Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 684 It’s not impossible

Shi Siming looked at Shi Chaoyi, who was kneeling on the ground and trembling, and there was only anger in his heart, without any pity.

Everything has changed since he failed in his last attack on Ye City and fell from the top of the city wall and was seriously injured.

Shi Chaoyi rebelled and showed his fangs to him. In the following years, Shi Siming fought with this guy to the death!
How could he, how dare he!

Shi Siming couldn't understand why Shi Chaoyi dared to rebel at that time. But that happened several years ago, and looking at his eldest son kneeling on the ground and trembling, he felt a little melancholy.

After recaptured Pinglu Town and captured Liucheng, what next?

All that is left is emptiness.

Shi Siming grabbed Shi Chaoyi's hair and slashed his neck with a knife. Blood splattered all over him, and Shi Chaoyi slowly fell to the ground and died.

He didn't cry, beg for mercy, or even curse.

Perhaps, Shi Chaoyi also knew that this day would come sooner or later, but it just came a little too early.

"Go and inform Madam Xin to stay in Liucheng temporarily. Also, ask Shi Chaoqing to come along."

Shi Siming gave an order to the soldiers around him.

It would take several days to travel from Youzhou to Pinglu Town. During this time, Shi Siming also wanted to clean up the interior of Liucheng.

Those who had surrendered to Shi Chaoyi in the past must be found out one by one. It is better to kill a thousand people by mistake than to let one go. After his legitimate son Shi Chaoqing and Madam Xin came, there was no one who was not on good terms with him.

Then, he could return to Youzhou with peace of mind and continue his conquests.

Shi Siming thought to himself and walked out of the Jiedushi Yamen. After dealing with the problems in the rear, it was time to clean up the situation in Hebei. Shi Siming never forgot that he had fallen in Yecheng.

And Li Guiren is still alive and well.

This won't do, I have to find a chance to get rid of this guy. Shi Siming made an important decision in his heart.

……

At a ferry crossing in Penglai Port, Dengzhou, Fang Zhongyong led He Changqi and others to slowly get off the ship. He was familiar with the experience and was well prepared, so he did not get seasick this time, but he was not used to the ground.

In front of him, there was a group of people from Bohai State kneeling on the ground, led by Daqinmao. These people around him were all Daqinmao's team, and after this Bohai noble successfully seized power, they would also reward him according to his merits, which was the so-called "a new emperor, a new minister".

When the ruler of a country changes, the ministers must also be changed.

In order to secure his rule, Daqinmao had to rely on the court in Bianzhou and use Dengzhou as a base to strengthen exchanges.

From now on, he can try to do things that were inconvenient for him to do from the front.

For example, capturing Youzhou!
Even if it cannot be done now, it will be a sure thing in the future.

When asking for help, one must have the attitude of asking for help. Daqinmao is well versed in political tactics and is good at dancing with the sleeves. Naturally, he knows when to lower his posture to the lowest level.

Looking at the group of people kneeling in front of him, Fang Zhongyong had no doubt at all that even if he asked Daqinmao to call him dad now, the other party would do so and would never refuse.

Power distorts people, and in the face of survival, all dignity is worthless.

Fang Zhongyong walked forward and helped Daqinmao up. He brushed the dust off his body and sighed, "I haven't seen you for several years. You look tired. Is there anything wrong? I came to Dengzhou to inspect and deal with the problem."

Daqinmao smiled and quickly saluted, saying, "I have been looking forward to your arrival in Dengzhou. I am tired physically but not mentally. I have prepared a welcoming banquet at the government office. I hope you will come and show up."

His attitude was extremely humble, even if he was his own son, he would be no more humble than this.

"Oh, you're welcome. I don't mind these things on weekdays. Let's go together."

Fang Chongyong laughed.

The group arrived at the lobby of Dengzhou government office, and sure enough, the food had already been served, with the table filled with cold dishes.

Each person has his own table for dining (in the Tang Dynasty, people could eat as they pleased, either separately or at shared tables), and a group of musicians lined up near the wall had already started playing music.

This piece of music was the "Rainbow Skirt and Feathered Coat" that Ji Ge had participated in composing. Dozens of young dancers in thin skirts were shivering in the cold wind outside the door, but they were not allowed to enter the lobby at all.

Only after the banquet officially begins can these poor beauties come in and dance.

If any of the "nobles" present took a fancy to one of them, they could roughly pick her up by the waist after the banquet and do whatever they wanted with her.

Everything was done in imitation of the style of Brother Ji back then, and all expenses were paid for by Daqinmao out of his own pocket.

Fang Chongyong narrowed his eyes and looked at Daqinmao. The latter felt his gaze, crossed his hands and bowed awkwardly, then invited Fang Chongyong to take the seat.

Today the prosperous Tang Dynasty is no longer there, or it can be said that it is only in name only.

But people like Daqinmao, even if they are royal nobles of Bohai State and will soon become the ruler of Bohai State, still have awe for the Tang Dynasty in their hearts.

In their hearts, everything about the prosperous Tang Dynasty is still high above them, something they need to look up to.

Everything in the prosperous Tang Dynasty was the highest etiquette, and they could not accept any rebuttal. It was just like when Fang Zhongyong was in his previous life, some people thought that the moon in the west was rounder, and they felt uncomfortable eating steak without a knife and fork.

Even though there are no longer people like Ji Ge who are trying to suck the blood out of Daqinmao and others, the "braid" in their hearts that cannot be shaken off is still tightly wrapped around the necks of these people.

If not for this, Daqinmao would not have been able to regard Ji Ge's preferences and pomp as the highest etiquette for entertaining guests many years after Ji Ge's death!
No matter what Fang Zhongyong likes.

In fact, Daqinmao only needed to ask around to find out that Fang Chongyong didn't care about these red tapes at all, and even felt very disgusted with them.

Or maybe Daqinmao knew it completely, but he had no choice but to do so.

In other words, this banquet, this grand ceremony, was not held for Fang Chongyong to see, but for others, for those scholars and generals who followed Fang Chongyong to Dengzhou.

This is a high-level flattery, implying that Fang Zhongyong's current status is no less than that of Brother Ji back then.

The banquet began, the musicians changed the style of music, the dancers changed their dances one after another. The table was too small to put the hot dishes, so the attendants brought a small tea table to each guest. As long as the hot dishes were cold, they would be replaced immediately and served with hot dishes.

Fang Chongyong ate the food casually with an unconcerned look on his face, listening to Da Qinmao's flattery beside him, feeling completely unmoved.

Although Ji Ge was extremely lustful, he was not a greedy person. But even if he was not greedy, the cost of each banquet was incalculable.

For him, money is just something he earned through hard work, and if it’s not enough, he can get more later.

It's all for show.

In other words, the royal family's reputation is far more important than the meal itself.

Unlike Fang Chongyong, who had a "time-travel brain", Daqinmao was born into the royal family of Bohai. In his eyes, Ji Ge's behavior might be a little absurd, but there was nothing wrong with the general direction.

As an emperor and a celestial dragon, isn't this what he should do?
How to show noble status without extravagance?

Ordinary people eat beef, and the emperor also eats beef, so isn’t the emperor the same as ordinary people?

After figuring out all these things, Fang Chongyong couldn't eat even a single bite of the delicious food on the table.

Daqinmao was not Huang Taiji. He was just a foreign royal family who yearned for the Tang Dynasty very much. Except for the fact that he was not born in the Tang Dynasty, he was no different from the Tang people.

His wish was to guard the one-third acre of land of Bohai Kingdom, treat it as a "Little Tang", and then be a small-sized Ji Ge.

Because of this, he has all of Ji Ge's bad habits. Except for not pursuing lust that much, and not having that much power, he has everything else he should have.

Fang Zhongyong looked thoughtfully at Daqinmao, who was arranging the banquet. He saw in this Bohai king's royal family the unique characteristics of the Han dignitaries since the Western Zhou Dynasty. The Tianlong people in Guanzhong also had such characteristics.

The so-called "etiquette" is used to maintain the nobility of one's status, and etiquette is used as a cloak to maintain the "harmony and friendship" in society where there are clear distinctions between high and low and no one can cross the line.

They pretend to be elegant, they live a life of luxury, they are high and mighty, and they feel at ease with everything.

Have your own moral values, which you may not be able to stick to, but are widely recognized. Be lenient with yourself and strict with others.

People of different levels should eat food of different levels, wear clothes of different levels, play games of different levels, and make friends with people of different levels.

Everything has its destiny, and everyone is molded into the proper shape by etiquette.

They were born with a sense of magnificence and dignity until people like Chen Sheng, Wu Guang, Zhang Jue, and Huang Chao broke their dreams and made them realize that they were no different from other people.

You will bleed, and you will die if you are killed.

Under the sword, everyone is equal, and everyone is trembling together.

No one is nobler than anyone else.

"Sir, are you dissatisfied with the banquet?"

Daqinmao stepped forward with a bow, saluted Fang Zhongyong and asked. He found that the general Fang seemed to be in a bad mood.

"It's okay. I'm just a little tired after traveling for days."

Fang Zhongyong waved his hand calmly and said without taking it seriously.

He didn't want to talk, so the atmosphere at the banquet naturally couldn't be very good. During the banquet, the dancers tried their best to flirt with Fang Zhongyong, but unfortunately, the Marshal Fang chose to ignore them directly.

After the dull cocktail party ended, Fang Chongyong followed Daqinmao to the government office's study to discuss important matters.

Neither of them drank much. After they sat down, Daqinmao stopped talking in polite conversation and asked impatiently, "Sir, I wonder how many soldiers and horses are coming to Dengzhou this time?"

He couldn't wait any longer and was about to lead his troops to sweep across the Bohai Kingdom's Shangjing Longquan Prefecture (southwest of Mudanjiang City) and then ascend the throne there!

Daqinmao saw many soldiers getting off the ship, but he didn't know how many there were exactly.

"I am in Bianzhou, and I am isolated from the news. I wonder if Bohai has announced the death?"

Fang Zhongyong asked calmly, looking as steady as a rock.

Hearing this, Daqinmao was stunned. He had never expected Fang Chongyong to say this.

"This... I haven't heard of it, but the death of the former ruler of Bohai, Da Men Yi, is a foregone conclusion."

Daqinmao said in a decisive tone.

He had an insider in the palace of Longquan Prefecture in Shangjing. The news of Da Menyi's death came from many sources and could be verified by each other. It could definitely not be false.

However, the current royal family of Bohai Kingdom is not fools!

Those people also knew that they had a very capable "cousin" (in terms of seniority, Daqinmao was considered Damenyi's nephew, although the two were not much different in age) who was eyeing the throne.

So these people simply refused to announce the death of their deceased father!
Several months have passed, and I don't know whether the spices were marinated when Da Menyi's body was prepared.

It is hard to say whether similar things were common in the Bohai Kingdom, after all, this country did not exist for long, but they were common in the Central Plains.

For example, after Gao Huan of the Eastern Wei Dynasty died of illness, his son Gao Cheng kept the news secret until several months later, when all matters concerning the transfer of power were arranged. Only then did he announce Gao Huan's death to the public.

The fact that Qin Shi Huang's death was kept secret is even more legendary and closely linked to the collapse of the Qin Dynasty. Bohai State imitated the Central Plains in every way, even keeping the death secret was almost exactly the same.

Daqinmao also felt helpless about this. After all, he was out of reach and couldn't use his strength.

"Bohai Kingdom has not announced the death, which means the ruler is still in office. The Tang Dynasty and Bohai Kingdom have always been friendly. It seems... a little inappropriate to rashly send troops to Shangjing Longquan Prefecture."

Fang Chongyong said with difficulty that he would not release the eagle until he saw the rabbit.

"The people of Bohai are still in dire straits. I cannot bear this. My heart is to help the country, just like putting out a fire. I hope the officials will forgive me."

Daqinmao bowed deeply to Fang Chongyong.

"I know you are anxious, but please don't be anxious yet."

Fang Zhongyong quickly helped the other person up.

"It is my duty to help you return to your country and take the position of leader."

Fang Chongyong said slowly.

Daqinmao didn't say anything, he was waiting for that "but".

As expected, Fang Zhongyong sighed and said, "But things are a little difficult now."

"I don't know what the problem is. Marshal, can you tell me something? I will see if I can think of a solution."

Daqinmao said cautiously.

"The first is that there is no legitimate reason for the war. As long as Bohai has not announced the death, there is no reason for the throne to be changed.

If I were to send troops to Bohai, it would be creating trouble out of nothing and is not advisable."

Fang Chongyong waved his hand gently and said.

This is indeed an excuse. Although it is used to shut people up, it is very important.

Daqinmao nodded silently and waited for the next words.

"Secondly, the situation in Hebei is unstable right now, and it is not impossible for the rebels to cross the Yellow River.

If I send out troops and cannot come back for a while, how can I protect the foundation of Bianzhou?"

Fang Chongyong said something very realistic.

Dengzhou was much safer than Bohai State, and it could be reached directly by water without risk. If Bianzhou was in trouble, it would only take two or three days to provide support from Dengzhou.

However, traveling to the Bohai Kingdom by sea is much more dangerous than traveling by river boat, and news also spreads much more slowly.

Anyone with a sound mind can perceive the risks involved.

"General, you only need to mobilize a few thousand elite soldiers. There is no need to mobilize a large army."

Da Qinmao made the suggestion, speaking slowly and softly, for fear of angering Fang Chongyong.

"Well, it's not impossible. But..."

Having said this, Fang Zhongyong deliberately stopped and did not intend to continue.

Daqinmao was so anxious that he was about to get angry!
"Please make the decision for me! Whatever you want me to do, it's fine."

Daqinmao knelt on the ground and pleaded loudly.

(End of this chapter)