Chapter 294 Possibility of Cooperation
When Sheng Changbai met Zhao Xing in the palace, Li Ge left the house that Sheng Changbai had arranged for him.
He refused the servants' request to prepare the car, saying that he wanted to go out for a walk.
Li Ge and his entourage strolled around the city of Bianjing, stopping to look at street stalls and then at shops, as if they were really on a trip.
"Master, someone is following us." The follower reminded in a low voice.
Li Ge took a lacquerware in his hand and looked at it carefully, then asked softly, "How many people are there?"
"There are four of them, and they are well disguised. I'm not sure if there are only four of them." said the follower.
"Watch carefully and don't let them notice."
Li Ge remained calm, put down the lacquerware in his hand, and picked up another one.
It is normal for someone to monitor him. If no one is monitoring him, he will become suspicious.
I stayed in the store for a long time, bought nothing, and left the store.
Li Ge then strolled around for a long time. At noon, he found a restaurant to have lunch, and continued strolling around until late in the evening when he returned to the house.
As soon as I entered the door, the doorman reported that Sheng Changsong had arrived.
Li Ge nodded and came to the front hall.
"Uncle Li, where have you been?" Sheng Changsong asked hurriedly when he saw Li Ge coming back.
"Haha, I'm bored, so I go out for a walk. Bianjing is really prosperous." Li Ge said with a smile.
"Uncle Li, there are a lot of playboys in Bian Jing, so it's better to bring more people with you when you go out. If you really encounter any trouble, I can rush over to help you out." Sheng Changsong said.
Li Ge sneered in his heart when he heard this. All the servants in this courtyard were arranged by Sheng Changsong. How could he dare to bring them with him?
Li Ge laughed and said, "What did His Royal Highness say? Yelu Chongyuan is still waiting for my news. If it takes too long, he will be suspicious."
"I went to the palace today to ask His Highness, and he said that the emperor has not agreed. His Highness will try to persuade them again. Uncle Li, please wait patiently for a few days." Sheng Changsong said.
Li Ge was secretly delighted when he heard this. He also needed time to verify some information, so he was naturally not in a hurry.
But on the surface he looked very anxious and asked Sheng Changsong to urge Zhao Xing.
Sheng Changsong agreed, chatted with Li Ge for a while, and then said goodbye and left.
The next day, Li Ge continued to wander around the city of Bianjing, still with only his followers.
…………
After Zhao Xing got the news, he smiled and didn't care.
He needed to give Li Ge enough time to verify. If he gave Li Ge the result now, Li Ge would have no reason to stay in Bian Jing.
The matter of Li Ge had not yet come to a conclusion, but Zhao Xing received news from the northwest.
Western Xia sent envoys to the Song Dynasty, who had already entered the territory of the Song Dynasty and were heading towards Bian Jing.
After hearing this news, Zhao Xing began to speculate the purpose of Xixia's mission.
During this period, he was also paying attention to the developments in Western Xia.
The young emperor of Western Xia is indeed very capable and has now completely taken control of the power of Western Xia.
There is a subtle movement to transfer troops towards the plateau, which suggests that they are planning to mobilize troops on the plateau.
Sending an envoy here at this time, could it be that they are planning to send troops and are sending people to test the attitude of the Song Dynasty?
Apart from this, Zhao Xing couldn't think of any other possibility for a moment.
However, he was too lazy to worry about it. No matter what Xixia's purpose was, he would know it naturally when the Xixia envoy arrived.
Zhao Xing delayed Li Ge for five or six days until Li Ge could no longer sit still and asked to see him several times with Sheng Changsong, and then Zhao Xing summoned him.
Although Li Ge had been asking about Sheng Changsong in the past few days, he did not say he wanted to see him.
He was so anxious to see him at this time, obviously he had already verified the information he wanted to know and was eager to leave.
"Greetings to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!" Li Ge saluted.
"No need to be polite!" Zhao Xing waved his hand and said, "Why are you so anxious to see me?"
"I wonder how your Highness is trying to persuade His Majesty?" Li Ge asked. "My father doesn't agree, but I'm still trying to persuade him. Why are you so anxious?" Zhao Xing said impatiently.
Li Ge said with a bitter face: "Your Highness, I am not anxious, it is just that I have delayed too long. If I don't go back, Yelu Chongyuan will be suspicious of me."
"But now you haven't done what Yelu Chongyuan asked you to do. How can Yelu Chongyuan let you go after you go back? Or you can wait a little longer?" Zhao Xing looked like he was thinking about Li Ge.
Li Ge cursed in his heart. The Song Dynasty had no intention of withdrawing its troops. What would happen if he waited any longer?
Now he has judged from some information that the Song Dynasty is indeed going to build the Great Wall in the north.
As long as he brought this news back, it wouldn't matter whether the Song Dynasty withdrew its troops or not.
No matter how magical cement is, with such a long border, is it possible to build the Great Wall in just a few months?
Building the Great Wall required a huge amount of manpower and material resources. Before that, the Song Dynasty simply did not have the ability to send troops.
Even the Song Dynasty is still trying to keep the news secret. How long can this news be kept secret?
When the Song Dynasty was building it, the Liao Kingdom would naturally know about it.
"But how are you going to explain to Yelu Chongyuan when you go back?" Zhao Xing asked.
"I will say that the Song Dynasty does not agree. Yelu Chongyuan cannot do anything to me because of this. At most, he will just not use me. But in this case, I will not be able to provide any useful information to Your Highness." Li Ge said with regret.
"Well, then, in that case, I won't keep you here. I will find a way to help you gain Yelu Chongyuan's trust in the future." Zhao Xing painted a big picture for Li Ge.
Li Ge cursed in his heart, if you told me the real purpose of the Song Dynasty, wouldn't I be able to gain Yelu Chongyuan's trust?
He also said that he would help him gain Yelu Chongyuan's trust in the future, but he must be kidding.
However, he knew in his heart that Zhao Xing did not trust him.
Has he ever trusted Zhao Xing?
If Zhao Xing really told him the purpose of the Song Dynasty, he would suspect it was a trap.
Although he thought so in his heart, Li Ge had a grateful look on his face and expressed his loyalty to Zhao Xing.
Zhao Xing played nice with him for a while and then let him go back.
After Li Ge left, Zhao Xing sneered in his heart, thinking that Yelu Chongyuan would let down his guard and fight with Yelu Yixin.
…………
A few days after Li Ge left, envoys from Western Xia arrived in Bian Jing.
The chief envoy of the Western Xia envoy this time was a boy of about sixteen or seventeen years old.
The official from the Ministry of Rites who came to greet him looked a little unhappy when he saw that Xixia was actually a teenager.
Being able to become the mastermind at this age clearly shows that this young man is not a simple person.
But no matter how extraordinary he was, he was just a young master. Representing Western Xia on a diplomatic mission to the Song Dynasty would be a humiliation to the Song Dynasty.
However, when the young man announced his identity, the official from the Ministry of Rites' expression softened.
The young man's name was Liang Yimai. He was the son of the prime minister of Western Xia and the younger brother of the current queen.
The officials who came to greet them all knew something about the situation in Western Xia.
Today, the Liang family holds great power in Western Xia. Under the Liang family's suggestion, the Western Xia emperor promoted many Han officials.
Although the number of officials in the Xixia court today is not exaggerated to the point where they account for the majority.
However, Liang Guangchuan, the prime minister of Western Xia, was highly trusted by the emperor of Western Xia. These people, led by Liang Guangchuan, were already able to compete with the officials of the Dangxiang tribe.
As the son of the prime minister of Western Xia and a relative by marriage, Liang Yimai was qualified to be the mastermind.
The receiving official sent someone to the palace to report the news, and then placed Liang Yimai and his party in the Honglu Temple.
Zhao Xing was also somewhat surprised to learn that the mastermind behind this Xixia attack was actually the son of Liang Guangchuan, the prime minister of Xixia.
According to his speculation, this person might be the same person as Sima Yi.
Although the Liang family failed to completely seize the Western Xia regime in the end.
But the Liang family is Han Chinese. It is hard to imagine how difficult it was for them to control power for more than ten years in a foreign regime.
I don’t know if there is any possibility of cooperation.
(End of this chapter)