them food and wine. The musicians from the music studio gave speeches and played music at the same time: drink for a while... In addition, there were also
There are a series of rewards, amnesties, etc., which are very grand.
This year is the 40th anniversary of Zhao Zhen's ascension to the throne. After three generations, there are very few emperors who have been in power for forty years. In addition, the past two years have been good, and the benefits of abundant copper coins have gradually emerged. Although prices have risen by 30%, the people have not been taxed.
Under the premise, the treasury revenue increased to 150 million yuan, and the hands of the three companies suddenly became more relaxed. Several ministers planned to hold a big celebration for Zhao Zhen.
No one will stop this kind of thing, because there will be heavy rewards after the ceremony. Officials will not only receive financial rewards, but also kindness. Even the most honest officials will not refuse such a good thing.
Therefore, on April 14th, the Jiying Hall where the banquet was held had been decorated, and colorfully decorated pavilions were erected on both sides of the hall. On the mountain floor, the kaifang singers had completed their dance positions and were in full costume;
Below the mountain building, the orchestra is arranged, and it is very huge one floor after another.
On both sides of Danqi, the singers lined up, all wearing purple, red, and green party shirts and gold-plated belts. There were as many as six hundred people. Behind the mountain tower, two thousand military academy soldiers lined up to meet the needs.
In the middle of the corridor of the main hall is the throne of the emperor and empress of the Song Dynasty. This time, the throne of the emperor and empress of the Liao Kingdom is specially set up. On both sides of the throne are the seats of the Prime Minister, the Cong Cong, and the clan; to the west are the seats of the Liao, Xixia, and Korea.
There are seats for envoys from Khotan, Uighur, Dashi, and Jiaozhi. In the corridors on the left and right wings of the hall, there are seats for courtiers and hundreds of officials. In front of the seats, there are several long tables with exquisitely designed various colored viewing plates.
When it was almost time for You, the prime ministers, officials, clans, and envoys from various countries all boarded the Jiying Hall one after another and sat in their respective seats. Although the banquet had not yet begun, the envoys from various countries were already shocked by this grand scene and could not help but sigh.
The prosperity of the Song Dynasty.
As soon as the Youshi hour arrives, the Jingyang Bell in the palace, the bells of Daxiangguo Temple, Kaibao Temple, and Baiyun Temple outside the palace all sound together to congratulate the Emperor of the Song Dynasty for his long life.
Amidst the sound of the bells, Zhao Xu and Yelu Hongji ascended the Jiying Hall together, followed by Empress Cao and Empress Xiao. Today's Xiao Guanyin is wearing a crimson brocade uniform with nine phoenixes dancing in the air, and a candlelight swaying headdress.
The phoenix crown and the thin application of makeup on her face make her look even more gorgeous, like a fairy concubine.
Fortunately, Queen Cao knew her destiny and would not be embarrassed by the comparison.
The prince, envoys and officials stood up to greet him, and the emperors and empresses of the two countries sat down.
Chen Ke was now a fourth-rank official, and he could finally get a seat in front of the emperor. When he stood up, he couldn't help but glance at Xiao Guanyin, and suddenly found that she had a pair of eyes flashing, looking at him lovingly. He quickly put his
Keep your eyes away to avoid being seen as adulterous.
"Queen, who are you looking at?" Yelu Hongji was wearing a dragon robe and looked very majestic. He accidentally noticed Xiao Guanyin looking at someone, followed her gaze and said with a smile: "It turns out to be Bachelor Chen. In fact, he is
This time, the envoys we met were still ambassadors from the embassy, but because we hid our identities, we never met each other."
Xiao Guanyin blushed and lowered her head, thinking to herself, who said they haven't met? Not only did they meet, but they also met each other honestly...
At this time, the music suddenly started, fifty-faced pipa played, the harp sang lowly, two hundred canes and drums thundered, Xiao, Sheng, Xun, Xiao, Xuan, Zhen, and the dragon flute whistled, and a song "Congratulations on the Longevity of the Holy Saint" was played.
Hundreds of costumed dancers lightly stretched their wide sleeves and danced gracefully, like fairies in the Yaochi Pond, magnificent and magnificent.
Yelu Hongji was filled with admiration and said to Zhao Zhen: "The prosperity of the Southern Dynasty is different from that of the Northern Dynasty."
Zhao Zhen smiled, raised his glass and said, "I am with your family. Our alliance in the future is a matter of thought, and our lives are a matter of love."
"Yeah." Since Yelu Hongji's identity was exposed, Zhao Zhen treated him very kindly. His kind and elder demeanor made Yelu Hongji greatly moved. He also raised his glass and said: "I will never commit crimes in the South in my life. This is also my destiny.
The descendants will abide by the covenant, the two countries will be good neighbors and friendly, and enjoy peace forever."
Hearing these words from the emperors of the two countries, the ministers cheered together, and then stepped forward in order according to their rank to congratulate the officials on their birthdays and pay tribute to the Lord of Liao.
But not everyone was happy about the agreement between the two emperors. At least the Xixia envoy sitting at the bottom, wearing a narrow crimson robe and a golden flower felt hat, felt very uneasy... Xixia, caught between Song and Liao, established its country.
Basically, the two powers are in opposition and regard each other as the enemy, so that they can have room for survival.
This time the Emperor of the Liao Kingdom actually came to Bianjing, had a drink and had a good time with the Emperor of the Song Dynasty, and agreed never to go to war. This was simply bad news for the Xixia people.
Wu Zong, the birthday congratulator of Xixia, couldn't sit still at that time. He said no, I have to pick something up. When it was his turn to toast, he did not congratulate Zhao Zhen on his birthday first. Instead, he came directly to Yelu Hongji and knelt down.
He knelt down and said with a fanatical expression: "Wu Zong, the little minister of the vassal state, pays homage to His Majesty the Emperor of the vassal state. I was originally reluctant to go on this mission, but who could have expected the blessing of the Buddha to look up to the sky? I am really lucky!
"
After saying that, he walked forward on his knees, hugged Yelu Hongji's thigh, and kissed the top of his boots in full view of everyone.
After kissing Yelu Hongji's feet, he turned to Xiao Guanyin and showered her with lavish praises. He almost called the Queen of Daliao the Queen Mother and made Xiao Guanyin's skin crawl.
After paying homage to the Emperor of Liao with great ceremony, Wu Zong patted his knees and stood up, bowed his hands loosely towards Zhao Zhen and said: "Wu Zong, the envoy of the Emperor of Xixia, pays my regards to the Emperor of the Southern Dynasties on behalf of His Majesty..."
The atmosphere in the hall suddenly became awkward. Seeing that Wu Zong favored one and the other, all the officials of the Song Dynasty were indignant... Wu Zong had thought the Song people through, and their face was as big as the sky. If you want them to lose face, it would be right and wrong.
It's going to explode.
"Bold!" Sure enough, there was a fiery fool who immediately jumped up and said: "You Xixia barbarian, how dare you be rude to my Majesty!"
"Why is this envoy so rude?" Wu Zong glanced at him and said, "On behalf of the Emperor of Xixia, I am on an equal footing with you in the Southern Dynasties. How can I treat you with the same courtesy as my overlord?"
"No, you must pay homage to me, the Emperor of the Song Dynasty, again!" The minister of the Song Dynasty angrily blocked his way, but he fell into Wu Zong's plan... This guy just looked so humble and servile, highlighting that Yelu Hongji is his master.
Then he angered the people of the Song Dynasty and asked them to shout at him. As long as he maintained a tough attitude, the people of the Song Dynasty would inevitably escalate their measures for the sake of face... However, the so-called beating the dog to deceive the master, how could the Lord of Liao watch himself be defeated by the people of the Song Dynasty?
Once Yelu Hongji spoke up for himself, the friendly atmosphere between the two countries disappeared...
It should be said that Wu Zong had a good plan, but he met a kind emperor like Zhao Zhen. The officials first stopped their ministers and asked them to stop being rude, and then smiled at Yelu Hongji and said: "Since
Since he is a servant of your family, he will naturally be handed over to the emperor's nephew to take care of him."
After hearing this, several ministers secretly made friends, saying that His Majesty's skills are getting more and more sophisticated. The first half of the sentence confirms the identity of the Xixia people's slaves, and the master naturally does not need to be as knowledgeable as a dog. The second half of the sentence makes it clear that he and the Emperor of Liao Kingdom
The uncle-nephew relationship... In fact, Yelu Hongji didn't recognize him at first, but after coming to Bianjing, for the sake of safety, he had to move out of this relationship. Later, when he saw Zhao Zhen at such an old age, it was very heartbreaking.
, and then he willingly recognized this uncle.
Now that my uncle has been insulted, he wants to give his nephew face and let you take care of things, but he wants to see if you have the nerve to be ignorant with him.
Seeing the ball being kicked, Yelu Hongji thought for a while, I, Uncle Zhao, are quite good, and today is his birthday, so how can I not give him face? He waved to Wu Zong and said: "Hurry up and apologize to my uncle, and then get out.
If you dare to sow discord between my two dynasties again, I will break your ties!"
Wu Zongdeng was dumbfounded and had no choice but to kneel down. He wanted to say something, but when he thought of the Liao Emperor's warning, he had to hold back his words and walked down the corridor of Jiying Hall in dismay.
After a short interlude, the music started playing again, and the festive atmosphere returned to the hall. The dancers danced gracefully, and the singing girls on the mountain floor sang in unison:
'The thin clouds make tricks, the flying stars spread hatred, and the silvery people are far away in darkness. When the golden wind and jade dew meet, they will defeat countless people in the world.
'Tender love is like water, good times are like dreams, and I can't bear to look at the Magpie Bridge on the way home! If our love lasts for a long time, how can we stay together day and night?'