Prince of Song Dynasty

Chapter 844 Wushi Mountain

After Lu Yuqing arrived in Gyeongju with mixed feelings, he kept the imperial envoy orders and imperial decrees bestowed by Zhao Dezhao hidden, and never mentioned them, so as not to be noticed by Zhao Pu's party and make some arrangements.In the past few days, he first had secret talks with Dang Jin, the commander-in-chief of the Northwest Frontier Army who had just recovered from his injury, and secretly investigated and speculated whether Dang Jin and Zhou Fagui, the governor of Gyeongju, had become Zhao Pu's people. .

...

...

Although the Song State has never officially recognized the existence of the Xiangfu State, the kings and ministers of the Song State are now very afraid of the Xiangfu State. From this battle between the Liaoxiang and the Xiang, although the Song State borrowed the excuse, it did not dare to send a single soldier to help the war You can see this.Therefore, the court of the Song Dynasty did not dare to neglect the safety and accommodation of the envoys of the Song Dynasty, and strictly followed the proper etiquette.

Today is Xu Xuan, the envoy of Xiangfu Kingdom, and Tang Xingwu, the deputy envoy, who came to Qingzhou to hold a banquet in the posthouse. This is the first confrontation between Lu Yuqing and Xu Xuan.

Not long after, the carriage arrived at the post house.Lu Yuqing and Zhou Fagui, the prefect of Gyeongju, got off the carriage, but there were people who greeted them but did not see Xu Xuan. Lu Yuqing couldn't help but groaned coldly in his heart, thinking that the dignified Deputy Prime Minister of Song Dynasty, Xu Xuan is really a big shelf.

However, Tang Xingwu had already greeted him at the door, with a faint smile on his face, he raised his hand in salute, and said: "Tang Xingwu, deputy envoy of Xiangfu Kingdom, Mr. Lu and Mr. Zhou, please."

Lu Yuqing carefully looked at the young man in front of him. He had a square forehead, thick eyebrows, and a long sword in his belt. He was very handsome. His eyes were bright and restrained. He was a formidable man at a glance.He sneered and said: "You are Tang Xingwu from the Tang family in Chuzhou. I think your Tang family and Zhao Xianggong are related by marriage, but you actually judged me, Song Dynasty, to be an official in an enemy country. You think His Majesty will not treat you The Tang family is exterminated."

Tang Xingwu smiled slightly, and said: "The extermination of the entire Tang family is exactly what I have always wanted to do but can't do. It would be a good thing for Song Emperor to help me realize this wish. I'm just afraid of the existence of Zhao Xianggong. Song Emperor No such thing."

Lu Yuqing and Zhou Fagui were immediately furious, but they knew that arguing with each other on this matter would only make their family more ugly, not to mention that it involved the emperor's most taboo thing, Tang Xingwu could say it, but they didn't dare to speak out.Therefore, Lu Yuqing snorted coldly and walked into the post house.

However, Zhou Fagui quickly regained his composure, with a calm expression on his face, and he gave a few instructions to his followers in a low voice, and the Song army who followed immediately lined up outside the posthouse, forming a faint siege around the posthouse. The staff and officials followed behind and entered together.

After entering the gate, Xu Xuan, envoy of Xiangfu Kingdom, greeted him personally at the second gate, clasped his fists and said expressionlessly: "Master Lu and Master Zhou, it's been hard work from afar."

Lu Yuqing clasped his fists in return, and said flatly: "Master Xu Xuan is wrong, this is my Great Song Dynasty, it should be Master Xu and Master Tang who have worked hard."

Xu Xuan pretended not to hear, smiled noncommittally, raised his hand and said, "Please." He welcomed Lu Yuqing, Zhou Fagui and others into the hall.

Lu Yuqing and others walked into the hall, but saw that the banquet had already been set up in the hall.Xu Xuan stood up on the main seat and ordered loudly: "Zuoyue, please sit down, Lord Lu and Lord Zhou." A waiter immediately came up and led the two to the guest seats.

Lu Yuqing and Zhou Fagui looked at each other quickly, they were both motionless, and Lu Yuqing said loudly: "Master Xu, you made a mistake again!"

Xu Xuan looked stunned, and asked: "What's wrong with this envoy, please enlighten me."

Lu Yuqing walked up to Xu Xuan, and said proudly: "This is the territory of the Song Dynasty, and the post house is also the post house where the Song Dynasty welcomes the envoys from neighboring countries. Out of love and courtesy, Master Xu should be invited to sit here."

When Xu Xuan heard this, he couldn't help being furious: "How can Master Lu say such impolite words? Since we are hosting a banquet in Xiangfu Kingdom, how can there be any reason to take the guest seat instead? Could it be that Master Lu is deliberately contemptuous? "

Lu Yuqing sneered and said, "If it's a private banquet, you can naturally take the chair. However, Mr. Xu represents the emperor of your country, and I represent the emperor of the Song Dynasty. This is a banquet between the two countries. Since it is in the Song Dynasty, I will sit at the chair."

But Xu Xuan did not agree, "Lord Lu, don't try to argue with Su Qin, all things in the world are the same, and when we hold a banquet, I will take the lead."

Lu Yuqing knew that this first confrontation was about the vigor of both sides, so how could he be willing to give in half a step, and said with a sneer: "If you want to hold a banquet in the land of the Great Song Dynasty, and in the posthouse of the Great Song Dynasty, naturally we will set it up. No matter how much it costs, it doesn’t have to come from your country.”

Xu Xuan took a few steps forward and said sharply, "Lord Lu refuses to give in even a single step. It's so unreasonable, but he has no sincerity to negotiate. Do you want to meet each other on the battlefield?"

Xu Xuan and Zhou Fagui's expressions changed slightly, but Lu Yuqing immediately sneered and said, "This envoy came all the way from Kaifeng to hold festivals, how can you say that he is not sincere? Most of the kings and ministers of Xiangfu Kingdom are from my Song Dynasty, so how can you not know?" And disregarding etiquette and righteousness, being ridiculed by the world? Everything in the world can't hold the word "reasonable", asking for concessions without reason, is it because the envoy lacks sincerity, or is your country lacking sincerity?"

Lu Yuqing debated eloquently, but Xu Xuan suddenly regained his composure, and said with a smile: "This envoy is holding a banquet, and this envoy will definitely not sit in this guest seat. Since Lord Lu and Lord Zhou must compete for the main seat, but in this way Well, this envoy will hold a banquet at Huangwan Pass tomorrow, and then invite the two adults to attend the meeting, so that the negotiations can resume, okay?"

Lu Yuqing and Zhou Fagui looked at each other, nodded slightly, and said neither overbearing nor humble: "If this is the case, I will be on time for the appointment tomorrow."

After Lu Yuqing and Zhou Fagui left, Xu Xuan and Tang Xingwu looked at each other, and the former said, "What did Mr. Tang see?"

Xu Xuan and Tang Xingwu hosted a banquet today with a purpose of course. Through the words and behaviors of Xu Xuan and Zhou Fagui during the banquet, we can find out the extent to which the monarchs and ministers of the Song Dynasty are afraid of going to war with the Xiangfu Kingdom, so as to prepare for the formal negotiations later. Base.Therefore, today Xu Xuan deliberately did not greet him, and neglected the other party, then Tang Xingwu provoked the other party at the door, and then deliberately tried to test the host and guest seats.

Tang Xingwu knew that Xu Xuan was one of the most core people in Xiangfu Kingdom, and even won Ye Chen's trust even more than the left and right prime ministers Han Xizai and Ma Wentao, as well as the general Yang Jiye. My ability is very important to my future development in Xiangfu Kingdom, so after serious thinking, I shook my head and said: "Lu Yuqing has a personal grievance with His Majesty, and I am afraid that he will be affected by his selfishness during the negotiation. Dare to determine the bottom line of Song Guojun and ministers."

"It doesn't matter, Lu Yuqing has been an official for many years, and he has served as the deputy prime minister of the Song Dynasty for six years. There are still some in the city, and it is impossible to find out the truth based on one incident alone." Xu Xuan paused, and then said: "According to His Majesty, it is enough to get the mountain range named Wushi Mountain south of Huangwan Pass from the Song people. As for the definition of other places or boundaries, it is a trivial matter."

Tang Xingwu hesitated for a while, and finally expressed the doubts in his heart these days: "Master Xu, the officials from Wushi Mountain did a search before they came, and there is no output in the barren mountains and wild mountains, and there are very few people. Except for the four There are no special places beyond the five villages. Why does His Majesty want that mountain range?"

Xu Xuan glanced at Tang Xingwu, smiled, and said, "It's okay to tell you. Your Majesty said that there are extremely rich and extremely pure iron ore and coal mines in that mountain. Now the weapon production base of the Equipment Department heard that it is refining There has been a great breakthrough in the law of steel, which just needs a large amount of iron and coal. The iron ore production known to me in Xiangfu Kingdom is far from enough. Therefore, we must get this Wushi Mountain from the people of Song Dynasty. Come on Before, His Majesty has ordered that if the people of Song Dynasty are unwilling to cede it, they will grab it after the new year and let the troops rest for a period of time."

Tang Xingwu suddenly realized, but then he wondered why Ye Chen knew that there were iron mines and coal mines in Wushi Mountain?I also heard that the gold mine in the Sancha Valley was also discovered by Ye Chen.How did he find out?
The closer he got to Ye Chen, the more he understood Ye Chen, the more Tang Xingwu felt that Ye Chen was unfathomable.

...

...

On December 21st, the area around Xiajing was cloudless and the sun was shining brightly, which was a rare fine weather.

More than 50 pedestrians were walking on the official road leading to the south gate of Xia Jing, and a middle-aged man in his 40s rode a horse at the front of the convoy.He was dressed in a white leather robe and a black black veil on his head. On his thin and tired face, a pair of thin eyes were shining brightly, and the corner of his mouth with three strands of beard was slightly smiling. I can't help but be deeply moved by the hardships I have endured and the achievements I have made in the past six months.

That's right, this middle-aged man was none other than Zhang Bo, Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture, who was demoted and sent to the Seven Counties of Hetao half a year ago because of his involvement in the espionage case.

At that time, more than 200 million mu of fertile land had been reclaimed in the Hetao Plain and the Hengshan Wasteland, and seven new counties had to be established. The construction of the city, the establishment of households, the division of land, and management were extremely complicated, and there were constant conflicts between the Han people who immigrated and the local party members.So Ye Chen just sent Zhang Bo to take charge of this matter.Zhang Bo also lived up to Ye Chen's expectations. He worked hard for half a year, tried his best to build seven new counties, and put them on the right track. Now each county has its own magistrate and officials to manage it, so Zhang Bo was recalled by Ye Chen. .

Next to Zhang Bo was a young man in his twenties, dressed in common clothes, with a determined face and sparkling eyes.

Zhang Bo looked at both sides of the official road outside the south gate, and saw that there were row upon row of houses on both sides, including teahouses, wine shops, foot shops, butcher shops, bookstores... Banners were hung on the gates of the shops to attract business. Compared with the prosperity of the inner city of the capital, it is not inferior.Surprised expression unconsciously appeared on his face, he stopped his horse and sighed: "Feiyang, the old man has only been away from Xia Jing for more than half a year, and the changes here have turned out to be earth-shaking, really surprising."

(End of this chapter)