Chapter Eighty-Three: The Sleeping King Yelu Jing

At the same time, heavy snow fell on the reckless grasslands in the north, and a camp appeared on the wasteland about a hundred miles northwest of Linhuang Mansion in Shangjing, Liao State. It is surrounded by a wooden fence and contains dozens of tents.

Many Liao palace tent troops patrolled the perimeter of the camp and surrounded the camp. In a large tent in the center of the camp, a big man with a rough face was furious.

He is Yelu Jing, the emperor of Liao, who is Chinese New Year's Eve two years old today. He was the eldest son of Yelu Deguang of Liao Taizong. In September of the fifth year of Tianlu (951), after the rebellion of Huoshendian and the murder of Yelu Ruan of Liao Shizong, Yelu Jing, the son of Taizong, took the opportunity to suppress the rebellion, seized the throne, and became the fourth emperor of Daliao.

It is now the thirteenth year of the Liao Ying calendar, and Yelu Jing has been reigning for twelve years. After he succeeded to the throne, the internal situation of the Liao State was very unstable, and there were constant rebellions, and he himself was an emperor who liked to drink, hunt, and play, and was very cruel and cruel.

Yelujing's safari knows no season, no matter whether it is cold winter or midsummer, as long as he is happy, he will go on a safari. He didn't forget to drink wine when he was on a safari, probably because it was more flavorful to eat wild game, and his interest was so high that every safari would take up to seven days and nights before it ended. He usually drank and enjoyed himself in the evenings until the next morning, and then slept during the day, leaving politics behind. Therefore, the Liao State called him the "Sleeping King".

Four years ago, after the great victory of Zhou Shizong Chai Rong in the Southern Tang Dynasty, he won the fourteen states of Jiangbei in the Southern Tang Dynasty, and the national strength increased sharply. He took advantage of Yelujing's sluggishness and mediocrity and the decline of Liao's power to lead his troops on a large-scale northern expedition and won the victory of capturing Sanguan.

The three passes are Yijin Pass (in present-day Baxian County, Hebei), Waqiao Pass (in present-day Jiunanguan, Xiongxian County, Hebei) and Sikou Pass (in the east of present-day Baxian County, Hebei).

Zhou Shizong Chai Rong ordered Han Tong to enter the territory of Liao from Cangzhou through the waterway, and as a result, the Khitan assassin Wang Hongjin surrendered. Then, Han Tong and Zhao Kuangyin and other generals led their troops to advance by land and water, and won three passes successively, almost all of which were obtained by accepting the surrender of the Liao defenders, and the soldiers were bloodless.

The minister of Liao once advised Yelujing to recover the lost land. However, he thinks that these places are originally the land of the Han people, and there is nothing to pity them to take back.

However, Zhou Shizong died of illness in the military camp due to years of overwork, and Zhou withdrew from the army, and Yelujing also led his troops back to Shangjing.

Three days before he had gone out on a safari, and because the attendant who had kept the hounds for him had not taken care of one of his favorite hounds, he was furious, and many of his servants fell tremblingly in their tents, waiting for the emperor's fate.

Yelujing looked at these servants with fierce eyes, he thought for a while, and then shouted, "Someone! ”

The four guards of the official tent entered the big tent and bowed. Jerejing cried out, "Drag him out of the sea and dismember him!" Everyone else is going to watch! ”

The four guards agreed and dragged the sea out. The sea cried and begged for mercy, but no one paid attention. The other servants trembled with fear and followed the guards out.

Yelujing sat down in a huff, picked up the wine glass, and drank it all. He kept drinking, and after a while he drank a jug of wine.

He shouted, "Someone, get the wine!" ”

Two attendants cautiously walked in, wine jars in their hands. A person said flatteringly: "Your Majesty, this is the good wine in the south that the Huanglong Mansion Keeper presents to you." It is said to be very violent. And the price is very expensive, please taste it for Your Majesty. ”

Yelu Jing was curious, "Oh? And such a good wine? Pour some quick, I'll taste it. ”

The two attendants opened the sealing mud at the mouth of the altar and poured some of the Cui family's spirits into the bowl. Yelujing looked at the liquor that was as clear as water, picked up the bowl and smelled it, and took a small sip.

As soon as he took the wine, he froze instantly, and then coughed violently. The two attendants were so frightened that they hurriedly knelt down and begged for mercy, kowtowing like pounding garlic.

Yelujing coughed for a moment and let out a sigh. He said impatiently: "Okay, let's all get up, this wine is good!" ”

The two attendants couldn't believe their ears, and they didn't dare to get up.

Yelujing took another sip and exclaimed, "It's really like fire!" Compared to the previous wine, it was like horse urine! ”

The two attendants let go of their hanging hearts and got up from the ground. Jerejen asked, "How much of this wine has been delivered?" ”

One of the attendants replied, "Returning to Your Majesty, there are twenty altars." ”

Yelujing nodded, "Tell the palace manager to go buy more." Don't skimp on money. ”

The two attendants agreed to go out, and Yelujing continued to drink in small sips, and soon became drunk. He fell asleep on the carpet, and the attendant came in lightly and covered him with a bearskin.

He slept until the next morning, and when he woke up, he felt a splitting headache. The wine was too strong, and Jeregen was very satisfied. After breakfast, a servant came in to report, "Your Majesty, Xiao Siwen, who stayed in Nanjing, came to see you yesterday, because His Majesty is asleep, and he has been waiting." ”

Yelujing nodded, "Let him come." ”

The attendant went out, and in a short time brought a man with him. The man was about forty years old, not tall, and very ordinary-looking. He bowed and saluted: "Xiao Siwen, who stayed in Nanjing, has given His Majesty a salute." ”

Yelujing said in as gentle a tone as possible: "You don't have to be polite, sit down." ”

Xiao Siwen didn't sit down, he smiled and said, "Your Majesty, the minister met a Persian maritime merchant from thousands of miles away a few days ago. He asked me to present you with a treasure. ”

"What treasure? Present it to me and I'll take a look. ”

Xiao Siwen said: "Your Majesty, wait a minute, I'll take it." He came out of the tent, and in a short time came in with a wooden box.

He placed the wooden box on top of the table and carefully lifted the lid. Then he opened the layers of silk that wrapped the treasure.

Yelujing saw that there was a bottle in the wooden box, the transparent body of the bottle appeared crystal clear, and it contained a colorless and transparent liquid.

He asked curiously, "Xiao Qing, what is this object?" ”

Xiao Siwen carefully took out the bottle and put it on the table. "Your Majesty, this is a bottle of wine."

"Oh, there's something strange about this bottle! Is it Southern spirits? ”

Xiao Siwen replied respectfully: "Your Majesty, according to the Persian maritime merchants, this bottle of wine comes from the West thousands of miles away. The bottle is carved from 10,000-year-old crystal, and it contains Western spirits. There's only one bottle in the whole world. ”

Yelu Jing was very shocked, he picked up the bottle and looked at it carefully, and said, "What a treasure!" The bottle is so precious that there is no blemish at all. It should be an heirloom. But I drank the liquor yesterday, and it was strong enough, and my head still hurts! ”

Xiao Siwen asked cautiously, "Your Majesty, have you ever drunk this kind of wine?" ”

Jerez called for one of his attendants and told him to fetch a jar of spirits. After a while, the attendant brought a jar and poured a bowl of spirits for Xiao Siwen.

Ye Lujing wanted to make a fuss with Xiao Siwen, so he said, "Xiao Qing, you drink this bowl of wine and taste it." ”

Xiao Siwen picked up the bowl without thinking and took a big sip. Then he coughed violently, and squirted a lot of wine.

Yelujing laughed happily, Xiao Siwen bent down and kept coughing, and after a while, he stopped coughing. He looked up, his face already red.

Ye Lujing said kindly: "Xiao Qing, you sit down and rest for a while." The first time I drank this wine yesterday, I was just as embarrassed as you are. This wine is so strong. ”

Xiao Siwen sat down for a long time before recovering. He opened his mouth and said, "Your Majesty, this wine is so strong that I can't bear it. The minister has lost his temper, please punish His Majesty. ”

Yelu Jing waved his hand, "It's not your fault, I was about the same as you when I drank it for the first time." This wine was offered by the Huanglong Mansion guard, and it is said to come from the south, I don't know if you have heard of it? ”

Xiao Siwen shook his head and said, "The minister has not heard of it, and he will ask people to go to the south to find it immediately after he goes back." There should be Bianliang in the Song Kingdom, right? When the time comes, I will buy some more and present them to Your Majesty. ”

"Xiao Qing has a heart, I like this wine very much, buy more."

Xiao Siwen agreed, and he continued: "Your Majesty, according to the Persian maritime merchant, he bought this bottle of wine in Mingzhou, Wuyue Kingdom, Jiangnan, and spent 100,000 yuan. ”

Yelu Jing was a little unconvinced, "Xiao Qing, have you been deceived, this wine is a treasure, but it can't be worth 100,000 yuan, right?" ”

Xiao Siwen replied, "Your Majesty, it shouldn't be fake. The Persian merchant said that the bottle of wine originally belonged to the Cui family in Mingzhou, Jiangnan. In the autumn of last year, Choi held an 'auction' at which three treasures were sold, causing a sensation throughout Gangnam, and this liquor was one of the treasures. ”

Ye Lujing was curious, "Xiao Qing, what does 'auction' mean?" ”

"Your Majesty, it is the Cui clan of Mingzhou in Jiangnan who summoned the wealthy businessmen and giants in the southern region, and the wealthy families took out three treasures at the auction and asked everyone to bid, and in the end, the highest bidder got the treasure, which is similar to 'buying'."

He continued: "At the 'auction,' the Persian maritime merchant made the highest bid, at 96,000 guan, and no one raised the price again. He bought the bottle. Nearly 100,000 yuan! There were more than a hundred people present, and he didn't dare to lie. ”

Yelu Jing was very surprised, as an emperor of a big country with a territory of thousands of miles, he couldn't take out 100,000 copper coins at once! These maritime merchants are so rich! Wrong! This maritime merchant gave me such an expensive gift, there must be something important to ask me!

Yelu Jing asked with a cold face, "Xiao Qing, what does that Persian maritime merchant want you to beg me?" ”

Xiao Siwen hurriedly got up and replied, "Your Majesty, that maritime merchant has only one request, that is, he wants to be my royal merchant in Daliao. ”

Yelu Jing frowned and said, "Want to be an imperial merchant? I don't have an imperial merchant in Da Liao, right? ”

Xiao Siwen said cautiously: "Your Majesty, there is no imperial merchant now. ”

Yelujing said sharply: "He just wants to get privileges that other merchants don't have!" ”