Chapter IV

"Weichen, see Your Majesty! Long live Your Majesty, long live, long live!" the ministers stood in the main hall and worshipped.

"Zhong Aiqing is flat!" Liu Fuzhao was sitting on the high platform of the main hall. As the eunuch beside him shouted to the court, the morning court meeting officially began.

"Knock to see Your Majesty! Your Majesty has just ascended the throne, and there is an urgent report from the border pass that the Northern Jin Dynasty and the Southern Chu have offended our country's frontier!" [Xiong Maozhen] frowned, and bowed with both hands.

"What a Jin Chu, actually united to cut down my Shu land! Zhong Aiqing can have a way to deal with it?" When the King of Shu heard the news, he patted the dragon chair and stood up and said.

"Your Majesty, Weichen thinks that we can unite the Northern Zhou and Southern Tang to defend against foreign enemies, and the truth of the cold lips and teeth, presumably the Zhou and Tang will not be ignorant. Huang Chongtai bowed and said.

"Who can take on this important task to envoy the two countries?" the young King of Shu looked at everyone like a torch. The new official took office with three fires, not to mention the new emperor. The ministers in the audience exchanged ears and discussions, and no one wanted to touch this hot potato. Houshu is adjacent to the Northern Jin Dynasty and Southern Chu, and the envoys need to pass through these two countries to reach the destination, but they are afraid that there is no return, not to mention whether they can be persuaded or not, and they have to go through the ghost gate in vain, who is willing to take this drudgery.

"Your Majesty. The old minister is willing to go. Xiong Maozhen's voice was low and powerful, this voice crossed the gossip of discussions, calmed the uneasiness in the hearts of the ministers, like the bell ringing, a final word suddenly made everyone speechless, and they all looked sideways, only to see Xiong Maozhen's official hat, is a face bathed in the morning light, the white temples look golden in the morning light, although the whole hall is made of gold but not as good as the radiant brilliance on the face of the old minister, although the old spirit seems to be struggling to support the flesh and skin to prevent it from sagging, the light of the eyes makes the eyelids no longer as other faces can support。

"Xiong Aiqing has been a third-generation veteran, and the widow is reluctant to let Aiqing go thousands of miles. Liu Fuzhao waved his hand and motioned for Xiong Maozhen to step back.

"Lao Ji is in the bush, and his ambitions are thousands of miles. Although the old minister is old, he is not so faint, Your Majesty does not trust the old minister?" Xiong Maozhen did not mean to retreat, holding the wat in one hand and gesturing in the other, which was very similar to the posture of wearing gold and armor on the battlefield on the folk stage.

"Captain Xiong, why is it so strong? Is there no one in my Dashu to use?" Huang Chongtai stepped forward and said in a strange manner.

"Your Majesty, Xiong Taiwei's second son [Xiong Jingchong] is young and promising, and his literary and martial arts skills are first-class, so the minister thinks that this person is the best candidate. Candidate for envoy to another country, Weichen also has a candidate in his heart, [Fan Shijin] of Tai Academy is steady, erudite and talented, and he is a student of Taiwei, so it is really the best choice to let this person go for Taiwei. ”

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid it's difficult for the dog to take on this important task when he is young and vigorous, so it's better to go to the old man, and he will definitely be able to succeed immediately! Please think twice, Your Majesty!" Captain Xiong hurriedly stepped forward and bowed and didn't get up.

"It's... How good is that... This Huang Sikong is going to send away Taiwei Xiong's beloved son and beloved disciples, this is..."Seeing this, the court began to discuss again, and the discussion did not stop.

"Your Majesty, now that the country is in crisis, how can there be any reason to stay out of the matter? If Xia Erlang is determined to take over this important task in the capital, it is a pity that my son is guarding the border pass, and if he can accept this order, he will definitely not go to Wang En, and he will die. Huang Chongtai was still unrelenting in front of the main hall.

"Wei Chen is willing to take over the order of his father to send an envoy to the Northern Zhou !!" The loud voice came from the door that opened a crack, and came together with the light, and the light leaked from the crack in the door made people unable to open their eyes, and they could only vaguely see a person standing in the light, and everyone looked at this person who was Xiong Maozhen's second son, Xiong Jingchong! Huang Chongtai had already sent someone to inform Xiong Jingchong of the reason in advance, and Xiong Jingchong appeared on the main hall unexpectedly. Xiong Jingchong bowed his waist and walked over slowly, then bowed to the top of the main hall and said, "Please allow the king!"

"What a hero out of a young man! Your Majesty, it was the minister who specially invited Xiong Aiqing's son to come, and it was really a tiger father without a dog!" Huang Chongtai laughed, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes were like countless lines pulling, and his smiling eyes were pulled into a curved line.

"Okay! It's not Xiong Aiqing's son! Hurry up!" Liu Fuzhao patted the dragon chair vigorously, as if this chair was similar to the effect of a drum, and a few beats would be inspiring.

"Thank you, Wang! Weichen has one more thing to ask for. The bears' envoy did not get up, but knelt in front of the temple, his head sunk deep into the ground, and he bowed with both hands.

"Aiqing, but it's okay to say!" King Shu stared carefully at the bear envoy who dared to accept the order and dare to make a request.

Weichen hoped that Fan Shijin would go to the Northern Zhou Dynasty with his ministers, and then go to the Southern Tang Dynasty together after visiting the Northern Zhou Dynasty. After the bear envoy finished speaking to the king of Shu, he bowed his head and knelt on the ground.

"Aiqing, can you tell me why?" replied the King of Shu.

"Back to the king, if Fan Shijin and I go to the two countries in two ways, if one side does not succeed in sending an envoy, even if the other country negotiates, I will definitely go back on my word when I hear that the other side has not agreed. If Fan Shijin and I go to one country to negotiate together, we can use this to lobby the other country, so that we will not fall short. The bear envoy gushed about the plan for this mission. The ministers in the audience all applauded and praised, Taiwei Xiong is really a scholarly family, and he will definitely shine on the lintel here.

"Okay! Xiong Aiqing can have this son, it is the blessing of my great Shu and the blessing of the country! Come here, give a thousand gold!" The young king of Shu was so happy that he greeted the bear messenger and rewarded the bear messenger left and right.

Out of the palace of the king of Shu, not far from the palace gate, the house closer to the palace gate is the residence of the prince and the general, and the closest to the palace is the 'Xiong Mansion', Xiong Taiwei has been conscientiously loyal to the Shu royal family for many years, and the first king specially gave Xiong Taiwei the house closest to the palace, and did not forget to mention to the princes and ministers while giving: "Near me." "Although the Xiong Mansion is the land of the Three Princes, the size of the area is no different from that of ordinary princes and princes; open the door of the mansion, the floor made of good brown wood leads through the courtyard to the various rooms in the house, the wooden floor is stone lamps next to the road, and there will be people to light candles when night falls; the courtyard is paved with small white gravel, there is a pond on the side of the road, there are rockeries and flowers next to the pond, and red, yellow and white fish are raised in the water; there are master rooms in the house, and the second rooms on the left and right are inhabited by the second sons or concubines.

"Chong'er, you and Fan Shijin are on a mission to the two countries this time, you must be more careful along the way, you take this letter to a person named [Tian Chourong] after you take it to Youzhou, he is an old friend of his father. After Taiwei Xiong wrote the letter, he handed it to his second son, and his mother was worried, not to mention his mother's worry, and his father was also extremely worried.

"Do you need to be in such a hurry? The king has just given the order, and you are in a hurry to send Chong'er away?" said the mother bear who opened the bamboo curtain of the door and came in.

"Teacher, Mrs., the students will take care of each other on the road! Please rest assured. Fan Shijin pushed forward with his fists clasped in both hands, and said with his body folded.

"Since the king has issued an order, we will naturally take care of everything, this matter is deeply related to the survival of our country, time is not waiting for me, it is better to start as soon as possible. Father Xiong took two sips of a cup of tea, and said as if he remembered something.

"Poor my Chong'er has never been out of the house since he was a child, this time there are many dangers all the way, if it weren't for the fact that you and the surnamed Huang usually fight openly and secretly in the court, how could there be such a thing today?" Mother Bear still did not agree to this matter, but the king could not do it, and the mother was both reluctant and helpless.

"Mother! Blessings and misfortunes lurk, and misfortunes and blessings rely on. This matter seems to be dangerous, but it is a great achievement, and if it can be accomplished! It will be a good thing for the country and the people! Mother does not need to say much, Chong'er will definitely live up to her mission! The child will definitely return safe and sound!" The bear messenger's eyes radiated the same brilliance as his father's.

A group of people in Chengdu were about to leave the city, accompanied by more than a dozen guards in armor, and the three carriages were respectively carried by the Xiong Envoy, the Fan Envoy and the gifts given to the two countries. Shu continued the meaning of the Han Dynasty, the Han is the fire virtue, and the color of the clothes is still crimson, so the soldiers wear armor is mostly burgundy.

"Brother Fan, take care of my brother! Xiong Mou has a high drink here to see off Brother Fan!" [Xiong Jingde] raised his glass and drank it all, and the wine dripping from the corner of his mouth fell down the city tower along the afterglow of the sunset, and persuaded Jun to toast a glass of wine, and go west to the relevant unprovoked people.

Taiwei Xiong and Taiwei's wife, Wang, who came to see off at the gate of the city, saw their sons and daughters go away, and how many parents sent their children away here every year, and sent their children away, but they did not see their children return. Wang's old tears covered his face with his hands, and the eldest son drank the glass of wine, which was not so bitter and difficult to swallow. The carriage drifted away, chasing the afterglow of the setting sun towards the horizon, the people in the city lit the lights at home, beckoned the children who were playing outside to come home for dinner, the carriage ran all the way and finally disappeared into the far side of the horizon, ran into the junction of the light and the horizon, and was never seen again, and there was nowhere to be found along with the sunset, only the aftermath of 'take care' slowly surrounded the ears of the parents.

"It seems that I am a step too late, and this matter should not be publicized, so I have to travel lightly, and I can't bring too many people. The two of you must take care of your health, and the imperial court still needs Taiwei Xiong to control the overall situation. At that time, my son was also very reluctant to leave and go to the border pass, so the old man understood the feelings of the two very well, and did not hurt his body too much. Huang Chongtai took a carriage to the city tower, and someone helped Huang Sikong out of the carriage.

"Thank you Sikong for your concern. Taiwei Xiong said, the radiant Taiwei Xiong in the court that day is long gone, Taiwei's spirit and spirit fell together with the afterglow of the sunset, and even Taiwei's gray temples and hair were a little less.

The bear envoy and his party hurried overnight and soon arrived at the border town near Wangcheng, which was a long way away from Wangcheng, and there was not such a good place to rest after this town, so a group of people decided to find an inn here tonight and stay for one night.

"Dad! You see another group of people coming to the imperial court, do you think this is the same group as the group of people in the morning? This is only half a year's work, our place is really lively, and there are dignitaries and dignitaries passing by here when they return. Liu Cong was still the same as in the past, holding a rag in one hand and wiping it with a sword in the other, his eyes not falling anywhere, looking at the people everywhere.

"From, don't sleep tonight if you're not done with your work. On the side, my father had already finished his work, washing his face with a wooden basin, and he was not interested in the people coming and going in the court.

"Bear messenger, this shop is good, and there is a skylight, I didn't expect there to be such a good shop in this small town!" shouted the soldier next to the carriage, pointing to the inn next to Liu's blacksmith shop.

When the bear envoy heard that the curtain of the carriage window was opened, he immediately asked the left and right to stop, and when he helped the carriage off the left and right, he asked Fan Envoy's opinion.

"Respect, this place is very good, I have to travel all the way, and I have to hurry tomorrow, so I might as well stay here for a night. After the Fan envoy got out of the carriage, he seemed to be very satisfied with this place.

"Shopkeeper, come to fifteen rooms, and a table of good food and drink!" The soldier shouted as he opened the door.

I saw another table sitting in the room, also wearing armor, and the leader with a big bald head looked at the group of people from the bear messenger viciously, as if he thought it was an uninvited guest, this leader with a big bald head had a few scars on his head Looking at Fan Xiong and the two came in one after the other and asked, "Where are you going?"

"We..." The bear envoy was just about to speak when he was stopped by Fan Shijin, Fan Shijin also looked at the big man with a face like a beast and a voice like a lion's roar, walked forward and found a place to sit opposite each other and squinted his eyes and said: "I'm waiting for the secretary, so it's inconvenient to tell you." ”

The shopkeeper immediately panicked at such a familiar scene, and the shopkeeper immediately interrupted the embarrassing atmosphere and said: "Harmony makes money, everyone is doing things for the official family, let's sit down and have a meal calmly." The official in the back is going to take a seat!"

The big bald head didn't seem to buy it, the scars and green tendons on the bald head seemed to be wriggling, the big bald head picked up the wine jar next to him and poured it violently, glanced at the token on the waist of the Fan envoy, snorted and left the wine table with his subordinates and went to the guest room.

The shopkeeper breathed a sigh of relief, and then told the fat cook to prepare the meal.

"Respect, don't reveal our whereabouts to anyone else at the end, so as not to cause unnecessary trouble. Fan invited the bear envoy to come and sit down, and then whispered in the bear envoy's ear.

"Come on, come on, everyone take a seat, and drink a glass of hot wine, but not too much, and when you arrive at the destination, you must treat you well!" Fan Envoy immediately raised his glass and drank a glass of warm wine with everyone.

"Brother Fan, have you noticed that Fang Cai's bald hands seem to be wrapped with iron chains, and the iron chains seem to have been broken, could this be a gang of thieves?" asked the bear envoy with a suspicious face.

"Respect, thieves naturally have the government to manage, we have our own affairs, as long as everyone's well water does not interfere with the river water, it is enough, don't make extraneous branches. Fan Shijin put down his wine glass and patted the bear messenger on the shoulder.

The bear envoy stopped talking, picked up the wine glass and drank it all, this trip is related to the safety of the country, about personal honor and disgrace, and it should be meticulous and detailed. After a while, Xiao Er served the fragrant dishes one after another. The table of dishes in the conversation and laughter was quickly finished, and after the wine and food were full, everyone went upstairs and entered the resting room.

The night was as silent as death, so quiet that it would echo for a long time when the needle was dropped, the lights of thousands of homes were extinguished, there was no moonless night, there were only dark clouds in the sky, and the cool breeze was blowing coldly, blowing up a bunch of weeds rolling around on the deserted street.

Knock —— knock! "Knock the fifth watch!" "The night watchman beat the gong to tell the time.

Liu Cong was woken up by this beating, rubbed his eyes and was lazy last night, found a place in the back kitchen and fell asleep, and when his eyes gradually saw the object clearly, he found that he didn't know when, his body was already covered with a thick quilt. Liu Cong lifted the cotton, a breeze hit through the small window, a spirit, Liu Cong got up to prepare for the toilet, got up and began to grope for the location of the door, pushing the door open The cold was even worse, Liu Cong half-closed and half-open his eyes found a corner to make it easier.

"Be sharp! Grind and grind! Misunderstand what Lord Huang explained, and you have good fruit to eat!" I saw a group of people in the inn, pressing a prisoner with a black cloth on his head and entering the carriage, the prisoner had a very thick iron chain tied to his hand, and one of the people in the group was holding a sword with a handle marked by Kongyangmen.

"This can't be stealing my sword, right?!" Liu Cong didn't have time to lift his pants, so he quickly opened his half-closed and half-open eyes to see if the sword on his waist was still there. The sword on his waist was there safe and sound, Liu Cong remembered that he wanted to lift his pants, if this sword was no longer there, Liu Cong estimated that he would not mention his pants, and rushed directly to the group of people to snatch the sword.

"Why didn't the people of the Kongyang Gate save the people of the Kongyang Gate?" a voice came from Liu from behind the darkness.