It was another red day in the east. Qimin Khan, accompanied by Changsun Sheng, came to Madame Fan City's city lord's palace as a guest to pay homage to Yang Ji. Ling Jing outside the door came in and reported: "Your Majesty, General Changsun and Qimin The Khan is here."
"Yes." Yang Ji nodded slightly, but he had no intention of going out to greet him. Because the title of Qimin Khan was conferred by Yang Jian, his status in the Sui Dynasty was only equivalent to that of a county king. However, during the Yuan Dynasty meeting this year, he went to the court to congratulate him and was officially granted the title of Longcheng County by Yang Guang, the new emperor of the Sui Dynasty. king.
A mere county prince was naturally not as respected as the prince. In addition, the Turks were on the losing side at this time. Yang Ji would not lower his status and go out to greet him. He would just sit on the throne with a golden sword.
Yang Ji could clearly see Qimin Khan from a distance. He was much older than at the beginning of the year. Although he still has the characteristic curly beard of the Turks, his beard and hair are all white, and his whole person has become very thin. He no longer has that majestic look, giving people a feeling of sluggishness.
"I must be having a hard time these days." Yang Ji thought with some gloating.
"The King of Longcheng County, Ashina Ranqian, came to see King Wei. I wish King Wei long life." Walking closer, Qimin Khan stroked his chest and bowed in salute, and reported his title in the Sui Dynasty, but he said He said blessings, but his tone was not so sincere.
"The prince is exempt from courtesy!" Since ancient times, diplomatic etiquette has been so hypocritical. Even if I hate you deeply in my heart, I still have to do a good job on the surface. Since even the Turks are so polite, Yang Ji naturally can't Losing his Sui demeanor, he showed a warm smile on his face, stood up, clasped his fists in return, and greeted warmly: "Your Majesty, please sit down."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Qimin Khan breathed a sigh of relief, but he still felt very uncomfortable when he thought that this was the territory of the Turks, and yet Yang Ji was grandly accepting him as his master.
However, the Turks are not as strong as others, their son is not up to par, and he is asking for help from others, so what if he feels uncomfortable?
"The prince has come all the way, thank you for your hard work..." Yang Ji waited for Qimin Khan to sit down, exchanged casual greetings, and then got straight to the point, smiling: "But I don't know why the prince came here?"
Qimin Khan was so angry that he almost vomited blood. He swallowed his anger and said: "Your Majesty, I am here to establish good relations between the two countries and to eliminate misunderstandings."
"Misunderstanding?" Yang Ji said with a smile: "So many people died, but the prince said it was a misunderstanding? King, do you think I believe it?"
Qimin Khan glanced at Yang Ji and said sadly: "Although many people have died, I don't want this to happen. This misunderstanding was actually caused by my second son Qili Fushe."
"Really?" Yang Ji sneered and said, "Then let me hear what quibbles you have."
"It's not sophistry, it's the truth!" Qimin Khan cleared his throat and said slowly: "This misunderstanding was actually caused by Qilifushe's arrogance and ambition. In order to outdo Duji, On the other hand, I became the heir of the Turks, so I started this war without permission. When I realized it, it was too late."
He glanced at Yang Ji and continued: "There are many ways to seize the direct descendants, and it is not uncommon in the Central Plains Dynasty. I believe that the king has a deep understanding of this kind of thing."
Yang Ji looked like he was watching a show: "Do you think I believe it?"
Qimin Khan sighed: "Whether your Majesty believes it or not, it is true."
Yang Ji was almost amused by him: "According to what you said, I have to kowtow to admit my mistake and compensate you for your losses?"
"There's no need for that! Your Majesty helped me teach my son a lesson to avoid the catastrophe of two kings seizing the throne in Turks. I'm grateful before it's too late. How can I ask Your Majesty to kowtow and admit his mistakes and compensate for the losses?" Qimin Khan said with a righteous face: " Fortunately, the king defeated the traitor, otherwise I really don’t know how to explain it to the saint."
"..." Yang Ji was really convinced. He had seen shameless people, but he had never seen anyone so shameless. He asked calmly: "What are your conditions?"
"Your Majesty, your words are serious. I am the saint's most loyal slave. How dare I ask my master for conditions?" Qimin Khan said, "I just have two small requests."
"Say!" Yang Ji had a cold face and had no patience to listen to his nonsense.
Qimin Khan said: "First of all, I plan to marry the princess into the Sui Dynasty!"
"You want a saint to be your son-in-law?" Yang Ji was shocked again. He knew that Yang Guang worked hard to promote Han culture in order to eliminate the violent Hu Feng in the country. In order to achieve this goal, Yang Guang has been practicing it. And Qimin Khan was from the same generation as them, so he actually wanted to marry his daughter to Yang Guang? How could Yang Guang take the lead in disrupting seniority and etiquette for the sake of a woman?
"Of course not!" Qimin Khan shook his head and said, "I heard that the prince is unparalleled in benevolence and righteousness. If my daughter is lucky enough to become the prince's good wife, it will be a match made in heaven."
A trace of doubt flashed in Yang Ji's eyes. It was a trivial matter for Qimin Khan to send his daughter to Yang Zhao to play with. However, he did not make any statement on behalf of Yang Guang. Instead, he said: "I can't make the decision! Are you planning to enter the capital? ? Just go and talk to yourself."
Qimin Khan nodded and said: "That's exactly what I meant."
"What's the second request?"
"This is a hateful misunderstanding, and I am going to Beijing to explain it to the saint." Qimin Khan glanced at Yang Ji and sighed: "I beg you, your Majesty, to withdraw your troops for the sake of peace between the two countries!"
The implication is: You beat us so badly that even I, the Great Khan, was so frightened that I went to Beijing to be a hostage. Now that you have gained both fame and fortune, shouldn't you just accept it as soon as you get the chance?
"As long as the due compensation and ransom are received, I will retreat." Yang Ji heard his hidden intention, but the marriage had nothing to do with him, and Qimin Khan was honestly preparing to enter the capital, but he could not If you kill him, what else can you say?
Qimin Khan also heard what Yang Ji meant. If the compensation and ransom could not satisfy him, he would not leave. He stared at Yang Ji with his blue eyes and said with great sincerity: "I understand the king's intention and sincerity, but as a Turkic Khan, since I have agreed to redeem the captives, I will naturally not break my promise to the Turkic people. It's just that The amount is huge, please allow your Majesty a few days of grace.”
"Yes, yes." Yang Ji smiled slightly and said, "But I also have a request, and I hope you can agree to it."
Qimin Khan's heart tightened, and he quickly leaned forward and said, "Your Majesty, please speak."
"I don't have a broad mind, let alone a magnanimous person. The principle I believe in is that I will not offend anyone unless they offend me; if someone offends me, I will pay him back a thousand times. To put it more arrogantly, anyone who offends me in the Sui Dynasty will be punished no matter how far away he is. ." Yang Ji said: "But in many tribes, I have seen many people who were captured by you living a life that is worse than pigs and dogs. It is light to be a cattle slave or a sheep slave. What is more serious is to treat them as slaves. Sold like cattle."
"I originally planned to let the Turkic nobles who enslaved the people of the Sui Dynasty experience the life of cattle slaves, sheep slaves and livestock. However, it was too troublesome to raise captives during the war, so I slaughtered them all. Now, we rescue them You have saved many Sui people living in Turks, but I believe there are still many Sui people who are being 'taken care of' by you. If there are still such people, I hope that you, the Great Khan, will convince the ministries to send these people back to Gansu. Jinshan County, Prefecture.”
Qimin Khan said quickly: "After I return, I will issue the Khan's order and ask all ministries to respectfully return the people of the Sui Dynasty."
"That's good!" Yang Ji nodded: "I hope all the chiefs will listen to you, otherwise, I will only have to come a few more times."
As soon as he finished speaking, Qimin Khan's face froze, his eyes revealed a bit of fear, and an inexplicable cold air went straight up his spinal cord. The scene of Turks being killed into mountains of corpses and seas of blood seemed to reappear in his mind. He smiled bitterly and said: " Then there is no need to trouble the king."
"It's best." Yang Ji smiled and said meaningfully to Qimin Khan: "You tell them: My family's business is very big, and all the prairie people who do business are my eyes and ears. If they 'If you dare to hide and refuse to pay, I don't need to say more about the consequences, right?"
"Yes, yes, yes!" Qimin Khan felt a chill on his vest. Now that Yang Ji had great power, even though he did not deliberately increase his tone of voice to threaten others, his gentle and gentle movements showed the majesty of a superior. , and he was famous for slaughtering countless Turkic warriors, so Qimin, the begging and groveling Great Khan of the East Turks, also felt an unspeakable sense of tension.
More importantly, his physical condition began to decline rapidly this year, and his vitality became weaker and weaker day by day. Especially the second son's successive defeats caused him to vomit blood and fainted several times. This situation made him know that he only had a few years to live. .
Death is the inevitable destination for everyone. Even the great sage Khan Yang Jian cannot escape it, and he naturally cannot escape it. But Yang Jian left his son a powerful Sui Dynasty and countless elite soldiers and generals. But he is in charge of a fragmented East Turkestan that is plagued by internal and external troubles. Once he dies, will his son be able to have a stable position like Yang Guang?
The answer is obviously no, at least, that's what Qimin Khan himself thinks. Therefore, he must leave a stable Eastern Turk for his descendants before his death. But at this time, the biggest obstacle to the stable inheritance of the Eastern Turks is the decisive and ruthless Sui Wei King in front of him. If he continues to kill, the Eastern Turks themselves will fall apart. The price was too heavy for him to dare to disobey Yang Ji.
This realization made Qimin Khan go crazy with hatred. However, he sadly discovered that apart from being obedient and obedient, he had no way to deal with the prince in front of him.
"Go back! As for the prisoners, compensation, ransom delivery, etc., it will be discussed by the people below!" Yang Ji looked at Qimin Khan, who looked downcast, and suddenly felt a surge of pride in his chest; this was a good time A very sudden and unexpected war wiped out the elite of the western Turks, in addition to countless people. In the future, as long as you cultivate a few vicious "horse thieves" on the grassland, there will be no peace in the western Turks. From then on, northern Liangzhou no longer had to worry about threats from Turks.
"Yes!" Qimin Khan bent down and bowed deeply to Yang Ji, then walked out of the City Lord's Mansion. When he reached the edge of the square, he couldn't help but look back at the tall and majestic City Lord's Mansion. The flames of hatred could no longer be suppressed, and he said to himself, "I, Ashina Rangan, will definitely pay you for the revenge of killing your son and the humiliation of today!"
"Great Khan!" After Qimin Khan got into a sealed carriage, Shi Shuhu Xi, who was sitting sideways inside, asked, "How's it going?"
"Yang Ji agreed to withdraw his troops." Qimin Khan waited for the carriage to start, then slowly recounted what had happened, and finally said: "I also mentioned the marriage. The marriage partner is Prince Yang Zhao. As long as our princess If you are favored by Yang Zhao, you can use Yang Zhao's hand to get rid of Yang Ji."
Shi Shu Hu Xi slowly shook his head: "Great Khan, please forgive me for speaking bluntly, but you are marrying the wrong person!"
"So who is right?" Qimin Khan asked.
"This is the Yang Ji you want to deal with!" Seeing Qimin Khan looking at him indifferently, Shi Shuhu explained: "Yang Ji is of noble birth and ability, and is not something we can deal with. But he was in the Sui Dynasty. But he disdained to associate with the dignitaries of the Sui Dynasty; he was like an elegant and beautiful white swan. However, when this white swan was mixed among a group of crows that lived on human flesh, no crows would praise him or envy him, they would only say that he Not fitting in and rejecting him.”
Qimin Khan became moved, and he asked solemnly: "You mean to use the hands of powerful people to get rid of Yang Ji?"
"Exactly!"
"Do you think it is okay?"
Shi Shu Hu Xi said slowly: "I think so! You also know, Great Khan, that internal fighting is always the main reason for the weakness of the Central Plains dynasty, and these crows in the Sui Dynasty are our best weapon against this white swan. .”
Qimin Khan nodded and asked: "How to do it specifically?"
Shi Shu Hu Xi said: "The caravans of Yang Ji's family are everywhere on the grassland. The goods they bring into the grassland are very popular with herdsmen, which allows him to earn a lot of wealth, and for this reason he is jealous of the powerful people of the Sui Dynasty. . If he becomes the son-in-law of the Turkic royal family, then his caravan will move better and more smoothly on the grassland, and other powerful people will be more jealous. As long as we give the powerful people some evidence of 'trading forbidden goods', these people who are jealous of him will People will attack in groups. And the Emperor of the Sui Dynasty has always regarded us as a serious problem. If Yang Ji's crime of selling prohibited items is confirmed, Yang Ji will lose all his official positions even if he does not die. At that time, we want to deal with an idle prince, It’s so easy.”
Shi Shu Hu Xi glanced at Qimin Khan and continued: "It's just that if you want to successfully get rid of Yang Ji, the premise is that the marriage must be successful. And if you want Emperor Sui and Yang Ji to relax their guard and agree to the marriage proposal. It is necessary to downplay this war into an unexpected conflict, not a Turkic provocation to the Sui Dynasty, let alone the Khan's disloyalty to the Sui Dynasty. Of course, this is not only the prerequisite for the elimination of the old Yangji, but also the successful peace talks between the two countries and the re-establishment of the Sui Dynasty. A prerequisite for peace.”
"I know what I should do!" Qimin Khan's face became very ugly. He was silent for a long time, and finally bit his lip and said: "The prairie eagle will not kill its own children, and neither will I. But once Liveshe "unauthorized" provoked a war between the two countries, resulting in numerous casualties on both sides, but it was a heinous crime. If I didn't punish him severely, others would be dissatisfied. I would bring Liveshe into the court and tie him up to apologize to the Sui Emperor. .”
After thinking about it, Qimin Khan closed his eyes in pain and said in a trembling voice: "Whether he lives or dies depends on whether the gods will bless him."
Shi Shu Hu Xi pondered for a long time and consoled him: "Great Khan, the Sui Dynasty took advantage of this war. The dissatisfaction in the Sui Emperor's heart will be diluted because of the rich results. And the Great Khan personally took the second prince with him. Going to the capital to apologize and explain can further satisfy him, so the second prince is 90% unlikely to die and will at most be imprisoned as a hostage for a few years."
Qimin Khan felt a little relieved and nodded: "I hope so!"
. . . . . .
In front of the palace gate, Yang Ji looked at their departing team and said to Changsun Sheng: "General Changsun, I am in a hurry to arrange the withdrawal of the troops. There are many miscellaneous things. Therefore, it is up to you to arrange for Qimin Khan to enter the court. Let’s make arrangements. If you need anything, just let us know.”
"It's your job!" Changsun Sheng smiled and bowed to Yang Ji before retreating.
