After hearing what Prime Minister Cao said, Li Renxiao always felt that something was wrong, "Grandpa, if the official family of the Song Dynasty does not mind the long journey, what should we do?"
Prime Minister Cao still smiled and seemed not worried at all about Zhao Kai's army arriving at the gate of Chang'an Prefecture in Xijing.
He smiled and said: "If the Song Dynasty does not mind the long journey, then we will help the Song Dynasty attack Rome... The officials of the Song Dynasty are not afraid of the long journey, but the army needs food and supplies when traveling far, and the consumption is staggering. It’s impossible to rely on Dongtu to send supplies, we can only rely on us!”
Li Renxiao frowned, "Grandpa, aren't you afraid that the Song Dynasty will destroy the Tang Dynasty with false ideas?" Before Prime Minister Cao could say anything, he scared himself and said: "After all, our Tang Dynasty is the orthodoxy in the world, and the people of the Eastern Land must be eagerly looking forward to our Tang Dynasty. Master Wang, right? Can the officials of the Song Dynasty not be afraid of me, the Tang Dynasty?"
Prime Minister Cao was stunned again and again, thinking: What can I do? The child was so taught that he really thought he was a descendant of Li Shimin... The people of the Eastern Land knew the details, so how could they expect Dang Xiang to be beaten back? So Zhao Kai didn't take Xi Tang seriously at all.
Thinking of this, Prime Minister Cao had to explain patiently: "The sage is overly worried... The Western Region is not as good as the Eastern Territory. It is a wasteland with few people and vast grasslands and deserts. It is difficult for the troops and people of the Eastern Territory to adapt. Moreover, the Eastern Region is rich and the Western Region is poor, so not many people are willing to move from the Eastern Region to the Western Region to settle down.
On the contrary, the Roman countries in Europe were richer and more prosperous than those in the Western Regions. If the Song Dynasty raises troops to march westward, our court can send troops to follow... Europe is too far away from the Song Dynasty, and Song soldiers cannot stay in Europe for a long time. When the Song army is victorious and returns, our court will take Xie Bao instead. The saint may also become the king of Rome! "
What Cao Mian said is wishful thinking and will basically never come true. When he thought about it, even if Zhao Kai knew that Wanyan Xiebao had brought great fortune to Dajin, he could only order the Western Tang Dynasty to take precautions. At most, that is to order Yelu Dashi to conquer the Western Tang Dynasty together.
This is definitely not harmful to the Western Tang Dynasty... Not only can you ask for money and things from the Song Dynasty, but you can also follow Yelu Dashi to take advantage of it. Why not? As for the "false way to destroy the Tang Dynasty", it is not the real Tang Dynasty. A guy who is well-known in the Eastern Land still wants to take over the Central Plains? It's impossible, so Zhao Kai won't bother with this matter.
...
"Declare the Roman Empire alongside King Alexios, and worship the Archmage Bagration of the Orthodox Church in the temple!"
Outside the Xuanzheng Hall of the Daming Palace, a loud roll call rang out. Alexios, who was waiting outside the temple with his credentials and gift list, Master Ba who had come from Georgia, and two officials from the Honglu Temple of the Western Tang Dynasty, heard his name and knew it was him. He quickly raised his head and looked at the official from Honglu Temple standing in front of him.
This official is a "peach blossom stone man" who also has deep eyes and a nose job. He can speak fluent Latin and can communicate with Acresius without any obstacles. At this time, he also turned to look at the King of Rome, smiled and said in Latin: "Supreme Basileus (the title of the co-emperor), the Khan of Heaven invites you to enter the Xuanzheng Hall."
"Tian Khan" of course refers to Li Renxiao. His title is also quite magical. Internally, he is the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. To the east, he calls himself the King of the Western Tang Dynasty. To Central Asia, West Asia, South Asia and Europe, he calls himself the Khan of Heaven.
Then the official of Honglu Temple said to Bagration: "Bishop, Tian Khan also invites you to enter the temple."
After saying that, he made a sign of respecting guests, and then walked in front to lead the way.
Acresius and Bagration followed him towards the Xuanzheng Hall.
This Xuanzheng Hall is the main hall and facade of the Daming Palace in West Chang'an. It is of course built majestic and solemn, with thick wooden columns supporting a huge roof, and the surrounding walls are all made of stone. Because the temperature in West Chang'an Prefecture is extremely low in winter, the windows in Xuanzheng Hall are very small and not many in number. Even if they are all opened, the lighting is very poor.
When Acresius and Bagration visited Western Chang'an, it was already October in the Julian calendar, and the weather in Western Chang'an was already very cold. Therefore, all the windows have been closed, and a thick curtain has been hung at the door of the hall.
The Jinwu guard guarding the door opened the door curtain, and a blast of hot air hit his face. It turned out that the stove had been heated inside, and it was very warm.
In the main hall, the ministers gathered, all wearing purple, crimson and green straight-sleeved robes, and simple soft-footed futons on their heads. Tian Khan Li Renxiao sat high on the throne, with Prime Minister Cao and the emperor's uncle, the regent Li Renli, on either side of him. There was a bead curtain hanging behind the curtain, and there was someone sitting vaguely behind the curtain. It was Li Renxiao's mother, Queen Mother Cao.
The official of Honglu Temple had already handed over the etiquette of the audience to Acresius and Bagration. They did not need to bow, they just bowed.
Two chairs with high backs and armrests had been set up in the main hall. As soon as Acresius and Bagration finished bowing, they sat down on the chairs. The official from Honglu Temple took the certificate of credence and the gift list and handed them over to Prime Minister Cao.
Prime Minister Cao already knew the purpose of Acresius and Bagration's visit, so after receiving the credentials and gift list, he smiled and said: "His Royal Highness, Archmage, do you know what a peach blossom stone is?" ?”
His words were translated into Latin by the official of Honglu Temple.
On the way to Chang'an, Acresius had already asked the knowledgeable Bagration, so he nodded and said: "The Peach Blossom Stone is one of the Three Qins, the Upper Qin is the Peach Blossom Stone in the east, and the Middle Qin is the Khitan." , Xia Qin is Ba'erhan."
This explanation was translated into Chinese.
Prime Minister Cao smiled and said: "His Royal Highness, Peach Blossom Stone and Sanqin are both Turkic terms, not from the Tang Dynasty. What the Turks call Peach Blossom Stone and Sanqin, in our Tang Dynasty's view, they are the world... .All over the world!
This whole world has the same meaning as the land of believers of the Tianfang Sect and the land of God that your God-worshiping church calls. "
After hearing this explanation, Bishop Bagration did not wait for Alexios to speak, and spoke first: "Prime Minister, God's land and the land of Allah's faith are both lands given by God...yours Is the whole world also a land given by God?”
Prime Minister Cao said: "Master, your question should not be answered by me. I am the prime minister. I don't care about the laws of heaven and only care about human desires.
When I tell you about the whole world, I want to tell you that our world is as vast as the land of Tianfang Sect and the land of your God. There are also many kings and countries existing at the same time, and we, the Tang Dynasty, are just one of them. . The priest-king of the Golden Kingdom you call was once one of the kingdoms in the world...but he had to leave the land under the world because he was defeated by the enemy. "
Alexios understood a little bit, and he followed Prime Minister Cao's words and asked: "Prime Minister, is the enemy of the Golden Kingdom your Tang Dynasty?"
"No," Prime Minister Cao said with a smile, "If the Tang Dynasty was the enemy of the Golden Kingdom, how could they reach Rome through the land of the Tang Dynasty?"
After his words were translated into Latin, Alexios's expression became a little strange. Isn't the Tang Dynasty the enemy of the Golden Kingdom? Isn't it the friend of the Golden Kingdom? There are only two ways for Golden John to reach Europe through the land of the Tang Dynasty. One is to fight there; the other is to be a friend...
If the Tang Dynasty was a friend of the Golden Kingdom, wouldn't he, the co-emperor of the Roman Empire, be about to see God?
Although Alexios believed in God all his life, he was afraid of seeing God, so his face turned pale with fear.
When Prime Minister Cao saw him like this, he immediately laughed and said: "Don't be afraid of the King of Side by Side. Although our Tang State is a friend of the Golden Kingdom, the King of Side by Side is a guest from afar, and he is also a friend of our Tang State." He paused. , and waited for the official of Honglu Temple to translate his words into Latin before continuing, "Would you like to know who drove the Golden Kingdom out of the world?"
Knowing that he would not be able to see God for the time being, Alexios breathed a sigh of relief, "Prime Minister, who defeated Golden John?"
Prime Minister Cao said: "It's the Song Dynasty... The Song Dynasty today is the most powerful country in the world, and only the Song Dynasty can help you regain the throne of the King of Rome!"
There is hope!
Alexios quickly asked: "Prime Minister, can you tell me where the Song Dynasty is?"
"In the east!" Prime Minister Cao said with a smile, "The northern and southern capitals of the Song Dynasty are all thousands of miles east of Chang'an in the west capital. If you leave West Chang'an and travel eastward after the spring of next year, you should be able to reach the capital of the Song Dynasty before the end of the year. The capital is in the capital... I am the King of Side by Side, do you want to go to the Song Dynasty to ask for help from the high officials?"
Have to walk for more than half a year?
Alexios opened his mouth so wide that his jaw almost dropped... Isn't this "under the whole world" too big? One year is not enough to walk from west to east! How to manage such a large territory?
After being surprised for a while, Alexios held back a sentence: "So far away... Then the Dictado of the Song Dynasty (a translator translated the official family as dictator) is really Are you willing to send troops? Even if he is willing, how will the logistics be solved?"
Prime Minister Cao nodded with a smile and said: "The distance is not a problem... because the prosperity of the Song Dynasty far exceeds your imagination. If the official family is willing to send troops, even I, the Tang Dynasty, must obey him Order to provide supplies for the army of the high officials."
What? Even a country like the Tang Dynasty had to obey the command of Dictado of the Song Dynasty? Alexios thought to himself: Wasn't the Song Dynasty even more powerful than Rome in its heyday? No, I must go and see! Even if the Song Dynasty Dictado is unwilling to send troops, I still have to see this superpower!
Thinking of this, Alexios turned to Bishop Bagration beside him and said, "Bishop, I want to go to the Song Dynasty to ask for help. Will you go with me?"
Bagration nodded and said: "Your Majesty, I am willing to go to the earth under the light of heaven for the cause of God."
