"boom!"
Far away from Zhonge, the gun in the hand of a forbidden soldier from the first battalion of Tianwu's Fifth Army exploded. The bamboo barrel exploded and burst into flames, frightening the forbidden soldier and his companions. It's not easy.
Fortunately, Zhao Yang had already expected that all these forbidden soldiers would wear infantry armor, and even their hands would be wrapped with thick leather strips, just to prevent anyone from being injured due to sudden musket blasts. Therefore, the few forbidden soldiers did not suffer any harm. Chun Chun was startled.
"There are seventeen of them..."
Shen Tao took up his pen and jotted down a few strokes in a book, and then asked the craftsman who assisted the Forbidden Army in loading gunpowder for the amount of gunpowder.
He replaced Feng Jing as the third yuan in the Lianzhong and was the top candidate in this year's imperial examination. On Zhao Yang's recommendation, he officially became the director of the Firearms Supervisory Department of the Technical Department of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, and was awarded the post of Prose Officer Chengwulang. , for the ninth rank.
Although the entry level of many Yinbu officials is equivalent to that of many Yinbu officials, Shen Tuo has a Jinshi background, and he is the number one scholar in the new subject in the first year of Huangyou this year. His road to exploration is bound to be much faster than many others, and it does not take twenty years to become a scholar. Climb to Zhao Yang's current official rank, and if you have merit, you will be promoted faster.
Don't think that there is only a two-level difference between the ninth level and the seventh level, but in fact there is a full eight-level difference.
The last top scholar was Qian Mingyi, who became a powerful official in Kaifeng Prefecture before he was forty years old, even though he was demoted from the Beijing Dynasty.
In addition to Shen Tuan, Fan Chunren, Lu Dafang, Qian Gongfu, Wen Tong, and the Huang brothers now also serve in the Ministry of Industry and Technology of the Minister of Finance, although these people will inevitably be transferred elsewhere if they are to be promoted in a few years. But the current Ministry of Industry and Technology Department are enough for them to start their official careers.
Among them, the ones who have the least desire for official career are Fan Chunren and Wen Tong. The former only wants to be by his father Fan Zhongyan's side. If Zhao Yang had not been kind to his Fan family, he would not accept Zhao Yang's invitation to become an official; and the latter , if not for Zhao Yang's invitation, he originally planned to be a county magistrate and take care of the local people. He didn't have any grand ambitions and was very content with the situation.
At the same time, Zhao Yang was watching the Liao envoys meet with officials in the palace.
This interview was quite grand. Although the officials did not meet with the envoys in the main hall of the palace, but in a pavilion in a pond in the palace, several ministers from the Political Hall and the Privy Council came forward.
In this pavilion, surrounded by water on three sides and ventilated on all sides, the officials and the Liao envoy Xiao Xiaoyou sat across from each other. On one side were Chen Zhizhong, Wen Yanbo, Song Xiang, Pang Ji, Gao Ruona, and Fan Zhongyan. On the other side are the envoys from the Liao Kingdom who accompanied Xiao Xiaoyou.
First, Xiao Xiaoyou conveyed the true greetings of Lord Yelu Zong of the Liao Dynasty and presented the gifts given by the Lord of Liao to the Lord of Song Dynasty. Then the officials returned the gifts and asked Xiao Xiaoyou about the current situation of the Lord of Liao: Are they in good health recently? Are their children healthy? How are the lives of the people in the country, especially those in Hanzhou, etc.?
Zhao Yang stood outside the pavilion and listened for a while, feeling very bored. He was secretly glad that he had not entered the pavilion. He turned around and was about to leave, but was stopped by Wang Shougui.
Wang Shougui asked Zhao Yang in a low voice: "There will be a banquet for the Khitan envoys in the afternoon. Will Mr. Zhao be present?"
Zhao Yang was stunned and said with a strange expression: "Can I attend?"
"Of course." Wang Shougui saw that Zhao Yang had some misunderstandings and hurriedly explained: "In order to prevent the Khitan envoys from criticizing, the afternoon banquet should be very strict..."
After that, he briefly introduced the rules of the banquet to Zhao Yang. Only then did Zhao Yang know how strict this kind of state banquet was, such as seating, how many dishes were exchanged for a glass of wine, and the rules of the banquet. Zhao Yang listened. Halfway through the process, he already felt heavy-headed. If he hadn't wanted to see how the literati of the Song Dynasty fought with the envoys of the Liao Kingdom with poems and songs, he would not have been willing to attend such a banquet with almost no freedom at all.
"Please arrange a seat for me."
Hearing this, Wang Shougui nodded in agreement, and then said hesitantly: "There are strict regulations regarding the seating, the number of wines and the number of dishes at this banquet, so..."
Zhao Yang suddenly understood and said indifferently: "It doesn't matter, I just want to see the literary fight between the two sides."
Wang Shougui was relieved.
It has always been common for officials of the DPRK and the Central Government to have grievances over issues such as seating arrangements. Naturally, Wang Shougui did not want to offend Zhao Yang, but he did not want to show favoritism in front of the Liao envoy, lest the other party would catch him. Therefore, he discussed it with Zhao Yang in advance. Say hello, luckily Zhao Yang doesn't care much about this.
After bidding farewell to Wang Shougui, Zhao Yang led Wang Zhongzheng and others straight out of the palace and took a carriage straight to the training ground in the western suburbs outside the city.
At this time, Shen Yu informed Zhao Yang that there was another barrel explosion today, and Zhao Yang was not surprised by this. After all, the barrel of the musket is just a bamboo tube. How can it be reinforced?
He shook his head and said to Shen Tuan: "Time is still too tight. In the future, we can use copper or iron to cast the barrel, which will reduce the risk of explosion. The amount of gunpowder can also be increased, so that it will not only be Twenty paces range.”
In fact, the current level of the sudden musket does not even have a range of twenty steps, and its effective range is only two or three feet. Unless he wants to use it to scare the Liao envoys, Zhao Yang would not bother to use this embarrassing thing.
After chatting with Shen Tao for a while, and saying hello to the three brothers of the Zhong family and the commander of the Fifth Army, Chen Xu, Zhao Yang immediately took a carriage to the new office of his technical department and met Fan Chunren, who was in charge of supervising the construction of the new office there. , Lu Dafang, Wen Tong, Qian Gongfu, and the Huang brothers met each other, and just before noon, they hurried back to the palace in a carriage.
A state banquet was held in the main room and in the afternoon to entertain the Liao envoys. The banquet venue was located in the Wende Hall. It was not a single seat for one person, but a square table with nine people sitting around it. The seats were strictly arranged. Fortunately, Wang Zhongzheng beside him was Dong The head worship official, and with Wang Shougui's instructions in advance, led Zhao Yang to his seat, otherwise Zhao Yang might not even be able to find his seat.
After sitting down, I looked around and saw that the whole table was full of admonitions. Except for Zhang Guan and Guo Quan, the chief ministers, there were Li Dui, the censor who knew the miscellaneous affairs, Liu Shi, the censor in the palace, and Liu Yuanyu, the censor in the palace. , Jia Jian, and the supervisory censors He Tan, Chen Xu, Zhang Zexing, Zhang Zhongyong, etc. were all there.
These admonishers also looked at Zhao Yang, with big eyes and small eyes on both sides.
Except for Chen Xu and Zhao Yang who were in charge of the provincial examination a while ago and were relatively familiar with each other, the others had little contact and even had personal grudges, such as Li Dui, Liu Shi, Liu Yuanyu, etc.
The Liao envoy Xiao Xiaoyou and his subordinates sat at the main table and the adjacent tables. The main table was accompanied by several ministers, and the adjacent tables were accompanied by Zhang Yaozuo, Cao Yi and others, and several others do not know.
As the banquet began, the palace officials first presented the fruit plate, and then the dishes were served one after another. New dishes, old dishes, and wine were paired with each other. The wine was from light to full. The old plates were not removed, and the plates and bowls were stacked on top of each other.
Although Wang Shougui had warned in advance that there were strict rules on the number of drinks and dishes per person today, but that refers to the order of tables, and the drinks and dishes at the same table are still the same.
Perhaps because of Zhao Yang's presence, his table was particularly quiet. Except for Zhao Yang occasionally saying a few words to Chen Xu, there was almost no conversation between the others.
Zhao Yang was also happy to be quiet. He drank a sip of wine and ate two bites of food, but Li Dui and Liu Shi laughed.
"Could it be that Zhao Zhengyan doesn't know the rules of the state banquet?" Li Dui lowered his voice and sneered.
Zhao Yang glanced at him and said unceremoniously: "I can eat whatever I like, do you care?"
"How could Zhao Zhengyan be so rude?" Liu Shi and Liu Yuanyu took the opportunity to attack.
Seeing that the two sides were about to quarrel, Chen Xu quickly advised him: "Everyone, everyone, today is different from the past. We are here to tell you not to cause trouble."
He Tan, who is also the supervisory censor, also said: "What Chen censor said is absolutely true, and we will unanimously announce it to the outside world today."
Hearing this, Li Dui, Liu Shi, and Liu Yuanyu stopped talking.
Chen Xu and He Tan were right. Today they unanimously stated that anyone who deliberately caused trouble to the Liao envoys would be a criminal who would attack in groups.
This incident surprised Zhao Yang, and he nodded secretly: It seems that externally, the Song Dynasty court is still quite united.
Of course, being united with the outside world does not mean that we have the same external stance, such as advocating for war and advocating for peace. Zhao Yang has long been labeled as the main war faction and is regarded by Fan Zhongyan as the second Han Qi. However, Ye Qingchen believes that Zhao Yang and Han Qi is fundamentally different.
As the banquet progressed, the dishes gradually changed from light to rich, and everyone at the banquet also gradually changed from slightly drunk to semi-drunk.
"That's almost it." Li Dui whispered.
As soon as he finished speaking, someone from the Liao envoy's table stood up and chanted poems praising the Song Dynasty and the diplomatic relations between the two countries. The Song Dynasty also chanted poems praising the Liao Kingdom and the diplomatic relations between the two countries. If you hadn't seen the Liao envoy with your own eyes, Even if one party is provocative, Zhao Yang will probably feel that both parties are harmonious.
Immediately, the envoys of the Liao State began to provoke Song officials with poems and songs.
It has to be said that the envoys of the Liao State picked the wrong opponent. When it comes to leading troops to fight, most Song officials are not good at fighting and do not even know how to fight. But when it comes to reciting poems, composing poems, and singing poems, it is difficult for both sides to understand each other - —The Song Dynasty accounted for six points, and the Liao Dynasty accounted for four points.
There is no need for Zhao Yang to come forward. Wen Yanbo, Song Xiang, Pang Ji, Fan Zhongyan, Gao Ruona and others, together with hundreds of officials in the court, are enough to defeat Xiao Xiaoyou's twenty-odd envoys. You can compose a poem. I will compose three poems for my convenience. Zhao Yang watched with his own eyes as the twenty-odd Liao envoys went from smiling confidently and calmly at the beginning to blushing in the end, full of unwillingness but helplessness.
"We won this game." Li Dui said calmly, his tone calm, as if he believed that the Song Dynasty would win from the beginning.
Liu Yuanyu, who participated in composing one of the poems, was even more proud of himself. He whispered contemptuously: "The barbarians from Beibang dare to compete with me, the Chinese orthodox, for their talent and learning. They don't overestimate their abilities."
"Shh, be careful what you say." Chen Xu reminded in a low voice.
What he meant by caution was not just that Liu Yuanyu called the Liao people barbarians, but also included the word "Beibang". Just like the envoys of the Liao State had previously called the Song State "Southern Dynasty". Many years ago, the Liao State had proposed to negotiate with the Song Dynasty. The country was divided into north and south, following the example of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, but the Song Dynasty did not accept it.
Just like the Liao State did not recognize the Song State's legitimacy in inheriting the Han and Tang Dynasties, the Song State also did not recognize the Liao State's legitimacy in inheriting the Han and Tang Dynasties. Both sides believed that they were the Chinese orthodox. In fact, in Zhao Yang's view, Both sides are indeed the same, but under the unified pattern, the two sides are destined to be unable to work together. If one side does not defeat the other, then both sides will be swept away by a third party that later rises, just like in history.
In contrast, Zhao Yang was quite interested in several literati in the Liao mission who were very good at poetry and poetry: "Those Liao people seem to be quite good at poetry?"
"I guess they are from Hanzhou, people who have forgotten their ancestors." Li Dui looked disdainful, and the other admonishers nodded in agreement.
Zhao Yang looked around at everyone but said nothing.
In fact, he knew that what Li Dui meant by Hanzhou was the Eighteen Prefectures of Yanyun and other places. He even knew that the people in the Eighteen Prefectures of Yanyun still lived well under the rule of the Liao State, but the Song State later briefly recaptured the place of Yanyun. At that time, the Song army looted and killed many people in the land of Yanyun.
After the banquet that day, Zhao Yang returned to the main office of the Ministry of Industry. Fan Chunren, Shen Yu, Qian Gongfu and others, who had been waiting for a long time, hurriedly came forward to inquire about the results of the banquet. When they learned that Song Fang had the upper hand, these Jinshi were very happy and ordered The cook in the yamen cooked a table of wine and food, and everyone celebrated happily.
The next day, March 23, was also the third day to welcome the Liao envoys. As expected, Zhao Zhen held a sutra banquet in the palace, invited scholars from various schools, and invited the Liao envoys as Song Xiang had said. The minister explained the meaning of the classics, and then the scholars of the Song and Liao Dynasties launched a second round of debate on the meaning of the classics.
The meaning of classics is not like poetry and poetry. It is clear at a glance whether it is good or bad. Most of the time, you have your own understanding and I have mine.
Therefore, Zhao Yang, who attended the Sutra Banquet, witnessed with his own eyes the red-necked debate between the academicians of various schools and the envoys of Liao Kingdom. From the initial whisper to the end when he wanted to roll up his sleeves and go up to beat the person, it was extremely exciting.
As for the sutra feast itself, it was boring.
In short, in the second round of competition, Song and Liao were equally matched. To put it bluntly, no one could convince the other.
After finally staying up until dusk, Zhao Zhen held another banquet in Wende Hall. Zhao Yang, who had already seen it once this time, decided not to go because it was not interesting.
Sure enough, the next day he sent Wang Zhongzheng to the palace to inquire, and Song Fang indeed won the third round of literary talent competition.
The Liao envoy was so angry after losing two games in a row that he invited Zhao Zhen to hold a scripture banquet again on the 24th. However, this time the two sides no longer competed on their understanding of the scriptures, but on arithmetic and other talents.
Zhao Zhen originally planned to move Zhao Yang out, but since the Liao envoys had already been defeated twice, and another defeat might not end well, Zhao Zhen did not ask Zhao Yang to come forward, and the scribes in the Song court did not unexpectedly come back again. Being stumped by the Liao envoy, or being instructed by Zhao Zhen to let go, in short, he lost one game, which is two wins and one loss.
On the 25th, Liao envoy Xiao Xiaoyou asked Zhao Zhen to inspect hundreds of Liao cavalry.
The kings and ministers of the Song Dynasty knew that the other party had bad intentions, but they could not refuse, so they went out of the city to the eastern suburbs to observe the drills and operations of hundreds of Liao cavalry.
It is undeniable that the Liao cavalry's tactical execution is indeed strong, with bright armor and full momentum. Only about 500 cavalry gave the Song Dynasty a great shock. In comparison, as an honor guard, it also ensured that there would be no sudden surprises. The Imperial Guards, including Kaifeng Prefecture sergeants, behaved badly under the intimidation of the five hundred Liao cavalry, which made Zhao Zhen feel ashamed and wanted to immediately drag Xiao Xiaoyou and others to the western suburbs and call them See the thunder of the Great Song Dynasty.
But in the end, Zhao Zhen endured it, not only because he felt sorry for the five thousand guan, but more importantly because he was worried about irritating the Liao mission and affecting the diplomatic relations between Song and Liao.
In short, this military training can be regarded as being moved back by the Liao envoy. Currently, the two sides have two wins and two losses.
I thought that it would take a few more days for the Liao envoys to completely gain the upper hand before real diplomatic negotiations would begin. Unexpectedly, the next day, the 26th, Xiao Xiaoyou made a request for negotiation for this trip: marriage. , increase coins, and cede land.
Marriage requires Song Dynasty Lord Zhao Zhen to marry his only daughter Princess Fukang to Liao Lord Yelu Zongzhen's eldest son Yelu Hongji. Since the birth of Princess Fukang, the Liao Kingdom has sent marriage proposals many times, but Zhao Zhen rejected them all.
Needless to say, gifts of coins were added once during the Qingli period. Although both parties agreed at the time that they would no longer give gifts, once this kind of thing was opened, Liao's appetite would only grow.
As for the cession of land, the Liao envoys re-claimed the land in the ten counties south of Waqiao Pass. This was a historical issue left to the Song Dynasty during the Zhou Shizong period. Fu Bi had already refuted it when he was envoy to the Liao Dynasty. So again, the key is to have something to rely on.
What to rely on?
That is naturally the matter of the Yellow River changing its course.
Zhao Zhen was greatly alarmed and angered by this, and immediately appointed Song Xiang, Pang Ji, Gao Ruona, Zhang Yaozuo and Zhao Yang, together with officials from Honglu Temple, as consultants to discuss the matter with the Liao envoy.
In short, Zhao Zhen would not agree to any of these three negotiations. How to make the Liao envoy retreat and give up what he wanted was the responsibility of Zhao Yang and others.
