Li Jing is a poetry emperor, like his Li Congjia, who is the world's best in the world with words and is still the sixth prince at this time, just by virtue of poetry, he can leave a reputation in the rolling river of history. However, as emperors, both Li Jing and Li Yu are failures.

Li Jing actually hates the court meeting the most, and the recent court meeting is not peaceful, which makes Li Jing, who wants to live a stable life, very unhappy. Before dawn, Li Jing had already gotten up, washed up and had breakfast under the service of Queen Zhong.

Empress Zhong saw her husband's unhappy face, and said softly: "Official, why are you frowning?" ”

Li Jing sighed, pushed open the window, outside the window, the bright moon was still left, the breeze shook the treetops, the leaves rattled, and a trace of coolness came, Li Jing couldn't help but tighten his clothes, thinking that he was old and his body was no longer good, and he couldn't help but sigh. In fact, Li Jing was only in his thirties at this time, it was the peak of the Spring and Autumn Period, and his health was not bad, but he learned from Liezu to swallow pills and wanted to live a long life, and his health was getting worse and worse, but he didn't know why.

Li Jing frowned and said, "It's been a while since the envoy of the Han Kingdom came, and Prime Minister Sun couldn't negotiate with Liu Xin, and now that the Khitans are here again, I'm worried about it." ”

Empress Zhong said strangely: "Didn't the official family already appoint Yang Lian as an envoy to negotiate with the Han people and Khitans?" ”

"Alas, I talked to the King of Qi about this at the time, and the King of Qi said that Liu Xin was a martial artist, so it might have an effect if he wanted to use force to control the martial arts. At that time, Prime Minister Sun couldn't cure Liu Xin, and I was also seriously ill and went to the doctor, so I chose Yang Lian. However, I have already received the news that the relationship between Yang Lian and Liu Xin is very stiff, and Wu Yue has stationed troops in Suzhou. I'm afraid this battle is inevitable. Li Jing already had a trace of fear for Wu Yueren.

Empress Zhong also frowned when she heard this, this Yang Lian is still young after all. "There must be a road before the car reaches the mountain, and the officials don't have to worry so much." Empress Zhong consoled.

At this time, the eunuch hurriedly walked in. said: "Your Majesty, Yang Lian sent someone to send an excerpt. ”

Empress Zhong was slightly stunned, at this time, Yang Lian sent an excerpt, could it be that there was any bad news? Immediately, the face was solemn. The same is true for Li Jing, he vaguely feels that the news brought by Yang Lian is very bad.

"Come in." Li Jing said, no matter how bad the news is. You have to face it too.

The eunuch came in, bowed his head, and handed the fold to Li Jing. Li Jing took the fold with a heavy heart, opened it lazily and looked at it, and suddenly, his eyes widened. Although an alliance with the Khitans is almost an ironclad thing, the Khitans have always valued war horses, and in previous years they allied with Yang Wu and the Tang Dynasty. They refused to give the horses. The peoples of the grassland regard the war horse as a treasure and regard it as their own relatives. Now he actually promised to give Datang 500 war horses, which made Li Jing very excited, and when he looked down carefully, he was even more surprised to close his mouth.

These 500 horses are provided every year, and they are provided at a price below the market price. Although the Tang Dynasty also provided tea to the Khitans. However, Lianghuai has always been rich in tea, which is an important source of tax for Datang. In the past, Emperor Yang Wuwu had friction with Zhu Wen because of tea, and he fought against each other. Tea may be of great value to the Central Plains and Khitan people, but compared to the Tang Dynasty, tea is not expensive. Being able to exchange three hundred quintals of tea for war horses is very profitable.

As for the military alliance, it is also extremely beneficial for Datang. Li Jing thought about it, and couldn't help but smile, with this peace treaty of the Khitans, at least there is a certain deterrent to the Han people.

Seeing her husband's face showing joy, Queen Zhong walked forward slowly and gently pressed her shoulders for her husband.

Li Jing smiled and said, "This Yang Lian actually sent a fold at this time, and the negotiations with the Khitans have also gained a certain amount. Although 500 horses are not enough to change anything, it is better than nothing. ”

Empress Zhong smiled and nodded, suddenly remembered something, and said: "Five hundred war horses is not a small number, and the Khitan and the Tang Dynasty do not border, how can they be sent to Jinling?" ”

The joy on Li Jing's face disappeared, this is indeed a problem, it is not impossible to transport horses on a large scale, but it is not easy to pass through the border of the Han Kingdom, and it is not easy to transport it smoothly from Khitan to Jinling. "Alas!" Li Jing sighed faintly.

Empress Zhong rubbed Li Jing's shoulder and said, "Official, it's time to go to court." ”

Li Jing nodded, and under the leadership of the eunuch, he walked towards the Xingxiang Palace. Xingxiang Hall is the Tang Dynasty's meeting hall, the court will have something, it will be held here, at this time Yang Lian has not directly entered the Xingxiang Palace meeting, so he is still waiting outside the hall.

In the Xingxiang Palace, many ministers are arranged in order according to the size of civil and military affairs and official ranks. Sun Sheng is the prime minister, the head of the hundred officials, naturally in the top few, in front of him, is Li Jingsui, the king of Qi, and only Li Jingsui has this qualification, in front of him.

On the other side, Dongping Gong Li Hongji stood on the other side with the side of the general, Bian Hao, Zhou Ye, Liu Renzhan, Zhang Yanqing and others stood behind him, their expressions were different, and they didn't know what they were thinking.

Everyone knelt on the futon with all sorts of thoughts. Chang Mengxi, as a waiter in the Ministry of Rites, even turned up the corners of his mouth slightly, looking like he was a bamboo in his chest.

After waiting for a while, with the shout of the eunuch, the Tang Emperor Li Jing walked slowly.

"Greetings to Your Majesty!" The ministers bent down to salute.

"Everyone, please be exempt." Li Jing sat down on the dragon chair and squinted his eyes at the courtiers below.

"There is a book, but there is no book!" The eunuch was shouting again, and the shrill voice echoed in the Xingxiang Palace.

Some of the ministers bowed their heads, some secretly glanced back and forth, and a slight discussion sounded. Chang Mengxi, the waiter of the Ministry of Rites, walked out and said, "Your Majesty, Weichen has something to do!" ”

"What's the matter with Aiqing?" Li Jing asked.

Chang Mengxi glanced at King Qi, holding an ivory wat in his hand, and said, "Your Majesty, Weichen wants to participate in Yang Lian, the commander of the Shenwu Army." ”

"Commander Yang was ordered by His Majesty to negotiate peace with the Han Kingdom, but he did not make any contributions for several days, and Weichen even heard that Commander Yang asked the Han envoys to buy food by themselves, which really lost the face of the Tang Dynasty." Chang Mengxi said.

The corners of Li Jing's mouth twitched a little, although Chang Mengxi was impeaching Yang Lian, what made Li Jing feel was that Chang Mengxi was saying that he was not employed, so he made a joke and made Datang lose the demeanor of a great country.

Chang Mengxi saw that His Majesty didn't speak, and saw that King Qi was bored on the side, so he was even more proud, and arched his hand again, and said: "Your Majesty, this person is a martial artist, and he is not enough to take on a heavy responsibility, and Weichen also heard that he is very close to the Khitans." Your Majesty, please forgive Weichen for bluntly saying that the Khitan people are alien races, and to negotiate with the Khitan is undoubtedly to seek skin with the tiger. ”

Chang Mengxi actually wants to say one thing, that is, if he really allies with the Khitans, I am afraid that in the green history, the Tang Dynasty will leave a reputation through the ages.

Li Jing was slightly displeased, as far as national interests were concerned, he was inclined to form an alliance with the Khitans, but Chang Mengxi's words put him in a dilemma, an alliance with the Khitans had practical benefits, but his reputation was damaged; Without an alliance with the Khitans and no actual benefits, the pressure on the Tang Dynasty will be greatly increased.

Even if Li Jing was inclined to practical interests, these words could not come out of his mouth.

At this time, Liu Renzhan walked out and said, "Chang Shilang's words are a little unrealistic. ”

"Why?" Chang Mengxi narrowed his eyes and looked at Liu Renzhan, Liu Renzhan was also a courtier of the previous dynasty, but at that time he was just a city gateman, and later attached himself to the Liezu, which gradually rose to prominence. In Chang Mengxi's heart, Liu Renzhan is also a martial artist, no different from Yang Lian.

"The Khitans are alien, but the Shatuo people are not aliens?" Liu Renzhan asked.

Chang Mengxi only remembered at this time that Liu Zhiyuan was from Shatuo and was also of a different race. He was busy attacking Yang Lian just now, but he ignored this. Unconsciously his face turned slightly red, but he felt a little strange, this Liu Renzhan has never been involved in party disputes, why did he suddenly say sarcastic?

"The Khitans are aliens, and the Han people are also aliens, Chang Shilang thinks that if you are friendly with the Khitans, you are betraying the country, so if you are friendly with the Han people, isn't it a betrayal?" Liu Renzhan said, looking at Chang Mengxi very sharply, aggressive.

Chang Mengxi was stunned for a while, and some couldn't react, what happened to Liu Renzhan?

In the court, Li Jingsui, the king of Qi, Li Hongji, the duke of Dongping, Sun Sheng, the prime minister, and others also looked at Liu Renzhan with incredible eyes.

Liu Renzhan was not afraid, and bowed to Li Jing, the Son of Heaven, and said: "Your Majesty, Weichen believes that the Khitans are alien races, and the Shatuo people are also alien races. However, now the situation is very different, the Han people are aggressive, and the Wu Yue people are even more deceitful, from the perspective of the country, Weichen believes that it is the best policy to form an alliance with the Khitans and let the Khitans contain the Han State, and the Tang Dynasty will concentrate on dealing with the Wu Yue people. ”

Liu Renzhan's words entered Li Jing's heart, thinking of this, he couldn't help but nodded, and agreed with Liu Renzhan a little more.

Chang Mengxi felt that the situation was wrong, hesitated for a moment, and said: "Forming an alliance with the Khitans, isn't it a tiger for skin?" ”

"So what better advice does Chang Shilang have?" Liu Renzhan looked at Chang Mengxi with a smile.

Chang Mengxi hesitated for a moment and said, "Ancestor Lie has a legacy, and he should live in peace with the surrounding countries. If there is chaos today, the people are not able to make a living, and the people are miserable. If there is another war, I don't know how many people will die. ”

"Pedantic words." Liu Renzhan shook his head.

Chang Mengxi's face flushed, he was a dignified waiter of the Ministry of Rites, but he was an official from the third grade, but he let Liu Renzhan, a martial artist, use strong words, and said that he was pedantic, how could he not make Chang Mengxi angry?

Sun Sheng couldn't stand it, walked out slowly, and asked: "General Liu is so majestic, you are a military general, so you naturally want to fight and win military merits, but do you know how much food is needed to fight a war and how many soldiers will die." How many families will be heartbroken? Could it be that in General Liu's heart, he only thinks about one success? ”

Sun Sheng is the prime minister after all, and Liu Renzhan didn't dare to be too rude, so he had to bow his hand and said: "Prime Minister Sun, now there are many countries, and the situation is not much better than that of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period and the Northern and Southern Dynasties. The stone is precious and the destruction of the country is still vivid, and he will just worry about the society and be prepared for danger in times of peace. (To be continued.) )