The days passed, and the silver-covered Chang'an finally ushered in the new year! Every household is lit up with lights and firecrackers, hoping that the new year will be prosperous through joy.

The people have their own way of welcoming the new year, and the highest official of Datang also has a fixed way of welcoming the new year......

Yuan-Ri Dynasty Meeting.

The grandest and most solemn court meeting of the year, the Manchu Dynasty's civil and military officials must participate as long as they are in Beijing and above the ninth grade, even if they are far away from the border, they must send envoys.

Ten years after the founding of the Tang Dynasty, such a court meeting has been held eight times, but this time is undoubtedly the grandest, as early as a month ago the Tang Dynasty began to prepare.

Datang has made great achievements in these years, and the strength it has shown: sweeping away the heroes, unifying the world, and "allied with the Turks"!

With the prestige of this achievement, the surrounding alien races could no longer ignore it, so it was natural to send an envoy to meet them.

This is the first time that the Tang Dynasty has received so many foreign pilgrimages since the founding of the country, which means that they recognize the strength of the Tang Dynasty and the existence of the lord of the Central Plains of the Tang Dynasty, and the Tang Dynasty will naturally have to deal with it with a grand attitude.

Luo Tong, Qin Huaiyu, Cheng Chuliang and others, who won the status of guards, changed into the clothes and armor of the guards early in the morning and came to the imperial city early! Each has its own position.

The civil and military officials around were like ants gathering, one by one wearing grand court clothes in front of the Taiji Palace and lined up according to the officials.

When it was auspicious, the hanging drum was played, and Chen Che moved slowly with the public opinion.

Li Shimin and Empress Changsun passed through Chengtianmen under the gorgeous guard of honor, and held a foreign court here, and accepted the visit of envoys from various countries of civil and military officials.

First of all, the crown prince Li Chengqian congratulated him on his birthday, and Li Chengqian said that he was not at all afraid to congratulate Li Shimin, the eldest grandson and the queen, and the Tang Dynasty.

After them, the Zhongshu Ling played the Zhuzhou Table, the Huangmen Shilang played Xiangrui, the Hubu Shangshu played the Zhuzhou Contribution, the Ministry of Rites Shangshu played the Zhufan Contribution, the Taishi Ling played the clouds, and the Shizhong played the ceremony.

Nearly 1,000 people shouted long live, and after complicated and cumbersome procedures, the pilgrimage meeting also came to an end.

Next is the grand banquet of Chengtian Gate Tower specially held for civil and military officials and Zhufan envoys. This banquet is not for everyone to attend, only the important ministers of the court and the envoys of Zhufan have this power.

Li Shimin and Empress Changsun were at the top, the crown prince Li Chengqian was at the bottom, and the next left was the envoys of Zhufan. On the right, the Tang royal family and Datang officials are lined up one by one according to their identities.

In this grand event, Princess Changle and other royal daughters also attended one by one, adding a softness to the masculinity.

With the sound of a golden gong, the banquet officially began.

The first to appear was a group of heroic female warriors, all of them looked like flowers, wearing armor and robes, holding swords, guns and halberds, slowly entering, the number of people has reached more than 300 people.

With the sound of drums

The female samurai is headed by a female general dressed as a general, constantly dancing the soldiers in her hands, small steps, shuttling back and forth, left circle, right, first deviation, then Wu, Yuli, goose through, Keizhang, wing Shu, staggered flexion and extension, head and tail back and forth, back and forth.

There are three variations of this large-scale sword dance, each of which becomes four formations, counting twelve formations, corresponding to the song festival. The female swordsman constantly changed formations in the majestic singing, swinging the sword, neat steps, and consistent movements, which made people feel like they were on the battlefield. The envoys of the alien race at the banquet had never seen such music and dancing, and they were all stunned and amazed.

There were too few entertainment items in the Tang Dynasty, except for songs and dances, otherwise there were some tunes, piano flutes and other programs. The performers of these shows are all court technicians, and their skills are not the first, but they are definitely a middle expert.

The envoy who can act as a messenger has a high level of cultural accomplishment, and it is interesting to listen to it.

The banquet was not only performed by the Tang Dynasty, but also by the foreign envoys who came to celebrate.

Compared with the cultural performances of the Tang Dynasty, most of the performances of different races are barbaric: wrestling, martial arts, equestrian performances, etc., may not be as elegant as the Tang Dynasty, but they also have a taste.

The wine is sweet and hot, and the sky is dark.

Murong Xiaojun, the envoy of Tuyuhun, stood up and said: "Your Majesty the Tang Emperor, your country's song and dance are very beautiful and beautiful, but they are too soft and lack a kind of masculinity. ”

Li Shimin smiled and asked: "What is the Tuyuhun banquet used to help the fun?" ”

"Back to His Majesty the Tang Emperor, my country's banquets are generally used to cheer up the fun, and there are also girls' dances, but more of them are competitions in archery, horsemanship, riding archery, and gladiatorial combat!"

After all, the current Tang Dynasty is not the Zhenguan period, the dynasty of the Quartet in charge of Li Shimin, and the kingdom of all states came to congratulate. Although certain achievements have been made, it is not enough to be feared by the Yi people of the Quartet. The reason why he came to the DPRK is that although it is necessary to form an alliance to maintain the business road, the real purpose is to see the strength of the Tang Dynasty. Let's see if today's Datang is really rising, really powerful.

The strength of the soil in Tuyuhun Asia is second only to that of the Turks and the Tang Dynasty.

During the Sui Dynasty, Tuyuhun began to suffer from the border. The Sui Dynasty sent troops twice to defeat it, and set up Heyuan, Xihai, Shanshan, and the last four counties in the Tuyuhun area, but because it was not done enough, the spring breeze blew and reborn, and now Tuyuhun took advantage of the chaotic times at the end of the Sui Dynasty to effortlessly recover all the land lost in the past, and it is becoming stronger and stronger in the Western Regions. Because it is stuck in the economic arteries of the East and the West, the economy is quite developed.

With a certain strength, you should be arrogant.

The purpose of Tuyuhun's envoy this time is to explore the strength of the Tang Dynasty, and the second is to raise his prestige and let the Tang Dynasty know the strength of Tuyuhun. In this way, the two sides will have a heavier weight in their business and trade exchanges.

Li Shimin was so smart that he immediately understood what Murong Xiaojun meant, and he smiled and said, "Riding and shooting to help the fun, this is a good proposal." If you are so interested, how can you not be gracious? ”

Li Shimin did not hesitate or hesitate in response to this disguised provocation. It is a very refreshing remark, and it also shows the open-mindedness of a great country that is not afraid of any challenge.

"I'll choose a few people to compete with the Tuyuhun warriors to help the feast." Li Shimin ordered the guards behind him to find a few generals. Then he said to Murong Xiaojun: "Messenger, what do you want, but it doesn't hurt to say it." ”

Murong Xiaojun smiled and said nothing, and in an instant, a Tuyuhun warrior stepped forward to salute, and Murong Xiaojun introduced Li Shimin to him: "His name is Almaty, and he won the title of my Tuyuhun No. 1 archer last month, and he is eighteen years old this year. ”

Li Shimin was stunned for a moment, this Tuyuhun archer turned out to be a young warrior who was only eighteen years old, he looked at these generals again, and laughed a little self-deprecatingly, "Ladies and gentlemen, it seems that I am embarrassed to let everyone play!" ”

Fang Xuanling looked at the sky for a moment and asked, "It's night, Lord Envoy, how does your country compare arrows at night?" Can the messenger solve his doubts? He was worried that Tuyuhun would eliminate his own good shooters again and again, so he simply let the other party speak through at one time.

Murong Xiaojun said: "Shoot incense at sixty paces away, whoever shoots more wins." ”

Li Shimin said to the several generals who stood tall: "Go and pick an archery master, don't be over eighteen years old!" ”

Fang Xuanling smiled and reminded: "There is no need to be so troublesome, in fact, there is one person who is the most suitable, how could Your Majesty forget him." ”

Li Shimin was stunned for a long time, he suddenly slapped his head, raised his head and laughed, "I'm really confused, riding a donkey to find a donkey, this person is in the main hall!" There is Lao Xuanling. ”

Soon, Fang Xuanling brought Luo Tong over: "Your Majesty, Luo Tong is here." ”

Luo Tong stepped forward to salute Li Shimin and said, "Meet Your Majesty!" ”

Li Shimin waved his hand and smiled: "No courtesy"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Luo Tong stood up, he didn't know why Li Shimin was looking for him. Time was in a hurry, and Fang Xuanling didn't have time to say.

"Lord Tuyu Hun Shangshu proposed to compete with arrows, one from each side, both are young warriors, Fang Qing recommended you to me, are you willing to fight for me?"

Luo Tong was stunned, and then immediately decided: "I am willing to serve Your Majesty!" ”

Li Shimin introduced to Murong Xiaojun: "This young man's name is Luo Tong, he is sixteen years old, and he has been learning arrows for less than a month!" Half of my disciples! ”

"I've seen the messenger!" Luo Tong saluted Murong Xiaojun, at this time, he couldn't fall into the demeanor of the Tang Dynasty.

Murong Xiaojun returned the salute and said in surprise: "Young Master Luo, really only learn arrows for a month?" ”

Luo Tong smiled indifferently: "Enough!" ”

Li Shimin squinted and smiled! Luo Tong's answer made him very satisfied, from the bones, the two are very similar, and they can't tolerate half a sand for the provocation of foreign races.

Murong Xiaojun's face stiffened, and he stopped talking!

The attentive Empress Eldest Sun found a trace of embarrassment flashing in Luo Tong's eyes, so she asked with a smile: "Tong'er, is there anything difficult about it?" ”

"Mother, the blades are all at home, please allow me to go home and get them!"

Empress Changsun didn't understand martial arts, and said with some doubts: "There are guards in the palace!" Why bother? ”

"The queen doesn't know!" Li Shimin laughed triumphantly and said: "There are thousands of bows and arrows, but apart from his one, I really can't find a strong bow that suits him!" ”

"How much does the little general's bow weigh?" Murong Xiaojun asked casually.

"Five stones are reluctant, seven stones are easy!" Luo Tong bragged that he didn't spend money.

"Seven stones?" Murong Xiaojun asked Luo Tong in disbelief, "Little General, can you shoot the Seven Stone Bow right away?" ”

Luo Tong laughed but didn't say a word!

Murong Xiaojun was beside him, his face changed suddenly, and he whispered to him, and Murong Xiaojun suddenly realized: "It turns out that the little general is Luo Tong who robbed the Jieli Khan Horse King!" Disrespectful, disrespectful! ”

Luo Tong was ashamed and said: "Young and ignorant, naughty and foolish, let the messenger laugh!" ”

Li Shimin almost burst out laughing, it was hard to endure it!

"Your Majesty the Tang Emperor, Goguryeo is also having a good time, and we will also have one person to compete with arrows." At this moment, Goguryeo's envoy Yuan Taizuo stood up and said.

Li Shimin nodded, "Yes, I don't know if there is a candidate?" ”

Yuan Taizuo pointed at the young man standing behind him and said, "This is my son Yuan Gai Suwen, he is willing to cheer for Your Majesty." ”

Luo Tong's eyes froze, and his first thought was to take the opportunity to abolish this girl, but this thought only flashed and did not disappear! At this time, he was abolished, and he lost his national body too much.

Li Shimin looked at Gai Suwen, then at Luo Tong, and said happily: "For tonight's battle for the arrow, I want to make a lottery!" ”

He beckoned, a eunuch held a vermilion lacquered wooden plate forward, the wooden plate was covered with silk, and there was a jade horse with a foot of high emerald color, Li Shimin raised the jade horse, and said loudly: "This is the jade horse that the Western Regions paid tribute to the Tang Dynasty, worth a lot of money, this time the arrow competition, the winner gets this horse!" ”

The news of the battle made the guests boil, and everyone walked outside the hall!