Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 118 Rose with thorns

A small boat, floating freely on the West Lake.

Yang Yuan boarded the car that had been waiting at Chunyoufang in the east wing of the city, rode at full speed to the Yongjinmen Passenger Terminal, and then boarded Ya Ge's boat.

Although he made almost no public appearances during this trip, Yang Yuan changed his clothes and made some simple disguises.

He used to handle crisis events for celebrities. Since his clients were surrounded by paparazzi, he often had to disguise himself, so he knew some basic makeup techniques.

From a distance, Yang Yuan could already see the top of the tall peach tree in front of the "Shuiyunjian" restaurant.

Yang Yuan planned to get closer, so he landed in advance and then slipped back from the back wall of the "Shuiyunjian" restaurant.

On the lake, a small boat glided gently.

A handsome young man was standing at the bow, with a little servant beside him.

The handsome young man and the pretty servant boy both have bright eyes, red lips and white teeth. They are clearly a pair of females.

The boatman rowed the boat hard and would secretly glance at them from time to time.

Beautiful things always make people want to look at them more.

Wugun Yingge, dressed in a young man's attire, stood at the bow of the boat, looking at the big peach tree that was getting closer and closer, feeling a little nervous.

Yesterday, the "idle man" named Lu Ya came to Banjing Pavilion to deliver Suo Huan and secretly told Ah Man that today was the time to implement the plan.

But, will it succeed?
If she still can't find a reasonable reason to cancel the engagement with Wanyan Quxing, she will get married after returning to Zhongjing this time.

When she thought about sharing a bed with a man she hated from the bottom of her heart, she couldn't imagine what that would feel like.

Yang Yuan withdrew his gaze and suddenly saw a small boat also sailing towards the shore, and the two boats were getting closer and closer.

Yang Yuan recognized at a glance the jade-like young man standing at the bow of the boat, it was Wugu Lun Yingge.

Yang Yuan's heart trembled and he quickly lowered his head, letting the bamboo hat cover his face.

At this moment, he should have been in the "Shuiyunjian" restaurant. He couldn't let anyone see him here.

Wugu Lun Yingge had no idea that the man in the bamboo hat sitting with his knees hugged on the bow of the small boat next to him was Yang Yuan.

She took a deep breath and said to Ah Man, "That kid is boastful, but if he can't handle today's task well..."

Ah Man whispered: "Actually...from my point of view, Yang Yuan is very dedicated in doing things for you.

"Look at that tide-making meeting. No one would have thought that he could create such a big fanfare just to let Prince Wanyan and Dan Niang meet naturally. He really spent a lot of money and never fooled the girl."

"Then I don't care! I only care about success or failure, not the process!"

Yingge held the broken jade fan and said in a domineering tone: "If he fails in this matter, I will... I will capture him and bring him back to the Kingdom of Jin, and make him serve me as my servant for the rest of his life!"

……

Dan Niang invited Li Shishi into the tea room, and Wanyan Quxing immediately lost all his momentum.

Mrs. Li’s aura is too strong.

Of course, that kind of aura is not the aura of suppression between two strong men of the same kind, but the crushing aura between the opposite sexes.

Only when a person's charm in the eyes of the opposite sex is extremely strong will the other person have such a feeling.

Li Shishi smiled faintly: "Little Prince Wanyan, I am very grateful to you for your favor. It is my blessing.

"It's just that...my mother and I have never left Lin'an City. It's a long journey to Zhongjing. It's impossible for us not to feel uneasy."

"Madam, don't worry. In fact, before coming south this time, Qu Xing's impression of the South Country was only heard from others. When he really came here, he found that the slightest difference can lead to a huge mistake.

"I know that many southerners have the impression that our north is a barren land full of barbarism, which is actually a big mistake. Madam, do you think I am ignorant of etiquette and culture?
"Many times, just because of the inconvenient transportation and lack of communication between the north and the south, some of the different customs and habits in the north and the south have been exaggerated."

Wanyan Quxing comforted her softly. It was unprecedented for him to speak so gently.

"So...if my daughter follows you to the Kingdom of Jin, how will you arrange for her?"

Wanyan Quxing was overjoyed when he heard her words soften, and replied impatiently: "Of course it's the person I love most!"

However, he still had some sense and did not rashly agree to marry Dan Niang.

He himself cannot decide who will be his legal wife.

Li Shishi smiled faintly and said, "My family is no longer what it used to be. I am just a commoner, so I naturally don't dare to covet the position of the Crown Prince's Consort.

"But I heard that the young prince already has a fiancée, and that fiancée is very unruly and spoiled..."

Dan Niang pretended to be nervous and said, "Yes, mother heard some news that you, the young prince, were drinking in Jinzi Lane, and that noble lady rushed over and overturned the young prince's table..."

At this point, Dan Niang timidly said: "Once I follow the young prince to the northern country, I will be alone. Apart from the young prince, I will have no one to rely on. If that bad-tempered noble lady bullies me, what should I do?"

"Dan Niang, you don't have to worry about her at all."

Wanyan Quxing never expected that the fact that Yingge had overturned the table over him would be discovered by Dan Niang and Madam Li.

It is true that good news doesn’t travel far, but bad news travels far and wide!
Wanyan Quxing quickly explained: "The woman's name is Wugu Lun Yingge. I don't like her at all. I feel disgusted and disgusted with her as soon as I see her.

"It's just that since the current emperor of our Great Jin Kingdom ascended the throne, he has worked hard to govern the country and carried out great reforms. Haha, you should also understand that a new emperor chooses new ministers!"

Wanyan Quxing did not want to reveal that their family was being suppressed by the Jin emperor, so as not to scare the mother and daughter away, so he changed his words.

"If I want to be valued by the current emperor, my family must be strong enough. This is why my father married into the Ugulun family. Once our two families marry, even the emperor will have to show respect.

"So, this is purely a union of interests. I have no feelings for Yingge at all. When my family grows stronger and the Ugun clan is no longer of any use to me, I will kick that hateful woman away."

Seeing that Madam Li and Dan Niang seemed to be interested, Wanyan Quxing thought, even though these two mother and daughter had extraordinary ancestors, they had been living among the common people for a long time after all, so how much knowledge could they have?
I will lie to her as long as I can trick them into going to the North. Then they will have nowhere to turn to and can only rely on me. Won't the mother and daughter be obediently at my mercy?

Wanyan Quxing then continued, "I swear, by that time, I will make Danniang my crown prince's consort!"

Madam Li and Dan Niang looked at each other in silence, looking both excited and worried.

Wanyan Quxing's face darkened slightly, and he could not help but knock on her and said, "Madam, I really love your daughter very much, so I beg you so softly.

"Just imagine, if I use force to take you back to Banjing Hall, who would dare to say anything?"

"I!"

A loud shout suddenly came from next door.

When Wanyan Quxing heard the voice, his face changed.

Deputy Envoy Han! Why is he next door?

There was a burst of hurried footsteps, and then the door of the tea room was pushed open with a bang.

Deputy Envoy Han rushed in angrily, followed by several scholars and writers. At this time, they did not know that Deputy Envoy Han was a Jin person, and they just thought that he was going to speak up for justice.

Since everyone was willing to take the lead, didn't they have the courage to join in? So they all followed suit.

Deputy Envoy Han glared at Wanyan Quxing and shouted, "Wanyan Quxing, you want to form an alliance with the Ugulun clan to coerce the emperor? After the plan is completed, you want to abandon your first wife and lust after her beauty, and even want to take her back by force!

"My Great Jin is a country of etiquette and the Celestial Empire. We follow the etiquette of saints and receive the teachings of saints! How can you, as an orthodox Han Chinese and the crown prince of Xin, be so shameless and like a barbarian? It's simply despicable and hateful!"

You heard it right, "a country of etiquette, the Celestial Empire, the orthodox Han people, and no different from barbarians" were said by Han Zhenyu, the deputy envoy of the Jin Dynasty.

Because now the Jin people call themselves Han people!

Ever since the Jin Dynasty seized the Central Plains, they have called themselves Han people.

However, this does not conflict with the people of Song, because the people of Song generally call themselves people of Song.

The name "Han people" was originally used by other ethnic groups to refer to the people of the Han Dynasty at that time.

And even at that time, it was not a unified name for the Central Plains people by the outside world.

At that time, many foreign ethnic groups still called the people of the Central Plains Qin people.

After the end of the Han Dynasty, the people of each newly born country referred to themselves to other ethnic groups by mostly using the name of the country at the time plus the character "人".

It was a long time later that Han people officially became the nickname for the Central Plains ethnic group.

After the Jin people occupied the Central Plains, they believed that whoever controlled the Central Plains would control the world, so they naturally called themselves the "Central Plains Dynasty."

Moreover, Confucius said in the "Spring and Autumn Annals" that if the princes use the customs of the barbarians, they should be regarded as barbarians; if the barbarians advance into China, they should be regarded as Chinese.

According to this theory, the Jin people not only began to call themselves Han people, but also called the Song people "barbarians" because the place where the Song people now lived was the place that was once called barbarians by the people in the Central Plains.

So now the situation among the people of the two countries is that the Song people contemptuously call the Jin people "Northern Barbarians", and the Jin people contemptuously call the Song people "Southern Barbarians".

However, the Jin people initially regarded themselves as Han people, which was just a way of showing off as the victors.

At that time they had not yet thought about the importance of legal system.

It was not until the Shaoxing Peace Agreement between the Song and Jin States and the "Dailouyuan Alliance Incident" occurred that the Jin State realized this and began to intensify its propaganda from then on.

At that time, the Jin Dynasty's several invasions to the south all failed, and the Southern Song Dynasty's northern expedition was also unsuccessful.

The Jin Kingdom wanted to digest the north first and then advance southward.

The State of Song wanted to stabilize the south first and then slowly plan an expedition to the north.

So there came into being the "Shaoxing Peace Agreement".

During the entire negotiation process, the State of Song was of course always in the passive position.

When the Song and Liao countries signed the "Chanyuan Alliance", they were still establishing a brotherly relationship.

Although the Song Dynasty paid tribute to the Liao Kingdom every year, the Liao Kingdom also had to use fine horses as a return gift.

As a result, after more than a hundred years of peace between the two sides, the Jurchens rebelled against the Liao.

The Song Dynasty had a very poor strategic vision and actually chose to form an alliance with the Jin Dynasty, sending troops and food to cooperate with the Jin people to attack the Liao Dynasty.

The Liao people hated the Song people's backstabbing and would rather surrender to the Jin than the Song. They fought back against the Song army with all their might.

As a result, the Song Dynasty lost many soldiers and horses in vain, but failed to gain much benefit from the Liao's war of annihilation.

Now that the Song State and the Jin State have reached peace agreement, they can no longer even be brother countries, but have become countries of monarch and subject.

What a shame!

Although Zhao Gou was very afraid of the Jin Kingdom, he still felt a little uncomfortable facing such humiliation.

Qin Hui understood the emperor's intention and thought of playing some tricks to help the emperor save some face and at the same time consolidate his position as prime minister.

So, when the Jin Kingdom sent envoys to Lin'an for negotiations, Qin Hui signed an alliance with the Jin envoys in the "Dailouyuan".

He was representing the Emperor of the Song Dynasty and welcoming the letter from the Kingdom of Jin with the courtesy of a vassal state.

However, the place where they signed the alliance was in the "Dailouyuan" of the Song Dynasty.

What is the “Dailouyuan” place?
That was the place where officials of the Song Dynasty would rest and wait before going to court.

The fact that the Jin people signed the contract here doesn’t mean that they are subjects of the Song Dynasty?

I don't know what means Qin Hui used, but when he invited them into the "Dailouyuan", he didn't let them see the plaque clearly.

As a result, the two sides signed an alliance. Zhang Tonggu, the right assistant minister of the Jin Dynasty who came to sign the treaty on behalf of the Jin Dynasty, turned around and saw a plaque with the words "Dailouyuan" hanging above his head. His face turned black.

To us modern people, this behavior is nothing more than Ah Q-like self-deception.

But diplomacy is no small matter, especially in an era when people attached great importance to etiquette and status.

As an envoy of the Jin Dynasty, Zhang Tonggu represented the Jin Dynasty, and this act seriously humiliated the Jin Dynasty.

Zhang Tonggu was so angry that he turned his horse and rode away. He wanted to force his way through the Hening Gate and enter the palace to seek justice from the Emperor of the Song Dynasty.

At that time, it was Mu En, who was the military doctor of the Imperial City Department, who rushed forward, grabbed his horse's head, and knocked him and his horse to the ground.

The Song people were already prepared, so Zhang Tonggu had no chance to break into the palace and could only leave in hatred.

From then on, there was an unwritten rule for envoys from the Jin Kingdom to visit the Song Dynasty:
Whenever they entered any government office in the Song Dynasty, they would stop at the door first, look up and carefully identify the name of the office.

This incident more or less made the Jin people lose face.

The Jurchens were therefore surprised to find that the people in the Central Plains cared so much about this illusory title!

From then on, they attached great importance to promoting the fact that they were the orthodox, they were the Han people, and that the Song people had become barbarians.

As an envoy of the Jin Dynasty, Deputy Envoy Han would naturally not ignore these remarks concerning the Jin Dynasty's stance.

Wanyan Quxing was so frightened by him that his face turned pale and he didn't know how to explain for a moment.

Deputy Envoy Han laughed out loud and sneered, "So Wanyan Zheng's marriage to the Ugun clan was actually intended to blackmail His Majesty! Good, good, good! Very good!"

Deputy Envoy Han turned away, his shiny bald head flashed on the stairs, and soon disappeared.

"Deputy Envoy Han, please don't misunderstand! Deputy Envoy Han..."

Wanyan Quxing finally came to his senses. He was so shocked and frightened that he didn't even bother to take Mei back north. He immediately ran after him.

What a disaster!
I don’t know if he can make up for the day he exposed it!

(End of this chapter)