The rise of the prince

Chapter 567 Interests Behind Surrender + Meeting Beginning

The arrival of the envoys from the Xia Kingdom made it rare for the heavy atmosphere brought about by the war to ease somewhat.

Xia Guolai's envoy was a member of the Yelibu of the Dangxiang clan.His name is Yeli Wangrong. Although Yeli Wangrong is from Xia, he can speak Chinese and understand Chinese characters.

He came with the letter of credence and the scepter, and made it clear in front of many ministers and the emperor.

The monarch of the Daixia Kingdom came to Shangguo Jingguo to admit his mistakes, and at the same time he was willing to submit a letter of credence and profess his vassal to Jingguo, but he never mentioned the Tanglong Town they occupied.

On this point, both sides are in tacit understanding, the emperor did not mention it, De Gong and others did not mention it, only He Zhao frowned and said: "Then Tang Long"

Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Duke De: "Your Majesty, since the Kingdom of Xia is in awe of the virtues of the Kingdom of Jing, and is willing to surrender, it is the luck of the two countries and the luck of the world. Therefore, the divination officials of the Ministry of Rites should be asked to choose a good day and auspicious day." , to be worshipped."

The emperor nodded happily, "Meng Zhiye, you should prepare for this matter."

Meng Zhi went out, handed over his hand to accept the order, and then the emperor asked Yeli Wangrong some questions, and then the court meeting ended like this.

And Yeli Wangrong will temporarily settle down at the Jingzhong post house due to the arrangement of Honglu Temple, wait for the Ministry of Rites to make a fortune, choose a good day and auspicious day, and then prepare for the ceremony.

At the same time, the emperor ordered the Yamen of Kaiyuan Mansion to be responsible for announcing the news in an official document.

When the time comes, it will definitely inspire people and cheer up and down.The imperial court has face, the people have enhanced self-confidence, and everyone is happy.

As for Tanglong Town.
When he was leaving the Meridian Gate, Li Xingzhou looked back at the tall city tower behind him. He had already arranged for the officials of Honglu Temple to settle in Yeli Wangrong. Tang Longzhen had no choice but to give up, because the army was in the north, ready to attack the Liao Kingdom.

On the surface, Jingguo looks very beautiful, but in fact it is deeply helpless.

After leaving the Meridian Gate, He Zhao, who was walking with him, still had a bad expression on his face, and said to De Gong next to him, "Why don't you let me talk about Tang Long Town?"

"Hey, just stop for a while, what can the emperor do? Is it possible to force Xia Guo to return Tang Long Town? Is it possible, this is already the best result." De Gong sighed.

But He Zhao disagreed, "So what? I can no longer do this in Jingguo if lip service doesn't come true. Up and down the imperial court, down to the people of the Li people, there was a lot of celebration, but we suffered a big loss in this matter!

So what if Xia Guo surrendered, and it didn't pay tribute to Jing Guo, and it gained a false name, which was a temporary benefit, but lost the actual benefit in the end, this matter is absolutely impossible! "

He Zhao's face was dark, and he refused to give in.

De Gong also got angry, "You Heizi, what do you want to do? You summoned an army of [-] and dropped millions of taels of silver from the sky, and asked you to take back Tanglong Town?"

"Even if it doesn't work, you should tell the truth. There is no reason for the whole country to celebrate when you suffer a loss? This is a lesson that everyone in the world should remember." He Zhao refused to budge.

Degong also said angrily: "What about the hearts and morale of the people! Have you thought about it!"

"I've thought about it, whether it's the people of the world or the emperor, we must face this defeat head-on, and we must not blindly evade whitewashing!" He Zhao's eyes widened.

"You..." Degong was so angry that his lips trembled.

Li Xingzhou quickly pulled the two of them apart: "Okay, you two are getting old, it's not embarrassing to be arguing here, come to my house to quarrel."

The two of them looked at him in bewilderment, did you persuade them to fight like this?

When we arrived at the palace, it was time for lunch. Li Xingzhou asked the kitchen to prepare food and drinks, but they stopped arguing.

It happened that He Qian was also in the palace, burning glass with Gillian Yue'er, Gillian and Qiu'er heard that their father and grandfather were coming, they both came to pay a visit, and after a few words of comfort, they also put down their anger.

But when it comes to Xia Guo's surrender, they all look worried, not happy.

After all, being in their position, one can see through the appearance at a glance. It seems that Jing Guo has face, but in fact it is Jing Guo who suffers.

Tanglong Town and the surrounding large tracts of land.
Seeing that the two old men were unhappy, Li Xingzhou could only comfort him: "Don't worry, they will spit it out sooner or later."

The two nodded silently, probably that's all they could do.

The news of Xia Guo's surrender quickly spread from the palace, and the people were naturally happy. There were discussions in the streets and alleys, and the faint cheers outside could be heard through the wall of the palace courtyard.

He Zhao and Degong drank too much with worried faces, people are most likely to get drunk when they have something on their minds.

In the end, he had no choice but to arrange for his servants to let the two stay in the palace, and ordered his servants to take good care of them.

After the two of them settled down, he went to the stable to fetch Meixue, and asked Ji Chunsheng to enter the palace together.

Soon after the sun went down, the street gradually became lively. On the road, people on both sides of the road had already started talking about Xia Guo's surrender to Jing Guo. Most of them were beaming and very happy when they talked about it.

Li Xingzhou rode Meixue through the market. Meixue has become more and more beautiful recently. When he is free, he often takes it to the back mountain to have fun. All the good horses come out.

After entering the Meridian Gate, it was completely dark. Before reaching the inner city of the imperial city, they were stopped by the Wu De Division's sergeant. Seeing that their chief Ji Chunsheng was also there, they quickly let them go.

Li Xingzhou sent someone to report to the palace, saying that he wanted to see the emperor.

Soon, when they arrived at the main hall of Changchun under the leadership of Sergeant Wu Desi, someone came to meet them. It was the little eunuch Guilin who came and took them to the harem.

Finally arrived at the Kunning Palace, the emperor had just finished his meal, and the people in the imperial dining room were removing all kinds of dishes, and Mrs. Fu An was serving tea at the side.

The emperor looked at him who was visiting late at night in surprise, and kept looking at him for a while, "It's rare for you to come to the palace. If it wasn't for my message or the queen's summons, it would be rare for you to come here once. What's the matter with you coming so late? Sit down and talk."

Li Xingzhou and Ji Chunsheng saluted, and then sat down on the side seats.

Li Xingzhou clasped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, I am here for something, I would like to ask the Emperor to entrust me with one matter."

"What's the matter, tell me first." The emperor said, but he didn't let go.

"It's about Xia Guo." Li Xingzhou said directly.

"Xia Guo?" The emperor frowned, "What can Xia Guo do? Now that Xia Guo's envoy is in Beijing, it is originally a matter of Honglu Temple. Why do you need to ask for orders?"

"It's not Xia Guo's envoy, I want to deal with Xia Guo."

"Deal with Xia Guo!" The emperor frowned even more, "How can we deal with Xia Guo now.

Do you want to take back Tanglong Town with your new army?Why don’t you understand why I left you in Beijing? Besides, the new military region has more than [-] people, and it has only been established for a year. How can it compete with Xia Guo’s [-] armored troops? what to do.
There are no worthless people under the fame, the Pingxia iron kite of the Xia Kingdom is not a joke, and I, Jing Guo, have also experienced it back then. "

"No, I don't want to use soldiers to deal with Xia Guo, but there are other ways."

"Other ways?" The emperor glanced at him, then nodded slightly: "That's right, you have the most ideas, so just let go and do whatever you want. Now you should know your position, so think before doing things, Yu Jingguo can do it." It is beneficial to my heavenly family.”

"Grandson understands, but"

"But what."

"Some things require the cooperation of the emperor."

The emperor's face turned pale, Li Xingzhou tried his best to speak tactfully, so as not to show that he wanted to order the emperor, but in fact it was.

It was expected that the emperor's complexion would be bad. He was silent for a long time, and finally nodded. "But you have to make it clear first, I will decide for myself."

Still want to save face.
In late March, Jingguo was full of jubilation. People were freed from the righteous indignation that Xia captured Tanglong Town before, and immersed in the joy and pride of Xia Guo being a vassal.

In fact, Li Xingzhou somewhat understands this feeling. Among the core values ​​of the Chinese people, there is a spirit that has been passed down for thousands of years, and that is self-improvement.

Self-improvement comes from Confucianism, to be precise, from the viewpoint of Xunzi, who has always emphasized self-improvement.

The reason why he emphasizes self-improvement is because he believes that "the way of heaven is for itself", so people must be self-improvement.

Taoism believes that "the way of heaven is inaction".Xunzi said that "the way of heaven is self-acting", which means that the natural world has its own laws and will not be changed by people. The sky will not have winter because people are afraid of cold, and the earth will not be shortened because people are afraid of long distances.

Therefore, there is only one way out for human beings, discovering the laws of nature, using the laws of nature, and becoming stronger, so Xunzi has always emphasized that people should strengthen themselves.

This is one of the core national thoughts that have been implemented in the minds of Chinese people for thousands of years. It is also this kind of thought that has made China fearful from ancient times to the present. Totally conquered.

But the Chinese Cultural Zone does not. Every downfall will be accompanied by a greater rebound and rise. Because of self-improvement, the only thought of Xunzi that is inherited by future generations is deeply imprinted in the hearts of every Chinese.

Maybe not everyone deliberately remembers it, but there are always some moments that will be affected by it.

And behind this unremitting self-improvement, there is a deeper level of hidden clan psychology that Confucianism has given to the Chinese people, that is-"We are the destiny."

Yes, it is because we belong to the destiny, so when we are strong, the Central Plains pays more attention to our own internal improvement, and does not pay attention to external expansion. Is to believe that I can return to the king.

This inner national psychology has both positive and negative effects.

The positive side is to make the Central Plains Kingdom pay more attention to internal improvement. In many cases, the people will be rich and the soldiers will be strong.At the same time, let the dynasties in the core circle of Chinese culture have endless vitality and a fighting spirit of self-improvement.

But the negative point is that the idea of ​​"we are the destiny" also has the risk of making the Central Plains dynasty become arrogant and closed.

Now Jingguo is a little distorted under this heavy ideological burden, it's not that they can't do it, it's really that the previous dynasty was too powerful.

During the Han Dynasty, today’s Xia Kingdom, Jiaozhi, Baiyi, Dali, and the south of the Liao Kingdom were mostly land, and foreigners in the north, barbarians in the northwest, and the Koryo Peninsula in the east were surrendered by soldiers everywhere.

By the end of the Han Dynasty, even if the three legs stood together, Cao Cao, Emperor Wu of Wei, could still fight against many princes while taking the time to beat the northern foreigners to pieces.

It was the same in the Sui Dynasty, but it happened to Jingguo.
After the founding of Gaozu, the only thing that can be used in foreign wars is probably the record of Zuka Daoyu
No matter how many beautiful articles the literati write and praise, they can't change the fact that people have a certain amount of psychology.

While claiming to be a descendant of the Han Dynasty, he is not as good at martial arts as the Han Dynasty. He does not have the majesty of the Han Dynasty, the pride of the Han Dynasty, and the surrender of all the bandits in the world.

This kind of helplessness indulging in the contrast between past glory and reality has become a national psychology, affecting the whole court, making the people cherish this "victory" all the more.

After all, at the peak of the Han Dynasty, there were more than 50 affiliated countries (during the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the specifics are not written out, there are suspicions about the number of words), and they have to pay tribute to the Han Dynasty every year. Now Jingguo finally has one, from the court to the people. The people, of course, were all rejoicing.

Let the common people be happy once, Li Xingzhou thought so. After all, people want to remember the glory of the past, but if they just immerse themselves in the memory and refuse to face the reality, it is a cowardly act.

For Li Xingzhou, the purpose of Xia Guo's surrender was to stabilize the northwest and allow the army to concentrate on the northern expedition. Other than that, it was meaningless. He had to be clear-headed.

On the night of March 23rd, the weather was cool and the breeze was breezy. The divination officer of the Ministry of Rites had confirmed that the 25th was a good day, and the ceremony for Xia Guo to hand in the letter of credence and surrender to Jing Guo would be held on that day.

In the evening, Li Xingzhou asked his servants to close the gate of the palace. No one could enter or leave the east courtyard. The nursing home was guarding it. In the main hall of the courtyard, the palace was holding a very confidential meeting. The people present were Shiyu, Qifang, Yan Kun, Di To, Ji Chunsheng, Yan Shen, and Li Xingzhou made an exception and added a newcomer, Fang Xin.

Li Xingzhou felt that this person had potential, and he was in the capital, so he had no worries.

Everyone looked at him in puzzlement, probably not understanding why he gathered everyone here so grandly and solemnly.

Seeing everyone's doubts, Li Xingzhou stood up and said self-consciously: "A few months ago, I thought of a way to deal with Xia Guo, but the conditions were not mature at that time, there was a lack of manpower, opportunities, and things.

But now these things are available, and the opportunity has come. "

Li Xingzhou paused when he said this, and said seriously: "This king wants to implement this plan, but this matter is different from the past. Most of the previous matters were business matters of the palace, business matters, and shopping malls. This time it is completely It's different, it looks like a business matter, but it's actually a military matter."

As soon as these words came out, everyone was even more confused.

"My lord, can silver be used as a sword?" Yan Shen scratched his head.

Everyone laughed, and Li Xingzhou also laughed: "Hahaha, the meaning is the same, but the usage is not.

The king once again reiterated that in the past, he might have dealt with one or two merchants, or bought a few shops, but this time it was completely different. The opponent was Xia Guo, and he needed to do things without being seen through by Xia Guo. "

When he said that, the atmosphere suddenly became serious, and everyone stopped laughing.

Qi Fang clasped his hands and said: "My lord, let me just say, most of the people here have gone to the battlefield for the lord, and they are all people who traveled all over the country for the lord's mansion. Who would be afraid of this?" She looked at it intentionally or unintentionally. Take a look at Shiyu.

Obviously, these words have the meaning of poetic language. Ji Chunsheng, Di Zhi, Yan Shen, and she have all been on the battlefield with him. It is naturally Yan Kun who travels all over the country for the palace, but there is no such thing as poetic language.
Shiyu remained calm, but when he glanced at the neighbor, he saw that Shiyu's hand on the leg under the table had been clenched into a fist. Li Xingzhou sighed. The two women often fought, so he quickly stood up and said, "Let me explain the plan in detail. Everyone listen to me carefully.

(End of this chapter)