Chapter 17 fourth quarter
The Liao government is really good-neighborly.Empress Xiao was invited out of her bedroom by the accompanying officials, and after listening to the performance, she immediately issued an order: "During the anniversary taboo of Empress Dowager Chen, the Cisheng of the Great Song Dynasty, all civil and military officials of the fifth rank and above in Beijing should go to the Beiji Temple to pay respects." Expanding the scope of participation in the sacrificial ceremony to officials above the fifth rank, this obviously pleasing practice, greatly exceeds the level of courtesy and courtesy in the two dynasties during the Shengping Festival.
The day before the salute, Ma Kuo took his entourage to inspect the site of the North Pole Temple. Sure enough, he saw a large group of monks and laymen under the command of the deputy envoy, setting up the furnishings there.Among them, Xiao Kui worked the hardest. He climbed up a wooden ladder with sweat profusely, and hung the plain ball made of silk on the eaves of the hall by himself.They took care of all the layout work, so they didn't need to worry about it.
Ma Kuo thanked everyone, and got busy himself, tidying up a few rooms, fasting and sleeping in the temple with his followers that night.He also made some arrangements in terms of personnel. The entourage was assigned duties respectively. The two book clerks had eaten ink and could read, so they were invited to act as temporary guests and compliments. The rest of the staff were also assigned tasks, and each took his place Everyone keeps their duties.Turn a saluting hall into a military fortress, and prepare to have a main contact battle with the Liao court officials here tomorrow.
The next morning, civil and military officials from the Liao government came one after another. The plain carts and white horses were so prosperous that the surrounding streets were crowded.Although Ma Kuo had to deal with many people, his attention was focused on the first Li Chuwen.A prime minister has the style of a prime minister, even the prime minister of a small court.Ma Kuo recognized Li Chuwen at a glance among many senior officials who came at the same time, just like recognizing an enemy general at a glance on a battlefield with thousands of troops, there is no mistake.He and Li Chuwen were formally introduced to each other by the companions. Li Chuwen took a step forward and delivered a speech respectfully:
"Greetings from the empress. Today is the anniversary of the Empress Dowager Chen, the sage of your court. The empress should bow to express her condolences. However, the king is sick and the empress is serving decoctions. She is not allowed to come here. I have specially sent an official to accompany the sacrifice. It is rude. I beg the ambassador to forgive you!"
After finishing this set of high-sounding diplomatic rhetoric, he took Ma Kuo's hand, showed a self-respecting attitude that was both flattering and treating juniors, and did not lose his elder status in the intimacy, and laughed:
"The lower official has heard and praised the great name for a long time, and today I can see the beauty in person, and I can comfort my life's wish."
These two passages are all polite, and he speaks impeccably, covering every aspect.Ma Kuo wanted to find out from his expression and words whether he had contacted Zhao Jie and Sha Zhen, but he couldn't find a definite basis.
"This is an old fox," Ma Kuo thought to himself, "he won't lose sight of the public, and I'll have to try him later."
They first went to rest in a very gorgeous and solemnly decorated monk's dormitory specially used for receiving Liao court officials.The two sides sat down according to the guest and host, and exchanged greetings.Li Chuwen is very familiar with this set. He wants to put on the air of a prime minister in every way, but he does not forget the situation of his own court. His attitude is modest, even accommodating.The words are very cautious and general, and do not leave the scope of general facade talk.
"This North Pole Temple is built on a grand scale and is magnificent," Ma Kuo said deliberately provoking him. "When I was in Tokyo, I heard people in your family talk about its reputation. When I saw it today, it really lived up to its reputation."
"I have heard for a long time that Xianglan in Tokyo is gorgeous and majestic, unparalleled in the world. Although the North Pole Temple here is grand, compared with Xianglan, it is really a big difference." Speaking of this, he suddenly realized that humility is too much, It is insulting to the state, and hastily made amends, "In the past, when I read the Yongning Temple and Yongning Pagoda mentioned in "Luoyang Jialan Ji", I wanted to see the prosperity of manpower and material resources in the Northern Dynasty. Even though there were 480 temples in the Southern Dynasty, there was not a single one. It is comparable to Yongning Temple."
"North Pole Temple" and "People from Your Family" still didn't elicit his reaction.His answer was still the same set of diplomatic rhetoric that he thought he could pick up a little bargain, and there were no clues to be found.But Ma Kuo didn't want him to pick up this bargain, so he said tit for tat:
"Yongning Temple was built extravagantly. If the Empress Dowager Feiling was in power back then, how could she have achieved this? None of the emperors and empresses of the Southern Dynasties can compare with her."
Ma Kuo suddenly mentioned that the empress dowager, the most shameless and shameless heroine in the history of the Northern Wei Dynasty, seemed to be intentionally or unintentionally connected with the current empress Xiao, which made Li Chuwen very embarrassed.The other officials of the Liao government also entered the monk's dormitory one after another, and it was impossible for them to continue talking.
Although Li Chuwen was born in a noble family, he had a period of stagnation in his official career. He was not a typical prime minister who worked through his qualifications and time, and steadily rose to the position of chief assistant according to his seniority. The nouveau riche-style prime minister who invites profits and ascends to the sky is a change among prime ministers.The nouveau riche prime minister is characterized by being less secure in his heart, but more arrogant on the surface.Ma Kuo came from the court to the court, and gradually formed a view that he believed that the official position itself was a paradigm, which could cast many different people into the same paradigm and make them into the same type of people.He found that Xiao Kui, who is fierce and inwardly soft, has something in common with some nobles in the court. It is very similar to Wang Fu, even with a white and fat silver basin face.The difference is that although Wang Fu is also an upstart, he is a paper harrier that has already stabilized in the sky, while Li Chuwen's paper harrier is still somersaulting in the sky, and his fate is still uncertain, so there is no As much as Wang Fu shows his sharpness and spares no room for it, but there is a little more humility and weakness that Wang Fu lacks.Ma Kuo believes that if the two of them are separated, they will definitely become what each other is now.
This was the first time that Li Chuwen met Ma Kuo. According to the introduction of his escort, he was still a fledgling in diplomatic ceremonies, but a newborn calf in diplomatic negotiations.A newborn calf is not even afraid of a real tiger, not to mention that Li Chuwen knows in his heart that he is just a fox in the prime minister's tiger skin.Therefore, in the process of his contact with Ma Kuo, on the one hand, he unconsciously revealed the residual sense of superiority of subtracting Hemen Xuanzansheren from the prime minister, and subtracting the sixth-rank officials from the first-rank officials; I was afraid that I would offend him and get to the point where it would not end well.
Arrogance and weakness are not enough to prove that he has connected with Zhao Jie.After analysis, Ma Kuo determined with certainty that his move hadn't worked yet.Therefore, in today's battle, he must take the initiative.
The moment of salutation has come.At this time, candles were shining brightly in the main hall, and cigarettes were lingering around.Ma Kuo directed his deacons to carry out their respective tasks, and at the same time invited civil and military officials from the Liao side to arrange them outside the hall according to their rank.He walked to the altar alone with the salute, burned incense, saluted, and then praised loudly by the salute:
"Accompanying the sacrificial Li family, come forward to offer incense!"
Even with Zhang Ting's advice and advisors, the grand ceremony was carried out very reluctantly. It lacked the atmosphere of solemn mourning, but it was more or less like a military parade.
Although Li Chuwen was secretly laughing, when he heard this order, he was still like a soldier who obeyed the order, and under the leadership of the Chief of Etiquette, he steadily approached the case.At this time, the rest of the people were outside, quite far away, and their sight was obscured by layers of banners, curtains, large incense burners, large candlesticks, and steaming cigarettes.Ma Kuo winked and made Zanli stand a little further away, so he and Li Chuwen stood side by side, only a few feet away.
"If I want to speak confidentially to him, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!" Ma Kuo thought to himself, but he still stayed for a while to see how Li Chuwen would act.He saw that Li Chuwen calmly took a stick of incense from his hand, lit it on the candle, fanned the fire with the other hand, and was about to insert it into the incense burner.Li Chuwen's posture is respectful, leisurely and poised.This means that he was born in the family of a prime minister and was born accustomed to doing these things. If the envoy of the Southern Dynasty had any deficiencies in presiding over this ceremony, as an accompanying sacrifice, he could definitely help him, guide him, and even correct him.
But this is the last moment he enjoys the tranquility of life, Ma Kuo seized the opportunity and asked lightning fast:
"Let my nephew Ma Zhi send a message to my disciples. Ten years ago, he and his father and son drank wine and formed an alliance in front of this shrine. They swore to live and die together. Wealth and honor will never be forgotten. Have you forgotten everything?"
Ma Kuo spoke in a low, whispering voice, but it was as if a thunderbolt shook Li Chuwen, making his steady and thick body suddenly tremble like a leaf.At this time, his prime minister's power frame and air of security disappeared, and the stick of incense in his hand trembled with his body, and he didn't know where to put it.
It turned out that in the past ten days, Empress Xiao warned him twice that someone on the front line was going to get rid of him, and she already had evidence against him.He relied on the protection of the queen, so he didn't care about it, but he didn't expect that the problem was caused by his cousin.If this fact were revealed, it would not be a matter of protecting the property of the officials and nobles, but would involve the life and death of a family of 300 people, no wonder he was so panic-stricken and at a loss.Ma Kuo himself did not expect that this sentence would have such a huge effect, so he had to help him insert the stick of incense into the big incense burner first.
"Accompany Li Men to salute!" Zan Li praised in a protracted voice, "Li Men kneel...Knock...Knock...Kow...Xing..."
Taking advantage of the opportunity of kneeling down to worship and then standing up again, and taking advantage of this little time, Li Chuwen has initially regained his composure and came up with a countermeasure. He said in a low voice:
"Stop saying this again. If Xuan Zan has any orders, please let me know! I can do everything."
"Urge the king to return to this court!" Ma Kuo issued an order decisively.
"Now the state affairs are all decided by the queen, and the king has no control over it."
"Urge the princess to return to this dynasty."
"Kneel...Kneel...Kow...Kow...Xing." Zan Li praised for the second time.
When Li Chuwen knelt down for the second time, he was much calmer. While saluting, he said:
"I have also had this heart for a long time, and I will do my best in this matter. I hope that I will repay my life."
"Don't talk about it. I know the princess's affairs, and my subordinates are six or seven points in charge. Whether this matter can be accomplished or not depends on the efforts of my subordinates."
"Kneel...Kneel...Kow...Kow...Xing..." Zan Li praised for the third time.
When Li Chuwen knelt down for the third time, he had not only recovered to a prime minister, but also to a shrewd negotiator.
"If the event is accomplished, how will the Great Song Dynasty deal with my father and son?" He bargained in a low voice when he bowed down.
"Tong Xuanfu sent a message, this court will not hesitate to reward the Duke for this great achievement."
The time available for negotiation is very limited, and Ma Kuo is unwilling to waste any more, but Li Chuwen just knelt on the ground, did not stand up in time, and asked in a desperate manner:
"Xuan Zan's words are reliable?"
"My words are like a mountain, so you can rest assured under the door."
Li Chuwen had finished saluting, and the saluters were inviting other officials to come up and burn incense to salute.Ma Kuo seized the last moment and asked:
"Have you ever connected with the person I sent to contact the young master?"
"No." Li Chuwen shook his head.
"Quickly try to find them under the door. If there is news from the palace, it is important to inform me immediately."
"I am anyway..." Li Chuwen replied a little nervously.At this time, the footsteps of several people were approaching the back of his head, and the unfinished sentence disappeared among the clanging rings and the curling smoke.Although Li Chuwen's relationship has made Yujiang's future more optimistic, Zhao Jie and Sha Zhen still haven't heard from each other, and their situation is worrying.Ma Kuo was in the spacious guest house of Jinggu Temple, and he could clearly hear the bells, cymbals, and chants of the monks who seemed to be particularly energetic because of the presence of state guests. The sound of chanting Buddhist scriptures.After the evening class was over, he clearly heard the sound of watching the watch.The first and second shifts were reported, and then the third shift was reported.In the silence of all, I heard the sound of the temple bell, which seemed to be dragging a tail, floating in the still air.After a while, he heard an unusual sound of sanding outside the window.Ma Kuo immediately jumped up from the couch and walked to the window.He coughed lightly, and heard a low call from outside the window.
"Okay," he thought happily, "Brother Zhao and Brother Sha are really back."
He opened the window, and they jumped in like two macaques.Although in complete darkness, the excitement that shone in their eyes could not be concealed, from which it could be deduced that they had brought good news.
"Don't worry about Haojiao Xuanzan, the event has been a success." Zhao Jie reported to him in a low voice, trying to maintain a calm attitude, "Just now Li Chuwen went home and said that there was an imperial meeting in the palace. Empress Xiao and the ministers finally came to a conclusion: Empress Xiao will go to Xuan Zan tomorrow morning to discuss the surrender of the feudal vassal. There must be some bargaining. He told us to notify Xuan Zan before dawn and let Xuan Zan I have a foundation in my heart, and I won't be afraid that she won't submit when we talk about it tomorrow."
This result was what he expected after negotiating with Li Chuwen at the Arctic Temple during the day.He was anxious to know what the two of them had been up to these days.How much he has been thinking about them!In political struggles, like Zhao Jie, although he has accumulated a lot of experience, he is not yet mature enough to fully control his emotions.
Zhao Jie understood Ma Kuo's mood, and then described the experiences of the two of them in the past few days.After they came to Yanjing, they inquired that Li Shi had been staying in the palace for several days and could not meet him.Anxious in my heart.Until the noon of the day before yesterday, when Li Shi came back from his duty in the palace, they finally found an opportunity.Not wanting to miss it, he called Li Shi on the road and showed Zhao Liangsi's letter.As soon as Li Shi wrote the envelope, he asked the followers to retreat and talk to them.
They straightforwardly stated who they were and why they came.
After reading the letter, Li Xi's face turned red and white, and he couldn't make up his mind for a long time.Later, there was a plan to slow down the army and said: "I know the purpose of the two of you. I am busy at the moment. I have just left the palace for a while, and I have to go back to work the night shift. The two of you will go to an inn first, and then I will argue with my father." Can you let me know later?"
"This matter is extremely urgent, and it is only a matter of time. How can we be careless?" Zhao Jie urged him, "I still have something urgent to tell, but this is not the place to talk. The young master has to go back to the government to be on duty. Su, how about the two of us going to the palace with the young master to have a secret talk tonight?"
"The forbidden place is heavily guarded," Li Shi said in surprise, "how can you allow the two of you to sneak in?"
"This matter is related to the good and bad of your family. Disaster is imminent. I know it. If I don't tell you, I will live up to Zhao Longtu's devotion to the Zunfu! I will go to the palace, according to what you say, What's the trouble?"
Li Shi was in a hurry, so he went to get two sets of uniforms of the imperial guards and came back, let them sneak into the palace gate, and choose a secluded place to talk.
Li Shi, like his father, saw the precariousness of the small court and was greedy for the current wealth, so he still refused to make up his mind for a while.Zhao Jie showed the cards in his hand and told about Zhao Zhong and Zhang Bao being hunted down by Yelu Dashi. He also said alarmistly that Zhao Liangsi's letter had fallen into Yelu Dashi's hands. He made up his mind quickly.Sure enough, Li Shi was most afraid of this move. He made up his mind and made it clear that he would discuss a way with his father tomorrow and abandon the dark and turn to the bright.
"Brothers are so bold, it's hard to say anything, but you want to get mixed up in the palace."
"This is called an arrow on the string, and we have to shoot it," Zhao Jie said, "If we let him go, when will we find him again? Don't talk about the fortified place in the palace. When we talk about it, it's too peaceful, quiet, and no one is around." Interference is better than anything else! Li Xun talked with me for half the night, seeing if there was no chance to go out, so he arranged for me to live in his room. It's ridiculous that Yeluchun, the king of Yan, lives so close to his bedroom, and he is still in the dark Here, be his Nanke dream."
"I've been the emperor's neighbor, so I slept so sweetly this night!" Sha Zhen said proudly, "During the haze, when I woke up, I saw Brother Zhao's eyes wide open, as if he wanted to say something to me, and he didn't want to be alone. Turned over and fell asleep again, I don't know if I talked to brother Zhao?"
"It's the other way around, it's not talking to me, but talking in your sleep, talking about capturing thieves and capturing the king, I'm really afraid that if you say it happily, it will startle people and ruin a big event."
"When did the brothers meet Li Chuwen? What did he say?"
"It wasn't until noon that Li Shi had time to take me out of the palace and back to the prime minister's mansion. Just as Li Chuwen had returned home from the North Pole Temple, he was sending someone to find his son. The four of us had a conversation in a secret room. Li Chuwen said he I have met with Xuan Zan, and I am sure to do what Xuan Zan ordered. I also said a lot of good things, saying that I, Li, live in Beique, and my heart is towards the Southern Dynasty. Why did I meet Xuan Zan? On the contrary, his son was honest. He advised Lao Tzu that it is better to strike first, and then to suffer disaster. If my father and son do not move his hand, he must first move my father and son's hand. If we want to seize this wealth, it is very important to do it quickly. Never fall behind him.
"At dusk, Li Chuwen hurried into the palace according to the order, and he didn't come back until late at night. He immediately came to me and waited: "Tonight's meeting is very tense, Xiao Yulu, Zuo Qigong and the others want to chew him up and swallow him up." Go. He was tongue-tied, and it was hard to convince the queen to make a big decision. He also said repeatedly that Xuan Zan made this great achievement, and we must not forget his father and son's great achievement of obedience to the Southern Dynasty."
"They are busy here and there just for this one thing. Is there any reason why I don't know?"
"If Zhao Longtu hadn't seen through their hearts, how would he have dared to adopt such a strategy? We know that he is absolutely certain."
"Give him a little favor, even his own parents are willing to sell to others, not to mention only selling the emperor and the queen, what is there to be reluctant?" Ma Kuo suddenly compared the impression of Li Chuwen he got in the morning with Wang Fu's. The impressions are connected together, and then the impressions of the civil and military officials of the Liao Dynasty are also connected with the impressions of the court dignitaries.He sighed with deep emotion and said, "It's just that these people occupy high positions and enjoy high salaries, and it's precisely these people who control the lifeline of the court. Once something happens in the world, is Li Chuwen the only one who would do such a thing?" He He paused for a moment, as if he wanted to squeeze this ugly thought out of his head, "Where did I go? My brother heard what I said was ridiculous, but he really became a worrying person."
"Didn't I tell Xuan Zan that," Zhao Jie said, fully understanding his implication, "this is what rich families and dignitaries did. The more money they have, the more things they sell. Don't care about the Southern Dynasty. In the Northern Dynasties, Khitan and Han children were all like dogs in the end."
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