Chapter 197 An Empty City

The next morning, as soon as Chu Tianya came out of the room, he saw Pearl standing at the door waiting for her, with a red face full of joy.

"Did you sleep well yesterday?" Chu Tianya asked with a smile.

"Very good, it has never been so good." Pearl smiled, and the girl's clear pupils sparkled with joy and joy. She said, "Are you going to meet Shi Liai today?"

"That's right." Chu Tianya answered and saw Anu looking at him blankly not far away, but his eyes seemed to have something to say.

"Then I'll go with you!" Pearl said happily, "I'm so angry that the gloomy Shi Li Ai makes him always shout at me!"

"Nonsense. What's the matter with you on the occasion of diplomatic relations between the two countries? Stay here obediently, don't go out, and don't give me any extracurriculars. Chu Tianya walked to the yard and asked when he passed Anu, "What can I do for you?"

"Lord, I have something to report."

"Tell me."

"Before going down the mountain, Mr. He had an order to his subordinates. If this witch came to join and the lord accepted her again, he would let his subordinates take her to Tianshu Peak." Anu said.

"Oh?" Chu Tianya felt a little surprised and thought about it for a moment, but he didn't feel surprised. Who is the old man? I'm afraid he can't hide this little thing from his eyes.

"Then you go!" Chu Tianya said.

Pearl suddenly panicked, "No, I just came here. You're going to drive me away and go to the Sky Peak - isn't it just death?"

"If you don't go, even if I risk being executed by my lord, I will kill you now." Anu said without any emotion.

"So fierce! ..." Pearl was a little afraid of Anu and hid behind Chu Tianya and said timidly, "Why don't I go to Tianshu Peak? He is going to kill me?"

Chu Tianya smiled and said, "This is what the old man means. For the sake of my safety, just do it. It will be fine. Maybe he wants to test you personally and make sure that you are here sincerely, so that you can rest assured to stay with me. Otherwise, even if I believe you, they will never trust you. It's like handing over a certificate to prove whether you are sincere or not.

"Of course I'm sincere. Do you still need to ask?" Pearl said urgently.

"Then come with me, right now!" Anu was a little impatient, "Unless you can come down from Kaishu Peak alive, you will always be a little!"

"Okay..." Pearl took a deep breath helplessly and spit it out. She walked to Chu Tianya and looked up at him and whispered, "Then I'll go. You should be careful. Shi Liai is very cunning. Don't be fooled by him.

"I know."

"If I didn't come down from Tianshu Peak alive... Will you miss me?"

Chu Tianya smiled slightly, "What nonsense are you talking about?" The old man has always been the most measured. Don't mess around. You have nothing to do.

"Unless you have a ghost in your heart, you don't have to be afraid at all." Anu snorted coldly, bent down and stroked his chest to salute Chu Tianya, "Master, can I leave?"

"Let's go!"

"Lord, Xiaofei also wants to go with you, which is also what Mr. He means." Anu said.

Xiaofei, who stood aside, was excited all over, "I, I'm going too?" My kung fu is very bad. Why don't you die on Tianshu Peak?

"If you let you go, just go. I'm afraid of nothing! Maybe the old man will pass on a few stunts to make you a top master? Chu Tianya smiled and said, "At least you are also the head of the crotch-covering school. How can you be so timid?"

Xiaofei's expression was suddenly embarrassed. Looking at Anu's cold expression, he had to nod submissively, "Go, I'll go."

Later, the three of them left in a carriage.

Chu Tianya thought to himself that Uncle He was really well-intentioned and had to test the people around me one by one. Even Xiaofei, who had been following me for a long time, would not let go. It seems that he has a long-term vision. He hopes that I will have completely trustworthy and powerful people around me in the next few decades.

After careful thinking about it, Uncle He is the one who has followed Fang La. Fang La also claimed that he dominated one side and made himself the king, and his generals had advisers. Some of these people must be loyal and some are not loyal enough. But whether he is loyal or not, it is impossible for him to stay with Fang La all the time, or share some privacy and secrets that are not enough for outsiders.

That's why the palace needs eunuchs to serve, and there will be brocade guards in the Ming Dynasty.

Thinking of this, Chu Tianya was secretly funny. He Bo was serving me as an emperor and prince! Whatever he wants, it doesn't hurt to have more good people around him.

Later, Chu Tianya arrived at the Taiyuan magistrate's office. Zhang Xiaochun had been waiting for him for a long time. After the breakfast together, Zhang Xiaochun took the head of Chu Tianya.

The equipment, armored robes and swords of the middle-level officers and military commanders in the army of the Song Dynasty.

"You have to wrong the general and do it." Zhang Xiaochun smiled and said, "Today, the subordinate officer called the generals under the command of Hedong Xuanfu Division to participate in the discussion together. The general asked to sneak into them and go together."

"Very good, not bad." Chu Tianya smiled and said, "When I was in command of the Taiyuan army patrol, I was also the commander of the army. This coat made me feel very kind!"

Later, the generals of Xuanfusi came. Seeing Chu Tianya wearing this body and standing with them, they didn't dare to breathe.

This is like a lieutenant general or above the commander-in-chief of the military region has been awarded the rank of major and mixed with a group of battalion commanders. Although Chu Tianya is not a real general, but a horse that should have been afraid of the officers and soldiers, his reputation in the Taiyuan area of Hedong is really too loud, and it is difficult for these generals not to be nervous.

"This can't be done. It will be recognized at a glance." Chu Tianya smiled and said, "Brothers, relax!"

Everyone laughed awkwardly for a while, and finally barely met the requirements of Chu Tianya.

Later, led by Zhang Xiaochun, he took a group of officials from the Taiyuan magistrate and these generals to Xuanfu Division, and then sent someone to invite the envoys of the State of Jin to meet.

Taking advantage of the time before the golden man arrived, Chu Tianya told Zhang Xiaochun a few things. Zhang Xiaochun wrote down one by one, which was nothing more than a countermeasure to deal with the situation.

Soon, the messenger of the State of Jin came, and there were not many people, twelve or three. Walking in the center is a dry and elegant middle-aged literati. He is restrained and quite elegant. He dresses up as a Han man.

This man is the envoy of the State of Jin, the confidant of Wanyan Zonghan, and the master of the Western Court of the State of Jin.

Seeing his dress, all the ministers of the Song Dynasty sneered one after another - they are Han people, originally belonging to the State of Liao, and now they have turned to the State of Jin, but they still have the face to wear Han costumes, especially in such a formal diplomatic occasion!

Shi Li Ai looked around at the people present and came forward with a slight smile. He met Zhang Xiaochun first.

After several polite and pleasant announcements, the main personnel of the two sides sat down and began to discuss state affairs.

Chu Tianya and a group of military attachers stood beside him, quietly observing Shi Li Ai. Unprecreately, Shi Liai looked at him at a glance, and their eyes bumped into each other.

In an instant, Chu Tianya felt as if a sharp dagger was flying towards him and directly inserted into his heart through his eyes. But he did not avoid it, but kept looking at Shi Liai like this, without any expression on his face.

Shi Liai stared at Chu Tianya for two seconds, smiled slightly, naturally turned his eyes and talked to Zhang Xiaochun.

In a short eye-to-eye confrontation, Chu Tianya clearly felt that the seemingly weak scholar in front of him was indeed a difficult and powerful role.

On the other hand, Zhang Xiaochun and Shi Liai have already talked about the topic.

Shi Li'ai said, "The governor is up to you. When the envoy was about to leave, the wolf lord once told me that as early as the early spring of this year, your officials had issued an imperial edict to cede the three prefectures of Taiyuan, Hejian and Zhongshan to my Dajin Kingdom. Today, most of the prefectures and counties in Hejian and Zhongshan have been successfully transferred to the territory of the Dajin Kingdom and are governed by officials sent by our dynasty. However, so far, no state or county in Taiyuan has been submitted to me, which is already a former alliance. Therefore, the wolf owner came to ask when Taiyuan could be submissed?

Zhang Xiaochun smiled with a full official smile, "You are really good at choosing the time. Seeing that the autumn harvest has passed, the city of Taiyuan has been rebuilt, and the wandering people in the four directions have also been settled, you will come to collect the state and county. I'm very curious. Why didn't your country send officials to collect it earlier?

"Why does Zhang Zhifu ask knowingly?" Shi Liai said with a smile, "After your officials issued the order, there was a rebel general in Taiyuan who refused to comply with the order and stubbornly refused by force. In order to avoid hurting the harmony between the two countries, the wolf master temporarily dismissed the compilation. It has been a long time so far, and I believe your country should have cleaned up the door a long time ago. I just came here."

As soon as Shi Liai said this, many officials of the Song Dynasty at the scene were amazed - they dared to say that Wang Yi and others who guarded Taiyuan at the beginning were "rebels"! Many people here participated in the original Battle of Taiyuan!

Zhang Xiaochun is one of them.

It is also thanks to Zhang Xiaochun, an old politician who has been practicing in officialdom for many years. At this time, he still looked at Shi Liai with a smile and said easily like an old friend chatting: "Your envoy will really choose the right time. Yes, now there is no civil strife in Taiyuan, only peace and happiness are left. Even Huanglong Valley has become a smooth road, and I can't see anyone throwing away their armor and running away!"

"Hahaha!" The Song officials present all laughed and raised their eyebrows very much.

On the other hand, on the Jin Kingdom's side, except for Shi Li Ai, other people seem to have turned green faces.

Shi Li'ai still smiled relaxed and indifferently and said, "Yes, I also made a special trip to Huanglong Valley a few days ago. It used to be a good place for ambush interception, but now it is a long way. Not only that, there are also many new meritorious inscriptions there to record the original battle. I have read all of them. The literary talent is excellent, the knife is exquisite, and it's very good!"

Zhang Xiaochun and others stopped laughing.

The calmness and open-mindedness of Shi Li's love made them a little surprised.

Chu Tianya couldn't help but smile slightly. He dared to go back to Huanglong Valley and read the stone tablets carved by the Song people in person, which showed that Shi Li Ai had enough heart to face the past failure.

Sometimes, a hundred victories and not a single failure can learn more lessons and gain more experience. For people like Shi Liai, failure will make him stronger!

At this moment, Shi Liai glanced at Chu Tianya again and saw a strange smile on his face.

Shi Liai also smiled and nodded gently to Chu Tianya.

Chu Tianya's heart bounced slightly: Did this guy recognize me? I didn't move or say a word. Has he seen me somewhere, or have he seen my portrait or something?

"In fact, the government can't make the decision on such a big event as the delivery of the state and county." Zhang Xiaochun had already changed the topic and started an official tone again. He said, "Therefore, the government has already been sent to Tokyo quickly and asked the official court to make a final determination. Tokyo is thousands of miles away, and the court still needs to discuss it for a while. It is estimated that it will be difficult to give a clear answer in a short period of time.

"Why should Zhang Zhifu be perfunctory to me?" Shi Liai stroked the slender fluttering beard under his jaw and said indifferently, "There has been a holy purpose given by your official family for a long time, which proves that Taiyuan has long belonged to the Kingdom of Dajin. What the magistrate has to do is to lead the Taiyuan army and people to obey our dynasty and become the people of the Great Jin Kingdom from then on. All money, grain treasury, land, cattle and sheep should be delivered. Retain the original class. The wolf owner has promised that the officials under the command of Taiyuan Prefecture will retain the original class of the school, and the officials will be promoted to one level and the salary will be increased by the first class, and they will never be treated badly.

"How can we generalize from time to time?" Zhang Xiaochun replied calmly, "At the beginning, the official family issued an order to cede Taiyuan to your country, but Wanyan Zonghan abandoned it and did not leave by himself, leaving Taiyuan a mess, which was rebuilt with all our manpower and material resources. Now that Taiyuan has regained its vitality, is it reasonable for your country to ask for it again?

"When did the wolf owner say no?" Shi Liai said lightly, "I just saw that there was civil strife in your country, and a group of people occupied the city and became independent. In order to avoid hurting the harmony between the two countries, the wolf owner did not want to interfere in the housework of your country, so he left. Now that the storm is gone, shouldn't your country fulfill the covenant at that time and hand over the city? China has always had the reputation of a country of courtesy. This time, is it to destroy its own foreword and treachery?

Hearing this, the officials of the Song Dynasty were really annoyed. At that moment, there was a military commander who couldn't help it and said angrily, "You are confused!" At the beginning, the official gave you Taiyuan. It's your business whether you can take it or not. Since we didn't take it away, it's no wonder. It's not that we don't keep our promises, it's that you gave up and didn't want it! After many days, today's Taiyuan is no longer yesterday's Taiyuan, but you are salivating to ask for it! It's like, I owed you an egg, but when I returned it to you, you said no; after a while, you came to ask me for a hundred chickens - how can there be such a truth in the world, how can there be such a salivated helpless person!"

"That's right!" A group of hot-tempered military officers shouted.

Facing the roar of a group of bloody men, Shi Li Ai laughed.

"I don't know why you are laughing?" Zhang Xiaochun asked.

Shi Li caressed his fine mustard and said leisurely, " According to this general, I didn't come to ask for a hundred chickens. Just give me back the egg."

Zhang Xiaochun and the generals' faces changed, and they were really angry!

- Is it possible to demolish the current Taiyuan City and destroy the new homes built by the people, turn it into the appearance of the chaotic stall after the war, and then give it to the State of Jin?

This is obviously impossible and pure sophistry!

However, Shi Liai is also fighting a snake with a stick and punishing his body in his own way. For a moment, Zhang Xiaochun and others lost their words.

Chu Tianya is laughing in his heart. If you want to deal with a person like Shi Liai, you really can't quarrel with him. This is his absolute strength. The impulsive commander is obviously not in time to fall in love. Well, he was grabbed by someone and fell down. It's hard not to lose! - Have you learned the art of war in vain?

"This general, you have been motionless and speechless. I don't know how you feel?" Shi Liai suddenly asked Chu Tianya.

Zhang Xiaochun and others couldn't help but feel awe of it: Did he notice something?

Chu Tianya hugged his fist quietly, "The last general has no feeling."

"Then why do you look disdainful and sneer?" Shi Li Ai asked unrelentingly.

Chu Tianya looked at him twice, glanced at the real bodyguards standing behind him, and grinned, "Because the bearded bodyguard standing behind him is too ugly. It simply undermines the dignity of the diplomatic relations between the two countries!"

"Haha!" Zhang Xiaochun and others laughed.

Those real bodyguards were so angry that their eyes turned green. They couldn't wait to come forward on the spot to meet the sword soldiers of Chu Tianya and fight to the death.

Shi Liai still smiled indifferently, and looked back at the bearded bodyguard and nodded with deep understanding. "I forgot that the southerners are so extravagant, happy and gentle, and take soft cowardice as their beauty. This handsome man with a hundred knots is a first-class beautiful man among the Juzoku, but he is ugly in the eyes of the southerners - okay, you step back! With your dignity, don't scare the generals of your country. They are less bold than the women in our big gold country.

Without saying a word, the man bent down and stroked his chest to worship, and strode out.

The smell of gunpowder in the venue is unprecedentedly strong.

Shi Liai looked at Chu Tianya with a smile and said, "Do you dare to ask the general your name?"

"Cong." Chu Tianya answered a word.

Shi Li Ai smiled, "Really?"

Chu Tianya looked at him tit-for-tat, "I think that if the last general is not surnamed Song, what should he be?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend the general." Shi Liai smiled indifferently and hugged Chu Tianya. "Well, General Song, I wanted to ask you a question. Is it convenient for you to answer?

"Please speak."

Shi Liai smiled and said, "I wanted to ask, if Taiyuan ignites war again, are you generals sure to defend the city again?"

The faces of Zhang Xiaochun and the officials suddenly changed - this is simply a naked provocation! How will Chu Tianya answer?

"No." Chu Tianya answered two words calmly.

Zhang Xiaochun and others' eyes widened on the spot!

"Oh?" Shi Liai seemed to be a little surprised by Chu Tianya's answer. Originally, on such a diplomatic occasion, everyone should have said a few diplomatic words. Chu Tianya should answer such a question with impassionedness and justice, but he was soft as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Interesting." Shi Liai looked at Chu Tianya with great interest and continued, "Since General Song has so no confidence in his army?"

"It's one thing to have confidence, and it's another thing to be able to fight." Chu Tianya replied indifferently, "The last general replied that 'no' is because the last general clearly knows the military strength between Hedong Xuanfu Division and the Western Court of Jin, which is quite a big difference. Therefore, the most objective and sober answer is - no."

Shi Li Ai's eyes are bright!

Zhang Xiaochun and others were also quite surprised and refreshed.

"So what is General Song's unobjective and unclear answer?" Shi Liai continued to ask.

Chu Tianya smiled slightly and looked straight into Shi Li'ai's eyes, "Finally, you can get an empty city full of corpses. At least half of the corpses are still your own!"