Five Dynasties River Mountains Fengyue

Chapter 264 Xiande's Last Year

"King Qin is making fun of me?"

After hearing Shi Congyun's plan, Empress Fu was very angry. After all, Shi Congyun used the name of her birthday to make money.

To put it nicely, it's called offering, but to put it bluntly, it's called blackmail.

If this matter gets out, it will damage the Queen Mother's reputation, so Queen Fu was very angry when she heard it, and it was rare for her to show a cold face to him.

"It's natural for a small country to pay tribute to a big country. The King of Qin can just discuss with them directly. It's necessary." In the Long Live Hall, Empress Fu had a stern face and an ugly face. She knew that it would be ugly if it was recorded in the history books. of.

"The tribute will be next year at the earliest. Next year I will send troops, and I am in a hurry to spend money. The Queen Mother will take care of you." Shi Congyun apologized repeatedly.

Empress Fu was so angry that her chest heaved, it was related to the reputation of future generations, and she didn't care about being afraid of him. She wanted to swear, but she finally held back, because there was still standing not far away, the living man, a female official, because she wanted to follow the queen mother.

Living Lang is a kind of official historian system, also known as Living Sheren, which belongs to Zhongshu Province.

There are often records of a certain emperor in many history books, such as "Records of Taizu" and "Records of Emperor Taizong", which are recorded by these living men.

Their job is to follow the emperor or the regent queen mother every day, record the words and deeds of the whole day, and take time.

Of course, things that are not suitable for children will not be recorded. For example, if the emperor goes to play with a certain concubine, he will only remember a certain month, a certain day and a certain time, and the emperor was fortunate to a certain palace.

For some confidential matters, the emperor can also avoid the living man.

The queen mother probably restrained her words because Qi Jilang was waiting by the side.

The young living man was a little scared, because he wanted to avoid suspicion, so he was a female officer following the queen mother, probably a son of a noble family, well-educated, so he let her come.

She came over and asked in a low voice: "Queen Mother, King Qin, do you want me to go out?"

Shi Congyun said: "No need, you remember everything."

"Let's say that the King of Qin came to discuss matters with the Empress Dowager today. No, anyway, listen, and write down everything that needs to be written down." Shi Congyun said directly: "This matter is something that must be done, and the Empress Dowager can't help it.

Next year I will send troops to unify the world, but now the treasury is empty, so I have to use this excuse to ask other countries to raise military funds for me. This matter has nothing to do with the Queen Mother. The Queen Mother’s birthday is also an excuse. "

Hearing his bluntness, the young Qi Qilang was stunned, and didn't know how to write for a while.

"Write it down, you can remember what I say, don't embarrass yourself, you historians must have integrity." Shi Congyun said very considerate of her.

Empress Fu was not so angry anymore, "Aren't you afraid of criticism from future generations?"

"When I'm dead, I don't care what they say. I have to do my own thing well while I'm still alive. Tens of thousands of soldiers are sent to Western Sichuan, and the army's salary can't wait. What should I do if I cause dissatisfaction among the soldiers, am I going to let them plunder the land of Shu and get rewards by themselves?" Shi Congyun spread his hands.

After speaking, he knelt down and begged, "Queen Mother, you must assist me in this matter no matter what!"

Queen Fu hesitated for a moment, and finally nodded: "Okay, I promise you"

Shi Congyun got up immediately, and said happily: "I know that the queen mother is a person who understands righteousness, so I don't want to bother you, so I will leave. Please make sure the queen mother takes care of this matter, and the courtiers have to deal with it well." .”

After that, Shi Congyun left, leaving only the queen with an aggrieved face. It is true that there are difficulties and embarrassments in this matter, but Shi Congyun is very cunning and left them all to the queen. He only wants money.

It is possible to ask for tribute from various countries, but that is too slow. Shi Congyun urgently needs a sum of money to fill this critical vacancy. When he wins Shu, he will be able to get back his capital.

That month, Feng Yanlu, the envoy of the Southern Tang Dynasty, also brought another important news. The Crown Prince of the Southern Tang Dynasty, Li Hongji, died of illness.

After hearing the news, the Empress Dowager was also very experienced, and expressed her condolences politely, and then allowed the Southern Tang King to write a report, and asked the Imperial Academy to draft a mourning letter and pass it on to the Southern Tang Dynasty.

When Shi Congyun heard the news, he was very happy. He had worried before whether his actions in the south of the Yangtze River would disturb the course of history, so that Li Yu would not succeed to the throne, and Prince Li Hongji was safe and sound.

Li Hongji was not easy to deal with.

Compared with Li Yu, who is only remembered by people for his sweet and soft words, his brother Li Hongji is a ruthless man. He personally led troops to defeat Wu Yue and killed tens of thousands of Wu Yue soldiers; It was Li Hongji and Zhu Yuan. This man was decisive in killing and attacking. As the eldest son of the emperor, he personally led troops to fight. He was a ruthless man.

The Southern Tang Dynasty is not the Kingdom of Shu, but the Southern Han Dynasty.

Although the ruler of the country is not good, the comprehensive national strength is there, and there are many talents under his command, including many fierce generals.

For example, Zhu Yuan who counterattacked the Zhou army, Zhang Yanqing who defended Chuzhou, Liu Renshan who defended Shouzhou, Lin Renzhao and Guo Tingwei who fought back from the Jedi, and Lu Jiang who had never met. After fighting for more than three years in a row, although I succeeded in the end, I was unable to cross the Yangtze River again.

If the Great Zhou had tried its best to fight against the separatist regimes such as Shu, Nanhan, Nanping, and Wuping, they would have won it long ago.

Fortunately, Li Jing, the protagonist of the Southern Tang Dynasty, was a poet, who liked poetry, romantic, and weak by nature.

The same is true of Li Yu, the queen master, who loves Buddhism very much. Anyway, both father and son have no backbone.

Hearing that Li Hongji died and Li Yu was made the crown prince, Shi Congyun played with the queen mother on the surface and expressed his deep condolences. Congratulations to the new prince. His heart was already full of joy. The envoys of the Southern Tang Dynasty knew who was in power, so they complimented him very much and cared his attitude.

Shi Congyun stood up and said a few words in front of the officials and envoys, to the effect that he had heard of Li Congjia's name, he must be a benevolent lord, and it was a blessing for the people of the Southern Tang Dynasty. He hoped that the Southern Tang Kingdom would be able to stabilize and benefit all parties. common people.

This kind of scene talk has been with the queen for a long time, and he learned it quickly. Shi Congyun is a savvy person.

As a result, after these words were spoken, many people were holding back their laughter, and Feng Yanlu, the envoy of the Southern Tang Dynasty, did not look too good-looking.

Shi Congyun didn't realize it at first, but later realized that it was the name of the sixth prince Li Congjia. Of course he remembered that he was the one who robbed his wife Zhou Xian.
It is a good thing to say from anyone's mouth, but it is especially embarrassing from his mouth.

After going back that day, Shi Congyun asked Zhou Xian to write a letter to the Lord of the Southern Tang Dynasty. In the past, this kind of letter was written by Zhao Shijian. This time, he asked Zhou Xian to write it to close the relationship.

The general idea is that when the official family was alive, they promised to have good relations with the Southern Tang Dynasty. As long as the official family is still alive, they will be able to protect the descendants of the Li family. will fulfill this promise.

Therefore, let the ruler of the Southern Tang Dynasty rest assured that as long as there is no lack of worship and filial piety every year, as long as Da Zhou is continued to be the suzerain, the heavenly soldiers in the north will not cross the Yangtze River.

Zhou Xian was very happy when he drafted this letter for him, because Shi Congyun was ensuring the safety of her parents and siblings, but she didn't know what Shi Congyun was thinking.

Even if it is the person next to the pillow, people's hearts are still invisible. Shi Congyun thought this was a tactic to delay the attack.

He wants to use troops against the Shu Kingdom. The Liao Kingdom in the north has just been feared. The Northern Han Dynasty is blocked by Li Yun and Wang Shenqi. Wu Yue has always followed the lead of the Central Plains. Only the Southern Tang Dynasty needs to be appeased.

Long-term battles on two fronts are a taboo for military strategists. The number of soldiers is only doubled, but the logistical pressure is increasing exponentially. At this time, it is necessary to say good things to appease Nantang.

At the beginning of November, the emperor of the Southern Tang Dynasty sent a huge mission of more than 1000 people, bringing more than 20 worth of money, silk cloth, and treasures to the court to celebrate the Queen Mother's birthday.

At the same time, he also sent a letter back to King Shi Congyun of Qin, saying that he was very grateful for the kindness of the great country, and promised that all the offerings would be delivered on time, and that he would send someone to ask the great court for any big or small matters, and he dared not look north from then on.

Shi Congyun was not surprised by such a reaction. In history, Li Jing and Li Yu were even more cowardly than this. Shi Congyun believed that if he wanted to squeeze, they would continue to compromise.

Afterwards, the Shu Kingdom also sent envoys to send a large amount of goods, while Wuyue sent a lot less, probably worth [-] yuan, because Shi Congyun had given the Wuyue King's envoys a pass in advance, so they didn't need to pay so much, [-] yuan would be enough.

Unexpectedly, the king of Wuyue collected [-] yuan for him.

Wuyue probably descended from the entire territory of Zhejiang Province, the southeastern part of Jiangsu Province (Suzhou City), Shanghai City and the northeastern part of Fujian Province (Fuzhou City). Happy now.

Because that place was rarely prosperous, and there were few wars, and there were no tyrants and foolish kings one after another like the Southern Han Dynasty; To achieve unity.

Under the rule of Wuyue Kingdom, the people were rich, lived and worked in peace and contentment, the economic center of gravity moved southward, and the people of one side were safe and sound in troubled times. This kind of Wuyue King Shi Congyun still admires it very much.

In the next few days, Shi Congyun was overjoyed. With the cooperation of the queen mother, the treasury returned a wave of blood. Although it was not much, it at least made Shi Congyun feel relieved.

"Has your second sister gone back?" After dinner at night, it was snowing in the courtyard, Shi Congyun was rarely leisurely, holding Fu Liumei and talking, in the small pavilion outside, several women were fighting landlords, watching Xuedou by the fire The landlord's name is Fenghuaxueyue. If Shi Congyun sees it, there is something wrong with his brain.

The two wives ruthlessly abandoned him and took their maids to fight against the landlord.This is the life of a man after marriage. Sometimes in the eyes of a wife, a man is not as important as playing mahjong.

Only the well-behaved sixth sister is willing to accompany him.

These days there are not too many good entertainment methods, except for doing some important things to carry on the family, such activities as Shi Congyun taught them to play cards are already infinitely attractive.

Zhou Xian is even more proficient in these. She is not only good at piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, but also all kinds of chess and cards. After teaching her to fight the landlord, she immediately became a master and leader among them.

Fu Liu leaned on his chest and nodded, "Second sister is so pitiful. She couldn't help but stay in the capital. At the beginning, my father asked her to come to the capital to let her enter the palace. Later, the government fought south and north, and had no intentions at all. In the next few years, my health was not good, and this matter has been dragging on.

Now the official family is gone, and the second sister is getting older."

What Fu Liu said was sad, but Shi Congyun didn't take it seriously, 25 years old, not too old, besides, the Fu family's family background is there, if it is open to recruit a son-in-law, let alone 25, 52, there will be a bunch of people rushing to marry.

"Wei Prince's Mansion is not far away, you can go there more often when you have time." Shi Congyun said, before he didn't dare to let Fu Liu go to Wei Palace, he had to be very careful when he went by himself, because smart people know that Fu Er, Fu Jinhuan It's for the emperor.

Shi Congyun was also afraid that his wife would accidentally fall in love with the emperor. Men know men best, and no matter how decent a man is, as long as he has nothing wrong with him, he can't stand the temptation.

Now I don't have so many worries, it's not good for my wife to stay at home all day, and it's not so safe to travel these days, so it's good to go to Wei Wang's mansion.

Fu Liu nodded, "The husband will take me there."

"If you want to go, you can go by yourself, and you can ask a few nursing homes to take you there." Shi Congyun said. "With me here, Daliang City must be safe."

Only then did Fu Liu nod his head.

Compared with Zhou Xian who grew up in Jiangnan, Fu Liu who grew up in Hebei is insecure, even in Daliang City.

Because in the past few decades, the war in Hebei has almost never stopped, and she also knows that Daliang City is not safe.

"It will definitely get better and better in the future." Shi Congyun comforted her, holding her tightly in his arms, "I have been fighting all these years, just thinking that we can enjoy our old age peacefully, and our children and grandchildren don't have to worry like us."

"Husband."

Shi Congyun stroked her back to comfort her. It is difficult for people who have not experienced this era to understand the uneasiness and anxiety. There are wars every now and then, and the dead are commonplace.

The Tang Dynasty had Guozuo 280 years in name, but since the Anshi Rebellion, the middle and late Tang Dynasty began to fight constantly, and it was common to fight and eat people.

As the Song Dynasty that succeeded the Tang Dynasty, it attached great importance to weakening the power of generals, suppressing generals, even to the point of abnormality, and thus went another way.

In retrospect, I can’t help feeling emotional, but it’s not anyone who can control it, but the reflection and correction of the nearly 200 years of historical lessons in the middle and late Tang Dynasty, the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, people at that time could not be separated from the historical facts , This is a choice made by the environment.

"Now you all have to enjoy yourself and make yourself fat and fat. You don't have to think about or worry about other things. You can also play cards and chess with your sister Zhou and the others. Just have fun.

Otherwise, my hard work for my husband would be meaningless for me to fight outside. Shi Congyun comforted her. Compared with Zhou Xian, who came from Jiangnan who didn't know about military disasters, Fu Liu was just the opposite. She was full of uneasiness and no sense of security.

Thinking about it, how many wars Hebei has experienced in the past few decades since she was a child, not to mention the small ones, the Khitan invasion, the Jiedu envoy rebellion, the battles between powerful and powerful, and the change of dynasty, Hebei has basically never stopped. stop.

Hearing what he said, Fu Liu, who had always been well-behaved, suddenly had tears in his eyes, and wept softly on his chest.

"Why are you still crying?"

"I don't know." She shook her little head, then arched into his arms again, "I just wanted to cry after hearing what my husband said."

"Cry if you want to cry, the suffering is too deep, you can't erase it in your heart." Shi Congyun sighed, Fu Liu's family is in Hebei, and his father is a Jiedu envoy and he is so frightened, let alone ordinary people. People say that a year with good weather is a good year, but for the people of Hebei since the end of Tang Dynasty, it should be said that a year without war is a good year.

The culture created by China's farming people has two historical nodes, one in the period of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty.

Emperor Wu of the Han ordered Wei Qing to severely injure the Huns, and after retaking Hetao, there was a huge debate in the court. Many officials said that since the Huns had been taught a lesson, the war should be stopped, and we don’t need to kill them all. Let’s just continue to live.

It was the first time to choose the fate of the entire nation. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty rejected all opinions, changed the style of the farming nation in the past, and chose to continue to expand.

After that, successively took the Hexi Corridor of later generations, Guangdong, Guangxi, northern Vietnam, Yunnan, Guizhou, Hainan, northern Korea, Ningxia and other places into the territory, set up prefectures and counties, and doubled the territory of the Qin Dynasty. After the death of Emperor Wu, he The spirit and policy of outward expansion did not stop.

After that, the Han Dynasty continued to expand and completely controlled the Western Regions, extending directly to the west of the Pamirs.

Starting from the Han Dynasty, the subsequent Han and Tang Dynasties have been the continuation of this kind of expansion for thousands of years, which is unimaginable for a farming nation.

With expansion comes openness. For example, at the end of the Han Dynasty, there were even more troops of other ethnic groups than the Han army, up to hundreds of thousands. There were also many foreign nationalities among the generals of the Tang Dynasty. At this time, everyone was concerned about the so-called ethnic identity. , the distinction between Hua and Yi is not so sensitive, because the Han and Tang Dynasties are strong enough.

Until the Anshi Rebellion, the Anshi Rebellion was another historical turning point.

After the Anshi Rebellion, the court policy began to gradually turn conservative and xenophobic, because the lessons of the Anshi Rebellion were too painful, and the subsequent Song Dynasty continued this attitude.

However, geography has determined that China's farming areas are naturally surrounded by three nomadic areas, the Mongolian Plateau, the Western Regions, and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and the land is connected. Unlike Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty who expanded outwards and broke the blockade, only the farming areas were trapped and constantly besieged by consumption. .

In fact, it’s amazing to think about it. If Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty followed the minister’s advice and gave up continuing to attack after taking revenge on the Huns, and did not open up the Hexi Corridor or cut through the C-shaped siege, then history must have another direction.

It will be even more difficult for farming areas under the attack of the three major nomadic areas to survive, perhaps like the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, or perhaps like the Southern Song and Yuan dynasties.

History is like this. China's geography predestined that it is difficult to break through the farming areas, so the farming civilizations that broke out from the farming areas like the Han Dynasty and the early Tang Dynasty are impressive.

Shi Congyun hugged his sixth younger sister, his heart was already far away.

Unknowingly, another year of winter came, and the one-month rest period of the Imperial Army was coming to an end. Unlike Shi Congyun and Empress Fu's worries, the Khitan had just been defeated, [-] were captured, and the king of the South Court was captured. The imperial army and people of the state of Zhou were full of morale and united as one, and many people joined the army enthusiastically.

The prospect is good, and the future has infinite possibilities!
But speaking of the Liao War, there was one thing that made Shi Congyun very angry. When he withdrew the army, he explained to Guo Tingwei that he "exchanged Xiao Siwen for Dong Zunhui's mother and his daughter."

But he overlooked one point, that is the "broad and profound" of Chinese.

He left in a hurry at the time, so he just explained it like this, but Guo Tingwei didn't understand what he said. From what Guo Tingwei heard, it meant "exchanging Xiao Siwen for Dong Zunhui's mother and her daughter."

Probably Guo Tingwei would not have thought that Shi Congyun would want Xiao Siwen's daughter so much, so he understood that he was talking about Dong Zunhui's mother's daughter.
Both Dong Zunhui and Gao Huaide were very grateful to him for this incident. They visited him several times and thanked him again and again. It was Dong Zunhui's mother and Gao Huaide's sister.

Shi Congyun was smiling on the surface, but in his heart he was a mother, what he mainly wanted was Xiao Siwen's daughter!But it's not easy to blame Guo Tingwei at this time.

At first, he did not explain clearly, and left in a hurry;

Secondly, it is impossible for Guo Ting to understand why he is the daughter of Xiao Siwen, whom he has never met;
Dong Zunhui and Gao Huaide were so moved in the past three years, weeping and swearing to die, thinking that in order to get back their relatives, he would not hesitate to stay in Nanjing in Liao Kingdom as the price, how can it be poked at this time;

In the end, it stands to reason that Xiao Yanyan at this time should be a child of seven or eight years old. It would be bad if others suspect that he is a pervert
Although Xiande's last year was full of twists and turns and he was too busy to touch the ground, for Shi Congyun, it was generally developing in a good direction.

There are good and bad, there are helplessness and compromise, but overall it is beneficial
In Xiande's last year, he also did a lot of immoral things, but there was nothing he could do, he couldn't do things without being unvirtuous.

(End of this chapter)