Husara had great expectations for this 'mission', as they had not had a good time in these years, and due to the continuous expansion of the Black Khanate (Western Liao), they were on the verge of being annexed by Khotan, and the lord was rumored to be ready to claim vassal to the Black Khanate. And he knew that the Black Khanate was the former Liao State, and they and the Song Dynasty had become mortal enemies, and once it came true, then this financial road would be broken. So this time he carried more than a hundred loads of tribute, ready to make a big profit.

As soon as they arrived in Gaochang, they knew that they had turned against the Great Song Dynasty, and that they had already sent troops to recruit them, so Husala did not dare to call himself a tribute envoy to the Great Song Dynasty, but a merchant who went to Mobei. After passing the Altai, he found that Mobei was also in the middle of the war, the Song army had captured Zhenzhou, and was at war with the Mobei tribes, the specific situation was unknown, of course, he did not dare to expose his purpose, and hid the national book to avoid the Tatars from entering Monan.

Not to mention the difficult and dangerous road, Husara also had a lot of ups and downs in his heart, once the people of the Song Dynasty knew that Khotan was going to be a vassal to the Black Khanate, then he was a friend or foe, and the envoy would not become a joke. Fortunately, after they entered the land of the Great Song Dynasty, they were warmly welcomed as soon as they went abroad, and they were treated as guests, which finally put him at ease. And the prosperity and wealth of the re-emerging Great Song Dynasty made him feel that he had made the right bet, and he firmly believed that he would be able to make money this time!

Under the care of the officials of the Great Song Dynasty, the Khotanese mission entered the Central Plains smoothly, but the good luck seems to have ended here. After being charged a 'high' fee by the Zhengzhou Post House, he ran to the next post station in Lu, but this time he was actually denied entry, whether he showed his letter of departure or found the local government, he could not solve the problem, and the official attitude was very cold, only treating him as an ordinary businessman. Before leaving, he also reminded him to make up the tariff so as not to trouble himself.

Husara hit the wall one after another and felt that something was wrong. This is still the hospitality of the Great Song Dynasty, and it is clear that he did not take himself as an envoy seriously. But now it must be unwilling to let him return to China. Not to mention that he worked hard to get to the Great Song Dynasty, even those goods can't be smashed in his own hands. Think about it, maybe it's a few years from now, those magistrates don't know anything for a long time, maybe things will turn around when they enter the Beijing Division, anyway, the capital is not far away, it's better to try your luck.

But this hundred miles of walking is not easy than ten thousand miles, the post house is not able to live, there is no free meal, and the accompanying officials. Don't mention the guards and soldiers, there will always be inexplicable interrogations on the way, which makes Hushara both annoyed and puzzled. But the officials of the Great Song Dynasty are very clear, who let him appear in front of the emperor at an inappropriate time, and was criticized by the emperor by name, the tree is a typical example of defrauding the Great Song Dynasty, and the two chief officials of the Ministry of Rites were severely reprimanded by the emperor for this. At this time, no matter how bold they are, no one dares to commit a crime against the wind, it is boring, they are all black-faced and strict on the basis of doing things according to the rules!

The Khotanese mission finally entered the capital, and did not care to appreciate the prosperity of Bianjing. Husara hurriedly went to the Honglu Temple to report to the temple, hand over the credentials, and deliver the tribute. Sure enough, the quality of the Beijing official was much stronger than that of the local government, and a magistrate received him warmly, but he was told that he had no subordinate relationship with the Great Song Dynasty in Khotan, nor had he formally established diplomatic relations. Therefore, he did not recognize his status as an envoy, and asked him to bring back the tribute. At the same time, he was advised to go to Xiangguo Temple or Mahang Street to find a stall to sell the goods. Change the point and go home early.

The last glimmer of hope was dashed, and Hussara was completely stupid. He didn't understand why Da Song, who had always wanted to save face, rejected such a good extra, didn't they stop staging the annual drama of all nations coming to court? He looked around. It turned out that he was not the only one who had the same experience, and the 'envoys' of Siam, Annam, Sulu, Nanzhang and other countries were also squatting at the door at a loss! However, they all understood that the wind direction of the Great Song Dynasty had changed......

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The people in the capital also quickly discovered the changes this year, Xuanhe did not set up a high Ao Mountain in front of the gate as in previous years, and erected countless colorful sheds, but there were a few more flower beds than in the past. And the emperor who returned to Beijing to worship his ancestors also chose to quietly enter the city in the middle of the night, it is said that the official family did not want to disturb the people. In the following days, the emperor did not ride around the streets according to the usual practice, but it was rumored that the emperor had inspected Anjifang and the residence in a light car, gave clothes and food, and promised to allocate special funds to renovate the houses and improve the conditions after the year.

On the 23rd day of the lunar month, the emperor went to the invalids outside the city to pay respects, visit the disabled soldiers in previous wars, and promised to be supported by the government for the rest of his life. He also issued an edict to increase the bereavement pension for the deceased soldiers, improve the lives of their families, and take care of their children in school and imperial examinations. In the following days, the emperor went to the craftsman camp of the Ministry of Industry, Taixue, various guilds in the capital and the Gyeonggi garrison to inspect and express condolences, and sent a large number of New Year's goods......

For the emperor's frequent visits to the grassroots and proposed measures to improve people's livelihood, of course, he won the support of the people. But some people found that this year, the emperor did not go to any Taoist temple or temple to burn incense and pray for blessings, and the concubines in the palace did not send incense money as in previous years. The ministers could not figure out the emperor's pulse for a while, and they did not dare to act rashly, so that the days when the temples were rich were deserted, and the merit money received was less than thirty percent of the past, so that the monks and Taoists could not help but panic, worried that the policy of preferential treatment of monks since the government and the years had changed.

Sure enough, there was gossip soon that the emperor had instructed Shangshu Province to merge the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Household and Officials to cancel the Taoist steps that had been implemented for many years, and officials at all levels were not allowed to hold their posts in the temple, and to recover the land given to the temple by the state over the years, and to recover and rebuild the Lingxiao Temple property established in the local prefectures and counties into schools at all levels, and the land was divided into the school halls, and the output was used for the expenditure of township schools and county schools.

As soon as the news came out, the 'immortals' were panicked, they had lived a really fairy-like life over the years, not to mention leading the state, and using a large area of land to hire tenants to cultivate and collect rent, and they did not have to pay a penny of taxes to the state, and they all became big landlords and parasites attached to the body of the Great Song Dynasty. Of course, they were unwilling to lose their former privileges, and they petitioned the Emperor Taishang Sect Master one after another, asking him to uphold the rights of the vast number of monks. But unexpectedly, the sect leader who has always worshiped the Tao refused to speak out, at this moment he had long realized how ridiculous his behavior was back then, and he didn't pull a hand when he was in a desperate situation, so why should he speak for the immortals now.

And this year's New Year's Day festival made everyone feel the pragmatic new style implemented by the emperor, some flashy and cumbersome etiquette was canceled, and the foreign tribute envoys who were invited to attend the ceremony were only Goryeo, Dali, Xixia and the attached Mengwu, Wanggu and other Mobei tribes, which were greatly reduced compared with previous years, and the reward was similar to their tribute value. The banquet was held as usual, and although the plates, which had always been only seen but not eaten, were not canceled, they were much smaller, and some were barely covered at the bottom of the plates. On the other hand, the main meal is much richer, not only in many styles, but also delicious and just enough to fill your stomach.

The New Year has always been the carnival season of the Great Song Dynasty, but this year's officially sponsored activities have been greatly reduced, and more people have participated in the activities, which has not reduced everyone's interest, but has less of the stylized rigidity of the past and made people feel more rich and interesting. The Shangyuan Festival Lantern Festival is the climax of the New Year, but this year, there is no Xuanhe Gate of Aoshan Lantern Sea and all over the colorful sheds did not let everyone lose their joy, because this year although the emperor did not appear on the Xuanhe Tower, but walked to the middle of everyone to enjoy together, and the lanterns hanging out of the palace are said to be from the hands of the palace mothers, which makes people feel closer.

This year's Chinese New Year is simple, so that the Beijing officials of the Great Song Dynasty do not have to be ready to accompany the emperor to attend various activities at any time during the holiday, so they are a lot more leisurely, and they can take advantage of the holiday to take a good rest, recuperate and visit friends, and accompany their wives and children. But it is also a few happy and a few sad, because the capital's 'great harm' is back, and no one can afford to provoke this person, not only do they dare not get angry, but they also have to be careful to laugh with them and treat them well......

The second day of the new year is the day to go to Xiangguo Temple to burn incense, this year the emperor does not advocate, but many believers also want to please a good fortune, most of the officials are afraid of being impeached by the imperial history and dare not go, but they can't stop the family members to go, and they can't bear the chatter of their wives and children. Although Li Gang is noble, of course, he is not exempt from vulgarity, but in order to avoid people's eyes, he also changed into civilian clothes, and just packed up and prepared to go out, a door came to report, and someone stabbed him.

The scholars of the Song Dynasty have the habit of throwing thorns in the New Year, and the general scholars let people lead the horses, and shout several times every time they go to the door of the wealthy official eunuchs, leaving a thorn word to indicate that they have come, which is the new way of celebrating the New Year in the Song Dynasty. Li Gang didn't take it seriously, there were many people who wanted to borrow themselves to find a background, so he asked Menzi to accept it. But Menzi said that the person refused to leave and must enter the house to visit, Li Ganggang wanted to ask someone to blow things away, but suddenly felt uneasy in his heart, and asked Menzi to take a look at the famous thorn.

This didn't matter, and Li Gang was scared out of the sky, his face was pale, his hands trembled, and his lips trembled and he couldn't speak. Everyone is very puzzled, the Great Song Dynasty can scare Li Gang into such a handful of people, looking at the name thorn only written on the four words 'rain master to congratulate', and this name is unfamiliar and no one has ever heard of such a person.

"Hehe, Lord Li's family is going out, it seems that I didn't come at the right time!" Everyone saw that a middle-aged man dressed as a scribe had already broken in, and there were only two people behind him, and he greeted everyone with a smile when he entered the courtyard.

"Second master, you see that they have incense and candles, Shi Xian, this is going to Daxiangguo Temple to burn incense!" The entourage behind the middle-aged man had sharp eyes, and he had already seen the incense candles placed on the side, and pointed and said.

"The minister saw His Majesty, I didn't know that His Majesty had arrived, and I asked for forgiveness!" Li Gang came to his senses at this time, and 'Pout' knelt on the ground and pleaded guilty, but he was thinking in his heart about how to end up if he was arrested...... (To be continued......)