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Chapter 223 The Lobbyist
Everyone in the big tent was in a state of joy, more than a dozen Mohe girls with bare shoulders and wearing deerskin skirts entered the tent and performed singing and dancing.And the people at the side also picked up the bone flute and played music with the leather drum, and the big tent was filled with cheerful tunes.

In the tent, several pots of tiger meat hunted yesterday were served, as well as fat-burned boar legs, pheasants, rabbit meat, and even pangolins, all of which were delicious mountain delicacies.In front of each of them was a big basin, and the meat was torn directly by hand, and the mouth was full of blood.

As for the Mohe people entertaining friends, how can there be no wine, and immediately a dozen leather bags containing wine were brought up in one go.Wu Gu Nai first took up a bag of wine to respect Li Chongjiu, Li Chongjiu also took up a bag of wine in front of him, and drank with Wu Gu Nai.The two were extremely proud, and the wine kept falling from their cheeks, and each of them drank half a bag.

One must know that the Mohe people's wine is spicy and spicy, and the taste of the wine is low, but it is extremely strong. A big and three rough Mohe man, after only a few sips, he passed out.However, after Li Chongjiu drank half a bag, his expression was as usual, while Wu Gu Nai was a little unsteady on his feet.

Everyone in the tent saw that Li Chongjiu had a good capacity for alcohol, and they all took turns to toast.Li Chongjiu did not refuse anyone who came, and everyone drank together one by one, and Li Chongjiu was still not drunk after drinking a round in the tent.This time, everyone in the tent was speechless, they couldn't hold on after drinking for a while.However, according to the customs of the Mohe people, when entertaining guests, if the guests are not drunk, it means that the host is just generous and enthusiastic.So they had no choice but to bite the bullet. That night, everyone drank more than thirty bags of wine in one go, and simply drank all the wine in the tent.

On the next day, although everyone in Mohe was drunk, they were even more in awe when they saw Li Chongjiu.Everyone didn't see the killing of a tiger with one arrow, but Li Chongjiu's extraordinary drinking capacity was enough to convince these straight-tempered men.At present, in the entire Mohe camp, no one does not have admiration for Li Chongjiu.

"The patriarch is back!"

As soon as the words fell, the news of Tudiji's return to the tent came, and countless men and women gathered to greet him.Li Chongjiu was caught in the crowd and saw this famous general of the Sui Dynasty.I saw the other party on a tall horse, dressed in armor, with a burly figure and a white beard fluttering under his forehead, but his eyes were shining brightly. Dozens of Mohe cavalry riding like dragons and tigers surrounded him, and his momentum was really extraordinary.

On the other hand, the men and women of Mohe were cheering all around, it was obvious that Tudiji had incomparable prestige in the hearts of everyone.However, Li Chongjiu could see that Tudiji had a worried look on his face. He heard that the other party went to Liucheng, the county town of Liaoxi County, a few days ago, so he probably returned unhappy.

Li Chongjiu learned from Lin Dangfeng that the Liaoxi County in the Sui Dynasty was vast, but it only had one county, and the number of households recorded by the court was only 750, which means a population of only 5000.But from Li Chongjiu's point of view, there is at least 5000 people in the Mohe people's camp here.This shows that the Fan people in Mohe in western Liaoning were not naturalized, and they were actually divided into two systems with the Han army garrison in Liucheng.It seems that Tudiji, the prefect of Liaoxi, is famous but not real.

After Tudiji returned the account, Li Chongjiu was summoned when he learned that he hadn't rested much.Picking up the tent and entering, Li Chongjiu felt a look looking up and down at him.Li Chongjiu didn't look up, nor did he look at the other party in a manner that was out of courtesy.

"If the old man is not mistaken, you are the champion, right?" This Tudiji has been an official in Han for a long time, and he speaks Chinese with a straight accent.

"Exactly. I don't know how the envoy saw through it?" Li Chongjiu was exposed by someone at a glance, and he didn't hide it immediately.

Tudiji looked at Li Chongjiu with flickering eyes and said: "When I was in Yanmen, I saw with my own eyes that you shot down the golden wolf banner of Turkic Khan among your ten thousand troops, and later you were awarded the title of champion by the emperor. How could I not remember you."

Li Chongjiu smiled and said: "It's a trivial matter in the past, and it's not worth mentioning."

boom!
As soon as Li Chongjiu finished speaking, the other party slammed the table with a palm, and shouted: "Champion Hou, you are greatly favored by the emperor, and you don't know how to repay your kindness, but you boldly rose up and rebelled against each other. Believe it or not, I killed you on the spot and killed you directly!" Send it to Jiangdu!"

The other party was laughing at first, but suddenly the situation changed suddenly and turned into harsh words.Under such circumstances, Li Chongjiu smiled freely and said, "Is Shi Jun just joking?"

Hearing Li Chongjiu's sarcasm, Su Diji raised his eyebrows and said: "I have never seen such an arrogant person like you. You are the first person who dares to talk to me like this in my big tent."

Li Chongjiu said: "It's not that you are bold and arrogant. It's just that you are strong because you are straight. It's just that you are loyal to the court. Now Jingbian Marquis is rebelling. According to the three counties of Liaoxi, Liaodong, and Beiping, you must be loyal. The imperial court, why didn't you send troops to quell the rebellion, but instead went to Liucheng, did you make some secret deal with Luo Yi?"

Tudiji was originally aggressive, but when he saw Li Chongjiu's sudden words, his body, which was originally tense, suddenly loosened.Tudiji stood up, sighed, bowed to the south, and said: "The old minister failed the kindness of the emperor, not because he didn't want to put down the rebellion, but because of the lack of troops."

Li Chongjiu nodded and said with a smile: "That's right, I can understand Shijun's difficulties, but I also have my own difficulties. At that time, I was framed by a villain, and my life was dying. I had no choice but to protect myself. But since the formation of the army, I have only dealt with Khitan, There has never been a single battle against the imperial court officers and soldiers. It may be that you and I have different understandings of loyalty."

Su Diji sneered and said, "The champion Hou can speak eloquently, no wonder he deceived Li Yuan's daughter. Let him see you as a thorn in his side. After all, what are you doing here in Liaoxi?"

Hearing Tudiji mention Li Zhiwan, Li Chongjiu couldn't help but look dark, but then he calmed down and said, "I came to Liaoxi not because of my own plans, but to see what your envoy has plans?"

Tu Diji narrowed his eyes, and said: "What are your plans? I am a minister of the Sui Dynasty in life, and a ghost of the Sui Dynasty in death, as long as the old man is still in the west of Liaoning."

Li Chongjiu couldn't help but sigh when he heard that, now the Great Sui Dynasty is falling apart, not to mention the uprisings against the king everywhere, such as Luo Yi, Li Yuan and others are also conspiring to rebel, even if Li Chongjiu said it righteously, but because he is familiar with history, he has no intention to replace it. This is the idea of ​​continuing the life of the collapsed Sui Dynasty.Seeing the loyal ministers in Bandang, at this time, people in Liaoxi County were in panic. Li Chongjiu did not expect that the most loyal to the court was not the Han officials from all over the country, but this general who still adhered to the banner of the Great Sui Dynasty and abided by the way of ministers.

But such a loyal minister is not what Li Chongjiu wants to see, let alone what Luo Yi wants to see.Although Li Chongjiu knew that it was difficult to change this person's mind, he still wanted to give it a try.Li Chongjiu said: "The king is loyal to the imperial court with all his heart and fists, but now most of the Liaoxi County has been occupied by Luo Yi, and Wangnan's Anle has also been occupied by the rebels Gao Kaidao. Now Liaoxi Mohe is loyal to the Sui Dynasty, but It is like an isolated island with enemies on all sides, at this moment, although the emperor wants to serve the country, he must also think about himself and tens of thousands of people."
Seeing the thoughtful expression on Tudiji's face, Li Chongjiu said with a hot iron: "You also know that I am based on the grassland, and I have tens of thousands of cavalry from Xibu under my command, and nearly ten thousand soldiers from Huaihuang, Yuyi, and Shanggu. , can also be regarded as a force, enough to protect your Mohe tribe from the harassment of Gao Kaidao and Luo Yi. As long as the envoy is willing to agree, I will treat the people of the Mohe tribe as my own brothers, and guarantee that you Mohe people will live freely for generations this life."

Hearing this, Tudi Ji showed a bit of sarcasm, and said, "Champion Hou, the same thing was said to me by Jingbianhou. Then why should I listen to you?"

Li Chongjiu said: "If you feel that Jing Bianhou can be trusted, you won't delay until now, will you? If I were your Excellency, wouldn't it be better to have more room for maneuver in the current situation of Liaoxi Mohe?"

With a thoughtful look on Tudiji's face, he said, "Champion Hou, I have to admit that you are a very good lobbyist."

"But we are loyal to the Son of Heaven. I know you must be saying from the bottom of your heart why a fan would be so loyal to your Han emperor. You don't know that the Goguryeo people oppressed and enslaved us in Mohe and collected exorbitant taxes. If they didn't pay, they would burn our money The house robbed us of our winter food. We had to abandon our homeland and flee in all directions. However, the emperor of the Sui Dynasty accepted us and gave us Tudi to live here and give us shelter. Although the place in western Liaoning is not big, It is enough for us to live. Therefore, all of us in the clan have deep gratitude to the emperor. And you and Jingbianhou are both traitors to the court. I will never take refuge in any of you. It can be heartfelt."

Seeing that the other party was determined, Li Chongjiu didn't say anything after hearing this, and got up silently.But Tudiji left his position, got up himself, and sent Li Chongjiu out of the tent.

When he got outside the tent, his expression suddenly slowed down a bit, and he said: "My sons all admire the champion, saying that you are a first-class hero in the world, I was a little presumptuous in what I said just now. , I also hope that the champion will not mind."

Li Chongjiu smiled slightly, and said: "To each other, I admire your loyalty to the court. It's still the same sentence, whenever you can figure it out, you can ask me for help."

He suddenly laughed, but said nothing more.

When Li Chongjiu returned to the big tent, Ertuo immediately came up to ask about the details of Li Chongjiu's negotiation with Tudiji.

"Khan, this person is really stubborn. You are still talking about loyalty to the emperor at this time. Except for him, the other Mohe people regard you as a hero. It is easy to accept them. It would be a pity if you miss it."
Li Chongjiu said with a smile: "I didn't plan to persuade the other party with a few words, don't worry, at worst we just lost a few days of effort. I think there is a turning point in this matter."

(End of this chapter)