There is a kind of scholar

Chapter 661 I have a bold idea
After saying this, Su Xian stood up and prepared to leave.

King Yong nodded. His face, which had just glowed with excitement, had returned to his calm and indifferent appearance. He only said to Su Xian:
"Bon Voyage!"

Su Xian said politely, holding the brocade box in his hand, turned around and was about to leave, at this moment, he suddenly remembered that the fragrant fish on the table had not eaten a few chopsticks, so he turned his head and smiled shyly:
"Your Majesty, this big carp from the Yellow River is really delicious, sir..."

King Yong immediately understood what Su Xian meant, waved his hand and said, "Marquis Fan Yang can help himself. This big carp is delicious, so don't waste it."

Su Xian was overjoyed. After thanking him, he leaned over and picked up the big carp that he had just used a few chopsticks on, including the plate, and handed it to Yang Zhilan.

King Yong twirled his beard and nodded, casting an approving look at Su Xian, and secretly praised in his heart:
"Do it spontaneously, without hesitation or coercion, that's good!"

"..."

Su Xian turned around and looked at King Yong with a shy and honest smile.

King Yong smiled back, but after a few breaths, the smile on the corner of his mouth froze slightly, because Su Xian leaned over again, and picked up the plate of big Yellow River carp in the middle of the table, and turned around and handed it to Yang Zhilan. .

No one has touched this plate of big carp with chopsticks and it is clean. It would be perfect to bring it back to Liu Huixiang for a taste.

"My wife also smelled that strange fragrance just now, so...haha..." Su Xian explained with a simple smile.

"No problem, Marquis Fan Yang, please excuse me."

The smile on King Yong's lips froze slightly, then quickly recovered, and he waved his hand magnanimously. Anyway, he still had the last plate of big carp to eat, that was enough.

At the same time, King Yong also secretly said in his heart:

"Be kind and considerate of others, that's good!"

"..."

Yang Zhilan carried two plates of dishes and flew back to the ship. There was no juice spilled on the dishes. She put them down and returned immediately.

Su Xian smiled and bowed before King Yong, as if he was going to say goodbye for the last time.

King Yong stopped twirling his beard, smiled at the corner of his mouth, and made a gesture in return. After saying goodbye today, he didn't know when we would see each other again. King Yong felt a little emotional for a while.

But at the next moment, King Yong was dumbfounded, and he stood on the spot in a daze, and he also paused when he bowed in return, dumbfounded.

What did he see?
When Su Xian bent down, it turned out that it was not for the purpose of bowing and saying goodbye for the last time!

But to...take away the last plate of Yellow River carp on the small table!

Although the plate of fish was placed on King Yong's side, King Yong did not move a single chopstick. He had just been drinking wine, and the fish skin was still intact.

Watching the last plate of fish being taken away by Su Xian calmly and handed to Yang Zhilan, King Yong was confused the whole time...

Not even a plate left for him?
Let him drink the northwest wind!
I tell you "but you can take it by yourself", otherwise you will be wiped out!

The corner of King Yong's mouth twitched, and the wind was messed up.

No one has Su Xian's thick skin.

At first, he thought that Su Xian bent down to make a final farewell, but it turned out... Fortunately, he still put on the posture of bowing in return.

When King Yong was speechless, he suddenly noticed that Su Xian was staring at him with strange eyes, as if he was curious about why he made such a weird "gesture"?
Even though King Yong had experienced countless storms, his old face was slightly warm at this moment, and he quickly hid his hands with "weird gestures" under the table, as if nothing had happened.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Your Majesty. I will take my leave now. Your Majesty, take care of yourself on your way back to the capital of the gods." Su Xian really said goodbye this time.

"Bon Voyage."

King Yong spat out these four words in a daze.

Then, Yang Zhilan held the dishes with one hand and held Su Xian's shoulders with the other, and gently kicked on the deck. After a few breaths, the two of them landed steadily on the ship with the dishes.

King Yong watched Su Xian leave, glanced down at the empty table, tugged at the beard at the corner of his mouth, and muttered secretly in his heart:

"Those who are thick-skinned can achieve great things, no...that's wrong!"

"..."

After Su Xian returned to the ship, he ordered the ship to sail immediately, and then called Liu Huixiang, Yang Zhilan, and Zhang Cuihua, and they ate happily...

a few days later.

There was no danger all the way.

Su Xian and his party finally arrived safely in Yingzhou, Hebei Province.

Su Xian did not disturb anyone. After entering Yingzhou City, he returned directly to the Marquis Mansion in the city, settled down, took a shower and changed clothes, had a good meal, and then had a good sleep to relieve the fatigue of the journey.

Returning to Yingzhou this time, in addition to secretly preventing the Liao army from moving south, Su Xian also had an important task -

Go to the Tang family to offer employment!

The marriage between Su Xian and the Tang family was carried out in strict accordance with the ancient system of Three Books and Six Rites.

Three books: Letter of Appointment, Letter of Ceremony, and Letter of Welcome.

Six Rituals: Nacai, Asking Names, Najib, Nazheng, Asking for a Date, and Greeting in Person.

More than half a month ago, Su Xian came to the Tang family and completed the three processes of accepting, asking for names, and accepting in one day, and agreed to complete the acceptance ceremony in a month.

Recruitment, in fact, is sending a job.

This "betrothal" includes two things, the betrothal gift, and the "letter of engagement", one of the three letters.

At the same time, the betrothal gift is listed as a "gift list", and two of the three "gift books" will be sent to the Tang family on the day of the betrothal gift.

Also, the "application period" ceremony is usually completed on the day the job is submitted.

Therefore, after the offer of employment, there are only two items left in the Three Letters and Six Rituals: "Personal Welcome" and "Welcome Letter".

What does "personal welcome" mean?
The wedding ceremony is to carry the bride home in an eight-carat sedan chair, then hold a wedding banquet and enter the bridal chamber!

What is "welcoming book"?
The letter of welcome is the document sent to the bride's home when she picks up the bride and walks through the door.

Therefore, after the offer of employment, Tang Shuwan, the legitimate daughter of the Tang family, had half a foot in the door of the Su family, and could be said to be Su Xian's fiancée.

According to the original agreement, the recruitment...that is, the date of submission of employment was scheduled for one month later, and it was only five days away!
In addition to the tight time limit for sending the betrothal, Su Xian also had another headache, that is, the betrothal gift must include a meaningful gift!

In layman's terms, you need a "love token" or an "engagement gift".

Su Xian is now very rich and has as much gold, silver and jewelry as he wants, but these common things are of little significance and are not enough to carry the burden of a token of love.

If you really give these vulgar things, you may be laughed at. After all, Tang Shuwan is a talented woman, and people don't lack those things. Su Xian must find a meaningful gift.

But after searching for half a month, he couldn't find a suitable one... This problem has been bothering him until now.

……

The second day after returning to Yingzhou City.

Su Xian prioritized the things at hand.

It is important to defend against the Liao Kingdom in the north, but Su Xian has no clue before Yan Dashan returns, so he plans to prioritize his marriage to Tang Shuwan.

Tang Shuwan... Although he had known each other for a long time, but thinking about it carefully, the two of them had only spoken a few words, so it felt too hasty to get married like this.

So, on the second day after returning to Yingzhou City, Su Xian prepared a simple gift and drove to Yingzhou Prefecture Yahouzhai, intending to chat with Tang Shuwan and enhance their relationship.

But his plan failed.

I couldn't see Tang Shuwan.

Tang Shuwan is in a "waiting boudoir", and she is truly "never leaving the door nor taking a step forward". She can't even see the male servants she is familiar with in the house, not even her father-in-law-to-be, Tang Ju.

Su Xian was even more forbidden to meet. According to Tang Ju, the day the two met should be on the wedding night, and they needed to avoid suspicion before that.

Su Xian didn't force it.

Then he chatted with Tang Ju about the situation in Liao Kingdom...

After this conversation, Su Xian discovered that Tang Ju had analyzed the situation in Liao very clearly, and some of his views made him suddenly enlightened.

It seems that this prospective father-in-law is not simple either!
The position of governor of Yingzhou does not seem to match his talents...

Back to Houfu.

As soon as Su Xian came to the study and sat down, the maid reported that Luo Gan, the general of the Youzhou garrison camp, came to visit and was waiting outside the house.

"Luo Gan, the guard of Youzhou? He is not staying in Youzhou. Why did he come to Yingzhou? Bring him to the study."

Su Xian ordered casually.

After a while, Luo Gan came to the study and said in a gruff voice: "Luo Gan, the guard of Youzhou, pays homage to the Marquis! Congratulations to the Marquis for being named 'General Zuo Wuwei'!"

Su Xian was polite, and then asked about the doubts in his heart. The Youzhou guard should not appear in Yingzhou.

Luo Gan explained that the reason why he came to Yingzhou was to meet the generals in the camp in the north of Yingzhou City and discuss jointly preventing the Liao army from going south.

He planned to return to Youzhou today, but before leaving, he heard someone said that Su Xian had returned from the capital of the gods, so he suspended his return north and hurriedly came to see him.

He had no special purpose, mainly to express his congratulations to Su Xian...

By the way, the marching camp twenty miles north of Yingzhou City is still there. It was not dismantled after Princess Lanling returned to Beijing. There are still several generals and fifty thousand elites in the camp.

The Queen sent Su Xian to take charge of Hebei Province and gave him a lot of power to do things conveniently. For example, Su Xian could mobilize these [-] elites with the gold medal in his hand.

After listening to Luo Gan's explanation, Su Xian nodded, then chatted with him about some miscellaneous matters, and finally urged Luo Gan to rush back to Youzhou immediately. This was an extraordinary period, and as the guard of Youzhou, it was better for him not to run around.

"I will leave at the end." Luo Gan clasped his fists and turned to leave.

"General Luo, wait a minute." Su Xian stopped him again and asked on the spur of the moment:

"You have been stationed in Youzhou all year round, and you often have conflicts with the Liao army. From the general's point of view, what are the chances of our Daliang soldiers winning compared to the Liao cavalry?"

"Master Marquis, do you want to hear the truth or a lie?" Luo Gan considered for a long time, with a hint of probing in his tone.

"Of course it's the truth!" Su Xian's voice was a little deeper. Is it the truth or a lie?It seemed that there was a lot of knowledge here, and he instinctively felt that the so-called "truth" was not good news.

"When it comes to the generals of Daliang, they are all incompetent. We can subdivide them into four levels. The first level is our border troops stationed on the front line of Youzhou. Their combat power is slightly inferior to that of the Liao cavalry."

"The second level is the remaining border troops, such as those on the Guan Nei Road, or those bordering Shu, Nan Chu, and Nan Chen. They are still capable of fighting, but they may not be able to hold out for half a day against the Liao cavalry."

"The third level is the ordinary local garrisons. The situation in each state is different, so it is difficult to elaborate, but I can be sure that these garrisons will be defeated when they encounter the Liao cavalry!"

"The fourth class is the forbidden army carefully supported by the imperial court. These people are pampered and have a fairer skin than women. If they encounter Liao cavalry, they will probably flee at the wind. They are not even as good as the local garrisons!"

"..."

After listening to Luo Gan's words, Su Xian's face became very ugly.

It cannot be ruled out that Luo Gan boasted, ranking the Daliang soldiers under his account as "first class", belittling other Liang troops, and the most exaggerated one was saying that the Daliang Central Forbidden Army was "pampered and fairer than women."

However, Su Xian generally believed the statement that the Shang Liao cavalry "could not hold out for half a day", "collapsed at the first touch" and "fleeed in the face of the wind".

Thinking back more than ten years ago, a loyal father and son of the Yan family were still active in the northern battlefield, with great military exploits, and once killed the Liao army in fear.

After the Queen ascended the throne, the Yan family fell, and the entire Liang Army seemed to have been deprived of its backbone, and has been unable to recover since then.

Coupled with the opening of "Ping'an City" in Youzhou, the border between Liang and Liao has been peaceful for more than ten years. Most of the Liang army is afraid... as Luo Gan said, they will not have the strength to fight against Liao's iron cavalry.

After Luo Gan left, Su Xian sat in a daze for a long time.

Yang Zhilan stood silently behind the chair, motionless and silent.

The study was very quiet. A ray of sunlight came in from the window, and the fine dust particles suspended in the air were distinct, giving it a sense of tranquility in the afternoon.

Finally, Su Xian moved.

I saw him dipping his pen in ink and writing a big word "Liao" on a whole piece of rice paper.

"The threat from the Liao Kingdom seems to be more serious than I expected. Among the many princes and tribes in the Liao Kingdom, only a very small number are friendly to Daliang..."

Su Xian stared at the huge "Liao" character, put down the brush, and muttered to himself.

He thought of Liu Huixiang, who had just married into the family, and Tang Shuwan, who was still waiting to be married. He couldn't help but let out a long sigh and said, "Only by knowing yourself and the enemy can you be victorious in every battle. Big mountains, big mountains, when will you be able to come back?"

"..."

At this time, Yang Zhilan left the study quietly without disturbing Su Xian, who was deep in thought.

After a while, Yang Zhilan returned and said calmly:

"There is news from the Liao Kingdom."

"News from the Liao Kingdom? Dashan is back?" Su Xian was overjoyed. He laughed and stood up, thinking that Dashan came back at the right time.

"No." Yang Zhilan shook her head.

"Isn't Dashan back?" Su Xian's smile froze and disappeared quickly. He slowly sat back in the chair, rubbed his face and asked again: "What's the news?"

"Beige leader sent an envoy to bring the latest news about Liao Kingdom."

"So that's the case, please hurry up." Su Xian's spirit was shaken suddenly. It is good to have news, maybe he can find some clues and come up with a way to deal with it.

Soon, the messenger entered the study...

After he conveyed the latest news, Su Xian was disappointed. The news was indeed the latest news, but it was too complicated and did not inspire him in any way.

Shaking his head, Su Xian propped his elbows on the desk, put his hand on his forehead and said, "The envoy has had a hard time traveling all the way. Zhi Lan will take him down to rest."

"Thank you, Lord Dongge." The envoy bowed politely.

The messenger had just walked out of the room when a flash of lightning flashed across Su Xian's mind. He waved his hand to stop the messenger and asked, "By the way, do you know what happened to King Hunxie? What about his son Nalanjie?" "

The messenger returned and said:

"I would like to report to the leader of the East Pavilion that since the Liao and Liang countries closed their borders to each other, it has been extremely difficult to transmit news. The only people we have can only pay attention to the movements of the Liao emperor and Nantu king."

"That's it." Su Xian pursed his lips. It seemed that he could only get the news he wanted to know when Yan Dashan came back.

"However... our people did mention some news related to King Hunxie." The messenger added.

"Oh? Say it quickly." Su Xian was shocked again.

"It is said that King Hunxie was at odds with King Nantu, and the Liao Emperor had deprived him of his military power, withdrawn his military symbols, and ordered King Hunxie to take charge of trade and procurement... King Hunxie is in a worrying situation."

"Where are his son Nalanjie and his daughter Princess Ruyi?"

"Reporting to the leader of Dongge, this... subordinate doesn't know."

"..."

After the messenger left, Su Xian stayed in his seat for a long time, his thick eyebrows furrowed, as if he was deep in thought, and sometimes murmured to himself.

Not long after, Su Xian suddenly stood up, looked at Yang Zhilan beside him and said with a smile: "I have a bold idea, Zhilan, get our treasure map quickly!"

(End of this chapter)