Chapter 53: Horse Racing
Liu Fan smiled and hurriedly said: "Yes, yes, the Rouran warriors are mighty and majestic warriors, and it is naturally more than enough to protect the family and defend the country." Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info But this Beiqiang is only afraid that he can't count on it, there are 100,000 people, but in front of the Khitan, he has been defeated repeatedly, this kind of play, sooner or later, Beiqiang will be a vassal to the Khitan. ”
Liu Fan sighed with emotion: "To be a man, it is better to leave a way for yourself to live, if one day someone's country is ruined, where can he go?" ”
Hu Le was stunned, chewing on Liu Fan's words, and was gloomy for a while.
The old fritters of the Ministry of Rites were in high spirits, as if they had heard something, Liu Fan had something to say, and then looked at Hu Le's dejected look, could it be ......
The wine was hot, and the banquet was coming to an end, but at the last moment of the dismissal, Hu Le suddenly walked to Liu Fan's case, glanced at Liu Fan, and said coldly: "I don't know who Liu Gongzi is?" Why do you know Beiqiang and Khitan? ”
Many people turned their attention again, and Liu Fan smiled slightly: "What's the matter, Prince Hule is afraid?" ”
"Afraid?" Prince Hule said disdainfully: "The range of activities of the Khitan army is still hundreds of miles away from Rouran, what is Rouran afraid of?" ”
Liu Fan made a look of admiration and said: "A small state, less than 50,000 troops, and strong neighbors look around, if I am the prince of the country, I must be frightened, like walking on thin ice, but the courage of His Royal Highness the prince is amazing, and he is unmoved, and the students admire and admire it." The meaning of those words sounded to Prince Hule as sarcastic as he was!
Great Chu was contained by the Turks, in order to resist the robbery of the Turks, and had to support the three small states of Karasuma, Qianghu, and Xianbei to contain the Turks, but Qianghu, that is, the Northern Qiang was contained by the newly rising Khitan, according to reason, Rouran suddenly visited, and the imperial court wanted to win over Rouran to help the Great Chu to resist the Turks, and if it was to be so Great Chu, it must promise enough benefits.
This was expected, and the arrival of Prince Hule was just to discuss how much to ask for, in order to get the greatest benefit, Prince Hule thought that he had grabbed the seven inches of Da Chu, and he repeatedly resorted to means to provoke Xiang Jingwu, and put on the strongest posture to force Da Chu to comply.
The inside of the imperial court had already laid out the bottom line, and although this bottom line was not as unacceptable as the price demanded by the Turks, there were also a lot of gold, silver, and silk cloth given every year. The so-called sky-high asking price, landing to pay back. The two sides are fighting openly and covertly, hoping to gain the upper hand before the official exchange of credentials.
But Prince Hule only thought about the benefits, and was too arrogant in front of Xiang Jingwu, and he didn't know how important face was to the Emperor of the Central Plains!
If it weren't for the fact that Xiang Jingwu still had some sense, he would casually replace him with a short-tempered king, and it would be very possible to pull Prince Hule down and behead him now.
However, Liu Fan suddenly mentioned Beiqiang and Khitan, but everyone was puzzled, but Prince Hule changed his face.
Rouran is located in North Asia, and it is the Beiqiang that can have a greater impact on it, and the Ministry of Rites is not completely ignorant of the Beiqiang, but they do not know anything about the Khitan; However, Liu Fan mentioned the Khitan, which made the prince of Hule feel terrified, the Khitan is also the weakness of Rouran, there is the Khitan army Chen Bing pressing the border, Rouran Mo said that he was going to provoke the Turks, but self-preservation is still a problem.
Therefore, from the very beginning, Rouran people were bluffing, and when they broke out, Rouran's capital was gone.
Liu Fan smiled harmlessly, with a pair of eyes, but he looked at Prince Hule in a daze, as if he understood his weaknesses at a glance, as if he was smiling rather than laughing, but it implied the luster of wisdom.
Prince Hule snorted coldly, and countless thoughts turned in his heart, although he was calm on the surface, but in his heart, he was shocked.
After pondering for a while, he suddenly walked to the center of the main hall, saluted Xiang Jingwu, and said loudly: "Your Majesty the Emperor of Great Chu, Rouran is willing to pay tribute to the Great Chu Dynasty......"
When this half of the words were spoken, the ministers immediately discussed.
What's going on? The letter of state has not yet been finalized, so he is impatient to call the minister Nagong?
Prince Hule continued: "However, the credentials submitted by Xiao Wang should also ask Your Majesty to consider one or two, it is better to do this, Xiao Wang is willing to have a gambling contract with Your Majesty, if Xiao Wang wins, then Da Chu needs to make an oath according to the conditions of the Rouran Credentials." But if the little king is defeated, the letter of state can be deleted by His Majesty. ”
This sentence is even more puzzling, but this gamble is also fair, it is worth a try, it is Xiang Jingwu, and he couldn't help but be moved at this moment, so he said: "What does Aiqing want to bet on?" ”
Liu Fan understood the meaning of Prince Hule in his heart, Rouran's hole cards were turned over by himself, if it was delayed and delayed, the more unfavorable it would be to Rouran, rather than this, it was better to gamble.
Speaking of the word "gambling", Liu Fan deserves to be regarded as a leading figure in this era, so he didn't say anything, and waited with a smile to hear what Prince Hule had to say.
I only heard Prince Hule say: "Bet on horseback riding." ”
"Horseback riding?" The ministers are a burst of discussion, if it is compared to poetry and painting, this Da Chu is sure to win, as for horseback riding, but it is not lost, although Da Chu has ruled the country with Confucianism for a long time, but there are many martial artists, and there are countless good horses and treasures in the palace.
Xiang Jingwu was silent for a while, hesitating, Prince Hule had already proposed that if he vetoed, he would be regarded as afraid and did not dare to accept this bet. But if you nod your head, this bet is proposed by the Rouran people, presumably Prince Hule must be sure of winning.
After thinking about it, Xiang Jingwu finally nodded and said, "Okay, I'll make a bet with you." ”
Maybe it was because Fang Cai was too depressed, Xiang Jingwu slammed the case, but there was an inviolable look on his face behind the crown pearl.
………………………………………………
The forbidden garden of the palace has its own place for horse running, but it belongs to **, and the ministers must not enter, therefore, this horse race was changed to the front hall, there is a garden river in front of the palace, and there is a wide aisle next to it.
The rules of the game have been agreed, two wins in three games, riding a horse along the Yuan River, and the first to reach the front hall wins.
For the sake of insurance, the horse racer sent by Xiang Jingwu was Qin Fen, the former general of the palace, who was in charge of the cavalry of the forbidden army, and he had been accustomed to horse warfare for a long time, and he was more familiar with the habits of war horses, so it was the safest to send him out of the horse.
As for Prince Hule, it was a servant behind him who was dispatched, and a trace of eagerness flashed in this person's eyes, and he talked with Prince Hule in a soft voice in a low voice, and the Prince Hule raised his eyes to look at Qin Fen from time to time, sneering again and again, and Hu Cong seemed to have listened to his instructions, and kept nodding.
His Majesty was surrounded by a large group of people, Liu Fan's status was low, so he was naturally standing on the periphery, but Wang Xi didn't know when he stood by his side, and said with a smile: "Liu Gongzi is very happy." ”
Liu Fan said: "Scolding is not a student's business, students still like to convince people with reason, but since they are loyal to the emperor, students can only grit their teeth and ignore their innocence." Princess, look at the horses of the Rouran people......"