In the diplomatic history of the Tang Dynasty, the use of the "silver bullet offensive" and the bribery of officials of other countries are all basic exercises and are not worth mentioning.

Well, you don't need to ask who did this, you just need to ask who hasn't done it. Because in the process of diplomacy, giving and receiving gifts, or giving and accepting bribes, are basically unspoken rules. It's just a bad job that can't be put on the table, there's nothing to say.

Gao Xianzhi took the Tang Dynasty "Heavenly Soldiers" to help some tribes of Tocharo fight for power and clean up some other tribes. Who would believe that he and Bian Lingcheng confiscated the benefits of the Tocharian envoys?

I'm afraid their men don't believe it, right?

If they don't take it, the messengers from Tocharian won't be at ease.

At this moment, Gao Xianzhi and Bian Lingcheng looked at each other, both of them looking embarrassed, and they didn't know what Fang Chongyong was mentioning this stubble for. Of course, this matter can't be prevaricated, because Fang Chongyong only needs to call those Tocharian envoys and ask casually to know the truth.

This matter cannot be concealed, so there is no need to say anything insulting to IQ such as "confiscation of gifts".

Not to mention what Gao Xianzhi thinks in his heart, just talking about Bian Lingcheng, he has no less "filial piety" from Fang Chongyong.

Bian Lingcheng was very puzzled, those who can give gifts can receive gifts, Fang Chongyong chased and beat him up on the matter of receiving gifts, what is the point?

"Ambassador Fang, actually, this is not a bribe, it's just an exchange of courtesies."

Bian Lingcheng laughed and defended.

Collecting money to do things, dealing with people, many times the things that happen are the same, but the interpretation is different. Bian Lingcheng and Gao Xianzhi received the gold of the Tocharian envoy, which was an ironclad matter.

But whether this is to collect money to do things, or to deal with people, I'm afraid it depends on how Fang Chongyong understands. If Fang Chongyong wrote a letter to Chang'an to inform Brother Ji, saying that Bian Lingcheng conspired with Gao Xianzhi, misinterpreted the holy decree, and acted recklessly.

You don't need to say it too clearly, you only need to mention it a little, and it is estimated that it will be enough for two people to drink a pot at that time, and you will have to peel off your skin if you don't die!

Gao Xianzhi knew that he was stupid, so he looked at Bian Lingcheng helplessly, and he hadn't thought about how to explain to Fang Chongyong. He was sure that this ambassador of the Western Regions Economic Strategy was deliberately finding fault, but the other party just grabbed this pigtail, and he didn't talk to you about whether it was feasible to send troops to Tocharo.

Don't mention anything else, just say whether you have taken bribes! Let's talk about receiving gifts clearly, and then talk about anything else.

Fang Chongyong's angle of attacking them is not tricky!

"The waiter in the border is diligent and hard-working, but he has read less stories from the past and the present, and he thinks about the matter of receiving gifts simply.

Don't you hear that there is a matter of the fifth Lun refusing to accept Maxima in the Book of the Later Han Dynasty? Now the fifth Qi in the court is still his descendant. The fifth Lun of affection can refuse to accept Maxima, so it is natural for you to accept Tochar's gift, right?

However, the ambassador has been traveling day and night day and night, and now he is indeed a little tired, and he is about to go to rest.

Whatever the two of you have to do, let's wait until tomorrow.

The Anxi army is the sage's soldiers and horses, and listens to the sage's orders. Sending troops to Tocharo is a matter of great importance, and that is not something that can be decided by the two of them privately. ”

Fang Chongyong said indifferently, waved his hand, and then walked out of the room by himself.

After he left, Gao Xianzhi and Bian Lingcheng looked at each other, and they both felt that something was wrong! This ambassador can be said to have something to say, which one is he playing?

"Waiter, look at this...... How to deal with it? ”

Gao Xianzhi asked in a low voice.

If the gift is received, it is not easy to return. Besides, it's a question of who to return it to.

"As far as our family knows, Ambassador Fang is very sophisticated and very good at being a person. There must be something else in what I said just now.

It's better to ask a trustworthy and smart staff member about it.

Our family is also very upset now. ”

Bian Lingcheng helped Gao Xianzhi come up with a bad idea.

Hearing this, Gao Xianzhi's handsome face suddenly relaxed from the tension. He nodded lightly and said, "There is indeed a person in the shogunate who is usually resourceful, so Pontus will go and ask him." ”

……

"Ten places are wrong, nine are violated, and the hometown is empty.

Yan Shuang invaded people's bones last night, who read the high hall and did not give clothes. ”

In a courtyard in the inner city of Ilulu City, Li Qiyun, who had just returned to Qiuzi Town, was sitting in the courtyard admiring the moon and chanting poetry. A glass of wine is in the stomach, and the melancholy in the chest is about to overflow the body, and the straight people sigh.

This poem was written when he was looking for someone to do the book when he was admitted to the Jinshi examination, and the poem was full of sadness that he did not encounter with talents.

Of course, this was all in the past.

No one expected that after Li Qiyun was admitted to the Jinshi, he would come and go, and step by step he became the judge of the Jiedu of the Anxi Metropolitan Protectorate. Although this position belongs to the officials released by the imperial court, the grade is not high. However, the real power in Anxi is very large, and it can easily influence the local civil and military affairs.

Why is Li Qiyun developed? There are so many talented people in Datang, why did he suddenly change his fate?

Because Li Qiyun was appreciated by a Li Tang clan, this person was Li Xian, the eldest son of Li Yi, the king of Xin'an.

Well, also Anaye's eldest half-brother.

This is also one of the reasons why Li Qiyun was willing to follow Li Siye to sign the "letter of nomination". If he really didn't want to sign, he might not be able to stop Fang Chongyong from doing things, but there was still a way to get out by himself.

Looking back on his career, Li Qiyun realized a key lesson: a person is talented, but he has obtained the "necessary skills" to enter the officialdom and play games.

Not everyone who has the ability can get ahead, he must have someone to guide the way and have thighs to hold in order to get a ticket to the game!

The ability to play the game is important, but the most important thing is the ticket!

There is no qualification, no matter how talented you are, you can only watch the play from the sidelines! Ten years of cold windows, it is better for nobles to help each other overnight, this is the cold and cruel reality.

"Uncle, the senior deputy and the border attendant are visiting."

A young man, who looked a little similar to Li Qiyun, came over and whispered to him. This person's name is Li Shudu, the son of Li Qiyun's brother, who came to Qiuzi Town to help him.

The big family is like this, once there is an official who can be ranked, this person will bring his children and nephews, and if he has the opportunity, he will take them out to experience.

Therefore, in the long run, the children who came out of the official family were far stronger than those who came out of the cloth family. Those who can take the road of the imperial examination will prepare for the scientific examination, and there will be people to take care of them all the way. Those who can't take the road of the imperial examination will enter the door and get through the relationship all the way.

Therefore, the descendants of bureaucrats are also bureaucrats, and being an official is a family inheritance profession. Even if officials and their families sit at home, they will not go to the fields to plough the fields, let alone go to the market to earn a living like peddlers and pawns.

There is also a proper noun for this situation, which is called "raising hope".

"Wait a minute, you can avoid it."

Li Qiyun waved his hand lightly and said to Li Shudu.

After a while, Gao Xianzhi and Bian Lingcheng came to visit together and were introduced into the courtyard by Li Shudu. Under the light of the torches, there was no smile on their faces, and they even looked a little sad.

After Li Shudu stepped back, Li Qiyun pointed to the simple dishes on the simple table in the courtyard and said with a smile: "Xiaguan just ate the leftovers, and I'm embarrassed to invite the senior deputy to the table and the waiter in the side, so it's better to drink some wine." ”

"Judge Li is polite, you don't need to drink, this is not the place to talk, please talk about it in the study."

Bian Lingcheng said with a solemn face.

Seeing the solemn expressions of these two people, Li Qiyun also put away his smile, nodded slightly, ordered the servants to clean up the dishes in the courtyard, and led Gao Xianzhi and Bian Lingcheng to the study.

After the three of them sat down, Bian Lingcheng was not polite, and directly repeated Fang Chongyong's words without missing a word or changing them, and repeated them all to Li Qiyun.

Repeating the original words of the superiors, including the Son of Heaven, is the basic skill of the eunuchs in the palace, and those who can't remember it accurately are eliminated by the court environment that is involuted to the explosion, and the rest are the "shorthand king".

Bian Lingcheng is one of the best.

After listening to Bian Lingcheng's narration, Li Qiyun suddenly fell into silence, with mixed feelings in his heart, and he didn't say a word for a long time.

A Qiu Ba, a eunuch, really still can't understand the "self-talk" of the "cultural person".

Li Qiyun couldn't help but sigh in his heart, the ambassador Fang, who was now "presiding over the overall situation" in Yilulu City, was really a wonderful person with both wisdom and bravery, but it was a pity that he was thrown to the blind man.

If Bian Lingcheng and Gao Xianzhi didn't come to ask him at this moment, the two of them wouldn't understand what Fang Chongyong wanted to mean by his words.

"Judge Li, what does Ambassador Fang mean?"

Gao Xianzhi asked with some eagerness.

"Senior Deputy Du is not in a hurry, Ambassador Fang's meaning is actually very clear, it can be seen from the story of the fifth Lun in the Book of the Later Han Dynasty, please sit down and wait for the lower officials to talk to you in detail."

Seeing that Gao Xianzhi was so anxious to stand up, Li Qiyun hurriedly waved his hand and said.

Seeing that the two people on the other side had calmed down, Li Qiyun explained:

"The key to the fifth Lun's refusal to accept Maxima is not to say that he refused to accept the gift, but to talk about the things that follow.

Ambassador Fang deliberately didn't say what happened next, hoping that the senior deputy and the side attendant could figure it out for themselves. ”

"What's next?"

Bian Lingcheng asked suspiciously, he was on an errand beside the emperor, he naturally knew very well, and the implication of this kind of thing must be thoroughly understood.

Otherwise, when it is serious, you will die without a place to bury!

But Bian Lingcheng is just a eunuch, and he doesn't know what those classic stories are. Although he is not unlearned, he is certainly not like a "cultural yin and yang person" like Fang Chongyong, who knows allusions well and speaks one ring after another.

"Fifth Lun refused to accept Maxima, and soon after, he happened to meet the relevant deeds of the person who could handle the gift. Fifth Lun did not accept Maxima, but he was still impressed by the person who gave the gift, and at the same time felt the kindness of the other party.

In the end, he still opened up and made a decision in favor of the person who gave the gift.

Therefore, Wu Lun sighed that although the gift of the giver was returned, the other party actually indirectly achieved the goal. This is the beauty of gift-giving, whether the recipient receives it or not, as long as the meaning is delivered, the purpose is achieved.

It doesn't matter whether the gift itself is valuable or not, what matters is who gave it, to whom, and what kind of intention was expressed. ”

Li Qiyun said eloquently.

I see!

Bian Lingcheng and Gao Xianzhi are not stupid people, and as soon as they heard Li Qiyun's explanation, they completely understood what was going on.

Since ancient times, in Chinese society, gift-giving has always been a profound knowledge, not just about collecting money and doing things.

The Tocharian envoy gave gifts to Bian Lingcheng and Gao Xianzhi, which not only showed an attitude of seeking to do things, but also narrowed the personal relationship between the two. Otherwise, wouldn't it be better for them to give the gift directly to the Tang Emperor? Why bother?

Sending Gao Xianzhi and Bian Lingcheng is not the truth of "county officials are better than being in charge". If it's not complicated, it's not complicated.

And the connections brought by gift-giving are also mutual, not one-sided.

In the future, if the Tang Dynasty has any needs, Gao Xianzhi will give an order, if it does not go against the self-interests of the Tocharian tribe, then the Tocharian mercenaries will also obey their orders.

This is a hidden political resource that should not be taken lightly.

After Guo Ziyi's Anshi Rebellion, he had a friendship with Hui Ye Hu. This friendship was later used in the matter of "riding alone and returning to the Su". So many times, there is no good or bad card in the hand, it just depends on how to use it and when to use it.

No matter what the card is, it is definitely not wasted in vain, and it is a reason to give it to others.

Not to mention being stolen.

Now the problem that Gao Xianzhi and Bian Lingcheng are facing is: Is Gao Xianzhi a man of his word in the military affairs of the Western Regions? Is he in charge of the big picture? Is it Bian Lingcheng, the eunuch and the superintendent, who has the final say?

The answer is clearly not!

The two of you received gifts, where did you put someone on our side?

Is the official position of the ambassador of the Western Regions Economic Strategy just for viewing?

Could it be that in the future, the Tocharian ministries will only recognize the high and deputy protectors, and not the ambassadors?

Since I can't speak well, then this ambassador of the Western Regions Economic Strategy asked the senior deputy to protect him, is it okay for me to go back to Chang'an now?

In this way, the nature of the problem is serious.

This is not a question of whether to accept gifts or not, nor is it a question of whether to send troops to Tocharo, but a question of who will lead the military affairs of the Western Regions!

The core attribute of power is who listens to whom! Where is there room for compromise on this issue!

Does Fang Chongyong lack the three melons and two dates of the Tocharian envoy? What he cares about is that his authority cannot be provoked!

Sending troops to Tocharo, or even sending troops to Xiao Bolu, is not negotiable.

But it must be Ambassador Fang who orders the troops, and it must be Ambassador Fang who receives the gift from the Tocharian envoy and takes the largest share!

If Fang Chongyong doesn't take it, Gao Xianzhi and Bian Lingcheng can't take it!

And it was not that the two of them would transfer the gift to Fang Chongyong, but that the Tocharian envoy would hand over the heaviest gift to Fang Chongyong in front of the Anxi military and political officials.

Gifts have to be delivered, good things have to be said, rituals have to be done, and processes have to be done.

That's when things are done.

With this premise, the Anxi Army sent troops to Tocharo, which could be put on the table for discussion.

If there is no such premise, the matter of sending troops is to stop the water supply at 135, intermittently supply water at 246, and report for maintenance on Sunday! As long as Fang Chongyong is the ambassador of the Western Regions for one day, he will never be able to believe it!

In short, Fang Chongyong would definitely not give a military order to send troops to Tocharo. Whoever dares to prepare quietly, he will definitely make an example of the chickens and monkeys, and catch a few typical examples of military law at a glance.

Fang Chongyong rushed from Yizhou to Qiuzi Town at night and ate the sand all the way, isn't it the word authority?

Li Qiyun has a very deep understanding of this, this ambassador Fang has suffered a lot along the way, could it be that this one came to Qiuzi Town to see how Gao Xianzhi showed off his might in front of him, and then put himself in the air?

Gao Xianzhi and Bian Lingcheng are both fans of the authorities who received gifts, but Li Qiyun, an outsider, can see it clearly. Fang Chongyong gave Gao Xianzhi and Bian Lingcheng a lot of face, and he was already solving the problem with great sincerity.

If these two people don't understand the stakes, they will be cleaned up by Fang Chongyong in the future, don't blame this ambassador of the Western Regions Economic Strategy for being ruthless. People give face, and you lose your face.

"The senior deputy is the protector, the side servant, and the subordinate is honest, this matter is really not good if it is not properly handled.

The reason why Ambassador Fang didn't explain it thoroughly was that he saved face for the two of you, and didn't tear your face so that you couldn't get off the stage.

Tomorrow, the official will bring in the line, invite Ambassador Fang to have a meal, you will also participate, and then call the Tocharian envoy as well, I believe that it will not be difficult to solve this matter. ”

Li Qiyun saluted Gao Xianzhi and the others.

"In this way, I will thank Judge Li."

Gao Xianzhi and Bian Lingcheng smiled wryly and said to Li Qiyun in return. I have to spit out the gifts I received, and I have lived for dozens of years, which is probably the first time.

After the two said goodbye and left, Li Qiyun quietly went out, and under the cover of night, he walked towards the courtyard where Fang Chongyong lived.

(End of chapter)