On both sides of the Yellow River, there are already green fields. Among the large areas of farmland, the spring wheat that has just been sown has sprouted and formed green straight lines. Farmers wearing coarse cloth short clothes are strolling in the vast fields, either fertilizing or bent down to weed.

This is really a landscape painting of the working people of the Song Dynasty building a beautiful feudal home.

This rich and peaceful land belongs to the Qingzhou area of ​​Hebei East Road in the Song Dynasty. This place is the land of the heart of China, and not far north is the land of Youzhou, one of the "Ancient Nine Provinces". It has been the territory of China since ancient times, but during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, it was sold to the Khitan people by Shi Jingtang. It has been divided from the Han territory of China for more than 160 years. Due to the loss of Youzhou, Qingzhou area of ​​Hebei East Road in the Song Dynasty has changed from a land of the heart to an important frontier town of China.

However, with the establishment of the Chanyuan Alliance, the once tense border has become a harmonious pastoral country. Time has come to this day, and this land near the Liao Dynasty is still quiet and peaceful, and there is no smell of war smoke. What makes the farmers here most worry is not the Khitan cavalry armed to the teeth in the north, but this quiet river flowing.

In the past few decades, the Yellow River has been relocated three times, and I don’t know how many times it has flooded. The river that originally flowed into the east and flowed north to Qingzhou, and injected into the border river of the Song and Liao border into Qingzhou.

Although the Yellow River was diverted northward and flooded large areas of farmland and many villages in Qingzhou, causing huge floods. However, after the river channel was fixed, the people of Qingzhou began to appreciate the benefits of this big river.

The river goes north to Liao, south to Daming Prefecture in Beijing, and also connects Kaifeng Prefecture, the capital of the Song Dynasty, through the canal. It also integrates into the canal network that is well-connected in the eastern part of the Central Plains during the Northern Song Dynasty. It allows Youzhou, which has long been separated from China, to obtain an inland waterway with a large number of navigation.

Qingzhou on Hebei East Road has become the key to the "golden waterway" entering Liaoning. If you look at it from the map, the Yellow River and the Border River form a T-shaped Sancha River estuary here.

Two huge tower ships with the flag "On orders" were now anchored in the estuary area near the boundary river, waiting quietly for something.

Wu Haogu was standing on the top of one of the towers, with a drawing board in front of it, and the Xuanxuan had been glued on the drawing board. Wu Dalang was holding a pencil in his hand, leaving lines and shadows on the rice paper. In less than half an hour, a picture of "Qingzhou Yellow River Ending the Boundary" was almost completed.

He was on February 15th of the second year of Yuanfu. He followed Jian Xuchen as the chief envoy and Li Zhong as the deputy envoy, and left Kaifeng Prefecture to head north.

However, in the past, the missions that sent Liao were different. This time, the mission did not ride a horse and a carriage to head north, but took two water-driven ships transferred from somewhere, and headed north along the Yellow River.

The ship was not fast, and at the end of February of the second year of Yuanfu, it barely arrived in Qingzhou on Hebei East Road and stopped at the intersection of the Yellow River and the Border River.

The purpose of stopping the ship was to wait for the arrival of the companion sent by the Liao Kingdom. The diplomatic model between the Liao and Song dynasties was different from the diplomatic method of setting up embassies between countries in later generations. There were no permanent missions on the other side's land, but sent missions to visit each other regularly or irregularly.

Because both sides were once hostile countries, they were always careful about the other party's mission and restricted their freedom of movement. Not only did they stipulate the routes for missionary exchanges, but they also built welcome hotels along the way to avoid excessive contact between the delegation personnel and the outside world, but also sent "companionship envoys" and "house companionship envoys" for "personal companionship."

The so-called "companion envoy" means to welcome the mission on the border and then accompany them to the officials of their capital all the way, while the staff envoy is to accompany the officials of the other mission in the capital.

According to the practice of missions between the two sides, a companion must be accompanied by a mission so that the mission can enter the other party's territory.

Logically speaking, if you have a companion to watch, you have to check in the designated welcome hotel. A spy like Wu Haogu has no chance to draw a spy.

However, it is not time for the Great Liao and the Great Song Kingdom to "become a prosperous and prosperous". Accompanying and companionship are all just a formality, and the guards of the hotel are even more relaxed. Many times, as long as you spend some money to make some money, the hotel can enter and exit at will.

"The right way," Wu Haogu put the pencil in his hand on a table. While stretching his muscles and bones, he called the font size of Zhang Zeduan behind him. "The number of this picture is No. 8, and its name is "Qingzhou Yellow River Entry Sketch Picture."

"8" is an Arabic numeral. Wu Haogu wrote an Arabic numeral "8" on the blank space above the picture, without the name of the picture. In a catalog book held by Zhang Zeduan, there are Arabic numeral 8 and the corresponding words "Qingzhou Yellow River Ending Sketch Picture".

Of course, these Arabic numerals were handed over by Wu Haogu to Zhang Zeduan, so let's use them as passwords.

The pictures and catalogs are collected separately. The catalogs are collected by Zhang Zeduan, and the pictures will be handed over to Ximen Qing for collection.

Wu Haogu turned his head and smiled at Ximen Qing, who was still dressed in men's clothes and said, "Xiao Yi, you have put away the picture."

"Yes." Ximen Qing nodded. Although she was in men's clothing, she was different from when she was in Kaifeng Mansion.

When she was in Kaifeng Prefecture, Ximen tied her chest and wore faded old clothes. Her edges were not cleaned, and she looked a little sloppy.

But after leaving Kaifeng Mansion, Ximen Qing immediately changed into a beautiful new dress, without restraining her plump breasts. She picked herself up every day and put on light makeup and sprinkled fragrant powder on her body - this is probably the way women are to please themselves?

In this way, even a half-baby like Zhang Zeduan knew that Ximen Qing was a big girl.

But he was still a little strange. Ximen Qing was mostly the teacher's concubine, so why didn't she and the teacher live in the same cabin?

Wu Haogu looked at Ximen Qing, who showed charming and gorgeousness, and was also having the same idea in his heart: Sister Ximen is following her like this, should she be "eluting" with her, right? Eluting to be a concubine...

What a love-infatuated woman!

As a man, should we take the initiative? Are we still waiting for the girl to recommend her own pillow?

Or... I'll ask Ximen Qing to bed tonight?

It seems that it is not appropriate... Although Ximen Qing can only be a concubine, she cannot be treated as a concubine. It is better to take the initiative to deliver her to her door!

"Dalang, Dalang, what are you thinking?"

Ximen Qing's voice sounded in Wu Dalang's ears. At this time, Wu Dalang realized that he was just thinking about how to get on Ximen Qing's bed, and forgot to lift the painting off the board and hand it over to Ximen Qing.

"Oh, I'm thinking of you." Wu Haogu replied in a low voice, then lifted the painted Xuanxuan from the drawing board and handed it to Ximen.

"I want to be a slave?"

After hearing his words, Ximen Qing's pretty face turned red with shame. He took the drawing paper and lowered his head and turned into the cabin. Because he had no idea of ​​looking at the road, he actually collided with a man head-on.

"Xiao Yi, why don't you look at the road when you walk?"

Ma Zhi was hit by Ximen Qing. He also headed north with Wu Haogu and others, nominally Tong Guan's entourage. However, when the boat was docked at the mouth of the Yellow River in Qingzhou, he got off the boat and went to the nearby Song and Liao Quechang. He went there for three or four days, and I don't know who he met? He came back excitedly today.

The site Ma Zhi went to was called the site of Qingzhou site. It was built on the east bank of the Yellow River. It only appeared after the Yellow River flowed into Liaoning. The site was adjacent to the boundary river and the Yellow River on the other side. Wharfs were built on both sides to allow ships from south to north to dock. Because of its superior geographical location, it was very prosperous and is now the most prosperous site in the Song and Liao markets.

However, the site itself is a bit ragged. The walls are wooden fences and the houses are relatively low. They look so simple that they are built, which is incomparable to the site that Wu Haogu saw in Haizhou.

"Brother Ma."

Wu Haogu stepped forward and bowed to Ma Zhi. However, Ma Zhi looked at Ximen Qing's back a little strangely, and after a while, he asked: "Chongdao, you and Sister Ximen..."

"This..." Wu Haogu laughed, "This is a private matter."

Ma Zhi shook his head and whispered: "Why haven't you succeeded yet?"

"Quick, it's soon."

Ma Zhi smiled: "Then you have a chance now."

Wu Haogu hurriedly asked, "What's the chance?"

"Tonight we will get off the boat and go to the court. We will enter Liao territory privately."

"Private entry?"

"Yes!" Ma Zhi said, "It's you, me, Tong Gangfu, Ji Yizhi, Sister Ximen, Zhang Zhengdao, Teacher Lin, Teacher Lu, Yue'er and Lian'er secretly enter Liao territory."

"Will it be discovered by the Liao people?"

Ma Zhi smiled and said, "I'm a native of Liao?" He paused, "Tell you, this is planned long ago, otherwise Sister Ximen would not come to accompany you. Tonight, someone will be on the boat, pretending to be you, Ji Yizhi, Tong Gangfu, and wait until you arrive in Yanjing to find a chance to exchange it."

"Will the Liao government not discover it?"

"No," Ma Zhi smiled, "This time I am the companion, Uncle Ma Yan, the Nanjing Police Patrolman, and I am my clan's uncle."

Uncle Ma Yan is the horse man, and the police patrol is the official who manages the police patrol. The police patrol is the "right-left patrol" in the capital of the Tang Dynasty. The management is very complicated, including patrols and robbery, fighting the enemy on the frontier to quell the chaos, market and trade supervision, as well as military and civilian household registration in the city of Xijin, Nanjing, etc. It is basically a hodgepodge! I don’t know when, the welcome hotel on Nanjing Road was also under the jurisdiction of the police patrol, so the horse man is naturally the one who takes care of the soldiers.

If there is a horse, there is no problem for Ma Zhi to take people into Liao territory privately.
Chapter completed!