Long Sword and Jun Wu

Chapter 143 Dancing Around the World
"good!"
"good!"
The ministers all echoed, and this time they all meant it sincerely. Many people who were not drunk stood up and applauded, including the envoys from various countries who came to celebrate the birthday. Gongsun Ling's sword dance on the pond really amazed them.

Gongsun Ling bowed again, and Li Longji smiled and asked: "Gongsun Ling, how did you do it?" He looked at the Taiye Pond, wanting to find out, "What secrets are under the water?"

Gongsun Ling smiled slightly. She would not say it in public. She was about to tell him in private, but before she could open her mouth, someone beside her suddenly shouted, "I know, I know, hiccup, Saint, I know."
Everyone looked over and saw a man in a white shirt who looked like a scholar standing up shakily. It turned out to be Li Bai. Li Longji saw that he was drunk and his cheeks were red. He must have been drunk for a long time. He couldn't help but asked with a smile: "My dear Li, do you really know?"
"I know, of course I know, burp..." Li Bai burped again and staggered towards the Taiye Lake.

He Zhizhang also opened his intoxicated eyes, "Brother Taibai, where are you going? Let's drink again."
Li Longji smiled and shook his head, secretly criticizing He Zhizhang, the old man, who had been drunk since he met Li Bai, his drinking buddy. The two of them, who were friends regardless of age, had been drinking and partying every night. Now they met again at the state banquet, and they were both drunk again.

Li Bai was so drunk that he staggered past Gongsun Ling and headed for the Taiye Lake. Gongsun Ling did not stop him. Although Li Bai knew the secret under the water, he had never rehearsed it and did not know how to step, because the wooden stakes were arranged and nailed according to the steps of the Cixu Step. If he did not know the direction, he would not be able to stand at all. It can be said that so far, only himself and Pei Min could do it.

Li Bai walked to the edge of the pool and jumped forward, thinking that he could stand steadily on the water like Gongsun Ling, but, as expected, he fell into the pool with a "plop".

"Ha ha ha ha.".

"Hahaha."
The guests laughed without restraint, some even fell to the ground, and some even knocked over the table.

Also because of Li Bai's leading the way, many people who also wanted to go to the pond to find out what was going on silently gave up and no longer dared to think about going up and embarrass themselves.

Li Longji also smiled helplessly and said, "Hurry up and pick him up."
Pei Min led his men and rushed quickly to the edge of the pool. Even without the emperor's instruction, he wanted to rescue his friend as soon as possible. He didn't want Li Bai to drown in the pool.

After everyone had laughed enough at the banquet, they began to drink, chat and laugh, and the sound of brass and music made the banquet very lively.

The people of Zuo Jinwu Guard went to pull Li Bai out of the water. Pei Min walked towards Gongsun Ling and saw Ni An waiting on the side with a cloak in his hand. He quickly took it and put it on Gongsun Ling.

Although Gongsun Ling did not fall into the water, the sword dance caused a lot of splashes of water, which fell on her hair and body. The night wind was chilly and it was still easy to catch a cold.

"Are you cold? Are you tired?" Pei Min felt anxious when he saw the water droplets on her hair.

Gongsun Ling shook his head, "No, it will be Li Bai who will be cold later."
Pei Min laughed, "I'll send someone to send him back right away."
"Ask the housekeeper to make him some ginger tea. If he gets drunk and catches a cold, he'll easily fall ill."
Pei Min nodded in agreement. After Li Bai was rescued and spit out a few mouthfuls of water, he had someone wrap him in a cloak and quickly send him home. The emperor on the high throne originally wanted to ask Li Bai to write a poem for the wonderful sword dance just now, but Li Bai did not play by the rules, so he had to give up, feeling a little disappointed with him.

Now watching the interaction between Gongsun Ling and Pei Min in the distance, he felt very satisfied. He smiled and gave a few instructions to Gao Lishi beside him.

Gao Lishi said in a clear voice: "The performance of the opera was excellent today. Your Majesty is very pleased and will reward you. Gongsun's sword dance is unique in the world and will be rewarded generously."
The dancers in the Pear Garden knelt down to express their gratitude. Originally, they were all very repulsive to Gongsun Ling, the intruder, but tonight her performance was so wonderful that everyone felt inferior to her. In addition, because of her, everyone in the Pear Garden received praise from the Saint and received rewards. They could not help but shed tears of gratitude to Gongsun Ling.

Wu Huifei glanced at Li Longji, then looked at Gongsun Ling and Pei Min standing in the distance, seeing that they were indeed a talented and beautiful couple. She also looked at Ni An standing not far away and smiling at them, as if thinking about something.

Probably the only person who was unhappy at the scene was the Khitan Princess Li Tingmu.

She stood up and bowed to the emperor, "Your Majesty, I have something to say."
Li Longji was in high spirits and agreed indifferently, "You say."
Li Tingmu: "Today I saw the dance of the women in the imperial court, which was truly unparalleled in the world, but I wonder how the men of the Tang Dynasty are doing?"
Li Longji was puzzled and asked: "What does this mean?"

Li Tingmu: "I heard that the generals of the Tang Dynasty are all highly skilled in martial arts and brave. This time, in addition to celebrating your majesty's birthday and performing a dance, I, the Khitan, also brought a few warriors with me. I would like to have a competition with the generals of the Tang Dynasty. Your Majesty, will you grant me permission?"
Li Longji raised his eyebrows, with no expression of joy or anger on his face.

Everyone at the banquet was talking to each other. This Khitan princess was really ignorant and ignorant! How dare she come to the Tang Dynasty to challenge a duel?

The two countries' warriors are competing in martial arts? In fact, they are also eager to try, but I don't know what the emperor thinks? If the Tang Dynasty warriors win, it will be good. But if the Tang Dynasty warriors are defeated by the warriors of other countries, it will not only be the warriors who will be embarrassed, but also the face of the entire Tang Dynasty.

Although the Tang Dynasty currently has a conciliatory policy towards the surrounding countries, the strength of a country still depends mainly on military force. At the banquet tonight, the Tang Dynasty dancers danced to the world and earned enough face for the Tang Emperor, but if they lost in the competition, the damage to their reputation would not be comparable to a few sword dances.

Li Longji's mind raced. He would naturally think of what those ministers thought of, but if he rejected Khitan, the Tang Dynasty would also lose face. He glanced at Pei Min in the distance, and then looked around at his sixteen imperial guards. After a while, he laughed loudly, stood up and said, "Hahaha, I heard that Khitan has hidden dragons and crouching tigers. I also want to see them. However, if the Khitan and the Tang Dynasty compete with each other, it would be too monotonous. How about this? Three days later, a martial arts competition will be held in the palace's martial arts arena. Warriors from all countries can participate. No matter which country the winner is, I will reward him handsomely."
As soon as these words came out, everyone at the banquet was shocked. They didn't expect the emperor to accept the challenge so easily. But more importantly, it was confidence. Whether it was the Tang Dynasty or the envoys of various countries, everyone wanted to send warriors to compete in the arena.

Li Tingmu realized that her goal had been achieved, so she saluted to the emperor and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty. It is my honor to be able to see the elegance of a warrior in the court, and it is also the honor of all nations."
She glanced at Pei Min and smiled. She had completed her uncle's request and found a reason to move forward.

It's time for a man to come on stage and save face