Yelu Deguang pulled out the short knife, but did not pounce on Ming An and stab a few holes in Ming An's body, but slammed it on the table, the sound of the blade penetrating the wooden board, the short knife did not reach the handle, Yelu Deguang scolded in Khitan language, and said angrily to Li Congjing: "Sooner or later, I will kill this son to relieve my hatred!" ”

Li Congjing pretended to be casual to comfort Yerod Guangguang's anger, and then asked, "Who is this?" ”

"Ming An, the prince of the Bohai Kingdom." Yerod Guang was furious, gritting his teeth. His angry appearance made the little lady next to him at a loss, and he didn't know where to put his hands, and he looked at Li Congjing for help, and Li Congjing naturally ignored her.

Perhaps worried about Li Congjing's mist in the clouds, Yelu Deguang added: "The Bohai Kingdom and the Khitan Kingdom have always been good friends, but in recent years, their countries have repeatedly caused trouble, which has made the father extremely unhappy, so Ming'an led the envoys to the Khitan, but this kid is very arrogant, which makes people look unpleasant." ”

Li Congjing nodded in understanding. When he was in school, he didn't return all his historical knowledge to the history teacher, so he vaguely remembered that the Bohai Kingdom seemed to have been destroyed by the Khitan in recent years, and then Yelu Abaoji changed the Bohai Kingdom to the Dongdan Kingdom, and named the crown prince Yelu Bei as the king of Dongdan, which led to the history of Yelu Deguang becoming bigger and becoming the Khitan Emperor later.

At this time, listening to Yelu Deguang talk about this, Li Congjing naturally couldn't help but feel a little Jiujiu in his heart, and intended to ask for some more relevant news, but as soon as this thought came up, Li Congjing's heart suddenly rose sharply. This warning came without warning, and it was a little inexplicable, but the sudden acceleration of the heartbeat still made Li Congjing's nerves freak.

On the battlefield, such a warning omen had saved his life several times, and at this time, he had already spoken to the words and forcibly suppressed them. But even so, there was still a strong uneasiness in his heart for no reason, which could not be left behind, like waking up from a nightmare, and the palpitations were still there.

After the banquet passed through Ming'an, Li Congjing and Yelu Deguang lost interest, reluctantly drank a few glasses of wine, and hastily left Qinhuai Pavilion. When she left, Fu'er's delicate eyes seemed to have something to say, but when she looked at Li Congjing, she wanted to say something, Li Congjing naturally wouldn't ask her what she wanted to say, who knew what the women in the land of wind and moon were thinking in their hearts. Although he does not reject it, he cannot be cautious and does not want to be tainted with cause and effect.

After separating from Yelu Deguang, on the way back to the trading company, the uneasiness in Li Congjing's heart lingered, and his heart was clouded with a layer of haze. This is something that has never been encountered before, he carefully thought about the before and after of going north to the Khitan, trying to find some loopholes from it, but he had no clue for a while.

What Li Congjing didn't know was that when he and Yelu Deguang left Qinhuai Pavilion, Ming An and the middle-aged man were still in Qinhuai Pavilion. The two stood in front of the window, watching Li Congjing and Yelu Deguang leave, their eyes deep.

"What do you think of today's events?" Returning to the incense seat from the window, Ming An asked the middle-aged man in front of him, at this time he was calm and graceful, where was the anger and superficiality under the drunkenness?

The middle-aged man has a bitter and hateful face, and seems to be tortured extremely hard by the world, but his temperament is very calm, and he has a taste of detachment from the world.

Li Siping did not directly answer Ming'an's question, but said slowly: "In recent years, the Khitan power has been expanding day by day, Abaoji is invincible in the east and west, and the northern desert grassland has become his fish and meat, let him slaughter. The Northern Desert Grassland was established, and Abaoji wanted to send troops to the Central Plains, intending to establish an empire that reached the polar regions in the north and the Yellow River in the south, but several southern expeditions were defeated by the current Tang Emperor Li Cunmiao. At this time, Abaoji saw that the southern expedition could not be done, and it was very likely to set his sights on the Bohai Kingdom in the east. ”

Ming An bowed his head and motioned for Li Siping to continue. In fact, it was precisely because of these circumstances that he wrote several letters to the King of Bohai to request an envoy to the Khitan, the purpose of which was also to explore the reality of the Khitan.

"In the days when His Royal Highness came to the West Building, Abaoji was not thoughtful in his hospitality, and he treated him politely everywhere, but that's all, and there was no extra cordiality. It is precisely for this reason that the minister said yesterday that the Khitan does not seem to have the meaning of the Bohai Sea in the east. If Abaoji really plans to go east, since His Royal Highness is here, he will hold a heavy salute and show his friendship everywhere to paralyze His Highness, hide his true motives, and win time for his Eastern Crusade to prepare, and then strike a thunderous blow to achieve a surprise effect. Li Siping said calmly.

If his words were heard by Li Congjing, Li Congjing would definitely be moved by his extraordinary insight. Whether it is the art of war or diplomacy, many times it is close and far, far and near, and can but cannot, in order to achieve the effect of making the opponent misjudge and winning with one blow.

He continued: "Today, Yelu Deguang has an arrogant attitude and is not disrespectful, because a young lady in a green building tore his face with His Royal Highness, which can be described as extremely arrogant. He revealed his contempt for His Highness everywhere, and did not care about the diplomatic relations between the two countries, which seemed to be vulgar, but in fact he was well versed in the way of Abaoji and His Highness. That is: not deliberately close, not deliberately distant, not too contemptuous, not too important. In terms of the current state of the Khitan Kingdom, this is indeed a normal attitude towards the Bohai Sea when they have no intentions. ”

Ming An pondered for a while, and after half a sound, asked: "Since Mr. used the words "Void and Snake", it can be seen that he has other ideas about the true purpose of the Khitan?" ”

Ming An was able to find abnormalities from the details of his words, which made Li Siping very appreciative, and he said: "Today, His Highness deliberately tested Yelu Deguang with Fu'er's matter, and he didn't find too many clues. It is said that today, it is basically certain that the Khitan has no intention of Bohai, because the Khitan has made it very clear. But sometimes, its performance is too normal, it is originally an abnormal thing, and the intention of the Khitan may still be discovered, and the minister cannot make up his mind for a while. ”

Ming An pondered, "Then let's stay for a while." ”

Li Siping agreed. He thought for a while, "Your Highness, after this trip to the Khitan, is it necessary to go to the Central Plains?" ”

"What does Sir mean is that if the Khitan intends to plot against the Bohai Sea, we can ask the Central Plains for help?" Ming An's eyes lit up a little, but then dimmed again, "The Central Plains is now in civil strife, and I'm afraid I can't afford to look north." Moreover, Mr. has a general understanding of the situation in China, and he should know that my Bohai Kingdom has always had little weight in the eyes of the Emperor of the Central Plains. ”

Li Siping said with a straight face: "At this time and that time, the former Emperor of the Central Plains was the Emperor of the Liang Dynasty, but it was the King of Jin who really bordered the Khitan. Now that the King of Jin has entered the Central Plains, if he intends to send troops to the grassland, it will be fine, and if he wants to clear it first, he also needs a stable north. There is a lot to be done in this matter. ”

"What Mr. said is that Ming'an has been taught." Ming An said solemnly.

Li Siping nodded, suddenly remembered something, and thought: "The distinguished guest in Yeludeguang's mouth before seems to be a little unusual. ”

Ming An recalled the scene at that time, "This person's temperament is indeed good, although he has never spoken, but he sits with Yerod without humility and restraint, which is rare." ”

"The problem is, that person is from the Central Plains." Li Siping said a word.

Ming An was stunned and fell into deep thought. After half a ring, he spoke: "According to the news sent back by the people from the Central Plains, the envoy of the Lulong Festival in Youzhou is going to be replaced?" ”

Li Siping said: "I heard that the new envoy of Lu Longjie is a young man, the son of Li Siyuan, the deputy head of the Tang Dynasty, named Li Congjing. ”

After hearing this, Ming An's eyes showed a deep disappointment, and he said a little angrily: "It turns out that he is an official who relies on Mengyin!" Youzhou is such an important place, how could the Tang Emperor hand it over to such a person? The nearest Tang town to the Khitan country is Youzhou, I Bohai Kingdom will want to ask for Tang reinforcements, most of them also rely on Youzhou, originally when the old general Li Cunshen was there, although he could not step on the grassland, but he could also contain the Khitan army, and now he actually changed such a young man, how is it good? ”

Li Siping shook his head and sighed.

There was a moment of silence in the room.

Ming An stood up, walked to the window, and looked out of the building silently.

Outside the building is a foreign country, with brilliant lights and flowers.

Ming An thought of the capital of his country, where it was compared to the West Building, like a firefly to Haoyue. He also recalled the Khitan army he had seen since this trip, and he knew at a glance that it was the army of tigers and wolves; The army of the Bohai State is rampant in corruption and belongs to drills, the armor soldiers are old, and the soldiers are confused. The Khitan country is thousands of miles in circumference, and it is a heroic division standing on the grassland; The Bohai Sea Country, located in a corner and a small country, is like a reef on the edge of the vast sea.

In all fairness, being a Khitan national is much better than a Bohai national.

But that small country by the sea, a barren land with no three feet of flat land and no three inches of fat, is its own country!

Ming An's hands clenched into fists at some point, and the tighter and tighter they were, until the joints turned white and trembled slightly.

He suddenly turned around and said to Li Siping decisively and firmly: "Sir, even if you don't want to fight this seven-foot body, I will also keep Bohai!" ”

Seeing the glint in the young man's eyes, Li Siping felt a pain in his heart, and he actually felt like he wanted to cry.

He knew very well what the Bohai Kingdom was now declining into. The domestic magnates compete for power and profit, regardless of their own selfish interests, and exploit the people like snakes and scorpions. And the young man in front of him is just an ordinary heir of the Great Writer. But it is this young man, in that country where the world is turbid, he is alone, the world is drunk, he is sober, and he must turn the tide with his own strength and save the people from fire and water. Speaking of which, what a thing to boast about, but how much of the hardships and pains involved can be humane to outsiders?

He is a lone wanderer walking in the night, towards the meager and invisible starlight, despite the thorns and dangers on the ground.

……

After Yelu Deguang and Li Congjing separated, they did not return to their palace, but entered the palace. In such a late night, he went directly to the imperial study. And Abaoji, the already aged monarch, has not rested at this time, but is reviewing the chapters.

"How?" After Yerod's salute, Abaoji raised his head from the tedious recital, asked a question, and then lowered his head to continue the work at hand.

Yelu Deguang sat down next to him, he was still arrogant in Qinhuai Pavilion a moment ago, he was like a man in the market, but at this time, he was upright like the most noble nobleman in the world, and there was no vulgarity on his face, he thought about it and said: "I didn't try it." ”

"Oh?" Abaoji raised his head again, a little interested, "What's going on?" ”

Yelu Deguang was a little distressed and said: "When I was having a banquet with him in Qinhuai Pavilion today, for the sake of a popular lady, Ming An ran over to fight with his sons, and he almost made a fuss. Afterwards, he asked about Ming'an's identity, but the blame was that after his son told Ming'an's identity, he didn't ask a word anymore, and he didn't seem to be interested in this king of Bohai Country at all. ”

Abaoji showed a hint of a treacherous smile, and did not say his judgment, but asked Yelu Deguang again: "Then tell me, is he really a pure businessman, or a person sent by the Tang Dynasty court?" ”

"From the very beginning, Erchen felt that there was something wrong with him, so he didn't fully believe that he was a businessman, Erchen has seen hundreds of merchants in the Central Plains, but who has his bearing? If it weren't for that, why did Erchen pretend to be close to him, and he didn't forget to take him away on the night of the attack, and even dragged him to Qinhuai Pavilion to entertain him when he returned to his teacher? No matter how useful a businessman is, it is not worthy of such attention, and no matter how deep the friendship between a minister and a Central Plains person is, it will not be so 'heart-to-heart'. A sinister look flashed in Yerod's eyes, and he said these words as a matter of course, and he was a little discouraged at the end, "But Erchen has been with him for many days, and he has paid attention to it today, but he still hasn't found too many flaws. If he really wasn't a businessman, he was cunning! ”

Abaoji still didn't answer Yelu Deguang's questions, but said tepidly: "Min'er met him in Dongshi today, it is said that the two also had a conflict, and Min'er even went to his trading company. ”

"Min'er?!" Yerod was very surprised, "She actually happened to meet him?" ”

Abaoji's fox-like smile became a little stronger, but he didn't continue to dwell on this issue, "You were attacked by the Tang Army in the middle of the night at Hulukou, and you lost your troops, if it was really done by this person, you have already lost the first move, and you can't lose the middle game in the future!" ”

Yelude's expression was dark, Abaoji's words were indifferent, but it didn't sound so simple to him, the trip to Jizhou had not achieved the expected results, if he was deceived by this person again, then whether he was qualified to replace Yelubei, I'm afraid Abaoji would have to reconsider.

"Father, rest assured, this matter is only left to his son. Even though he is smarter than the most cunning wolf in the steppe, he will not escape the bow and arrow in the hands of the hunter! Jerod reassured.

Abaoji nodded approvingly.

"Ming'an stayed in the West Building and didn't return for a long time, what should I do?" After a moment's hesitation, Yelu Deguang still asked.

"Bohai Country, the land of projectiles, there are only three households, and there are only five horses, if you take it backhanded, why worry?" Abaoji said lightly, "Compared with it, the Tang Dynasty is the fierce enemy!" ”

"Yes, my son is taught!" Yelu Deguang was terrified, Abaoji emphasized Datang so much, which made Yelu Deguang's worry even worse.

Keeping Yelu Deguang's expression in his eyes, Abaoji put down the pen in his hand, stood up from the seat, walked to Yelu Deguang, patted him on the shoulder, and said heavily: "You are my Abaoji's most valued son, since the position of the generalissimo of the world's soldiers and horses has been given to you, then you can do it firmly!" Remember, no matter how strong your opponents are, no matter how many people oppose you, as long as you have my support, there is nothing you can't do! What is the miscalculation of the gourd mouth? What famous man has never experienced defeat? But I want to tell you, my son of Abaoji, has fallen, not only to get up, but also to stand up straight! ”

Jerod raised his head and chest.

……

When Li Congjing returned to the trading company, he called Mo Li to his room. This guy was already asleep, and when he was picked up from the couch by Li Congjing, he had saliva at the corner of his mouth, and he was still talking in his dreams, and the content was inappropriate for children.

"Brother Li, it's already time! I finally had a beautiful dream, and I ruined it all, you and Yelu Deguang went to Qinhuai Pavilion to have a romantic relationship, and you didn't allow others to dream! Mo Li's face was indignant, and he was not embarrassed to hear the dream words at all, but was justified.

Li Congjing threw the wet towel on Mo Li's face, moved a stool and sat down in front of him, "If you want to have a brain to dream in the future, you will be sober and sober at this time." ”

Mo Li took the wet towel and was wiping his face, and asked in surprise when he heard this: "Why, I went to Qinhuai Pavilion and caused a monstrous disaster, did you rob Yelu Deguang's little lady?!" ”

Li Congjing kicked him angrily, and then told Mo Li the uneasiness in his heart, "Tell me, let's go all the way north, before and after meeting Yelu Deguang, did we show any flaws?" ”

Mo Li's frivolous look on his face disappeared and became serious.