The prince is more stable

Chapter 468 The final killing intention

For Yelu Hongji now, the so-called rule of "when two countries are at war, do not kill envoys" is definitely the biggest bad habit.

He now really wanted to kill Su Shi. This man could not be driven away, scolded, or killed. He had become a cancer that could not be removed from the capital of the Liao Kingdom. Keeping him alive would definitely be a disaster.

This time Yelu Hongji showed his cards directly, but Su Shi still refused to leave. Faced with such a tough opponent, what could Yelu Hongji do?
"Your Excellency, please take care of yourself. Don't force me to break the rule of not killing envoys. If you do anything excessive again, I will have to kill you even if it means being criticized by the whole world." Yelu Hongji said coldly.

Su Shi said frankly: "Foreign ministers do what they think they should do. I am not a Liao official, so I don't need the Liao ruler to tell foreign ministers what to do."

Yelu Hongji was furious, but then he sighed calmly and said, "I will give you ten thousand gold coins, will you please return?"

"No." Su Shi answered stiffly.

"What will it take to get you to leave?"

"Please ask the Liao Lord to issue an edict to repent and confess his mistakes. He should not have condoned the Liao army's attack on the border residents of the Song Dynasty last year. He should also send an envoy to the Song Dynasty's capital, Bianjing, to make compensation and apologize. Also, please tell me the truth about whether your country will abide by the Treaty of Chanyuan or not."

"If the Liao Kingdom is certain that the Treaty of Chanyuan is invalid, then the foreign ministers will report the truth to Bian Jing," Su Shi stared coldly at Yelu Hongji and said slowly, "Our Song Dynasty's Hejian County Prince Zhao Xiaoqian still has troops stationed on the frontier. If the Treaty of Chanyuan has been torn up, then His Highness the Hejian County Prince has nothing to worry about."

When Yelu Hongji heard the name Zhao Xiaoqian, his eyelids twitched subconsciously. Recently, this name has almost become a conditioned muscle reflex for him, which shows how much psychological trauma Zhao Xiaoqian has caused him.

"Song envoy, what do you want? Issue an edict to confess your sins, compensate and apologize? This is impossible!" Yelu Hongji was furious.

Su Shi smiled and said, "Then, please forgive my rudeness. I will stay in Shangjing until the Liao Lord agrees to my terms."

"Come here, tie up the Song envoy and send him south across the border!" Yelu Hongji shouted angrily.

Su Shi remained undaunted: "Send me back, I will come back. I will not return to the Song Dynasty until my mission is completed! Unless the Liao Lord kills me!"

Yelu Hongji was so angry that his whole body was shaking. He stood up and pointed at Su Shi tremblingly.

"Envoy Song, don't go too far!"

Su Shi responded sharply: "As long as the Liao Lord agrees to the several conditions I have set for you, I will leave immediately without wasting a moment."

"I can't do it!"

"Outside officials won't leave!"

"Try not to leave!"

"Try or die!"

"Come, come! Beat this villain with sticks and get him out of the palace!" Yelu Hongji was almost fainted with anger.

The warriors outside the hall were not polite and rushed into the hall, swinging their sticks and hitting Su Shi's back and buttocks. Of course, the warriors were still cautious and did not dare to hit Su Shi's head and important parts.

Su Shi was beaten by the Liao Palace guards, but he gritted his teeth and said nothing. He turned around and strode out of the palace, allowing the sticks to hit his back, but he remained calm and took every step calmly and steadily.

Yelu Hongji's eyes were red as he stared at Su Shi's back, and suddenly he felt extremely tired.

In the past two years, the situation in Liao State has taken a sharp turn for the worse, and there is always a feeling that the sun is setting and there is nothing we can do.

If the Liao Kingdom was still strong, how could a small Song envoy dare to be rude to it today?

How to make Liao Dynasty great again?
Yelu Hongji didn't know the answer. He tried many ways, but none of them worked.

The "general trend" is invisible, but it can be felt clearly. The so-called general trend cannot be reversed by individual power. It is God's will.

Su Shi, who was beaten out of the palace with sticks, returned to the inn and took off his clothes. His back was covered with scars, bruises, swelling and pain everywhere.

Su Shi gritted his teeth, found some medicine and applied it on himself, then sat quietly in the room without saying a word or moving, like a sculpture.

Today in the Liao Palace, Su Shi repeatedly made offensive remarks and even disregarded diplomatic etiquette, confronting Yelu Hongji face to face, with the intention of forcing Yelu Hongji to kill him.

As long as Su Shi died in the capital, Zhao Xiaoqian and his Dragon Guard Camp would have a reason to send troops to fight. Su Shi's death could at least win a thousand miles of territory for the Song Dynasty.

However, no matter how angry Yelu Hongji was, he still remained calm. Not only did Su Shi's plan fail, but he also left himself covered in scars.

Sitting in the house, Su Shi sighed sadly, thinking that things could not be accomplished and he had no face to return to Song Dynasty.

I don’t know how long it was before I heard a soft knock on the door.

Su Shi stared at the gate quietly without saying a word.

The knocking continued for a while, and the person outside simply pushed the door open and walked into the room.

Su Shi's stern expression suddenly relaxed.

The person who came was Zhen Qing, and he was no stranger to him.

After Zhen Qing entered the room, he bowed respectfully to Su Shi and said, "Master Su, I'm sorry for the hardship."

Su Shi smiled slightly: "Have you heard everything?"

"Yes, Scholar Su was driven out of the palace by the Liao Lord with clubs. The news has spread throughout Shangjing, and I just learned about it."

"Do you feel sorry for me?" Su Shi asked.

Zhen Qing shook his head and said solemnly, "I just think Scholar Su is respectable."

After saying this, Zhen Qing bowed again and did not stand up for a long time. Su Shi smiled faintly: "Forget it. What I am plotting is the Liao Kingdom. If I die here, I hope Zhao Zi'an will understand my intention and go north to attack Liao."

"Our Song Dynasty is finally strong and powerful, and finally has a backbone. I am just a scholar, and have lived a mediocre life. This is all I can do for Zi'an."

"Please inform Zhao Zi'an of my words. If anything happens to me in Shangjing, Zi'an should use this as an excuse to quickly march north. At the very least... we must seize the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun! Zi'an's troops are formidable, and all they lack is a just cause. If Liao kills the envoy, they will have a legitimate reason."

Zhen Qing understood the meaning behind Su Shi's words and exclaimed in surprise, "Scholar Su, why are you so rude? Although I don't understand military affairs, I do understand the principle of taking things slowly. Scholar Su, it would be better for you to remain useful and save your life for Liao."

Su Shi smiled faintly: "The great power of our Song Dynasty is gradually becoming established. Why should we take it slow? Zhao Zi'an has an elite and invincible royal army, and I also have the long-cherished wish to sacrifice my life for my country. With the cooperation of the two, the matter can be settled!"

Zhen Qing opened his mouth to persuade him again, but seeing Su Shi's determined look, it was obvious that he would not change his mind. Zhen Qing could only sigh sadly and retreat quietly.

Silence returned to the room.

Su Shi sat with his eyes closed, his weathered face radiating a holy glow.

After a long while, Su Shi suddenly opened his eyes and sneered: "If it's not easy to live, is it also difficult to die? I just don't believe it!"

The next day, Su Shi dragged his unhealed body onto the streets of Shangjing.

Half an hour later, the whole of Shangjing was in an uproar.

Because Su Shi found a brothel, rented a table, and gave lectures and debates in public.

The famous scholar Su from the Song Dynasty was giving lectures in person, and it was free of charge. The people in the capital were unaware of this and naturally did not want to miss it.

After a while, Su Shi was surrounded by crowds of people, three layers inside and three layers outside. Although few of the people in the capital were well-educated, they were still familiar with Su Shi's name.

So the whole street was blocked and filled with people, making it impossible to squeeze in.

Su Shi sat at the table calmly, stroking his beard and smiling. His amiable and friendly appearance made the onlookers feel good about him, especially when they saw his elegant and otherworldly demeanor of a banished immortal, which made people admire him even more.

As more and more people gathered around, Su Shi finally slammed the table and began to lecture.

The content of the lectures was not new to some people. It was still the same old stuff, "Are kings, princes, generals, and ministers born of different species?" The malicious incitement was obvious.

Listen to Su Shi talk about the "Is there any seed?" at the end of the Qin Dynasty, the "Heaven is dead" at the end of the Han Dynasty, and the "After my flower blooms, all other flowers die" at the end of the Tang Dynasty...

Although most of the onlookers were illiterate and could only understand Su Shi's easy-to-understand stories, most of them could not hear the incitement in them.

The crowd cheered and applauded enthusiastically, and the small brothel was ignited by Su Shi alone.

Soon, an official hurried to Shangjing Prefecture in a panic. The prefect of Shangjing became anxious after hearing the news. However, due to Su Shi's status as an envoy from the Song Dynasty, the prefect did not dare to drive him away and question him rudely, so he hurried into the Liao Palace.

In the bedroom of the Liao Palace, Yelu Hongji heard that Su Shi was again inciting rebellion under the pretext of lecturing and debating, and this time the scope of incitement had expanded to the entire Shangjing.

Yelu Hongji roared in anger, swept the stationery on the table with his sleeves, his eyes were red and murderous intent burst out.

This time, Yelu Hongji really wanted to kill.

His bottom line was repeatedly touched, and Yelu Hongji didn't care even though he was an envoy from the Song Dynasty and even though there was a rule not to kill envoys.

Relying on your status as an envoy, you dare to be so fearless and repeatedly challenge the imperial power of the Liao Dynasty. Do you really think that I dare not kill you?

What will be the consequences of killing the Song envoy?
Is it important?
it is not important.

It was nothing more than the complete hostility between Song and Liao, and the complete entry into a state of war. So what? No matter how great the scruples were, the imperial power could not be allowed to be repeatedly challenged. This was definitely the reverse scale of all emperors, ancient and modern, both Chinese and foreign.

"Come here!" Yelu Hongji suddenly shouted, "Call Yelu Wutera and Xiao Wuna to come to see us immediately!"

Not long after, the two hurried into the palace.

Yelu Hongji didn't waste any words and told them about Su Shi's words and actions in the past few days, and finally told the two of them his decision.

"I want Su Shi's life!" Yelu Hongji gritted his teeth.

The purpose of calling the two men into the palace was not to seek their opinions, but to ask them for ideas on how to kill Su Shi.

Xiao Wuna's face was calm, and as usual he stood aside without saying a word. He would not speak unless Yelu Hongji mentioned him by name.

Yelu Otera was a military general, and his ideas were simple and effective.

"That's easy. Let's send a group of imperial guards over right now and chop Su Shi up in the street! If Your Majesty doesn't mind, I'm willing to do it myself."

It is said that Yelu Otera was also full of hatred towards Su Shi. He had once liked a courtesan, but he spent a lot of money to win her heart but still failed.

Unexpectedly, as soon as Su Shi arrived in Beijing, this courtesan took the initiative to visit him and offer herself to him. The final result was naturally that the two had a romantic affair, and Yelu Otera inexplicably had a green and lush grassland above his head.

Due to Su Shi's identity, Yelu Otera hated him to the core but did not dare to do anything to him. However, today Yelu Hongji wanted to kill Su Shi, and Yelu Otera was surprised and happy.

He must be the one to kill Su Shi himself. It would be best if he could chop Su Shi into pieces in front of the courtesan. That would be so satisfying.

In response to Yelu Wutera's request, Yelu Hongji kept a cold face and said nothing, but looked at Xiao Wuna.

Xiao Wuna sighed, "I know Your Majesty is furious, but... I have to offer this unpleasant but honest advice. Su Shi is a Song envoy and cannot be killed. If he is killed, there will be no room for negotiation between the Song and Liao. If the Liao has no confidence in defeating the Song army's firearms, why bother with such drastic measures?"

(End of this chapter)