A moment later, the Zhao family solemnly walked out of the Purple Mansion Hall, escorted by Eunuch Wang and several imperial guards. The Liao Kingdom's seven-man diplomatic corps, which had been occupying the hall's aisle just now, retreated to the right side of the hall under the orders of the Liao Kingdom's princess. Coincidentally, they stood opposite the eight-man Song Dynasty ministers standing on the left side of the hall.
Zhao Defang, who was still holding his stomach and laughing, immediately shut his mouth when he heard the singing. He retracted his smile and lowered his head. He cupped his hands and bowed to the Zhao family's official who passed by them with the few ministers at the head of the table.
Immediately, the entire hall fell silent. The Song Dynasty ministers and members of the Liao diplomatic mission standing in the hall could only hear the heartbeats of themselves and their colleagues beside them. The only sound left was the pattering footsteps of the Zhao family and the people who escorted him into the hall.
However, what surprised Zhao Defang was that when she attended the morning court session in this Purple Mansion Hall more than ten days ago, she heard Eunuch Wang's voice that was sharp and ear-piercing. It was not much different from the voice of an old woman. Today, he emitted a masculine voice that was full of energy. It can really be said that a scholar should be looked at in a new light after three days of separation!
After Zhao Defang thought about this, the Zhao family, who had boarded the throne and sat on the dragon chair, swept his fierce eyes across the Great Song's ministers and the Liao Kingdom's diplomatic mission on both sides of the hall. He did not get angry, but he said indifferently,"I believe that the diplomatic mission of the Liao Kingdom is on my left. I have been dealing with the mountain of documents in Chuigong Hall today and am a little late. I hope that the members of the diplomatic mission of the Liao Kingdom who have come from afar can understand my busy official duties.”
After hearing the reason for the late arrival, the officials of the Great Song standing on the left side of the hall couldn't help but smile and secretly give their officials a thumbs up. Even if we're late, we have to find someone to make these thieves from Liao Kingdom unable to find a reason.
However, the members of the Liao diplomatic mission standing on the right side of the hall did not think so. In his opinion, the reason why the Emperor of Song was late was just an excuse. Even though they were busy with official business, they had already been in this hall for nearly two hours. If they were to neglect the envoys of the neighboring countries like this, it meant that they were looking down on them. On the way to the Purple Mansion Hall, they had long recognized the palace hall with the hanging "Chuigong Hall" on the door. It was merely a few hundred feet away from this Purple Mansion Hall. Even if they crawled over, it probably wouldn't need four hours of effort either.
Thus, Ye Lui Xiu Ge, who had been waiting impatiently, snorted in disdain. However, when he thought about how the old Prime Minister of the Great Song did not accept his apology under his coercion, and how he had always been obedient to his princess, he did not know if the princess was telling the truth or not. He did not know if he was telling the truth.
Thinking of this, his heart was in a mess. His high fighting spirit was replaced by a trance.
The other seven members of the Khitan envoy felt that they and the Liao Kingdom behind them were truly despised by the Song Emperor after hearing the words of the Song Emperor. They gritted their teeth and were secretly furious.
Fortunately, there was one person among them who could keep his cool. That was the princess of Liao Kingdom that Ye Lui Xiu Ge had mentioned. After hesitating for a moment, she gently took two steps forward and stood up. She turned around to face the Zhao family's official sitting on the dragon throne five feet away from her. She lowered her body and leaned forward slightly. She cupped her hands and bowed. She replied generously,"The official is the emperor of the Song Dynasty. The official is busy with government affairs and can't get away for a while. We are already content to be able to take time out of his busy schedule to meet us. Although we have been bitterly waiting in this hall for the emperor's carriage for nearly two hours, it is only right.”
Seeing a young and beautiful woman standing out from the Liao Kingdom's diplomatic mission and saying such righteous words to him, the Zhao family's tiger eyes swept across the room. He found that this young woman was not only handsome, but also had an extraordinary temperament. She was graceful and noble. She must be an important figure in the Liao Kingdom's diplomatic mission, so he nodded slightly.
"If the Great Khan, civil officials, and generals of the Liao Kingdom were as understanding and understanding as you are, there would not be so many disputes between the Great Song and the Liao Kingdom at the border. May I ask what position you hold in your country's diplomatic mission to Great Song, and why have you come to Great Song?”After the Zhao family glanced at the princess of the Liao Kingdom in front of him, a faint smile hung on his expressionless face as he asked in a pleasant manner.
"Returning to the imperial family, this subject is the envoy visiting your country. The people behind me are responsible for escorting this subject. Our Great Khan of the Liao Kingdom has sent me as an envoy to your country. Just as the official said, I have specially come to discuss the border issue between our two countries in the north.”The princess of the Liao Kingdom, who had her head lowered and her waist bent, cupped her fists and bowed to the Zhao family, who was sitting on the dragon throne. However, she did not humble or overbearing as she explained her purpose of coming.
After saying this, the young princess of the Liao Kingdom put down her hand and stood up straight. She pushed her chest forward, and a faint smile hung on her snow-white cheeks. She smiled and said,"However, what this subject doesn't understand is that our Great Liao's way of visiting a neighboring country is to arrive on time. Of course, our Great Liao's way of receiving guests is to arrive at the place to receive guests before guests from afar. Today, this subject has witnessed your dynasty's way of receiving guests is exactly the opposite of our Great Liao. I would like to ask if your court is a country of etiquette. Is your court's hospitality the same as our Great Liao's?”
Sitting on the dragon throne, when the Zhao official heard the young Khitan woman say that she was the envoy of the Liao Kingdom to the Great Song, his expressionless face revealed a surprise that was not easily noticed by others. However, it flashed past.
When he heard the young woman continue to mock him for neglecting the diplomatic mission of the Liao Kingdom as the ruler of a country of etiquette, the Zhao family's dragon face immediately became unhappy. He had been mocking the Great Khan of the Liao Kingdom for sending a Khitan woman as an envoy to the Song Dynasty. At this moment, he truly understood that this thin and weak Khitan woman was a powerful character who was not inferior to men from her calm words and actions.
"How dare you, the princess of the Liao Kingdom, be so rude in your life. How dare you speak rudely to the officials of the Song Dynasty? This old minister requests that the officials chase this woman and the people of the Liao Kingdom who came with her out of the palace and expel them.”Ye Tianlong, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites, was the first to step forward. He cupped his hands and asked the Zhao family to come forward. He was furious.
As for the other officials of the Song Dynasty who were in the same row as him, although they knew that they had lost their manners in receiving guests, they did not know how to fight back against the princess of Liao Kingdom. Fortunately, Ye Tianlong stood out and they all echoed.
"Ministers, since ancient times, China has never killed envoys. From the day I ascended the throne, I announced to the world that I will govern the world with great virtue.”The calm and composed Zhao official pretended to be magnanimous and waved his hand at the officials. Then, he changed the topic and looked at Prince Jin Zhao Guangyi, who looked like he was not involved in the matter. He asked with a pleasant expression,"Jin Wang Guangyi, what did you think after hearing the words of this female envoy from Liao Kingdom? Why don't you tell me?"
"In response to Imperial Brother's words, although I don't agree with what the princess of the Liao Kingdom said, I don't know how to comment. Imperial Brother, please let me think about it before answering Imperial Brother's question.”Prince Jin, Zhao Guangyi, naturally knew that they were in the wrong in the way they treated their guests, so he could only lie that he had not thought of a countermeasure to deal with the Zhao family's question in order to continue to stay out of the matter and not offend either.
"Since Prince Jin has not thought of it, then Prime Minister Zhao Pu, do you agree with what the princess of Liao said just now? Or what do you think?" Seeing that his brother could not be counted on at this time, the Zhao family sighed lightly and turned his gaze to Prime Minister Zhao Pu, asking expectantly.
"This old minister does not know what to say to the official. I hope that the official will allow this old minister to think about it before answering the official's question.”Prime Minister Zhao Pu was a straightforward person by nature. He was admired by his colleagues for daring to speak out in the court. Now that he knew that the Song Dynasty was in the wrong first but could not brush off the face of the government, he could only pretend to think hard and lie that he had not thought about it as his answer.
In the eyes of the Zhao family, it was fine if he could not count on his own brother, but even the Prime Minister Zhao Pu, who was usually deeply trusted by him, had dropped the ball at this critical moment. It really made him furious. His dragon face was furious.
The princess of Liao Kingdom, who was standing in the middle of the aisle, saw that her words had left the Song Dynasty speechless. She was instantly overjoyed. However, on the surface, she pretended to be calm and stood where she was, waiting for the other party's reply.
"You are all important officials of the Great Song Imperial Court. Why don't you dare to speak your own thoughts? Where have you all gone to? You've really disappointed me. Other ministers, who among you can answer the question raised by this female envoy of the Liao Kingdom? I will reward those who answer.”Seeing that his trusted brothers and ministers were useless, the furious Zhao official jumped up and stood on the dragon throne. He glanced at the seven or eight ministers standing in a row on his right with an anxious expression and asked in a powerful voice.
"Father, your son can answer the female envoy of the Liao Kingdom. I wonder if you can let your son speak freely.”Seeing that the situation was not good, Zhao Defang stood up a moment after Zhao Guanjia finished speaking. After bowing respectfully to Zhao Guanjia, she recommended herself and asked for instructions.
According to the prior agreement, although Zhao Defang was conferred the title of King of Qin, he was not allowed to participate in the government. Therefore, as the best debater of the American University Debate League, he had always wanted to give it a try. Due to the restrictions of this agreement, he could only grit his teeth and not speak here.
When Zhao Defang saw the furious look on the Zhao family's face, he thought that if he did not step forward and stand up, then their Great Song would be humiliated by this little girl from the Liao Kingdom. This was naturally not what he, the Prince of the Great Song, wanted to see.
Another important reason was that after Zhao Guanjia entered the main hall and sat down, when he raised his head, he accidentally saw a familiar woman standing in the Liao Kingdom's diplomatic delegation. When he took a closer look, he remembered that the woman was the young and beautiful woman he had saved by the Bian River a few days ago.
Just now, that woman represented the arrogant Ye Lui Xiu Ge to apologize to Prime Minister Zhao Pu, but he didn't really care. After the verification, he remembered that she had said her name was Xiao Chuo. At first, he thought that the woman he had saved was just the same name as Empress Dowager Xiao of the Liao Kingdom in history.
Now, after seeing her in person, he learned that she was the princess of the Liao Kingdom. After thinking about it, he came to a conclusion: Back then, the woman he saved from the Bian River, Xiao Chuo, was the Empress Dowager Xiao of the Liao Kingdom.
Seeing the future Empress Dowager Xiao of the Liao Kingdom looking down on the officials and the Song Dynasty in the court, Zhao Defang felt that he should not have saved her from the Bian River. Even if he was rescued ashore, he should not have pressed her chest with both hands to drain the water in her abdominal cavity, and he should not have given her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to save him. If she had died back then, she would not have caused the emperors and ministers of the Great Song Dynasty to be in such a sorry state today.
In short, from Zhao Defang's point of view, he should have taken part of the responsibility back then. Since it was the seed of trouble that he had planted, it was naturally up to him to eliminate it. Not only did he have this responsibility and obligation, but he also had an overwhelming confidence. Wasn't she just a weak woman? Brother Fang immediately took her down.
"Imperial son, speak quickly. Today is different from the past. Zhen allows you to speak freely in this court today. If what you say is good, I will reward you heavily and allow you to participate in court politics in the future.”At his wits 'end, when the Zhao family heard that his fourth son, Defang, who was standing in a small corner, had taken the initiative to volunteer, he thought that he was extremely intelligent. A few days ago, he had even given him a good plan to "give up his military power with a glass of wine" and take back his military power. He had high hopes and agreed.
"Thank you, Imperial Father, for your permission. Then, my son will speak of his opinion.”Zhao Defang first cupped her hands and bowed to the overjoyed Zhao family. Then, she turned around and looked at the princess of the Great Liao Dynasty beside her. She said righteously,"Young princess of the Liao Kingdom, I don't agree with what you said just now. There is only one thing that you are right about. Naturally, we treat our guests well.
"However, the preferential treatment is targeted at relatives and friends. As for the enemies, they were not restricted to this. My Great Song is not related to your Liao Kingdom, so there is naturally no need to abide by the rules of hospitality. Just now, my father gave the best answer with his actions. "As for what you said just now, Young Princess, that the Liao Kingdom respects its guests, then may I ask why the Liao Kingdom has not returned what it borrowed? Is this how the Liao Kingdom treats its guests?
"A few decades ago, the Chinese nation lent the sixteen provinces of Youyun, which bordered your Liao Kingdom, to you for farming to help your Liao Kingdom solve the problem of insufficient food supply. "However, decades have passed, and your Liao Kingdom has grown stronger. You should have returned the borrowed Sixteen Prefectures to the Great Song. However, not only did the Liao Kingdom not mention this matter, but they also repeatedly invaded the borders of the Great Song. What was the Liao Kingdom's intention? I don't think I need to say it out loud. You're smart enough to know that.
"Why should our Great Song abide by the rules of hospitality to a neighboring country that often finds trouble for nothing? If it wasn't for the ancient rule of not killing envoys in China, just based on your arrogant words, you would not be here. You would have been imprisoned in the imperial prison and waiting to be beheaded.”
After Zhao Defang said these indignant words in a reasonable and polite manner, the officials of the Great Song Dynasty standing on his left immediately abandoned their previous prejudices. As members of the Great Song Dynasty, they were quite excited and clapped their hands.
Even Prince Jin, Zhao Guangyi, who had been acting like nothing had happened since he entered the Purple Mansion Hall, felt that he had made a mistake in his judgment. At this moment, Zhao Defang made him, Han Jiandi, project a gaze of admiration and admiration. He followed his colleagues around him and clapped his hands loudly, taking the lead to cheer.
As for the Zhao official sitting on the dragon throne, he was also very happy. He kept repeating endlessly,"My son Defang said it very well. It was deeply in my heart!"”
As for the members of the Liao Kingdom's diplomatic mission who were standing on the right side of the hall and the princess of Liao Kingdom, Xiao Chuo, who was standing side by side with Zhao Defang, they were all stunned on the spot. They were speechless and their faces were red, as if they had been slapped a few times.
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