Traveling through Tianlong: Starting from the Zhenlong chess game

Chapter 543 I Became a "Foreigner"
Two days later, the convoy of the Song Dynasty's marriage envoys also arrived at Lingzhou City.

Although this marriage was arranged long ago, Zhao Mu was now a vassal king. Chai Wenxiu and Qian Yuhuan were princesses of two hereditary princes of the Song Dynasty. Zhao Mu also gave these two girls enough and personally went to the east gate of Lingzhou City to welcome the Song Dynasty's marriage delegation into the city.

The surrounding area was also filled with common people, holding flowers in their hands to welcome the marriage delegation and the two princesses.

Princess Chai looked at the wide streets of Lingzhou City and the welcoming ceremony with flags flying all over the place, and her heart was filled with joy. Princess Qian was the same.

The wedding of the two of them this time can be regarded as the most grand among all the noble ladies in the capital.

Although she was only marrying Zhao Mu, this time Emperor Zhezong gave them both the ceremony of a princess' wedding.

A farewell banquet was held for the two of them in front of the Meridian Gate. Then Zhezong watched them both get on their respective floats.

Following them came the envoys from the Song Dynasty. However, this envoy was not just to escort them. More importantly, it was to escort their dowries and the "annual tribute" from Emperor Zhezong to Zhao Mu.

These dowries were prepared by Emperor Zhezong for the two of them, in order to make them more glorious, to make the Song Dynasty more respectable, and to allow Zhao Mu to receive more rewards.

The Song Dynasty and the Qi Kingdom did not dare to neglect the marriage of the two princesses. When they crossed the border, both sides sent out their most elite troops for personal protection, fearing that there would be attacks from bad guys. After all, the two little beauties were secondary. What was important was the gold, silver, jewelry, silk and other valuables placed on the long carts that stretched for miles.

When Zhao Mu stood on the city gate to welcome the guests, he couldn't help but widen his eyes when he saw the long dragon behind the two wedding carriages.

However, the selection of officials in the diplomatic delegation to escort the bride was quite intriguing.

Originally, Zhao Mu thought that the person coming to see off the bride should be Fang Shisan, or someone else around the emperor.

However, the head of the delegation this time was none other than Zhao Mu's old acquaintance, Su Shi, the greatest chef in the Song Dynasty.

So much so that at the banquet to welcome the delegation, Zhao Mu even teased Su Shi, "Did Lord Su get demoted again?"

After three rounds of wine and five dishes, Zhao Mu invited Hongluan and others to dance for the delegation.

While watching the dance of Hongluan and others, Su Shi said something very tactless.

Su Shi looked at the Central Plains song and dance performed by Hongluan and others and said, "Your Majesty still likes my Central Plains dance very much."

Zhao Mu couldn't help but frown when he heard this. He said, "Why do you say that, Su Xueshi? Although Zhao Mu is now favored by Your Majesty and has become a vassal king, Qi is still the territory of our Song Dynasty. I am just a 'Jiedushi' who guards the territory for Your Majesty. I, Zhao Mu, am a royal family of the Song Dynasty. How can I still like the dance of the Central Plains?"

Zhao Mu said jokingly, "I was once a minister in the same palace with Su Xueshi. Moreover, Su Xueshi was the Minister of Rites, and I was the Minister of War. The two positions are only a few steps apart, so how could Su Xueshi be so forgetful?"

After being mocked by Zhao Mu, Su Shi quickly raised his glass to apologize, saying, "Haha, I was drunk and said something wrong. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."

Zhao Mu naturally would not blame Su Shi. Although in Zhao Mu's eyes, Su Shi was a member of the civil official clique, he was still a man of character who could befriend others. The thoughts he inadvertently expressed might be the thoughts of the officials in the court.

Zhao Mu asked casually at this time: "Mr. Su, I have a few questions to ask you. I hope Mr. Su can speak frankly for the sake of our former colleagues."

Su Shi smiled and said, "Haha, Your Majesty, you can speak frankly if you want to." Zhao Mu asked, "Student Su, how do the officials in the court view me now? I hope Your Majesty can tell me the truth."

Su Shi was stunned by Zhao Mu's question, but then he said, "How else can I look at you? Of course, I should look at you as I should."

Zhao Mu couldn't help but sigh and shook his head when he heard this nonsense answer. Then Zhao Mu asked more directly: "No, what I mean is..."

Zhao Mu did not finish his words this time, and Su Shi, who had sobered up, understood what he meant. Su Shi replied: "How the officials in the court see you, the vassal lords of Dali, Liao, and the King of Western Xia, is how they see you. I will say something taboo. Although you are a relative of the Song Dynasty, in the eyes of the officials, you are no different from the King of Western Xia before."

"I was influenced by everyone when I made a slip of the tongue just now. There are even some gossips in the court saying that Your Majesty is now 'competing with His Majesty'."

Hearing this, Zhao Mu frowned.

Seeing Zhao Mu frowning, Su Shi couldn't help but shut his mouth.

Zhao Mu saw this and immediately relaxed his frown. He also loosened his grip on the wine glass. He said, "Master Su, please continue. What is the meaning of 'confrontation'?"

When Su Shi saw Zhao Mu's eager eyes, he made up his mind and drank all the liquor in the glass.

After drinking to build up his courage, Su Shi continued, "Nowadays, the court compares you and Your Majesty to 'Dong Gong and Xi Gong of the Zhou Dynasty.' Although you are from the same Zhou family, you have separate national sacrifices. You were exiled to the border and worshipped Taizu. And we in the Song Dynasty worship Taizong. It can be regarded as a 'competition' between the two lines of Taizu and Taizong."

"To be honest, the officials of the Song Dynasty now do not regard you as the prince of the Song Dynasty. You are the King of Qi, the ruler of another foreign country. If you return to Bianjing one day, the officials in the court will also regard you as the head of a foreign prince. But they will never regard you as the prince of the Song Dynasty."

"Some even say that His Majesty exiled you to the former land of Western Xia. He granted you the power to mint coins, set up your own government offices, and grant reign titles in order to drive you out of the Song Dynasty. After all, His Majesty is merciful and has not killed you, a minister who has made great contributions to the emperor, but he will never dare to use you again."

After hearing Su Shi's words, Zhao Mu couldn't help but sigh. Zhao Mu certainly didn't believe that Zhezong deliberately exiled him. Because if he was really exiled, he wouldn't have moved people and stationed troops in Xixia according to their original plan.

However, now the civil and military officials in the court no longer regarded him as "one of their own", which made him very angry. He was just a vassal, but in the end he was regarded as a "foreigner" by them.

But Zhao Mu also let it go later. After all, those bastards in the court never regarded him as one of their own. Of course, the noble faction was an exception. Because when Zhao Mu was in the court, he was the most influential person in the noble group.

Now that Zhao Mu was thrown into Xixia, the biggest leader of the noble faction in the court was gone. Now in the court, the civil service group headed by Prime Minister Cai Que and Sima Guang once again had the upper hand.

King Zhongxiao and others, who had temporarily regained the upper hand with their military achievements, lost their power in the court again because of the absence of Zhao Mu.

The same is true for the noble group. Although when Zhao Mu was driven away, the princes, governors, and generals were happier than during the Chinese New Year, but when Zhao Mu really left, he became a mere decoration in the court.

Although he was just a figurehead before, he still had a say as the Grand Commandant. Once Zhao Mu left, the noble group was completely speechless.

This is also the reason why the civil service group cooperated and supported Zhao Mu's enfeoffment so well, without even a single gossip.

Because Zhao Mu was gone, they could regain the right to speak in the court. After all, for them, the Song Dynasty and the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun were considered Han territory. Zhao Mu was a "mixed Hu".

(End of this chapter)