novelAbuy Chapter 103 Getting People to Drink and Ask Questions
Chapter 103 Getting People to Drink and Ask Questions
Li Chong asked, somewhat surprised, "You haven't left yet?"
That one sentence was enough to leave Yang Chengde stunned on the spot.
He gritted his teeth inwardly, but on the surface he still smiled and replied, "This humble official is here to see if there's anything I can do to help."
Ma Kuo looked at Yang Chengde with a puzzled expression, then glanced at Li Chong.
Li Chong then introduced, "This is Registrar Yang of this county."
He then introduced Ma Kuo's identity to Yang Chengde.
Upon learning that Ma Kuo was the son of the chief envoy Ma Zheng, Yang Chengde's attitude warmed up considerably.
"So it's you, young master. I was rude." Yang Chengde bowed again. "Like father, like son. You've been appointed by the government at such a young age. Your future is limitless."
His humble attitude and somewhat ingratiating tone backfired unexpectedly.
Upon hearing Yang Chengde's flattery, Ma Kuo's expression immediately turned quite unpleasant.
He forced himself not to lose his temper, and simply cupped his hands slightly: "Registrant Yang, He Fu and I still have things to discuss. If you are free right now, you might as well go to the yamen to handle some official business, so that there won't be any problems in the yamen when there is no superior present."
Although Ma Kuo's tone was amiable, his expression was serious, carrying an air of unquestionable authority.
Yang Chengde's face stiffened, and he could only smile awkwardly, not knowing what to say.
Li Chong, who was watching closely, clearly saw that Ma Kuo was displeased after hearing the words "young master".
Come to think of it, young people are full of vigor and ambition. Ma Kuo passed the military examination and was appointed by the emperor to go on a mission. He was full of enthusiasm and ambition.
At this time, Yang Chengde flattered him and addressed him as "Young Master," which Ma Kuo thought was an attempt to please him. However, in Ma Kuo's eyes, this was clearly a denial of his own efforts.
Given this, Yang Chengde was bound to get nowhere with Ma Kuo.
After chuckling a few times, Li Chong cleared his throat and said, "Zichong is right. Registrar Yang, you should go back first. Remember to reassure the officials at all levels and tell them not to spread rumors."
After being lectured by the two of them, Yang Chengde had nothing to say and could only leave dejectedly.
This time, he really tried to flatter someone but ended up making a fool of himself.
After Yang Chengde left, the two continued forward, their respective entourages following not far behind.
Ma Kuo said, "Brother Hefu, your position as registrar is a bit too pragmatic. This is not a blessing for the people."
"Who says otherwise?" Li Chong shook his head helplessly. "The fact that such a grand welcome was mostly his own idea. I was still outside the city inspecting the rescued people and had no idea about the delegation."
"He thought he had succeeded, but he dragged me into this mess and I got a lecture from Master Ma. What an undeserved disaster!"
Ma Kuo chuckled lightly: "Brother Hefu, there's no need to worry. That's just my father's nature; he takes things too seriously. These next few days, just keep an eye on the wind direction and don't let public opinion get out of hand. The matter will be over, it's nothing to worry about."
Li Chong smiled and cupped his hands, saying, "Then I'll take your kind words. Let's go and have some drinks. I'll have a good chat with Zichong then."
"please!"
The two mounted their horses and rode forward together.
......
Inside the private room on the rooftop of Zuiyun Tower.
Li Chong sat in the main seat, with Ma Kuo beside him, and Xue Tao and his son Xue Ming accompanying him at the lower end.
Li Chong had planned to invite Ma Kuo to dinner and then try to get information out of him over drinks, but he happened to run into the Xue family father and son.
When Ma Kuo heard that Xue Ming had also entered the mountain with Li Chong, he immediately became interested and invited the two of them to stay and have a drink together.
After several rounds of polite refusals, Li Chong finally gave in to Ma Kuo and took the seat of honor. The four of them then began to toast each other.
Afterwards, Li Chong recounted the process of suppressing the bandits, during which Xue Ming would occasionally add a few words, which made Ma Kuo's eyes light up with admiration, and he kept asking questions.
Finally, Ma Kuo raised his glass and exclaimed, "I wish I could be like Brother Hefu, achieving great feats on the battlefield and bringing peace to the region!"
Li Chong waved his hand: "Zichong, you flatter me. They are just a bunch of lowly bandits, nothing special."
"Though the bandits are small in number, it shows Brother Hefu's talent."
Ma Kuo still held He Fu in high esteem: "Brother He Fu has just arrived in Yanggu. His foothold is not yet secure and the people's hearts are not with him. Yet he has managed to use clever strategies to defeat the strong with the weak. This is exactly in line with the essential principles of military strategy. Although I passed the military examination in Bianjing, I am still just a theorist and have never experienced battle. I cannot compare to Brother He Fu who has personally experienced battle."
Li Chong remained humble as always.
After clinking glasses, Li Chong downed his drink in one gulp and subtly changed the subject.
"Zichong has been sent on a mission this time, and he will surely be of great use when he returns. My meager contribution will probably not be of any interest to you then."
Ma Kuo shook his head: "Things are unpredictable. The future of this trip is uncertain, and whether it will be successful or not is still unknown."
With a slightly melancholy sigh, Ma Kuo poured himself a drink, his expression desolate.
Xue Ming, who was standing nearby, received a signal from Li Chong and poured another cup for him, saying, "May I ask, Brother Ma, what makes you say that?"
Ma Kuo toyed with his wine cup, looking rather listless.
"He traveled across the ocean to a remote and impoverished place, my father..."
He realized he had said something inappropriate halfway through his sentence and quickly shut his mouth.
"Enough, enough!" Ma Kuo picked up his wine cup. "Let's drink and not think about too many trivial matters."
There was a pause in the atmosphere inside the room, then Li Chong quickly echoed, and the Xue father and son also raised their glasses.
The four raised their glasses, clinked them together, and drank another cup.
Xue Tao chuckled and tried to smooth things over: "Yanggu is remote, and we only have this turbid wine. It's nothing like the fine wine that Young Master Ma drank in Bianliang. Please bear with us."
Ma Kuo, however, was magnanimous: "The wine is fine, but it depends on who you're drinking with. A true friend is hard to find in life, and to have met Brother Hefu today, a scholar who is also knowledgeable in military strategy, is truly rare! Let's raise a toast!"
"good!"
Li Chong gave a signal, and the three of them raised their cups again to drink with Ma Kuo.
As they drank and chatted, they all became somewhat tipsy.
As the saying goes, people speak the truth when they're drunk, and under the influence of alcohol, Li Chong did manage to extract quite a bit of information.
Although Ma Kuo remained cautious and did not reveal their mission objective or location, he could not stop Li Chong from using his extraordinary abilities.
Having already learned that the Song Dynasty's rulers and officials would cross the sea to contact the Jin Dynasty, Li Chong, following the clues, verified his conjecture based on the information revealed by Ma Kuo in a few words.
They were indeed on a diplomatic mission to the Jin Dynasty.
First, their target is Dengzhou.
Dengzhou was already the easternmost part of the Northern Song Dynasty's territory, right next to the sea. There was nowhere else to go besides crossing the sea.
However, crossing the sea could also mean going to places like Goryeo or Japan, and not necessarily to the Jin Dynasty.
But now it is neither a festival nor a time for paying tribute, so the Song Dynasty has no reason to send envoys to these countries at this time, as it would be against etiquette.
In addition to the gifts brought by the delegation, Li Chong was finally certain that Ma Zheng and his party were indeed going to meet Wanyan Aguda.
As for Ma Kuo's melancholy, it was nothing more than his worry that his father might not be able to withstand the fatigue of the journey and that something might happen to him.
After all, Ma Zheng was getting old. First he crossed the sea, and then he went to that harsh and cold place. It wouldn't be surprising if something happened to him.