Li Ziqian returned to his house worriedly. After dinner, his favored concubine tried to nudge him a few times, but she was waved away unceremoniously.
He changed his clothes and sat in the study, drinking Biluochun tea from Song Dynasty, his frown furrowed and he could not open his eyes.
After waiting for a while, several guests were ushered in by the servant.
"We're all here, sit down quickly, it's really cold outside." Li Ziqian said politely.
The visitors were his cousin Li Zixuan, his in-laws Pu Jingren, Wang Zizhi, and his confidants Tuo Junjing and Xu Zai.
The five people sat down around Li Ziqian and approached the servant to make tea and serve it.
"This is the new tea from the Song Dynasty, Biluochun?"
"Exactly. It's the Jingsharen tea from Junshan Mountain in Taihu Lake in Jiangdong County of the Song Dynasty. Later, they named it Biluochun by their officials and sold it everywhere. I got a few kilograms of autumn tea here to taste with you." Li Ziqian looked heavenly.
Gao Yundan said calmly.
"What a good tea." Several people took a sip and praised each other.
Xu Zai rolled his eyes and said: "The Song Dynasty was rich in treasures and etiquette, so why did it become so vicious? It resorted to military warfare, spent countless resources, the soldiers were withered, and the people's strength was withered..."
The room was quiet, and Pu Jingren and others pretended to drink tea, as if they had never drank such delicious tea in their lives. In fact, they were secretly trying to figure out Li Ziqian's thoughts.
"Everyone, do you all know about the discussion before Lord Shouchang Palace?"
"I know." Pu Jingren and others looked at each other and replied one after another.
"Then tell me, can we win?"
Li Ziqian's question caused the room to become silent again.
"Brother Pu, tell me." After waiting for a while, Li Ziqian called his name. Pu Jingren is the oldest and most senior person here.
"I heard what Xiang Wu said so clearly. There is a great chance of winning." Pu Jingren replied cautiously.
"Yes, yes." Wang Zizhi, Tuo Junjing and Xu Zai praised.
"Silang, what do you think?" Li Ziqian asked his cousin Li Zixuan.
"If Prime Minister Cui and Prime Minister Wu win, it is just the icing on the cake for us. But what if we lose?" Li Zixuan asked.
This question made everyone present feel an undercurrent in their hearts.
Yes, if the war is defeated, the main war faction will have to take responsibility - at least hold up a few weighty heads to appease the anger of the Song monarchs and ministers. And as allies of the main war faction, will they go?
Jeolla Island, replaced Cui Hongsi, Jin Jingyong and other leaders and factions.
The kelp soup there is really not delicious!
"Mr. Li, what do you think?" Pu Jingren asked on behalf of the people present.
"Shiro is right. Winning is just the icing on the cake. Defeating is the end of the world. We must be fully prepared for defeat." Li Ziqian said quietly.
He glanced at everyone and his tone became more serious.
"I have tested Wu Xiang privately. He is not sure about defeating the Song army."
This sentence made the people present feel even colder. One of the leaders of the main war faction actually didn’t have much confidence in winning the war. How could he fight this battle?
"Mr. Li, what should we do?" Pu Jingren asked.
"We must be fully prepared. Even if we lose the battle, we cannot allow Cui Hongsi, Jin Jingyong and others to return to the court. We defeated them with our own hands and have already formed an sworn enemy. If they come back, the court will be in trouble
There is no place for us to stand." Li Ziqian stroked his beard and said slyly.
"Li Gong, if we lose the battle and the main war faction goes down, then the main peace faction will naturally revolt. How can we suppress Cui Hongsi, Jin Jingyong and others?" Wang Zizhi asked hesitantly.
"The Zhuhe faction has a large number of people, and it is not just Cui Hongsi, Jin Jingyong and others. During the fierce battle between Song and Liao the year before last, the courtiers fought hard because of whether Liao was the suzerain or Song was the suzerain. Cui Sisu, Yu Luchong, Gao Lingchen and others
, was defeated by Choi Hongsi and Kim Kyung-yong’s faction, and was exiled to Gyeongsang-do Island to drink seaweed soup.”
"Li Gong, do you mean that we secretly contact Cui Sisu, Yu Luchong, and Gao Lingchen's faction, and once the war shows signs of decline, we will immediately bring them into the court to replace the main fighting faction?" Xu Zai asked.
"Yes." Li Ziqian calculated, "We secretly colluded with Cui Sixu, Yu Luchong, Gao Lingchen and others to form an alliance. Once something goes wrong in the war, we will immediately take action and lure Cui Sixu, Yu Luchong, Gao Lingchen and others into the court. This way we can sell
With their good intentions, they can continue to be allies and block the way of Cui Hongsi and Jin Jingyong's faction to enter the court."
"Wonderful! Cui Sixu, Yu Luchong, Gao Lingchen and others are also mortal enemies of Cui Hongsi and Jin Jingyong's faction. They must be willing to join forces with us and form an alliance. When they enter the court, Cui Hongsi and Jin Jingyong's faction will never come back. Okay, Mr. Li
What a brilliant idea!" Wang Zizhi praised.
"This matter should be taken up sooner rather than later. Who knows when the war will change. Wang Zizhi, Xu Zai, you two, Cui Sisu, Yu Luchong, and Gao Lingchen have some old stories with you. Please come over immediately and have a good relationship.
"
"Okay, we'll leave tomorrow."
"Well, don't worry. As a magistrate, I am here to tell you that the war situation is tense now. In order to better mobilize manpower and food, we need to send envoys to various states to inventory warehouses and calculate the youth.
When the time comes, the two of you will go out of the capital together with the counting envoys, so as not to alert others."
"Snatching the enemy? Well, Mr. Li is very thoughtful. We must not only hide from the eyes and ears of the main war faction, but also be careful to let Cui Hongsi, Jin Jingyong and the rest of the faction notice our actions." Park Jingren agreed.
After discussing the details again, everyone stood up and left.
"Take all the tea away and clean it up. Make a new pot of tea, using the Liu'an melon slices that were sold by the Song Dynasty merchants a few days ago. Well, leave two cups."
Li Ziqian ordered.
After a while, Li Zixuan, who had left with everyone, quietly came back.
"Brother, why do you have to do this!" Li Zixuan went out for a walk, sat in a sedan and waited at the street corner for a while, feeling chilled all over. He approached the brazier and complained.
"Silang, it's not that I'm too careful, but I'm really worried. The spies of the Song Dynasty are really powerful. I heard that many of the courtiers and generals in the Northern Liao Dynasty were instigated to rebel."
Li Zixuan looked a little weird, and asked naa-naa: "The people here just now are either your relatives or your confidants, but you can't believe it?"
"Besides flesh and blood, who do I dare to trust? You and I have heard of the Song people's methods. Although they are my relatives and confidants, what the Song State can give is much more than what I can give."
Li Ziqian sighed.
"Brother, what are your orders for me to stay?" Li Zixuan was silent for a while and then went straight to the topic.
"What has happened to your Majesty recently?" Li Ziqian asked.
Li Zixuan and his friend Guo Yu practiced Taoism and were very skilled in Taoism. Therefore, they were trusted by the Taoist king, and they were named Kinmen Feather Guests. They were restricted from entering and leaving the palace as if they were in their own courtyard.
Li Zixuan understood the meaning of his eldest brother's words, thought for a while and said: "Eldest brother, Guo Yu's father Guo Shang was once a student of Yu Luchong, and the relationship between the two families is unusual. If the eldest brother helps Yu Luchong, Gao Lingchen, and Cui Sixu return to the court, I will worry about Guo Yu
He will be a great help to Yu Luchong."
"Well," Li Ziqian squinted his eyes and thought for a while, "Guo Yu's kindness is indeed too much. And he...has two minds about me. I have to be careful!"
"Gene Era"
Li Zixuan thought for a while and suggested: "There is an eminent monk Tan Zhen in Mercy Temple. He has profound Buddhist teachings and has a relationship with me. Would you like me to find an opportunity to recommend him to the king?"
Seeing that the eldest brother remained silent, Li Zixuan continued.
"Brother, the king is good at teaching and respects the Buddha. In the seventh or eighth year of his reign, he has been beaten more than ten times and received the Bodhisattva vows three times. I recommended the monk Tanzhen to the king, thus secretly sharing the favor of Lord Guo Yu. At the same time,
It can also help big brother."
"Okay, this is a wonderful move." Li Ziqian nodded and added: "Your Majesty, I have chosen two singers from the band, named Linglong and Yiyun. They are both talented and spent a lot of money.
With a lot of money, I asked a businessman from the Song Dynasty to hire two musicians from Yangzhou, and they taught them for two years. Now it's time to put them to use."
"Brother, you have no plans left." Li Zixuan praised.
The two brothers discussed for half an hour before Li Zixuan left again.
He quietly returned to his house in a sedan, washed himself, and finally lay down to rest. In the dead of night, a dark figure flashed out of the back door of Li Zixuan's house and quickly disappeared into the dark night. This chapter has been completed!
