"Lord Su, as the Minister of Rites of the Imperial Court, I don't know why you are so against the Goryeo emissary coming to our Song Dynasty. In my opinion, this is a rare opportunity for our Song Dynasty to work with Goryeo to resist the Liao Kingdom. Furthermore, the Goryeo emissary brought gifts to the Empress Dowager, but Lord Su is obstructing them and setting restrictions everywhere.
What is your reasoning? "As soon as Xia Pingan entered the hall, he had just greeted Song Shenzong and was secretly sizing up Song Shenzong's appearance. Dong Dunyi immediately started to make things difficult for Xia Pingan.
"I heard that the Goryeo emissary has already sent a letter to the Minister of Governmental Affairs, wishing to purchase the many books printed by our Song Dynasty's Directorate. The Goryeo emissary also wishes to see our 'Taiping Imperial Guide', 'Round Turtle of the Treasury', and other books. Has the Minister of Governmental Affairs already agreed?" Xia Pingan looked at Dong Dunyi, his tone neither hurried nor slow as he asked. (Note 1)
In all fairness, Dong Dunyi and the others could not be considered treacherous officials. They were just ignorant and pedantic. If Dong Dunyi knew that in another thousand years, the descendants of the Goryeo people would be able to claim that they invented the culture and civilization that they stole from China, Dong Dunyi and the others' expressions would be very interesting!
Even at this time, the Goryeo people did not have good intentions. On the surface, they were emissaries who wanted to mend their relationship with the Song Dynasty, but in reality, they were trying to intimidate the Liao Kingdom. The Goryeo emissary was sent by the Liao Kingdom to spy on the Song Dynasty.
"Haha, Lord Su's information is very fast. That's right, the Goryeo emissary has already sent a letter to the Minister of Rites and wants to buy many books from our Imperial College. At the same time, he also wants to see the Goryeo books. We believe that the Goryeo people admire our Song Dynasty's prosperity and desire …" Dong Dunyi said proudly, "Our Song Dynasty can use this opportunity to show our benevolence to Goryeo and resist the Liao Kingdom together. What's wrong with that?"
"I heard that Lord Dong took in two concubines a few days ago. Since Lord Dong wants to coax Gaoli so much, why don't you send your wife and concubines to those Gaoli to coax them?"
Song Shenzong and Dong Dunyi probably never thought that Su Shi would say something like this. Song Shenzong almost couldn't hold back his laughter, but he still tried his best to hold it in. After Dong Dunyi was stunned for a moment, his face suddenly flushed red. He pointed at Xia Pingan and said, "You … you … you, Su Shi, are the Minister of Rites. How … how can you be so disgraceful in front of an official!"
"Huairou Gaoli? Dong Dunyi, f * ck you! You are an old tortoise without an asshole. You can't even tell good from bad. You still want to sell books to the Goryeo people? You want to give our Song Dynasty's Taiping books and the Minister of Rites to those Goryeo people. I think you, son of a tortoise, will turn over sooner or later … "Xia Pingan directly pointed at Dong Dunyi's nose and scolded him with a Shu accent," I'm scolding you now. Why don't you try to coax me … "
Dong Dunyi was dumbfounded by Xia Pingan's quick and urgent scolding in Shu dialect. He was so angry that his whole body was trembling, and his face was red. He directly bowed to Song Shenzong and stammered, "Sir … please punish … punish Su Shi for … for … for … for … for … for … for … for … for … for … for … for … for … for … for … for Su Shi's crime of … insulting the minister!"
Song Shenzong was also a bit confused. Su Shi was a literary hero of the Song Dynasty, an idol in the eyes of the world's literati. Usually, Su Shi spoke in a scholarly manner, which annoyed Song Shenzong. Song Shenzong didn't like it. How could Song Shenzong hear such vulgar words from Su Shi's mouth? He felt that the Su Shi in front of him was very novel, and he didn't have the old and experienced aura of the past. For a moment, he was stunned.
"Ahem … Su Shi, how can you be so rude?" Song Shenzong reprimanded.
Xia Pingan bowed to Song Shenzong, and then said with a serious face, "Please forgive me. Just now, I was just demonstrating to Lord Dong that the so-called coaxing can't be used on everyone. I just scolded Lord Dong a little, and Lord Dong hated me to the bone. He wanted His Majesty to punish me for my crimes, but he refused to be gentle at all. What the Goryeo people did to our Song Dynasty was a thousand times worse than what I scolded Lord Dong. If our Song Dynasty were to use the so-called coaxing strategy on the Goryeo people and let them take whatever they want in our Song Dynasty, then we would be unable to tell good from bad, and there would be endless trouble in the future!"
"Oh, then tell me, what trouble will our Song Dynasty's Huairou Gaoli have?" Song Shenzong asked directly.
Dong Dunyi was so angry at Xia Pingan that he gasped for breath. With one hand on his chest, he glared fiercely at Xia Pingan.
"If the other party is a person, you can coax them, but if the other party is an ingrate with poison on his teeth and has evil intentions, then it will be useless no matter how you coax them. They will only laugh at our Song Dynasty for being pedantic and incompetent. The Goryeo people will only submit to the power of the army, but they don't know about kindness and righteousness in the world. They are despicable people and can't be trusted. On the surface, the Goryeo people want to befriend our Song Dynasty, but in fact, they want to harm our Song Dynasty. The Goryeo people must have gotten permission from the Liao Kingdom to spy on our Song Dynasty for the Liao Kingdom. If we sell those books to the Goryeo people, the Liao people will get our books in the blink of an eye …"
"Lord Su, why are you so sure that the Goryeo people sent the Goryeo people?"
"I have seen the list of books that the Goryeo people want to buy. The list is full of our Song Dynasty's divination, yin and yang, almanac, algebra, military books, edicts, current affairs, frontier machines, geography, and other types of books. According to the reaction of the sea merchants, there were Goryeo merchants who secretly bought books at various ports. All the books bought by the Goryeo people will be printed in the Liao Kingdom in the blink of an eye. You can see them in the Liao Kingdom. Goryeo came to our Song Dynasty in the name of Muyi, but they want to make profits. Why? The Liao Kingdom wants to control them to death, but we can't do that. Today, the Goryeo people came here to buy all kinds of books. Along the way, they also drew pictures of our Song Dynasty's landscape and stationed troops to spy on our real situation. How can they have good intentions? Moreover, according to the investigation of the Ministry of Rites, there are Khitan spies among the Goryeo people … "
Hearing Su Shi's words, Song Shenzong's expression suddenly became serious. Song Shenzong was a capable ruler, and he knew what kind of people the Goryeo people were. Although the people of the Ministry of Rites of Ministers said nice things and painted a beautiful picture of a picture of joining forces with Goryeo to suppress the Liao Kingdom, but …
After panting for a short while, Dong Dunyi finally grabbed a chance to speak, "Because Gaoli is under the control of Liao, as long as Song Dynasty could make use of Gaoli to appease them, Gaoli would definitely work for us!"
Xia Pingan looked at Dong Dunyi and sneered, "Lord Dong, have you forgotten what happened before Taizong attacked the Liao Kingdom twice? Back then, Gaoli had not yet submitted to the Liao Kingdom and was conferred a title by Song Dynasty. Taizong sent an envoy to Gaoli to announce that he wanted to join forces with the Goryeo Kingdom to suppress the Liao Kingdom. Isn't it laughable? No matter how much you give Gaoli, it will be like throwing meat buns at a dog, and there will be no return …"
Dong Dunyi was speechless for a moment, and then he argued, "The Goryeo envoys came to our Song Dynasty to celebrate the Empress Dowager's birthday and to see if they could join forces with us. They even prepared a birthday gift for the Empress Dowager. How can Lord Su say that the Goryeo envoys have ulterior motives?"
Xia Pingan said, "Those Gaoli messengers gave us the time they used to submit the report in the Jiazi calendar, not the Song calendar. Those Gaoli people just like to play tricks in small places like this, sneaking around and using lowliness as a form of intelligence. They have no respect for the Song Dynasty at all. Isn't this disloyalty? How can we let those Gaoli people do as they wish?"
Dong Dunyi was once again speechless, and he argued, "The birthday gift that the Goryeo envoys prepared shouldn't be fake, right? I heard that it was two large golden pagodas. This is enough to show their sincerity!"
"Sir, this is where those Goryeo people are treacherous. The golden pagodas that the Goryeo envoys gave us are only two small pagodas in boxes. The Goryeo people know that once we accept their so-called birthday gift, the Imperial Court's gift in return will be a hundred times more than their birthday gift. They will definitely make a huge profit. Adding on the cost of receiving the Goryeo envoys along the way, it will be no less than a few hundred thousand strings of coins. The place will also be harassed, and it will be a waste of manpower and resources. They want to use two worthless toys to exchange our Song Dynasty's most precious books and records back, and they want to make a huge profit. And in the blink of an eye, more than half of these things will end up in the pockets of the Khitans.
Dong Dunyi was tongue-tied by Xia Pingan's rebuttal. He was speechless.
"Sir, our Song Dynasty is richer than any other country. Sir, you are even richer than the Four Seas. There are all kinds of rare treasures in the palace. What's so strange about some Goryeo trinkets? It's my birthday, and if that golden pagoda is really sent over, I'll feel disgusted if I see it. It's fine if I don't want it. Your Majesty, please don't lose sight of the big picture for the small and let those Goryeo people's evil plan succeed and ruin the country's affairs …" Following this, a woman with a great bearing slowly walked into the hall with the help of a few palace maids and eunuchs.
Song Shenzong hurriedly got up from his seat and went to support her.
"Greetings, Empress Dowager …" Dong Dunyi and Xia Pingan hurriedly bowed.
The woman who came in was the Empress Dowager of the Great Song Dynasty. She was also one of Su Shi's hardcore fans.
"I heard that those Goryeo people were coming to celebrate my birthday and caused some trouble. I was just about to come over and tell you not to let those Goryeo people's evil plan succeed and take advantage of our Song Dynasty because of my birthday celebration. I don't care about Goryeo people's things. I think that Lord Su is right. Our Song Dynasty's books are filled with the blood, sweat, and wisdom of our predecessors. We can't let those Goryeo people steal them and give them to the Khitans. That's no different from giving to the enemy …"
When Xia Pingan heard this, he secretly gave this Empress Dowager of the Great Song a thumbs up …
…
Su Shi's "Notes on the Pros and Cons of Buying Books from Goryeo" …
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