After Kou Ji packed up his things, he left the bedroom and saw Liu Shenxing in the side hall of the post house.
Liu Shenxing is a gentle middle-aged man with a goatee, a felt hat, the unique official uniform of Liao officials, leather boots, and a gold and silver sheath hanging from his waist.
scimitar.
He was very thin, as if a gust of wind could blow him away.
But his steps were very firm, and it seemed that every step he took was to be firmly planted.
When Kou Ji saw him, he took the initiative to greet him and saluted Kou Ji humbly. He did not have the arrogance that Liao officials should have in the legend, but looked like a scholar who had been intruding in the library for many years.
But when he got closer, Kou Ji smelled a strong aroma of incense from his body, and the incense smell was mixed with a few strands of fishy smell.
After both parties greeted each other, they slowly sat down.
After the two exchanged pleasantries, Liu Shenxing got straight to the point and explained his purpose.
"Kou Libin, in a few days it will be the birthday of the eldest prince of Daliao. Our emperor is going to hold a grand bonfire party ten miles outside Youzhou City. I hope that your envoys can attend."
Liu Shenxing hammered his chest with one hand and spoke in a gentle manner.
Kou Ji picked up the milk tea soup served by the Liao postman in the post house. After taking a sip, he muttered: "What is the birthday of the eldest prince of your country?"
Liu Shenxing nodded and smiled: "That's right... February 23rd..."
Kou Ji put down the tea soup, bowls and chopsticks, nodded slowly and said: "I will tell the chief and deputy envoys about this, and they will definitely be there at that time."
When Liu Shenxing heard that Kou Ji had agreed to this matter, he stood up with a smile, cupped his hands to Kou Ji, and said, "I'll take my leave now. I will send someone to greet you by then."
Kou Ji returned the gift with his hand.
Liu Shenxing slowly exited the post house.
Kou Ji thought about the purpose of Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu inviting them to attend Yelu Zongzhen's birthday party, and walked into Xiang Minzhong's room.
As soon as you enter the door.
Then he saw Xiang Minzhong holding a book and flipping through it carefully. Wang Zeng arrived at Xiang Minzhong's room at some unknown time and was sitting on a bench, reading with Xiang Minzhong.
Heard the sound of Kou Ji entering the door.
Xiang Minzhong put down the scroll in his hand and sighed to Wang Zeng: "The Liao Kingdom still has talents. In the imperial examination held by the Liao Kingdom last year, more than 70 of the 100 people who passed the examination had real materials.
The literary talent of more than thirty people is not inferior to that of the Jinshi of our dynasty."
Wang Zeng sighed and nodded slowly.
"I also saw a few scholars among them who were famous in our dynasty but defected to the Liao Kingdom."
Kou Ji saw the two of them discussing scholars, and his eyes fell on the scroll in Xiang Minzhong's hand, and he saw the words "Unified Jinshi Poetry Collection".
"Are you two scholars paying attention to the Liao Kingdom?"
Xiang Minzhong threw down the book in his hand and said casually: "I just found it in the library of the post house. Let's take a look."
Xiang Minzhong's eyes fell on Kou Ji and asked, "Why did Liu Shenxing come to visit?"
Kou Ji said frankly: "February 23 is the birthday of Yelu Zongzhen, the eldest prince of Liao. Emperor Yelu Longxu of Liao will hold a grand bonfire party ten miles outside Youzhou City and invite us to attend."
Upon hearing this, Xiang Minzhong and Wang Zeng looked at each other and sighed at the same time.
Kou Ji said suspiciously: "Is there anything else special about this?"
Wang Zeng sighed and said: "Historically, when the princes of the Liao Kingdom held birthday celebrations, we, the Song Dynasty, were indispensable with a heavy gift. Now that the eldest prince of the Liao Kingdom, Yelu Zong, is really holding a birthday party, the gifts we, the Song Dynasty, can only give out."
He was the eldest prince of the Liao Kingdom, the future crown prince of the Liao Kingdom, and even the king of the Liao Kingdom.
His status is far higher than that of other princes."
Xiang Minzhong curled his lips and said, "Emperor Yelu Longxu of Liao intends to give us a show of strength before the peace talks."
Wang Zeng looked at Xiang Minzhong and said quietly: "This move may not be meant to test the attitude of our Song Dynasty... We must deal with it carefully..."
Kou Ji raised his eyebrows slightly and said thoughtfully: "Have the peace talks started?"
Wang Zeng nodded and said: "Yes, the peace talks have already begun. They started as early as the moment we entered Youzhou City. The peace talks are not just as simple as sitting at the table and making conditions for each other.
From the moment we entered Youzhou City, a psychological game had already begun.
The more impatient someone is, the more likely they are to reveal flaws.
As long as a flaw is exposed, the other party can seize your flaw, tear a huge hole in your body, and then gorge on your flesh and drink your blood."
Kou Jil thought for a while and asked: "So, Emperor Yelu Longxu of the Liao Dynasty sent Xiao Pidi to greet us. It is a kind of test. After you two arrived at the post house, pretending to rest is also a kind of test?"
Wang Zeng and Xiang Minzhong nodded at the same time.
Wang Zeng gave a rare compliment, "A child can be taught."
Xiang Minzhong laughed softly and said: "Now it seems that Emperor Yelu Longxu of Liao is more anxious than us. Otherwise, he would not have sent people to invite us to the birthday party of the eldest prince of Liao as soon as we arrived at the post house.
"
Wang Zeng smiled bitterly and said: "It's just that those who were sent as envoys to the Liao Kingdom were too stupid. After arriving in the Liao Kingdom, they went out carrying heavy gifts before settling down.
Emperor Yelu Longxu of the Liao Dynasty is not stupid, so how could he not discover their anxious thoughts."
Xiang Minzhong pondered for a moment, shook his head and said: "It can't be said that they are too stupid. It's just that in the past, our Song Dynasty was always at a disadvantage when facing the Liao Kingdom, and the late emperor was sending them on envoys.
During peace talks with the Liao Kingdom, a deadline was always set, so they had to do that."
Xiang Minzhong's eyes fell on Kou Ji and Wang Zeng, and he said with a smile: "It's different now. I, the Song Dynasty, have a certain confidence when facing the Liao Kingdom. Naturally, I no longer need to run around like before."
Wang Zeng smiled and nodded.
Kou Ji asked: "So, do we want to attend the grand birthday party of the eldest prince Yelu Zong of the Liao Kingdom, and do we send heavy gifts to the Liao Kingdom?"
Xiang Minzhong clucked his lips and said: "Since Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu has already made a move, we naturally cannot show our cowardice. We must face him head-on and expose every move as he sees it."
After a pause, Xiang Minzhong said again: "When I arrived, your grandfather seemed to have expected such an event, so he had someone give me a golden Buddha. He asked me to use it as a gift."
"Golden Buddha?"
Kou Ji questions.
Xiang Minzhong nodded and sent the guards waiting outside the door to get the golden Buddha.
After a while.
The guard carried a golden Buddha to Xiang Minzhong's room.
The Golden Buddha is not big, only one foot high, hollow, and the whole body is shining with golden light.
On the back of the golden Buddha, there is a line of small words engraved on it.
When Kou Ji saw that line of small words, the corners of his mouth began to twitch rapidly.
Xiang Minzhong took the golden Buddha from the guard, stared at Kou Ji with a bright smile and said, "Does it look familiar to you?"
Wang Zeng fumbled for the golden Buddha in Xiang Minzhong's hand, and whispered a line of small words on the golden Buddha, "Believer Liu Heng invites Ji Gong, brother of the Kou Mansion..."
Wang Zeng withdrew his hand from groping for the Golden Buddha, and said to Kou Ji with a smile: "I can't tell, this guy Liu Heng is really sincere towards you."
Kou Ji's face turned dark and he gritted his teeth and said, "Private weapons are public, what you are doing is against the rules."
Xiang Minzhong looked at the Golden Buddha and said calmly: "I have used public money to buy this Golden Buddha. This Golden Buddha is already a public weapon of the imperial court."
Kou Ji gritted his teeth and said, "Even so, would it be too much of a joke to bring such a golden Buddha to Emperor Yelu Longxu of the Liao Dynasty?"
Xiang Minzhong said without thinking: "What's here, just frame it."
After speaking, Xiang Minzhong ordered someone to take out a small bag.
He took out files, chisels and other items from the small bag.
Then in front of Kou Ji, he began to frame the golden Buddha.
Kou Ji said with a surprised look on his face: "Do you still have this skill?"
Xiang Minzhong was stunned and sighed: "I asked to resign several times, but the late emperor refused. So I simply hid in my house and studied these crafts. After studying for several years, I achieved some success."
Kou Ji nodded thoughtfully.
The next few days.
Xiang Minzhong mounted a gold Buddha in his room.
Kou Ji was pulled by Wang Zeng and walked around the streets of Youzhou City.
Wang Zeng didn't do anything else with Kou Ji, that is, visiting the major bookstores in Youzhou City.
Kou Ji didn't understand what he meant and asked some questions.
Wang Zeng told him that he was wandering around the Liao Kingdom's bookstores just to collect the works of the talented people in the Liao Kingdom, so that he could take them back to the Song Dynasty and let the scholars in the Song Dynasty get to know the talented people in the Liao Kingdom.
He also told Kou Ji.
The Liao Kingdom has been Sinicized for many years and has opened schools to recruit scholars for many years. Now there are many outstanding talents in the Liao Kingdom's court.
These people are likely to become Song Dynasty's opponents in the future, so you should get to know them well when they grow up.
When he heard Wang Zeng's words, Kou Ji turned around and glanced at the loyal Zhang Yuan who was following behind him.
He really wanted to tell Wang Zeng that in the following decades, talented people who could overwhelm the Song Dynasty and find it difficult to breathe have become his loyal servants.
Time flies.
It's February 23rd.
The birthday of Yelu Zongzhen, the eldest prince of the Liao Kingdom.
Early in the morning.
The sound of horns sounded from all over Youzhou City.
Emperor Yelu Longxu of the Liao Dynasty, who lived in the palace in Youzhou City, led his own army, the Pishi Army, to leave Youzhou City and rush to a place ten miles outside Youzhou City.
The leaders of each tribe led the men of each tribe early and waited for the Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu ten miles away.
They had already helped Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu build Nabo, a huge palace-style tent.
In addition, around Oruduo, many Oruduos were built to house the royal family and nobles of the Liao Kingdom.
Outside the camp, a circle of camps was built specifically to house the Pishi Army.
The camp of the Pishi Army was in the shape of an arc, surrounding the Nabo of Emperor Yelu Longxu of the Liao Dynasty and Oruduo, where the royal family and nobles of the Liao Dynasty lived.
Outside are the camps of various ministries and vassals.
Moreover, the camps of various ministries and vassals could not be set up until Emperor Yelu Longxu of the Liao Dynasty moved into his Nabo.
The reason for doing this is because Emperor Yelu Longxu of the Liao Dynasty would choose several satisfactory entry and exit roads after he moved into Nabo. The camps of various ministries and vassals could not block the road set by Emperor Yelu Longxu of the Liao Dynasty.
Of course, this is just one of them.
The more important purpose is to prevent various ministries and vassals from setting up ambushes when setting up camps.
It was already evening after the various tribes and vassals had completed setting up their camps.
Then they would leave the camp in batches to chop firewood and build fire towers one after another throughout the camp.
The largest fire tower among them is undoubtedly the three-foot-high tower in front of Emperor Yelu Longxu of the Liao Dynasty.
…
When night falls slowly.
The fire towers around the camp were slowly lit, and bonfires shot into the sky.
Kou Ji and his party entered the camp under the guidance of Liu Shenxing after the fire towers around the camp were lit.
Once you enter the camp.
I felt the heat of the fire, the aroma of roasting beef and mutton, and the enthusiasm of the men and girls from the small tribe singing and dancing in front of the bonfire.
As an envoy of the Song Dynasty who could be on an equal footing with the Liao Kingdom.
Naturally, Kou Ji and his party would not stay outside and have fun with the Liao vassals.
The moment they entered the camp, they were welcomed into the inner perimeter.
Most of the people in the inner circle are Liao people, and there are also some headmen of small tribes, small-headed people, etc.
The chiefs of each small tribe, mostly small-headed men, are dressed in gold and silver, wrapped in wild beast furs, and sit on blankets.
There are also some Liao people who wear this kind of attire, but most of them wear Hanfu except for white fox and other rare fur felt hats.
Although it looks a bit nondescript, it just shows that the sinicization of the Liao Kingdom for many years has brought many changes to the Liao Kingdom.
From the gate of the inner camp to the bowl of Emperor Yelu Longxu of the Liao Dynasty, there were two long rows of tables and blankets.
The heads of various ministries, small-headed men, Liao officials accompanying Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu, as well as some Liao nobles and Liao royal family who had separated from the center of power were seated on both sides.
Behind them, there were shirtless and braided Liao men, setting up piles of bonfires and roasting cattle and sheep.
Under the attention of this group of people, Kou Ji and his party walked along the road in front of them and walked all the way to the bowl of Emperor Yelu Longxu of the Liao Dynasty.
The tent door of Nabo is open. Emperor Yelu Longxu of the Liao Dynasty is sitting on a dragon chair deep in Nabo. Beside him, the eldest prince Yelv Zongzhen of the Liao Dynasty and the queen Xiao Bodhisattva of the Liao Dynasty are sitting next to him.
Behind the three of them, there was another person sitting.
The biological mother of the eldest prince Yelu Zongzhen of the Liao Kingdom was Xiao Yujin, the imperial concubine Shunsheng Yuan.
In addition to the four of them, there were also people sitting on both sides of Nabo. They were all high-ranking figures in the Liao Kingdom, as well as some small tribe leaders and small-headed people who were admired by Emperor Yelu Longxu of the Liao Dynasty.
Because the Nabo was too deep and the fire was dazzling, Kou Ji took a false glance and did not see the faces of Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu and others clearly, but only saw a shadow.
"Summon the envoy of Song Dynasty for an audience!"
When Kou Ji and his party stood at the door, someone immediately sent a message from Nabo that Emperor Yelu Longxu of the Liao Dynasty was going to summon them.
Xiang Minzhong led Kou Ji and others, bowed to Nabo, and then entered Nabo under the guidance of Liao's internal servants.
Along the brightly lit avenue, we arrived in front of Emperor Yelu Longxu of the Liao Dynasty.
The eyes of everyone in Nabo were on them.
As soon as they arrived in front of Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu, they heard someone shouting on the spot: "Song people are bold!"
The reason why some people shouted this was because after entering Naboli, Kou Ji faced Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu directly and did not lower his head respectfully.
"Who gave you the courage to look directly at my emperor? 1"
Someone yelled at me on the spot.
Concubine Shunsheng Yuan, who was sitting under Emperor Yelu Longxu of the Liao Dynasty, looked ferocious and said in a cold voice: "Song people like these who don't know etiquette should be dragged out and quartered."
Emperor Yelu Longxu of Liao frowned slightly when he heard her words.
Kou Ji paid no attention to these shouts and threats.
He looked at Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu carefully.
The Emperor of Liao, who was nearly fifty years old, did not have much aging on his face, only some traces of weathering, and a pair of sharp eyebrows, which looked quite murderous against the backdrop of his eyes that shone like stars.
A face with a Chinese character shows no joy or sorrow, and has a calm attitude, but does not show anger or authority.
The neatly trimmed goat's beard rests on the plush balls hanging down from both sides of the neck, trembling up and down with his breathing.
The two spiritual feathers on the felt hat on his head had not moved since the moment Kou Ji saw him.
His huge body was shrouded in imperial clothing, sitting there like a mountain.