Dawn of the Empire

Chapter 94: Wuxi Goes Out of Xijing (4)

The carriage was walking unsteadily, Zhao Xingde leaned against the side of the carriage, staring at the other side in a daze.

It is said that Siddhartha, the Buddha, was the prince of the Jingfan Kingdom before he became a monk, living in the shadow of his clothes and temples all day long.In the middle of the night, Prince Siddhartha woke up and saw beauties sleeping around in disorder, with disheveled hair, loose makeup, some talking in sleep, some drooling, some snoring, some farting, some grinding their teeth, and their postures were ugly. .Siddhartha couldn't help being startled, from which he suddenly realized the truth that "color" is emptiness, and resolutely became a monk.

"It seems that I can't become a Buddha." Zhao Xingde said with a slight smile.Li Ruoxue's slightly haggard sleeping appearance is even more pitiful, slightly closed eyes, slightly trembling eyelashes, occasionally a slight smile in a dream, shallow pear dimples on the cheeks, even and thin breathing, all make Zhao Xingde I just feel peace and joy in my heart.

The carriage was approaching the place where the caravans met, Zhao Xingde softly asked the driver to stop slowly, opened the curtain and went down to say hello to Li Rui.The caravan consisted of about [-] or [-] carriages, but there were a dozen or so horse-riding guards. It seemed that either the merchant was wealthy, or he was carrying precious jewels.According to Li Rui, the caravan was originally going to take a boat, but the waterway was not smooth these two days, and they were in a hurry, so they set off by land instead, and changed to a fast boat halfway.

Zhang Lan, the leader of the guard, looked at the customs clearance document with a blank face. The seal and paper are all in the style of the Ministry of Rites, which is used by the scholars of the Song Dynasty for their study tours.The court of the Xia Kingdom has always encouraged scholars to communicate, so caravans are willing to take these scholars along with them, and some even agree with the scholars who are studying abroad to give them a small amount of gold, pearls and jade to carry with them, so as to avoid paying customs duties.

"I'm Zhao De, Zhang Zhuangshi. It's a pleasure to meet you." Zhao Xingde looked at Zhang Lan. Although he was wearing rough casual clothes, he had a murderous look on his body. This kind of mysterious and mysterious feeling reminded Zhao Xingde of those people from the Jinyan Mansion. Death.He was puzzled, so he was extra polite to Zhang Lan.

"Since following the caravan, it must be ordered and prohibited, and you can't make up your own mind." Zhang Lan handed the document back to Zhao De, and said in a deep voice, it was recognized that he followed the caravan.At this time, it has become a common practice for businessmen to invite acquaintances to join them along the way.Often the caravans with only a few dozen people departing from Bianjing will exceed 200 people when they arrive in Dunhuang.Then the people who join the group will also pay a reward to the bodyguards according to the distance of the journey. There are rules to follow.

Looking at Zhao De's back, Zhang Lan pondered for a moment, turned around and came to a carriage of the leader of the caravan, and said in a low voice: "Old shopkeeper, then Li Rui invited a Confucian scholar named Zhao De again." Joining the gang, the subordinates have already checked his customs clearance documents, and there is no problem."

"Well, scholars join the gang." Kang Huaide is over fifty years old, with gray beard and hair. He looked at a thick account book in front of him without raising his head, "It doesn't matter if you are a chicken-crowding dog or a thief." He felt that Zhang Lan seemed to have Unconsciously, he asked again: "What's so special about you?"

Zhang Lan said hesitantly: "This person is a scholar, but there is a faint military atmosphere in his gestures."

"Oh?" Kang Huaide raised his head, stroking his beard and said: "The Song Dynasty has different ways of civil and military affairs. He is both a Confucian scholar and a soldier. It's a bit interesting. You don't make a sound, pay attention to his actions, there is something wrong with him." Please report to me if there is something special." He lowered his head and flipped through the account book in front of him.

Kang Huaide's ostensible identity is the shopkeeper of the Bianjing branch of Fuhaihang. Fuhaihang's business spreads all over the state capitals. He returns to Dunhuang every three years to personally report the domestic situation of the Song Dynasty to the emperor and the two governments.Song and Liao are fighting against each other, and there is great chaos in the southeast. Kang Huaide must concentrate on considering the messages and suggestions sent back from various branches, choose appropriate countermeasures, and answer the questions from His Majesty and the two governments.This Zhao De, at worst, is just a small spy sent by the Imperial City Department.

After the caravan arrived, Zhang Lan gave an order, and the caravan started slowly.The carriage jolted slightly.Zhao Xingde had been tossing around for a whole day, and at this moment tiredness came to his head, he and Li Ruoxue leaned against each other and fell asleep unconsciously.

In the afternoon, Xiao Bing, the envoy of the State of Xia, visited Chao Buzhi's mansion again. After arriving in the study, he insisted on asking the servant to leave, and the first sentence was: "No blame, quickly inform your disciple Zhao Xingde to avoid disaster. On the day of Qiu Wei, Suo took [-] sons and went to prison, and he will be accused of treason!"

He hosted a banquet in the Pan Tower in the afternoon in honor of the governor of Kaifeng, and thanked him for his care for the merchants of the Xia Kingdom in recent years. During the meeting, he mentioned the faction between the two parties in the imperial court, the Eastern Palace, and the recent rumors of exposing posts, and the governor of Kaifeng Lin beat him up. After revealing the news, tell him not to be on the wrong team, and bet the chips on the side of the prince and Zhao Zhifu.After getting the news, Xiao Bing hurried over.

Chao Buzhi just stretched out his hand for him to sit down and drink tea.

Xiao Bing said anxiously: "If it's too late, it will be too late, how about this, I will arrange everything on my behalf, and let him go to the Dunhuang Scholars' Mansion."

Chao Buzhi looked at him strangely, with a look of vigilance flashing in his eyes, he said slowly: "I have made arrangements for this matter, here I thank brother Xiao for your kindness on behalf of my disciple."

Xiao Bing was taken aback, and immediately asked: "Have you really made arrangements? Are you going to the scholar's residence?" His tone was a little hasty, and he smiled and explained after seeing the wariness in Chao Buzhi's eyes: "No fault Brother, don't blame me, I'm so concerned about this matter, it's not entirely because of old feelings. To tell you the truth, His Majesty and the Prime Minister saw Zhao Xingde's "Ten Strategies for Exploring the Sea", and became interested in talents, and made a special decree to let I urged this son to visit Dunhuang or Chang'an. I know that people in the Song Dynasty value Jinshi the most, and I originally wanted to wait for him to start the matter after the scientific examination, but I didn't expect it to be so soon..." He paused and smiled slightly, " This revelation shocked the whole world, the younger generation almost moved to Tongguan, leaving Cai Jing deflated, such a talent will stand out wherever he is."

Chao Buzhi's heart sank. He originally wanted Zhao Xingde to go to Xia Kingdom to avoid disaster temporarily. In the party struggles of this dynasty, there has never been an invincible power minister. When Cai Jing's party loses power, the framing he suffered today can be rehabilitated by the [-]th. You can come back then.But hearing what Xiao Bing meant, he actually planned to keep him in Xia Country.Thinking of this, he secretly regretted giving Zhao Xingde that letter of recommendation.

Seeing his expression, Xiao Bing thought about it secretly, knowing Chao Buzhi's concerns, and smiled awkwardly: "Brother Wujiu, why are you still so stubborn even today, Xia Guo, Song Guo, are all Chinese. Inheritance, two flowers bloom, no matter which of the two families will rule the world in the future, it will be the prosperity of China. Could it be that you have the heart to practice virtue and be so talented, just because the power 'traitor' is in power, you will bury your life like you?"

Chao Buzhi smiled lightly, and said in a deep voice: "The two countries have been confronting each other for a hundred years, and the morality, rituals, and customs are all different. If the world is to be unified in the future, how can the world be governed? Or when Qin merged with the six countries, people from the six countries in the Kanto Like dogs and sheep, even burning books to bury Confucianism, using officials as teachers, and plundering children's treasures, forgive me for not agreeing."

His words were quite harsh, and Xiao Bing smiled awkwardly: "How can we compare our country with Tyranny. Now the Song Dynasty court is fatuous, and there are talents that cannot be used. As long as I rule the world, it is natural to use the talents of the world." There will be no discrimination in governing the world. The so-called looting is even more fictional."

Chao Buzhi said coldly: "You should go and talk to the people in the Huguo Mansion first."

20 years ago when Xia Guo was besieging Luoyang, the royal family and the two governments strictly prohibited looting the people. Except for Liu Yi who forcibly took the white peony, Qiu did not commit any crimes. There are also fierce disputes. One group thinks that it is unimaginable to implement this kind of loss-making policy that earns a false name. Looting like a tribe.Because the royal family, the prime minister's mansion, and the scholar's mansion did not support the plundering of the Guandong, the latter faction barely gained the upper hand. After that, the school captains of the Huguo mansion were less interested in fighting in the territory of the Song Dynasty where there was no money.

This matter greatly stimulated Chao Buzhi, who was traveling in Xia State at that time, thinking that although Xia State was powerful and its cultural heritage had a deep connection with Song Dynasty, the interests of the people of the two countries could never be confused. If Xia State annexed In the Song Dynasty, the wealth and well-being of the people of the Song Dynasty were placed on the chopping board for slaughter, and the wise would not take it.So after several years of traveling and studying in the scholar's residence, he left Xia Guo and returned to Song Dynasty.