Three days later, the monarchs, ministers and people of Taisha King's capital lined the streets to see off the Emperor Changsheng. This time they showed their true feelings and sent each other with smiles. Finally, they took away the notorious Mountain Demon King, and the two princesses also drove with them. The puppet army is returning home...
At that time, outside the capital of Taisha King, a man and a horse were watching the mountain puppet army go away. He seemed particularly lonely. This person was Duke Potuchi Jiakun. He looked at the retreating mountain puppet army with a dejected look on his face. , he seemed to have made some secret decision in his heart.
Viscount Salechas also came outside the city to see off his sweetheart. He saw that Potuchigakun was also outside the city, and he understood.
Saraichas came to his side and said leisurely: "Your Majesty the Duke, are you sending His Highness Princess Lina off?"
Potuchi Jiakun's expression was blank, and he didn't answer his question for a long time.
After a long while, Potuchijiakun came back to his senses and asked: "Is it possible that Master Saraichas also came to see his deceased friend off?"
Saraicha said something incomprehensible: "Yes, and no..."
He is different from Princess Potuchigakun and Princess Lina, because Princess Dia Melissa has never expressed any love to him, and he has always had unrequited love...
At this time, the sun was setting in the west, and they were the only two frustrated people left outside the capital of King Taisha...
After marching for more than a month, the Shanpu army finally withdrew to Yucheng. At the foot of Yucheng Mountain, the entire army looked solemn. More than a hundred soldiers drove carts to pull the ashes of more than 3,000 Shanpu soldiers who died in the battle to the altar. Let the wizards accompanying the army practice salvation.
As the second generation of the Immortal Emperor, Mu Sheng was leading the troops in person this time. Naturally, he had to go on stage to personally pray for the fallen soldiers. Then the ashes would be pulled to the west coast hundreds of miles away and scattered into the sea. This was a mountain puppet. A tradition that has always been there.
The soldiers of the Mountain Puppet fight bravely and are not afraid of death. To a large extent, deep down in their hearts, they are fighting for the living true god of the Mountain Puppet, the Immortal Emperor. They not only fight for honor, but also fight for their faith. They can He is a rare warrior of faith in this era, and his combat capabilities are naturally incomparable.
After the battle, the entire army was rewarded generously. The surviving soldiers were naturally beaming with joy. Those who died in battle and were disabled received triple pensions. After the post-war matters were dealt with, the three armies dispersed and returned to their respective stations.
In this war, there were 5 million military expenditures given by Da Jinzi and Taisha's huge war indemnity. Although Shanpu gave Taisha enough face and did not pay much attention to Taisha, Lizi had to take full advantage of it. He wanted to The mountain puppets withdraw their troops? Need more money! Fortunately, Taisha is more than a hundred times richer than Shanpuppet, so he can still afford the compensation if he grits his teeth. Of course, the war compensation was given to Shanpuppet in the name of the dowry of the two princesses. It can not only save money to avoid disasters, but also make Taisha look good. .
Back in Yucheng, Mu Sheng took Dia Melissa's catkin and walked out of the chariot.
Princess Lisa looked at the city on the mountain in front of her and couldn't help but sigh: "Husband, Yucheng looks so spectacular? This is my first time here!"
Mu Sheng smiled and said: "This will be your home from now on. Take your time. If there is a chance in the future, I will take you to see the scenery of the Central Plains, which is very different from our southern Xinjiang customs."
Dia Melissa leaned on his shoulder happily and said: "Yes!"
The third princess Kaya Melina walked down the chariot and happened to see the emperor and her biological sister making love to each other. She was furious and secretly resented in her heart. This sister has never been worry-free and always wanted to compare with herself in everything. Even if you marry a mountain puppet and "jump into the fire pit", you have to compete to see who can jump far and high? So stupid...
The third princess thought about her current situation and had no time to educate her sister. The deal was already done. Who could look back now?
When the emperor returned to Yucheng, the people of the city naturally lined the streets to welcome the emperor back. More gossips heard that Emperor Changsheng had married two princesses of Taisha who were known as Taisha twins, so they naturally came to watch out of curiosity.
After so many years, the Changsheng Emperor actually went on a personal expedition again. With such great martial arts and powerful Taisha dynasty, they once again bowed their heads and gave in. They even married two princesses. This was a great encouragement to the entire people of Shanpu. , the whole Yucheng was immersed in a sea of celebration.
Seeing this situation, Mu Sheng naturally wanted to patrol the whole city of Yucheng to gather people's hearts. Taking advantage of the power of victory, he announced an amnesty and exempted taxes for one year to benefit the people. Anyway, the gold and silver shipped from Taisha The treasure is enough for the mountain puppet to squander for a while...
After the parade, Mu Sheng summoned the elders to hold a royal meeting to discuss post-war policies.
After a group of elders were summoned, Bortas took the lead and said: "Ancestor, according to the latest military report from the front, the Xi tribe took this opportunity to invade the territory of Taisha and annexed three vassal states of Taisha. It’s soaring, but the strange thing is that the Wang Family Army rebuilt by Taisha has always stood still.”
"The former Prime Minister of Taisha, Parmiga Takuba, and the current Prime Minister Jakkun Patula simultaneously called on all the princely states in the country to form a coalition to resist the invasion of the ancient tribes. Hundreds of thousands of troops from both sides were already facing each other on the front line. Now, The Xi tribe has sent envoys to persuade us to send troops to Taisha from the east to help them reduce the pressure on the frontal battlefield."
Mu Sheng thought for a while and then said: "Replying to the envoy of the former clan, we have just experienced a war and the country is exhausted, so it is not appropriate to use force."
Bortas said: "If this is the case, then the offensive and defensive alliance between us and the former tribe will only exist in name only."
Mu Sheng said: "I know this very well. Don't forget, I am now the King of Zhennan, the son of Da Jin. We already wear the same pants as Da Jin. Sooner or later, the former clan will fall out with us. You have also seen the might of the Shangbang army in this battle with Taisha."
"The next thing our mountain puppet will do is to continue to be tied to the Jin Dynasty. After a while, I will personally go to the Central Plains to see my son and pay tribute to the imperial state to see our mountain puppet's sincerity in forming a good relationship with the imperial court."
Upon hearing this, Bortas agreed: "Old Ancestor Shengming, since we are already on the side of the Jin Dynasty, we might as well strengthen our ties with the Chaoshang State and clearly strengthen our alliance with the Jin Dynasty."
Mu Sheng nodded slightly and said: "Yes! What Ta Si said is true. During this visit to the Central Plains, I plan to contact the countries in southern Xinjiang and go to the Jin Dynasty to meet my son together with me. Ta Si, you can handle this matter."
Bortas naturally nodded and accepted the order.
Before leaving the imperial meeting, Mu Sheng thought for a while to see if there were any omissions. The original alliance between the Xi tribe and the Shanpu was to fight against the Jin Dynasty's march southward. Now the Shanpu has "surrendered to the enemy" and has already become one of the powerful powers in southern Xinjiang. Difficulty standing on one's own feet.
If the Xi Clan were not at war with Taisha now, the Xi Clan would have already formed an alliance with Taisha to fight against the Shan Puppet. The fight against the Shan Puppet was to fight against the further penetration of the Jin Dynasty's forces in southern Xinjiang. Now the Xi Clan is sending envoys I came here just to test Shan Puppet's attitude.
Nowadays, Taisha is newly defeated and needs the most time to recover. The former tribe has gone south to use troops to take advantage of the opportunity. Taisha, the giant of southern Xinjiang, is really a leaky house, but it rains all night long...
After the imperial meeting dispersed, Bortas saw other elders retreating from the hall one after another. With a wisp of beard and a roll of his eyes, he stepped forward to Mu Sheng, bowed to protect his chest and saluted: "Old ancestor, I have something to report to you. "
"speak."
Bortas said: "Ancestor, the great shaman of the Yucheng Holy Temple would like to invite you to take some time to come there. The old patriarch Bordulai would like to have a talk with you. He has been practicing in the temple, do you think?"
Mu Sheng nodded and said: "Okay, it's better to choose a different day than to hit the sun. Let's go there now."
Yucheng Holy Temple is located in the west of Yucheng City. It is similar to the temple used to worship ancestors in the Central Plains. In the past thousands of years, the tablets and stone reliefs of the elders who have made outstanding contributions to the mountain are enshrined here. It is equivalent to the Temple of Heroes.
When the Emperor's guard of honor arrived at the Holy Temple in Yucheng, the priests of the Holy Temple had already knelt in front of the temple gate to greet the Emperor. The leader of the mountain puppet priests was none other than the great witch Zhu Kelosha who was fighting with the army and was also a member of the Mountain Puppet Wizard Group. leader.
When the great witch Zhu Kelosha saw the emperor's ceremonial guard arriving, his snow-white beard trembled slightly, and he hunched forward to greet the emperor and said: "I respectfully welcome the emperor, please follow me into the temple."
Mu Sheng nodded slightly and stepped back. Elder Bortas and a group of mountain priests followed the emperor to the altar in the core area of the temple.
Yucheng Holy Temple has five temples and only three courtyards. It occupies a small area. The architectural scale of the holy temple obviously cannot be compared with the palace-like splendor of Taisha Snake Temple. Looking around, Yucheng Holy Temple On the pillar walls, there are reliefs of ghosts and monsters from various mountain puppet myths and legends, which are weird and slightly mysterious.
The altar is the core of the temple, which is also the main hall of the temple. There is a spring in the center of the main hall that trickles from the mouth of the stone beast on the mountain wall and flows into the spring pool under the beast's head. When Yucheng was built, this spring The water in the spring has never stopped flowing for thousands of years. This spring is also called the holy spring by the people of Yucheng.
The emperor and his entourage entered the altar hall. A group of priests carried exquisite bronze cups, took the holy spring from the stone beast spring, and presented it to the emperor, as well as Bortas, the great witch Zhu Kelosha, and other mountain puppets. High-rise drinking.
Mu Sheng knew that this was a ritual for worshiping in the holy temple. He took the bronze cup and drank it all in one gulp. The spring water went into his throat and was cold, even with a hint of sweetness. This reminded him of a classic advertising slogan from later generations...
After everyone drank the spring water, the great wizard Zhu Kelosha waved his hand and dismissed the other sacrifices in the main hall, leading the emperor and Bortas Rao across the spring pool to the apse.
The main hall of the temple is built against the mountain. The apse is actually a space opened up by hollowing out the mountainside behind the main hall. On the mountain wall of the apse, there are reliefs of important figures in various historical periods of the mountain, as well as various sacrificial altars. He wrote about this person's life and deeds. In the middle of the apse is the creator of Shanpuppet.
Mu Sheng, Bortas, the great wizard Zhu Kelosha and others came forward to respectfully offer sacrifices to the founder. Then the great wizard Zhu Kelosha led everyone to the relief of the previous generation of the Immortal Emperor Borges. After all, Borges is "nominally" still alive, so there is no deity placed there.
Seeing this, Mu Sheng already knew why these people invited him over.
After a while, an old man over eighty years old slowly came to the crowd carrying a gold-plated shrine. He is now the patriarch of the Bor family, Bordulai, and a direct bloodline of the Immortal Emperor Borges. His descendant has a high prestige within the Boer family.
Bordula carefully placed the shrine, stepped forward and bowed to Mu Sheng and said: "Old ancestor, no, I don't know whether to call you ancestor or Mr. Sheng from the Central Plains?"
As soon as these words came out, the expressions of Bortas, the great witch Zhu Kelosha and others changed drastically. They looked at each other, and at the same time, an ominous blessing arose in their hearts.
