The prince is more stable

Chapter 472: Arrogant Envoy Song
Zhao Xiaoqian said that the Dragon Guard Camp has tens of thousands of soldiers to back you up, so you can be as arrogant as you want.

Zhang Rong didn't remember much of the other words, but he remembered this one very clearly. He ran for three days and three nights from the Juma River to Shangjing. Along the way, the only word in Zhang Rong's mind was "arrogant".

As a result, when they arrived at Shangjing, the capital of Liao, they became arrogant before even entering the city.

I have to say, Zhang Rong really deserves a beating now.

He bent down and stretched his head, putting his dark neck in front of the Liao soldiers' swords. The Liao soldiers drew their swords in panic and retreated. Zhang Rong bent down and moved forward step by step.

"Come on, come and kill me. If you don't dare to kill me, you are a son of a bitch."

Zeng Zhan's face changed at this time. The Han people in Liao Kingdom often looked down on the Han people in Song Dynasty the most, and their attitude towards Song people was often the worst. The Dilemadusi sent Zeng Zhan, a small ceremonial officer, to greet Zhang Rong, with the intention of disgusting the Song envoy.

Unexpectedly, this Song envoy did not play by the rules and started fighting after just a few words when they met.

Zeng Zhan's nose was bleeding profusely, and the blood couldn't be stopped. He covered his nose with one hand. Seeing Zhang Rong's aggressive look, Zeng Zhan was also a little panicked.

The Song envoy had a conflict with him. If he was really killed, the Liao court would definitely have to give an explanation to the Song. Since they had to give an explanation, someone had to take the blame. Who else could it be but Zeng Zhan?
He must not take the blame for this, so, just as the Song envoy said, no one dared to touch him, otherwise he would be in big trouble.

Zeng Zhan was so frightened that he took several steps back and pointed at Zhang Rong in shock and anger.

"Your Excellency's rude behavior is disrespectful to the Song State. The Liao Dynasty will definitely question the Song court!"

Zhang Rong sneered, "I've come all the way to Liao, and you sent a fifth-rank official to greet me. Who's disrespectful?"

"Go back now and send someone of higher rank to meet me, or I will make your entire Liao capital uneasy today."

Zeng Zhan stared at him in shock and anger, keeping a distance of three feet from him, fearing that he would attack again.

Zeng Zhan stared at Zhang Rong with deep resentment and anger, then turned and left without saying a word.

The Liao army officers and soldiers now knew that they could not afford to offend this group of Song people, so they put away their swords and retreated to the city gate.

Zhang Rong sneered several times: "What a bunch of cowards! No wonder they were beaten to tears by the Song Dynasty in the south!"

The Liao army officers and soldiers heard this from afar and were furious. However, thinking of the recent defeats in the Liao-Song wars, in which the Liao army had lost 70,000 to 80,000 soldiers, the officers and soldiers suddenly lost their breath and dared not speak out.

At the same time, a horse galloped over and raised a cloud of yellow dust as it passed by Zhang Rong.

"Military report from Xijin Prefecture, eight hundred miles away - all outsiders, please get out of the way!" The knight on horseback did not slow down and rushed towards the city gate.

The soldiers guarding the city did not dare to stop him and immediately made way for the knight to rush into the city.

Outside the city gate, Zhang Rong waved his hand to disperse the yellow dust around his mouth and nose, then squinted his eyes and smiled.

The military report from Xijin Prefecture arrived in time, almost at the same time as him, and the Liao people probably knew how to entertain the Song envoy politely after receiving the report.

After waiting for another half an hour, Zhang Rong still stayed outside the gate of Shangjing. His current identity was an envoy of the Song Dynasty. Zhao Xiaoqian had instructed him not to damage the prestige of the Song Dynasty. So Zhang Rong waited outside the city gate. If there was no senior official from the Liao Kingdom to greet him, he would insist on not entering the city.

Half an hour later, a group of people hurried out of the city gate and walked straight to Zhang Rong.

This group of people were obviously of extraordinary bearing and dressed in luxurious clothes. They were obviously real big figures of the Liao Dynasty.

The leader was about fifty years old, with a dignified look on his face, and exuded a hint of nobility as he walked. However, his eyes were a little anxious at this moment.

Walking up to Zhang Rong, the man looked him over and then performed a Khitan salute.

"Are you the special envoy of His Royal Highness the Prince of Hejian of the Song Dynasty?" The man spoke in awkward Song official language. The Song and Liao countries had frequent cultural exchanges, and many high-ranking Khitan officials could speak Song official language.

Zhang Rong squinted at him: "Who are you?"

The man said calmly, "I am Xiao Zhengshe, the governor of Shangjing, the capital of the Liao Dynasty."

"Go to Beijing and stay behind?"

Zhang Rong muttered to himself, turned his head and looked at the guard behind him. Just as he was about to say something, the guard smiled bitterly and said, "Don't ask. The governor of Shangjing is equivalent to the governor of Kaifeng Prefecture in Bianjing. He is a high-ranking official."

Zhang Rong suddenly realized: "Ah, a high-ranking official, that's fine, that's enough face."

Zhang Rong returned the greeting and said, "Yes, my name is Zhang Rong, and I'm the special envoy of His Royal Highness the Prince of Hejian of the Song Dynasty."

Xiao Zhengshe smiled and said, "Your Excellency has arrived. I am late in welcoming you. Please forgive me. It is getting late. You should go into the city and rest. I have prepared a banquet to welcome you."

Zhang Rong nodded, started walking, and the five hundred soldiers followed closely behind him.

Xiao Zhengshe had a smile on his face as he accompanied Zhang Rong into the city gate. While walking, he exchanged greetings with Zhang Rong and talked about the customs and habits of the Song and Liao countries, but he kept trying to find out Zhang Rong's background and purpose in his words.

Zhang Rong was tight-lipped. He was a slippery figure in the Dragon Guard Camp, and was very good at saying one thing to one person and another thing to another. Facing Xiao Zhengshe's temptation, Zhang Rong avoided answering, but instead enjoyed the scenery in the Liao Kingdom's Shangjing City with great interest along the way.

Xiao Zhengshe looked slightly bitter and had a complicated expression.

A so-called special envoy of the prince like Zhang Rong had no right to be personally greeted by the governor of Shangjing, and Xiao Zhengshe never took Zhang Rong seriously.

But just now, the Shangjing garrison received an urgent military report from eight hundred miles away, saying that the Song army crossed the Juma River to the north three days ago, and 10,000 Song soldiers were patrolling on the north bank of the Juma River. It is unknown what their intention is.

In the short half hour just now, the Privy Council and the Liaison Office in the capital were all anxious, and Yelu Hongji urgently summoned court officials to discuss countermeasures.

At this point, an official from the Dilimadusi hesitantly reported that a Song envoy had arrived outside the city gate. It was said to be a special envoy from Zhao Xiaoqian, the Prince of Hejian, who had just had a conflict with the Dilimadusi's ceremonial officer. Upon hearing about the Song envoy's behavior at the city gate, Yelu Hongji was furious, but now was not the time to pursue the matter. After some deliberation, Yelu Hongji ordered Xiao Zhengshe, the governor of Shangjing, to personally greet the Song envoy.

Not only that, Yelu Hongji also gave Xiao Zhengshe a task, which was to ask the Song envoy about the Song army's intention to cross the Juma River to the north and the purpose of the Song envoy's visit to Liao.

Xiao Zhengshe was also a shrewd man. In order to give himself enough time to test and ask questions, he did not even bring a carriage when he went to meet the Song envoy. He accompanied Zhang Rong on foot into the city and chatted with them all the way.

Zhang Rong was busy admiring the scenery of Shangjing, and had already read Xiao Zhengshe's test incoherently. The two of them competed with each other and walked all the way to the office of the Liushou Division.

Xiao Zhengshe smiled apologetically at Zhang Rong and said, "Originally, we should have arranged for your Excellency to stay at the Shangjing Inn, but unfortunately, a fire broke out a few days ago, and the entire building was burned down. So, we have no choice but to inconvenience your Excellency by having you stay in the backyard of the garrison. I'm truly sorry, and please forgive me."

Zhang Rong smiled meaningfully and said, "The inn was flooded. I'm afraid quite a few people died."

Xiao Zhengshe also smiled and said, "The casualties were not great. It's a blessing in disguise."

Zhang Rong said calmly, "It's good that there aren't too many casualties. There's no logic to this kind of thing. Those who deserve to die won't. No one can escape from the fire."

"Of course, maybe someone was lucky enough to escape the fire."

Xiao Zhengshe was shocked, not knowing whether Zhang Rong's words had a hidden meaning or were just a casual remark.

The cause and purpose of the fire in the inn a few days ago were known only to a few high-ranking officials of the Liao Kingdom. Xiao Zhengshe was also one of those who knew about it. The soldiers sent by the garrison to put out the fire that night were slow to respond, and only slowly entered the fire scene after everything inside was burned out. This was also an order given by Xiao Zhengshe.

His mind was working rapidly, and Xiao Zhengshe immediately made a judgment.

The fact that Zhao Xiaoqian, the Prince of Hejian in the Song Dynasty sent an envoy to Liao might have been related to Su Shi.

Including the recent actions of the Song army at the Juma River in the south, all are intended to put pressure on the Liao Kingdom and force them to release Su Shi.

But Su Shi is missing.

In the past few days, the Liao army searched the entire city, trying to find Su Shi. This caused unrest in the capital. Many Liao court officials were dissatisfied and kept impeaching the Shangjing Liaison Office.

Xiao Zhengshe was already under a lot of pressure. He had to find out Su Shi's whereabouts while also enduring the spit of civil and military officials in the court.

Now another envoy from Song has arrived, and it is obvious that he has ill intentions, which makes Xiao Zhengshe even more miserable.

The group arrived at the Shangjing Liaison Office, and Xiao Zhengshe politely invited Zhang Rong in.

As expected, wine and food had been prepared in the backyard of the Liushou Division, and there were also beautiful geishas dancing gracefully in the hall with alluring looks.

Zhang Rong's eyes were dazzled, and he looked at this and that with lustful eyes. He couldn't suppress the curve of his mouth, as if he hadn't seen a woman for hundreds of years.

Xiao Zhengshe saw this and couldn't help but chuckle.

After three rounds of drinks, Xiao Zhengshe saw that Zhang Rong was completely dazzled by the singing and dancing, so he took the opportunity to ask, "I wonder why your Excellency has been sent to Liao on the orders of the Prince of Hejian?"

Zhang Rong stared at the beautiful Kabuki without even turning his head, took out a letter from his pocket and slapped it on the table.

"I'm here to deliver a letter and pick someone up. Don't worry, I won't cause you any trouble."

Xiao Zhengshe was stunned. He took the letter and saw that the seal was branded with wax and it was written on it that it was personally addressed to the Emperor of Liao. Xiao Zhengshe did not dare to open it, so he had to call an official and have him deliver the letter to the Liao Palace immediately.

I dare not read the letter, but there is a creature with a mouth in front of me.

So Xiao Zhengshe continued to test him with a smile: "Your Excellency said you came to pick someone up, but who is it?"

Zhang Rong stared at the kabuki, his smile growing wider. Hearing this, he said nonchalantly, "I've come to pick up Su Shi, the envoy who went to Liao six months ago. The Song emperor and the Prince of Hejian miss him very much. Scholar Su has not returned for a long time, and the emperor, his ministers, and the scholars of the Song Dynasty are all a little worried."

Although he vaguely knew the answer, Xiao Zhengshe still couldn't help feeling a sinking feeling in his heart.

Zhang Rong didn't hear Xiao Zhengshe's words for a long time, and felt that it was suddenly very quiet beside him, so he turned his head and looked at him strangely.

"What's with Xiao Liushou's expression? Did I say something wrong?"

Xiao Zhengshe forced a smile and said, "Don't be offended, Your Excellency. Su Shi, Su Shi... I'm afraid he was burned to death a few days ago."

Zhang Rong laughed heartily: "Xiao Liushou, don't joke like that. Many people will die."

Xiao Zhengshe's heart grew heavier: "No... not really, right?"

Zhang Rong glanced at him calmly and said, "You probably don't know Su Shi's status in the Song Dynasty. If anything happens to him, it will be more than just a minor friction between the Song and Liao countries. It will be a bloody war to the death."

"His Royal Highness the Prince of Hejian has always had a close friendship with Su Shi. If he knew that Su Shi had gotten into trouble in Shangjing, he would…"

Zhang Rong chuckled and didn't say what the consequences would be, but this "hehe" seemed to say it all.

After saying this, Zhang Rong finally shifted his gaze away from the kabuki and stared at Xiao Zhengshe seriously, saying, "Shou Xiao, stop joking. Did something really happen to Su Shi?"

Xiao Zhengshe suddenly felt a bitter taste in his mouth. He really didn't know how to answer this question.

As for the people, it is certain that they were not burned to death.

But, the person is missing!
How to explain?

(End of this chapter)