At the banquet, jade belts and gold clothes were worn, flowers and candles were burning, singing and dancing were performed, and the bustling scene was intoxicating.
Gradually, Helian Tieshu was also affected by this unique atmosphere and lowered his guard a little.
At this time, the officials from the Song court began to toast to the envoys of Xixia one by one. As they raised their glasses, they changed cups. Unknowingly, Helian Tieshu had already drank dozens of glasses of wine. The jade cup had a huge capacity. He is young, but fortunately he is a military commander, he has always had a good drinking capacity, and he can still stay five to six points sober.
On the other side, two of the diplomatic and civil servants had fallen to the ground.
As if they wanted to see the Xixia people making a fool of themselves, more and more people were toasting, and some even approached Murong Fu and other warriors from the Xixia First Grade Hall.
Not to mention Murong Fu's profound martial arts, which could easily resolve the effects of alcoholism. Even after undergoing the Marrow Cleansing and Cutting of the Marrow through the I Ching, his physique was far superior to that of ordinary people. The saying that a thousand cups will not pour down is nothing.
Therefore, when facing the officials of the Song Dynasty, he would not refuse anyone who came. He even poured the rim of the cup down after drinking all the wine in the cup, leaving no trace of wine left.
Seeing this situation, the Song court officials who came to drink with him could only bite the bullet and drink all the wine in the glass in one gulp.
When I arrived, my face was calm and relaxed, but when I left, my face was already slightly drunk.
It was a disgrace in front of the palace, so they all retreated to their seats.
As a result, even though the number of officials from the Song Dynasty was superior, those who came and went back all sat slumped in their seats, with the drunkenness on their faces.
Therefore, in less than a moment, there were not many people left in the lively scene surrounding Xixia's envoys.
Some of them were unwilling to give up and drank a few more drinks with Murong Fu, but they could no longer walk steadily and relied on the support of several people to return to their seats.
At this time, even Emperor Zhezong couldn't help but look over curiously and took a look at Murong Fu.
Helian Tieshu and others praised Murong Fu repeatedly and felt that Song Ting's self-humiliating behavior was very ridiculous.
Seeing this situation, Murong Fu felt a little helpless. He just wanted to drink quietly by himself, and never thought about deliberately trying to be in the limelight or suppressing anyone.
Seeing that this plan failed, after a moment of silence, Emperor Zhezong suddenly spoke. The implication of his words was nothing more than a routine of singing praises and promoting the non-existent diplomatic friendship between the two countries.
Then the voice changed and he said: "General Helian came from Xixia to the imperial court, which shows that your country is sincere and sincere, and I, the monarch and ministers of the Song Dynasty, are united. In order to show the importance to your country, I, Princess Xu of the Song Dynasty, have learned the music since childhood. , on this day of celebration, I would like to play the piano and sing and dance to add to the fun.”
"May the Song Dynasty and Xixia be good neighbors and work together in harmony!"
This was something that had never happened before for a princess of the Song Dynasty to present a song. Helian Tieshu couldn't help but become solemn after hearing this, thinking to himself, could the Song Dynasty really intend to have good relations with Xixia?
But it wasn't until a young girl in palace attire, with beautiful eyebrows and clear eyes, walked into the hall accompanied by a palace maid, that Helian Tieshu's face darkened, and he knew that he was overthinking.
The girl in front of me only looked eleven or twelve years old. She was only in her prime years. Even if she sang a song, it was just like a child playing house. How could she take it seriously?
On the contrary, in Helian Tieshu's view, Emperor Song Ting's move was quite provocative.
Murong Fu couldn't help but look at the eldest princess of Xu Kingdom at this moment. Her pink and jade-carved face was lightly painted with pink and white. Although she was young, she was already a rare beauty. Coupled with the identity of the eldest princess, she invisibly added to the beauty. A bit noble, but with a royal demeanor.
As the eldest princess took her seat, the music of silk and bamboo orchestral music in the hall also stopped abruptly.
Not long after, there was only a clanging sound, like the clear sound of a mountain spring, which was pleasant to the ear and echoed throughout the entire hall.
Then, the eldest princess's jade-like little hands plucked the strings, and in an instant, the gentle and elegant music of the piano echoed, accompanied by the dancing of several long-sleeved maids in front of the palace.
In the main hall, there are many civil servants who dare not say they are proficient in music, but they can also distinguish the good from the bad. They are lucky enough to hear the princess playing the piano. Everyone holds their breath and appreciates the beauty of the music.
On the Western Xia side, although there are only a few people who are good at this, they can still hear the melody of the piano sound is peaceful and correct, which makes people feel the beauty of music.
Even the dancing postures of the palace maids are very elegant and quite pleasing to the eye.
Seeing that a 12 or 13-year-old princess from the Song Dynasty was so good at playing the piano, among the Xixia envoys, the one who was driven to the shelf felt even more shameless. After drinking a few glasses of wine, he pretended to be drunk and passed out. past.
When Helian Tieshu saw this, the beard at the corner of his mouth trembled slightly, a little angry.
The sound of the piano echoed around the beams, but eventually everything was silent.
Emperor Zhezong was the first to praise him and applaud him, followed by a group of ministers who also agreed.
Princess Xu smiled shyly, appearing unfazed by honor and disgrace.
Emperor Zhezong immediately gave her a seat, and then asked Helian Tieshu how the eldest princess played the song she just played.
Zhao Xu has always had a tough attitude towards diplomacy and military affairs, and never advocated suing for peace through grievances. Therefore, he was quite dissatisfied with Xixia's repeated provocations to the Song Dynasty, so he wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to frustrate the other party. prestige.
Helian Tieshu really didn't know much about music, so when faced with Emperor Zongzhe's inquiry, he could only bite the bullet and hesitantly praise a few good words.
Emperor Zhezong was very satisfied with Helian Tieshu's embarrassment, and then asked if there was anyone in the Xixia mission who was good at music and rhythm. He might as well show it to everyone and exchange ideas and learn from each other.
Seeing the diplomatic official who was pretending to be drunk, Helian Tieshu turned green with anger, and finally had no choice but to admit defeat.
But thinking that instead of waiting for people from the Song court to make things difficult for him, it would be better to take the initiative. Helian Tieshu immediately said: "I heard that there is a post of chess waiting for imperial edict in the Hanlin Academy of the Song Dynasty. I think the person who can take up this post must be the great emperor." Is he the number one player in the chess world of Song Dynasty?"
"I'm not talented. Mr. Duan's chess skills are second to none in Xixia. Why don't you take advantage of this opportunity to enjoy yourself? Your Majesty will call this chess player out for a game to add some fun."
Just now, Duan Yanqing informed him of the matter through a voice transmission, saying that he was confident that he could beat the chess players of the Song Dynasty, so that Helian Tieshu could turn his passivity into an initiative.
Thinking that he had lost face once anyway and would not be able to defend himself if he lost face again, Helian Tieshu chose to trust Duan Yanqing and directly blew away the bullshit.
Hearing Helian Tieshu's words, many people on the Song Dynasty had expressions of astonishment on their faces.
They had already prepared the following, but unexpectedly the other party took the initiative to bring it up.
Emperor Zhezong smiled and said: "Since General Helian is so elegant, let Liu Zhongfu play a game of chess with Mr. Duan from your country."
Among the civil servants of the Song Dynasty, an old man with a pale appearance came out, bowed to Emperor Zhezong, and faced everyone in Xixia.
Duan Yanqing had some inconvenience in his legs and feet, so he could avoid some false courtesy if possible.
In order to make this game more lively and interesting, Emperor Zhezong also added a bonus to the matter. The winner would be rewarded with ten thousand taels of gold.
