The fourth month of arriving in Xiping Mansion.
One day, Li Deming suddenly sent someone to invite Zhu Shang to have dinner together, saying that he wanted to explain all the unexplained things clearly.
Zhu Shang was accompanying Hu Ling on horseback and shooting arrows in the grassland at that time. After hearing the message, he shot the arrow in his hand into the bull's-eye in the distance. Then he turned over and jumped off the horse. He told Hu Ling to go back early and left with his attendants.
Hu Ling was having fun, nodded and drove his horse in another direction.
Li Deming prepared good wine and meat to entertain Zhu Shang. While the two were eating, they watched the graceful woman playing the pipa and dancing.
After drinking for three rounds, Li Deming raised the wine cup and leaned closer to Zhu Shang. Only when the smell of wine from his mouth could spray onto Zhu Shang's face did he say: "Mr. Beijiang, I have always respected you, but you mentioned I really can't agree to your request, but I don't want to refuse your request, so I want to use an exchange method to reach this agreement."
"King Xiping, please speak."
Zhu Shang's eyelids twitched, and he felt that someone as cunning as Li Deming would not give good exchange terms.
In the third year of Jingde, Zhao Heng, an official, conferred the title of King of Xiping on Li Deming. At that time, he also gave Li Deming 10,000 taels of silver, 10,000 bolts of silk, 20,000 guan of money, and 20,000 jins of tea, and allowed him to set up a foray in the security army.
In the third year of the Xiangfu reign of Dazhong in the Song Dynasty, a severe famine occurred in Xixia. Li Deming dared to go to the Song Dynasty to ask for food relief of one million dan. Such a lion's mouth was enough to show his greed and cunning.
"Mr. Beijiang, if you leave the maid next to me here, I will agree to your request. What do you think?"
Li Deming's eyes were filled with excitement, and he grinned as he spoke. He spoke very casually, as if he was exchanging two items.
Zhu Shang stared at Li Deming with narrowed eyes, a trace of cruelty flashed in his heart, but a smile appeared on his face, like a fox.
He clearly sensed that the excitement in Li Deming's eyes was revealed only after he tried his best to suppress it.
He never noticed that Li Deming paid attention to Hu Ling. They never talked about her in their conversations in the past few months. In order to protect her, he never brought her to Li Deming.
Only Li Deming's sister accidentally met Hu Ling, who was disguised as a man, and later became friends. Perhaps she told her brother about Hu Ling?
Li Deming never really wanted to exchange, but he was definitely very concerned about Hu Ling. What on earth was he going to do?
In the blink of an eye, Zhu Shang thought of many things and became more vigilant.
He said slowly: "It's just a maid. It's not worth making such an exchange. And what kind of stunning maid you want, just tell me and I will find one and give it to you."
"I want this one!"
Li Deming leaned back, put down the empty wine cup, and looked at Zhu Shang through the candlelight, with a vague smile on his lips.
Zhu Shang shook his head.
Li Deming's smile faded in an instant, and he slapped his palm on the food table.
At this time, the dancing girls had retreated, and with a "pop" sound, the banquet was surrounded by warriors carrying swords and piercing armor.
"This matter cannot be trivial. After all, it is a major event that Xixia and Liao break away and truly belong to the Song Dynasty. For such an important decision, it is not appropriate to use a maid as a bargaining chip in exchange."
Zhu Shang's expression did not change, he poured the fragrant wine into the wine cup, raised it to pay tribute to Li Deming, his eyes were deep.
"I have always been decisive in doing things. If you agree to me now, then I will write a letter and submit to the Song Dynasty, stay safe and be my King of Xiping. I can also send troops to attack Liao and help you take back the Sixteenth State of Yan!"
Li Deming stood up and said very boldly.
The swords of the surrounding warriors were unsheathed.
The firelight reflected on the sharp swords, and the reflected firelight intertwined in the room, making the room brighter and the atmosphere tense.
Zhu Shang was not afraid at all. He stood up with a full cup of wine and looked at Li Deming at eye level.
He looked around for a week, and finally his eyes fell on Li Deming, and said: "The Sixteenth State of Yan is not necessary for me, but this maid you mentioned is something I must not lose. Moreover, if Western Xia is to attack Liao, it must be In the event of a complete defeat, if King Xiping only makes verbal promises and has no practical actions as before, then there is no need to discuss this agreement again."
After finishing speaking, he poured the whole bottle of wine into his stomach, turned around and left with his hands behind his back. In a row of soldiers, they moved forward calmly.
Li Deming was so angry that he kicked over the food table, frowned, clenched his fists and shouted at Zhu Shang's back.
"Back then, Zhao Guangyi took my family members hostage to Bianjing. If my father hadn't known that moving our family to the capital would be like losing water to a dragon, and there would be no chance of a comeback, so he had an excuse to escape, otherwise my family would have been completely wiped out by your sword from the Song Dynasty! "
"Back then, Zhao Guangyi sent the Fifth Route Army to attack Xia, but they were all defeated by us Xia people. You Song people are no match for us Xia people. Why do you dare to despise us Xia people so much! Song people will always owe me! How dare you come to talk now? The agreement is really over the top!”
The soldiers looked at Li Deming with their swords raised, waiting for his instructions, ready to capture Zhu Shang at any time.
The sky was as black as a thick mass of ink, covering the earth with darkness. There is a road in front of Li Deming's living room that extends outwards. On both sides of the road, there are two rows of torches. The flames are extremely red and sway constantly, like the red hair of a coquettish witch.
Under the sky and in the firelight, Zhu Shang stood still and turned around calmly.
Across the blazing torches on both sides of the road, he looked at Li Deming, who stood outside the living room door and raised his arms angrily, with a smile floating on his lips.
The person in front of him was so shameless and cunning. If he didn't remind him, he might really think that Song Dynasty owed him something.
"King Xiping, do you know why Song sent the Fifth Route Army to attack Xia?"
"It's because your father intercepted 400,000 yuan of grain and grass from the Song army and surrounded Lingwu City! How can the Song people owe Xixia this?"
"There is no Zhao Guangyi in the Song Dynasty today. The current official is Zhao Heng. It was he who ceded Xia, Sui, Yin, You, and Jing to your father, but your father captured Lingzhou, an important town in the Song Dynasty, and then Liangzhou, an important town in the northwest. , and cut off the trade routes between the Song Dynasty and the Western Regions, cut off the tribute from the Western Regions to the Song Dynasty, and at the same time prohibited the tribes in the Western Regions from selling horses to the Song Dynasty. What is the explanation for this behavior?"
"There was a severe drought in Xixia a few years ago. You must have not forgotten what kind of support and sacrifice the Song Dynasty made to understand the famine in Xixia!"
"Who dares to push too far? I hope you will think more about it!"
After speaking, he turned around and left again without any hesitation, and a white figure quickly disappeared at the end of the road.
Li Deming was so angry that his eyes almost popped out. The generals around him asked if Zhu Shang needed to be taken down, but he waved his hands with a dark face and asked all the soldiers to retreat.
This person is brave and resourceful, and he is obviously as proud as a peacock, but he has concealed his dazzling light for a long time and is willing to be an ordinary person. When he saw it today, it was far better than what he had heard of.
And he was not an official in the Song Dynasty, maybe he could...
