Around the main hall of the house, there must be layers of defense every five steps by warriors wearing cloth robes and carrying swords.
There were two levels of tables and chairs on the left and right of the main door. There was not one chair placed directly above, but a row of tables and chairs. On each table was a wooden sign with a piece of paper with a name written on it. On the table were pens, inkstones, teacups, and even a plate of glutinous rice desserts. The tables in the entire meeting room were arranged like a courtyard.
On both sides of the room, musicians were sitting or standing with their instruments ready. The envoys and officials of various countries also found their seats one after another according to their names. Although it was noisy because there were too many people in one room, it seemed orderly.
Not long after, several painters came in with paper, ink and painting tools.
It was already noon and the weather was a bit hot. Everyone was drinking water while waiting for the meeting to begin.
But the chairs next to the wooden sign with the words "Wang Pu, the Privy Councilor of Daxu, Xiao Siwen, the Envoy of Liao Kingdom, etc." were still empty. At this time, a group of young girls dressed in green robes and buns dressed as men came in, each holding a stack of papers and placing one on each table.
Everyone picked up the paper in front of them and looked at it. On it was written the Treaty of Chanyuan in both Chinese and Khitan. The Goryeo Kingdom, the Yuben Kingdom, and the Dangxiang people and the Tibetans had always had close contacts with the Central Plains. The history books of the Goryeo Kingdom and the Yuben Kingdom were also written in Chinese, so the envoys sent should also know Chinese.
At this time, Wang Pu, Xiao Siwen and several others came in and were led to the upper seats by the clerks. Several Khitans also saw the name tags on the table and found a place to sit down.
At this time, someone stood up and bowed, and then people stood up one after another, performing various gestures of greeting.
Wang Pu stood up and clasped his fists to his left and right, saying: "I would like to thank all the countries and regions for sending envoys to Chanzhou to witness the alliance between Xuzhou and Liaozhou. If the officials of Xuzhou have not been good enough in receiving you, I hope you will forgive me."
After he said that, he waved his hand and said: Let’s start.
The drums began to beat, and the sounds of harps joined in. A group of women dressed in linen and leather entered the hall one after another, with feathers in their hair and wooden shields in their hands. They walked quickly to the center of the hall and danced to the drums.
Although they are dancers, their dance is very rough. They take horse stances in unison, with their legs raised high when taking steps, and the shields in their hands dancing at any time.
For a moment, the hall seemed to have returned to the barbaric era of eating raw meat and drinking blood. It was mysterious and unrestrained, and the atmosphere changed accordingly.
The strange dance music did not last long, and the dancers left after they finished dancing. Immediately, a civil servant walked to the upper side, unfolded the file and said in a loud voice: The two countries of Xu and Liao have been at war for a long time, and the military and civilians have suffered for a long time. Today, the king and ministers of Liao have proposed to negotiate an alliance. The court of Daxu, with the people of the country in mind, is willing to turn hostility into friendship and do its best to quell the feud with Liao. The kings and ministers of the two countries voluntarily discussed and sent envoys to make a brotherly alliance on behalf of the king, with Daxu as the elder brother and Liao as the younger brother, and to treat each other in harmony. The Liao Kingdom recognized that the Xu army had occupied Jinzhou, Liaoxi Island, the entire territory of Suzhou, Dalian and Lushun, and ceded them to Daxu. The two countries used Linghe and Dalinghe as the boundary in Jinzhou; Daxu’s sea and land armies withdrew and stopped attacking the Liao army. From then on, the harassment and attacks ended, and they worked together to seek peace.
As soon as he finished speaking, an official brought two files mounted on yellow silk and placed them in front of Wang Pu. Wang Pu picked up his pen, dipped it twice in the inkstone, signed quickly, and then took the seal of the Privy Council and stamped the two files.
The official put away the file, walked a few steps to the east, and placed it in front of Xiao Siwen again.
Xiao Siwen picked up the file and read it through. His skin flushed and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. He slowly reached out his hand to pick up the pen, looked up and looked around, and saw countless eyes focused on him. The painter by the wall was working hard on his painting, and people in various costumes were watching him and witnessing everything.
Xiao Siwen has weighed the consequences of this matter countless times, but he is still worried at this moment.
He had to take the blame, but could he not do so now? Xiao Siwen held a glimmer of hope in his heart. If he only took the blame for this humiliating alliance, he would still have a chance of survival after returning home. This was also the reason why he chose to agree to the alliance.
I just hope there won't be any more mistakes or pressure, not even a straw.
Xiao Siwen finally signed and sealed the file.
At this time, the cries of cattle and sheep were heard outside, and soon, an official came in with a wooden plate carrying blood wine. Wang Pu first took a bowl, raised it, turned around and said to Xiao Siwen: From today on, the two countries of Xu and Liao will become friends instead of enemies. Please
Xiao Siwen also picked up the bowl and drank with Wang Pu.
After drinking, Wang Pu put down the bowl, stood up and said: Everyone present, please sign the file in front of you as a token of witness.
At this time, the Korean envoy stood up and bowed, saying: "I dare not sign this item.
Wang Pu glanced at him and said, "Leave it empty. You can rest in the courtyard later. The court will host a banquet at noon." He then clasped his fists and left.
Eunuch Wang Zhong trotted over and stepped into a door. He saw Guo Shao sitting on a stool with his back to the door, looking at a painting on the wall.
Wang Zhong immediately bowed and said: "Your Majesty, the alliance has just been reached. Xiao Siwen signed in public and swore an oath of blood with Envoy Wang."
Guo Shao's body seemed to relax a lot in an instant. He said calmly: The person in the painting is old and has not many days left. He sits alone in the snow, with a pure heart and no interest in anything. Even if he is rich enough to rival a country, has power and many children and grandchildren, what is the meaning of life
Wang Zhong didn't dare to talk about business anymore, and quickly agreed: "The emperor is absolutely right."
Guo Shao turned around, so before he died, he didn't have to be too complacent, he just had to do what he had to do and take action when he had to. His speech became faster, you go and remind Wang Pu that before the luncheon, he must ask the Liao Kingdom to send a deputy envoy to send the alliance back quickly, and at the same time send someone with the imperial edict to accompany the Liao Kingdom deputy envoy, so that he can see with his own eyes that the court fulfilled the alliance and ordered the Liaoxi armies to cease fighting.
Wang Zhong held the whisk in his hand, bent down and said: I obey your command.
Guo Shao was in a good mood. He stood up from the stool and breathed a sigh of relief, immediately forgetting his previous interest in ink painting.
At noon, he and Fu Jinzhan, who lived in the back garden, changed into formal clothes and came to the banquet in the hall. Amid the music of bells and drums, everyone at the banquet bowed to the two of them, and they walked steadily to the upper seats and took their seats.
Everyone shouted loudly, "Long live Your Majesty and the Queen!"
Everyone, please stand up. Guo Shao made a gesture, turned his head and glanced at Fu Jinzhan, and the two of them raised their glasses in tacit understanding. Guo Shao said, "Congratulations to the world for its peace."
Wang Pu and others said, "I hope the people of all countries can enjoy peace together. The country is blessed, and the people are blessed."
After everyone finished drinking, Guo Shao stretched out his arm and gently gestured downward, asking everyone to sit down. Then a group of young women came in with delicacies and put more fish on the banquet.
Soon, an actor with white powder on his face came forward and bowed, saying: I am humble and have staged a play to entertain the emperor, the queen, and all the gentlemen. Please grant me your permission.
Guo Shao turned his head and saw Fu Jinzhan smiling and nodding slightly. He smiled and said:
I am grateful for your kindness, said the actor.
Soon a group of actors came to the hall with props, and a male actor wearing a fur hat with tall feathers on it beat the leather drum. Everyone was drinking and eating meat, while looking over with interest. The envoys from various countries and tribes came to watch the fun, with fine wine, delicious food and performances, and most of them had happy smiles on their faces.
The male actor who was beating the drum sat down on a chair embroidered with tiger skin, spread his legs, held his head high and said: I am the ruler of the Great Malaysian Khanate, and you all should come and pay homage to me.
The other actors quickly knelt on the ground and kowtowed in exaggerated gestures: "The Great Khan is wise and mighty!"
The king suddenly frowned, pointed at a man on the ground and said angrily: Come, take this guy out and chop him up!
A kneeling actor shouted: It's unfair, what did I do wrong
The king cursed: I told you to wear a dog-skin hat, I told you to wear a dog-skin hat, and then he made eyes at the people around him.
Hahaha everyone burst into laughter.
Two actors came forward, one dragged the frightened actor by the arm and dragged him to the side. Then they took out a wooden knife and chopped at the actor kneeling on the ground, making a sound: "Ka".
Ah, I'm dead. The man who was chopped fell to the ground with his limbs spread out.
Guo Shao, who was in a higher position, glanced at Xiao Siwen and saw that Xiao Siwen's eyes were wide open and his face was red with shame and anger.
The actors continued. Then another man with black ink painted on his face came on stage and said to the audience: I am the governor of the Khanate, responsible for guarding Nanzhou. Nanzhou was seized by the Dama Khanate, and the land is fertile and rich in products.
He lowered his head in a worried look, pointed at the king sitting on the tiger-skin chair and said to the audience, "I can't hold on to Nanzhou any longer. The Khan is so cruel, how can he spare me? What should I do?"
Immediately, a soldier came forward and knelt on one knee: General, something terrible has happened. Nanzhou is under siege by the enemy.
Ah, the frontier minister was so frightened that his whole body trembled, and his hat fell off. He quickly squatted on the ground to pick up the hat and put it on. He was shaking all over, and his fists were placed on his chin. I was so scared.
Hey, the frontier minister was delighted and said, "The Khan is so cruel, so the Khanate is so weak. I stabbed the Khan to death, and the loss of Nanzhou is his fault. Huh, hh ...
Immediately, an actor wearing an apron and holding a wooden kitchen knife came forward and bowed, saying: General, I am the cook beside the Khan. I will help you kill the cruel Khan.
The good provincial governor waved his hand and put his mouth close to the cook's ear and whispered.
The cook stood up, took a kitchen knife and walked to the actor playing the Khan, then swung the knife and chopped him down.
Ah, I'm dead! Dahan fell down and squeezed a water bag, and red juice splashed all over him.
When Guo Shao, who was in a higher position, observed Xiao Siwen again, he saw that he had clenched his fists and veins bulged on his forehead, as if he was holding back something, and his eyes were filled with not only shame and anger, but also dead fear.