The state banquet was held in the Wenhua Hall. Zhao Ji, the emperor of the Song Dynasty, was in the upper position, followed by Cai Jing, the left pushe and Pingzhang political master, Han Zhongyan, the right servant and the minister, Fengyi Guogong, Gao Qiu, the privy envoy, and Yang Lin, the young prime minister.
, Shaobao Cai Bian, and all the civil and military officials of the Song Dynasty were present.
The Liao envoy presented a collar of snow jade mink skin, a collar of flaming red fox skin, a basin of northern pearls, and ten horses.
Zhao Ji waved his hand and gave back gold dendrobium and jade beads, ten pieces of brocade, and ten boxes of porcelain.
Yang Lin was the protagonist of this state banquet. Officials had already ordered that he would be solely responsible for receiving the Khitan envoys this time.
Today, the number one scholar, Yang Da, was dressed in a crimson official robe, with a Jin Xian crown, a square-shaped collar, a jade pendant, a silver fish bag hanging around his waist, white silk stockings and black official boots. He was well-dressed and showed talent.
Xiao Baoxian came with a mission, mainly to mediate the war between Song and Xia, but during the dinner, Cai Jing, Han Zhongyan and other ministers kept urging him to drink, leaving him no chance to speak.
After getting drunk, Xiao Baoxian finally caught an opportunity. He raised his wine glass and toasted to the handsome and immortal Emperor of the Song Dynasty: "A few days ago, the foreign minister has presented the credentials. I hope the Emperor of the Song Dynasty will make a decision soon."
, As long as your country can spare Xixia and stop the war as soon as possible, I believe that the friendship between our two neighbors will become increasingly close. Looking to the eternal blessings of heaven, our two countries will surely enjoy the blessing of peace forever."
Zhao Ji watched the singing and dancing at the banquet with a smile. He did not listen to these words at all. He just declined and said: "I have fully entrusted the matter to the Young Master Yang Lin. You can discuss it with him. He understands my thoughts best."
Yang Lin smiled softly, stood up, raised his glass and said: "Your envoy came from afar and came to Bianliang, Tokyo. Have you ever thought that there is such a prosperous place in the world? Why worry about trivial border issues? It's better to be in Bianliang."
Play for a few more days and enjoy the scenery everywhere.”
Xiao Baoxian snorted coldly: "Yang Shaozai, what I said, I wonder what decision Shaozai made?"
Yang Lin pointed at Cai Jing and said: "This matter is not trivial. Let us discuss it and give you an answer."
Cai Jing smiled and nodded, saying: "Yes, such important matters as national military aircraft need to be carefully considered and cannot be careless."
Xiao Baoxian was hopeful that as long as there was a reply, even if it was a little later, he asked: "I don't know when we can discuss the results."
Yang Lin and Cai Jing looked at each other, frowned and said: "Oh, it's impossible to say for sure. This kind of thing is not a matter of filial piety among the parents, nor is it the case of the state government. We can't give an accurate time. Please be patient.
wait."
Wait patiently? Xiao Baoxian gritted his teeth in his heart. If this group of people drags on for a year and a half, it is hard to say whether Xixia will survive. The current situation is very unfavorable to the Xia army. If you are not careful, there may be an irreversible situation in which the whole country collapses.
.
He really thought it right. Yang Lin had already made up his mind to drag it out for ten to eight years.
Anyway, Daliao is like this now. If it doesn't work, just have a fight. There may not be a chance of winning.
As long as there is a powerful enough commander who can coordinate all the people at the border and ensure the supply of food, wages and materials, if you talk about the current army, there is no doubt that the Jurchen soldiers who are fishing and hunting are the strongest, but the Song Dynasty is by no means a weak force.
Some people use the continuous cession of territory and indemnity payments made by the Song army in foreign wars to prove the combat effectiveness of the Song army, but they have never thought about who led these soldiers. They were a group of romantic scholars, officials and civil servants who recited poems and composed poems and hung out in brothels.
In the Song Dynasty, there were indeed some soldiers with extremely poor quality. This was also because the Song Dynasty emphasized literature over martial arts, which resulted in good men not serving as soldiers. "Refugees" and "idle people" from the lower class constituted the main source of soldiers. In years of famine, the Song court would
Thousands of exiled peasants were recruited into the Forbidden Army or Xiang Army. A large number of soldiers had nothing to do for a long time and were idle, and the quality of the army was low.
The ability of the commanders in the Song Dynasty was not as good as the previous generation. Why is this? Because the generals in the Song Dynasty were hereditary.
Over-reliance on background, family merit and lack of battlefield training made the Song army commanders almost incompetent in actual combat. By the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty, this situation became more obvious. Once these generals' sons set foot on the battlefield, they were exposed to be incompetent.
This situation not only did not change until the late Northern Song Dynasty, but also worsened.
According to Pan Yi, this kind of useless snack may not be as good as Tong Guan on the battlefield.
No matter how good his great-grandfather Pan Mei was in fighting, he would never be able to tell him in a dream how to command the three armies. It would be strange for such a noble son to take command and command countless idle men without losing.
As for the Western Army, they were really strong troops, but they had not been able to receive food for several years, and they were hungry and fighting against the Xixia people.
The opponents of the Song Dynasty are constantly changing, and each of them is the existence that crushed the slaves in the late Ming Dynasty. The Khitan, Jin, Xia, and Mongolia would have perished long ago if their armies were as bad as some people think.
Now that Xiao Baoxian saw Yang Lin's smiling face, he wanted to throw the sole of his shoe in his face. This young prime minister of the Song Dynasty did not have the temperament of a civil servant of the Song Dynasty, but looked more like a veteran of the Khitan army who was inexperienced and salty.
Yang Lin didn't seem to be able to tell that the Liao envoy didn't want to see him, and he kept trying to get in touch with him. He opened his mouth and shut up to show that the friendship between Liao and Song Dynasty would last forever.
Looking at the emperors of the Song Dynasty, they simply ignored their own affairs. The exchanges of envoys between the Liao and Song Dynasties were extremely frequent. It was not the first time that Xiao Baoxian came to Bianliang as Khitan Linya, but this situation was
First time meeting.
Cai Jing went even further, not mentioning the war between Song and Xia, and only talked about the customs and customs of the two countries with a smile.
After the party dispersed, the group hid far away, and Xiao Baoxian couldn't even see Yang Lin's face.
Returning to the Li Hotel, Xiao Bao exclaimed: "It seems that the Song Dynasty is determined to fight the Xia Dynasty to the end. Princess Nanxian is about to marry Xixia. What should we do?"
General Shiren of the Liao mission came forward and said: "Lin Ya, since the Song people are so rude, why don't we go back to the court and ask your majesty to send troops to the southwestern part of the Liao Dynasty? Do they still dare to act rashly?"
Xiao Bao first looked around, then lowered his voice and said in Khitan: "We Khitan are also facing internal and external troubles now. Several great kings are very ambitious, and there are constant weapons everywhere. If we mobilize a large army to fight for the Xia people, I'm afraid it will be difficult to succeed."
"I will see Yang Lin again tomorrow and make a last-ditch effort. It will not be considered as betraying the trust of the court."——
Zhaodefang, Yangfu.
Lu Taixuan punched Yang Lin on the shoulder and said with a smile: "I haven't seen you for half a year, and you are taller than your fourth uncle."
Yang Lin is growing older. As an official, he eats well, sleeps well, and exercises a lot. He also often exercises under the guidance of the masters of the Long Live Camp, so he is growing taller.
Ordinary civil servants at this age must be reading, painting, and visiting brothels. It is difficult to have the number one scholar who does not read the saint's articles for half a year.
Yang Lin laughed and welcomed the group of people into the courtyard. Yang Tong looked around and said, "Lin'er, this house is not cheap, isn't it? Our Yang family in Bianliang really doesn't have this kind of property. What a waste of money."
value."
"This is a gift from the government, and I didn't spend a penny. However, it seems that Mr. Xu is selling the house next to me. I think it's just spending more money. I might as well buy it and join it together. When the population becomes more prosperous in the future, it will also
It’s easy to live in.”
General Xu received a heavy blow a few days ago and has already submitted a memorial to return home.
This house is also going to be sold at a low price, and Yang Lin is already preparing to take it over.
Yang Tong greatly agreed upon hearing this, and kept asking during the dinner: "Lin'er, I heard that you have had several concubines, but have you ever been pregnant?"
This gave Yang Lin a wake-up call. He had been singing and spreading seeds every night these days, and one day he would have to call an imperial doctor for diagnosis.