The Western Regions Conference invited the delegation, there were two seats in the Ministry of Rites, and Yang Chong was also arranged to be seated, to Yang Chong's surprise, in addition to Xu Shanxin, the waiter of the Ministry of Rites, the other two had never seen each other. Both of them are in their thirties, one is majestic, the face is ancient, even if they sit there, they have the momentum of immovable mountains and deep pavilions; The other is elegant and chic, kneeling with a straight waist, a smile on the corner of his mouth, and a pair of tiger eyes flashing under his wide forehead, which has its own intimidating charm.

Xu Shanxin, the waiter of the Ministry of Rites, introduced the three of them to each other, the strong man was Zhu Kuan, the captain of the Yu cavalry, who had just returned from Liuqiu, and the other was Li Yu, the captain of the cloud cavalry, who accompanied the Persian mission back. Xu Shanxin said that Yang Chong knew that Persia had never sent an official mission to the Great Sui, and it was generally done by a caravan, and after Li Yu sent an envoy to Persia this time, Persia officially sent a mission, the main envoy was Gedia, the governor of the seventh province, and the deputy envoy was the nobleman Galihir.

Zhu Kuan and Li Yu both left Chang'an for about four years, so their official positions were also four years ago, and now they have made great contributions, and it is certain that they will come back and be promoted; Yang Chong happened to be born during this time, and Zhu Kuan said with a smile: "I heard Zhuge Quan talk about you earlier, and boasted about you to the gods, but your suggestion of planting rice and sugarcane really helped us a lot, and the two generals, Chen Ling and Zhang Zhenzhou, said that they would thank you in person." ”

Yang Chong smiled and said: "The way of a businessman is not to be elegant." ”

Zhu Kuan stopped Yang Chong and said, "Don't pretend to be modest, I returned to Chang'an with Zhuge Quan's letter, and I will go to you when the conference is over." ”

Yang Chong bowed his head and said, "Welcome." ”

Li Yu snorted softly and said, "The two of you are really busy, no wonder how many officials in the Great Sui are fame and fortune." ”

Zhu Kuan's face changed, and he was about to have a seizure, Yang Chong rushed in front and said: "Captain Li is right, I was originally a craftsman, and I also had the same opinion when I retrieved the sweat and blood BMW from Kangguo two years ago, and later I only knew about the suffering of the border army when I came to Hanchuan, so I paid more and more attention to money." ”

Yang Chong's words can be regarded as squeezing Li Yu, Yang Chong is telling Li Yu that he has also been on an envoy, and he has also been in the army; Zhu Kuan secretly screamed happily, Li Yu's face turned blue when he heard it, but Yang Chong was a six-rank official, and Li Yu really didn't dare to beat people on an occasion like today. Although Xu Shanxin is a Shangguan, he did not interject, but he understood that the three people in front of him were all unruly madmen, especially Li Yu, who was the nephew of Li Hun, the general of Zuo Wuwei, and it was said that he was likely to serve in the Qi Palace, and he would have a great chance to become a minister of Conglong in the future.

Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty generally sat down in the center of the moon holding the moon, and after saying some peace-loving words, melodious drum music sounded, and more than 100 kabuki sang and danced, floating lightly from the palace gate on all sides to the center of the banquet hall. The skirt is rolling, the long sleeves are fluttering, the singing is sweet, and there is an indescribable moving charm; After a song, the lights dimmed, and then the lanterns were phantom, weaving a streamlined pattern, the pattern was not finished, the lights were restored, and the Maiko were gone.

The melody changes suddenly, the sound of the pipa is full of the style of the Western Regions, a musician with a high bun on his head, wearing a long skirt, wearing a jewel, wearing a neck ornament, and wearing trousers, all of which enter; The musician is as beautiful as a fairy, holding a pipa, and her movements are generous, playing and dancing at the same time. The skirt flutters and flies, swaying like a dragon and a phoenix, and the necklace arm clink in the flying, don't spare the rhyme. The sound of the pipa became more and more crisp, the tone was raised to a high place, the musician raised his feet to the ground, and instantly turned his crotch around, the pipa was already placed behind his head, his plump arms were held diagonally and flicked, his right foot was cocked and fell, and a series of cheerful dances ended abruptly.

The applause was like thunder, and the palace ladies took the opportunity to deliver delicious food, and the atmosphere eased; Everyone held wine glasses and congratulated Emperor Yang Guang of the Sui Dynasty before they sat down one after another and began to feast and drink heartily. Light music then sounded, nearly 100 singers carried flower baskets, curled in, the fragrance suddenly filled the hall, Qing Song Man dance, Wu Nong's soft voice, people indescribably comfortable, indescribable reverie, even Tong Ye Hu and other iron-blooded people, for a while lost interest in talking about swords.

Xu Shanxin said with a smile: "Yang Chong, I won't tell you, I was surprised to hear Liu Yao say that it was this song you taught, I am used to hearing sentences like your Qinghai Changyun, but I didn't expect you to have experience in the joy of indulgence." Zheng Shanguo and Fan Zigai are said to be heartbroken, and after running to observe, they said, you are a minister. ”

Yang revered Xu Shanxin with a glass of wine and said: "Those who are clear are self-purifying, and those who are turbid are self-turbid." If they can't stand a single song, they should go to the court and close down the places in Pingkangfang and Chongrenfang. ”

Xu Shanxin and Zhu Kuan laughed when they heard this, and even Li Yu shook his head with a smile. Pingkangfang and Chongrenfang are the romantic places of Chang'an, and the places where the heroes and young people in Kyoto gather; The famous prostitutes belong to the teaching workshop, singing and dancing, poetry, musical instruments, etc., and the bureaucrats and aristocratic scholars who like to chant poetry and literature often ask them to be called to worship and serve banquets, and after the opening of the imperial examination, it is a place for countless candidates to celebrate and vent their sorrows, Zheng Shanguo and Fan Zigai will definitely be scolded by thousands of people if they go to the book.

The four of them were laughing, and Zhang Yuan, the chief eunuch, came over with a smile and said, "Lord Yang, Shibi Khan and Gaochang King Lu Boya want to see you, and the Son of Heaven has agreed, please go up and toast them with a glass of wine." ”

Yang Chong didn't know why, so he still got up and followed Zhang Yuan towards the seat above, Shibi Khan and Princess Yicheng formed their own seats, Shibi Khan's favorite minister Shi Shu Huxi and the Great Sui Huangmen squire Pei Ju sat together; Luo Khan and his uncle Poshi were seated in the Western Turkic mud place, accompanied by Yu Shiji. Po Shi special service is the younger brother of Nili Khan, married to the biological mother of the mud pouting Luo Khan, Xiang Shi, during the opening of the emperor, Po Shi special service and Xiang came to Chang'an for the Hajj, the Western Turks had civil strife, and the couple stayed in Chang'an Honglu Temple to live.

Gaochang King Lu Boya and his son Lu Wentai sat together, Yang Xuangan, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, accompanied each other, and Yang Guang, Emperor Yang of Sui, directly pointed to the empty position next to Li Wentai and said: "After saluting Shibi Khan wine, just sit there, King Gaochang has something to ask you." ”

As soon as the words came out, everyone was shocked, the palace banquet was about rank, and many seats were vacant, not that no one sits, but that people who are not qualified enough to sit. Yang Guang asked Yang Chong to sit next to Lu Wentai, which seemed to be to facilitate King Gaochang's questioning, but in fact, he broke the rules, or Jane was in the emperor's heart, Yang Guang thought that Yang Chong was qualified to sit. Yang Chong saluted Shibi Khan with a glass of wine in a proper manner, and was about to retreat, Shibi Khan shouted and asked: "Yang Chong, you and I are also old acquaintances, tell me, how can this king prove his loyalty to the Great Sui?" ”

Absolutely provocative, both the embassies of various countries and the officials of the Great Sui know that the Eastern Turks and the Great Sui are two lions that are ready to bite each other, and goodwill is just a politeness on the table. But Shibi Khan is now raising it in public, which is to give Yang Chong a problem, and the few seats close to Shibi Khan suddenly stopped making noise, and they were all waiting for Yang Chong to answer.

Yang Chong smiled slightly and said, "Great Khan, is the loyalty that needs to be proved still loyalty?" ”

(End of chapter)