Promotion and fortune in Song Dynasty

As soon as night fell, Lu Ci left Ouyang Xiu in the post house, and led sixteen members of the mission into the palace for a banquet.

The palace group sits south to north, located in Xicheng, not far from the post house where the Song Dynasty diplomatic mission lived. A group of people rode westward on horseback, and they arrived at the front of the palace before they reached the tea time.

The most striking thing is the double bridge tower standing in front of the gate of the palace.

Lu Ci raised his eyes and observed quietly for a while.

This incomparably gorgeous Qiaolou, decorated with golden wheels, golden deer, prayer flags, etc., is just the right height, as long as you climb on it, you can easily overlook the whole Qingtang City.

"Everyone, this way please."

Gu Siluo attached great importance to the arrival of the envoys of the Song Dynasty, not only waiting in the hall where the banquet was held early in the morning, but also specially dispatched a row of tall and heroic knights to welcome them and lead them in.

After bypassing the Qiao Tower, there are two gates at the back, the middle gate is connected to the main hall of political affairs, and the Yi gate is for servants to enter and exit, leading to the back hall.

After entering through the middle gate, after walking for more than [-] meters, there is a palace with a height of more than [-] feet, a roof made of glazed tiles, and dazzling decorations.

Unlike the other envoys photographed in this majestic hall, Lu Ci, who is used to seeing buildings that are much more magnificent than this one in later generations, only glanced at them with pure admiration, then withdrew his gaze, and followed the knight without hesitation. Behind him, he entered the hall with a smile on his face.

At this time, the hall is brightly lit and bright lights are shining, which is no less magnificent than the appearance of the main hall.

The fragrance was lingering in the air, and Zong Ke's courtiers with deep facial features and tall stature were sitting on both sides. Hearing the sound of the knights reading out, they all turned their heads and cast scorching gazes at them.

After all, his appearance was very different, and his figure was much taller. In the eyes of more than a hundred people, even Yan Shu, who had seen countless battles of all sizes, couldn't help but feel a shudder in his heart.

Let alone him, not to mention the other envoys, all of them became nervous.

They didn't look sideways, and ordered themselves to only look at Lu Ci's back, which was calm and calm, as if he was not affected by the majestic atmosphere at all.

After a while, Xu Shi was a little infected, and they couldn't help but straightened their backs and walked steadily and powerfully.

Lu Ci's calmness at the moment is really not pretending.

He responded to the battle of tens of thousands of Tubo troops approaching the city; he personally led a small number of soldiers to contain the danger of Xia's army, and he stepped on it;

Compared with the soldiers in front of him, how could these well-dressed Tubo officials make him nervous.

Gu Siluo was originally sitting on the golden lacquered throne made of sandalwood wood with a height of more than ten feet. Seeing the arrival of the Song Dynasty delegation, he smiled, and before they approached, he stood up conveniently and greeted him go up.

He said with a hearty smile: "Everyone has come from a long way and have worked hard all the way. Sit down quickly."

What surprised Yan Shu and others was that when the young Zanpu expressed his welcome, he blurted out extremely fluent Chinese.

Lu Ci was not surprised at all.

He had known from Di Qing and Zhang Kang a long time ago that this person is extremely intelligent, and at some point he taught himself a few words of Chinese. Hearing this, he slightly bent his lips, nodded his head slightly, and was even better than Zan Pu Fang Caihan He spoke fluently in Tubo language: "Thank you Zanpu for your concern. It's just that we are ministers and come here with the emperor's order. We are fortunate in our lives, so we don't deserve the word 'hard work'."

When he heard Lu Ci return in Tubo dialect, Zongsiluo blinked in surprise, and stared at Lu Ci seriously for a while.

In all fairness, he has not met too many Han Chinese, and aesthetically, he recognizes the same race more.

Even so, it is not difficult for him to judge that the person in front of him is extremely handsome and has an extraordinary temperament. No wonder it will attract the hearts of those noble girls and make them want to marry.

Looking at those extremely deep black eyes, Lu Ci still looked elegant and calm, and his aura was not inferior.

Even when looking back with a smile, he also blinked in return.

Long before Ji Siluo opened his mouth, he felt the sincerity of the young Zanpu.

The Tubo people are used to being "covered with lotus felt", but all the people sitting in the hall are like the Siluo in front of them, wearing purple felt crowns, golden thread flower robes, and gold belts around their waists. The silk shoes on the feet seem to be the costumes of the Han family bestowed by the front line of the Song court.

Unlike the majestic and sturdy Fan Chen, although Zong Siluo also has thick eyebrows and big eyes, and a deep outline, he is much thinner in body shape, and his complexion is paler, which adds a bit of frailty.

Compared with the other courtiers who looked somewhat awkward when they were wearing Hanfu, this gorgeous Hanpao suits him very well.

And the blink of an eye, who unexpectedly got Lu Ci's understanding, returned to his senses immediately.

——What a wonderful person indeed.

He chuckled, then looked away, and after personally ushering the envoys into their seats, he took his seat again at the Dama Golden Sword, and asked in a gentle voice, "Is Uncle, the Son of Heaven, safe?"

As we all know, although Ji Siluo once asked the Song court to marry the princess, but failed to do so, he was willing to call Song Lord Zhao Zhen, who was a few years younger than him, "Uncle". marriage relationship.

In the face of Zong Siluo, who always expressed his sincerity of intending to make up with Song Ting, Lu Ci smiled kindly on his face, and responded in an impeccable manner.

After exchanging simple greetings, Lu Ci took out the emperor's edict from his sleeve and came to the center of the hall to read it out.

Although he looked thin, he was tall and slender, and with a dignified aura, he stood among a group of mighty and tall officials, but he did not appear weak at all, and even had a slightly better aura.

Gu Siluo straightened his face, stood up, and bowed solemnly.

After he finished saluting, the officials followed suit one after another, and bowed respectfully and respectfully to the lord of the Song court represented by the imperial edict in Lu Ci's hand.

The other envoys, including Yan Shu, also stood up, their hearts beating fast, but they vaguely realized that something was wrong.

When they thought about it, under the urging of this silence, they should have read the Lu Ci of the imperial edict, but they only raised their eyebrows, and the corners of their lips raised slightly, revealing a faint smile.

He raised his eyes and looked directly at Sisi sitting on the throne with a half-smile, his eyes were unquestionably determined.

——Where would he let Zong Siluo ambiguously fool him?

As the Tubo Zanpu who voluntarily professed his obedience to the Song Dynasty, when he was about to read out the imperial edict representing the Song Lord, Zansiluo should lead the officials to salute, not just bowing.

On the one hand, Ji Siluo’s gesture of goodwill at the front was a genuine intention to show favor to the Song court; Acquiescence to the past.

It is conceivable that as long as this time is indulged, the subsequent Jisiluo can justifiably use this as a 'precedent', so that there is no need to pay respects to the Song envoy.

And any 'loophole' between the country and the dependent country is by no means a trivial matter.

Seeing that Lu Ci remained motionless, Gu Siluo narrowed his eyes slightly, and when he cast his eyes on the handsome man standing in the hall, looking calmly at him, he already had a bit of a murderous look on the slope.

Lu Ci was not afraid at all, and only smiled indifferently.

He waited quietly for a moment in the atmosphere of rattling swords and swords, knowing that it was Ji Siluo who was determined to 'pretend to be stupid' and passed away. Yingjie, encourages the government to use our court system for his own use, but he does not know that there are still platforms and admonishing officials as his eyes and ears. The censor impeaches and corrects mistakes, not frustrated by the powerful, not afraid of the powerful. Jun , the most respected; the prime minister and the general are the most precious, and they can be rebuked and impeached."

Lu Ci's voice was not loud, but it was clear and upright, enough for most people in the hall to hear clearly.

Song officials such as Yan Shu, who only knew a little Tubo language, looked bewildered and did not know Lu Ci's astonishing words; The minister's boldness and horror.

Although it is not completely clear, the voice of the words is not "tactful" at all-Lu Ci is clearly pointing at Sang and scolding Huai, saying that Tubo imitated the official system of Song Dynasty, but there is no censor who corrects mistakes and impeaches, which leads to praise. When Pu accidentally "made a mistake" and "forgot" to pray, no one came forward to correct this!

This courtier from the Song Dynasty is really courageous!

Just when the officials were worried, thinking that Zanpu was about to throw a tantrum, the stern-faced Sisiluo suddenly smiled and bowed calmly without saying a word.

Seeing that Zanpu chose to compromise, even though the courtiers were surprised, they still paid respects tacitly.

Only then did Lu Ci nod his head and lower his eyes, and recited the not-so-long imperial edict in a steady voice: "The country's virtues are sealed with tin, and the laws are respected. The benevolence of tenderness, the festival of firmness and obedience..."

After the recitation, Lu Ci walked towards Zanpu, who looked respectful, but definitely didn't understand the complicated edict, and at most understood a general idea, and handed the edict to the other party.

At this time, the look on the face of Ji Siluo had returned to normal, and after carefully putting away the imperial edict, he smiled and let the banquet continue under the anxious gaze of a group of people.

The condensed atmosphere slowly dissipated with the sound of silk and bamboo. Seeing that Zanpu never got angry, but talked with Lu Ci with a smile back and forth, the officials slowly relaxed their tense nerves, as if they really forgot everything just now , focused on Shu He's singing and dancing at the banquet.

The dishes were also served one by one by the servants like flowing water.

Obviously, to cater to the envoys of the Song Dynasty who came all the way, the dishes are mainly from the Central Plains, which took a lot of thought.

It's just that no matter how careful they were, they couldn't distinguish the various cuisines from different places, so that dishes from all over the state were placed on each table, which made Yan Shu and others dumbfounded.

Tubo people naturally do not believe in 'no talking when eating, no talking when sleeping', so Zong Siluo only used a little of the dishes, put them aside and stopped looking at them, and just focused on looking for Lu Ci to talk about.

While Lu Ci was responding smoothly, he was methodically tasting the dishes in front of him in the gaps.

What Zhe Siluo didn't notice was that the initiative of the topic had been quietly taken away by Song Chen in front of him.

Every time Lu Ci throws out a burden, and when Ji Siluo can't help recalling his conjectures, he will take a few sips leisurely, accompanied by a few sips of butter tea; if Gu Siluo responds quickly, he will only taste a few refreshing Highland barley wine, elegant response.

In the eyes of outsiders, the atmosphere on both sides is quite good, and the posture has changed from polite and blunt to a bit of gentleness and laziness.

Even Yan Shu and other envoys, who were uncomfortable at first, gradually relaxed and talked with some Tubo officials who spoke blunt Chinese.

Although the highland barley wine was not strong, two cups of underbelly still stained Lu Ci's porcelain-white face with a touch of powder, making him slightly drunk; Ji Siluo, who was never used to wearing Hanfu, loosened the gold belt around his waist, and a pair of The long legs also have to relax a little from the sitting posture.

It's just that, unlike Ji Siluo who focuses on the content of the conversation, Lu Ci still has time to distract himself from another matter that he cares more about——

After flicking around with his peripheral vision, the ray of his mind fell on the blind and felt corners who looked uneasy and seemed out of place with the surroundings.

The author has something to say: Notes:

1. About the name.

Yesterday, I saw a reader leave a message saying that the name of Tubo is a bit difficult to understand, and the name of the son of Ji Siluo is more like a random one, so today I deliberately found some literature to read, and now I will share it.

First of all, Zongsiluo is not his real name.

"Analysis of the Sound of "唃" in "唃Siluo" says:

Boom, the Chinese word for 'Buddha', '啦', the Chinese word for 'male'.Claiming to be a Buddha man, he is also called the Son of Heaven in China. "It is also clearly recorded in "Song History Tubo Biography": "People in Hezhou call the Buddha '唃' and call their son 'Siluo'.

According to the records of the Song Dynasty, his real name was to bully Nanling Wen Yubu.Mr. Kan Ben from the Qinghai Provincial Department of Culture explained the name based on the Tibetan language. He believes that there is no dispute that Huangbu is Zanpu. "Bao Nan" should be the Amdo dialect of "Chi Nan", and it should also mean the leader, Zanpu.Lingwen is the thought of Zanpu's grandson.In this way, the phonetic transcription of "Hui Nanling Wen Yubu" in today's Chinese is "Chinan Dewen Zanpu", which means "the grandson of Tianzu Zanpu, Zanpu is also"

In the article "Also Talking about the Genealogy, Life Experience and Others of Zongsiluo", it is explained that the word "felt" in the descendants of Zongsiluo is related to the "Chizan" which was respected by the prince in the Tubo period; Tang, in fact, is also an elegant word for "Ji Tang" (Kirin Beach or Junma Beach, a horse farm rich in horses) in Chinese.

2. The description of Tubo palaces (including Qiaolou and ornaments) is from "Looking Back at the Qingtang Dynasty", the specific content is excerpted as follows:

The west city of Qingtang City is the center of Dzongkha’s political culture. The palace complex sitting south and north is here. There are two Qiaolou in front of the palace. Standing on Qiaolou, you can walk and overlook the four sides of Qingtang City. Behind Qiaolou are the Zhongmen and Yimen. , the middle gate is the door that ministers must pass through when they go to court. The Yimen is for servants to enter and exit. And tidy, the living room is rectangular or square, the inside is clean and elegant, the floor is covered with a sky blue carpet, and the surroundings of the carpet are decorated with pulu.More than 20 meters from the middle gate is the main hall, which is the place where Ji Siluo handles government affairs. The foundation of the main hall is eight or nine feet higher than the houses of the concubines. The flat roof is a combination of brick and wood structure, and the roof is paved with tube tiles or glazed tiles. The ridge of the roof is decorated with golden wheels, golden buildings, golden deer, and prayer flags. The copper bell, which houses the wolf-headed beast, is painted with gold powder, copper powder, and glaze. The hall is magnificent and brightly shining.In the palace hall, the throne that resounds from the clang rises more than ten feet above the ground.

On it, there is a gold-lacquered seat made of sandalwood on it. The chair is covered with a whole piece of tiger skin, and the back is against the screen.

Eagle pattern decorations, green glazed brick walls around the throne, scarlet carpets under the seat, red, yellow, blue, green, white and other colored silks are used on the throne to make ceilings and algae wells. One side is painted with swords, halberds, axes, battle axes and other weapons patterns, and the other side is painted with flying horses, flying cows, flying sheep and other birds and beasts.Next to the hall, there is a large gold-decorated Buddha statue as high as ten feet, inlaid with pearls and covered with a feather cover.The third prison governs in the building next to the main hall in front of the Buddha statue.During the discussion, the ministers answered correctly under the throne.

3. Regarding the guard of honor for this interview, I used the same treatment as when Liu Huan, the imperial envoy of the Song Dynasty, came to Qingtang City in 1039 AD (the second year of Song Renzong's Baoyuan reign) to invite Xiangsi to send troops to attack Xixia.

The Tsongkha Kingdom led Liu Huan to the main hall with tall and mighty knights as the pioneers. '"Looking Back at the Youth and the Tang Dynasty"

4. Regarding the attire of Zongsiluo and the imperial edict read by Lu Ci, I also used the one written by Liu Huanlai, but the details are from the article "Song History·Jiaosiluo Biography".