This Northern Song Dynasty is a bit weird

Chapter 274 How Are You Treating?
The cool breeze in midsummer shakes the bamboo leaves.

Lu Sen shook his head and said, "A court that only wants to negotiate peace, a position of chief official in name only, what am I going to do? Are you angry? Are you taking the blame?"

"What is the meaning of taking the blame?" Su Shi asked curiously.

"It is said that during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States period, there was a man named Gui, who often had affairs with other beautiful wives. One day, when her husband came home early, the man was shocked when he heard the noise. I broke my leg." Lu Sen made up a random story, but the meaning is almost enough anyway: "The husband heard the noise, saw the nobleman lying on the ground, and then looked at the disheveled wife in the inner room. After hesitating for a while, he took the initiative to put The scapegoat on the stove was blamed on him, saying that he looked weird and frightened the nobleman, causing the latter to be injured, so he asked him to punish him. Afterwards, the nobleman pretended that nothing happened, and the days continued as usual."

Su Shi subconsciously leaned back: "The original meaning of this word is so outrageous?"

Lu Sen smiled, he said nonsense, so naturally it has to be outrageous.

"That's right, we must not let us take the blame for the things caused by the imperial court." Su Shi sighed. He was originally very interested in negotiating with the Xixia people on behalf of the imperial court, but now after Lu Sen reminded him, he knew that it was just a "peace talk". After that, I didn't have much interest, let alone the meaning of Lu Sen's phrase "take the blame": "Thinking about it, it seems that it would be better to have the nobles in the court."

Lu Sen smiled and clinked a glass with the other party: "So, why do you want to join in the fun?"

He has always believed that the inertia of history is difficult to change. Even if there are some partial historical differences, the general trend is still the same as the original history. The main reason is that his own "change" is not enough.

After all, he doesn't think that he is a macho man who can change the inner nature of a nation in just a few years.

But Lu Sen still underestimated himself after all.

He really cannot change a nation, but he can subtly change the minds of some great people.

At this time, Zhongshumen was also discussing matters in the official office.

Grand Master Pang sat on the main seat, and Bao Zheng sat on the side.

On the shoulders of both of them, there was a small spirit beast lying on its stomach.

Bao Zheng looked at the crowd and said: "Although there is still some time before the peace talks with the Xixia people, the candidate for the chief officer must be selected in advance. And this time, we don't want to just talk about peace."

What was the previous agreement?
Keep a low voice and have to pay the annual tribute.

It is estimated that this year will be similar, and it is not that they have not won in the past, but every time they negotiate peace, Da Song has to lose money to others.

I didn't know, I thought Da Song had lost.

Hearing Bao Zheng's words, everyone present was surprised.

At this time, in addition to Bao Zheng, Pang Taishi, Ouyang Xiu, Fu Bi and other important officials in Zhongshumen, there were also a group of young officials with more potential such as Wang Anshi and Lu Huiqing.

Almost all these young officials were standing, except for Wang Anshi, who had a seat.

So Lu Huiqing occasionally glanced at Wang Anshi with vague dissatisfaction in his eyes.

Ouyang Xiu frowned, and asked, "Xi Ren means, in the name of making peace, continue to fight?"

"That's true." Bao Zheng nodded and said, "This is a rare opportunity to eliminate Xixia's confidant in one fell swoop. Now that the weather is warm, we can march north. This is the right time; the Khitan in the north is divided into two parts, fighting endlessly, and there is no time to take care of it. Let me wait, this is the favorable location; last year’s grain harvest was bumper, nearly three times the output of the previous year, and there was a surge in shipping taxes. Now the treasury is full and the people have a surplus. There may not be another chance like this.”

Everyone discussed with each other, and they all felt that what Bao Zheng said was quite reasonable.

Fu Bi stroked his beard, pondered for a while, and asked, "Master Bao, but there is a problem here. Who should we send to be the head of the peace talks? If we really want to do something, who can control the military officer? After entering Xixia, the leader of the army will definitely increase his prestige greatly, and it is hard to guarantee that what happened to Chen Qiao back then will not happen!"

"Therefore, the chief officer of this peace negotiation must have the strength to control the military attache, especially the courage to control General Di."

Ouyang Xiu thought for a while and said, "Then let me go."

Ouyang Xiu is indeed qualified to be the head of the peace talks.

But Taishi Pang, who was on the main seat, shook his head and said: "Uncle Yong, you are proficient in internal affairs and are indeed good at governing the local area, but you are still not good enough when it comes to going to the battlefield."

"Then I only have the right to supervise, and I don't want to do General Di's military strategy."

Taishi Pang shook his head even more: "Although General Di was also promoted by me, he only talked about deeds and ignored his heart in the court. The chief officer of this peace negotiation must not only understand military strategy, but also be able to control Di General. Colleagues, don’t forget that although General Di is loyal, his subordinates may not be completely loyal.”

This makes sense.

Wasn't Taizu also loyal to Hou Zhou back then, but he couldn't hold back the imperial robe.

Others forced him to be emperor.

Yan Zhu laughed from the side: "Then I think there should be someone to choose Grand Master Pang."

Everyone looked at Grand Master Pang silently, only Bao Zheng knew it well.

"Really Lu!"

After a brief silence, the room suddenly burst into discussions.

Grand Master Pang waited until they had finished talking, and continued: "If Master Lu is no worse than his colleagues present in terms of official position, and in terms of reputation and qualifications, no one would think that he is not good enough to be the chief negotiator. Moreover, he is very kind to General Di. It is completely possible to control General Di's actions, even... even General Di's soldiers dare not make trouble in front of Master Lu! So if we really want to deal with Xixia, Master Lu is the best candidate for the chief officer. Don't think about it."

After thinking about it for a while, everyone thought it made sense.

Lu Sen has served as the supervisor of the army twice, and he has an extremely outstanding performance on the battlefield. The most important thing is that he has no interest in power and fame. Such a person, everyone will feel at ease, and there is no need to worry about his backlash.

Ouyang Xiu sighed, "Really Lu is indeed the best candidate, but the problem is that we can't invite him at all."

"So, in the name of Zhongshumen, we can write a letter and tell him whether it is a fight or a peace with the Xixia people, and he will handle it." Grand Master Pang smiled sinisterly: "Tell him at the same time, General Di and his hundreds of thousands of people Soldiers also obey his orders."

"Can it work?" Ouyang Xiu asked.

Grand Master Pang said with a smile: "Based on what I know about this grandson-in-law, he should agree."

"The old man thinks it's feasible." Yan Shu nodded: "I will stamp the document."

Bao Zheng said: "The old man will also affix his seal."

Among the several important ministers, three of them immediately agreed to the proposal, and the others naturally nodded in agreement.

After most people nodded in agreement, Bao Zheng took the opportunity to say: "Really Lu is the chief officer, so we must send an assistant to assist Real Lu."

After speaking, his eyes scanned Wang Anshi and Lu Huiqing.

Wang Anshi's expression remained the same, neither happy nor proud.

Lu Huiqing subconsciously stood with her chest up.

Bao Zheng deliberated between the two, and finally said: "The adjutant will be Lu Langzhong."

Lu Huiqing's ability to stand here today is because his ability has been recognized by the "big bosses" in the court, and it is already a sign of a bright future. It is definitely not difficult to be directly promoted to two ranks and truly enter the center of power.

Lu Huiqing was overjoyed immediately, and she came out and cupped her hands and said, "Your official will live up to the court's trust."

And when Lu Sen received the letter from Grand Master Pang, he was planning to take his three wives out to sea for a 'travel' to the Paracel Islands.

After all, the green sea sand reef there is really beautiful.

As a result, his eyes lit up when he saw the letter.

The imperial court uses itself?

It doesn't matter, the pattern of being a person is a big deal, as long as Xixia is leveled, this little thing is nothing.

The big deal is to pat your ass and run away afterwards, and don't accept the imperial court's reward.

Immediately, he wrote back to Taishi Pang, saying that he would bring two more people to the capital to serve as assistants.

Grand Master Pang...or the court naturally agreed.

A few days later, Lu Sen appeared in the Prince's Mansion of Runan County in Bianjing City, accompanied by Yang Jinhua and General Mu.

Seeing Mu Guiying, King Runan's scalp was numb, but he was very smart, so he pretended he didn't see anything.

That night, Lu Sen received the letter of appointment and invitation from Uncle Cao Guo.

Invite him to meet in Fanlou.

The relationship between the Cao family and Lu Sen was pretty good, so Lu Sen went to the appointment.

As a result, when we arrived at the fan tower, uncle Cao Guo was in the room, and there was also a dignified and wealthy woman.

Empress Dowager Cao.

Although she has the name of Empress Dowager, in fact, Empress Dowager Cao is not old. After a little makeup, she is a beautiful woman.

Sitting opposite Lu Sen, she said slowly, "Really Lu, everything under the sun should belong to the Zhao family."

"The Chai family seemed to think so too." Lu Sen smiled.

Uncle Cao Guo felt his forehead ache from listening to it, and he winked at his sister vigorously. Did he know that this man in front of him doesn't care what kind of aristocrat you are, if you dare to talk nonsense, he will dare to scold you.

The Empress Dowager Cao felt suffocated when she heard it. After staying in the harem for a long time, she was habitually "defiant", because Zhao Zhen usually has a very good personality. coaxing her.

This gave her the illusion that everyone should follow her. Even if she was 'admonished' by civil officials in the court, she hadn't learned much.

Empress Dowager Cao took a deep breath, and she finally understood why the entire court found it difficult to deal with Lu Sen.

This opening is directly hitting people's hearts, who can bear it.

Reluctantly suppressing her uncomfortable and irritable mood, Empress Dowager Cao said again: "I heard that Master Lu spread flat peaches widely in Hangzhou to give people longevity. Is it true?"

Although Nan Shanhui didn't plan to disclose this matter, people were talking too much, after all, papers couldn't contain fire, so they didn't think it was strange to hear the news.

What's more, the king of Runan County and Grand Master Pang both got a flat peach, so they couldn't hide it even if they wanted to.

Lu Sen smiled and nodded: "Indeed."

"A mere merchant, how can he receive such a great grace." Empress Cao said with some displeasure, "Renren Lu has a fetish, but he doesn't send it to the real emperor's house. Isn't this a little... not knowing the real person?"

Her meaning is very clear, why merchants can get good things, but she, as the empress dowager, has none.

It stands to reason that if there are any good things, Lu Sen will either not give them to others. If he wants to give them away, he must first send some to the palace as tributes.

Lu Sen chuckled and said, "Even if the Empress Dowager Cao speaks bluntly, then I will make it clear. The flat peach is mine, and I can give it to whoever I like. Besides, I don't give it away, but exchange it...Sea merchants In my opinion, exchanging a large number of gemstones for a few years of life is a fair deal."

"If I want a few gems, how many gems do I need?"

"Since the Empress Dowager has heard the specific information, let's settle the settlement at the public price." Lu Sen took a sip of his tea and said openly, "I don't take advantage of the Empress Dowager."

Hearing this, Empress Dowager Cao's pretty face was distorted: "Don't take advantage of me? What I mean is, can I get a little cheaper?"

There are indeed many treasures in the inner treasury of the Imperial Palace of the Northern Song Dynasty, but... there are very few gems.

Because for the royal family, things like gems are not very popular, and the real valuable things are all kinds of precious medicinal materials and beautiful jade!

But Lu Sen only wanted gems, and even if all the gems in the palace were collected, they wouldn't be enough to exchange for a flat peach.

Lu Sen thought for a while and said, "Then let's get [-]% off."

Empress Dowager Cao took a deep breath, suppressed her anger, and said, "Can you give it a discount, I want to exchange for three! From now on, there must be a place for you, Master Lu, in the court?"

Is this woman a fool?Lu Sen turned his head to look at Uncle Cao Guo next to him, and asked with his eyes.

Uncle Cao Guo smiled bitterly helplessly.

In fact... Empress Dowager Cao is quite a person, she is not a vicious person, and she does not have a reputation for being harsh in the harem.

She can be regarded as a normal woman with a common moral bottom line.

It's just that she is a little 'perseverant' in terms of appearance.

In fact, if other women sat in her position, they might not be more calm and able to do better than her.

Because for appearance, for youth, women's attachments are always much greater than men's.

The Empress Dowager Cao understood Lu Sen's eyes, she stood up abruptly, and said angrily, "Master Lu, you don't have to stare there, you don't have to look like a yin and yang, I am bound to get flat peaches, and you must supply me with at least two peaches every year. otherwise……"

"Queen Mother, please think twice!" Uncle Cao jumped up in fright, blocking what his sister was going to say next.

Lu Sen asked curiously, "What else?"

"Otherwise..." Empress Dowager Cao was also stunned, she really didn't know what she could do with Lu Sen.

Execution of the Nine Clans?Just kidding, wanting to kill an important official in the court for no reason, without the consent of Zhongshu's disciples, it would be a strange thing for her imperial decree to be able to get out of the palace.

It would be even more impossible to threaten Lu Sen and order his own connections to crowd out and deal with Lu Sen.

Lu Sen is now the sweet bun in the hearts of all the officials in the capital. Who doesn't expect to get fairy fruit and jade bee jelly from Lu Sen, if they can get flat peaches and longevity, that would be even better.

He was afraid that this person would turn his back and report to Lu Sen as soon as he heard the queen mother say that he was going to deal with Lu Sen.

"How do you treat me so that you can give me a flat peach?" Empress Dowager Cao asked through gritted teeth.

(End of this chapter)