After Kou Ji packed up his things, he went out of the bedroom and saw Liu Shenxing in the side hall in the post house.

Liu Shenxing is a middle-aged man with a goat's beard, a felt hat, wearing the official uniform unique to Liao officials, leather boots, and a scimitar with a gold and silver sheath hanging from his waist.

He was very emaciated, as if a gust of wind could blow him away.

But his steps are very firm, and it seems that every step he takes, he has to step on the ground.

When Kou Ji saw him, he took the initiative to meet him and humbly saluted Kou Ji, not having the arrogance that the legendary Liao officials should have, but like a scholar who had been in the book room for many years.

It was only when he approached that Kou Ji smelled a rich scent of smoke from him, and in the scent of smoke, there were a few wisps of fishy smell.

After greeting each other, the two sides slowly sat down.

After the two exchanged a few words of greetings, Liu Shenxing explained his intentions straight to the point.

"Kou Concierge, in a few days is the birthday of the prince of Daliao, my emperor is going to hold a grand bonfire ten miles outside Youzhou City, I hope your envoys can attend."

Liu Shenxing hammered his chest with one hand and said mildly.

Kou Ji picked up the milk tea soup served by the Liao people in the post house, and after taking a sip, he muttered: "The birthday of the prince of your country? ”

Liu Shenxing nodded and smiled: "Not bad...... February 23......"

Kou Ji put down the tea, soup, bowls and chopsticks, nodded slowly, and said, "The official will tell the chief and deputy envoy about this matter, and he will definitely be present at that time." ”

Liu Shenxing heard that Kou Ji had agreed to this, got up with a smile, arched his hand to Kou Ji, and said, "Then the official will leave first, and then the official will send someone to greet you." ”

Kou Ji returned the salute.

Liu Shenxing slowly withdrew from the post house.

Kou Ji pondered the purpose of Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu's invitation to Yelu Zongzhen's birthday banquet, and paced to Xiang Minzhong's room.

As soon as you enter the door.

I saw Xiang Minzhong holding a book, looking through it carefully, Wang Zeng didn't know when he arrived in Xiang Minzhong's room, and he was sitting on a stool at the moment, accompanying Xiang Minzhong to read.

Heard the movement of Koji entering the door.

Xiang Minzhong put down the scroll in his hand and said to Wang Zeng: "There are still talents in Liao. Last year, among the 100 people who were selected for the imperial examination held in Liao, more than 70 people had real materials. There are more than 30 people's literary brilliance that is not lost to the Jinshi of our dynasty. ”

Wang Zeng let out a long sigh and nodded slowly.

"The old man also saw a few scholars who were famous in our dynasty but voted for Liao."

Kou Ji saw that the two were talking about the reader, and his eyes fell on the scroll in Xiang Minzhong's hand, and he saw the words "Unified Jinshi Poetry Collection".

"Two scholars who are paying attention to Liao?"

Xiang Minzhong threw down the scroll in his hand and said casually: "I found it in the library of the post house just now, just take a look." ”

Xiang Minzhong's eyes fell on Kou Ji and asked, "Liu Shenxing came to visit, why did he come to visit?" ”

Kou Ji said frankly: "February 23rd is the birthday of Yelu Zongzhen, the great prince of Liao, and Yelu Longxu, the emperor of Liao, is going to hold a grand bonfire ten miles outside Youzhou City and invite us to attend. ”

When Xiang Minzhong and Wang Zeng heard this, they glanced at each other and sighed at the same time.

Kou Jihu said suspiciously: "What else is there to pay attention to?" ”

Wang Zeng sighed and said: "In the past, the prince of Liao State has held a birthday party, and my Great Song Dynasty has a heavy gift. Now that Yelu Zongzhen, the great prince of Liao, is really holding a birthday party, the gifts sent by my Great Song can only be heavier.

He is the prince of Liao, the future prince of Liao, and even the king of Liao.

The status is far higher than that of other princes. ”

Xiang Minzhong pouted and said, "Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu is planning to give us a dismount before the peace talks." ”

Wang Zeng looked at Xiang Minzhong and said faintly: "This move may not have the intention of testing our Great Song attitude...... We need to be careful with ......"

Kou Ji raised his eyebrows slightly, and muttered, "Peace talks have begun?" ”

Wang Zeng nodded and said, "Yes, peace talks have begun." As early as the moment we entered Youzhou City, it began. Peace talks are not as simple as sitting at a table and making conditions to each other.

From the moment we entered Youzhou City, a psychological game had already begun.

The more anxious you are, the easier it is to show your flaws.

As long as the flaw is exposed, the other party can grasp your flaw, tear a huge hole in you, and then gobble up your flesh and drink your blood. ”

Kou Ji thought for a while and asked, "Therefore, it is a temptation for Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu to send Xiao Rival to meet us. After the two of you arrived at the inn, pretending to rest was also a temptation? ”

Wang Zeng and Xiang Minzhong nodded at the same time.

Wang Zeng gave a rare exclamation, "The children can be taught." ”

Xiang Minzhong laughed in a low voice: "Now it seems that the Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu is more anxious than us. Otherwise, he would not have sent someone to invite us to the birthday party of the great prince of Liao as soon as we arrived at the post house. ”

Wang Zeng smiled bitterly and said: "It's only to blame that those people who went to Liao before were too stupid, and after arriving in Liao, they didn't wait to settle down, so they went out with heavy gifts."

Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu is not stupid, how could he not find their anxious thoughts. ”

Xiang Minzhong pondered for a moment, shook his head and said, "It can't be said that they are too stupid. It's just that in the past, when my Great Song Dynasty faced the Liao State, he was always on the inferior side, and when the first emperor sent them to the Liao State for peace talks, he would always set a time limit, so they had to do that. ”

Xiang Minzhong's eyes fell on Kou Ji and Wang Zeng, and said with a smile: "It's different now, my Great Song Dynasty has three points of confidence in the face of the Liao State, so naturally I don't have to run around like before." ”

Wang Zeng smiled and nodded.

Kou Ji asked: "Then the great prince of the Liao Kingdom, Yeluzong, is really a birthday party, should we attend, or should we give a heavy gift to the Liao State?" ”

Xiang Minzhong smacked his lips and said: "Since the Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu has already made a move, we naturally can't show cowardice, we must face it head-on and see the move." ”

After a pause, Xiang Minzhong said again: "When I came, your grandfather seemed to have expected such an incident, so he sent a golden Buddha to the old man." Let the old man use it for congratulatory gifts. ”

"Golden Buddha?"

Kou Ji asked.

Xiang Minzhong nodded and sent the guards waiting outside the door to get the Golden Buddha.

A moment passed.

The guard carried a golden Buddha to Xiang Min's middle room.

The Golden Buddha is not big, only one foot high, hollowed out, and the whole body is full of golden light.

On the back of the Golden Buddha, a line of small characters is inscribed.

When Kou Ji saw that line of small words, the corners of his mouth began to twitch rapidly.

Xiang Minzhong took the Golden Buddha from the guards, stared at Kou Ji with a bright smile and said, "Don't you feel familiar?" ”

Wang Zeng groped for the golden Buddha in Xiang Minzhong's hand, and whispered out a line of small words on the golden Buddha, "Believer Liu Heng invites Ji Gong for Koufu's elder brother Ji Gong......"

Wang Zeng withdrew his hand that was groping for the Golden Buddha, and said to Kou Ji with a smile: "I can't see it, this kid Liu Heng is really sincere to you." ”

Kou Ji darkened his face and gritted his teeth and said, "Private weapons are for public use, you are not in accordance with the rules in doing this." ”

Xiang Minzhong looked at the Golden Buddha and said lightly: "The old man has already bought this Golden Buddha with public money." This golden Buddha is already a public weapon of the imperial court. ”

Kou Ji gritted his teeth and said: "Even so, wouldn't it be too child's play to take such a golden Buddha in front of Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu?" ”

Xiang Minzhong said without thinking: "What is this, just frame it." ”

After speaking, Xiang Minzhong ordered someone to take out a small bag.

He took out files, chisels, and other items from his pouch.

Then, in front of Kou Ji, he began to frame the golden Buddha.

Kou Ji said with a surprised face: "You still have this skill?" ”

Xiang Minzhong was stunned for a moment and sighed: "The old man asked for his resignation several times, but the first emperor did not allow it. The old man simply hid in the house to study these crafts, studied them for a few years, and achieved some success. ”

Kou Ji nodded thoughtfully.

A few days after that.

Xiang Minzhong framed the golden Buddha in the room.

Kou Ji was dragged by Wang Zeng and walked around the streets of Youzhou City.

Wang Zeng pulled Kou Ji and didn't do anything else, that is, the major bookstores in Youzhou City.

Kou Ji was puzzled and asked.

Wang once told him that he was wandering around the Liao State Bookstore in order to collect the works of those talented people of the Liao Kingdom, and then take them back to the Great Song Dynasty, so that the readers of the Great Song Dynasty could also understand the talents of the Liao Kingdom.

He also told Koji.

Liao has been sinicized for many years, and has been a scholar for many years, and now there are many outstanding talents in the Liao court.

These people are likely to become the opponents of the Great Song Dynasty in the future, so it is necessary to grow up in them and get to know them well.

When he heard Wang Zeng's words, Kou Ji turned around and glanced at Zhang Yuan, who was following him loyally.

He really wanted to tell Wang Zeng that in the next few decades, the talents who could suppress the Great Song Dynasty and had difficulty breathing had become his loyal servants.

Time flies.

It was February 23.

The birthday of Yeluzong, the great prince of Liao.

Morning.

The sound of bullhorns sounded everywhere in Youzhou City.

Yelu Longxu, the Liao Emperor who lived in the palace in Youzhou City, led his own pro-army Pi Room Army to leave Youzhou City and rushed to a place ten miles outside Youzhou City.

The heads of the various tribes and vassals led the men of the various tribes early and waited for the Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu ten miles away.

They had already helped the Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu set up a bowl, a huge palace-like tent.

In addition, around the Huluduo, there are also many Huluduo for the Liao royal family and nobles to live.

Outside the tent, a circle of camps was also set up for the leather room army to live in.

The camp of the leather room army is arc-shaped, surrounding a circle, surrounding the bowl of the Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu, the Liao royal family, and the aristocratic residence of the Lu Duo.

Outside, it is the tent of each ministry and its vassals.

Moreover, the camp tents of each ministry and each vassal could not be built until the Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu lived in his own bowl.

The reason why this was done was because the Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu lived in the bowl, and would choose a few satisfactory entry and exit roads, and the camp tents of each ministry and vassal could not block the road set by the Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu.

Of course, that's just one of them.

The more important purpose was to avoid the various ministries and vassals from setting up ambushes when setting up camp tents.

When the tribes and vassals had finished setting up their tents, it was already evening.

Then they would leave the camp in batches to chop wood and build fire towers all over the camp.

Among them, the largest fire tower is the three-zhang tower in front of the bowl of the Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu.

……

When night slowly falls.

The fire towers around the camp were slowly ignited, and bonfires rose into the sky.

It was only after the fire towers around the camp were lit that Kou Ji and his entourage entered the camp under the guidance of Liu Shenxing.

As soon as you enter the camp.

I felt the heat of the flames, the aroma of the beef and mutton roasting, and the enthusiasm of the little clan men and girls singing and dancing in front of the bonfire.

As an envoy of the Great Song Dynasty who can sit on an equal footing with the Liao State.

Kou Ji and his party naturally didn't stay outside, and accompanied those Liao vassal clans to be lively together.

The moment they entered the camp, they were ushered into the inner enclosure.

Most of the inner enclosure are Liao people, and there are some heads of small tribes, small heads, etc.

Most of the chiefs and small-headed men of the small tribes wore gold and silver, and were wrapped in the fur of wild beasts, and sat on blankets.

There are also some Liao people who wear this kind of attire, but most of them wear Hanfu except for rare fur felt hats such as white foxes.

Although it looks a little nondescript, this just shows that the sinicization of Liao has brought many changes to Liao for many years.

From the gate of the camp in the inner enclosure to the bowl of the Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu, there were two long tables and blankets.

The heads of the various departments, the small heads, the Liao officials who accompanied the Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu, and some Liao nobles and Liao royal families who had left the center of power were seated on both sides.

Behind them, there were shirtless Liao men with braids, setting up piles of bonfires, roasting cattle and sheep.

Kou Ji and his entourage, under the attention of this group of people, walked along the avenue in front of them all the way to the bowl of the Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu.

The door of the bowl was open, and the Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu sat on the dragon chair in the depths of the bowl, and beside him, each sat Yelu Zongzhen, the great prince of the Liao State, and Xiao Bodhisattva, the queen of the Liao State.

Under the three of them, there was still a man sitting.

The great prince of Liao, Yelu Zongzhen, was really born by Shunsheng Yuan Concubine Xiao Yunjin.

In addition to the four of them, the two sides of the bowl were also full of people, all of whom were high-ranking and powerful figures in the Liao State, as well as some small clan leaders and small-headed people that Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu admired.

Because the bowl was too deep and the fire was dazzling, Kou Ji glanced at it and didn't see the faces of Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu and others, but only saw a shadow.

"Summoning the Song envoy to meet you!"

When Kou Ji and his entourage stood at the door, someone immediately sent a message from the bowl that the Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu was going to summon them.

Xiang Minzhong led Kou Ji and the others, bowed to the bowl, and then entered the bowl under the guidance of the Liao domestic servant.

Along the brightly lit avenue, I walked all the way to the Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu.

The eyes of everyone in the bowl were on them.

As soon as they walked in front of the Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu, they heard someone shouting on the spot: "The Song people are bold! ”

Some people shouted like this, because after entering the bowl, Kou Ji faced the Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu directly, and did not hang his head respectfully.

"Who gave you the courage to dare to look directly at my emperor? 1”

Someone scolded on the spot.

Concubine Shunsheng, who was sitting under the head of Emperor Yelu Longxu of Liao, had a hideous face and said coldly: "It seems that such Song people who don't know the number of etiquette should be dragged out and divided into five horses." ”

Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu frowned slightly when he heard her words.

Kou Ji didn't care about these shouts and threats.

He looked carefully at Liao Emperor Yelu Longxu.

Emperor Liao, who is nearly fifty years old, does not have much old on his face, only some traces of wind and frost, and a pair of knife eyebrows, under the background of his eyes that flicker like stars, he looks quite murderous.

On a national face, he does not show joy or sadness, and his attitude is calm, but he is not angry and arrogant.

The neatly trimmed goat's beard rests on the pompom balls hanging from the sides of the neck, and it quivers up and down with his breath.

The two spirit feathers on the felt hat on his head had not moved from the moment Kou Ji saw him.

The huge body was shrouded in the imperial costume, and it sat there like a mountain.

：。 ：