Chapter 255 Yan Kuan's Question
Yan Kuan hurried and hurried, and after more than half a month, he finally arrived at Shangjing City.
The next day, the Liao emperor summoned Yan Kuan, who sternly questioned why the Liao had violated the alliance and sent a small group of cavalry disguised as bandits to harass the Song border.
It’s not that Yan Kuan is that brave. Before he went on the mission, the emperor warned him not to lose his dignity.
If he was submissive, not only would the government not let him go after he returned, but he would also be despised by others.
Yan Kuan had no choice but to question him harshly.
Fortunately, what he worried about did not happen. In response to his questioning, the Emperor of Liao did not get angry.
In fact, Yan Kuan was overthinking it. In recent years, the Song Dynasty would send people to question him almost every year, and the envoys who came said almost the same thing as Yan Kuan.
In the eyes of the Liao people, he was just a tough guy with a weak heart. How could they get angry about this?
The Liao officials in the court still refused to acknowledge it as before.
Not only that, they also turned around and said that the Song Dynasty and Western Xia had made peace with each other before, and they were repairing and reinforcing the border cities, intending to tear up the alliance and launch an attack on the Liao Kingdom.
Yan Kuan naturally refused to admit it, saying that the border cities had fallen into disrepair and the Song Dynasty had just repaired them, and had no intention of raising troops.
Liao officials countered that Liao and Song had a brotherly pact of non-aggression, and it was impossible for Liao to mobilize troops against the Song.
The Song Dynasty's repair of the city was a sign of distrust of the Liao Kingdom and a threat to the Liao Kingdom's border security. It should be stopped immediately and the annual tribute should be increased by 100,000 taels as compensation.
Otherwise, if the Song Dynasty broke the alliance first, the Liao Dynasty would send troops.
Yan Kuan naturally couldn't agree to it. Besides, he had no say in such matters.
As Yan Kuan was able to become the Minister of Rites, he had some eloquence. He quoted classics to rebuke the ministers of the Liao Kingdom, and he looked like he was debating with a group of scholars.
In fact, Yan Kuan had also realized what was going on at this time. The Liao Kingdom should not have any intention of raising an army, otherwise it would have directly deployed troops on the border as it did in the past and forced the Song Dynasty to increase the annual tribute.
Therefore, Yan Kuan was very relaxed. When he was arguing with the Liao officials, he was even thinking that his debate with the Liao officials in the Liao court today would become a good story when he returned to the Song Dynasty and his name might even be recorded in history.
"All right!"
The Liao emperor, who had been silent until now, spoke up to stop the argument and said, "It is meaningless to continue arguing about this matter. Besides, the Song envoy cannot make the decision. When you go back, tell the Song emperor what the Liao emperor means and see whether he wants to fight or make peace."
The Liao emperor did not give Yan Kuan a chance to speak, and said, "Someone send the Song envoy back to the post station!"
After saying this, he announced the end of the court session and left the palace.
Yan Kuan had no choice but to return to the post station with the Liao officials seeing him off.
"Barbarians are barbarians, they don't know any etiquette. The Song Dynasty and the Liao Dynasty are brother countries, the Song Dynasty is the elder brother and the Liao Dynasty is the younger brother. Your Majesty is a generation older than the Liao Emperor. We are here to represent your Majesty, but the Liao Emperor didn't even host a banquet for us!"
After Yan Kuan returned to the post station, facing the inquiries of other officials, he recounted his performance during the meeting with the Liao Emperor, and then expressed contempt for the Liao Kingdom.
When the Treaty of Shanyuan was signed, it was agreed that the two countries would be brother countries and address each other as brothers. The current Emperor of Liao is one generation younger than you.
"Why do you have to argue with the barbarians? I heard that some of the food they eat is half-cooked. How is it different from animals?"
"Yes, it's best if the Emperor of Liao doesn't hold a banquet. Otherwise, if we really serve half-cooked food, we would be impolite if we don't eat it, and wouldn't we be beasts if we eat it?"
"Lord Yan was in the Liao court today, debating hundreds of Liao officials, showing the style of our Song Dynasty, the Celestial Empire. How magnificent! It will surely become a good story in the future!"
No matter what the accompanying officials thought, after hearing Yan Kuan's story, some of them followed suit to belittle the Liao Kingdom, while others began to flatter him.
Yan Kuan was very proud of what he heard and said with a smile: "You are right, it is better not to hold a banquet. But the Liao Emperor asked us to go back and report to the emperor. What do you think we should do?"
"Lord Yan, we are on a diplomatic mission under orders. We cannot make the decision on this matter. We can only return to the Song Dynasty and report to the government for a decision." said a smart official.
The others were a little hesitant when they heard this. They had just arrived in Liao State and had not achieved any of the goals assigned by the government. It would be inappropriate to go back like this.
Just as they were thinking about how to make a decision, a voice came from outside the door: "Sir, the Left Vice Minister of the Southern Court of Liao wants to see you."
"Humph." Yan Kuan said coldly, "I am the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites of the Song Dynasty, and the Liao Kingdom sent a Left Vice Minister. Do you think this is equal? Let him wait!"
The Liao Dynasty was different from the Song Dynasty. The Liao Dynasty respected the right, while the Song Dynasty respected the left.
He, the right vice minister, seemed to be equal to the left vice minister of Liao.
But that's not the case at all.
The Liao Dynasty had two courts, the North and the South. Both courts had the Privy Council and the Prime Minister. There were also six ministries and departments such as the bureau, the court, the temple, and the supervision.
The Southern Courtyard was used to house Han officials, most of whom had no real power.
Not to mention a Vice Minister of Rites in the South Courtyard, even if the Minister of Rites came, he would not be equal to him.
The people from the North Courtyard are about the same.
Moreover, he was sent as an envoy on behalf of God, and the Liao Kingdom sent the kings of the North and South Courts to be qualified.
"Mr. Yan, the Liao Kingdom sent someone here at this time, maybe there is some other intention, it is better to meet him." An official reminded. Most of the officials in the South Court are Han officials, whose identities are very sensitive. If they don't get orders, they will avoid the officials of the Song Dynasty, and they will never take the initiative to come to the door.
"Of course I know that, I just want to show him off so that I can gain the upper hand when we meet." Yan Kuan said.
"Mr. Yan's brilliant plan is to expose those people who have forgotten their origins."
As soon as Yan Kuan finished speaking, he was met with another wave of flattery.
Yan Kuan laughed out loud and waited for a while. Feeling that the time was about right, he went to the front hall to meet the Left Vice Minister of the Liao Kingdom's Southern Courtyard Ministry of Rites.
Although the Liao Kingdom was somewhat poor in terms of etiquette, it did not treat the Song envoys badly in terms of accommodation.
When the Treaty of Shanyuan was signed, the two countries also had a honeymoon period. The Liao Kingdom even reserved a special residence for the envoys of the Song Dynasty in Shangjing, and provided servants to take care of it all year round.
However, Yan Kuan did not trust the servants arranged by the Liao Kingdom, so he discussed things with others in the hall in the courtyard where he lived.
When Yan Kuan arrived at the front hall, he saw a man in his forties, dressed in the style of the late Tang Dynasty, sitting in the hall.
At the end of the Tang Dynasty, the world was in chaos, and clothing styles mostly retained the styles of the late Tang Dynasty.
After the establishment of the Song Dynasty, clothing styles changed.
However, the Han people in Liao had never been ruled by the Song Dynasty, so they would not wear Song-style clothes.
Although there were some changes in clothing due to the integration with the Khitan, the style was not much different from that of the late Tang Dynasty.
When the man saw Yan Kuan coming in, he stood up and performed a Han ritual, then said with a smile, "I am Hong Ze, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites of the Southern Courtyard. Nice to meet the envoy from Song!"
Yan Kuan returned the greeting and said, "This is my first time in Liao. I am not used to the local climate and feel a little unwell. I am sorry to have kept Minister Hong waiting for so long."
Hongze looked a little worried and said, "I wonder if your health has improved? If you are still not feeling well, I will ask His Majesty to send an imperial physician to see you."
"Thank you for your kindness, Minister Hong. I have a doctor with me who has examined the patient and he is fine. Please take a seat!"
Yan Kuan invited Hongze to sit down, and without asking about his purpose, he started chatting with Hongze about all sorts of things.
Hongze didn't seem to be in a hurry and chatted with Yan Kuan with a smile.
As they chatted, they discovered that they were actually from the same hometown.
Hongze was from Jiangdu. His ancestors fled to Youzhou to escape the war.
At that time, the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun had not yet been offered to the Liao Kingdom.
Later, as the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun were presented to the Liao Kingdom, they also became Liao citizens.
Although the two of them did not feel tears welling up in their eyes as if they were fellow villagers meeting each other, they acted as if they were very close to each other.
After chatting for a while, they started calling each other "Brother Yan" and "Brother Hong".
Hongze looked very excited to meet a fellow villager, and said, "Brother Yan and I are from the same hometown, so I won't beat around the bush. I came here this time because I have something I want to talk to Brother Yan about alone."
Yan Kuan hesitated when he heard this. After all, Hong Ze was an official of the Liao Kingdom. If he spoke alone, he would be criticized.
After all, there were officials from the Song Dynasty who defected to the Liao Kingdom.
Hong Ze seemed to see Yan Kuan's worry and smiled, "I'm not worried, so why should you worry, Brother Yan? Don't worry, Brother Yan, what I say will only benefit you."
Yan Kuan was silent for a while after hearing this, and then said, "All of you go down!"
"Yes!" The servant serving in the room bowed and left.
Yan Kuan looked at Hong Ze, waiting for his next words.
"Brother Yan, now it's just the two of us. What I say will reach your ears. I'll be frank with you. The horse bandits who have been plundering the border of the Song Dynasty in recent years were indeed sent by the Liao Kingdom." Hong Ze said shockingly.
"Ha." Yan Kuan sneered and said sarcastically, "The Liao Kingdom has been doing all sorts of sneaky things and doesn't even dare to admit it."
"Brother Yan, there's no need to be so angry. Just listen to me first."
Hong Ze paused and said, "It's not that my emperor doesn't recognize it, but that he can't recognize it. The situation of Liao is different from that of Song. The nobles of Liao have certain military power in their hands, and these military powers are completely controlled by them. Although large-scale mobilization requires permission. But they sent a small-scale cavalry to plunder, even my emperor can't investigate it deeply."
"It's hard to investigate further?" Yan Kuan said sarcastically, "If you don't investigate further, you are ignoring the facts. The two countries have an alliance, and the annual gift of money has never been delayed. A few years ago, when the Liao Kingdom suffered a disaster, the gift of money was exchanged for food and given to the Liao Kingdom in advance. But the Liao Kingdom sent people disguised as horse bandits to rob the people on the border of the Song Dynasty every year. Now you cover it up with a sentence of "It's hard to investigate further"? "
"Brother Yan, how do you think we can investigate this situation? These people have military power in their hands. If we deal with them, we will lose the support of the people. Our emperor is also in a difficult situation. This is the only way." Hongze said with tears and laughter.
"Brother Hong, you didn't come here just to tell me these, did you?" Yan Kuan said calmly.
The horse bandits were sent by the Liao Kingdom, and the upper echelons of the Song Dynasty were not unaware of this.
The reason why he showed anger and made some sarcastic remarks just now was actually because of his identity.
He just had to do this from his point of view, and he was not that angry.
(End of this chapter)