After seeing that the number of entourage was complete, the team set off, first to Xuanfu Town, and then to the outside of the Zhangjiakou Fort wall.
He was not tired at first, so Li Tingji rode a horse instead of a carriage, and chatted with the guard Lin Tailai.
"This is my first time as an envoy, so I'm still a little nervous." Li Tingji asked, "Didn't you also serve as an envoy last year? Can you share your experience?"
After Lin Tailai thought twice, he answered truthfully: "You are in good health."
Li Tingji: ""
By "good health" do you mean you killed two big bosses with your own hands, or did you work as a horse for the Queen Mother and Queen of Beilu?
Suddenly, one of the attendants reported nervously: "There are dozens of riders following behind, which doesn't look like a good thing!"
Li Tingji was very surprised. How many miles had he left the capital? It was peace time again. Could it be that there were still a large number of bandits who dared to rob the official roads?
"Don't panic." Lin Tailai said calmly: "Those are the servants of my Lin Mansion. They brought their own dry food to Xuan Mansion, and they happened to be on the same road as us."
Li Tingji: ""
The journey was uneventful until we reached the town of Xuanfu, 350 miles away.
Wang Xiangqian, the governor of Xuanfu, Li Yingen, the chief military officer of Xuanfu Town, the commander of Wandu Department, Zhi Jianjiang, and other local giants greeted him at Nanguan outside Changping Gate.
At this time, Li Tingji was socializing with local giants and talking about the situation.
Behind Li Tingji are the attendants, and behind the attendants are the soldiers.
The local magnates flattered Li Tingji while frequently looking at the soldiers guarding the mission.
Li Tingji waved his hand considerately and ordered: "Call Lin Jiuyuan over!"
Seeing Lin Tailai, a strong soldier wearing a fat red coat and holding a spear, Governor Wang wanted to laugh but did not dare.
In the end, I couldn't help but joked: "Last year you left Xuanfu in a prison car, and this year you came to Xuanfu as a prisoner. It's better to stay in Xuanfu last year and save a year of detours."
After receiving the wind and washing away the dust, Lin Tailai, a soldier guarding the mission, met with Wang Xiangqian, the governor of Xuanfu alone.
Governor Wang said with some yearning: "If the tribute ceremony was outside the border wall of Xuanfu, I should have been the envoy."
Lin Xiaobing pretended to be an elder and taught him: "What is there to aspire to in this kind of formalistic ceremony? Being a governor with all your heart is the right thing to do!"
Xuanfu Town is a good place, very close to the capital, and there is a tribute market, so it is worthy of your wholehearted investment!"
Governor Wang could only reply: "You are right."
Lin Xiaobing asked again: "Nowadays, border town governors adopt a long-term appointment system, and it is normal to serve for six or seven years, or even seven or eight years.
With such ample time, you want to cultivate more of your own power, do you know how to do it?"
Governor Wang replied again: "Respect the virtuous gentleman and show kindness to me?"
Lin Xiaobing instructed: "The best way is to smuggle together! Only by smuggling with you can we be one of our own!"
Governor Wang: ""
As long as you talk to your sister-in-law, these three views will be subverted again and again.
The end point of the mission was of course not Xuanfu Town. Accompanied by Governor Wang, the mission continued to walk north.
Sixty miles away we arrived at the increasingly prosperous Zhangjiakou Fort, which administratively belonged to Wanquan Youwei.
Hei Xiao, who had been promoted to the commander of Wanquan Right Guard, and Zhang Jiakou Fort guard greeted them at the east gate.
The two complimented Li Tingji and kept looking behind Li Tingji.
Lin Tailai, who was standing behind as a guard, said lazily: "Look at what I do, I'm just a soldier."
The mission did not stop at Zhangjiakou Fort, but passed through the mountain pass wall and went directly to the outside of the wall.
A temporary camp has been built here in advance, and the envoys can just settle in directly after arriving.
The tribute reward has been carried out for twenty years, everything has been followed and the preparations are in order.
The general process is nothing more than the Ming Dynasty certifying the generals, commanders, and thousands of households who should be ennobled by the Northern Lu people. The Northern Lu leader would donate a certain amount of livestock, and the Ming Dynasty would reward them with a certain amount.
In addition, Ming officials and Beibei leaders feasted and drank together, which was regarded as a treat.
Such a tribute ceremony is held every spring, and then the border market of this year is officially opened until the market closes in September.
In previous years, the tribute ceremony was mostly held outside the border wall of Datong Town, but in the past two years, it was held outside the border wall of Xuanfu Town.
Of course, the above has nothing to do with Lin Tailai, he doesn't worry about it, after all, he is just a soldier.
Before the ceremony, the envoy Li Tingji held a banquet in honor of Zhongjin Hatun, who came to attend the tribute ceremony on behalf of King Bu Shitu.
After all, Bu Shitu is only ten years old and can't even go on stage.
At the banquet, Zhongjin Hatun frequently looked at Li Tingji's back.
Li Tingji has become completely accustomed to this phenomenon of others always looking behind his back.
Sometimes, he would even feel in a daze that he was a shadow substitute with his real body behind him.
After the banquet, Zhongjin Hatun asked Lin Zhuangshi to escort him back to the camp.
After consulting Lin Zhuangshi himself, Li Tingji agreed.
Returning to the big tent a few miles away, Zhongjin Hatun waved away the maids on the left and right, and curiously asked Lin Tailai: "What happened? How did you get into such a mess?"
Lin Tailai replied deeply: "It's hard to describe in one sentence. The twists and turns may not be understood by the barbarians. It's hard to explain. Wait, why are you taking off your clothes?"
Jongjin Hatun quickly unbuttoned and responded: "Since it's hard to explain clearly, then don't say it!"
Lin Tailai sighed, what does it mean to be like a wolf at thirty and be like a tiger at forty? This is it.
But when Lin Tailai was about to take off his fat red coat, Zhongjin Hatun hurriedly shouted:
"Don't touch the coat! Just take off your pants! The little soldier puts on the coat first! It will be more fun to watch this way!"
Lin Tailai: ""
What's wrong with this? Seeing yourself wearing the uniform of a soldier from the Ming Dynasty is more stimulating to your senses?
Half an hour later, the rain stopped and the clouds dispersed.
Zhongjin Hatun asked lazily: "How long can you stay outside the border wall this time?"
Lin Tailai replied: "It depends on God's will."
Zhongjin Hatun rubbed his belly and said, "I really wish I had your seed as soon as possible. He will definitely be the strongest and smartest person in the whole grassland."
Lin Tailai, who was calm, replied: "Why are you so anxious? That Bu Shitu is only ten years old. If he can't play cover, he will still have to live for two years."
In the next two days, when the envoy Li Tingji invited Zhong Jinhatun, the female chief of the Northern Lu, to meet, he was declined on the grounds of "physical discomfort."
"It's simply affecting state affairs!" Li Tingji complained to his attendants, "Empress Dowager Xiao was not dragged down like this by Han Derang!"
The attaché replied: "It doesn't have much impact. Let us take care of it. It is actually more worry-free than negotiating with both sides."
On the day of the tribute ceremony, Zhongjin Hatun showed up, left in a hurry, and did not appear at the subsequent banquet.
Then the official ceremony is basically over and the border market begins.
By this time, the mission has basically completed its mission and can retreat.
However, the mission had a guard and a soldier who stayed at the Beilu tent for a long time, which made Li Tingji feel a little worried.
??????55.??????
Diplomacy is no small matter. It must be made clear how many people there are when the mission leaves and how many people there are when they return.
What we need to guard against is someone defecting or spies sneaking in.
Li Tingji was a little undecided. Should he record the escape this time in Saibei or the record of abduction and disappearance?
Fortunately, this place is close to the capital. After Li Tingji informed the court, he quickly received instructions from the court that there was no need to rush back and he should continue to inspect the border markets to check for any leaks and fill the gaps.
We need to show more subjective initiative. After inspecting Baoma City in Zhangjiakou, can we still go to Desheng Baoma City in Datong Town?
Li Tingji finally understood that the imperial court did not want Lin Tai to come back and let the entire mission accompany Lin Tai to wander around the border town.
As one of the most politically minded figures in the Northern Barbarians, Zhongjin Hatun was also very sensitive to the attitude of the Ming Dynasty.
"Your court doesn't seem to be in a hurry to let you go back?" Zhongjin Hatun asked: "They would rather you stay outside the border wall than come back?"
Lin Tailai said disdainfully: "A bunch of scumbags, most probably they haven't figured out how to divide the spoils yet, and they don't want to be interfered by a righteous person like me."
"You? A righteous person?" Zhongjin Hatun expressed doubts.
Lin Tailai said inexplicably: "You don't understand the value of justice sent from heaven."
Immediately, Zhongjin Hatun secretly wrote a letter of credence and submitted it to the Ming Dynasty court.
This kind of document is usually forwarded through the governor of the border town, so it quickly fell into the hands of the governor Wang.
After reading the contents of the credential, Governor Wang was immediately confused.
Queen Shunyi of the Northern Banquets actually requested the Ming Dynasty court to give Lin, a prisoner who had been exiled to the army, as a gift to her.
Governor Wang was not qualified to block the credential. While submitting the memorial, he sent an envoy to ask Zhongjin Hatun, but Lin Tailai found out.
"Is there something wrong with you? Are you naive or not?" Lin Tailai was also shocked by Zhong Jinhatun's operation.
You are also an elder statesman in your thirties, how can you still do such childish tricks?
When it comes to issues between countries, don’t mix such personal emotions and novels!
Zhongjin Hatun replied expectantly: "You said that you still have to have dreams, what if they come true?
If you come here, I will never treat you badly, and I will make you the true Grand Master!"
Lin Tailai directly broke the young woman's dream, "Don't have wishful thinking, wait at most half a month, and the court will beg me to go back!"
Zhongjin Hatun heard such chants many times, and couldn't help but curiously asked: "What will happen? It can make you so confident."
Lin Tailai replied: "I don't know what will happen, I just have a premonition."
Zhongjin Hatun said unhappily: "If you don't want to say it, forget it. Don't act like a ghost all day long!"
Lin Tailai was helpless. He really didn't know what happened.
He just inferred based on some historical data that something would definitely happen in April, and he was waiting.
Anyone who has studied the history of the fifteen-year Guoben War in detail can find that during this long period of time, the specific content and form of the struggle were not static.
In other words, the battle over national origin is also divided into stages, and each stage has its own theme and climax.
For example, in the spring of the 18th year of Wanli in history, which is at this stage, the theme of the Guobin dispute was "Let the eldest son of the emperor study quickly", and the fight lasted for several months from the first month of the year.
In this time and space, the climax of this stage revolves around him, Lin Tailai, but in the original time and space without him, Lin Tailai, how did the climax come about?
Lin Tailai has a vague impression of this. Many historical materials on the current stage of the national dispute revolve around "disasters".
In the eyes of the ancients, "disasters" were warnings from God. In addition to the formalism of the emperor blaming himself and the prime minister resigning, of course, the "disasters" also needed to be interpreted.
At that time, ministers wrote to each other one after another saying that the reason for the "disaster" from heaven was that the emperor was lazy and did not establish the East Palace and did not allow the emperor's eldest son to study.
All the bachelors in the cabinet resigned around the end of April and the beginning of May because of "disasters".
The historical data in Lin Tailai's memory did not explain in detail what the "disaster" was. He could only infer the time when the so-called "disaster" occurred based on the approximate time when the minister went to the meeting.
From the end of April to the beginning of May, all bachelors submitted their resignations, which shows that the disaster occurred in April.
Interpersonal relationships may change due to the butterfly effect, but disasters are mostly natural phenomena, so they should not be affected by the butterfly effect, right?
This was what Lin Tailai was waiting for, but he really didn't know what would happen, so he didn't lie to Zhong Jinhatun.
As he was talking, he suddenly heard a rumbling sound from the sky. Lin Tailai looked up and said in a voiceless voice: "Damn it! Could it be that it's just coming?"
Four hundred miles away in the capital, which is both far away and very close, in the Wenyuan Pavilion opposite the Wenhua Palace, another office meeting was finally held.
Seeing Wang Xijue and Wang Jiaping returning to their posts, Shen Shoufu was quite pleased.
It was uncomfortable to be alone in the cabinet, but he finally got over it! From now on, someone will finally take the blame and someone will be used as cannon fodder!
The two Wangge elders were also quite sad. Although their positions were completely different, they felt like they had overcome a catastrophe at this moment.
The number of bachelors in the cabinet increased from four to three. Wang Xijue was officially promoted from Wang III to Wang II, and Wang Jiaping was also promoted from Wang IV to Wang III.
The hard days are over, and we can feel stable for the time being!
He rose one position, but Lin Tailai got out. There are good things among bad things.
Shen Shixing took out several memorials and said to the two kings: "Recently, several northern provinces and Huguang have reported that there will be a severe drought this spring.
The scope is so wide and the drought is so serious that we have to pay attention to it and treat it as a top priority at the moment.
However, I think this is not an abnormal disaster, and normal disaster relief is enough, do you think so?"
Mr. Erwangge nodded tacitly, "The first admonishment makes sense!"
Although the drought is so serious and the scope is so large, it really cannot be regarded as a disaster!
Otherwise, they will have to resign from their posts as soon as they return to work, and then go home again!
The court needs stability and the cabinet cannot be turbulent anymore!
Although the three cabinet ministers have different political stances, they have reached consensus on this issue.
"Then let's start discussing how to provide disaster relief." Shen Shoufu added.
Suddenly, someone from Zhongshushe rushed to the door of Wenyuan Pavilion holding a memorial and shouted: "Urgent report from six hundred miles away!"
Shen Shoufu shouted and asked: "What kind of emergency report? What happened?"
There are many kinds of urgent reports for six hundred miles, such as border police, rebellion, civil commotion, and the kind that the cabinet ministers least want to hear.
The person in the middle school shouted: "Report disasters from Beizhili, Xuanfu and other places around the capital!
There was a sound of drums in the sky of Zhending Mansion, white clouds fell from the sky to the ground, like the sound of strong wind, falling stars fell to the ground, and there was a pit of half a foot!
The sound of drums in the sky was heard everywhere in the Xuanfu, and the fire light penetrated the sky, and the stars fell like buckets!"