Zhao Ji cursed secretly in his heart. He really wanted to agree, but he didn't want to set this precedent casually. After all, the Song Dynasty was established on the basis of ending warlord separatism, and the national policy was to emphasize culture and suppress military force, and what Mu Xu wanted

It just became a vassal town.

Looking at all the important ministers in the palace, Zhao Ji missed Cai Jing who had already retired as an official. If he were here today, he might not be able to provide him with some practical suggestions.

"That's all, that's all for today's discussion. Tong Aiqing, please hold on to the people coming from Yunzhou for the time being. Don't be too negligent."

As he said that, Zhao Ji looked at Wang Fu again, paused for a moment, and after finally feeling that Cai You was more to his liking, he said, "Cai Aiqing, it will be your responsibility to come forward and negotiate with envoy Mu Xu."

Tong Guan and Tong Guan looked at each other and hurriedly bowed to take orders.

After coming out of the palace, Cai You naturally followed Tong Guan's footsteps and asked him,

"Privy Council, please tell me the truth. Is Mu Xu's statement credible? If we continue to act like the court did last time, we two will not be able to communicate with the officials!"

Tong Guan hesitated for a moment, and after seeing no one else around, he replied truthfully, "I am worried about this, so I dare not speak out to the officials. Otherwise, how could I miss such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?"

Cai You nodded, then rolled his eyes and made a damaging move, "Then what kind of person is the envoy sent by Mu Xu? Is there any possibility that he can be bribed by us?"

"This... this person is quite sharp-tongued, I'm afraid it will be difficult to deal with." Tong Guan said hesitantly.

Cai You used himself to save others, but he did not agree with this. He was extremely confident and said, "Are there people in this world who have no desires? I don't believe it! I will invite envoy Mu Xu to a banquet at Fanlou tomorrow to test it out.

Give him a try."

Sure enough, Cai You kept his promise. For the next seven or eight days, he would entertain Lehe every day. During this period, in addition to being accompanied by beauties, he also presented a lot of gold and silver jewelry, hinting to Lehe that as long as Lehe is willing to be with

If the imperial court cooperates, it will be easy for high-ranking officials to receive generous salaries in the future.

When Le He went to the appointment for the first time, he guessed Cai You's plan. After just a brief calculation, he simply acted with Cai You while pretending to be a coward.

Facing the benefits offered by Cai You, Le Hena did not refuse anyone who came. It was not until the heat was almost over that he deliberately revealed some specious inside information to him through drunkenness.

Cai You had no doubt that he was there. After getting this news, he felt as if he had found a treasure. He went to the palace to see Zhao Ji that day and expressed his vow to him.

The reason why Mu Xu acted so abnormally was because he was seriously short of troops and worried that he would not be able to cope with the Liao people's counterattack, so he wanted to drag Song into trouble and relieve some pressure.

After hearing this, Zhao Ji felt deeply justified and immediately summoned the ministers again for discussion.

This time Zhao Ji's attitude was much firmer, and his words revealed his intention to take advantage of this opportunity to send troops to the Northern Expedition.

What can I say about the emperor Zhao Ji? Although he is incompetent in governing the country, he is a first-rate master in playing power. From Cai Jing's several resignations and subsequent reinstatements, we can get a glimpse of this.

In addition, during Zhao Ji's reign, the court was filled with sycophants, so he had very few constraints as an emperor. Unlike Renzong and Shenzong, the prime ministers could dare to contradict the emperor at every turn.

In this way, once Zhao Ji made up his mind, the officials had basically no choice but to obey him honestly.

A group of people discussed and discussed, but it was still the same old problem. They all felt that the other conditions were acceptable, but Mu Xu's request to become a prince was too much. They were afraid that agreeing to such a request would easily cause criticism and bring trouble to the world.

Those who rebel are off to a bad start.

Zhao Ji himself was wavering, but in the end it was Liang Shicheng's words that moved him. Liang Shicheng said this,

"I feel that there is no problem even if I agree to Mu Xu's request. Yunzhou is not owned by the Song Dynasty. As long as Mu Xu is willing to become a minister today, it means that the court has righteousness in hand and can intervene in the political affairs of Yunzhou openly in the future.

Furthermore, instead of worrying about Mu Xu becoming bigger, it is better to think about what if he cannot withstand the pressure of the Liao Kingdom and turns to the other side? By then, the court will not only lose the opportunity to regain Youyun, but Hedong will never have peace.

!”

Liang Shicheng's words of a different approach can be said to have awakened the dreamer. Not only did Zhao Ji feel that his words were reasonable, but even Zheng Juzhong, who was the most vocal in opposition, could not find anything to say to refute.

Seeing this, Zhao Ji immediately made a decision and said, "In this case, there is no need to discuss this matter anymore. I will make Mu Xu the Duke of Ying, the Jiedu Envoy of Yunzhou, and grant him the right to open a mansion and build a tooth."

Hearing this, Zheng Juzhong said unwillingly, "Officials, according to the old rules of the imperial court, the canonization of such a feudal official requires one to come to the court in person to express gratitude. I wonder if Mu Xu himself should come?"

Zhao Ji couldn't help but said, "Isn't Mu Xu afraid of taking risks alone?"

Zheng Juzhong didn't want to think about it but sneered, "Huh! This is an official decree and a golden statement. If Mu Xu dares not come, it means that he has something evil in his heart, just in time for the world to see clearly his wolfish ambitions."

Gao Qiu, who had been celebrating the festival with Mu Xu, his eyes lit up, and he immediately went out to agree, "Shilang Zheng's words are very kind. It would be best if Mu Xu didn't come. In the future, the court can use this as a way to seize him and send troops to conquer."

Block the mouth of the world."

With Zheng Juzhong and Gao Qiu taking the lead, Li Gang and others seconded the proposal.

After all, in the eyes of these people, Mu Xu is just a grass bandit leader. Even if he has troops and respects himself, he still can't be on the stage.

But he dared to risk the disapproval of the world and negotiate terms with the imperial court, which was really a heinous crime. According to Zheng Juzhong's idea, it would not only add trouble to him, but also prepare for a rainy day in the future, so why not do it?

Zhao Ji immediately followed the good advice and even issued a hypocritical decree at Wang Fu's suggestion to give Mu Xu a mansion in Beijing and several maids in the palace.

When Lehe learned about this from Tong Guan, he was full of reluctance and refuted it on the spot.

"The Liao people will not be willing to lose the Xijing Road and will send troops to retake it at any time. At such a critical moment, my village leader wants to stay and take charge of the overall situation. How can he leave at will?"

But Tong Guan also said, "This is the etiquette and rules of the Song Dynasty. If you make an exception for your family leader, where will the dignity of the country be?"

Moreover, the leader of your village once said that he wanted to imitate King Qian's old deeds. Then he should know clearly that in the past, King Qian's whole country surrendered to the Song Dynasty, so he did not come to Beijing to pay homage to the emperor.

If the leader of your village sincerely wishes to surrender to the Song Dynasty, he should condescend to come to the capital instead of just sending envoys. This is disrespectful to the imperial court and officials."

Lehedai was about to argue with Tong Guan again, but he suddenly told him that Zhao Guan's family had already made a decree to clear up the matter.

He immediately frowned, knowing that it would be extremely difficult to change this matter, so he had to endure his discomfort and write a letter, attaching the whole story, and sent someone to Yunzhou as fast as possible to hand it over to Mu Xu for personal review.

After going back and forth like this, more than a month had passed since Lehe received Mu Xu's reply. What he never expected was that Mu Xu actually replied in the letter that he could go to Beijing to pay homage to the Emperor of the Song Dynasty, but he had to

It was after Wang Qing recruited An.

Although I don't know how Mu Xu came to such a decision, the matter has come to this, and Lehe, who is far away in Tokyo, has no choice but to formally inform Tong Guan about the matter.

Even Lehe was surprised by Mu Xu's decision, not to mention Zhao Ji and his ministers. After learning the news, they were confused, and finally came to a conclusion after some discussion.

There may be three reasons why Mu Xu set out this condition.

First, Mu Xu and Wang Qing had a private agreement. This move was to support Wang Qing and prevent the court from despising Wang Qing. From the fact that Mu Xu could easily persuade Wang Qing to recruit him, it can be seen that the two men had a deep collusion in private.

Second, Mu Xu may have wanted to use Wang Qing's recruitment to test the court's bottom line and sincerity, so as to make a clear judgment on whether he would come to Beijing in the future and whether he would cooperate with the court in attacking Liao.

Third, if the imperial court's arrangements for Wang Qing were inappropriate, Mu Xu would most likely use this as an excuse to refuse to come to Beijing.

Consciously seeing through the conspiracy, Zhao Ji and his ministers certainly did not want to give Mu Xu another chance to talk.

At that moment, Zhao Ji issued an order to Tong Guan, ordering him to speed up the implementation of Wang Qing's recruitment.

In fact, Zhao Ji and his ministers were simply overthinking it. Mu Xu proposed this condition just because he and Wang Qing had an agreement in advance, so he wanted to take the opportunity to go to Tokyo to settle the matter.

It is said that after receiving the urgent letter from Lehe, there was a quarrel within Liangshan about whether Mu Xu would go to Beijing, and everyone expressed their opinions.

Generally speaking, the civilian faction headed by the Ruan brothers, as well as the heroes who defected to Fang La, all expressed fierce opposition, saying bluntly that they could not trust the imperial court.

However, Hu Yanzhuo, Guan Sheng and other factions from the imperial court suggested that Mu Xu agree. The reason they gave was that since the Zhao Guan family had issued an explicit edict, they were not afraid of the imperial court going back on its word. Otherwise, where would the emperor's majesty be and how would he be able to rule in the future?

The world?

Mu Xu himself is inclined to the latter. He is not afraid of any tricks played by the Song Dynasty court. With his current skills, it may not be possible for one person to defeat an army, but if he just wants to simply escape from Tokyo City, it will be a piece of cake.

Things.

Seeing that everyone was arguing more and more fiercely, but Mu Xu did not express his position for a while, Xu Guanzhong, as a military advisor, had to stand up and stop him,

"Brothers, please don't hurt your harmony and listen quietly to what the small business has to say."

After everyone calmed down, Xu Guanzhong cupped his hands towards Mu Xu and continued,

"In Xiaosheng's opinion, the leader of the village should still take action. As the Huyan brothers said, what the Song Dynasty court has issued is a clear decree, and it is meant to be seen by the world.

Due to emotions and reasons, they do not dare to take excessive actions. If not, who will dare to trust the imperial court in the future?"

Having said this, Xu Guanzhong faced everyone again and continued to explain,

"There is another important reason why I urge the leader of the village to come to Beijing, and that is the issue of status. As the saying goes, if the name is not right, the words will not be right. Although we are powerful now, in the eyes of the surrounding countries, we are still just a bunch of bandits.

, cannot enter the eyes of others.

But if the Song Dynasty court approves and endorses it, it means that we can get rid of our current embarrassing status, and it will be much more convenient to deal with other countries in the future. Of course, this is just a humble opinion. As for whether to go or not, it is up to the village owner.

Make your own decision."

Mu Xu clapped his hands with a smile and said, "The words of the military advisor are very suitable to my liking. The emperor and ministers of the Song Dynasty gave such a difficult problem because they were sure that I did not dare to go, and they wanted to force me to lower the terms of cooperation between the two parties, but I

I won’t let them get what they want.”

"When does the leader of the village plan to set off? I wonder which brothers to go with him?" Lin Chong asked.

Mu Xu waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, I once promised Wang Qing that after he was recruited, I would write to the court to give him a strong reputation so that the kings and ministers of the Song Dynasty would not dare to cross the river and demolish the bridge easily. This is an opportunity, so I decided to do it this time

Doing this at the same time can be regarded as killing two birds with one stone."

After saying that, he suddenly saw Lin Chong looking like he was hesitating to speak, out of the corner of his eye, and couldn't help but wonder, "Do you have something to say, Coach?"

Lin Chong said embarrassedly, "I left Beijing that day and I was in such a hurry that I didn't even say hello to many of my friends, so..."

Mu Xu shook his head and laughed. He still couldn't guess what Lin Chong was thinking. This guy was not going to reminisce with his friends. He clearly saw that Mu Xu was about to build a mansion, and his status was bound to rise, so he had the idea of ​​returning to his hometown in glory.

Mu Xu would not refuse such a small request, and he agreed without saying anything. He also smiled and asked everyone present, "Is there any other brother who wants to go to the capital with us? Come quickly. If you pass this village,

But this store no longer exists!”

Everyone, look at me and I look at you. Several people showed signs of excitement, but they didn't want to be beaten by Chai Jin, "Chai is quite familiar with Tokyo. How about Xiao Ke being the guide for the village leader?"

The few people who were robbed of the opportunity secretly regretted being a step too late, but they had no choice but to watch as Mu Xu nodded in agreement, then ordered Wu Song, and Shi Xiu and others followed.

The above is Mu Xu's reaction after receiving Lehe's urgent report.

But the imperial court didn't know. In order to make Mu Xu speechless, after receiving Zhao Ji's order, Tong Guan didn't dare to delay for a moment. He immediately sent envoys to see Wang Qing, and even went there himself.

Luoyang was stationed in order to negotiate with Wang Qing at any time.

Finally, with Tong Guan's hard work, it took less than two months for both parties to quickly finalize all the recruitment matters. Wang Qing also agreed to hand over the troops and horses under his command, and then dismissed a group of subordinates who did not want to be officials.

Then he went to Beijing to see the emperor.

After waiting for more than ten days, as soon as Fang received the exact news of Wang Qing's departure, Tong Guan couldn't wait to tell Lehe and urged him to send a letter to Mu Xu to come to Beijing as soon as possible.

Of course, Lehe knew that Tong Guan would not make fun of this matter, but he still deliberately changed his appearance to verify the authenticity, and then, with Tong Guan's expression filled with hatred, he sent someone to send a message to Yunzhou.

After receiving the report, Mu Xu immediately entrusted the affairs to Xu Guanzhong and several other confidants, and took the three leaders Lin Chong, Wu Song, and Shi Xiu, as well as a hundred cavalry, from Yanmen Pass into Hedong.
Chapter completed!