My years in the Northern Song Dynasty Guozijian

Xingqing Mansion, here is the capital of Xixia.It used to be called Xingzhou. After Li Yuanhao proclaimed himself emperor, he changed his name to Xingqing, and built palaces and palaces here.Although Xingqing is not as prosperous and exquisite as Bianliang, the surrounding water and grass are luxuriant, especially in summer, when the Hanqu is just rising and the Nantang is raining.Because of the intertwined colors of the lake and the beautiful scenery of water and light, it has the name of later generations - Yinchuan.

Ye An was riding a horse, breathing the fresh and moist air, feeling that his whole body was purified.Seeing his intoxicated expression, Brother Ning Ling said proudly: "How is it? Our city is not bad."

"It can be called the pearl of the plug." Ye An couldn't help but praise, this is not his compliment, Xingqing's geographical location itself is unique, coupled with the deliberate development in recent years, the farming civilization and nomadic civilization collided with each other, arousing cultural excitement sparks.There are not only Dangxiang people on the street, but also Han people, and even other Hu people.

Brother Ning Ling pondered over the words "Pearl" and said with a smile, "Sure enough, you Han people will say that Xingqing is our Xixia's Pearl!"

Several people continued to move forward, because they were large in number, and Pan Yuanqing and Ye An were really outstanding in appearance, many Xixia women passing by ogle at them and throw flowers at them.These party women wear knee-length robes and wide-brimmed felt hats, with two clean white calves with large thorns exposed outside. The clothes are dotted with coins, shells, turquoise and other ornaments. They have high noses and deep eyes, very beautiful.

Ye An had never seen such a passionate and unrestrained girl since time travel, and felt a little uncomfortable for a while.But Brother Ning Ling and the others seemed to enjoy this very much, and even teased them with a big grin.

Brother Ning Ling invited Pan Ye and the two to the palace as guests. He had already revealed his identity on the way and had always been very polite.Ye An naturally nodded in agreement. Although Xingqing is large, the royal palaces and gardens in the city occupy a large area, and most of the ordinary residents are low-slung earthen-frame houses, which are very simple. Foreigners like them don't know where to go if they want to find a place to live. Get started.

A group of people entered the Xixia Palace in a hurry, probably because of their nationality. Although the Xixia Palace also had guards and patrols, it was not very strict, and the palace could be said to be loose.When the doorman saw the prince's face, he immediately let him go, and the journey was unimpeded.

When we arrived at the inner hall, Brother Ning Ling had just given a few instructions, and then heard the report from the servants that the Prime Minister of the State had come to visit.Brother Ning Ling's face was very ugly, they had only returned to the palace for less than a quarter of an hour, and they came here without hiding anything. Doesn't this mean that the entire Xixia Palace is the eyeliner of that person!

But before he had an attack, the other party had already entered.Compared with Brother Ningling, Wuzang Yepang looks more like a Han Chinese. This may be because the Wuzang ancestors intermarried with Han people many times.He is not tall, but very handsome. When he saw Brother Ning Ling, he first saluted perfunctorily, then got up and said, "I haven't seen the prince for a long time. You seem to have grown up a lot."

Brother Ning Ling's expression twisted, he was almost 20 years old this year, which clearly meant that he was still young.Forcibly suppressing his anger, Brother Ning Ling smiled, "The Prime Minister of the country is the one, and his body is still strong."

Unconcerned, Pang looked at the two people behind Brother Ningling, Pan Ye, and frowned, "Are they from the Song Dynasty?" Then he seemed a little angry, and turned up the volume: "As the prince of Xixia, you clearly know that you are talking to me. We are at war with the Song people, how could the Song people lead them into the palace! Are you disregarding His Majesty's safety!"

The big hat was buttoned off, and Ning Ling's forehead was sweating immediately. At this time, the old man who had been following behind him silently took off the hat, revealing his bald head. It turned out to be a monk!He bowed to Wuzang Pang and said: "The poor monk has the courage to ask the Prime Minister, did your Majesty ever say that the Song people should go to him?"

Wuzang Yepang's expression sank when he saw this person, he greeted "National Master Dadu", and shook his head reluctantly, as an answer to his question.Li Yuanhao is a very stupid person. He asked the party members to shave their heads and change clothes, but he didn't care much about other ethnic groups in the territory. On the contrary, he was particularly enlightened and focused on poaching the corners of the Song Dynasty. He wished to drag all the Song people to Xixia.So for defection, all comers are always welcome.

"Since they have arrived in Xixia, they are the people of Xixia. Has Your Majesty ever stipulated that the people of Xixia should not be allowed to enter the palace?" Grand Master Dadu continued.

Pang knew that he couldn't make a fuss from here, so he forcibly changed the subject and said, "I heard that the prince's eastward journey this time is to find gifts for the princess to please her. Have you ever found anything good?"

Brother Ning Ling said coldly, "I won't bother the Prime Minister with this matter."

"Indeed, this is your family business." Wuzang Pang said slowly, "However, I don't know if the crown prince has brought anything to His Majesty. I remember His Majesty's birthday banquet two years ago, and I seem to be very dissatisfied with the gifts you presented."

"You!" Brother Ning Ling was extremely angry. It's because they didn't hide their brothers and sisters to fan the flames, and now they dare to mention it!

Just when Brother Ning Ling lost the enemy and fell into a disadvantage, Ye An, who was watching coldly from the sidelines, suddenly said: "His Royal Highness naturally prepared a generous gift for the emperor, but this is a matter between the father and son of the Tian family, and only Only the empress has the right to intervene, and as the concubine and elder brother of the country, it is better to avoid suspicion."

The word "concubine" can be said to sting the heart of Wuxie Pang, even if his sister is loved and favored in the palace, she is still not the queen.Li Yuanhao is greedy for flowers and lustful. He is already in his 40s. The life expectancy of grassland people is generally shorter.The provocation he was eager for quick success was not just to annoy brother Ning Ling so that he could make mistakes.

Wu Zangyuan's face was not good-looking, but he still forced a smile and said, "Then I will wait to see what treasure the crown prince will present to His Majesty." After that, he gave Ye An a fierce look, turned and left.

After confirming that the other party had completely disappeared, Brother Ning Ling turned back to Ye An and said, "Little Lang, I know you are standing up for me, but can you stop talking nonsense, I never went to find anything for my father." The words were full It's a complaint. Li Yuanhao is suspicious and cruel by nature. He really can't come up with a good treasure at that time, and he probably will be reprimanded again.

"Your Highness, don't panic," Ye An said in a relaxed tone, "Since I said that, I'm sure. You just need to find me a reliable carpenter, and then you can put your heart back in your stomach."

Brother Ning Ling was skeptical, but still ordered to go down, and at the same time let his men go down to search for a few jewels, it seemed that he was still not very sure.He even became indifferent to Pan Ye and the two of them, and ordered the guards to take them to the guest room without saying a word.

Ye An didn't take it seriously, as if he didn't notice the change in the other party's mood at all, and even made friends with the little brother Xixia who was leading the way.He looks exquisite, has a nice voice, and people can't help but feel good about him when he smiles, and he soon gets into a ball with the people around him.

The two of them were arranged in the west side hall. Although there was only one room, it was very spacious, and they even had everything they needed for writing and ink.Ye An nodded in satisfaction, and handed some money to the guards, making them smile.

After everyone retreated, Ye An enthusiastically shared his thoughts on what he had seen and heard with Pan Yuanqing.

"Prince Xixia is not a good person, so be careful." Pan Yuanqing said lightly.

"Ah? I know," Ye An scratched his head, "I've felt it since the first time I saw him." Brother Ning Ling's character design is basically the same as Song Renzong's, so there is such a real Compared with the good-natured ones, the imitations naturally look wrong no matter how they look.

"I guess his nature should be similar to that of his father. It's hard enough to pretend to be so long in order to win people's hearts." Ye An sighed, and then he was a little puzzled: "Teacher, how do you know?"

Pan Yuanqing paused for a moment, and still told the story of going to Hua Ming to inquire about the antidote that night: "The Shalu tribe should be the retainer who didn't hide his name just now, we..."

Before he finished speaking, he saw that the corners of the boy's mouth were getting bigger and bigger, and the joy in his heart was almost overflowing.

Ye An looked at Pan Yuanqing with bright eyes: "Teacher, I didn't expect you to be so concerned about the antidote, so what you said to Bai Yutang before was just angry words, right!" Really, I didn't expect the teacher to be so arrogant. one side!Ye An couldn't stop laughing, from the time the two of them started on the road, the other party was always like a lifeless dummy, no matter what happened, his expression didn't change.He had always been very worried, but now seeing Pan Yuanqing take the initiative a little bit, it was a pleasant surprise.

Pan Yuanqing: "..." No, countless people died at his own hands, and he didn't take it seriously at all.He was just worried about the children running around and getting into trouble in the end.But looking at the expectant eyes of the students, he swallowed the words back and took it as a default.

Ye An suddenly felt full of energy, and all the depression was swept away, "Since the teacher is working so hard! I should also work harder! When the craftsman comes over, I will make things."

"What are you going to do?" Pan Yuanqing asked casually.

Ye An smiled slightly, his tone was quite mysterious: "Mahjong."

……

In the country of Xixia, although Li Yuanhao didn't care much about writing and customs, and gave the people full freedom, there was only one thing that was very strict, and that was conscription.The entire Xixia is dominated by Dangxiang people, but also includes other ethnic groups, but the population is not very large after all. In addition to the two years of continuous wars, even if the Dangxiang people are brave and all the people are soldiers, the attrition is quite serious.

In order to realize his ambition, Li Yuanhao forced nine out of ten men to conscript into military service. Under such high pressure, alcohol and gambling became an indispensable pastime for Xixia people.In Xixia, there is a well-known proverb, "Should learn to drink or not, should teach or not to teach game." However, compared with the popularity of kumiss, Xixia gambling methods are particularly frequent.

In the Song Dynasty, Guanpu and Ye Zixi were popular.Guan Pu is more elegant and does not meet the tastes of grassland people, and Ye Zi's opera is too complicated, it is difficult to get started, and few people in Xixia can do it.The most popular gambling in Xixia is boxing guessing and chess.

So when Ye An came to look for brother Ning Ling with a large pile of wood, the other party was completely in a state of confusion, and had no idea what that thing was.

Ye An explained it patiently, and then passed the cards one by one to the people around him.It stands to reason that it is easiest to make it with bamboo chips, but bamboo is relatively rare in Northwest China, so we had to choose wood as the next best thing, so it feels a little rough to the touch.

"You asked me to give my father the gambling equipment!?" Brother Ning Ling was furious. Although Li Yuanhao was cruel, no one had to admit that he was so talented. .

"Prince, don't worry," Ye An said with a smile: "If it was His Majesty in the past, he would naturally disdain it, but now..."

Ye An didn't finish his sentence, but Brother Ning Ling was already lost in thought.Indeed, it may be because of the repeated victories of the father these years, coupled with his age, he has long since lost the vigor and vigor he had when he was young.He has no intention of taking care of the affairs of the court, he only wants to have fun all day long, and seals him as the country's prime minister, allowing him to suppress dissidents wantonly.If you offer this thing up, maybe it will be right in your hands.

"Besides..." Ye An continued: "After sending it, the rhetoric is also a matter of great learning. For example, has the prince ever heard that playing chess can be wise, and this mahjong is also similar to playing chess. You are offering it entirely for your majesty. body, I believe he will understand your filial piety."

Ye An ran the train with his mouth full, as early as in the verbal confrontation between Wuzang Yepang and Brother Ning Ling, he could feel that the party struggle of the Xixia people was basically at the stage of pecking at each other.In terms of intrigue alone, it is not worthy to lift shoes for the Han people. This may also be because they prefer force.Just find an excuse, as long as you can make the other party speechless, you will basically win.

Brother Ning Ling's eyes lit up, as if Ye An had opened the door to a new world, and after discussing with his subordinates, they all felt that it was feasible.So unable to restrain himself, he excitedly went to offer gifts to Li Yuanhao, and spoke earnestly in the court hall, killing the Quartet.Sure enough, after experiencing the beauty of mahjong, Li Yuanhao couldn't control it. He fell in love with this thing completely. He organized mahjong games in the harem all day long, and even temporarily put his favorite hunting aside.

And the queen also knew the way of giving cards because she memorized the Sparrow Holy Book secretly sent by Ye An, so she came into Li Yuanhao's eyes again, and directly taught the brothers and sisters to be jealous.

Brother Ning Ling was full of joy. He hadn't had a good face from his father for a long time. Relying on mahjong, he was finally turned around, and he restored the previous courtesy to Ye Anpan and Yuanqing.Ye An shook his head secretly, he didn't even know how to act. No wonder Renzong wanted him to support the prince. An emperor who is not clear-headed is a happy event for himself.

So strike while the iron is hot, and propose to carry out business cooperation with the other party in sugar and loose tea.Brother Ning Ling was stunned by the big pie falling from the sky. He knew that these two were rich, but he didn't expect to be so rich!Both white sugar and loose tea were firmly held in the hands of the Song Dynasty and refused to be exported. Even the Xixia royal family could only send people to secretly buy them from the black market of the Song Dynasty at a high price. Is their family engaged in this kind of business? !

Brother Ningling managed to suppress the ecstasy in his heart, pretending to be suspicious: "Hey, this... It's not that I won't help you, but the price of white sugar loose tea is so expensive, it may not be easy to sell it in Xixia."

hehe.Ye An secretly rolled his eyes, and while the other party was not paying attention, he made a vomiting expression like a teacher.Pan Yuanqing remained calm and stepped forward to block Brother Ning Ling's view.

"Your Highness, don't worry, since I said this, I will naturally give a reasonable price. To be honest, the two of us have been targeted by our family because of our personal relationship. It is really difficult to do business in Song Dynasty, so we will come to Xixia Looking for opportunities. It is a great honor to meet you, how about this..." Ye An reported a number.

Brother Ning Ling was stunned, so cheap?But I still suppressed the price against my conscience.

Ye An hesitated for a long time on the surface, but finally agreed.Seeing Prince Xixia overjoyed, he thought to himself that this was half the battle.