Since the eighth day of the second lunar month, Xiao Gang has received many courtiers one after another, asking the Son of Heaven to cheer up, although the situation is dangerous, he should work hard to rejuvenate the country.

In the past, even in the Xiao Yan period, it was like a pool of stagnant Jiankang Dynasty, and there was no such exciting scene for many years.

But Xiao Gang has the heart to turn the tide and help the building to fall, but he is shy, so he can only cry out in vain.

Fortunately, some ministers proposed to borrow from the Northern Qi, and this proposal was approved by everyone, and they all recommended themselves and were willing to go to Jiangbei to lobby Gao Cheng.

Seeing that the courtiers were so enthusiastic, it also gave Xiao Gang, who was becoming increasingly depressed, a shot in the arm.

"If you can get the help of all the kings, why worry about the country not prospering,"

Xiao Gang sighed that the ministers were loyal to the country, and ordered Xu Ling, the son of his henchman Xu Bao, to cross the river and go north to Luoyang to lobby.

Xu Ling was also among the courtiers who advised Xiao Gang to cheer up, but he did not secretly collude with the Northern Qi.

The reason why he was chosen was that Xiao Gang misestimated the difficulty of lobbying Gao Cheng.

Xu Ling's talent does not need to be questioned, since he was a child, he has been praised as "the stone unicorn in the sky" and "the face of the world", and more importantly, this person has eloquence, which is what Xiao Gang likes.

Forty-five-year-old Xu Ling was ordered to serve as an envoy, and after communicating with Duan Shao, the general of Jingkou Town, he was able to cross the river.

The carriage and horses went all the way north, Xu Ling was worried about the country and the people, and he didn't know that his trip was the credit of picking up for nothing.

As the saying goes, the country is unfortunate and the poet is lucky, Xu Ling's poems have been quite prolific in recent years, and they are different from the previous light and glamorous style, and there are many works that are sad and sad, and they are sad and hateful.

The poems and texts were successively transmitted to the north, and it is said that they were appreciated by Gao Cheng, the lord of Qi, and it was also one of the reasons why he went to the south of the Yangtze River, just as Gao Cheng was loved by Xiao Yan because of Wen Zisheng's talent, so he sent him twice to the south of the Yangtze River.

Gao Cheng has also begun to attach importance to his cultural cultivation over the years, at least in front of people, whether he sees it or not, at least when the minister is in the audience, he always holds the anthology in his hand.

He also spoke unashamedly to the Xianbei nobles:

'I am busy with state affairs every day, but I still have a lot of money, and I always have gains, and I hope that you will work hard. ’

I won't say anything to people when I break the rules, I'm a barbarian.

Gao Cheng began to pay attention to his words and deeds, and flaunted the background of the Bohai Gao clan even more, but the Bohai Gao clan did not touch him much.

After Xu Ling came to Luoyang, Gao Cheng listened to the greeting person relay his intentions, but his attitude towards Xu Ling was very cold.

It is said that Gao Cheng complained to Yang Su in private:

"I have been in the palace for five years, living diligently and thriftily, and I have never built a garden to entertain myself, but I want to solve problems for Jiangdong, what is the reason!"

As for how these words came out of the palace, no one can say clearly, but they are widely spread in Luoyang City, and even Xu Ling has heard of them.

Of course, Xu Ling is the envoy of Jiangdong in the end, although Gao Cheng said that he didn't want to see him, he still sent Wei Shui to receive him on his behalf, and he couldn't lose his courtesy.

With such an excellent historian as Zhang Shiqi, Wei Shu is dispensable in Gao Cheng's heart, and he is not needed in either the Book of Wei or the history of the country.

】

The same people have different lives, Wei Shui, like Chen Yuankang, was seconded by Gao Huan from Gao Cheng's shogunate, and finally returned to Luoyang, but he never got Gao Cheng's attention.

This time he was responsible for receiving Xu Ling, and Wei Shui also had the intention to take the opportunity to step on it.

This kind of thing is indispensable for the envoys of the two countries to come and go, and they have to take advantage of their mouths.

It happened that when Xu Ling arrived in Luoyang, it was already late spring in March, and the climate was hotter, so Wei Shui greeted the entourage:

"Today's heat was brought by Xu Changshi."

The man was a qualified heel, and he hurriedly asked why.

Wei Shu smiled:

"The government is declining, Xu Changzhi is as anxious as an ant on a hot pot, and hurriedly goes north, bringing even the heat with him."

When everyone laughed, Xu Ling sneered:

"In the past, Wang Su crossed the river and formulated etiquette for the Northern Dynasty, and today I will come to let you know the cold and heat."

Wei Shui was ashamed when he heard this, and he didn't dare to despise Xu Ling anymore.

Just when Xu Ling thought that this envoy was about to fail, Gao Cheng unexpectedly learned of the verbal battle between him and Wei Shui, and treated Xu Ling differently, and even said to the left and right:

"Being in the country and resisting the festival is indomitable, this is not like Lin Xiang's visit to Qinhu."

Then he personally summoned Xu Ling, praised him, and said:

"I am not the Lord of Qin, but the monarch is really the Prime Minister of Lin."

And Xu Ling also brought up the old matter in a timely manner, asking Gao Cheng to help Jiangdong.

Perhaps impressed by Xu Ling's wit and talent, Gao Cheng finally relented, and he sighed:

"The turmoil in the south of the Yangtze River has caused the people to suffer from the military disaster, and I am deeply saddened.

"Lord Liang, my father-in-law, since I have the ambition to sweep away the civil strife, why don't I skimp on a little cloth and armor."

Xu Ling didn't expect Gao Cheng to really give money, and he didn't have time to be surprised, so he heard Gao Cheng ask Cui Jishu to discuss the specific amount with him.

After some arduous negotiations, Gao Cheng finally made the decision himself:

"I am willing to help 100,000 pieces of cloth, 100,000 armoured staffs, and millions of arrows, what does Xu Changzhi think?"

This string of numbers was enough to move Xu Ling, and he kowtowed excitedly:

"Foreign minister, thank you, Your Majesty!"

Gao Cheng stopped:

"Don't be in a hurry to thank you, these cloths and weapons are just for borrowing, and they will need to be returned by Lord Liang in the future, after all, the treasury is owned by the people, and the people are fated and anointed, and I also have to give an explanation to the people under my rule."

"As it should be, as it should be!"

Leaving the Mingguang Palace, Xu Ling's mood had not yet calmed down, and he almost fell down several times.

He looked in the southeast direction, as if he saw Xiao Gang who was looking forward to him in Jiankang Taicheng, and said secretly:

'Your Majesty, Wechen has fulfilled his mission! ’

What Xu Ling didn't know was that after he left the main hall, the smile on Gao Cheng's face was even stronger.

Previously, Xiao Gang owed him military expenses, and he was forced to kill a group of rebellious ministers before he made up for the part, and the balance of 200,000 pieces of cloth needed to be paid in batches.

Now he is borrowing money to the Northern Qi, and once the Eastern Liang treasury is unable to repay, he is afraid that he will have to stretch out the butcher's knife to the Shi clan under the persecution and instigation of Gao Cheng.

Not only cleaned up the Jiangdong clan, but also couldn't get Gao Cheng's reputation dirty.

Xu Ling returned to the Jinling Pavilion, and Gao Cheng ordered someone to summon Wei Shu and comforted:

"Today's incident has wronged Wei Qing, and rest assured, I will send a message to Zhang Shiqi and will not allow him to record it in the annals of history."

In order to play this scene well, Wei Shui really played a clown, but there was no way to do it.

If Xu Ling's trip is smooth, then anyone can detect that there is a conspiracy, but Xu Ling was despised at first, but he relied on his own intelligence to convince the monarchs and ministers of Northern Qi, and such a script can be convincing.

Of course, such performances are just small scenes for the monarchs and ministers of the Northern Qi Dynasty.

At the beginning, Gao Huan, Gao Cheng's father and son were only called a big drama when they were about to deal with Wei Jing, and the degree of classicism was second only to He Liuhun's interpretation of Gao Yue.