The prince is more stable

Chapter 420 Raising troops to investigate crimes
Xiao Zhengyou stood outside the Song army camp. The biting cold wind was howling. Xiao Zhengyou felt that his whole body was numb from the cold. His face gradually turned from white to purple, like a piece of fresh frozen pork stored in a cold storage.

Counting the time, he had been waiting for an entire hour from the time he arrived outside the Song army camp until now.

According to the calculations in the previous life, this was a northern winter with temperatures of minus 20 to 30 degrees Celsius. Although Xiao Zhengyou was wearing thick clothes, he could not stand in this freezing weather for an hour.

Outside the gate, the armored Song army soldiers on duty had been replaced by a new group.

Even the strongest soldiers couldn't stand in the cold wind for a long time, and they had to change shifts in the middle. How could Xiao Zhengyou, a weak clerk in his forties, bear it?
After standing there for an hour, Xiao Zhengyou's anger grew stronger and stronger. Finally, he could no longer bear it and walked up to the soldiers guarding the camp. With a gloomy face, he asked, "Why hasn't your army's Zhao Jungong summoned me to the camp yet? Is this how you treat the Liao envoys?"

The soldiers outside the camp rolled their eyes and said calmly, "We have already informed Lord Zhao. As for whether or not he wants to see you, and when, that is his business. We have no say in it."

Xiao Zhengyou was furious: "How dare Song Guoan treat me so rudely!"

The officer glanced at him and said calmly, "Keep your voice down. This is a very important military area, no noise is allowed. Violators will be punished with twenty military sticks. Even foreign envoys must obey the rules, otherwise the military sticks will not show mercy."

Xiao Zhengyou's face turned ashen, and it was unclear whether he was angry or cold.

"If your country's Lord Zhao is so rude, I would rather return to Liao and report Lord Zhao's actions to the Prince of Beiping."

The officer sneered, "Please do as you please. I won't see you off."

Xiao Zhengyou was stunned, and suddenly felt that his three views had been impacted unprecedentedly.

He was originally a clerk in the army, and was temporarily appointed as an envoy by Yelu Chun.

He had never done the job of an envoy before, but he had heard of it.

Isn't it said that when Liao envoys arrived in Song, they would be treated as honored guests by Song officials?

The Liao envoys were always domineering and overbearing in the Song State no matter when and where they were, and the Song people could only put on a smile and dared not speak out.

This has been the case for a hundred years.

This is the correct way for the Liao envoy to open it. Why did the style change when it came to Xiao Zhengyou?

Here, not to mention being treated as a guest of honor, they didn't even treat him as a human being.

His treatment was worse than even that of livestock. In this awful weather, herders would build a wooden wall for their cattle and sheep to block the wind, but he just stood outside the camp gate, enjoying the breeze, his snot bubbles frozen into icicles...

To be honest, Xiao Zhengyou really wanted to turn around and leave at this moment.

However, the cold wind that had been blowing outside the gate for so long finally made him very calm.

He knew he couldn't leave. If he returned to the Liao army camp without even seeing Zhao Xiaoqian, Yelu Chun would definitely execute him, even if he had the surname Xiao.

Faced with the Song army's undisguised counterattack, Xiao Zhengyou was stunned for a while, and finally decided to endure it.

At this moment, a sad thought involuntarily emerged in his mind. The current situation between Song and Liao is indeed different from previous years.

The State of Song has gradually become stronger.

Not to mention other armies, the Dragon Guard Battalion under Zhao Xiaoqian's command is definitely not weak. It has the powerful strength to compete with the elite of the Liao army. This is also the confidence of the Song army soldiers to be rude to the Liao envoys.

The Liao Kingdom's one-sided suppression of the Song Kingdom will probably never happen again.

Xiao Zhengyou, who had endured it silently, could not leave, so he had to continue standing outside the gate to enjoy the fresh air and calm down. The CPU temperature dropped below the normal level, and he was about to crash.

After an unknown amount of time, Chen Shou walked out from the gate. When he saw Xiao Zhengyou, he did not greet him, but just waved at him.

"According to the order of the Duke of Zhao, we invite the Liao envoys to enter the camp."

Xiao Zhengyou, who was about to lose consciousness, suddenly had red eyes. For some reason, he felt a sense of gratitude towards Zhao Xiaoqian.

Finally... you treat me like a human being!

Touched, mushroom...

The arrogance he had when he arrived at the Song camp had long since disappeared after just one hour of social education. At this moment, Xiao Zhengyou had a proper attitude and was polite, and finally had the humble demeanor of a normal envoy.

Just like a college student who has graduated from school and started working for a year, his eyes are no longer clear, and he is full of understanding of human nature.

Chen Shou led Xiao Zhengyou into the camp. After reporting outside the tent, Chen Shou lifted the door curtain and invited Xiao Zhengyou into the tent.

Xiao Zhengyou smiled friendly at Chen Shou, then straightened his clothes and walked into the general's tent with a slightly bowed posture.

Upon entering, Xiao Zhengyou saw a rather youthful man sitting in front of a grill, his face almost like a teenager. He was concentrating on applying seasoning to a roasted whole lamb, his left hand constantly turning it over. The tent was filled with the alluring aroma of meat. Although he had some understanding of Zhao Xiaoqian beforehand, upon seeing him in person, Xiao Zhengyou's eyes widened in surprise.

Such a young boy, it was he who caused chaos in the Liao Kingdom. The battle-hardened Prince of Beiping, who had 40,000 elite soldiers under his command, did not dare to rashly send troops to fight?

Too young, how is that possible!

Xiao Zhengyou couldn't believe it, but he had to.

He knew that the person in front of him was the real Zhao Xiaoqian, the Duke of Anle County of Song State.

After a hundred years of grudges, honor and disgrace, the Song Dynasty finally produced a genius who took away the Liao Dynasty's destiny.

Xiao Zhengyou looked at Zhao Xiaoqian silently, but Zhao Xiaoqian didn't even raise his head, his eyes only fixed on the roasted whole lamb in front of him. In his eyes, it seemed that this sizzling roasted whole lamb was more charming than the Liao envoy.

After a long pause, Xiao Zhengyou bowed deeply to Zhao Xiaoqian and said, "I, Xiao Zhengyou, the envoy of the Liao Dynasty, pay my respects to His Excellency the Duke of Zhao of Song."

Zhao Xiaoqian still didn't look up, but just hummed lightly and said, "Everyone is very busy. The Liao envoy has something to say, so please speak directly. There is no need to waste time."

Xiao Zhengyou was stunned. Didn't they even follow basic diplomatic etiquette?

You won’t even treat me to a meal of mutton?

Do you know how long I was outside in the cold wind?

No, you don't know, you only care about roasted whole lamb...

Xiao Zhengyou suddenly felt aggrieved and said angrily, "Duke Zhao, don't you think this is very rude? I came here to ask for an audience, but you deliberately ignored me and made me stand in the biting cold wind for a full hour!"

Zhao Xiaoqian finally looked up at this time, glanced at him calmly, and said, "Did I invite you here?"

Xiao Zhengyou was speechless after hearing this, and his breathing became rapid.

Zhao Xiaoqian said calmly, "You came to see me on your own initiative. Since you have come to my Song Dynasty military camp, you must abide by my rules. It is my business when I am willing to see you."

With a casual glance, he saw that Xiao Zhengyou was stiff and cold all over, and the icicles formed by his snot bubbles had not yet thawed. He looked very miserable, and Zhao Xiaoqian chuckled twice.

"It's good to get some cool air. It helps calm your mind and sharpen your thinking. Just like Zhuge Liang during the Three Kingdoms period, he always fanned himself with a goose feather fan, whether it was summer or winter. Once his mind cooled down, he would come up with brilliant ideas one after another. You should learn from him."

Xiao Zhengyou gritted his teeth, but dared not speak out.

He was well aware of the power of this Duke of Song and his murderous nature.

At this moment, the Song army was still following his orders, burning, killing and looting everywhere in the Liao territory.

Xiao Zhengyou was just a small clerk and did not have the courage to challenge Zhao Xiaoqian's temper and gamble his life.

After trying hard to calm down, Xiao Zhengyou looked Zhao Xiaoqian in the eye and said, "Lord Zhao, I am here on the orders of Yelu Chun, Prince of Beiping, Liao, to visit the Song Kingdom camp. I have something to ask you."

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled faintly and said, "I asked you to get down to business, but you insisted on criticizing me first, right? How about I help you with the talking?"

"Your Excellency, do you wish to ask me why the Song Dynasty suddenly declared war on the Liao Kingdom without declaring war, why it tore up the Treaty of Chanyuan, why it completely annihilated 10,000 Liao border troops, and why it ordered its troops to penetrate deep into Liao territory, killing and looting Liao civilians?"

Zhao Xiaoqian bared his teeth at him: "Are these the things you want to condemn?"

Xiao Zhengyou opened his mouth and found that he had nothing to say.

He had prepared a thorough speech before coming here, and these were exactly what he wanted to say. But Zhao Xiaoqian had already said everything, so what else did he have to say?

Zhao Xiaoqian laughed again: "Of course, your tone of expression may be different from mine."

"If you were to say these words, you would probably use righteous words, harsh condemnation, an angry expression, and an impassioned tone, fully expressing the ambassador's patriotic feelings and other thoughts and feelings. In short, it would be very passionate."

Xiao Zhengyou opened his mouth again, his expression showing a hint of weakness.

Yes, that's what he meant.

In the end, Zhao Xiaoqian finished speaking.

From the time they met until this moment, the initiative in the conversation between the two parties has been firmly in the hands of Zhao Xiaoqian. Xiao Zhengyou is now full of regrets. He should not have been an envoy. It is so fucking frustrating.

(End of this chapter)