Obado was a Khitan envoy and was proficient in Chinese and the customs of the Central Plains. He also gave himself a Chinese name, Xu Cao.
Nowadays, all foreign affairs bureaus are the most leisurely, except when they are on official business. As the Khitan envoy, Oba Duo proudly came to Kaifeng to submit his credentials, and then moved into the Concierge Courtyard. The food of the Song Dynasty was exquisitely prepared.
In his opinion, it was the most exquisite and delicious food. Of course, this was only his private opinion. In front of the people in the reception hall, he was picky and dissatisfied.
At lunch time, he provoked another fight and summoned the clerk from the Concierge House. Xu Cao sternly condemned the Concierge House for treating him, the Khitan envoy, with insufficient food standards and making the food so unpalatable that it looked like a pig.
Eat, wait until he has had enough of his prestige, and drive the poor clerk out, and then enjoy the sumptuous lunch, with his pigtails in the air.
After lunch, Xu Cao was holding a pot of tea and was picking his teeth with a toothpick. Several of his followers were like thieves, carrying back large and small bundles.
"Sir, I came back from shopping for some things today. I think it's almost done. If I buy another car, I won't be able to fit it in."
"Hmm..." Xu Cao jumped up. The attendants opened the packages and boxes, and saw that they were filled with exquisite silks, thin porcelain and other expensive and gorgeous Central Plains products. You can't blame them. Although the Northern Kingdom is relatively
The Song Dynasty was founded more than fifty years ago, and its industry and commerce were relatively developed, but it could never produce such beautiful products.
After finally going on a business trip, of course I have to be firm in my stance, and of course my actions must not harm the Khitan national character, but... coming all the way here, a few followers buying one or two souvenirs for their families, doesn't count.
It’s embarrassing. There are so many things that you can open a store? Nonsense. I have many relatives at home, isn’t it?
Xu Cao took inventory of the goods with satisfaction, mentally calculating how many times the profit he could make by taking them back and reselling them. Suddenly he remembered something and said hurriedly: "Hey, Luo Shangguan told us, have you ever bought the hairpins we brought?"
Are you coming?"
"I've bought it, I've bought it. Look, sir, there's a box full of phoenix hairpins here. Let Luo Shangguan choose when you go back. If she likes it, just give it to her. Miss Luo is a Shangguan, and she belongs to the Queen's side.
The most favored female officer, if she is happy and gives you a nice word, the next time she has this job, it will be yours."
Xu Cao quickly grabbed the box, poured it on the table with a "hula", picked them up one by one and looked at them one by one. After looking at them for a long time, Xu Cao got angry and hit them all: "You ineffective bastards, my lord
Isn’t it clear enough? I don’t want gold hairpins, I don’t want silver hairpins, I don’t want jade hairpins, I want… I want…”
Xu Cao's face turned red, he gestured for a long time, and then he yelled in a very despicable manner: "I want a fake crested silver hairpin, do you understand? It has to be made of wood, painted with a layer of silver, and the phoenix pearl needs to be made of rosin, Luo Shangguan
Despite all the instructions, you... you can't handle such a small thing?"
Those followers were beaten all over their faces by him, and they covered their heads and said quietly: "I...we have asked, but there are no such hairpins for sale. The jewelry sellers heard that we wanted to buy such cheap hairpins, and they all
They laughed at us, saying that they were cheap goods that could only be sold in the countryside and made little money. How could they be sold in Kaifeng city? These hairpins were a hundred times more expensive than the hairpins the adults mentioned. How could it be possible for Luo Shangguan to see them?
Not happy..."
Another attendant's eyes lit up and he clapped his hands and said: "Yes, sir, from what I've seen, the more expensive the hairpin Luo Shangguan wants, the better. I'm just embarrassed to tell you, so I specified what kind of lacquered silver hairpin I want."
Mu Chai, this must be an irony. My mother-in-law once said that in a daughter’s family, it’s easy to speak irony. If you don’t want it, you want it. If you hate it, you like it. Mu Chai is gold..."
"Pah!" Before he could finish speaking, he received a loud slap on the cheek. Xu Cao cursed: "Fuck your mother's bullshit. Luo Shangguan repeatedly warned you that there is still room for lies. Sir, I don't even listen to whether your words are sarcastic or not."
Don’t you want to come out? Go, don’t eat, get out of here. Don’t go to a place that sells expensive goods. They want to trick you into buying expensive jewelry. Can you not say that there are no such cheap goods? Go into the alley.
Go to the little peddlers and brokers who sell goods on loaders. If you can't buy something today, don't fucking come back. You are a bunch of idiots..."
Xu Cao scolded him so bitterly that several of his followers hurriedly ran away with their heads in their hands. As soon as they left, the flattering voice of the clerk in the reception hall sounded outside: "Liu Gongcao of Honglu Temple, please see the Khitan envoy Mr. Obada."
"Oh?" Xu Cao jumped up and quickly piled all the big and small packages on the bed. Seeing that there was no time to pick up the jewelry on the table, he simply took a bag with the tablecloth and threw it all on the bed, then lowered the curtains and ran back
Sitting upright at the table, he said calmly: "Come in."
Liu Linxi walked in with a sullen face, stood at the door and bowed her hands to him: "Messenger Obado, the leader of our country has read your country's credentials and has written a reply and ordered me to send it to you.
Give it to the messenger."
"Huh?" Obado stood up in surprise: "Have you already written a reply? Didn't the Emperor of Song Dynasty see me? Our Emperor is the envoy of the edict. He must wait for the real news from your country before he can reply. This
It's not easy to come and go, so I would like to ask Liu Gongcao to explain clearly what the emperor of your country means."
Liu Linxi never expected that the emperor actually agreed to the letter of credence drafted by Yang Hao. Without even reading a single word, he copied it and stamped it with his seal. Feeling depressed, he listened to his question and picked up some of Yang Hao's words.
He said something important to him, then rolled his eyes and coldly snorted: "I, the Emperor of the Song Dynasty, that's what I mean. I would like to ask your envoy to report back to His Majesty the Emperor of your country. He can become an enemy or a friend, all in his mind.
Our Emperor will just wait for the response."
"I will not offend anyone unless they offend me; if someone offends me, I will offend them. If anyone regards my lord as an enemy, my lord must be his most qualified enemy!" Obado repeated and took a breath.
Air-conditioning, he nodded and said: "Okay, good-tempering, my lord..., may I ask Liu Gongcao, who is the person who drafted the credentials for your country's court this generation?"
Liu Linxi said angrily: "He... is Yang Hao, the left minister of Honglu Temple."
Obado frowned and said: "Qing Zuo, there is another right Qing. Your country's Young Master Honglu, isn't Mr. Gao Xianggao? When did you establish two young ministers?"
Liu Linxi said casually: "Yesterday."
"Yesterday?" Obado said in surprise: "Yesterday? I don't know who Yang Zuoshi is?"
Liu Linxi curled her lips and briefly explained Yang Hao's origins to him, then presented him with the credentials and said in a straight-forward manner: "Messenger from Ebadoo..."
Obado grabbed it and sneered: "I remember it!"
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"Oh~~oh oh oh oh..."
With the sound of shouts and horse hooves rushing like a shower, a group of brave knights roared past, and quickly formed a tight encirclement with other knights who came together. This circle was very large, and the panicked beasts were driven into this circle.
It is getting denser and denser in the middle. Even among natural enemies, in the face of the common enemy of mankind, they now have to fight side by side and resist stubbornly.
"Send the order, get out of the way on the west road!"
The encirclement was getting smaller and smaller, and the groups of wild beasts with nowhere to escape became ferocious and tried to take the initiative to counterattack. A pretty woman who was looking down at the hunting scene sat upright on her horse and gave orders in a sweet voice.
The flag was waving, and the knights surrounded on all sides moved away from the hillside where the woman was. Countless beasts, big and small, seemed to have found the flood vent and ran towards this direction. The woman picked up the reins and scolded.
Then he pounced down the hillside and at the same time took the arrow from the arrow pot behind his back.
Behind her, there was a group of female soldiers who were as strong as tigers and as strong as dragons. They were all wearing silver-white war robes. They were all big girls with bright eyes and white teeth, and pretty faces. But it was the woman who was at the front who was strong and murderous.
, wearing a silver-white battle robe, with a hat made of white wolf scalp on his head. The wolf's head has ears raised high, and there is something in the eye socket. It is black and shiny, and looks lifelike.
But this girl was born as soft and beautiful as water, and her skin was so tender that it could drip water. With her flowery face, the snow-white wolf head hat on her head was as cute as a puppy. But although this woman's appearance is charming, she
The heroic posture of galloping on horseback, with bow and arrow drawn, reveals a certain degree of valor in the charm, no less than those male warriors hunting.
Arrows were like a shower of arrows, and many wild beasts that rushed fiercely were nailed to the ground. Then the entire charging cavalry quickly arced to the right, avoiding direct conflicts with the wild beasts, and at the same time, they kept firing arrows to stop them.
.Those wild beasts were also afraid of the horse formation composed of hundreds of horses, and took advantage of the opportunity to gallop to the left.
However, another target suddenly appeared from behind the slope. The leader was also a female general. She was wearing a fiery red battle robe, with a shining heart-protecting mirror on her chest, and pure white robes and necklaces.
She has silver fox fur, and a long bunch of pheasant feathers flutters on the silver helmet on her head. Behind her is a team of female soldiers wearing fiery red uniforms.
They were like another wave that surged up before the previous wave subsided, rushing towards the group of beasts. At the same time, the woman in the silver shirt had already turned around, like a chisel, cutting the beasts.
The group was divided into two. In the distance, the encircling team was already rushing towards them, forming an encirclement force again. After repeated strangulation, the herd gradually became thinner and weaker, and had no power to resist. The two groups of female generals rode out of the hunt.
On the scene, the encircled knights raised their sharp steel knives and began the final battle like mowing grass...
The female general in the silver-white shirt took off the wolf-headed hat on her head, her forehead was wet with sweat, and a few locks of hair stuck to her fair forehead. A shy smile that was not commensurate with her just now showed on her face: "Empress...
"
The beautiful girl in red clothes rode a horse to her side and praised: "Yes, Dong'er is indeed very smart. This is the first time she has commanded a hunt, and she did not disappoint me."
The beautiful woman in this silver-white war robe, with a horse on her crotch, a knife on her ribs, a bow in her hand, and an arrow on her back, turned out to be Luo Dong'er. After hearing Xiao Chuo's praise, Luo Dong'er said: "She is not as brave as the empress. Just now Dong'er felt very uneasy.
I'm afraid that if I mismanage the command and let the beast go, my sisters will laugh."
Empress Xiao laughed heartily: "You are my Shang Palace, who dares to laugh at you? Come on, let them clean the wild things, let's go."
The two women walked side by side, Xiao Chuo said: "There is a saying in your Han art of war, which is that the besieging troops will be short of troops. We Khitan people know this truth before we have read your Han art of war. Wounded beasts that are surrounded are the most terrifying.
By opening an opening at the right time to give them hope of escaping, and setting up real traps outside the siege, we can best reduce our own casualties when hunting them. By integrating the art of war into hunting and understanding the art of war during hunting, we
The tactics and tactics of the grassland people were learned from this."
"Well, Dong'er has memorized the teachings of the empress." Dong'er bent her head and smoothed her hair. Half of her pink neck was exposed in the brocade robe. The neck lines were soft, slender and beautiful, with slightly transparent skin and soft and smooth curves.
Her black hair hangs casually on the side of her neck. At this moment, she is full of softness. Although she is dressed in military uniform, she no longer looks like she is on the battlefield.
Xiao Chuo glanced at her with a smile, lifted the reins and said in a low voice: "We people in the grassland learn the art of war from hunting, and we learn the art of war from the prey. War is hunting, but it hunts people, not beasts. We learn
The most popular tactics are wolf tactics. When wolves besiege prey, they will carefully observe the prey and wait patiently for the best opportunity to attack. Once they attack, they mostly use the encirclement method to ensure that the target will not escape. When attacking,
The alpha wolf will carefully observe the target's reaction, and when it is needed most, he will take the lead and launch a full-scale attack. At the same time, all wolves will unswervingly execute the alpha wolf's orders without any compromise."
Xiao Chuo paused, then smiled and said: "Our tactics are mainly Xi Zilang's tactics. It talks about striking first. Don't wait for the enemy to pull out the arrow, shoot through his throat first. This is the sharpest attack. Our tactics
That is: attack, attack, attack! Always establish the battlefield on the enemy's territory.
This tactic is because we don’t have much supplies to fight a war of attrition. At the same time, we have a large number of horses. Our speed ensures that we have absolute initiative. The cavalry is not without natural enemies, but only fools will stand there and wait.
Armed with archers, pistols, and spear throwers, we can fight us in a decisive battle. We can wear them down. Our speed can ensure that we enter the battle before our opponents have established sufficient resistance formations. We can maximize our advantages and fall like the sky.
, disappearing like lightning can guarantee our victory!"
Luo Dong'er smiled softly and said: "Dong'er can't remember what the queen said. Dong'er is just a servant of the queen. She just goes hunting. She has no chance to fight, so she is of no use."
Xiao Chuo said angrily: "Why can't we use it? Our daughter's family on the grassland is no worse than that of men. Your Majesty... Alas, your Majesty is weak and sick, and I have to take care of many things. You may not have a chance to go to the battlefield.
You are a person who was trained by me personally. When the time comes, you must not let me down."
"Me?" Dong'er's eyes flashed slightly, and he asked seemingly casually: "Dong'er is a Han Chinese, does he have the opportunity to lead the army for the empress?"
Xiao Chuo raised his eyebrows and said in a loud voice: "I have always been eclectic in employing people. People from the Central Plains choose to choose a thousand-mile horse, so they need to learn the Xianma Sutra. We grassland people don't need it. You will understand it after a competition. You are really talented.
, then use it, no matter he is a noble or a slave, no matter he is a Khitan or a Huihe, or a Qiang, a Han, or a Bohai tribesman, only talents can be used. Don’t you Mr. Han people say that the sea is open to all rivers, and tolerance is great?
"
Xiao Chuo curled his lips slightly and said disdainfully: "But they are the ones who say that. They are the ones who look down on the so-called barbarians and are arrogant."
Dong'er only said yes, turned her head slightly, looked back to the south, and asked in a low voice: "Is it difficult for the empress to send troops to attack because the Song people attacked and killed our soldiers this time, and executed Xi Zuo who pretended to be a merchant?"
Xiao Chuo's dark eyebrows frowned slightly, and he sighed softly: "The emperor is ill again and cannot go to court for more than half a month. Some evil-minded tribes are starting to make trouble again. I must take charge at this time.
How can we go to Beijing to start a war again? Your proposal to amend the credential without fighting is a good way to save our dignity. Let's see how the Emperor of Song responds. Even if the talks break down, we can't use troops now. Now...
…”
Xiao Chuo pointed the riding whip slowly and said calmly: "Now, I have to clean up the backyard first!"
When he returned to the palace, he saw Luo Kedi, who was now acting as the steward of Shang Palace. Luo Kedi smiled and said, "Looking at your face, I should not have lost the queen's face by personally directing the hunt this time."
Dong'er smiled and said: "Your Majesty gave you careful instructions, and your fourth brother taught you secretly. Dong'er is a stupid apprentice, but he has combined the essence of you two masters of war. After a hunt, your Majesty is still satisfied." At this point, she said
The smile faded, and he sighed quietly, and then said: "But... although I have become more and more popular with the empress and gained her trust, she still won't let me go out to do things for a while. Although she has relaxed her guard against you,
But it’s not yet to the point where you can leave without attracting alert. You are still not allowed to leave Beijing, and you are not allowed to familiarize yourself with the path back south. What should we do?”
Luo Kedi frowned, pondered for a while, and said with a wry smile: "Fourth brother asked you to win the trust of Empress Xiao. His original intention was to make them relax their vigilance. Unexpectedly, it was self-defeating. Now Empress Xiao is very dependent on you and is very close to you. The emperor is weak.
This empress is so lonely that she always comes to sleep with you at night and won't let you leave her for a moment, which is difficult. However, she is trusting you more and more, which is a good start. Let's look for more..."
As soon as he said this, a girl's voice came from the courtyard: "Luoshang Palace, is your brother here? I want him to accompany me to horse racing."
Luo Kedi's tone was choked, and Luo Dong'er couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle: "Fourth brother, I am now entangled with the empress and I can't escape. Are you the same? This princess, I'm afraid she likes you."
Luo Kedi said sternly: "Don't talk nonsense, this princess... just likes to play. I am a general of the Song Dynasty, and now I am a prisoner of the Khitan. How can I have anything to do with her."
"Fourth brother, don't be too conciliatory. It will always be easier for us to leave if we make more friends with royal nobles." Luo Dong'er persuaded and hurriedly said: "Is it Princess Ya? Dong'er is assigning some things to him. Ya
The princess is here, why don’t you come in..."
Dong'er said, and went out, only to see a girl standing in the courtyard, waving her riding whip up and down in boredom. This girl was Emperor Yelvxian's sister, Princess Yeluya. She was sixteen or seventeen years old, with thick eyebrows.
She has straight eyes, regular facial features, soft lips, and a touch of virgin hair on her lips. She is a lively and cheerful girl. Her skin is shiny and delicate, like wheat soaked in sunshine. Her figure is different from Luo Dong'er's slender and graceful body, and her body is plump and strong.
, but with a wasp waist and long legs, it has a healthy taste.
Hearing Dong'er's words, Princess Yeluya said with disappointment: "Luo Kedi has something to do? Then you can't accompany me to the Royal Garden..."
Dong'er smiled slightly and said: "It's not a big deal. Since Princess Ya has to go on a trip, just ask him to accompany the princess to the Royal Garden. Fourth brother..."
Dong'er turned around and glanced at Luo Kedi. Luo Kedi took a breath and walked out with his hair stiffened. As soon as Yeluya saw Luo Kedi, she immediately came up to him happily, pulled him up and walked away, and at the same time raised his voice:
"Luoshang Palace, thank you."
Luo Kedi said politely: "Your Highness, let go, Your Highness, Ke Di is just a slave, Your Highness..."
"Stop talking nonsense, let's go, let's go. Today I have an appointment with my three and four brothers for horse racing and archery. You have to help me suppress their arrogance..."
Dong'er looked at their backs and sighed, then raised his head and looked at a corner of the palace wall: "Has Brother Hao and the Han people escaped safely back to the Song Dynasty? Brother Hao must be fine, but I don't know how he is now.
, Dong'er finally gained the trust of Empress Xiao, but for fear of failing in her success, she didn't dare to ask the envoys to inquire about you this time to the Song Dynasty. Brother Hao, are you okay now?"
Brother Hao is in a very bad situation now. He is about to turn into a street rat. Those who love him want to build an immortal memorial arch and offer him three sticks of incense a day. Those who hate him cut out a paper man and beat him hard with the soles of his shoes.
, I wish I could chop him into pieces.
Because grain and rice were continuously transported to Kaifeng, the imperial court spent too much on purchasing grain and grass at high prices during this period. Zhao Guan's family gritted their teeth with hatred: the imperial court was short of grain, and millions of residents in Kaifeng were in danger, but those grain merchants
They have more methods and are more efficient than the imperial court. They can transport food faster than the imperial court. Not only do they transport food from the Jianghuai River, they also transport food from the northwest and Shandong to Kaifeng, regardless of whether there will be a shortage there.
If you want to make a big profit out of food, now is the time to dig into the pit.
Therefore, Zhao Guanjia couldn't wait to announce that the capital has sufficient grain and rice. The grain that is still being transported through the canal is being used as a reserve for the court. It will be enough for more than three years. However, the food crisis has been resolved and the supply of grain is open.
As much as you can buy, the official warehouse will sell you as much. Before the capital was short of food, a dou of grain cost seventy cents. After the news of the food shortage spread, the price of food kept rising. Now it has risen to two hundred cents a dou of grain. From now on
Since then, the grain sales in the official warehouse have returned to their original price, which is still seventy cents.
Those wealthy gentry who spent a lot of their wealth to snap up a large amount of grain and filled their vats, urns, bamboo baskets, and kang pits with grain, beat their chests sadly, and happily bought large quantities of grain at high prices and transported it to the capital in preparation for making a fortune.
The profiteers wept bitterly and even wanted to jump into the river.
Yang Hao, who had no idea what was going on, went to work in the Yamen again early in the morning. When he arrived at the gate of Honglu Temple, he suddenly slapped his forehead and turned around to leave. Two shopaholics, Wa Wa and Yanyan, bought a lot of things from the Jianghuai area.
Among the local specialties, there is five kilograms of white fish, but why did I forget to take it?
