Wanyan Liyao held the jade cup in both hands, staring straight at the hot steam rising from Tingting in the cup, his legs were tight together, and his toes moved from time to time, it was obvious that he was very uncomfortable. The old man sitting in front of him is the Minister of Rites of the Great Sui Dynasty, a senior member of the second rank, since Wan Yanyong, the Khan of the Northern Liao Dynasty, decided to leave the Mongolian Yuan Empire and seek refuge in the Great Sui, he sent no less than ten groups of envoys to quietly enter the Great Sui Dynasty to seek an audience with the Great Sui Since Emperor Sui, this is the first time to enjoy such a high standard of courtesy.
After those envoys arrived in Chang'an in the past, although the court of the Sui Dynasty also treated each other with courtesy and received many rewards from His Majesty the Emperor of the Sui Dynasty, there was no progress in the matter of pleading to be a minister of the Sui Dynasty. The emperor did not see them at all.
This time, it seems things have turned around.
Wanyan Liyao was familiar with all the books about the Sui Dynasty, and had asked many people about the Sui Dynasty. He even pretended to be a Han Chinese when he was young, and lived in the Central Plains for three years. If it hadn’t been for some serious incidents in the Shiwanda Mountains of the Northern Liao, he would have preferred to be an ordinary citizen of the Sui Dynasty in a small city of the Sui Dynasty. .
The Hundred Thousand Mountains are too bitter and cold, and there is no way to compare with the splendid world of the Sui Dynasty.
He likes the beautiful mountains and clear waters of the Sui Dynasty, the self-confidence on the faces of the people of the Sui Dynasty, the writing of the Sui Dynasty, and even the women of the Sui Dynasty. Although if he is willing, all the beautiful women in Beiliao are willing to marry him. Northern Liao is poor and extremely cold, but women are the most beautiful in the world.
In the harem of the Great Sui Emperor, there were also several beautiful women from the Northern Liao land. The Da Ke Dun of the Mongolian Yuan Empire came from the Mongolian and Yuan nobles, but three of the twelve small Ke Duns came from the Northern Liao Dynasty.
The nobles of the Mongolian Yuan Empire and the wealthy merchants of the Sui Dynasty also boasted of marrying a woman from the Northern Liao land. Women from Beiliao are not only fair-skinned, but also naturally charming. I don't know how many wealthy businessmen have lost interest in those Yingying Yanyans in brothels after getting a Beiliao woman.
But even so, Wanyan Liyao still felt that during the three years of living in seclusion in the Sui Dynasty, he would rather marry a country woman from the Sui Dynasty with a lot of hands and feet. . When he got up in the morning, he went to the field with a hoe, and his wife wiped his sweat and handed him water. The days were ordinary, but safe and secure.
In the northern Liao land, there is no land to cultivate.
"I heard that the coldness of a hundred thousand mountains is unmatched in the world. When I was young, I wanted to go to your place to have a look. Later, I ran out of time to become an official. Later, the burden on my body was lighter and I had leisure time. , I can’t even move my body.”
Huai Qiugong saw Wanyan Liyao's embarrassment, smiled and said: "Da Sui has always regarded you Beiliao people as friends, and you can feel it even if you want to come here. So you shouldn't be so uneasy when you arrive in Chang'an. This is your second hometown."
Wanyan Liyao quickly put down the jade cup in his hand, put his hands together and said sincerely: "Hundreds of thousands of people in Beiliao are willing to prostrate their allegiance at the feet of the great Tian Khan. You know, we have incomparable sincerity and Loyal. As long as the great Tian Khan is willing, our whole family can even migrate into the Central Plains to be obedient citizens of the Sui Dynasty. We are willing to cultivate the land for the Sui Dynasty, and we are willing to donate our horses and money."
Huai Qiugong couldn't help smiling, stroked the snow-white beard on his chin and said with a smile: "Your Majesty does not lack hundreds of thousands of people, and the Sui Dynasty also has plenty of land."
Wanyan Liyao's eyes dimmed for a while, she didn't know what to say.
"What His Majesty values is your sincerity."
Huai Qiugong personally filled the tea for Wanyan Liyao, and said kindly and kindly: "Before I came, His Majesty specifically explained that he knew the thoughts of the people in Beiliao towards Da Sui. Let you rest assured that this matter is not It can be decided in a day and a half. Da Sui’s national strength is the highest in the world, and he has never been afraid of any enemies. But to do something blindly without any preparation is stupid... I say this, do you understand?"
"The grass people understand."
Wanyan Liyao's heart skipped a beat, and she almost couldn't help laughing. The meaning of Huai Qiugong's words was already very clear, how could he not be pleasantly surprised
"You're no grassroots."
Huai Qiugong picked up a thin stack of papers on the table beside him, flipped through them casually and said with a light smile: "In the third year of Tianyou in the Sui Dynasty, you entered the customs from Shandong Dao Niangzi, and you used the name Chen Sansheng. The Da Sui Luyin was issued by the government of Xiangcheng County, Hexi Road. I don’t know how much money you bought it, but that’s not important. The magistrate of Xiangcheng was beheaded because of this incident, but he just announced that He died of illness."
"You have lived in the countryside of Xiangcheng for three years. Apart from visiting the mountains and rivers, you just shut yourself at home and read books. You are very diligent and studious, and you have mastered good calligraphy. Even the calligraphy written by the professor of Xiangcheng and Rural Studies is not as good as You write beautifully, but only for three years, your knowledge is incomparable to that of the professor. Three years later, because your father... that is, Khan Wanyanyong of Beiliao wanted to eradicate his brother who was trying to rebel, so he called you back to discuss , so you left Xiangcheng and returned to Beiliao. I firmly believe that the reason why Wan Yanyong made up his mind to surrender to Tai Sui is absolutely inseparable from your three years in Tai Sui... Am I right, from Beiliao? His Royal Highness Prince Wanyan Chongde?"
Wanyan Liyao's complexion changed drastically, and he subconsciously shrank back. His eyes were full of disbelief when he looked at Huai Qiugong, and more of it was fear.
"do not be afraid."
Huai Qiugong smiled and raised the paper in his hand: "I just found out about this. This thing was given to me by Lord Hou, the governor of the Qingya Township before I came. In Qingya, there are not only information about you That’s it. If you hadn’t lived in the Xiangcheng countryside for three years, you really did your duty and studied, and you didn’t have any other thoughts when you went to the mountains and rivers occasionally, and you didn’t deliberately inquire about the situation of the Sui frontier army, how could you live? till now?"
Da Sui Qingya!
Zhenfu envoy Hou adults.
Wanyan Liyao remembered these two names deeply in his heart, and his awe of Da Sui became much stronger in his heart.
…
…
The Great Sui Kingdom occupied the Central Plains and never lacked large-scale cities. And the largest one is naturally Chang'an City, the imperial capital. How big is Chang'an City, I am afraid that many old people who have lived here all their lives can't tell clearly. Because the construction of Chang'an City has not stopped since the founding of the country in the Sui Dynasty for more than a hundred years. The emperors of the Sui Dynasty had two things that must be done, and they never changed.
First, foreign wars, taking a piece of other people's land and turning it into the land of the Sui Dynasty.
Second, repair and expand Chang'an City.
Compared with his father, Yang Yi, the current emperor of the Sui Dynasty, Tianyou Emperor, has one thing to be commended. That is, His Majesty the Emperor, who does not seem to have a tough style, has completed most of the repairs and expansions of Chang'an City. Because Wu Yiyi, a wealthy man from the Sui Dynasty, willingly donated half of his family property, property worth hundreds of thousands of gold, to repair an entire city wall. It also includes the new construction of the forty-eight squares in the city. Of course, as a reward, the Emperor of the Sui Dynasty not only granted Wu Yidao a first-class marquis, but also gave him an entire street in the forty-eight squares.
Chang'an City is 128 miles long from east to west, and 108 miles from north to south.
How huge is the project of just building the city wall
For more than a hundred years, Chang'an City has been continuously under construction. When Emperor Tianyou finally almost completed the repairs, Chang'an City can really be regarded as a complete imperial capital. The city wall is two feet wide and four feet nine feet high. More than a dozen soldiers can walk side by side on the wide wall. Horse face and archery tower are all available. A heavy crossbow is installed every thirty steps, and a mace is installed every two steps.
Just the money spent on building heavy crossbows and maces is enough to stagger.
There are four cities in the east, west, south and north of Chang'an City, thirteen gates in each of the three cities in the east, west and south, and ten gates in the north city, taking the number of forty-nine. When Wanyan Liyao entered the city, he walked through the smallest Dinggan Gate, which already shocked him beyond measure. If he walked through Yongding Gate, which is just south of Houde Gate in the north, he might be so surprised that he couldn't even walk.
Chang'an City is the heart of Sui Dynasty, and Tai Chi Palace is the heart of Chang'an City.
The imperial palace is located in Beicheng, covering an area of 10,000 mu.
The imperial palace is roughly divided into four parts, with the Taiji Palace in the middle, where the emperor discusses matters. To the west of Taiji Palace is Yeting Palace, and to the northeast is the East Palace where the prince lives. To the south is the imperial city, where the empress and concubines live.
The emperor went to court in the Tai Chi Hall.
From the small gate at the back of the Taiji Hall, you can go northwards not far to the Baohe Hall, which is more than a circle smaller than the Taiji Hall, but its importance is not much less than that of the Taiji Hall, because it is the emperor's palace. A place to rest and deal with government affairs. The so-called imperial study room is located in the Palace of Preserving Harmony.
The Imperial Study Room is the East Nuan Pavilion of the Palace of Preserving Harmony.
Tianyou Emperor Yang Yi can be said to be the most unfeminine emperor among all the emperors since the founding of the Sui Dynasty. His number of concubines is one-third of his father's, which is not enough. His favorite woman was still the empress, and even the most critical person could not accuse the emperor of any fault in this respect.
The emperor seldom returned to live in the imperial city, and usually lived in Dongnuange. The courtiers all said that the emperor was diligent, but in fact it was because he was too lazy.
The emperor had complained more than once in private, why did he build the palace so big, he had to walk such a long way to pick up a girl, what can he do if his legs are sore when he gets there? How did he know that the people have already complained that if the people in the west city want to go to the Huifeng Building in the east city to have a meal, they have to leave one day in advance, and they have to find an inn to stay in an inn after traveling all day and halfway in the city's direct carriage …
Huai Qiugong, Shangshu of the Ministry of Rites, has the privilege of not kneeling before the emperor because he is old and has made great contributions. Not only did he not have to kneel, but he would have a stool to sit on whenever he came in the East Nuan Pavilion.
"How about it?"
The emperor pinched a piece of almond cake and put it in his mouth, while eating, he read the memorial. This is a somewhat eccentric emperor. He doesn't like to sit on chairs, but has someone build an earthen kang in the East Nuan Pavilion. When dealing with government affairs, he likes to sit cross-legged on the earthen kang, and when he is tired, he will lie down and squat for a while.
Of course, this was also praised by the courtiers as a performance of diligence.
In fact, it was because he was lazy.
Lazy is lazy in a certain way, and he has never slackened in handling state affairs.
Huai Qiugong pursed his lips, but did not answer.
Emperor Yang Yi waited for a while and saw no answer. He looked sideways and found that the old minister with white hair and beard was staring at his almond cake and kept licking his lips. He couldn't help smiling, and ordered his servant Su Buwei to bring the remaining half plate of almond cakes to Huai Qiugong.
"It's not shameful to be old."
Huai Qiugong picked up a piece of almond cake and stuffed it into his mouth, he chewed and replied: "Looking at the sweetness of your majesty's food, I feel greedy... The Beiliao people should be fine, it's not like a conspiracy set up by Meng Yuan." The old minister thought about it, if it was really Meng Yuan's game, this game is too rough."
"Brother Meng has this idea, but he doesn't have the courage."
The emperor smiled and asked: "Fan Gu, the border city, was guarded by Li Xiaozong, right? He is a clever man, and he sent people to Chang'an immediately if he knew it."
"After listening to what Yan Chongde said, it was a man named Fang Jie who saw through their thoughts. He also told him to rest assured that when he arrived in Chang'an, he would definitely be visited by a lot of officials."
"Fang Jie?"
The emperor was startled: "Why does this name sound familiar?"
The eunuch Su Buwei, who stood bowed beside him, reminded softly: "Isn't it the candidate Fan Gu selected to send to the Academy of Martial Arts? Your Majesty talked about it with Lord Hou, the governor of Qingya, yesterday."
"It's him again?!"
The emperor sat up straight, and after thinking for a while, he picked up a thick book from the table, picked up a Chinese ink pen, and wrote the two characters 下下解 neatly on the book, and then wrote a note under the name in small letters. , After drying the ink stains, close the book and put it aside.
The book is thick and looks old. Cyan, with three large characters written squarely on the cover.
"Storage talent record".