Chapter 274 How Do You Treat Me?
The bamboo leaves sway in the cool breeze of midsummer.
Lu Sen shook his head and said, "In a court that only wants to negotiate peace, and a position of chief official with no real power, what am I going to do? To suffer? To take the blame?"
"What's the meaning of taking the blame?" Su Shi asked curiously.
"It is said that during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, there was a nobleman named Zhang who often had an affair with another man's beautiful wife. One day, her husband came home early. The nobleman was startled by the noise and walked into the kitchen to climb out the window. As a result, she accidentally stepped on the stove and broke her leg." Lu Sen made up a story at random. Anyway, the meaning is almost the same: "The husband heard the noise, saw the nobleman lying on the ground, and then looked at his disheveled wife in the inner room. After hesitating for a while, he took the initiative to put the black pot on himself on the stove, saying that it was his strange appearance that scared the nobleman and caused the latter to be injured, and asked him to punish him. Afterwards, the nobleman acted as if nothing had happened and continued his life as usual."
Su Shi leaned back subconsciously: "The meaning of this poem is so outrageous?"
Lu Sen smiled. What he said had to be a little outrageous.
"That's right. We can't be the ones to take the blame for the troubles caused by the imperial court." Su Shi sighed. He was originally very interested in representing the imperial court in the negotiations with the Xixia people, but now after Lu Sen's reminder that it was just a 'peace talk', he no longer had any interest, not to mention what Lu Sen meant by 'taking the blame': "I think it would be better if the nobles in the imperial court could take action."
Lu Sen smiled and clinked glasses with the other person: "So, why do you want to join in the fun?"
He has always believed that the inertia of history is difficult to change. Even if there are some local historical differences now, the general trend is still the same as in the original history. The main reason is that his "change strength" is not enough.
After all, he didn't think he was some tough guy sent from heaven who could change the inner workings of a nation in just a few years.
But Lu Sen still underestimated himself.
He really cannot change a nation, but he can subtly change the minds of some important people.
At this time, the Zhongshumen was also discussing matters in the government office.
Master Pang sat in the main seat and Bao Zheng sat on the side.
There was a small spirit beast lying on the shoulders of both of them.
Bao Zheng looked at everyone and said, "Although there is still some time before we can negotiate peace with the Xixia people, the candidate for the chief negotiator must be selected in advance. And this time, we don't just want to negotiate peace."
What were the previous peace talks like?
Not only did they have to be humble, but they also had to pay annual tribute.
This year is probably going to be similar. It’s not like we haven’t won wars in the past, but every time we negotiated for peace, the Song Dynasty had to pay compensation to the other side.
If you don’t know, you would think that the Song Dynasty lost the battle.
Everyone present was surprised to hear Bao Zheng's words.
At this time, in addition to important officials such as Bao Zheng, Pang Taishi, Ouyang Xiu, and Fu Bi, the Zhongshumen also included a group of young officials with potential such as Wang Anshi and Lu Huiqing.
Almost all of these young officials were standing, except Wang Anshi, who had a seat.
So Lu Huiqing would occasionally glance at Wang Anshi, with a hint of dissatisfaction in his eyes.
Ouyang Xiu frowned and asked, "Does Xiren mean to continue the fight under the pretext of peace talks?"
"Indeed." Bao Zheng nodded and said, "This is a rare opportunity. We can eliminate the Xixia, the biggest threat, in one fell swoop. The weather is warm now, so we can march north. This is the right time. The Khitan in the north is divided into two parts, fighting endlessly, and has no time to take care of us. This is the right place. Last year's grain harvest was good, nearly three times the output of the year before, and there was a surge in maritime tax revenue. Now the treasury is full and the people are rich. This is the right people. We have the right time, the right place, and the right people. If we don't take action now, we may not have such an opportunity again in the future."
Everyone discussed it with each other, and they all felt that what Bao Zheng said made a lot of sense.
Fu Bi stroked his beard, pondered for a while, and asked: "Prefect Bao, but there is a problem. Who should we send to be the chief negotiator? If we really take action, who can control the military officers? If we really defeat Xixia, the leader of the army will surely increase his reputation, and it is hard to guarantee that the incident at Chenqiao will not happen again!"
"Therefore, the chief officer of this peace negotiation must have the strength to control the military officers. Especially the courage to control General Di."
Ouyang Xiu thought about it and said, "Then let me go."
Ouyang Xiu was indeed qualified to be the chief official in the peace negotiations.
But Master Pang, who was sitting at the main seat, shook his head and said, "Uncle Yong, you are proficient in internal affairs and are indeed good at governing the local areas, but when it comes to going to the battlefield, you are still a little lacking."
"Then I will just exercise the power of supervision and not interfere with General Di's military strategy."
Master Pang shook his head and said, "Although I promoted General Di, the court only judges by his deeds and not his heart. The chief of the peace talks must not only understand military strategy, but also be able to completely control General Di. Also, colleagues, don't forget that although General Di is loyal, his subordinates may not be completely loyal."
This is indeed true.
Wasn’t Taizu also loyal to the Later Zhou Dynasty back then? But he couldn’t resist wearing the imperial robe.
Others forced him to become emperor.
Yan Zhu smiled and said, "Then I think there should be a candidate for Master Pang."
Everyone looked at Master Pang quietly, but Bao Zheng was the only one who knew the truth.
"Master Lu!"
After a brief silence, the room suddenly became buzzing with discussion.
After they had finished talking, Grand Tutor Pang continued, "If Master Lu's official position is no less than that of his colleagues here, and in terms of reputation and qualifications, I think no one would think that he is not qualified to be the chief negotiator. Moreover, he has a favor to General Di, and can completely control General Di's actions. Even... General Di's subordinates and soldiers dare not act rashly in front of Master Lu! So if we really want to deal with Xixia, Master Lu is the best candidate for chief negotiator, there is no other choice."
Everyone thought about it for a while and felt that it made sense.
Lu Sen had served as a military supervisor twice and had performed extremely well on the battlefield. Most importantly, he had no interest in power or fame. Everyone would feel at ease with such a person and would not have to worry about him backlashing.
Ouyang Xiu sighed and said, "Master Lu is indeed the best candidate, but the problem is that we can't invite him at all."
"So, we can write a letter in the name of the Secretariat, telling him that it is up to him to decide whether to fight or make peace with the Xixia people." Grand Tutor Pang smiled sinisterly, "At the same time, tell him that General Di and his hundreds of thousands of soldiers will also obey his orders."
"Is it possible?" Ouyang Xiu asked.
Master Pang smiled and said, "Based on my understanding of my grandson-in-law, he should agree."
"I think it's feasible." Yan Shu nodded: "I will stamp the document."
Bao Zheng said: "I can also stamp the seal."
Among the important ministers, three of them agreed to the proposal at once, and the others naturally nodded in agreement.
After most people nodded in agreement, Bao Zheng took the opportunity to say, "Master Lu is the chief officer, so we need to send an adjutant to assist Master Lu."
After saying this, his eyes swept between Wang Anshi and Lu Huiqing.
Wang Anshi looked normal, neither happy nor arrogant.
Lu Huiqing subconsciously stood up with his chest out.
Bao Zheng deliberated between the two for a while, and finally said: "The adjutant will be Doctor Lu."
The fact that Lu Huiqing can stand here today means that his abilities have been recognized by the "bigwigs" in the court, which in itself is a sign of a bright future. If he can follow Master Lu to conquer Western Xia, then after Lu Huiqing returns to the court, it will not be difficult for him to be directly promoted to the second rank and truly enter the center of power.
Lu Huiqing was immediately overjoyed, stepped out of the line, bowed and said, "I will not let the court down."
When Lu Sen received the letter from Master Pang, he was planning to go out to sea with his three wives to "travel" to the Xisha Islands.
After all, the green sea sand reefs there are really beautiful.
After seeing the letter, his eyes lit up.
The court is using me?
It doesn't matter. As a person, you need to have a big picture in mind. As long as we can defeat Xixia, this little thing won't matter.
At worst, he could just run away and refuse the reward from the court.
He immediately wrote back to Master Pang, saying that he would bring two more people to the capital to serve as assistants.
Master Pang...or the imperial court would naturally agree.
Then a few days later, Lu Sen appeared in the Prince of Runan's Mansion in Bianjing City, accompanied by Yang Jinhua and General Mu.
When he saw Mu Guiying, Prince Runan's scalp felt tingling, but he was smart and pretended that he saw nothing.
That evening, Lu Sen received the appointment letter and the invitation from Cao Guojiu.
Invite him to Fanlou for a gathering.
The Cao family had a pretty good relationship with Lu Sen, so Lu Sen went to the appointment.
As a result, when they arrived at Fan Tower, Cao Guojiu and a wealthy and noble lady were in the room.
Queen Mother Cao.
Although she was called the Empress Dowager, in reality Empress Dowager Cao was not that old. With a little makeup, she became a beautiful woman.
She sat opposite Lu Sen and said slowly, "Master Lu, everything in this world should belong to the Zhao family."
"The Chai family seemed to think so back then." Lu Sen smiled.
Cao Guojiu felt a headache when he heard this. He winked at his sister. He knew that the man in front of him didn't care whether you were a noble or not. If you dared to talk nonsense, he would confront you.
Empress Dowager Cao was also upset when she heard this. She had been in the harem for a long time and had the habit of being arrogant. Because Zhao Zhen usually had a very good personality, it would not matter if she acted coquettishly or had a bad temper. Instead, Zhao Zhen would smile and coax her.
This gave her the illusion that everyone had to obey her, and even though she had been "advised" by civil officials in the court, she did not learn much.
Empress Dowager Cao took a deep breath, and she finally understood why the entire court found it difficult to deal with Lu Sen.
This statement goes straight to the heart of the matter. Who can stand it?
Reluctantly suppressing her uncomfortable and irritable mood, Empress Dowager Cao continued, "I heard that Master Lu distributed peaches in Hangzhou and granted longevity to people. Is this true?"
Although Nanshan would not intend to disclose this matter, the truth would eventually come out as there were too many people talking. They did not find it strange when they heard the news.
What's more, the peaches were such a good thing, and both the Prince of Runan and Grand Tutor Pang got one, so it was impossible to hide it.
Lu Sen smiled and nodded : "Indeed."
"How can a mere merchant receive such great favor?" Empress Cao said unhappily, "Master Lu has a magical object, but he didn't send it to the real emperor. Isn't this a bit...unrecognizable?"
Her meaning was very clear. Why could the merchants get all the good things, but she, as the empress dowager, got nothing?
Logically speaking, if Lu Sen had any good things, he should either not give them away, or if he wanted to give them away, he should first send some to the palace as tribute.
Lu Sen chuckled and said, "Even if Queen Mother Cao speaks bluntly, I have also made it clear. The peaches are mine, and I can give them to whoever I want. Besides, I am not giving them away, but exchanging them... The sea merchants use a large amount of gems to exchange for a few years of life. In my opinion, it is a fair deal."
"If I also want a few, how many gems do I need?"
"Since the Queen Mother has already found out the details, let's settle the bill at the public price." Lu Sen took a sip of tea and said openly, "I won't take advantage of the Queen Mother."
Hearing this, Empress Dowager Cao's still pretty face was distorted: "Not taking advantage of me? What I mean is, can you give me a little advantage?"
There are indeed many treasures in the inner treasury of the Northern Song Dynasty Imperial Palace, but... there are very few gems.
Because for the royal family, gems are not very presentable. The truly valuable things are various precious medicinal materials and beautiful jade!
But Lu Sen only wanted gems, and even if all the gems in the palace were collected, they would not be enough to exchange for a peach.
Lu Sen thought about it and said, "Then let's give it a 10% discount."
Queen Mother Cao took a deep breath, suppressed her anger, and said, "Can you give me one for every three? From now on, Master Lu will have a place in the court."
Is this woman a fool? Lu Sen turned his head and looked at Cao Guojiu beside him, asking with his eyes.
Cao Guojiu smiled bitterly helplessly.
Actually... Queen Mother Cao was a pretty good person. She wasn't a vicious person, and she didn't have a reputation for being harsh in the harem.
She is a normal woman with normal moral bottom line.
But when it comes to appearance, she is a little "obsessed".
In fact, if other women were in her position, they might not be more calm or do better than her.
Because women's obsession with appearance and youth is always much greater than men's.
Queen Mother Cao understood Lu Sen's eyes. She stood up suddenly and said angrily, "Master Lu, you don't have to look at me with a sarcastic look. I must get the peaches. You must provide me with at least two peaches every year, otherwise..."
"Empress Dowager, please think twice!" Uncle Cao jumped up in fright, blocking his sister from saying the next words.
Lu Sen asked curiously: "What else?"
"Otherwise..." Empress Dowager Cao was also stunned. She really didn't know what she could do to Lu Sen.
Kill the entire clan? You must be kidding. She wanted to kill an important official in the court for no reason. It would be strange if her decree could leave the palace without the consent of the Secretariat.
It would be even more impossible to threaten Lu Sen and order his own connections to exclude and deal with Lu Sen.
Lu Sen is now the sweet cake in the hearts of all officials in the capital. Everyone hopes to get fairy fruit and jade bee jelly from Lu Sen. It would be even better if they could get peaches and longevity.
I'm afraid that this person will hear the Queen Mother say that she is going to deal with Lu Sen, and will immediately turn against us and inform Lu Sen as soon as she leaves.
"What do you want to do in order to give me the peaches?" Empress Dowager Cao asked with gritted teeth.
