The Bad Guys: Playing the Fake Li Xingyun at the Beginning

In fact, this was also what Su Ming was worried about. If he wanted to start a harem, he had to have a reasonable reason. A rash change would certainly arouse suspicion. It had come to this point, and he didn't want to create unnecessary trouble and increase the risk of being exposed.

Zhang Zifan sighed with a sad face. This was the fact that made him feel it was difficult to deal with. "How can I get Li Xingyun to agree? Besides, Brother Li told me that even if Yelu Abaoji's daughter married into the family, she would not be the empress, because the court officials and people of the Tang Dynasty would not allow a woman of a foreign race to be their empress."

At this point, Zhang Zifan became even more distressed and said angrily, "Isn't this putting me in a difficult position? If I had known earlier, I would not have come down the mountain to get involved in this matter."

Li Cunyi shook his head, looked at Zhang Zifan, and sighed, "Don't rush to persuade Li Xingyun. Li Siyuan will definitely not stand idly by when the court is in session tomorrow. He must be planning something bad. Maybe the turning point will come from Li Siyuan."

Things seemed to have reached a dead end. Zhang Zifan couldn't even deal with the people around Su Ming, let alone persuade Su Ming to agree to the marriage. Moreover, after passing Su Ming, he still had to pass the Khitan hurdle.

In order to have an opportunity to go south to the Central Plains and accelerate the internal strife of the Tang Dynasty, would Yelu Abaoji be willing to send his daughter to Li Xingyun as a concubine?

It's all unknown.

······

The next day, the court meeting was held as usual.

"clang!"

As the bronze bell rang, court officials entered the Taiji Hall one after another and stood in two rows, civil and military.

"Your Majesty is here!"

As the eunuch sang, Su Ming walked slowly to the dragon chair and sat on the imperial throne.

Although Li Siyuan was ready, he did not rush into battle. Instead, he signaled the court officials to handle government affairs and discuss state affairs as usual. He did not show his fangs until half of the court meeting time had passed.

Chapter 65 The Battle in the Court

Kong Xianwen was the first among the ministers to step out. Holding a tablet in his hand, he said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty, the imperial envoy Zhang Zifan who was sent to Khitan has returned to the court. I want to know when he will report to the Ministry of Rites."

Looking at Kong Xianwen, who was wearing a scarlet official robe and had gray hair and beard in the hall, a strange light flashed in Su Ming's eyes. Li Siyuan was finally going to take action.

He doesn't have many cards to play, but Li Siyuan controls the court and has many more cards to play than him. Since he allowed Zhang Zifan to return to Beijing, he must have taken some action. This confrontation will determine the future direction.

Su Mingzong stood up from the dragon chair and walked slowly, "Master Kong, I want to ask you, why did Zhang Zifan go to the Ministry of Rites to report?"

Kong Xianwen had no expression on his face, and replied calmly, "Your Majesty, diplomacy with other countries is a matter of etiquette and in accordance with the law. I hope Your Majesty will understand."

The next moment, Su Ming's voice suddenly rose three degrees, "Mingjian?"

"Lord Kong, when I sent envoys to Khitan, no one in the court dared to stand up, let alone your Ministry of Rites, and now you dare to let me see it!"

"I have seen clearly, what do I need your Ministry of Rites for?"

A low voice echoed in the hall. At this moment, all the officials' eyes were on Kong Xianwen. Everyone wanted to hear how he would defend himself.

Kong Xianwen held the tablet and bowed, his attitude very sincere. "Your Majesty, in the past few decades, the Khitan has been invading the border of our Tang Dynasty and harassing the people. Their crimes are extremely heinous and cannot be tolerated by heaven. Therefore, officials from top to bottom of the court hate them deeply and are unwilling to have anything to do with them. They will wait for revenge in the future."

"But now that the people sent by Your Majesty have returned safely from Mobei, it means that the Khitan leader is willing to communicate with our Tang Dynasty. Although our dynasty has not restored its former glory, it is still a great country with its own etiquette and manners. We cannot turn them away."

Su Ming's lips curled up into a smile. "Since you don't want to associate with them, why not just reject them? If the Khitans march south in the future, the officials of the Ministry of Rites have such a strong desire to serve the country, why don't you go into battle and kill the enemy, fight the Khitans to the death, report to the court, and protect the people."

"Isn't this the fulfillment of your loyalty and righteousness? What do you think, my dear ministers?"

Silence, unspeakable silence.

No one expected Su Ming's words to be so merciless, and they refuted him without leaving any way out.

However, Kong Xianwen had expected Su Ming's difficulty. He trembled and said in an old voice, "If I were young, as long as Your Majesty gave an order, I would naturally be willing to fight bravely and serve the country. But now I am old and only have this broken body left. I can't even hold a weapon to fight the enemy. If the Khitan is willing to make peace with our Tang Dynasty and stop the war, that would be the best."

“But if the Khitans have evil ambitions and want to make some unreasonable demands to infringe upon our Tang Dynasty, I, an old minister, would not let them succeed even at the cost of my old bones!” He spoke until the end, shouting at the top of his lungs, as if he was truly a loyal minister who devoted himself to his country.

At this time, Yan Suchen, who was standing on the side, also echoed, "Your Majesty, I am also willing to come forward and do my part for the court to crush the conspiracy of the Khitan thieves."

As soon as he finished speaking, all the officials of the Ministry of Rites stood up one after another, and the momentum grew.

Su Ming's expression darkened instantly, "Are you trying to force the emperor to abdicate?"

Kong Xianwen and all the officials of the Ministry of Rites knelt on the ground, "I dare not, I beg Your Majesty to put state affairs first!"

"Since you advised me to put state affairs first, why didn't you go as an envoy to Khitan? You are receiving a salary from the court, but you dare not even do the work of the Ministry of Rites. What use do I have for you?"

"Your salaries are earned bit by bit by the people of the world. If you don't serve the court loyally, you are not only sorry for me, but also sorry for the people of the world and your official robes."

"However, since you are willing to serve the country, I am willing to give you this opportunity."

"Before, I sent an envoy to Khitan, but no one from the court participated. It was not formal, and it could not represent our Tang Dynasty. I plan to send an envoy to Khitan again. Everyone, who among you is willing to go?"

This one sentence immediately made the ministers stop talking. Kong Xianwen and Yan Suchen even buried their heads deeply on the carpet, seeming to be very ashamed.

Is that a diplomatic mission to Khitan? That's courting death, right?

Everyone knows that the people of the grassland are fierce and vicious. If you go there, you may never come back. Maybe they will die on the grassland. King Jin will be very happy because that means he can establish military merits and seize power again.

But when a person dies, he is really dead. No one is willing to pave the way for others, even at the cost of his own life.

Above the court hall, there was silence.

Almost all the officials turned their attention to Li Siyuan, because it was his indifference at the beginning that led to no officials participating in the mission, resulting in the current situation of being in the wrong.

Li Siyuan cursed inwardly, but had to bite the bullet and step out to smooth things over. "Your Majesty, a while ago, your Majesty had just ascended the throne, and the officials of the Ministry of Rites were busy exchanging gifts with various places and had no time to go on a diplomatic mission to the grasslands. It's not that the officials of the Ministry of Rites are afraid of death, but they are too busy to do anything. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."

Su Ming sat back on the dragon chair and chuckled, "Since the King of Jin pleaded for you, let's put this matter aside for now. I will make a note of this for you. If you get into trouble again in the future, I will never let you off easily!"

After this incident was exposed, the officials of the Ministry of Rites kowtowed immediately and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your forgiveness!"

"Let's get back to the point. Since you want to participate in this mission and help me share my worries, how can I refuse?"

"Someone, call Zhang Zifan!"

Outside the main hall, a waiter called out his name, "Call Zhang Zifan to the palace to see the emperor!"

Soon, Zhang Zifan stepped into the hall, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you!"

"No need to be so polite, just stand up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

After Zhang Zifan stood up, Su Ming spoke, "Zhang Zifan, you went on a diplomatic mission to Khitan and brought back a letter from the Khitan leader. Present it to me."

"Wei Chen obeys!"

Then, Zhang Zifan took out a bright yellow scroll from his sleeve and raised his hands high above his head.

The eunuch in the hall quickly stepped forward to take it down and handed it to Su Ming. Although he had seen this letter yesterday, it did not stop him from reading it again.

At this moment, the eyes of all the officials in the court were focused on the scroll in his hand, even Li Siyuan was no exception.

They were all curious about what the Khitan leader, Yelu Abaoji, wrote in the letter.

"Pass it on, let everyone have a look and discuss it." After looking at it for a while, Su Ming handed the scroll to a waiter on the side and asked him to pass it to the ministers for reading.

The first person to get the scroll was Li Siyuan. He opened the scroll and read the articles inside carefully, word by word, very carefully.

However, the more he read, the more frightened he became. The more he read, the more confused he became. Why was this article so lenient? It was even more lenient than the private agreement he had made with the Khitan.

This is not common sense at all!

What does Yelu Abaoji want to do!

Chapter 66: Confrontation in the Court

After reading it, Li Siyuan handed it to Kong Xianwen and Yan Suchen. The two old ministers showed surprise when they saw the contents of the letter. The conditions mentioned in it were really loose. Both sides stood on an equal level, would not attack each other, withdraw border troops, and promise not to go south. Correspondingly, the Tang Dynasty only needed to open up trade and trade what it needed with them.

There is no need for annual tribute or submission, and the Tang Dynasty can even get a big advantage. If it is really implemented, an alliance with the Khitan will bring infinite benefits to the Tang Dynasty. At least it will no longer have to bear the pressure from the grassland.

The two old ministers looked at each other and were very moved, but when they saw Li Siyuan's expressionless face, they fell silent.

Afterwards, the letter was passed among the ministers. Everyone was shocked by the terms on it. Even the military generals who did not understand the ins and outs of it were astonished. There was only one thought left in their minds: Could the Khitans be so kind?

At this time, the ministers were talking about it, all of them were doubtful. No one believed that the Khitan would be so kind.

After a moment, Su Ming glanced at the ministers in the hall and said loudly, "Do you have any objections to the contents of this letter?"

Li Siyuan said nothing, and Kong Xianwen came out to charge again. As Li Siyuan's number one thug in the court, he had to speak out.

"Your Majesty, I would like to ask Master Zhang, is this letter of credence definitely signed by the Khitan ruler? Did he mention any other conditions?"

"Yes, the conditions of this letter are so favorable. It doesn't seem like the Khitan people's style at all. They must have a conspiracy!"

"Yes, I don't believe the Khitans can be so kind."

······

Over the years, the Khitans had come south many times to threaten the court officials, and the officials had long been accustomed to their brutal style. It was hard not to be suspicious when they did this now.

Li Cunli, who was standing among the ministers, couldn't help but reveal a playful smile when he saw this scene. Zhang Zifan's return to Luoyang did not mean the end of things, but it had just begun. If he couldn't withstand this wave, what was the use of a good beginning.

Just as the ministers were getting angry, the eunuch in the palace shouted, "Silence!"

Soon, the ministers quieted down and waited for Zhang Zifan's answer.

Zhang Zifan smiled slightly and said in a deep voice, "You probably don't know that when I was traveling around the world, I once saved the Khitan leader, Yelu Abaoji, in the snowy mountains of Mobei. At that time, he was not called this name, but Liu Yi."

He looked around and raised his voice three times, "Everyone, is the life of the Khitan leader not as important as this letter?"

After hearing this, everyone was speechless. We only have one life, and the life of the Khitan leader is even more precious. If what he said was true, there would be no problem in signing this letter.

However, there were some people who did not believe what he said, but they did not speak out. Instead, they waited for the “smart people” to speak.

At this time, Kong Xianwen stood up to refute, "Zhang Zifan, this is just your one-sided statement. Who knows if what you said is true? Maybe you have colluded with the Khitan king and secretly sold out the interests of the court. Do we have to find the Khitan king to verify the favor of saving our lives?"

Since Li Siyuan gave him an endorsement yesterday, he will play the role of a vanguard today.

"Everyone, let's not be fooled by him."

As soon as he said that, the ministers reacted and accused Zhang Zifan of empty talk without any evidence.

However, they did not know the hidden story of this matter. In the hall, Su Ming watched this scene with great interest. He found that Li Siyuan's expression became more and more solemn, and he obviously knew some of the inside story.

Zhang Zifan was not panicked when he was besieged by the ministers. He still had a calm smile on his face. "In fact, your majesty and the King of Jin both know about this matter. When the Longquan Sword was destroyed, your majesty and I traveled thousands of miles to the Tianshan Mountains in Mobei to recast the Longquan Sword. This matter has been widely spread in the martial arts world."

At this point, he looked at Li Siyuan and asked, "I wonder if His Royal Highness Prince Jin knows about this?"

Li Siyuan was of course concerned about the Longquan Sword and the Longquan Treasure. In fact, when Li Xingyun set out to Mobei to repair the Longquan Sword, he got the news. Not only him, but also Huanyinfang and Xuanming Sect were paying attention to the matter.

After all, the Longquan Sword is related to the Longquan treasure. Whoever gets the treasure will get the world. How could Li Siyuan not be jealous?

But he didn't expect that the person Li Xingyun and his friends accidentally rescued would actually be the Khitan leader Yelu Abaoji. If he had known this, he should have sent someone to kill him.

Once Yelu Abaoji died, Khitan immediately fell apart, and the threat to Jin State in the north no longer existed.

What a pity!

However, just when he was about to deny it, he saw Su Ming on the dragon throne with a faint sneer on his face, as if he was not worried at all that he would deny it.

Li Siyuan still didn't understand what Yelu Abaoji meant by submitting this letter. When he saw Su Ming's smile, his heart skipped a beat and he swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth.