The Happy Life of Small Officials in Northern Song Dynasty

"What? You actually agreed?" At the Yan Mansion's night banquet, Su Jin yelled with his neck straight.

Yan Biyun hurriedly pulled Su Jin's clothes corner lightly behind him, motioning him to sit down and talk, Su Jin realized that he was too emotional just now, knocked over the wine cup in front of him when he got up, and the drink was dripping everywhere .

"This... the old man did agree for you." Yan Shu knew that Su Jin would have such a reaction. Although he was mentally prepared, he was still a little embarrassed.

"Master Sansi, you are trying to push me into the fire pit. How can I, Su Jin, do such a thing? Brother Fu alone is not enough, and you still let them pull me in, obviously because This matter is difficult, so Lu Yijian and Du Yan strongly recommended Brother Fu to do it, this is to make Brother Fu look good, you are better... hey!"

"Brother Su Xian, be careful." Fu Bi reached out to pat Su Jin on the shoulder and said.

Su Jin rolled his eyes at him, and cursed inwardly: You idiot, I'm afraid your father-in-law won't be able to cover you this time. Do you think you'll have something good to eat when negotiating with the Liao people?If one is not good, it is a traitor who loses his power and humiliates the country. He also told me to pay attention to my words, and if I sell you, I will help count the money.

"Su Jin, to tell you the truth, I have no choice but to forgive you." Yan Shu said earnestly while motioning the maid to wipe off the dripping wine in front of Su Jin.

"I don't know that Lu Xiang and Du Shumi did it on purpose, but the situation at that time is not for the old man to distinguish. Most of the officials in the court also agreed, and the emperor also agreed. How do you say I refute it?"

"Then you dragged me in too?" Su Jin asked with his eyes wide open.

"Don't be too busy, the reason why the old man agreed to you as the deputy envoy actually has other meanings; do you think, can Yan Guo handle this matter of negotiating with the Liao people well?"

Su Jin looked at Fu Bi, shook his head and said, "I can't guess this, Brother Fu is talented, but this time, what he met was not a gentleman, but a bunch of northern wolves who messed around. I can’t tell, I’m afraid it’s enough for Brother Fu.”

"Wait! Once Yan Guo is not good at this errand, and he will give others an excuse, some people are waiting for this time; the old man has worked so hard to cultivate Yang Guo for so many years, and it is finally here today, and he will take another step to Yan Guo You can be a minister of the central government, but once this matter is not handled well, it will be fine if the official position is exhausted, I am afraid that they will still refuse to let Yang Guo go, can you bear to watch this happen?"

Su Jin spread his hands and said: "Of course I can't bear it, but I can't do anything. Even the third envoy can't stop you, who am I?"

Yan Shu said: "No, that's what the old man thinks. Since they all think that this matter is bound to fail, let's just settle this matter and make it difficult for their tricks to succeed. Isn't it the best of both worlds?"

Su Jin said: "Do you have a good way to make the Liao envoy give in?"

Yan Shu said, "I can't help it."

Su Jin said: "Then what are you talking about? Have you ever been addicted to cursing and arguing on the street?"

Yan Shu said, "I don't have one, but someone can do it well."

"Who?" Su Jin asked.

"Far in the sky, close in front of you."

Su Jin pointed to her nose and said, "You mean... me?"

Yan Shu nodded and said, "The reason why the old man agrees to you as the deputy envoy is because he thinks you can solve this matter."

"Joke! It's a big joke; how can I, Su Jinhe De, be so valued by adults, you still forgive me, I can't deal with these guys."

Yan Shu said calmly, "You showed your ability to deal with these unreasonable people when you handled the grain affairs. Those treacherous merchants and ink officials were all vicious and treacherous, and they were not defeated by your subordinates one by one in the end. You It’s just that I don’t know what I’m capable of. This time when the Liao envoy came to visit, just as you said, Yan Guo’s negotiation with them is like a scholar meets a soldier, and there is no chance of winning at all. His wise plan will surely succeed."

Su Jin cupped his hands and said, "Thank you for your love, but you think highly of me, Su Jin, and I'm not capable of doing this."

"Could it be that you just watched Yan Guo fail and return, only to be questioned by the law in the end?"

"I can't help..."

"Don't you think Yan Guo is sincere to you?"

"No way, I can't figure it out either."

Yan Shu heaved a long sigh and said, "Forget it, since you insist on refusing to do so, the old man will discuss this matter with the majesty tomorrow morning; the emperor also guessed that you would not agree, so today the imperial edict appointing you has not been issued, order the old man Sprying your words, it really hit the mark of the emperor."

Su Jin remained silent, and Yan Shu said again: "You have learned how to behave yourself and know how to protect yourself wisely. I can't blame you for this. Even if you go, it will be difficult for you to do anything. It seems that the old man really thinks highly of you. "

Su Jin said in his heart: "Follow me with the method of provoking generals, and avoid such tricks."

Fu Bi couldn't stand it anymore, got up and said, "Father-in-law, why do you force others to make things difficult for you? Brother Su Xian is indeed in trouble, and my son-in-law doesn't want to drag him into this matter. Tomorrow, my son-in-law will invite the Holy One to choose another deputy." That's right; this time I will follow the emperor's instructions, and if something goes wrong, the emperor can't say anything."

Yan Shu sighed: "Yanguo, why don't you understand that even if you act according to the imperial decree, as long as the terms are unfavorable to Song Dynasty, someone will come out to play you; they will only target you, and will not admit that you are acting according to the imperial decree , and when the time comes, do you think the emperor will stand up and admit that it is his will? Absolutely not! To put it bluntly, the fault of the emperor is the fault of the courtiers. If the emperor makes a mistake, the courtiers will take the blame. If it weren't for the fact that all the people present here are the closest relatives of my son and nephew, how could this old man say such stupid words."

Fu Bi said loudly: "Since that's the case, my son-in-law is going to give it a go. In the worst case, he will lose his official position if he messes up. What else can he do?"

Yan Shu frowned and said, "Official position is a trivial matter, so I'm afraid of losing my life. If the two sides break down the talks and really meet each other in battle, you will be a sinner through the ages; under the current situation, my Great Song Dynasty is by no means an opponent of the Liao Kingdom. "

Fu Bi stood stunned for a while, then sat down slumped, speechless.

Su Jin looked coldly at the pair of Weng and his son-in-law who were relatively speechless, and wanted to figure out if they were putting on a play for him to see, but seeing the two of them drinking one cup after another, the maid who was serving the wine could hardly keep up , It doesn't look like you are acting.

While thinking about it, the corner of his clothes moved, and he turned his face to look, only to see Yan Biyun looked at himself with tears in his eyes and said softly: "Is there really nothing you can do? If there is a way, why not save my brother-in-law's family, the relationship between my slave family and my cousin is very good , I often lived with her when I was a child; if my brother-in-law had something wrong, my sister would definitely not survive, then my family... my family will really be heartbroken to death."

Seeing this posture, Su Jin couldn't stand it any longer. He gritted his teeth after thinking for a while and said, "Master Sansi, do you really think I am qualified for this position?"

Yan Shu put down his wine glass and nodded repeatedly: "If the old man didn't think you can handle this job well, why would he agree in public? Why would the old man push you into the pit of fire for no reason? It's because if you take office, you will be able to keep Yanguo together."

Su Jin picked up a glass full of wine in front of him and poured it down. Still feeling puzzled, he stretched out his hand and took Yan Biyun's remaining half of the wine, drank it in one gulp, wiped his mouth and said, "If we die, we will die together. Su Jin is also greatly favored by Lord Sansi's love, even though I have no confidence in myself, but life and death are fate, so just do it."

Yan Shu turned from worry to joy and said, "Okay, but you can't go with the will to die. If the errand is done, the old man will guarantee you to be the magistrate; if it can't be done, I will let Yan Guo bear the blame alone, and I will never ruin your future." ;Otherwise Biyun girl will not spare me."

Yan Biyun said angrily, "What did your uncle say..."

Yan Shu took out an imperial edict from his pocket and handed it to Su Jin, saying: "The emperor's edict, your appointment has already been issued. I don't want to make things difficult for others, so I didn't show it to you for review; but it's different now, you have accepted the order voluntarily." , from now on, you will be the Emperor's Deputy Negotiator, negotiating with the Liao people together with Yan Guo."

Su Jin cursed secretly: Damn, the original edict has already been issued, today is actually to drive ducks to the shelves, you have to do it if you don’t do it, what are you saying tomorrow, please don’t issue an edict, and change the deputy envoy tomorrow, etc., it’s up to him Damn it's a show, I was deceived by these two old bastards; take precautions against house thieves.

He looked at Yan Biyun in a blink of an eye, wondering if she was also working as a babysitter, but seeing Yan Biyun looked innocently at Su Jin with a wry smile, his eyes were full of apology.

Su Jin sighed and said: "I have nothing to say now, but I can tell you that I don't know where these Liao people come from, or what they have to do with Song Dynasty; I don't know how to start."

Fu Bi raised his glass and came over and said: "Good brother, let's go to sleep tonight, brother Yu will tell you the whole story of the future, so that you can know the entanglement of grievances between our two countries; Make a negotiation."

Su Jin rolled his eyes at him, drank the wine, and asked, "What else do you want?"

Fu Bi said: "My father-in-law and I have made it clear that although I am nominally envoy and you are the deputy envoy, you are still in charge of the actual negotiations. Brother, I will be your deputy."

Su Jin waved his hand and said, "How can I do that? Isn't this just to make me look good?"

Fu Bi was in a hurry to explain, but Yan Shu said first: "This is the emperor's intention. After the old man retired from court, he entered the palace and had a conversation with the emperor. Before leaving, the emperor told him so, so we will do so."

Su Jin was silent and worried secretly, what should I do about this matter?I have no foundation at all; and thinking of "falling to sleep" with Fu Bi later, Su Jin is even more worried; Jin's heart skipped a beat: Maybe tonight will be a blessing in disguise, and I don't know if I will be married here; if so, it can be regarded as a happy ending to this unlucky and troubled day.