King of Song

Chapter 52

Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, it was the Tian'an Festival in mid-September!

On the birthday of Lord Yelu Hongji of the Liao Dynasty, envoys from various countries and the leaders of the affiliated tribes all came to celebrate the birthday.

At noon of this day, the huge birthday banquet venue has already been set up by the Liao River, and the Liao Lord Yelu Hongji will accept worship and congratulations here.There are so many people who come to pay their respects, it is really difficult to find a tent that covers enough area.

In addition, the weather this year is really good. Even in Liaodong, it is still not very cold, and the autumn air is crisp and pleasant.The outdoor layout is even more spectacular, and it is also the embodiment of the nomadic wilderness tradition of the Liao people.

The three envoys of the Song Dynasty had all changed into formal court clothes, and they were very carefully dressed.Although this trip has another purpose, it is still nominally to celebrate the birthday of the Liao Lord, so the etiquette is naturally not bad.It is one thing not to be disrespectful to the Liao Kingdom, and at the same time not to lose the prestige of the Great Song Dynasty!Then he went out with the birthday gift and letter of congratulations that he had prepared.

On the way, I met Libo again. When the leader of the Wanyan Department saw Lin Zhao, he came forward happily, smiling gratefully, "Thank you Song envoy, my son Aguda has eaten the medicine prescribed by your doctor. It's much better already!"

"Uh, Chief Wanyan is being polite, Lin Zhao responded casually, and really didn't have the heart to say anything more to Xie Libo, especially when it comes to rescuing Wanyan Aguda!
However, Xie Libo chattered endlessly: "Great kindness and great virtue, I will remember it in my heart, and I can't repay it..."

"Uh, Chief Wanyan is so polite!" Lin Zhao only took it as a polite remark and never took it to heart.It happens that this will be wild

Almost Ke walked over, leaving a resentful look in his eyes, obviously he was not interested in Song Shi, and his hostility was very serious.

The envoys of the Song Dynasty didn't pay attention to these small Fanbang characters at all, and they all gathered their minds and prepared to deal with today's situation.As the saying goes, there is no good banquet, and today is the most difficult and critical moment.

Sure enough, amidst a series of music and etiquette sounds, Lord Yelu Hongji of the Liao Dynasty ascended the throne and accepted congratulations!First, the courtiers of the Liao clan came forward to pay homage to the birthday, and then envoys from other countries came forward to congratulate.It's a very common link, but this time something went wrong...

"Congratulations to His Majesty the Emperor of the Liao Dynasty on his birthday, and wishing His Majesty a long and prosperous life!" The envoys from all over the world knelt down in unison, appearing to be sincere.Of course, the three envoys of the Song Dynasty were excluded. They just bowed slightly to salute, and instantly stood out from the crowd.

"Why don't you kneel?" Before the Lord of Liao could speak, a Liao civil servant jumped out and criticized loudly.

Zeng Gong said in a low voice: "This person is called Zhang Xiaojie. He was the number one scholar in the first year of Qingning (1055) in the Liao Kingdom. In [-], the Liao State was able to participate in political affairs and the Privy Council! If this person comes forward today, I am afraid that the person who came here is not kind!" Zeng Gong felt a little uncomfortable when he said it. No matter how many years, the grade will not improve much.Look at the Liao Kingdom, it's simply so fast, it's incomparable!
Zhang Zongyi said loudly: "Song and Liao are states of brothers with equal status. We represent the emperor of Song, so naturally we don't need to kneel down!"

Zhang Xiaojie shook his head and said: "Song and Liao are indeed a state of brothers. It was established in Chanzhou by the Emperor Zhenzong of your country and the Emperor Shengzong of our country. At the beginning, the Emperor Zhenzong of your country was the older brother, and the Emperor Shengzong of our country was the younger brother. Now your country The emperor is the great-grandson of Zhenzong, and your majesty is the grandson of the emperor, so the emperor of your country should call your majesty the emperor's uncle. Should the nephew kneel down to celebrate his uncle's birthday?"

Although this is a bit far-fetched,

But there is also evidence, and it seems to make sense!Lin Zhao already understood in his heart that the Liao Kingdom had specially recruited this "learned man", and it seemed that he was deliberately looking for trouble!

Seeing that the Song envoy was unmoved, Zhang Xiaojie said again: "Your country has always regarded itself as a state of etiquette, and pays attention to governing the world with filial piety. Is it possible that you are going to do something unfilial today?"

Zhang Zongyi was at a loss for words for a while, and the Liao people were obviously arrogant and aggressive.If you give in, it will be a major insult to the state, but if you don't give in, there must be an excuse...

Zeng Gong said: "Today, on behalf of the Great Song Dynasty, we celebrate the birthday of the Liao Emperor. This is a state matter, not a family matter!"

"If there is a country, there is a family. How can the family and the country be separated? Today is the birthday of His Majesty, don't you represent the emperor of your country to congratulate the emperor?" Zhang Xiaojie pressed every step of the way.

These words are not entirely unreasonable. Your Majesty and the envoys of the two countries must represent their own emperors and express their greetings to the opposing monarchs.Formally, it seems to be so...

Lin Zhao saw Zhang Zongyi and Zeng Gong's expressions of embarrassment, and immediately said: "As the saying goes, uncle is naturally a role model for nephews. After the death of Emperor Renzong, can the Lord of Liao keep his filial piety for three years like a son and nephew? I am the emperor The Empress Dowager is the aunt of the Lord Liao, so I don't know if the Lord Liao has ever performed filial piety at his knees?"

"Uh... this..." Zhang Xiaojie accidentally looked at Yelu Hongji's face with the spear of the son attacking the shield of the son, and for a moment didn't know how to answer...

When the emperor passed away, he usually expressed his mourning symbolically after mourning. He stopped going for a few days and sent a mission to express his condolences.It's not about parents, isn't it a joke to observe filial piety and mourn?But if you really want to put it on the table, if you talk about it carefully, isn't that the case!
"Emperor Zhenzong of your country also respected Empress Chengtian of our country as his aunt, why didn't he come to Beijing to fulfill his filial piety?" Zhang Xiaojie obviously avoided the important ones.

Lin Zhao said with a smile: "Yes, there is no such precedent for my Emperor Zhenzong and His Majesty the Emperor of your country. It is because state affairs are the most important, and personal interests should not be discarded due to public affairs... Many elders have taught me that I am benevolent and filial to the emperor, so I naturally respect it. Obedience, family affairs cannot affect state affairs today!"

"you……"

Lin Zhao immediately chased after the victory and said, "Could it be that you want to veto the teachings of the previous kings? Are you determined to make His Majesty the emperor of your country unfilial?"

Strong words are unreasonable, and this is the principle today.No matter what, as long as it makes sense and is tenable, whoever speaks well will be justified.Zeng Gong looked at Lin Zhao and smiled knowingly. Now he finally understands why the emperor and the princes sent a brat on a mission!

Lord Liao, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke up. If this continues, Lin Zhao will have to call him an unkind, unfilial, senseless and foolish ruler!Although he intends to suppress the Song envoy today, he has to take his dignity into consideration!

The dignified champion of the Liao Kingdom is not as sharp-tongued as a boy from the Southern Dynasty, really annoyed!Yelu Hongji suppressed the anger in his heart, and said with a smile: "Forget it, even if the emperor's nephew comes in person, how could I have the heart to let him kneel down to catch the cold, there is no need for today, envoy Song can take his seat!"

Needless to say, the first round of confrontation ended with Song envoy's victory.The three Song envoys had a great deal of face, they gave Zhang Xiaojie a cold contempt, turned around and sat down...

Lin Zhaoye finally came from behind the scenes to the front of the stage. This is the most outstanding envoy of the Song Dynasty!

The next link is to present leaders from various countries to the Lord of Liao, and all kinds of rare treasures and rare specialties will appear one after another.Jurchen presented mostly ginseng, Dongzhu, and Haidongqing; Shiwei presented dozens of excellent white wolf skins; Gaoli presented two large corals, and several other beauties had entered the Liao Lord's tent a few nights ago up...

Tubo sent alpine snow lotus and Hehuang BMW; Xixia seems to have invested heavily, such as jade carvings from the Western Regions, Dashi Baodao, rare treasures, everything that one expects to find, especially a white deer, which was a symbol of auspiciousness in ancient times.

In the end, all eyes fell on the Song envoy, who was very interested in the birthday gifts of the Song Dynasty, which has always regarded itself as the supreme kingdom of heaven!Zhang Zongyi stood up and presented gifts to the Liao Lord on behalf of the Song Dynasty: one side of the Songhe Fushou Longevity Shu brocade screen, several pieces of fine porcelain, a piece of Fu Lu Shou gold decoration, several exquisite paintings and calligraphy...

It can be said that they are all related to birthday celebrations, with the characteristics of the Song Dynasty, and mainly cultural items.Usually it's nothing, but today the other countries are too conspicuous, so it looks a bit shabby.When Zhang Zongyi spoke, he was still a little bit unconfident... But after thinking about it, hundreds of thousands of old coins every year are already cheap enough for the Liao Kingdom, and the birthday gift is not bad...

Of course, Zhang Langzhong still explained slightly: "This Shu brocade screen was carefully embroidered by more than ten embroiderers in the middle of Shu for half a year. Cheng, as for these paintings and calligraphy, they were all written by celebrities in the past dynasties, and all of them are rare authentic works. I wish His Majesty the Emperor of Liao a happy life and a happy life!"

Having said that, it looked like it was still second-class after all. Liao Lord Yelu Hongji reacted calmly, only took a few glances and then stopped paying attention.On the contrary, he was full of praise for the precious sword and BMW, and despised the Song Dynasty intentionally or unintentionally.

In the end, in order to despise the Song Dynasty and show the wealth of the Liao Kingdom, I added a sentence: "I like the birthday gifts from various countries. When the envoys return, I will give a gift to the monarchs of all countries. My Daliao has a vast land and abundant resources. What, Daliao has what, you envoys can choose whatever they want!"

These words are domineering!Is it possible that if you want the mountains and rivers of the Liao Kingdom, and your woman, you will also give it to me?Just kidding, let's get down to business!Although Lord Liao is generous, who would dare to ask for this thing indiscriminately?
For a while, the people of Tubo asked for Buddhist scriptures, the people of Xixia asked for the horsewhip of the Liao Lord, and the people of Goryeo asked for some precious cups, and at the same time asked for some rare treasures within a moderate range...

In the end, Song Envoy was still chosen, so what do you want?Before Zhang Zongyi and Zeng Gong had an idea, Lin Zhao got up and said, "The Lord of Liao means... as long as the Liao Kingdom has something, can it be given as a gift?"

"Not bad!"

"That's all right, what the Song Dynasty asked for is quite precious, I hope the Liao Lord will not be stingy..."

"As long as you can tell, I will naturally agree!" Yelu Hongji looked at Lin Zhao with great interest. What kind of tricks can this young envoy of Song Dynasty play?Everyone else has the same mentality!
On the edge of the Liao River, in the huge venue, thousands of pairs of eyes were all focused on Lin Zhao.What gift did the envoy of Song want to ask the Lord of Liao in return?

Zhang Zongyi was afraid that Lin Zhao would go too far and cause trouble by talking indiscriminately, but Zeng Gong stopped him when he wanted to remind him.Zeng Gong believed that Lin Zhao would have a sense of proportion...

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Lin Zhao bent down and picked up a handful of loess from the ground, held it up high, and said in a loud voice, "His Majesty the Emperor of the Liao Dynasty, the Great Song Dynasty wants this..."

(End of this chapter)