"I've heard of it," Zhao Xingde sighed, "the skin, fat, bones, and even whiskers of whales are very useful." Catching these behemoths in the four seas can also be rich and rival the country. ”

"You saw it in a weird book, right?" Li Yong clapped his palms and smiled, "There is a person who is most suitable for this whaling business." It's a pity that he is my eldest brother, and he will inherit the title of Marquis of Bowang in the future, and the days and nights of the four seas will come to an end. Raising a glass and Zhao Xingde each drank a full glass of wine, and said with a smile: "I have heard the funniest saying from Lu Mei's mouth, what are your words?" ”

"I want to hear about it." Zhao Xingde filled the wine cups of the two.

"The Lumei people actually complained about the Franks, the Turks, and the big cannibals were robbers." Li Yong said with a smile, "Do you know that there is a saying in the Western barbarians that two-thirds of the world's wealth is in Lumei, do you say that all this wealth is run by yourself?" He pursed his lips and said in a deep voice, "It wasn't the ancestors of the Lumei people who robbed it, not only robbed the treasure women, but also occupied many vital places, accumulated from generation to generation, to have such amazing wealth." He and Zhao Xingde raised their glasses and sighed, "A small amount of money can still be made in the way of a businessman." But when wealth reaches a certain amount, the weak will not be able to live in it, but only the strong can live in it. At that time, Lumei destroyed Carthage, and the great food destroyed Persia, it was better than that. He grinned and said, "When I am strong in the world, it will be when I wait for the Xia people to become rich in the world." ”

The two of them each recounted their past experiences, and their interest became stronger and stronger, and they talked all night. Fortunately, Zhao Xingde came out this time with the whole battalion of sergeants to entrust him, and he was not blamed by the captain. At dawn, Zhao Xingde said goodbye and returned to the camp.

Li Yong's brother, Li Sihai, the captain of the fourth battalion of Chengying, was sitting opposite Gao Shunzhen, the minister of Dali. The royal power of Dali fell, and the lord Duan Zhengchun was originally established by the Gao family, and he had nothing to do with national politics. The power of the state is in the hands of the Gao family. Therefore, after Li Sihai arrived in Dali, he came to see the patriarch of the Gao clan, Gao Shunzhen of Xiangguo.

At that time, the Central Plains prevailed in the saying that the five virtues are always true, and the Song Dynasty even claimed to be the virtue of fire. And the Xia State also advocated the theory of the five virtues, thinking that the Tang dynasty had the virtues of the earth, and the Later Liang, the Later Han, and the Later Zhou did not dominate the world and could not enter the five virtues. Then the Song Dynasty destroyed the Southern Tang Dynasty, which should be Jinde. And the Xia Dynasty will take the Kanto region to dominate the world and live in Shuide. Whether it is from the perspective of water overcoming fire or the five virtues, the world will be unified by the Xia Dynasty in the future. Although the Xia royal family and the Prime Minister's Mansion have never agreed with these five virtues, since the era of the Tax Collector's Mansion, the official court clothes customized by the Prime Minister's Mansion for officials are still black. Even Gao Shunzhen, the minister of Dali, deliberately changed into a dark gray court dress.

Li Sihai, who was wearing the court uniform of the state envoy, behaved modestly and looked very solemn. If Li Ruobing saw him like this, he would be surprised. Li Sihai's face was solemn, and he said carefully: "Dali is coming, and my emperor and the two governments attach great importance to it. In addition to canonizing Duan as the king of Zhennan, he also named Gao Xiangguo as the marquis of Shanxi. In addition to modifying the system in the country and naturalizing it like Shu, Dali people are still used to govern Dali. In addition, the checkpoint between Shu and Dali was gradually canceled, and the people and goods came and went, at their own convenience. ”

He raised his head and took a sip of the teacup, and said with a slight smile, "Gao Xiangguo, do you think it is good?" "These conditions have already been revealed through the Shuzhong Meng clan, and all we have to do now is to confirm them again.

Gao Shunzhen nodded and said, "Very good." Zhang Lejin, a subordinate official under his seat, added: "From today onwards, the goods exchange between Dali and Shuzhong is no longer taxed. ”

Li Sihai nodded slightly, and listened to Gao Shunzhen say again: "I don't know how to deal with the incident of Annan Xingbing's invasion of my territory, and I still ask Master Li to show it?" ”

Li Sihai picked up the teacup, took a sip lightly, raised his head and smiled: "Annan invades my territory, and Wang Shi will naturally hang the people." The three armies of Jincheng, Baizhan and Xuanjia in Shuzhong have already gone south to cross Lushui. He paused for a moment, and then said, "Just wait for the Jincheng army to arrive in Dali, and then join forces with Dali to attack Annan." After pacifying Annan, Wang Shi will choose a good port in Annan's hometown to station in deterring Xiaobuchen, and slowly immigrate from Shuzhong to reclaim, and then he will be good at explaining how much help he will have. ”

He deliberately only said that Xia Guo asked for good ports, and the disposal of other Annan prefectures and counties depended on how much Dali contributed in this war. The Xia State only sent Shuzhong soldiers and horses to the south, indicating that the governance of the south would also rely on the Great Governing State. The Gao family is the real master of the Dali Kingdom, and the children of the Gao family are all over the imperial court and prefectures and counties, and the few armies in the country are also controlled by the Gao family. Therefore, it is still given a revered status. The Duan clan was named the king of Zhennan, but he was still a false lord to appease the people.

"Master Wang saved thousands of people in Dali from fire and water." Gao Shunzhen raised the wine cup in front of him and said in a deep voice, "Weichen must do his best, do his best to send the grain and grass to the soldiers in the country, and help Wang Shidong to pass through Annan." "This time, Dali Kingdom was attached to the Xia Dynasty, and it was also the most important decision Gao Shunzhen made for the family.

Li Sihai toasted with him and drank together, and said in a solemn voice: "The people of Dali are the people of my dynasty, and the king must not sit back and watch them be invaded by barbarians." ”

As soon as he heard the name of the envoy of the Xia State, Gao Shunzhen sent his subordinate Bao Wenzhong to inquire about Li Sihai's origin from the Meng family to determine the grandeur of the reception. However, when Li Sihai arrived in the capital of Dali, he actually went directly to visit the house. It wasn't until after he said goodbye and left that Bao Wenzhong came to inform him that this envoy of the State of Li was the son of the founding Bowang Hou Shizi.

Gao Shunzhen sighed: "The imperial court also looks up to Dali too much. "It is commanded that all reception etiquette shall be in accordance with the most honorable. Zhang Lejin, a subordinate official, asked: "This envoy is only a famous lieutenant, and he has not inherited the marquis, why is he so courteous?" Gao Shunzhen shook his head and said slowly: "The hereditary Bowang Marquis is the queen of the Tang family. Although there is no ritual of Zen concession, everyone in the world knows that Xia Zhisheji is based on virtue, not a rebel who is a thief. The imperial court sent Bowang Hou Shizi to Dali, I am afraid that the intention is to understand where Zhengshuo is. ”

After returning to the pavilion and retiring the slaves and maids of Dali, Li Sihai took a long breath, tore off the strap of his hat, waved his wide sleeves with both hands, and sighed: "I haven't bowed for a long time, and I'm really more tired than a sea boat." He said in a deep voice: "Nanzhao Dali is a newly attached land, it is inevitable that there will be one or two people with ill intentions, you must be careful to take precautions, don't capsize in the gutter, then even the fledglings of the Tiger Wing Army are not as good." ”

Several centurions around were laughing, for the sake of this mission, the General's Mansion allocated a sum of money, and asked Li Sihai to customize military robes and armor for the Chengying Battalion in accordance with the standards of the Tiger Wing Army's honor guard. Although he did not lose his national body, even Li Sihai himself, the sergeants were a little unaccustomed to such a solemn attire.

In the following days, the court clothes of the important ministers of Dali were changed to blue and black, in order to show that they belonged to Shuide. In order to cooperate with the attack on Annam, Gao selected 5,000 elite sergeants to form an army. The state and county officials of Dali and the leaders of the Tibetan tribe began to collect grain, grass and pack horses, preparing to supply the southward army of Shuzhong. At the same time, the imperial court also requisitioned a large number of people to repair important roads that had been destroyed earlier due to fear of the attack on Annam.

The news of Dali's annexation to the Xia State, the folk in Dali and Shu are not alarmed, the customs of the people on the border of these two places are similar, weddings and funerals, and all the exchanges are as usual. But the Shuzhong merchants who learned the news were moved. The northern gateway of Dali country, in front of the pass between Cangshan and Erhai Lake, the sky has not yet dawned, and the caravan caravan caravan waiting to enter the pass has formed a long queue.

Some businessmen rushed to Dali to open branches, some heard that the imperial court was going to use troops in the south, and transported materials in advance to prepare to sell them at a good price, and some heard that tariffs were about to be abolished, so they hoarded goods outside the customs, and now they are only rushing to Dali to seize the market. Although Shuzhong businessmen have been running on this ancient tea horse road for many years, and have waited in front of Xiaguan more than once, their mood today is very different.

"Lao Li, look at the plaque in front of this pass, it seems to have changed?" He Laosan of He Ji Tea Shop pointed to the plaque and muttered: "Town-South-Guan"

As soon as he heard the news that Dali was about to return to Shun, he immediately scraped together enough money and rushed over non-stop, preparing to buy a tea garden in Cangshan. He bought tea in Dali in previous years, there are several places that have long been optimistic, and the local patriarch is also willing to sell, but he does not dare to start, this time Dali and Shuzhong are integrated, if it is late, I am afraid that it will be snatched away by the tea merchants next to it.

"The third child, you are lonely and unheard," Li Liangren said proudly, "Dali belongs to our dynasty, and this clan was named the king of Zhennan, so the name of the pass was changed to Zhennan Pass." He also guessed with seven or eight points, but explained it reasonably. He Laosan looked up at the newly hung plaque at the head of the overgrown Guancheng City, and laughed: "It's still the South Pass of this town that is majestic." He paused for a moment and then said, "I hurried and hurried, thinking that I could drink a lot of soup, but who knew that there were so many people waiting before this pass." ”

Li Liangren said with a smile: "Don't be too greedy, this Dali country is so vast, and you can't do without it." I heard that three days ago, this was the scene in front of the south pass of this town. In this way, those leaders of the Tibetan tribe will make a fortune. He Laosan said with a smile: "What my brother said is to get rich and get rich, and get rich together." Zhennan Pass was filled with a festive atmosphere, and the merchants were talking happily about how to expand their business, and at the same time they were ambitiously talking about "Dali and Shuzhong have canceled the checkpoints, the state is insufficient, and at least 30% of the heavy taxes on Kanto goods must be levied, and the Kanto people are restricted from doing business here, so as not to mess up the market with the scum that has heard the wind." ”

More than ten days later, the news of Dali's fall to Xia reached Bianliang, and Emperor Zhao You was furious again, throwing a jade axe, almost hitting Taiwei Tong Guan's forehead.

"Your Majesty, you can't be angry for Nanban." Tong Guan whispered and explained. Zhao You was still angry. After Pingshu, Taizu used a jade axe to divide Dali outside southern Xinjiang, saying that "in addition, it is not owned by me", and the Song army no longer marched south. Over the past 100 years, Dali has paid tribute diligently, and has repeatedly privately proposed to be willing to attach itself to the Great Song Dynasty as a vassal, but the Song court refused because it was worried about many things. It wasn't until a few years ago that Zhao You thought that the return of the vassal would better show the peace and prosperity of the world, so he proudly agreed. Who knows, in just a few years, this Dali Kingdom actually turned its back on Song and Xia in the blink of an eye because of the conflict with Annan.

"It's really a villain who is looking at Qin Duchu." Zhao You panted and said, the waiter had just brought a bowl of ginseng tea, and he fell again.

"I have always cultivated benevolence and virtue to cherish the distant country. Which time did the vassal pay tribute was not a tenfold return, just because of a slight dispute with Annan, Dali actually fell to the Xia Kingdom, which is really unreasonable! Zhao You panted and said, "Wang Shumi, is it feasible to crusade against Dali?" ”

The privy envoy Wang Fu said with a sad face: "Your Majesty, the southeast has just been pacified, and you still need to leave troops to deter. This southern expedition to the wilderness cost a lot of money. During the Xining period, the crusade against Annan caused an epidemic among the 100,000 troops, and nearly half of the people died......"

"Shut up!" Zhao You's face was pale, and the southeast had always been a hidden pain in his heart. After learning the lesson of this turmoil, he had to be cautious about the government. The third prince, Zhao Qi, won the first place in the provincial examination of the imperial examination, but because of the opposition of the important ministers of the Qingliu Dynasty, Zhao You disqualified him from participating in the palace examination. Even the matter of Donggong Yichu has been delayed again and again. But the heart of easy storage is also unshakable.

"Your Majesty is angry," Tong Guan persuaded, "This Dali country fell to the Xia country, it is nothing more than a dispute with Annan, it seems that the Xia country and Dali crusade against Annan has become imperative, I can do the opposite, with food, grass and ordnance to help Annan, in order to consume the strength of Xia country." Tong Guan said this, but before Zhao You could speak, the faces of several other important ministers changed. Just because Annan is the scourge of the southern Xinjiang of the Song Dynasty, during the Xining period, Annan invaded Guangnan Prefecture, killed more than 100,000 soldiers and civilians, and the imperial court sent a large army to crusade, killing and wounding nearly half.

"Your Majesty, by all means." In the imperial history, Cheng Qin Hui said in a deep voice, "The tombs of more than 100,000 soldiers and civilians in the three states of Yongqinlian are still there, and if the imperial court does not crusade against Annan, how can it help the abuse." He turned his head to look at Tong Guan and scolded angrily, "You villain, do you want to trap Your Majesty in injustice? Tong Guan was intimidated by his momentum, did not dare to argue, and said in a low voice: "This official is just thinking about the court, and the Dali country is capricious, and it must be taught a lesson." "When he escaped from Hebei, he secretly had a heart in his mind, did not want to make enemies, and his arrogance in court deliberations was much weaker, and he rarely argued with others. Even Qin Hui, whose official position is far lower than his, is unwilling to be easily punished.

Qin Hui still wanted to scold, but Zhao You said in a deep voice: "Okay, Daofu is also confused for a while, this matter of aiding Annan must not be mentioned again." "The monarch and ministers deliberated for a long time, and finally decided to cut off the mutual market in order to punish the betrayal of Dali. Ordered Guangnan and Nanlu to close the trading field with Dali, and forbade the merchants of the dynasty to go there. After several foreign ministers retreated, Tong Guan offered a pill of meditation pills, which is said to have been refined after searching for many precious medicinal materials according to the immortal prescription.