In the 13th year of the Qingli period, that is, in 1053 AD, the Song Dynasty will hold a grand celebration.

This celebration is of extraordinary significance.

In addition to deepening ties and trade with countries around the world, there were also activities such as military parades and awarding of titles to showcase the power of the Song Dynasty to countries around the world.

At the invitation of seven or eight envoys, kings and envoys from various countries came one after another.

By mid-December, most of the countries within a thousand kilometers of the Song Dynasty had arrived.

In addition, there are Brunei, Java and Srivijaya, located a thousand kilometers away.

Especially Srivijaya, which was the farthest away, but arrived first.

After all, the former king had a conflict with the Song Dynasty over the interests of the Malacca Strait, and eventually the grass on his grave was three feet high.

The new king, Pu Jin, had been a businessman living in Guangzhou for many years, so he naturally knew the power of the Song Dynasty.

Therefore, almost as soon as the diplomatic mission left Srivijaya, Pu Jin spent half a year stabilizing the domestic situation and hurried to Bianliang in October.

On December 19th, there were far fewer people outside Bianliang Railway Station.

Because the Ministry of Railways canceled all passenger trains on that day, people could not buy tickets and naturally could not take the train, and the pick-up staff outside the station would not come.

Although this will affect people's travel, there is nothing we can do about it.

Because the diplomatic delegation that had traveled far to the West had finally returned, they arrived in Guangzhou by ship, and then took a ship from Guangzhou up the Lingqu Canal, passing the Xiangjiang River, Yangtze River, and Han River, and finally arrived in Xiangyang on December 17th.

The telegraph has now been successfully installed. Although the line has not yet been extended all the way to Guangzhou, the telegraphs along the Beijing-Xiangyang Railway have been installed, and messages have long been exchanged.

So the express horse from Guangzhou arrived in Xiangyang first. In early December, the imperial court learned about this and booked the journey for that day.

There is really no way.

After all, there are more than 30 Western countries returning with the diplomatic corps this time. Small countries are better off, as they may only bring a few dozen people, and including gifts, they can be gathered on one ship.

It was troublesome for big countries. For example, the Abbasid Dynasty gave gifts of 300,000 kilograms to thank the envoys for their help. In addition to the goods brought for trade, the Abbasid Dynasty alone had to bring more than 2,000 people and 600,000 kilograms of goods.

Although the other dynasties were not as exaggerated as the Abbasid Dynasty, they still had more than a thousand people and three hundred thousand to four hundred thousand kilograms of goods. It can be said that the number of personnel and ships in the fleet more than doubled when the delegation returned from the West.

How can the transport capacity of trains be compared with that of ships?

Therefore, just to deliver gifts and trade goods to Bianliang, the Song Dynasty not only had to stop passenger cars for several days, but even the trains originally used to transport goods had to stop to serve these foreign guests.

They gave too much.

Since there were so many people coming this time and they all brought valuable gifts, the Constitutional Council even sent the prime minister to receive them in person to show their importance to them.

This is a courtesy that even the current Liao Kingdom has not received.

After all, in Zhao Jun's view, destroying the Liao Dynasty was only a matter of time. It would take three to five years at the fastest, and seven to eight years at the slowest. It was only a matter of time before the Song Dynasty would march north to destroy the Liao Dynasty and recover the Mongolian grasslands.

In the early morning of the 19th, there were almost no people at the train station. The porters who used to work as laborers near the train station had all left, and the rickshaws and horse-drawn carriages that picked up and dropped off passengers outside had also gone to other docks to find work.

There are always safety risks in hiring private carts to receive foreign guests.

So these workers may have to work harder in the next few days. They can either find something else to do or just rest at home for a few days. At least there is no work for them at the train station in the next few days.

However, with so many guests coming from afar, it was impossible to let them walk, so the court prepared official carriages for them for ceremonial reception.

The same thing.

Diplomacy is a major issue. First, you have to ensure the safety of foreign guests in your own country, and then the standard of reception. Otherwise, if word gets out that the Song Dynasty's public security is in chaos, wouldn't that prove that the country is weak?

Therefore, in addition to the official carriages, there were also imperial guards leading the way, blocking off the entire perimeter of the train station, creating a rather large-scale scene.

It was nearing the end of the year, and the streets of Kaifeng Prefecture were all decorated with lights and colorful lanterns.

Even the buildings in the outer city were hung with colorful ribbons, the streets were bustling with people, and the bustling markets were full of people preparing to buy things for the New Year.

When the train stopped at the station with the roar of "woohoo", the originally quiet South Railway Station seemed to wake up from its slumber.

The carriages of Zhao Jun, Fu Bi, Wen Yanbo, and Han Qi slowly stopped at the station entrance, and then, surrounded by many imperial guards, the four of them strolled to the exit.

According to convention, the Constitutional Council would send its youngest prime minister to such welcoming activities. After all, the other prime ministers were in their seventies and eighties, and would try not to go to such crowded places if possible.

And these four people are the youngest post-00s in the Constitutional Yuan today.

After 1000.

Zhao Jun had just turned 23 when he traveled through time. Now he has been in the Song Dynasty for 17 years. He will be 40 years old after the New Year. According to the Song Dynasty age, he was born in 1013 AD.

Fu Bi is 1004, Wen Yanbo is 1006, and Han Qi is 1008. Why don’t they move around a little more? Are they going to let those old men in their sixties and seventies come?

So at this moment, everyone could only stand in the cold wind and wait.

"It is said that many of these Western countries are small nations, and we have suffered a lot for them."

Han Qi laughed jokingly.

“Although there are many small countries, there are also many large countries.”

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