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.
To be continued...