Chapter 212 Watch me perform
"and then?"

"what?"

Yang Chang was stunned by Zhao Fujin's question. "Then you can cover the soil with your feet. Of course, this will dirty your shoes and socks. Princess, don't do this. Wait for me to use a hoe to destroy the soil in the field, or cover the soil before watering. Let's go on."

"Oh."

Zhao Fujin thought it was fun at first, but after working for a while he felt tired and had to stand on the roadside waiting the whole time.

Yang Chang was not in the right state of mind because of something on his mind. He had just agreed to sign two acres of land with Yang Jian when he left early on the pretext of having something to do in the city.

Although he did not work to the end, as the military and political chief of a state, he was probably the only one in the Song Dynasty who was able to persist in working in the fields for a while.

Yang De's family all knew his character and did not think that Yang Chang was pretending. They just thought that Tongdi really had important matters to deal with.

They were still three miles away from Tongdi City. Yang Chang was afraid that Zhao Fujin would scare passers-by, so he deliberately asked her to slow down and he put his arms around the beauty's waist to watch her new skills.

Name: Yang Chang

Cultivation: Qi Refining Level 3
Fate: Corpse collector

Possessing attributes: Strength of a tiger, One person to hold ten thousand, Leader, Flying general, Iron wall, Eagle eyes

Skills: Good cook, master of illusion, master hunter, master horseman, master farmer (you reap what you sow), master boxer, master swordsman, master spearman, master sumo wrestler

Possess special skills: Centipede Step, Meteor Crusher, Eye of Insight, Calming Power, Flurry of Dance, Inverted Hook, Wind Speed ​​Arrow
In the interpretation column of [Grandmaster Farmer], only the four words [You reap what you sow] remain.

Skills can also awaken talents? This makes Yang Chang feel like playing a pay-to-win game, but he doesn't know what the effect of [sowing beans and getting beans] is.

Increase yield? Improve fruit?
Before this guy could figure it out, Zhao Fujin had already stopped outside the west gate of Tongdi.

When the garrison commander saw that it was Yang Chang, he immediately ran down from the tower, panting and saying, "Observe, the military commander asked you to go to the government office as soon as you arrive. The imperial envoy has been here for three days."

"Imperial envoy? I see."

Yang Chang and Zhao Fujin looked at each other and both guessed that it was a notification of the new emperor's ascension to the throne.

Zhao Fujin has been showing up frequently recently, and her identity has been known by many people, but it is currently being kept secret from state officials, and now naturally she has to keep it secret from the imperial envoys as well.

After entering the city, Yang Chang first sent the princess back to the mansion, changed her into official uniform, and then rushed to the government office.

The news of Yang Chang's return to Tongdi was reported to Wu Song by the commander of the west gate, so Wu Song waited at the gate of the yamen.

When he saw the white horse galloping towards him, Wu Song immediately stepped outside the door to meet it.

"Saburo."

"What's wrong with you, second brother? Why do you look so solemn? Is the messenger difficult to deal with?"

"I was a little careless and forgot to tell the postman not to talk nonsense. As a result, the matter of the detained girl was accidentally leaked. Lu and Teng should have gone to Taiyuan earlier, but they insisted on waiting for you to come back."

"Huh? Why are they meddling in other people's business?"

Yang Chang frowned in displeasure, and Wu Song added in a low voice: "I heard that the emperor wants to make peace with the Jin people and has agreed to cede Taiyuan to the Jin Kingdom. The envoy is going to announce it this time."

"I see. Now I know what's going on. Tell me who the messenger is."

"Well, the chief envoy is Lu Yundi, the Minister of War and the Secretary of the Privy Council, and the deputy envoy is Teng Maoshi, the Deputy Minister of Works and Acting Assistant Minister of Works."

"Humph."

After listening to Wu Song's introduction, Yang Chang raised his mouth slightly and said contemptuously: "What a high-ranking official! I will meet them later!"

He strode into the front hall of the government office and saw two middle-aged men sitting inside from afar. Wu Song had no experience in receiving high-ranking officials, so he asked Judge Lu Jie to accompany them.

Lu Yundi and Teng Maoshi were sent as envoys to seek peace. When they heard at Qinzhou Posthouse that prisoners of war were detained and envoys of the Jin Dynasty were publicly beheaded, they instantly became worried about their trip to Taiyuan.

Hearing that Yang Chang would be back soon, the two of them stayed in Tongdi and waited.

Qinzhou had done such a cruel thing, wouldn't Lu and Teng be courting death by going to Taiyuan to seek peace? Since Salumu had been killed by Yang Chang, they could only make up for it and take the girl alive.

During the past two days, Lu Jie accompanied the two envoys throughout the trip and told them many stories about Yang Chang.

They made a preliminary judgment on Mr. Yang and came up with a twelve-word evaluation in their minds.

He was arbitrary and autocratic, popular among the people, brave and good at fighting.

The Jin soldiers from the east fought all the way to Bianliang, but Yang Chang stopped Nianhan with only a small number of troops, which was in sharp contrast to the incompetent defenders in Hebei, and also made Lu and Teng feel awe.

So when they saw Yang Chang, the two superiors stood up and saluted.

"Yang observed."

"Yang observes."

“Observe politely.”

"I would like to introduce you to the Minister of War, the Minister of the Privy Council. The person next to him is the Minister of Works, Teng, who was ordered by the Emperor to go to Taiyuan to announce the decree."

"I've heard a lot about you. Please take a seat."

Director Yang arranged for everyone to take a seat. He sat steadily in the main seat and noticed that Lu and Teng were both smiling. He thought to himself, they are not difficult to deal with.

After a round of greetings, Teng Maoshi stood up and saluted at Lu Yundi's signal, and asked why Salum was detained and killed without authorization.

Yang Chang pinched his chin and smiled contemptuously, saying seriously: "It is said that it is impolite not to reciprocate. Nianhan detained Xin Xingzong first, and I am just retaliating in kind."

"But you publicly beheaded Salumu. It is said that when two armies are at war, envoys should not be beheaded. This violates diplomatic rules. How can we go to Taiyuan to negotiate peace? Your behavior puts the court in a passive position."

"and many more!"

Before Teng Maoshi could finish his words, Yang Chang stopped him with his hand and asked in a deep voice: "The Jin people seized my land and killed my people, but I couldn't kill one of their messengers? If we hadn't used the head of Salumu to establish our authority, how could the soldiers have won the great victory in Pingyang? If I hadn't rushed to Pingyang to help, I'm afraid Nianhan would have already drunk from the Yellow River!"

"Uh"

Yang Chang's tone was sonorous and powerful, and the murderous aura that he couldn't help exuding from him frightened Teng Maoshi so much that he didn't dare to ask any further questions.

Seeing this, Lu Yundi cupped his hands and changed the subject, asking, "It was only when I arrived in Qinzhou that I learned that Yang Guancha had made great contributions in protecting Pingyang from the thieves. When we returned to the court, we reported this achievement to Your Majesty. I heard that you have taken charge of the defense of Pingyang as well? I'm afraid this is against the rules."

"What can I do? Yuwen Shizhong escaped early. If I don't send troops to settle in Pingyang, won't it become a horse ranch for the Jin people?

Besides, before Prince Guangyang returned to the capital, he asked me to take care of the neighboring prefectures. Although it was just his instructions, it was an order from the Privy Councilor after all. How can it be said that it is against the rules? "

Yang Chang deliberately brought up Tong Guan because he guessed that the throne had been changed for more than two months and that important positions should have been replaced. No one would investigate further if he put the blame on Tong Guan.

Sure enough, when Lu Yundi heard that it was Tong Guan who spoke, he immediately waved his hand and reminded him: "Tong Guan is no longer in charge of the Privy Council, and his title of Prince has been revoked by His Majesty."

"This has nothing to do with me, right?"

"It doesn't matter, and it's a good thing."

Lu Yundi changed the subject and said slowly with an analogy: "Military and diplomacy are like the two hands of a country. If one is broken, the other will be crippled. Yang Guancha has killed Salumu, and this matter is irreversible. If you want to replace the broken hand, you need good medicine, and Wanyan Huonu is that medicine."

"What do you want to do, Lu Yuan?" "Minister Teng and I went to Taiyuan to seek peace between our two countries. Please let us take Wanyan alive, as compensation for killing Salumu."

"no!"

Yang Chang suddenly stood up and slammed the table, asking in a stern voice: "You two are going to Taiyuan to announce the decree. Are you going to give up Taiyuan? In exchange for the Jin army to stop fighting?"

"Since the observations are known, they should cooperate with us."

"Bullshit! Will I cooperate with you in selling out our country? You're just dreaming!"

"Yang observes."

Seeing Yang Chang swearing, Teng Maoshi hurriedly raised his head and bowed to the south, reminding him sternly: "This is the national policy that was discussed by the prime ministers and decided by His Majesty himself. If you are angry, don't scold us, and don't interfere with our work!"

"Who influenced you to do what you did? I don't care who came up with the plan to betray the country. I was the one who captured Wanyan Huonu, so I have the final say on how to deal with her. Even the king of heaven can't help!"

"no."

Teng Maoshi was about to cry, and said with a wronged look on his face: "But you killed Salumu first, and you didn't let us take Wanyan Huonu away. If we go to the Jin camp, aren't we going to die? Can you give us a chance to live?"

"If that's your concern, Minister Teng, rest assured. Qinzhou has strict border inspections. The Jin people still don't know about the Salum incident. You can go with confidence."

"That Wanyan Living Girl"

"Don't even think about the living girl. If I don't keep the hostage in my hands, the next time the Jin army attacks, they will have no scruples."

After Yang Chang finished speaking, he sat down. Teng Maoshi and Lu Yundi looked at each other.

Both of them wanted to try to fight for it, so Lu Yundi continued to add: "The compensation given by the court is very high, and the sincerity is also sufficient. From now on, the two countries will live in peace, just like the previous war with the Liao Kingdom, and the signing of the Chanyuan Alliance brought a hundred years of peace."

"If a wolf is full for a while, will it never eat meat again?"

After Yang Chang finished the score, he immediately quoted Ai Gong's famous quote, "Dignity is only on the edge of the sword, and truth is only within the range of the cannon."

"This"

Teng Maoshi was the first to be stunned. Lu Yundi waved his hand and sighed, "Well, the generals' thinking is different from ours, but it's all for the country, so we'll risk our lives and go."

"Okay, let's go tomorrow?"

"Leave tomorrow!"

Seeing Lu Yundi's righteous look, Yang Chang waved his hand disapprovingly.

"The Jin people are also human beings, they are not that dangerous. Judge Lu, Yang Jian is not here today, please go and prepare a table of wine. I haven't welcomed the two distinguished guests yet. We warriors must also know etiquette."

"Yes."

Perhaps worried that they would never come back, Lu Yundi and Teng Maoshi sat down at the table and changed their tense attitude, toasting with Yang Chang and Lu Jie.

Lu Jie was drunk and was quickly defeated.

Yang Chang didn't want to be drunk by the two men, so he called Wu Song to the table to keep them company.

Although Lu and Teng were tested by alcohol, they were no match for Wu Song's drinking capacity and heroism. After drinking more than ten cups of wine in a row, Lu Yundi started talking nonsense first.

"Ceding land, paying compensation, taking hostages. Aren't we ashamed of this? But the Song army just can't beat the Jin army. Even with Zong Shidao here, they still can't beat them. If we don't agree to the Jin army's conditions, the people of Tokyo won't be able to survive."

"It's not just the people who can't survive. Even our officials can't survive. Yao Pingzhong and Li Gang are ruining the country."

"Hmm? What happened in Tokyo?"

"Come on, let's drink and chat."

Yang Chang assisted in asking questions, while Wu Song continued to urge the two to drink and asked a lot of bad questions.

Wuliebu's army advanced deep into the enemy's territory, but its strength was not enough to capture Bianliang. When he regretted trusting Guo Yaoshi, the Jin army besieging the city frightened the newly enthroned Emperor Qinzong.

He had been a crown prince for more than ten years, trembling with fear, and even after becoming emperor he still had to tremble with fear. So, under the persuasion of the peace faction such as Li Bangyan, he actively contacted Olib to seek peace.

Qinzong's weakness was exactly what Oli wanted.

He only knew that the Song Dynasty was wealthy, but he didn't know how much compensation he would have to ask for. In addition to ceding land and holding the prince and the prime minister as hostages, he asked for a huge amount of compensation in kind.

The conditions were 5 million taels of gold, 50 million taels of silver, 10,000 oxen, horses, mules, 1,000 camels, 1,000 rolls of multicolored outer satin, and 1,000 rolls of inner silk.

Even though Wuli didn't dare to ask for it, Emperor Qinzong of Song dared to give it.

Neither of them knew that these conditions were an impossible task for the city of Bianliang at the time.

At this point, everyone from the emperor to the common people participated in raising money.

At first, it was just an initiative donation, but when it was found that the effect was not obvious, it was changed to a task of assignment. For common people who handed over a lot of gold and silver, they would be given corresponding official positions (selling official positions) at their discretion.

The palace eunuchs, corrupt officials in the outer court, and wealthy people all had their properties confiscated in the attempt to raise money for this event.

The gold and silver accumulated by Li Shishi, a famous prostitute in the capital, and many of her peers from selling their smiles and entertaining clients also disappeared during that period.

However, even if all means were used, only less than 30% of the Jin people's requirements could be met.

When Emperor Qinzong realized that he could not raise the compensation and the pro-peace faction in the court was at a loss, the Northwestern Army of 200,000 soldiers arrived in succession near Tokyo Bianliang. Among them were famous generals such as Zhong Shidao, Zhe Yanzhi and Zhe Keqiu.

With powerful external reinforcements, the pro-war faction in the court rose again, and Qinzong's mentality changed. However, due to the complex composition of the reinforcements and the lack of unified and effective dispatch, the Jin army was not defeated immediately.

While the imperial court was negotiating with Olib, small-scale military frictions occurred at the same time. Until Yao Pingzhong's raid on the camp failed, the peace faction led by Li Bangyan gained the upper hand again and instigated the emperor to dismiss Li Gang from office.

In this way, Qinzong, who had just come to power, was wavering between the peace faction and the war faction. In the end, Olib chose to make concessions, accepted the compensation that had been raised, and left on the tenth day of February.

Lu Yundi and Teng Maoshi were sent to Taiyuan to hand over the city a few days after the Jin army withdrew. In the towns of Hejian and Dingzhou in Hebei, hostages Su Wang Zhao Shu and Zhang Bangchang conveyed messages.

That night, Lu Yundi and Teng Maoshi got drunk and expressed many complaints that they would not dare to say when they were sober.

Wu Song had just ordered his men to escort the two envoys back to the posthouse when he immediately frowned and complained to Yang Chang: "This imperial court is as rotten as a piece of rotten wood. I really hope the Jin people can break into Tokyo. I get angry when I see these spineless dog officials!"

"If it weren't for us and the soldiers from Taiyuan blocking Nianhan's way, do you think the Jin people would be defeated? This country would have been doomed long ago."

"Instead of giving Taiyuan to the Jin people, why not take it first!"

"You can't get fat in one bite. We are still not strong enough, but I will not let the court get what they want. Second brother, tomorrow morning..."

A fierce look flashed in Yang Chang's eyes. He whispered to Wu Song at the end of his words. The tiger-slaying hero's eyes were as red as copper bells. He then asked in surprise: "Can you do this? How can they agree to it?"

"Brother, just go ahead and do it. I will explain it to them tomorrow morning. I guarantee they will agree to it happily."

"Alright, your plans never fail. I'll go get ready now."

"Well, watch my performance tomorrow."

(End of this chapter)