Do you know: I am the crown prince

Chapter 493: Not Recognizing the Golden Jade

In the letter from the Western Xia emperor, a lot of things were said, starting with the years of feud between the three kingdoms of Song, Liao and Xia.

Then he mentioned the war between Song and Xia. Not only did the Liao Kingdom seize the grassland occupied by Western Xia, but it also sent troops to the border and forced the Song Dynasty to increase the annual tribute.

Finally, he invited the Song Dynasty to join forces to destroy the Liao Dynasty.

Naturally, such things could not be discussed in the court, otherwise the news would leak out immediately after the meeting.

Zhao Xing had already sent people to Western Xia with the aim of joining forces with Western Xia to attack the Liao Kingdom.

Unexpectedly, the Liao Kingdom was even more anxious than him. According to the time, the envoys of the Song Dynasty had not yet arrived in Western Xia.

However, Zhao Xing had no chance to take the initiative by taking advantage of this matter.

Unless someone can be sent to inform the envoy before he meets the Emperor of Western Xia.

Otherwise, it would be too late when Li Liangzuo met the envoy of the Song Dynasty and learned the purpose of the Song Dynasty's mission.

It was definitely too late now, so Zhao Xing could only give up the idea.

"His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Song!"

Liang Yimai bowed and said, "When I came here this time, my emperor also prepared a treasure for me to give to Your Majesty."

As soon as these words were spoken, the faces of several Western Xia envoys behind Liang Yi changed.

They were sent by Li Liangzuo to monitor Liang Yimai, but Liang Yimai now proposed to offer gifts alone. How could they supervise him?

If we refute Liang Yimai at this time, the Song Dynasty would be made a laughing stock.

Just when they didn't know what to do, Zhao Xing spoke.

"Oh."

Zhao Xing smiled and said, "I am very curious about the treasures that the envoy mentioned. Let's take a look. Please go to the Chuigong Hall and adjourn the court!"

After saying this, Zhao Xing stood up and left the hall amid the respectful farewell of all the officials.

After arriving at the Chuigong Hall and waiting for a while, Liang Yimai walked in under the guidance of Sanshui, followed by a eunuch holding a wooden box.

The wooden box was about two feet long and less than one foot wide. No one knew what was inside, but from the slightly strenuous look on the inside, it could be seen that the things inside were not light.

"Foreign minister greets Emperor Song!" Liang Yimei bowed.

"No gift!"

Zhao Xing waved his hand and said, "I wonder what treasures Emperor Xia has prepared for me?"

"Your Majesty, please allow me to keep you in suspense."

Liang Yimei smiled slightly, turned around, opened the wooden box, and then stepped aside.

"Emperor Xia is humiliating... Is this Jin Xiangyu?"

When Zhao Xing saw a brown stone in the wooden box, his face darkened, but soon a light bulb went off in his head and he recognized what was in the box.

"Yes, it is the Golden Fragrant Jade. Such a large Golden Fragrant Jade is rare in the world. My emperor knows that Emperor Song has no one to love, so he gave it to Emperor Song." Liang Yimai said with a smile.

However, golden fragrant jade is not a kind of jade, but something that looks like stone.

In the ancient myth, when Kuafu was chasing the sun, his wife turned into a piece of golden and fragrant jade to make up for his fatigue. Kuafu tied the jade to his chest and chased the sun with full energy, tirelessly and selflessly.

There is a saying: One has eyes but cannot recognize gold and jade.

Because the appearance of Jin Xiangyu looks unremarkable, just like a piece of stone.

This is also why Zhao Xing initially thought that Li Liangzuo was playing tricks on him.

Zhao Xing had met Jin Xiangyu at Queen Cao's place when he was young, but because it had been so long, he only realized it later.

However, Empress Cao's golden fragrant jade was only the size of a fist, while this one is so big that it can indeed be considered a rare treasure.

The magical thing about golden fragrant jade is that it can emit a fragrance.

This aroma is somewhat similar to the chocolate of later generations.

The most amazing thing is that the fragrance of golden fragrant jade is very faint and you can only smell it when you get close.

But as long as you reach out and touch it, the fragrance will be on your hand, not only will it be more intense, but it will also last longer.

Golden fragrant jade can not only be used as a natural fragrance, but also a symbol of good fortune. According to legend, the owner can turn misfortune into good fortune and turn disaster into blessing. After thousands of years of nurturing and full of spiritual energy, the wearer will neither feel empty and lonely nor feel pain and sadness.

"Emperor Xia is willing to do so." Zhao Xing said with a smile.

It's just a piece of golden jade. It's precious, but that's all.

All these things about turning misfortune into fortune are just legends.

After all, this thing is very attractive to women because of its special fragrance, which is natural and much better than rouge and powder.

In Zhao Xing's opinion, that was just the case.

"My emperor uses this as a gift to show the sincerity of the Xia Kingdom to Emperor Song." Liang Yi said with a smile.

"I have seen your sincerity. Tell me, why does Emperor Xia want to join forces with the Song Dynasty to attack the Liao Kingdom? What benefits can the Song Dynasty get?" Zhao Xing said indifferently.

Although he could not take the initiative, Liang Yimai did not know that he had already sent people to Xixia.

Zhao Xing wanted to see what benefits Li Liangzuo would promise in order to persuade him to agree.

"Destroying the Liao Kingdom would be a good thing for both the Song Dynasty and our Xia Kingdom. Now that the Liao Kingdom has gone through several internal conflicts and has been severely damaged, this is a godsend opportunity. The Song Dynasty has suffered from the Liao Kingdom for a long time, and this is a win-win situation for both sides." Liang Yimei said.

"Of course I understand. But Xia Kingdom should also know that the Song Dynasty spent a huge amount of money to build the Great Wall in the north. The current national strength can hardly support a war with the Liao Kingdom, otherwise the Song Dynasty would have sent troops long ago." Zhao Xing said with regret.

"Your Majesty, you are joking. The Song Dynasty has accepted Empress Dowager Xiao and others. Unless the Liao Kingdom is willing to hand over those people, it will not give up. In a sense, our Xia Kingdom is helping the Song Dynasty." Liang Yimai said with a smile.

He felt that Zhao Xing was a little too greedy and even wanted to ask for benefits from Western Xia.

Xixia had no such plan and was planning to ask for benefits from the Song Dynasty.

"Didn't you say before that the Liao Kingdom had experienced many internal conflicts and was severely damaged. Do you think the Liao Kingdom will mobilize troops against the Song Dynasty at this time?" Zhao Xing said lightly.

"It's not certain whether it will happen now, but it will definitely happen in the future. The Song Emperor should understand the principle of taking precautions before it happens."

"What you said does make sense, but when the two countries jointly send troops, how many troops should be sent, and how to divide the territory after destroying Liao, there must be a rule, right? What does Emperor Xia mean?"

Zhao Xing also knew that Xixia could not possibly give any benefits to the Song Dynasty, so he was too lazy to argue.

"If you don't kill the snake, you will suffer from it. Since we are going to send troops, both countries should put in all their efforts. My emperor said that Western Xia can send 300,000 troops. After defeating the Liao Kingdom, Western Xia will not want the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, and they will all belong to the Song Dynasty. The grassland and Hehuang will belong to the Xia Kingdom." Liang Yimai said.

Zhao Xing sneered in his heart. He wondered why Xixia took the initiative to seek an alliance with the Song Dynasty to destroy Liao. It turned out that they were planning to attack Hehuang.

Although Dong Jian accepted Empress Dowager Xiao and others, showing his ulterior motives, the two sides did not fall out at this time.

Once Zhao Xing agreed to an alliance and started fighting with the Liao Kingdom, he couldn't stop just because he wanted to.

As long as the Western Xia revealed the news to Dong Zhen, saying that the Song Dynasty had sold him out, even if Dong Zhen did not completely believe it, he would still have doubts.

In order to protect themselves, they might even directly surrender to Western Xia.

"I can agree to an alliance to destroy Liao, but Hehuang belongs to the Song Dynasty, and Dong Jian is loyal to the Song Dynasty. I can't give Hehuang to the Xia Kingdom! If the Xia Kingdom insists on doing so, the alliance will have to be abandoned." Zhao Xing said indifferently.

"If the Emperor Song is unwilling to agree, then won't my Xia country suffer a loss?"

Xixia never thought that Zhao Xing would agree. In fact, it didn’t matter whether Zhao Xing agreed or not, as long as he was willing to join forces.

Dong Zhen had ulterior motives. As long as they spread the news that a deal had been reached with the Song Dynasty, Dong Zhen would inevitably become suspicious, and that would be enough.

The reason why he was asked to bring it up was just to give it a try, and also to make the Song Dynasty believe that Western Xia really wanted to unite with the Song Dynasty.

"The two countries will jointly send troops to destroy Liao, and whoever conquers the land will own it. If you agree, then we will unite, if you don't agree, forget it." Zhao Xing stated his request. Liang Yimei hesitated for a while and said, "This is not the decision for an outsider. I have to send a message back to see what Your Majesty thinks."

"It's okay. I can wait. But we have to do it quickly, otherwise once the Liao Kingdom notices it, it will be too late to take precautions." Zhao Xing said.

"It's natural."

Liang Yi bowed and said, "Then I will take my leave first."

"Not urgent."

Zhao Xing smiled and said, "I heard that you were stripped of your position a few days ago?"

"I didn't expect that the Emperor of Song would care about such a small matter. It really makes us feel honored." Liang Yimai said with a smile.

"Those who are not of our race must have different hearts. Your Liang family is Han Chinese after all. Emperor Xia uses your Liang family to balance the Tangut nobles of Xia. But Emperor Xia will not be willing to let a Han Chinese become the top dignitary of Xia. When other Han officials can replace the Liang family in the future, the Liang family will be useless."

"What will happen to the Liang family by then? With your father's intelligence, he should know clearly."

Liang Yimei fell silent upon hearing this, and forced a smile, saying, "Song and Xia are discussing an alliance, and the Emperor of Song is trying to sow discord between them. This is unbecoming of the Song Dynasty."

"You know whether I am trying to sow discord or not. Back then, Xia surrendered to the Tang Dynasty and became a vassal of the Tang Dynasty. Later, Xia became independent, and the Han people in Xia had no choice. I still admire your father very much, for being able to become the prime minister of Xia as a Han Chinese. If the Liang family is willing to surrender to the Song Dynasty and be granted the title of Duke, your father can enter the court and serve as a prime minister."

Zhao Xing smiled and said, "Don't be so hasty to refuse. When you go back, tell your father that my promise is still valid!"

"Then I will take my leave first!" Liang Yi said with a bow.

Zhao Xing nodded slightly and said, "Sanshui, see the Liang envoy off for me."

"Yes!"

Sanshui responded, stepped forward and said, "Your Excellency, please come in!"

As he watched Liang Yi walk out of the hall, the smile on Zhao Xing's face slowly disappeared.

What he just said was just a test.

There is no way the Liang family would surrender to the Song Dynasty. They would rather be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix.

Not to mention, the Liang family is already one of the most powerful families in Western Xia.

No matter how good Zhao Xing's promise is, when the Liang family loses its value, Zhao Xing will ignore or deal with the Liang family. Can the Liang family still resist?

The Liang family has ambitions. Liang Yimai admitted this when he met Zhao Xing alone when he came to the Song Dynasty last time.

However, this time, when faced with Zhao Xing's recruitment, Liang Yimei did not refuse it sternly.

It shows that the Liang family is having a hard time in Western Xia.

But Liang Yimei's acting skills were poor after all, and he actually showed signs of being interested when Zhao Xing was trying to recruit him.

Zhao Xing didn't think that he was really moved, but was doing it on purpose to show him.

It seems that the Liang family is also planning something and deliberately showing their interest, simply because they don't want to attract Zhao Xing's attention.

But this is also a good thing. The Liang family’s goal is nothing more than to become the real powerful people in Western Xia, or even to become the emperor of Western Xia.

The alliance between Western Xia and the Song Dynasty had no good intentions in the first place. The Liang family had their own plans, and they muddied the waters, which would be more beneficial to the Song Dynasty.

…………

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you!" Zhang Guifen said with a salute.

"Why is the Queen so happy?" Zhao Xing helped Zhang Guifen up and asked with a smile.

Zhang Guifen has a straightforward personality. If she is happy, she is happy. If she is unhappy, she is unhappy. It all shows on her face.

"Liu Sanshi said he has already chosen a place outside the city." Zhang Guifen said with a smile.

The last time Zhao Xing accompanied her to see the orphans, on the way back Zhao Xing suggested finding a piece of vacant land outside the city and building a house to adopt those children.

The houses in the city are too small, so they can only be dispersed among the houses.

It was okay when they were young, but many of those orphans have grown up and need to go to school, which is not convenient in the city.

Zhao Xing's idea was that the court would pay to build houses and schools outside the city, which would not only provide better accommodation for the orphans, but also make it more convenient for subsequent orphans to study.

The important thing is that there is a lot of vacant land outside the city, and if more orphans are adopted in the future, the space can be expanded at any time.

Zhang Guifen naturally had no objection after hearing this. The area outside Bianliang City was no worse than some prefectures and counties. In fact, most prefectures and counties were not as prosperous as the area outside Bianliang City.

There was no other way. Bianjing was so small, with a large population gathered there, it was too crowded, so it could only develop outside the city.

The towns outside the city were extremely lively. Except for the lack of city walls, they were not much different from the outer city of Bianjing in other aspects.

"I thank Your Majesty on behalf of those children!" Zhang Guifen said with a smile.

"I am the emperor of the country, and that is what I should do. Let's not talk about this. Xixia sent me a treasure, and I brought it here specially to give to the queen."

Zhao Xing waved his hand, and the eunuch holding the wooden box behind him hurried forward and placed the box on the table.

When the wooden box fell, there was a heavy sound.

"Your Majesty, I have everything I need. There is no need to reward me with anything." Zhang Guifen shook her head.

"You take a look first and then talk."

Zhao Xing smiled slightly and opened the wooden box.

"Is this Jin Xiangyu?" Zhang Guifen asked in surprise.

"That's right!"

Zhao Xing was not surprised that Zhang Guifen knew it, as some powerful families also had this thing.

The Duke of Yingguo's Mansion is the most top-level noble family in the Song Dynasty, so it is not surprising that they have gold, fragrant jade.

"My father gave me one before, but it was only the size of a thumb and I have already used it up. This is the first time I have seen one this big."

Zhang Guifen touched the stone, then put it in her pen and smelled it: "It has a strong fragrance. This piece is not only large, but also top quality."

"Haha, it's yours from now on." Zhao Xing said.

"Your Majesty, why don't you break it up and sell it? Such a large piece can definitely be sold for a lot of money if it is broken down, and it can also be used to adopt those orphans." Zhang Guifen said.

If calculated based on its previous value, this piece of golden jade must be priceless.

But things are valuable because they are rare. This thing is not the bigger the better. It can be used even if it is decomposed.

"You."

Zhao Xing shook his head and said, "The orphans will be raised by the imperial court in the future. If I dismantle this golden jade and sell it, wouldn't it make the whole world laugh at me?"

There is nothing wrong with the emperor's frugality; rather, it is a compliment.

But selling things from the palace seemed like they couldn't make ends meet.

"The court needs to spend money on everything, so it's better not to add more burden to the court." Zhang Guifen shook her head.

"You think so, but those officials may not."

Zhao Xing shook his head and said, "If you want to raise those orphans yourself, I won't say anything, but you have to use some methods, otherwise there will be more and more orphans to adopt in the future, and your dowry will not be enough to pay for it."

"What solution does Your Majesty mean?" Zhang Guifen asked puzzledly.

"You can host a banquet for the wives of officials and the wives of the emperor, and then tell them about this matter and ask them to contribute some money. These wives of officials usually go to the temple to offer incense, and they are so generous. How can they miss the opportunity to do good deeds?"

(End of this chapter)