Cao Yi was young after all, and he was frightened by Zigong, and suddenly lost his sense of proportion.

Zigong smiled: "It's very simple, I think about it for the son, it is better to return to the Lu country, and if you submit to the Lu country, then the Song country and Teng, Xue, and Xiao Yi will not dare to act rashly even if they covet the cities of your country." Without the intrusion of their peers, the son can lie down with his back down, and the country will be worry-free! ”

Cao Yi bowed his waist on the king's couch and said: "What the envoy said is very true, but I heard that General Zhao has a lot of requests, so that the country of Yi will ban the Qi knife coin, and use Kong Fang money instead, and the goods will not be levied in the customs market, which can be agreed." However, it is necessary to send 150,000 stones of grain, 1,000 catties of copper and tin, and 1,000 horses of cloth to Lu every year; 100,000 stone of grain and 500 horses of cloth were sent to the Song Dynasty, and 3,000 people were to be sent by the Lu State...... This, this is really a bit beyond the burden of the country! ”

Zigong was unmoved, and said: "It's only one-third of the tax of the country, as long as the amount is paid, the general promises that he will never invade the country, and the soldiers of the country can be disarmed and returned to the field, and work hard to cultivate and weave, and the gains will definitely exceed the ...... lost."

"This ...... This ...... "Cao Yiyi is difficult to decide."

Zigong then straightened his face again and said: "If you don't listen to the words of the foreign ministers, then Lu Jia will go out and go south, and although you want to do something, you can't get it." Although Lu is not a big country, it also has 40,000 soldiers and thousands of chariots and horses, not to mention the power of Cao, Song, Teng, Xue, and Xiaoyi. If you add the Zhao clan of the Jin State, there are 150,000 soldiers, can the State of Yi resist? ”

150,000 people...... Cao Yi's lips began to tremble, this is not much different from the population of the country, and he can't resist it!

He hurriedly said: "The widow is stupid and ignorant of the power of the kingdom. The country is willing to be a friend of Lu. Sometimes, Gu is willing to offer soup to the general...... As for the conditions demanded by the general. Lone summoned the clan and the group to discuss, and hoped that the envoy would return to the pavilion for a while. Wait for the message ......"

As soon as Zigong gave up his hand and left, as soon as his figure disappeared from the main hall, Cao Yi jumped up from the king's couch, grabbed the music and other things on the desk to the ground, and cursed angrily.

"Zhao Wuxian forgot who he was, the Zhao family was also a descendant of Dongyi a thousand years ago! On the contrary, it is my family surnamed Cao, which is an authentic Xia descendant, and after Zhu Rong! Now he calls himself the general of Zhengyi, and he is doing something to respect the king. Bullying us, even the little pedestrians sent in are so arrogant! ”

Although what Zigong said was exaggerated, it was too much like it was true, so Cao Yi didn't dare not believe it, he was just reluctant to let Zhao Wuxian ask for the grain, gold, tin, and cloth, and he couldn't pull down the face of worshipping the vassal.

The ministers of the State of Yi in the main hall looked at each other, the monarch was quite low-key when he was the prince, but after becoming the monarch, he became tyrannical day by day, killing people at every turn. So none of them dared to speak.

But he saw that Cao Pi, the young and handsome man wearing a Xuanduan crown dress, stood up and played: "Your Majesty, this Lu envoy's name is Duanmu Ci, and he is a disciple of Confucius. My brother has long heard that he can speak well and has been a businessman, so he is good at exaggeration and bargaining. Talk to him instead. It's better to meet Zhao Qing directly. ”

Cao Yi calmed down and asked, "What does my brother want to do?" ”

"Your Majesty might as well appease him for the time being. Let my brother go to Lang Yu to meet General Zhao first, I have a plan. Or let the country of Yi be exempted from these tributes, and get his favor again! ”

……

Cao Pi, the prince of the State of Yi, took several cars and more than 100 entourages, and went west with gifts after leaving the national capital. After entering the territory of the Lu State, they encountered groups of cavalry from time to time, monitoring them from a distance, and reporting the news to the rear, but no one came to disturb them.

When the chariot and horse marched to a boundary stone that had been knocked down, the accompanying pedestrians sighed: "Originally, until here, it was still the land ...... of the country."

Cao Pi was silent for a moment.

The ancestor of the state of Yi was the Cao clan of the eight tribes of Zhurong, who migrated from the Central Plains to the east during the Yin Shang period, and established a vast territory of the Fang country, and the customs were gradually razed. When the fifth generation of monarchs Cao Xia, the Zhou people destroyed the Shang, and the State of Yi was unfortunately involved in the Wu Geng Rebellion, and was unfortunately defeated by the Duke of Zhou, so he lost his independent status and became a vassal of Lu.

It was not until the twelfth monarch Cao Keshi that he helped Duke Huan of Qi to promote hegemony and actively run for contacts in various countries, so that he got the position of viscount because of his merits, and the state of Yi was ranked among the princes, getting rid of the status of a vassal of the state of Lu. At that time, the territory of the State of Yi was vast, and it was once prosperous, and even expanded to the Suju area of Xilu.

However, the good times did not last long, and the overall strength of the Lu State was far weaker than that of the Lu State, and it was often invaded by the Lu State, and there was a danger of losing the country at any time, so there was a "three moves". First moved the capital from Zilou to Yifang, but the terrain there was low-lying, and it suffered from floods all the year round.

In their generation, the land of the State of Lu became more and more narrow, and they could only continue to pay tribute to Lu, until the continuous civil strife of the State of Lu in recent years, and Cao Yi of the State of Lu had the idea of taking refuge in Qi and Wu and re-prospering.

It's a pity that it's just a dream bubble, and under the threat of Zigong, they still have to give in.

But Zhao Wuxian's requirements were too harsh for Yi Guo to accept. Therefore, he has a great responsibility for this trip, in the face of Lu Song's changes, the domestic doctors began to be restless, and the brother had no one to send but him as a son, and Cao Pi had to try his best to avoid paying too much for the country.

"It's expected to be able to reach Lang Yu on the north shore of Surabaya today." In the early morning of the third day, the guide announced. "If the news told by those Zhao scouts on the road is true, General Zhao is here."

By noon, they had arrived at their destination, surrounded by a team of horses sent by Zhao Wuxian, a tall and lanky cavalryman leading twenty heavily armed cavalrymen with a silver Xuanyao insignia on his chest, a sign of great merit.

"The general and the princes and ministers were stationed in Langyu, practicing their armor all day long, waiting in formation, and finally waited for the envoy of the State of Yi."

The knight looked Cao Pi and his party up and down, and finally his eyes stayed on his pearl-encrusted crown, then he whistled, turned back to the riders and smiled: "I am still a prince, and it is really an honor for us to be able to escort us." ”

Cao Pi held back his anger and explained his intentions, and the rider Yu Xi raised his palm. The cavalry under his command flashed to both sides and stood beside Cao Pi and the others. Is this an escort or a capture? Cao Pi thought to himself. But there is nothing to do, and now I have to believe in Zhao Wuxian's bearing.

It's getting closer and closer to the Lang Yu Hunting Garden. They saw the campfire's plumes of smoke rising into the sky, making the May summer day even hotter. After hundreds of steps, Cao Pi recognized the banners of Xue Guozhengqing and Teng Guogongzi, as well as the banner of Sicheng Le's clan. There are also a few flags that are unfamiliar, and they should be the doctors who were newly assigned to the east of the Lu country.

It seems that Song, Teng, Xue, and even some Cao people, almost all the Sishang princes who were allied with Lu responded to Zhao Wuxian's call. These people gathered around Zhao Wuxian to show that they had surrendered in this struggle for the hegemony of the Lu State. Or want to share the benefits.

When he arrived, Cao Pi could only look at the army in front of him in silence: there were neat Zhao soldiers, Song, Teng, and Xue's slightly chaotic troops, and the swaggering female Lu who passed through the city. In addition, there are the handymen who drive the wagons, the messengers who deliver messages, and the grooms who reprimand the bad horses.

There are definitely no less than 10,000 people gathered here.

Zhao Wuxian's own banner fluttered high above the flags, on his tallest camp, with a white face. Embroidered with the black and red of the Zhao family, the scorching sun bird, spreading its wings and flying high, mysterious, free and proud.

"Childe, do you hear the commotion over there?" The rider named Yu Xi had a malicious smile. Said as a ride.

Cao Pi listened carefully, and he could hear the roar and the screaming of the horses. The weapons are sonorous, and there are ...... Cheers?

His face froze. Could it be that Zhao Wuxian is rectifying the soldiers and preparing to be pulled?

They passed a sackcloth mushroom-like tent. There are more and more people, and the voices are getting louder and louder. Then, he found the answer.

Below, in an open meadow, a Keju match is underway.

People cleared the field, erected fences, leveled the grass, drew the boundaries of the goal, and erected the stands. Hundreds of people came to watch, maybe thousands, to watch the fight of more than twenty people in the stadium. Judging by the situation on the field, they played at least all day. Now, at the end of the game, the players chased each other to the cheers of the crowd for the bow made of the pig urine bubble skin.

"It's Keju." The rider is talking nonsense, and now who doesn't know that this is Keju? Every year in Taoqiu, Cao State, the bets of thousands of dollars are pressed in this kind of movement that spreads from within the Zhao family.

In recent years, the Zhao clan of the Jin State is famous for being able to conquer and fight, the old Zhao Qing defeated the Qi people, and the little Zhao Qing surrendered to the thieves, and won the victory of the Song Rebellion. It is said that they were able to win every battle because the soldiers often held the Keju movement.

This kind of rumor spread more and more, and for a while, Keju became popular in the armies of Jin, Qi, and even Zheng and Wei, and there were also several sons of doctors who returned from Taoqiu in the state of Yi who were organizing people to kick ......

"Childe." Yu Xi said, "Leave the gifts and subordinates here, and I will take you to meet the general." ”

"It's a meeting, not an audience!" Cao Pi finally couldn't bear it anymore, and he replied without humility or arrogance: "Although Yi is a small country, as a son, I am the same as General Zhao. ”

Yu Xi pursed his lips, didn't speak, and took Cao Pi around the Keju Field towards the simply built stands, and when he was almost there, he turned his head and smiled: "Childe knows that the soldiers of the two divisions are playing in this Keju field, and the victory or defeat of this Keju will determine which division can become the vanguard of the attack on the State of Yi." ”

Cao Pi's calf twitched, and he almost fell to his knees behind Yu Xi......

……

"Wonderful, after the game, I want to reward him with an extra pot of wine, or a few elbows!" Seeing that Tian Ben, who was dressed in black, was brave and fierce, and after shaking a few people, he scored a goal, Zhao Wuxian couldn't help but get up and cheer for him.

"Lord!" Yu Xi stepped forward and knelt on one leg. "The envoy of the country has arrived."

"Cao Pi, the son of the State of Yi, has seen General Zhao!" Cao Pi concealed Fang Cai's horror, slowly stepped forward, and raised his eyes to look at Zhao Wuxian after saluting.

But I saw that this tiger general was about twenty years old, with slender limbs, broad shoulders, soft and straight charcoal black hair tied into a bun on the top, a crown of birds, a confident smile at the corner of his mouth, and a pair of blazing tiger eyes seemed to see through Cao Pi's intentions.

He raised his eyebrows and said, "Welcome, but Childe, where is my pedestrian Duanmuci?" Didn't come back with you? ”

He didn't wait for Cao Pi to answer, so he said coldly: "I forgot to remind your country, I have always been the most unbearable to be killed by my subordinates, if Zigong is imprisoned, then the son may not be able to avoid being imprisoned, if Zigong has been killed...... Hey. ”

A faint threat, a hey sneer, actually made Cao Pi, who had been arranging lines along the way, stammered for a while, unable to speak.

The stands were full of nobles from Lu, Song, Xue, Teng, and Cao, and Cao Pi often dealt with Teng, Xue Guojun, and even doctors from the east of Lu State, and many people had visited his house. So there were a few familiar faces among them, who now stopped looking at Keju and turned their playful gazes to Cao Pi, some full of sympathy, and some of them were happy to see him make a fool of himself.

"This prince of the country must have seen Huwei for the first time, so don't scare him."

A clear female voice rescued the embarrassed Cao Pi, she was in a very high position, just below Zhao Wuxian, she was wearing a black and white witch robe, her long black hair was lazily draped over her shoulders, although the veil covered her face, the beautiful fox-like eyes could not hide it.

And on the white neck, there is a black and white jade inlaid double fish intersecting pendant......

Cao Pi guessed that this was the great witch Nanzi of the Song Kingdom, a strange woman who was a combination of divinity and charm, and recently her reputation gradually spread all over Sishang.

He came to his senses, hurriedly lowered his head and didn't dare to look at it again, and bit his tongue to explain what he meant.

"The State of Yi is willing to claim the vassal of the State of Lu, but Zigong is still discussing the specific terms with the widow in the State of Lu, and the widow asked me to take the first step to present a gift to the general."

Zhao Wuxian and Nanzi glanced at each other tacitly, and he leaned forward with interest.

"Oh, what kind of gift?"

Cao Pi took a deep breath and secretly thought that this Zhao Wuxian should be a person who is happy with his achievements, and his plan should be successful.

He said respectfully: "The country of Yi is willing to levy a hundred prisons, and I hope that the general can exempt the contempt from the tribute!" ”

(To be continued.) )

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