It is said that after Li Chenglong and his entourage came to Diqiu City, Emperor Tianbao, who had not been to the court for more than ten years, had a small banquet in three days and a large banquet in five days, and was particularly courteous to these envoys from Beihai. The atmosphere of the banquet was quite harmonious, but when Li Chenglong mentioned the alliance, Emperor Tianbao couldn't make a decision on the grounds that the general Guo Heng had not arrived, and put it aside, which made Li Chenglong quite depressed, but he didn't dare to urge.

"This Tianbao Emperor is really as rumored, indecisive. From this point of view, the power of the Great Song Dynasty is in the hands of the general Guo Heng. However, I heard that General Guo Heng is a loyal person, and he once directly reprimanded Emperor Tianbao's favorite minister, Guo Kai, the head of internal affairs, must not be a fool. ”

Thinking like this, Li Chenglong suddenly felt a little at ease in his heart, so he gave another glass to Emperor Tianbao. As the county guard of Menglan County, Li Chenglong is also a Beihai ice general, and the amount of alcohol is naturally good. Lying on the dragon rider in the Middle Heaven Palace, Emperor Tianbao's mood was quite good. Originally, he had been lazy to go to the court, but this time it was different, after all, the envoys of other countries came to visit, and he couldn't meet people in the dormitory, and it would be insulting to the Great Song Dynasty and his own face.

The feather coat is light, the long sleeves are fluttering, the strings are beautiful, the heart is refreshing, and the whole body is comfortable. Just when the singing and dancing in the Zhongtian Temple were leveling and being lively, a whirlwind suddenly broke in, like Mount Tai pressing the top, making people breathless. The palace maids who were dancing were so frightened that the pianist stopped playing, and the courtiers of the Great Song Dynasty also lowered their heads and remained silent. The entire Middle Heaven Hall fell silent for a moment.

Li Chenglong looked at this uninvited guest with a stern expression, and his intuition told him that this person was very dangerous.

"I didn't expect Da Song to have such a warrior!"

Emperor Tianbao saw that someone had broken in, and just wanted to scold, but suddenly his face was immediately full of smiles, and while changing his face quickly, he hurriedly stepped down from the dragon chair, as if he wanted to meet this "uninvited guest" in person.

"The old man greets Your Majesty. Hooray, hooray, hooray!" An old but majestic voice sounded.

"Old General Guo, please get up quickly! I haven't seen you for many days, and I miss the old general very much. After speaking, Emperor Tianbao ordered someone to prepare a seat for Guo Heng.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" After Guo Heng took his seat, his butt was still firmly seated, so he arched his hand and said: "Your Majesty, I heard that the Beihai envoy has arrived in our country, I don't know what you are doing?"

"That's right. The old general, this is Li Chenglong, the envoy of the North Sea. On this visit, the Beihai Kingdom wants to form an alliance with our Great Song Dynasty to jointly fight against the unrighteous Chengtian. "Probably because he hasn't been in court for more than ten years, occasionally talking about political affairs makes Emperor Tianbao feel inexplicably excited.

When Li Chenglong heard this, he immediately got up and bowed to Guo Heng: "Li Chenglong, the envoy of the North Sea, has seen General Guo. I have long heard that General Guo Lao is brave and has both ability and political integrity. When I saw it today, it really lived up to its name. The younger generation can see the heroic appearance of the old general today, which is really a blessing for three lives. ”

"Hehe, General Li has won the award, and the old man is just a waste of fame. I heard that the king of Beihai wants to form an alliance with my Great Song Dynasty, but the old man is confused, I don't know why the Great Song Dynasty wants to form an alliance with Beihai?" Guo Heng said as he stroked his long white beard, his face full of a warm smile.

"This old fox, who carried the sedan chair in vain just now, seems to want to take advantage of the opportunity. Li Chenglong was secretly unhappy in his heart, but he said unhurriedly: "General Guo, Chengtianxing is an unrighteous teacher, and he is a country of innocence." King Hailing's ambitions are well known to everyone, and presumably General Guo will not be unaware. ”

Guo Heng was silent when he heard this, he naturally knew that the alliance with Beihai was his own strategy. If you really see death and don't save it, with the wolf ambition of the Chengtian Empire, the Great Song Dynasty is really not far from the disaster of the sword soldiers.

What General Li said is not unreasonable. However, the old man is tired of driving today, Your Majesty, how about discussing it tomorrow?"

When Emperor Tianbao heard this, he immediately nodded like a chicken pecking rice: "Okay, since the old general is unwell, let's discuss it tomorrow, and then discuss it again." ”

When Li Chenglong heard this, he had no choice but to suppress the anxiety in his heart, and helplessly accompanied the Great Song Dynasty monarchs and ministers to continue this boring banquet.

Late at night, the moon and stars are scarce, and in the bedroom of Emperor Tianbao, the general Guo Heng is talking with Emperor Tianbao at night.

"Old general, do you say that this alliance will be concluded or not?" asked Emperor Tianbao.

"Your Majesty, the alliance is naturally going to be concluded. Not to mention, if you sit back and watch the three counties of Beihai fall into the hands of the Chengtian Empire, then all the north of the Yunhe River will become the sphere of influence of the Chengtian Empire. Even if the Beihai Kingdom has the Great Snow Mountain as its last resort, there are accidents in everything. Could it be that the Great Snow Mountain would not have been breached by the Chengtian Empire? At that time, from the Yunhe River in the west to the East China Sea in the east, it will be our army's defense line. Although our army is still gathering heavy troops in Montenegro County, the Beihai Kingdom is now too busy to take care of itself, and there is no threat to our Great Song Dynasty. On the contrary, it was the Chengtian Empire on the other side of the river, but it made the old man feel dangerous. There are rumors in the outside world that King Hailing murdered his brother and seized the throne. The old man thought that King Hailing was known as the first god of war on the mainland, and he was probably a war maniac. Less than a year after his accession to the throne, he was to send troops to attack the North Sea. Therefore, the old man thinks that this alliance must be concluded, so as to ensure the long-term peace and stability of my Great Song Dynasty. ”

"That being the case, everything is according to the old general's words. However, I still don't know anything. Since the alliance has been confirmed, why didn't you immediately agree to the Beihai envoy today?" Emperor Tianbao asked suspiciously.

"Your Majesty, put on a show, you can't let the envoy of Beihai say that you will form an alliance, in that case, wouldn't our Great Song Dynasty be too faceless? Guo Heng said confidently.

"That's very good. With the old general here, I can sleep soundly. Emperor Tianbao said reassuringly.

Just when Guo Heng and Emperor Tianbao were having a good conversation, Saharako quietly arrived outside Diqiu City with his mission.

The next day, Emperor Tianbao, dressed in a golden dragon robe, met with the envoys of Beihai again in the Zhongtian Temple. After repeated fierce bargaining, Emperor Tianbao finally agreed that if Chengtian used troops against Beihai, then the Great Song Dynasty would attack the north bank of the Yunhe River and contain the Chengtian Empire. However, three years later, Beihai had to pay half of the annual tax to the Great Song Dynasty as a "protection fee". In this regard, Li Chenglong fiercely objected, but was vetoed by Guo Heng, on the grounds that the Great Song Dynasty could not aid Beihai for no reason. If there is really a Northern Expedition, it will be a huge expense for the Great Song Dynasty. In desperation, Li Chenglong had to grit his teeth and agree to Guo Heng and Emperor Tianbao's request. After all, the current Beihai Kingdom is in danger, and His Majesty the King has told himself that as long as the alliance can be successful, he will satisfy the appetite of the Great Song Dynasty at all costs.

"It's so black! Half of the taxes, the Great Song Dynasty still claims to be the state of etiquette. I'm phew!". Li Chenglong scolded secretly in his heart, but he also praised Emperor Tianbao for his wisdom and martial arts, benevolence and righteousness. This made Menglan County Shou really painful. As for the rest of the Beihai envoys, they also looked at each other and were speechless.

Guo Heng sat in his seat calmly and drank tea slowly. Just last night, in order to strengthen Emperor Tianbao's determination to form an alliance, Guo Heng put forward a proposal that Emperor Tianbao could not refuse, after stating the many necessary conditions for forming an alliance with Beihai. That is, let Beihai hand over half of its tax revenue as military expenses for the rescue of the Great Song Dynasty. Emperor Tianbao's character, Guo Heng knows. But he had no choice but to be alone with him at the beginning, and he couldn't give this wonderful emperor directly to that, so as to bear the infamy of disloyalty. Therefore, Guo Heng put forward such harsh conditions, so that with the temperament of Emperor Tianbao, he would inevitably agree. As for Beihai, Guo Heng is not worried, he has to knock on the bamboo when it is time to knock on the bamboo pole.

In addition, Guo Heng has another plan for this move, that is, to weaken the strength of Beihai, so as to reduce the garrison in Montenegro County and save military spending. At present, although the ordinary people of the Great Song Dynasty can be regarded as worry-free about food and clothing, they can live and work in peace and contentment. However, the army's military funds have been misappropriated for many years. For hundreds of years, the Great Song Dynasty emphasized literature over military force, and the status of martial artists declined. It wasn't until he became a general that the army's military spending was back on track. However, in the past few hundred years, except for the forbidden army, the heavy cavalry unit and the Wyvern Legion, the combat troops of the rest of the counties are seriously backward in weapons and equipment, and the morale of the soldiers is weak, and the fighting spirit is completely lost. After Guo Heng was worshiped as a general, it took fifteen years for the situation to improve greatly, and the regiments in each county finally had some combat effectiveness, but the problem of lack of weapons was unsustainable. To put it bluntly, Guo Heng is very short of money. Therefore, if it can really obtain this military expenditure from Beihai, it can greatly alleviate its urgent need for military spending.

ps: Today is Lyra's birthday, although I am alone, but I am not alone, because I am accompanied by all book friends, here, vote for a recommendation as a birthday gift!