The Kingdom That Never Sleeps CH 088 Is Wang Zifeng… Impotent?
Whether Wang Zifeng was impotent or not, Tang Shen naturally had no way of knowing.
After keeping the Liao emissaries waiting for five full days, the emperor hosted a banquet at Shengping Tower to entertain the Liao envoys. As the reception official, Tang Shen naturally attended the banquet.
At Shengping Tower, the sounds of music and dancing filled the air, and one could see the graceful figures in flowing celestial robes.
Not all imperial family members and officials could sit at Shengping Tower to receive the Liao emissaries. At the banquet, only a few of the emperor’s favored princes, along with some first and second-rank officials, and the reception officials led by the Minister of Rites, Meng Lang, were present. Tang Shen sat at the back of the hall and from afar, he saw Zhao Fu, wearing a dragon robe, raising a cup and talking with the Third Prince of Liao, Yelü Han.
This was Yelü Han’s first time visiting Shengjing and meeting Zhao Fu. He had expected that the emperor of Song would be like his father, a strict and mighty ruler, someone whom ordinary people dared not look at directly, and who could immediately have someone beheaded for a single wrong word. However, Zhao Fu was surprisingly kind and even seemed to flatter him, which made Yelü Han puff out his chest.
Indeed, the Great Liao had a strong military, and its soldiers were invincible. The Song people must surely grovel and flatter in front of them. Even the Emperor of Song, what could he do? If the Liao iron cavalry marched south, Shengjing would be bloodily wiped out within a month.
Yelü Han thought this in his heart, but he was not foolish enough to show his disdain. He said to Zhao Fu: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your care. I have been staying comfortably at the guesthouse, but it has been some time, and still, I have not met Your Majesty. It feels a bit strange. This morning, I was wondering if Your Majesty the Emperor of Song might be unwilling to meet with us?"
Zhao Fu was surprised: "How could the Third Prince have such a misunderstanding?" He turned to Meng Lang and said, "Minister Meng, I instructed you early on to attend to the Liao emissaries. How is it that the Liao envoys have such thoughts?"
Meng Lang secretly felt distressed. He stood up and glanced at Tang Shen.
Tang Shen was sitting at a very distant spot. Naturally, Wang Zhen was not beside him. Wang Zhen was sitting across from Meng Lang, calmly eating vegetables. But beside Tang Shen was another person! This second-rank general, with a fair face and sharp eyes, was staring at Meng Lang with fierce eyes, as if saying: "You’re pushing this difficult task onto me, are you trying to shirk responsibility again?"
Meng Lang was at a loss for words and could only sigh inwardly. He never expected that it was Tang Shen who had been assigned this task. What was Li Jingde doing here?
Wang Zifeng was someone who concealed his motives with a soft approach, and if today, he told Zhao Fu that he had entrusted the matter to Tang Shen, that it went wrong, it was Tang Shen's fault. Wang Zifeng's revenge would not be quick, but it would come slowly like the soft rain of the plum season, lingering for a month.
But Li Jingde was different. Once Li Jingde sought revenge, Meng Lang might be dragged out in a sack and beaten senseless in some deserted corner of the palace before he barely even exited the door of Shengping Tower.
Meng Lang sighed and said to Zhao Fu: "It is my fault, Your Majesty."
Zhao Fu acted sternly: "You have neglected my guests, so you will be fined a month’s salary."
Meng Lang: "I accept the punishment."
Yelü Han had deliberately caused trouble to see if the Emperor of Song would punish one of his officials for the sake of the Liao emissaries. He did not care which official was punished. This was what his subordinate, Yelü Qin, had specifically instructed him to do before coming to Shengping Tower: Make the Song officials lose face, reduce their prestige, or it would be bad for the negotiations later.
Since Meng Lang had already been punished, Yelü Qin pretended to be considerate: "Your Majesty, it’s just a small matter, there is no need for such punishment."
Zhao Fu smiled kindly, with a gentle demeanor: "The emissaries of Great Liao are my esteemed guests. How could I allow anyone to neglect them?"
Yelü Han felt pleased in his heart and stroked his beard, smiling. Behind him, Yelü Qin and Yelü Yin also looked at Zhao Fu with more contempt. Zhao Fu loved cultivating immortality and was always thinking about how to become an immortal, which was not a secret among the Liao officials. It now seemed that this Emperor of Song was indeed a foolish and incompetent ruler, unworthy of attention.
After the banquet at Shengping Tower ended, both sides had a pleasant conversation, and everyone was happy.
After Zhao Fu left Shengping Tower, the Song officials waited for the Liao emissaries to depart before leaving one by one.
Tang Shen and Li Jingde walked together, with Li Jingde still pretending to be his accompanying official. However, as soon as they stepped out of Shengping Tower, a eunuch stopped them. The young eunuch gave a slight bow and said: "Greetings to General Li and Tang daren. General Li, His Majesty has summoned you to the Immortal Ascension Platform. Please follow me."
Li Jingde had shaved his beard, and almost no one recognized him, not even Meng Lang, until Li Jingde personally kicked him. But Zhao Fu’s sharp eyes were not so easily deceived.
Li Jingde touched his nose and said to Tang Shen: "I’ll go first."
Tang Shen: "Please take care, General Li."
Li Jingde followed the eunuch to the Immortal Ascension Platform.
The next day, Tang Shen did not see Li Jingde at Qinzheng Hall. Meng Lang led the officials to personally receive the Liao emissaries. They did not meet at Qinzheng Hall or in the palace but instead chose the Ministry of Rites. All the previous formalities and receptions now seemed meaningless. As soon as the Liao envoys arrived, they immediately demanded: "Regarding the recent battle at Youzhou, our Liao army suffered heavy losses. How will you, the Song, compensate us for this loss?"
Such an accusation was outrageous!
Tang Shen, after all, was young and had only been an official for three years. He wasn’t thick-skinned enough, so upon hearing this, he felt a bit indignant.
However, Meng Lang and Yu Chaosheng were experienced. One played the role of the "angry" official, while the other played the "mediator."
Yu Chaosheng said: "What is this talk from Yelü daren? The two countries, Song and Liao, signed a peace agreement twenty years ago, agreeing not to go to war, to live in peace. This was signed by your previous emperor himself. Does this mean that now that the previous emperor has passed away, the agreement is invalid? Now that your Liao troops have attacked Youzhou, how can this be blamed on the Song Dynasty? We have yet to settle this account with you!"
Yelü Qin sneered: "You still dare to mention our Liao’s previous emperor? The previous emperor was merciful and signed a peace treaty with your Song. But what has your Song Dynasty done in the past twenty years? Two months ago, a Liao official was killed on your land. You owe us an explanation!"
Just as Yu Chaosheng was about to retort, Meng Lang intervened to mediate: "Yu daren, what are you saying? Since the Liao Emperor sent emissaries and the Third Prince himself came, they must be sincere in negotiating with us..."
For two whole days, both sides quarreled about who was responsible for the Youzhou battle.
On the third day, the Liao were willing to make a concession. This was not because they had a sudden change of heart and were no longer shamelessly shifting all the blame onto the Song, but because on the northwest front, the Song army had launched a night raid, attacking the Liao camp and achieving a major victory. The Liao now realized that the Song Dynasty might not be as weak as they had thought. Twenty years ago, this country had defeated them.
The matter of negotiation was something Tang Shen could not interfere with. Just to make Liao admit their own mistakes took three whole days, with numerous Song soldiers losing their lives.
Tang Shen stood in the room, listening to Meng Lang and Yu Chaosheng recount the numbers.
These numbers were just cold facts, but beneath these silent numbers were the lives of countless people.
The Song Dynasty was wealthier than the Liao, and could afford to fight a war. But Song soldiers were not as experienced as the Liao troops, who had fought on the grasslands for years. They had money, but war was not just about money; it was about military strength.
Tang Shen stood quietly, listening attentively to every word, his gaze calm and distant, silently observing the every move and expression of Yelü Han and the others.
In the afternoon, a government worker called Tang Shen out of the room. He walked to the back courtyard of the Ministry of Rites and found General Li Jingde already waiting there.
Tang Shen immediately walked over and saluted: "Lower official Tang Shen, greets General Li."
After several days of absence, Li Jingde’s jaw was now covered with a faint stubble, suggesting he intended to grow out his beard into a full one.
Li Jingde said, “Tang daren, why so formal with me? I came today to thank you. You’ve been taking care of me all this time, and I feel I’ve been a burden. Tomorrow, I’ll be returning to the Northwest. If I didn’t come today to express my gratitude, I wouldn’t get another chance.”
Tang Shen was surprised. “General Li, you’re returning to the Northwest?”
“Of course. The Liao army outside Youzhou is stirring; I must go back.”
Li Jingde’s eventual return was inevitable, but Tang Shen hadn’t expected it to be so soon. He was curious about what Zhao Fu had said to Li Jingde that night at the Immortal Ascension Platform but had no way to ask. Instead, he said, “Then I wish you a safe journey, General.”
Li Jingde waved his hand and laughed. “Haha, I’ll take your kind words. By the way, I’ve heard people say that Tang daren is quite wealthy?”
Tang Shen grew cautious, unsure of the intent behind this sudden remark.
“Don’t worry,” Li Jingde said. “I’m just making conversation. No matter how rich you are, can you be richer than that guy Wang Zifeng?” He smirked. “Don’t be fooled just because he’s your senior brother. I’d say this to his face: his family is loaded, and now he’s the Minister of Revenue, helping the court make money all day. Every time we go to war, I have to beg him for funds and endure his attitude. That guy is really something else!”
Tang Shen only smiled silently, thinking, tonight, I’ll be sure to pass along your message to my senior brother.
Li Jingde sighed. “I’m no good at anything other than fighting. I’ve spent half my life doing it, and it’s all I know. Sure, our Song soldiers aren’t as strong as the Liao’s now, but I promise you, in ten or twenty years, our cavalry will be no weaker than theirs! But during these ten years, every battle we fight will cost a fortune. Winning a battle costs even more. Making money is up to you lot!”
Under the sunlight, General Li’s confident and hearty smile lit up his face.
Tang Shen gazed at the young general for a long moment before saying, “General Li, there’s something I’ve been very curious about…”
“Go ahead.”
“That day when His Majesty called you to the Immortal Ascension Platform, was it because I implicated you with the task of accompanying me to the guesthouse to host the Liao envoys?”
Li Jingde’s expression instantly became rather colorful.
Tang Shen pressed, “General?”
“His Majesty probably scolded him thoroughly,” a clear, low voice interjected from behind them.
Tang Shen immediately turned to look and saw Wang Zifeng standing under a vibrant rose trellis, dressed in a deep red official robe. He held a folding fan in one hand, a faint, half-smile playing on his lips as he glanced at them. His gaze briefly settled on Li Jingde.
Li Jingde: “...”
Tang Shen laughed.
Well, it seems he didn’t need to deliver the message after all—Senior Brother already knows.