Peerless Pirates

After sending Yuan Haowen away, Song Zheng ordered Li Yao to move all the newspapers to the backyard, and began to read them one by one, and jotted down some information points to read Shura in the Warring States Period.

Yuan Haowen arrived two months earlier than Song Zheng. He had already established his own information channels and knew more information than Song Zheng. If Song Zheng wanted to catch up, he must immediately understand the various situations at the top.

In the next three days, Song Zheng used the excuse that he was feeling unwell and needed to recuperate for a few days, so he did not go out of the post house. He either read the newspaper of his old residence or went to Huixian House to drink tea and eat, so as to inquire about various news.

Dali, Xixia and Tubo all have permanent envoys stationed in Huailaiyi, and their ranks are not high. As for Song Zheng, the Qi envoy, everyone only knows each other. The Xixia envoys are very hostile to Song Zheng, while the Dali and Tubo envoys , it can be seen from the relationship between Shu and Qi, and there is no intention to be close.

Daqi and Tubo are quite far apart, let’s not talk about it for the moment, but Daqi’s South Guangxi Road is connected to Dali. However, due to the dangerous mountains and rivers, even more dangerous than the Shu Road, people in Daqi in the past have not been interested in Dali. On the contrary, Shu The country is relatively close to Dali, with constant trade in tea, horses and bronze wares.

Song Zheng did not deliberately accept the handover, and always remained as calm as water.

Both Lang Boyan and Lang Bochuan sent people to Ziqiyuan and brought a lot of tea, brocade and other supplies. Although they did not arrive in person, they greeted them very attentively. Song Zheng naturally wrote letters to thank them one by one, without losing etiquette.

On the eighth day of September, Lang Boyan sent an invitation, inviting envoy Song Zheng to attend the Double Ninth Festival Dinner at the Prince's Mansion. Song Zheng knew what was going on. On the evening of September 7, Liang Yiyue led an ambassadorial delegation of about seventy people to Chengdu.

Shu has been a long-standing ally of Xixia. After Xixia invaded Guanzhong, it also wanted to attack Shu. However, the road to Shu was difficult, so Xixia quickly focused its energy on Daqi and sent troops out of Tongguan. Here Under such circumstances, Xixia and Shu were on good terms. Over the years, Xixia and Daqi were in conflict, and they had good and bad times with Dajin. However, they were always in harmony with Shu, and envoys kept coming and going.

Now, although Xixia has actually split, the Shu Kingdom still gives Liang Yiyue enough courtesy. Not only did he send a minister of the Ministry of Rites to personally welcome Liang Yiyue in Mianzhou, but Prince Lang Boyan even went twenty miles from Chengdu to greet him. Shuipou Street is very grand.

The only reason for this is that firstly, Xixia and Shu have always treated each other with great courtesy. Secondly, in the face of Jin Qi's invasion of Guanzhong, Liang Yiyue's Liang family has been trying to unite the Xixia forces, which are now divided into three, to jointly fight against the Qi army. and Jin Jun. The Liang family is extremely powerful in Xixia. It is the largest family after the royal family. Only they have the ability to stand up and talk to Li Yuanqing, Li Yuankui and Li Xi. Liang Yiyue is the uncle of the old country and is considered highly respected in Xixia. , and deserved the solemn treatment of the Shu Kingdom. The third reason is that the Shu Kingdom's Pingzhang Shi, that is, Prime Minister An Zhou, advocated aid to Xixia, and An Zhou was also an important supporting force for the prince's line.

No country in any dynasty is monolithic, and Shu is no exception. Although Anzhou advocates assistance, he does not advocate sending troops directly. Zhao Yan, the privy envoy of Shu, hopes that the Shu army will directly participate in the war and work together to protect Xixia. Of course. , both of them have selfish motives. If the military directly participates in the war, it will definitely seize a large amount of combat supplies and take the opportunity to squeeze An Zhou's authority, and An Zhou hopes that this kind of assistance will be controlled within his authority.

Although Anzhou and Zhao Yan were different in their methods, they both advocated aiding Xixia. Some also advocated sitting on the mountain and watching the tigers fight. For example, Bao Heng, the political affairs minister (deputy prime minister), said that Shu should not rush to aid. , wait and see for a while. If Da Qi really wants to invade Hanzhong, they can unite with Da Jin to restrict Da Qi.

It is precisely because of the divergent opinions that since the war broke out for more than a month, the Shu Kingdom has still not decided what to do. Even Shu Emperor Lang Zhengchun went to Qingcheng Mountain to practice Taoism. I think he wanted to wait until the situation in the north became clearer before making plans. .

In any case, the Kingdom of Shu still has to work hard on etiquette. The banquet held in the Prince's Mansion was nominally to celebrate the Double Ninth Festival with envoys from various countries, but in fact it was to welcome Liang Yiyue. Although Song Zheng was well-known, it was not enough Let Lang Bochuan hold such a grand banquet to receive him.

Song Zheng and Yuan Haowen took a car together and headed to the Prince's Mansion on the east side of the Shu Palace. Passing by Wuhou Temple, Song Zheng ordered the carriage to stop for a while and watched for a while before continuing on.

Yuan Haowen smiled and said, "Brother Song, Zhuge Wuhou is a genius, but he failed to unify the Han Dynasty. I don't know why?"

Song Zheng was silent for a long time, and said quietly, "Back then, the world was divided into three parts, and the Shu Kingdom was the weakest and lacked internal cultivation, so it tried its best to use its troops. Wuhou left Qishan on the sixth day, which made the country's power even more weak. Moreover, Guan Yu lost Jingzhou, so Soochow could not enter Sichuan. , how can Xishu leave the border?"

"A land that is defended is not a place that strives for hegemony." Yuan Haowen looked at the Wuhou Temple in the distance, "No matter how rich the Shu Kingdom is, it will not be able to influence the general trend of the world."

Who can influence the ownership of the world? Song Zheng and Yuan Haowen knew very well that once the war in Guanzhong was settled, the real showdown would only begin between Dajin and Daqi.

The Prince's Mansion was built closely next to the Shu Palace. It is magnificent. Except for being inferior to the Shu Palace in terms of regulations, the furnishings inside are as expensive as those in the palace. The banquet is held in the main hall, the tallest palace in the Prince's Mansion.

When they arrived at the gate of the Prince's Mansion, Qiao Dongyang, the ceremonial doctor of the Shu Kingdom, and Xue Qimeng, the official in charge of the service, were waiting there. Xue Qimeng was extremely happy to see Song Zheng, and quickly introduced him to Qiao Dongyang. Qiao Dongyang and Yuan Haowen seemed to They were very familiar with each other, so they greeted each other first and then turned to Song Zheng.

The envoys from Dajin and Daqi arrived at the same time. Who came first and who came last made Qiao Dongyang very embarrassed. Fortunately, Xue Qimeng responded in time and made a gesture, "Two adults, please!"

Song Zheng and Yuan Haowen looked at each other and smiled, then entered arm in arm, making Qiao Dongyang breathe a sigh of relief.

The banquet was held in the grandest main hall of the Prince's Mansion. Before he reached the palace gate, Song Zheng heard Liang Yiyue's voice greeting the Prince. Although his voice was not quiet, it was somewhat hoarse and mixed with one or two coughs. .

"It seems that Mr. Liang is in poor health." Song Zheng said in a low voice.

Yuan Haowen curled his lips, "Master Liang has worked hard enough. I guess he doesn't have a good look when he sees the two of us."

"We respect the old and love the young. We just don't have the same understanding as him." Although Liang Yiyue was stingy at that time, he was pretty good to Song Zheng. In the end, he wanted Song Zheng to become an official in Xixia. Song Zheng ran away, so he naturally broke his promise. I still feel a little sorry.

"Master Song Zheng, the envoy from Qi, and Mr. Yuan Haowen, the envoy from Jin, have arrived!" the eunuch in front of the palace gate shouted in a high-pitched voice, and the palace fell silent for a moment. Song Zheng and Yuan Haowen gave in to each other, but it was Song Zheng who stepped forward first. Enter the palace gate.

There are several rows of tables on the left and right of the hall. The front rows on both sides are envoys from various countries and important accompaniments of the Shu Kingdom. Behind them are the envoys' subordinates and junior accomplices. In the hall, Lang Boyan occupies a high seat in the middle, and on his right is Lang Boyan. , on the far left are two women.

Just after taking a glance, Song Zheng's body shook violently, and his eyes were fixed on a table on the left side of Lang Bochuan. The two women, one was Ziyue in purple clothes, and the other woman was in cyan clothes, and said Her bun was high, her face was fair and thin, but her astonishing beauty could not be concealed. Her nose and mouth were beautiful, and her eyes were as sharp as water. She was looking at Song Zheng infatuatedly. Crystal tears were piling up in the corners of her eyes, and they could well up at any time. come out.

"Yong Xi!" Song Zheng murmured, and for a moment he felt a mixture of emotions and stayed there for a moment.

Liang Yiyue was also stunned. The moment Song Zheng came in, Liang Yiyue felt familiar. When he saw the expressions of Song Zheng and Li Yongxi, he looked suddenly enlightened.

For most people in the hall, they have met each other and are familiar with each other. It was the first time that the Qi envoy Song Zheng appeared on this occasion, and everyone was vying to see the Qi envoy. Unexpectedly, the Daqi envoy Song Zheng appeared for the first time. Once he showed up, he was in this state.

Yuan Haowen quickly pushed Song Zheng and called "Brother Song" several times in a low voice. Only then did Song Zheng recover. He forced himself not to look at Li Yongxi. Song Zheng took two steps closer to Lang Bochuan. Salute to Lang Boyan.

"Mr. Song is late, he will have to give you a poem soon." Lang Bochuan said with a smile.

"But as commanded!"

"Okay, sir, please take your seat quickly. Mr. Yuan, please take a seat too."

Song Zheng's position is on the right side of the hall, directly opposite Liang Yiyue on the left, and they are both the seats closest to Lang Boyan. Yuan Haowen's seat is next to Song Zheng, and below him is Qiao Dongyang, a doctor in the Ministry of Rites. And next to Liang Yiyue, It was Liu Dianwei, the minister of rites in the Shu Kingdom and the minister of rites.

Placing Song Zheng and Yuan Haowen opposite Liang Yiyue has some implications.

Suppressing his heart, Song Zheng looked at Liang Yiyue.

Liang Yiyue was much older than when he was in Daijin. Not only was his face dry and yellow, but he also had more wrinkles. However, his eyes were very lively and he kept looking at Song Zheng with an incomprehensible expression.

Passing by Liang Yiyue, Song Zheng saw another familiar figure. The man was wearing military uniform and sitting behind Liang Yiyue. He was tall, with broad shoulders and a broad back, and his whole body was full of explosive power.

"Crazy camel!" Song Zheng trembled again. He didn't expect that even Li Yuanzhen would follow him.

Li Yuanzhen looked at Song Zheng, suddenly stretched out three fingers, and then turned to look at Li Yongxi. Song Zheng nodded slightly knowingly and touched his chest. Through his clothes, Li Yongxi gave him a gift The black jade pendant still hangs on her chest.

The scenes with Li Yongxi flashed through his mind. Although he couldn't figure out why Li Yongxi was wearing Taoist uniform, he could not forget this woman.

After half a cup of tea, every table was full. Since it was a banquet for envoys from various countries, none of the core leaders of the Shu Kingdom attended. After all, it was a Double Ninth Festival dinner, not a very formal diplomatic banquet. However, everyone knew in their hearts that this was actually a banquet. It was to welcome Liang Yiyue.

"Distinguished envoys! Tomorrow is the Double Ninth Festival. You are far away from your homeland and working for the country. I admire you very much. Therefore, the king of Japan has specially organized a family banquet to invite you. I hope that all your distinguished envoys will have a good time and drink. If you have a good work, I will be generous to you. Grant."

"Thank you, Your Highness, Prince!" everyone in the hall replied in unison.

Lang Bochuan pressed his hands and said, "Master Liang, the noble envoy of the Xia State, and Master Song, the noble envoy of the Qi State, have just arrived recently and are not familiar with the others yet. Could you please Sir Qiao, to introduce them to you first?"

Qiao Dongyang stood up from behind his desk, saluted Lang Boyan, and introduced them one by one. First he introduced Lang Boyan and Ziyue. In addition to Liang Yiyue and Yuan Haowen, there were also Dali envoy Gao Huichang and Tubo envoy Zantu. , and their respective important subordinates.

When Li Yongxi was introduced, everyone in the hall took a breath. In addition to the title of princess, Li Yongxi also had the title of "Xuanqing".