July 26, the birthday of Li Jing, the lord of the Southern Tang Dynasty.

On this day, the lights in Jinling City are colorful, the atmosphere is festive, and there is a meaning of celebration with the whole world.

The people wished in the direction of the palace, and the government also distributed rice and grain to the poor in the city as a sign of royal kindness. At the same time, in Jinling City, temples of all sizes are doing things, praying for our Buddha to bless the lord of health and longevity.

No matter how much you ask for it, you only have a one-year lifespan.

Zhao Zheng, who was reborn, knew that in the history of the original time and space, Li Jing died in the second year of Jianlong. Li Yu ascended to the throne as the crown prince, opening the post-lord era of the Southern Tang Dynasty.

The natural conditions in the south of the Yangtze River are excellent, and the people of Wufu are abundant, but they are also comfortable and luxurious. Especially when encountering this kind of major event, it can be seen, I don't know how much money will be spent on this day?

After all, Jiangnan has basically not been disturbed by the war in recent years, and it is still rich as usual, and the habits that have been cultivated over the years are difficult to change. Even if the fourteen states of Jiangbei have all been lost, and the entire Tang Kingdom has actually been in crisis, the city of Jinling is still singing and dancing.

After all, it's Li Jing's last birthday, so what's the matter with being extravagant? Zhao Zheng's mentality is very generous, thinking that there may be another reason! After all, the struggle and death of Li Jingsui, the king of Jin, and Li Hongji, the crown prince, have only passed, and perhaps Li Jing wants to take this opportunity to completely expose this unpleasant past!

As a result, the celebration was extraordinarily grand. In addition to the folk celebrations and the Jinling Castle, grand banquets are also held in the palace.

Of course, before that, you have to accept the worship of hundreds of officials and envoys from various countries. This is also the first time Zhao Zheng has had the opportunity to meet Li Jing, since he came to Jinling, he has not seen himself for various reasons, and has delayed until today.

If it weren't for the fact that the Southern Tang Dynasty would not have colluded with Huainan Li Chongjin, as an envoy to the kingdom, he would have gone long ago. However, these days, Zhao Zheng can be regarded as out of the limelight in Jinling City and saved face.

Today is Li Jing's birthday, and I want to congratulate him on his birthday as an envoy, and at the same time convey the sincere condolences and care of His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty. Therefore, the costume is naturally extraordinarily formal, Honglu Shaoqing's official robe is wrapped, Dong Zhongyan and Li Yuan follow closely behind, responsible for holding the holy decree, holding gifts, and going to the palace to meet Li Jing for his birthday.

When he entered the palace, Han Xizai had been waiting for a long time, responsible for greeting and guiding the envoys of various countries. Not only the envoys of the Song Dynasty, but also all the southern countries, Wu Yue, the Southern Han Dynasty, the Nanping Gaojia, the Southern Fujian, and even the Zhou Xingfeng of Hunan, all sent envoys to congratulate Li Jing on his birthday, which in fact also demonstrated the status of the Southern Tang Dynasty in the southern region.

It's a pity that the former number one country in the south is no longer worthy of its name, and in fact it is not as good as before, and only an empty shelf remains. However, the emaciated camel is bigger than the horse, and the shelf is still there, and it is indeed stronger than several other countries in comparison. Therefore, several small countries have put on a posture of looking ahead, and there is also an element of self-preservation.

However, among the envoys, it is natural that the most noble of the Great Song Dynasty in the world is Zhengshuo, and when Zhao Zheng arrived, the southern countries all owed to pay respects, and their attitudes were quite humble. They have been looking forward to it for a long time, wanting to see Zhao Zheng, who has recently become a figure of the year in Jinling, and now that they see the real face, those old guys are somewhat surprised, Song Envoy is really young!

I heard that he is both literary and martial arts, domineering but benevolent, and now he is famous. But before that, they didn't know who this Zhao Shaoqing was. However, many people realize that this person should be a new star in the political arena of the Great Song Dynasty, especially after learning that his surname is Zhao, his attitude has become more and more humble.

Especially Wu Yue and the envoys from Hunan all looked at Zhao Zheng differently, their eyes were quite complicated, and they didn't know what they were thinking. As for the envoys of the Southern Han Dynasty, they disagreed, standing far aside, and their attitude was quite cold. Perhaps they think that they are partial to Lingnan, separated by the Southern Tang Dynasty and Jinghu Lake, and are not adjacent to the Great Song Dynasty, so they can rest easy.

Zhao Zheng smiled and said nothing, is it really safe? I vaguely remember that the Southern Han Dynasty seems to have died earlier than the Southern Tang Dynasty. However, it is just right that they have such thoughts, which is conducive to the future conquest of Lingnan by the Song army.

No matter what he thought in his heart, Zhao Zheng always greeted everyone politely, but now that he is in the Southern Tang Dynasty, it is not appropriate to make too many enemies. At the same time, it is also a small opportunity to show the magnanimity of a great country, how can such a good public relations and publicity opportunity be given up?

The sound of ritual music sounded in the distance, and Han Xizai came over and said, "The time has come, all the envoys go to the palace!" ”

Over there, the ministers of the Southern Tang Dynasty had already finished congratulating, and when Zhao Zheng and the others were carried into the hall with Han Xizai, they had already seen many people standing in the court's upper and lower classes. I didn't have time to take a closer look, but I only saw Li Congjia, Li Congshan's brothers, and Huangfu Jixun, these old friends.

"Envoys from all over the world congratulate the lord on his birthday!" The master of ceremonies sang loudly, in front of the real Song envoys, they didn't dare to call His Majesty.

Under the guidance of Han Xizai, Zhao Zheng walked to the main hall and saw a middle-aged man with a gentle face sitting on the dragon chair under His Majesty Dan. He is still wearing a yellow robe, and on the land south of the Yangtze River, he still enjoys the treatment of the emperor.

is in his forties, and it stands to reason that he is in the prime of life, but Li Jing does not feel much vitality. On the contrary, there is a feeling of twilight years, and it seems that his life is really short. I don't know if this is because his younger brother Li Jingsui and his son Li Hongji killed each other the year before last, which made him deeply affected.

With such a state of mind, where is the momentum of dominating the world? There is no ambition, and the enterprising spirit is completely reasonable.

……

"Great Song Honglu Shaoqing Zhao Zheng see the lord of the country!" Zhao Zheng bowed slightly and greeted him with the most reluctant courtesy. Not excessive, but without any respect, this is the prerogative of the envoys of great powers.

Li Jing didn't seem to think of the pestle, but just carefully observed Zhao Zheng, who had been making trouble in Jinling for more than 20 days. It can be said that the name is like thunder, and he is really curious, what does this Song envoy look like? Now I got what I wanted. Even if I was mentally prepared, I was still a little surprised.

However, Li Jing was not dissatisfied with Zhao Zheng's not very humble attitude, he still had this idea, and said with a smile: "Zhao Shaoqing is exempt!" ”

Zhao Zheng turned around and took the edict from Dong Zhongyan's hand, held it high, and said loudly: "His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty congratulates the edict on the birthday of the Tang Lord." ”

Li Jing got up a little reluctantly, and the Southern Tang Dynasty was a minister to Song. Even if you are the lord of the country, you can see that the edict of the Great Song Emperor still has to be welcomed, not to mention kneeling, at least you must stand up and kneel and bow down to obey.

At the moment when he got up, Zhao Zheng smiled and said: "The lord of the country doesn't have to be polite, His Majesty has a decree, and the lord of the country just sits and listens to the holy decree......"

Dong Zhongyan's eyes moved, as if he wanted to express a different opinion, but was coldly stopped by Zhao Zheng. Now in the mission, Zhao Zheng's prestige has been established, and Dong Zhongyan does not dare to disobey it. What's more, it is still in the main hall of the Southern Tang Palace, and it can't lose its dignity.

"At the beginning of the golden autumn, I heard that Tang Guojing's birthday arrived...... I wanted to go but couldn't come, so I sent Honglu Shaoqing Zhao Zheng to congratulate Qing...... When he read the special gift ......", Zhao Zheng found that the holy decree was so lengthy, with many beautiful words, and a lot of rewards. By the time I finished reading it, my mouth was dry.

Zhao Zheng fully understands Zhao Kuangyin's approach, and in fact, he is the same. The courtiers of the Southern Tang Dynasty can be fierce, especially a thorn like Huangfu Jixun, they must be severely suppressed to show their strength. But for a timid ruler like Li Jing, coercion is not good, and it is still necessary to ease the relationship with a little favor.

Just by sitting and listening to the edict, he gained a lot, first of all, he was respected. Secondly, he will not be embarrassed in front of his courtiers and envoys from other countries, Li Jing knows it in his heart and is slightly grateful.

"Thank you for your concern, I am very grateful, please Zhao Shaoqing wait for a while!"

Zhao Zheng stepped aside, and the envoys from several other countries happened to come forward to congratulate him on his birthday. Zhao Zheng stood there, but his eyes cautiously turned everywhere, observing the ministers of the Southern Tang Dynasty, trying to find out the person who framed him.

When he turned around, he saw Li Congjia, who was also staring at himself, looking at the corner of his mouth with a smile, but in fact it was not friendly. Seeing this, Zhao Zheng just smiled faintly.

At this moment, Zhao Zheng suddenly felt that a compelling look fell on him, and he turned around to look around, but there was no trace. When I wanted to investigate carefully, the ceremony of Li Jing's meeting with the envoys over there had already ended, and he was going to move to another hall to hold a banquet to thank him.

Zhao Zheng had no choice but to give up for the time being!