Linzhi

After a few days of preparation, He Zhan took Chen Qian and the others to set off from Zhangye, together with the caravan that was also going to the Western Regions.

Even if they want to meet as envoys of the imperial court, it is impossible for a group of people to go directly to the Western Turkic royal court. Now that the two places have not formally established diplomatic relations, it is easy to conflict if they go there rashly, and they may even be detained. , to foreshadow, and then enter the topic.

If it was the past, He Zhan might not have thought about it so much. In his habitual thinking of "everything has a third brother", these things just need to be left to the third brother to worry about, but now, when the third brother's life and death are uncertain Under such circumstances, he naturally provoked the leader, imitating the meticulous care of the third brother on weekdays, sorting out the whole thing from beginning to end, and confirming that there are no major mistakes before giving up.

No one will know the situation there until he arrives at the Western Turkic Royal Court. The so-called planning can only be perfected by guesswork. Therefore, before leaving Zhangye, He Zhan asked the messenger to hurry up. Send the letter to the Western Turkic royal court.

The letter was already written when he left Chang'an. At that time, He Rong made two preparations. Assuming that Princess Zhending had a certain status and power in Western Turkic, then he would formally ask for an audience as an envoy, and by the way, offer a seal to the emperor. Yuxi's will.

But the news from Western Turks at that time was not very good, so in the end He Rong and Xue Tan only took the princess gold book and left the will to He Zhan, and now He Zhan just came in handy.

Immediately afterwards, the group went to Yanqi City first, waiting for the reply from the Wangting. If the Wangting agreed to meet, they could rush over from Yanqi City immediately.

After the fall of the Yanqi Kingdom, Yanqi City was actually controlled by the Western Turks. This city became an important transit point for east-west traffic. Although it was still in the territory of the Western Turks, its management was not as strict as that of the royal court. There were still many Hu and Han merchants in the city. , For He Zhan and the others, this is a good buffer zone, where they can advance or retreat, defend or attack.

The torment of the days of waiting.

He Zhan and the others lived in the best inn in Yanqi City, together with the hundred imperial guards, they booked the entire inn, which fully demonstrated the wealth and wealth of the Central Plains court, and made others envious.

But He Zhan himself was not very happy. Compared with hanging his heart here all the time, he would rather leave for the royal court now, at least he didn't need to speculate about various situations all day long.

It was only at this moment that he fully realized the strong heart of the third brother.

You know, they still have at least the third brother standing in front of them now, but when the third brother and Xue Tan went there, West Turkic was a dangerous and unknown land, and no one knew what they would encounter there.How resolute and determined a heart must be to put life and death at risk and pass by alone?

The existence of that person is like a towering tree, his light can make anyone ignore his disability, his frailty, He Zhan knows, and because of this, Xue Tan and Gao Shi can also put aside any Hesitantly, follow left and right without hesitation.

……

But He Zhan didn't know that the wise and mighty Brother He in his eyes was facing the biggest crisis since he was born.

No matter how careful the plan is, no matter how perfect the idea is, it cannot compare with sudden changes that cannot be controlled by human beings.

From time to time, there were conversations and shouts in Turkic language outside the tent, mixed with the clanging and clashing of swords, guns, swords and halberds.

It wasn't a war, but a tense atmosphere could be heard.

He Rong and Xue Tan sat cross-legged, relatively silent.

They were still able to hold their breath. After all, Gao Shi's fire was a little worse. Although she held back and kept silent, her whole body froze due to nervousness, and her chest and back were sweating. After a while, Even the palms are greasy.

Her heart was beating fast, almost jumping out of her chest. Just when she couldn't hold back and wanted to make a sound, there was a mess of footsteps outside. The next moment, the curtain of the tent was suddenly lifted, and a person was pushed in hard. .

The other party groaned, staggered a few steps, and fell to the ground.

Gao took a closer look and hurried forward to help.

"Miss Hongyan, are you alright?"

Both He Rong and Xue Tan were men, and it was inconvenient to reach out, so they asked, "Where is the princess?"

Hongyan's face was pale, and he gasped for breath: "The princess is still in the sweaty tent. Jia Luo led people to surround the king's tent and took me away. I don't know what the princess is doing now!"

He Rong: "How is Da Khan? Where is Lu Ji?"

Hongyan: "St-still, I heard from the doctor that it may not be a good night. The princess is watching by the side. Prince Lu Ji is also here!"

Xue Tan: "Too bad, Jia Luo may want to strike first and catch them all!"

Hongyan was nervous: "Then what should I do!"

He Rong: "Where is the manpower of your princess? How does she mobilize those troops on weekdays?"

Hongyan was about to cry: "The princess has a seal representing Ke Dun's identity, and she can mobilize those personal soldiers, and occasionally I will pass on the message, but now the seal is still on the princess, and we can't enter the king's account at all! Jia Luo, Jia Luo will Won't you take the opportunity to kill the princess?"

He Rong held the bamboo stick tightly, frowned, and remained silent.

Hongyan almost regarded him as a floating board to be rescued from drowning, looking at him almost desperately but full of hope.

"No!" After a while, He Rong said with certainty.

After receiving these words of reassurance, Hongyan almost collapsed and fell to the ground, Gao quickly supported her.

Xue Tan: "The princess is not a weak woman who can be captured without a fight. Don't forget that she has her own strength at hand. Your Khan left [-] troops for her in Yanqi City. Not on Jia Luo, but if these people make a quarrel, it will be quite a mess, not to mention that the tribal leaders have not all returned to Jia Luo, and many of them are waiting for the two sides to fish in troubled waters after the quarrel."

He Rong nodded: "Yu Shen is right."

Hongyan clasped his hands together, and said with red eyes: "The princess has been miserable for half her life. Seeing that she can finally make the decision, but something like this happened again. God bless you. I hope the princess will be safe and sound, and there will be no more twists and turns."

He Rong didn't know whether God would bless Princess Zhending or not. He would never sit still and wait for the pie to fall from the sky. Listen to fate."

He Rong said: "I'm afraid the princess is more anxious than us now, can you get close to Wang Zhang and get her seal?"

Hongyan thought for a while: "Among the people who can still go in and out of the king's tent to serve, there is a maid, Mrs. Lin, who is fairly familiar with me on weekdays, but not very close. I'm afraid she won't take the risk to help."

He Rong: "Han Chinese?"

Hongyan: "Yes, she and her younger brother were both captured from Han."

He Rong: "Where's her brother, is he still alive?"

Hongyan: "Yes, her younger brother is now in charge of washing and feeding the horses."

He Rong: "You immediately send someone to arrest her brother and hide her, and send someone to watch over him. The situation is so chaotic now, no one will notice that a horse-washing slave is missing."

Hongyan understood: "You want to...?"

He Rong said indifferently: "Then find a chance to call out Mrs. Lin, tell her about this, and ask her to help us deliver the princess' seal."

Not everyone can be as kind as Ah Qing, and He Rong is not afraid to speculate on people's hearts with the greatest malice, because their lives are also tied to it, and if they make a mistake, they will lose everything.

"If Mrs. Lin is willing to cooperate well, she will be released afterward, and the siblings will be sent back to Han."

Hongyan wiped away her tears, and immediately got up: "I'll go there right now, and I'll cover people's eyes and ears while it's dark!"

……

Outside the king's tent, there are many figures, all of whom are armored and murderous.

Inside the king's tent, there was silence.

One was lying down, two were sitting, and one was standing.

Moli Khan was lying down, his face was pale, his eyes were closed tightly, and he didn't know whether he was dead or alive.

For the two people sitting, Lu Ji's expression was almost the same as that of Moli Khan. In comparison, Princess Zhending looked calm, sitting cross-legged, and the jade beads were turning one by one between her fingers, without delay , neither fast nor slow, there was a slight sound from time to time, hitting Lu Ji's heart once and for all.

Lu Ji wanted her not to turn away. Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at another person standing, and swallowed the words again, and finally did not dare to speak.

Jia Luo noticed Lu Ji's gaze, he smiled, and said to Princess Zhending: "Is this trash you want to support?"

Princess Zhending closed her eyes and meditated: "The Turkic people are good at fighting, and the cavalry swept across Mobei, but for generations, they have been grazing and roaming on the grassland. They plundered it, but in the end, the Turks were still so poor. In the Central Plains, few Turkic aristocrats could wear the silk and satin that rich families could wear. Do you know why?"

Jia Luo: "Because the Turks do not have as fertile and vast land as the Central Plains, and because the Turks are not as treacherous and cunning as the Central Plains people."

"Wrong!" Princess Zhending suddenly opened her eyes and looked directly at the other party, "Because people in the Central Plains have lived on farming for generations and are proud of hard work and hard work. These wealth did not fall from the sky. Go work hard to get it! The Turkic people never thought of learning the strengths of the Central Plains people, never thought of running a place with their hearts, and only wanted to grab it!"

Jia Luo narrowed his eyes to look at her, with murderous intent in his eyes: "I knew that even though you have been married to Turkic for decades, you still regard yourself as a Han in your heart, that is, you are soft-hearted. A woman like you should have killed her long ago. It's over!"

Princess Zhending shook her head: "You are wrong. If I really regarded myself as an outsider, I would not say these words today. Do you know what Yanqi City was like in the past? It is recorded in history books: the soil is fertile and the grain is rice. Millet, soybeans and wheat, livestock including camels and horses, vulgar people like grape wine, and love music, go south to the sea for more than ten miles, there are people with fish, salt and pampas grass."

"But now, what has become of the current Yanqi City? The city is deserted, the fertile land is barren, and there are only a few merchants who come and go. Those local people who were able to leave in the past have long since left! Is this the case? Is our land not as fertile as others? If the Great Khan who succeeds the Western Turks continues to rule the Western Turks with your ideas, then those who wait for the Western Turks can only have two fates, either they will be destroyed by the Eastern Turks, or It was destroyed by the Central Plains Dynasty!"

"You!" Jia Luo was furious, stepped forward a few steps, and raised his hand to fight.

"stop……"

Lu Ji quickly stood in front of Princess Zhending, gritted his teeth, and prepared to be beaten up by Jia Luo. Anyway, he and Princess Zhending were both prosperous and damaged. Princess Zhending was mainly unlucky, and he must also fall. less than good.

But at this moment, lying on the sickbed, Moli Khan, who everyone thought had stepped into the gate of hell with one foot, actually spoke.

Jia Luo didn't pay attention to the sick lion, but the emaciated camel was bigger than the horse. Seeing Moli opened his eyes and staring at him, he felt a little apprehensive, so he put down his hand.

"uncle."

Seeing that Moli Khan seemed to get up, Lu Ji hurried over, helped him up, and leaned half on the soft pillow.

Molly Khan: "I'm dying."

He said to the three of them, and saw that they showed expressions of surprise, worry, or secret joy.

Moli Khan closed his eyes and waited for the suffocation in his chest to disappear before he said, "Jia Luo, I want you to promise me one thing."

Jia Luo: "Uncle, tell me."

Moli Khan: "The princess has been married to me for decades, and she is now my only wife. I support you as the successor Khan because you are more suitable than Luji, but you have to promise me that after my death, you cannot If you are disrespectful to the princess, let alone force her to die."

Lu Ji couldn't help but looked at Princess Zhending, thinking that Molly's affection for her could be called deep and righteous.

But Princess Zhending didn't seem to be moved, she still sat cross-legged and closed her eyes, counting the jade beads one by one in her hand.

Jia Luo's face was uncertain, and after a long while, he gritted his teeth and smiled: "Uncle, this is not fair, if the princess wants to kill me, I can't do it, so don't you want me to offer my head?"

Moli Khan: "Don't think that I don't know. The outside of the king's tent is already full of your people. As soon as I close my eyes and die, your people can rush in immediately. The princess's life is also in your hands."

He didn't know where the strength came from, pushed Lu Ji away, sat up directly, and looked at Jia Luo with burning eyes: "Don't forget the oath you made in front of me that day, if you violate it, the wolf god will not let you go of!"

Jia Luo was silent for a long time, then glanced at Princess Zhending again, and finally said: "Yes, I promise you, as long as this woman doesn't make trouble, I can let them go."

Moli Khan vented his breath, but still sat there with his eyes wide open. Lu Ji felt something was wrong: "Khan?"

He pushed lightly, and Moli Khan fell to the side.

Lu Ji was startled, and tremblingly stretched out his hand to probe the other party's breath: "Khan... passed away."

Jia Luo's first reaction when he heard the news was not to kneel on the ground and cry bitterly, but to sneer, and said to Princess Zhending: "Although I promised him, you should be smart, if you are not honest, I will send you off." Go to hell!"

He suddenly pulled out the saber at his waist and slashed at Lu Ji!

Caught off guard, Lu Ji was blindfolded, motionless, and before he had time to resist, he saw the light of the knife descending from top to bottom, as fast as a shooting star.

There was a coolness on the cheeks, and there were a few clangs, and the jewel tiara next to his head fell off.

Lu Ji felt blood on his hand, but his head was still there, but his cheek was cut.

Seeing his dumbfounded look, Jia Luo laughed heartily, without hiding his disdain, put the saber back into its sheath, turned around and strode away without even looking at them.

The strength of Lu Ji's whole body seemed to be emptied in an instant, and he fell directly from the bed to the ground, and his clothes were all soaked.

"Princess, are we... the end of the world?" He couldn't help asking in a low voice.

He didn't expect to wait for the other party's answer, but Princess Zhending opened her eyes and looked at him with a frown: "You are going to be a sweater in the future, how can you show such a timid look?"

Lu Ji smiled wryly: "Then you have to get over the difficulties in front of you first. You are protected by the profuse sweat. If Jia Luo doesn't dare to attack you for a while, I will be miserable."

Princess Zhending sneered: "What kind of protection can a dead person give me? If he really wants to protect me, wouldn't it be better to send me back to the Central Plains 20 years earlier? We Han people have a saying that when a person is about to die, his words Ye Shan, Moli just said those words to Jia Luo just now because he felt that he couldn't help me, if you expect those words to have any effect, you are too naive!"

Lu Ji hurriedly said: "Princess, don't be angry, I will repay the favor!"

Princess Zhending calmed down: "I know that you are different from most Turkic people, otherwise I wouldn't give you my full support, but you have to understand that everything can be done by yourself, so don't have unrealistic hopes for others , if Jia Luo's oath can be believed, the vultures will sing!"

The joke wasn't very funny, Ruggy couldn't help it.

Princess Zhending: "What's more, we haven't lost yet. I have passed on the seal and asked He Rong and the others to dispatch people. If the people he stayed in the pass can't arrive in time, we will start at the funeral of the Great Khan." .”

Lu Ji: "But Galo will be on guard..."

Princess Zhending: "Instead of doing nothing, it is better to give it a go, at least there is hope of success!"

Facing her stern look, Lu Ji couldn't help but nodded.

……

"Molly is so old that he thinks that he can blackmail me just by asking me to swear an oath? I think that woman really gave him ecstasy potion, so that he can't forget it even when he dies!"

If the princess is really determined to be here, after hearing Jia Luo's words, he will definitely feel that he knows Jia Luo's temperament like the back of his hand.

If Jia Luo had heard what Princess Zhending said just now, he would probably also regard her as a confidant.

In this tent, except for Jia Luo, they are all his confidantes. When they heard the news of Moli Khan's death, everyone first congratulated Jia Luo to succeed the Great Khan, and some cited the East Turkic Fu Nian as an example to compliment Jia Luo. Luo will definitely become a more wise khan than Fu Nian.

Don't think that Turkic people don't know how to flatter. Most people in the world who follow others are like this, regardless of race.

Someone also suggested that Jia Luo should kill Princess Zhending and Lu Ji first to avoid future troubles.

Jia Luo was in a good mood, and after everyone expressed their opinions, he said slowly, "That woman can't be killed yet."

The subordinates said: "Ye Hu, that woman can't stay for long, I heard that Mo Li left tens of thousands of soldiers and horses for that woman in Yanqi City, if those tens of thousands of people come to besiege the royal court, I'm afraid it will cause trouble for us!"

Jia Luo smiled: "She has soldiers in Yanqi, but I don't? That woman is under house arrest right under my nose. Before her soldiers were recruited, she was killed by me!"

The subordinate wanted to say something, but he raised his hand to stop him: "Now there are still a few tribesmen swaying left and right. I want to save this woman until the funeral of the sweater, and then kill her in public. What do the Han people say? Let's kill the chicken to make an example to the monkeys, yes, kill her chicken, then I can deter those monkeys, and see if they dare to have a different heart towards me in the future!"

Before his subordinates praised his wisdom, someone from outside reported that envoys sent by the Central Plains court had arrived in Yanqi City, handed over letters, and wanted to form an alliance with the Western Turks to establish diplomatic relations.

Jia Luo was puzzled: "Why did the Central Plains suddenly send someone over?"

The other party was a small Turkic official who came from Yanqi City. Hearing the words, he nodded and bowed with a smile: "That's right. I heard that Xiao Yu married the Eastern Turks and wanted to harm the Central Plains. It is estimated that the emperor of the Central Plains was in a hurry and wanted to seek us. With the help of the Western Turks, the envoys of the imperial court brought many things over this time, saying that they would be dedicated to the Great Khan and Princess Zhending."

The subordinate said to the little official: "Moli Khan is dead. From now on, there will be only Jialuo Khan!"

The Turkic official was stunned, and hurriedly said: "Yes, even if you want to present a gift, it is also dedicated to the new Great Khan! Dare I ask the Great Khan, did the envoy meet or not? They seem to be quite interested in Princess Zhending, and they said The princess is very old, and I want to take her back to Han to retire."

Jia Luo wondered: "Hasn't the Central Plains changed the emperor a long time ago, what is the relationship between that woman and them?"

The little Turkic official said: "The envoy said that we are both Han people and share the same spirit. The emperor Lian Zhending princess has been in Turkic for many years and has no children under his knees, so he wants to take the princess back to take care of her life."

Jia Luo's heart moved: "Then did they say to send a new one?"

The Turkic official: "This, this is not!"

Jia Luo pondered for a moment, then waved his hand: "Okay, let them come and pay a visit, just in time for my succession ceremony."

After the Turkic official left, Jia Luo and his left and right talked about it. Some said that the Central Plains people had ulterior motives and would never see it. Some said that the Central Plains people could come to feel the Turkic king's power and scare them, and others said that they could wait. After the people from the Central Plains came, they left their things behind, and they killed them directly.

After Jia Luo listened, he didn't comment, and when everyone's discussion came to an end, he said: "People from the Central Plains, I naturally don't pay attention to them, but the alliance between Fu Nian and Xiao Yu may not be aimed at the Central Plains, but may also be aimed at the Western Turks. In this way, we can also form an alliance with the people of the Central Plains, and take the opportunity to knock them a fortune. Also, since the people of the Central Plains were able to send Zhending to make a marriage, they must be able to send a younger and more beautiful princess here now. Such an alliance , what harm is there to us?"

Everyone suddenly realized, and they all praised Da Khan for his wisdom. Jia Luo couldn't help but sneered when he thought of the scene where the proud and awe-inspiring Princess Zhending had to kneel down in front of him and beg for mercy.

If it was really him who supported him back then, and not Lu Jin's trash, why did he end up like this now?

……

He Zhan and the others have made sufficient preparations for this visit. He also specially ordered a formal dress, with long sleeves and a jade crown, which makes his figure even more tall and straight. It really looks like an envoy sent by the Ministry of Rites.

When the group entered the royal court with countless belongings, even Chen Qian and the others were tall and dignified, but He Zhan's bright eyes still won him countless attentions.

Chen Qian next to him couldn't help laughing.

He Zhan glanced at him: "What are you laughing at?"

Chen Qian said in a low voice, "I laugh at the commander's attire. It's not like going on an envoy, but like welcoming relatives."

He Zhan was angry: "Who are you welcoming, are you welcoming? If you don't dress up more grandly, how can you win the trust of the Turkic people? They are not fools."

Having said that, in fact, he also knew that Chen Qian's joke was just to relieve each other's nervousness.

Because from the moment they stepped here, they were already in the center of Western Turkic, and they could only keep going forward, and they could no longer turn back.

He Zhan suppressed his thoughts, suppressed the remaining smile on his face, and walked towards Wang's tent step by step under the leadership of the Turkic soldiers.