Xiao Daocheng sat down, Qu Ping knelt on the side behind him, and immediately shouted: "Xuan, Goguryeo envoys come to see you!" ”

As soon as the words fell, I saw several men in Goguryeo costumes walking in from outside the hall with small steps, led by a young Langjun with a noble body, and two behind him, both of whom were thirty or forty years old, one was dressed as a civil servant, one was dressed as a military general, and four other attendants, two by two and a pair, carrying two and a half people's high wooden boxes, and entered the hall side by side.

This group of people bowed their heads when they entered the hall, and when they reached the center of the main hall, they knelt down and saluted together, bowed their heads and kowtowed, and said the lame Jinling Yayan: "Knock to see His Majesty the Emperor of Daqi." ”

Xiao Daocheng straightened up, did not smile, and became more and more majestic, he raised his hand and said, "Envoy, please get up." ”

The group rapped again: "Your Majesty Emperor Xie." ”

As soon as they got up, Lang Jun, who was in the lead, took out the rune seal from his sleeve pocket and presented it, opened his mouth and said two words of Goguryeo, and Wenchen acted as the translator and explained: "This is my king's talisman letter, please look at it with His Majesty the Emperor." ”

Qu Ping came down to pick up the letter and handed it to Xiao Daocheng, Xiao Daocheng glanced at it in a formal way, and then ordered Qu Ping to return it, he pointed to the leading Lang Jun, and said, "This must be the eldest grandson of your Goguryeo king?" ”

Wen Chen responded: "Yes, this is our Royal Highness. ”

Xiao Daocheng looked at the kings and grandsons of Goguryeo, and said meaningfully: "Those who have clear eyebrows and beautiful eyes really look like my people." ”

Goguryeo in the Han Dynasty has become a vassal state of the Central Plains, although the Central Plains regime has changed for hundreds of years, but Goguryeo still pays tribute to the Central Plains countries, according to the records of previous dynasties, since the Han Dynasty, Goguryeo has paid tribute to the Central Plains more than 100 times, and now the longevity king of Goguryeo, Gao Lian, has another title a few decades ago, that is, the Lelang County Duke of Jin An.

Xiao Daocheng had something to say, but it scared Na Wenchen a lot, and then he laughed loudly, "I just praise your king and grandson for being delicate, but I don't mean anything else." ”

Wenchen catered to him and laughed, and then translated all of Xiao Daocheng's words to the Goguryeo king, Goguryeo Wangsun listened, although there was a smile on his face, but he was slightly stiff, and he clearly heard the meaning of Xiao Daocheng's words, he immediately smiled and said something to Xiao Daocheng, Wenchen then translated: "Your Majesty the Emperor, in fact, our Royal Highness Wang Sun is here to pay tribute to you on the order of my king." ”

As he spoke, he turned sideways and pointed to the two wooden boxes that his attendant had brought.

Xiao Daocheng gave Qu Ping a look, Qu Ping walked to the box to check the tribute, Wenchen then walked to open the boxes one by one, and said flatteringly: "Our tribute this year is 10,000 more than last year, and there are two night pearls, a high-quality Hetian jade, ten tiger skins, and twenty deer skins." ”

Qu Ping only glanced at it, and roughly confirmed the number of Goguryeo tributes, so he waved his hand at the Yulin supervisor guarding outside the hall, signaling them to carry the tribute away, and then he turned around and nodded to Xiao Daocheng, Xiao Daocheng was satisfied, and said with a smile: "Okay, pass on my will, I want to crown the king of longevity as the general of hussars, reward twenty beauties, five ploughing cattle, and ten war horses." The province of the Book of Destiny immediately drafted the decree. ”

Wenchen translated Xiao Daocheng's original words into Goguryeo, and after hearing this, the Goguryeo prince and grandson suddenly changed their faces and complained to Wenchen that Xiao Daocheng's reward was too small.

None of the Qi people present understood, and Wenchen did not dare to translate the original words of the Goguryeo prince and grandson, but smiled at Xiao Daocheng: "The prince and grandson praised the emperor's generosity. ”

Xiao Daocheng laughed, and immediately invited the king of Goguryeo and the two envoys to sit down, rewarded the fine wine, and ordered the palace prostitutes to sing and dance.

The king and grandson of Goguryeo were still dissatisfied with the reward, so they insinuated and satirized Xiao Daocheng, and Wenchen translated: "His Royal Highness Wang Sun has long admired the prestige of your country's great Sima Xie Yu, and wanted to visit here a few years ago, but he has never had the opportunity, and now he has finally been able to visit in person. ”

Xie Zheng was stunned for a moment when he heard this, his eyelids, which were originally lowered, were raised in an instant, looking at the king and grandson of Goguryeo, Huan Ling sat beside her, and glanced at her inadvertently, Xie Zheng lowered his eyes again, looking a little frustrated.

When everyone heard what the civil official said, their faces also changed, in groups of three or five, sighing, only Xiao Zhen was still calm, he sat in front of the dining table, like an outsider, drinking tea by himself, compared with it, Xiao Ye seemed a little irritable, he reprimanded: "Where did Wang Sun hear this!" ”

The civil official did not translate it to the king of Goguryeo, so he replied: "When I came, I often heard the people of your country mention this matter. ”

Xiao Daocheng's face was embarrassed and he kept silent, and Xiao Ye then said: "Hearsay is not enough to believe. ”

"Yes, Lone's father, the emperor, is the cousin of that big Sima, flesh and blood, how could the father allow a traitor to frame his niece," Xiao Zhen suddenly raised the wine cup to salute Xiao Daocheng, and then said: "Father and Emperor were righteous and killed their relatives, which made the sons admire, and the father, the sons and daughters toast you." ”

Xiao Daocheng was obviously sarcastic, but between his words, he couldn't find the slightest fault, and Xiao Daocheng had to suffer this dumb loss.

At that time, the king and grandson of Goguryeo also raised a glass to Xiao Daocheng, and the two envoys accompanying him also followed the toast, and the king and grandson had a fake smile on his face, and said a lot of words, and Wenchen translated: "Wang Sun said: I thought that your monarch was incompetent, and the ministers were foolish and loyal, but this visit, but I saw that the people lived and worked in peace and contentment, and the world was peaceful, only to know that the rumors were not completely credible. ”

When he said this, he slapped Xiao Daocheng's face again, and at this moment, there was no smile on Xiao Daocheng's old face, only stiff folds on his face, and Wenchen said: "Wang Sun has a reluctant request." ”

"But it doesn't hurt to say it," Xiao Daocheng was angry in his heart, but he had to hide it in his heart, it was not easy to come out, but he was obviously much colder when he spoke.

"I heard that His Majesty the Emperor's chess skills are second to none in your country, and it just so happens that His Royal Highness Wang Sun's chess skills are also unparalleled in the country, so His Royal Highness Wang Sun wants to compete with His Majesty the Emperor, whether he wins or loses, it is finally worth the trip."

Wen Chen said, and there was a sigh among everyone, and without waiting for Xiao Daocheng to reply, Chu Yuan, the prince of Nankang County, said meaningfully: "Your Majesty, you are the Ninth Five-Year Honor." ”

The implication is that the king and grandson of Goguryeo are not worthy of testing his chess skills with Xiao Daocheng, and Xiao Daocheng also feels that it is really inappropriate to compete with him, so he smiled and said: "I can't compete with him, for fear that people will fall behind and say that I am bullying the young." It's better to be like this, all the men here today are either my princes or my henchmen, and the king and grandson can choose one and compete with them. ”

Wenchen said the words to the king and grandson of Goguryeo, and after hearing it, the king and grandson of Goguryeo immediately looked at all the Langjun present, his eyes were like a torch, like a scrutiny, on the top of the main hall, turning round and round, carefully selecting people to test their chess skills.

After a while, he suddenly stopped, stretched out his hand to Xie Zheng, raised the corners of his lips triumphantly, and said with a smile: "Please." ”