Pei Ju's expedition to the Western Regions was very fruitful. When Yang Guang visited the north, Pei Ju set out from Zhangye County and waited for the emperor in Yulin County.
At that time, he had a foreign mission, Gao Changguo, with him.
Gaochang Kingdom was the closest country to the Sui Dynasty among the countries in the Western Regions. It was located to the south of Tiele Xueyantuo and to the east of the Western Turkic Royal Court. It was separated from the Dunhuang County of the Sui Dynasty by only Yinwu City, or Yinwu Kingdom.
Yinwu State is a very small country, with Hu and Han people living together. Sometimes it is attached to the Western Turks, sometimes it is attached to Xue Yantuo, but it is not attached to the Sui Dynasty.
This is determined by the living environment. The threat to them from the Great Sui Dynasty is far less direct than that from the Western Turks and Xue Yantuo.
Pei Ju was very scheming. He took the envoys of Gaochang State and followed Yang Guang's northern patrol team all the way to let them see how majestic our Sui army was. Five hundred thousand elite troops rushed to the Eastern Turks. , such a scene left a deep mark on the heart of the Gaochangguo envoy.
The Sui Dynasty was so awesome, the Emperor of the Sui Dynasty was even more awesome, and the Great Khan of the Eastern Turks Qi Min all bowed to the Emperor of the Sui Dynasty. So besides relying on the Sui Dynasty, did Gaochang State have a better choice?
So the envoy from Gaochang Kingdom left the Eastern Turkic Royal Court and returned to Gaochang. Half a year later, King Quboya of Gaochang came in person with a delegation.
He has now moved into a place in Daxing City specially used to receive foreign guests.
Gaochang was a big place, about the same size as two or three counties in the Sui Dynasty. Yang Ming originally didn't take Gaochang seriously, but Pei Ju's letter to him said that he was already persuading the emperor to use troops against Yin Wuguo. , so we need to temporarily appease King Gaochang.
Wait until Yin Wu is destroyed, then take care of Gaochang.
From the Qin Dynasty to the present, the Sui Dynasty has done the best in suppressing foreign races. All the Eastern and Western Turks have surrendered, and the countries in the Western Regions are well-behaved and sensible. In other words, Goguryeo often takes the lead. This is why Yang Guang is eyeing Goguryeo. s reason.
Yang Ming simply invited the delegation of King Gaochang to Jinyang Tower, where they were provided with food, drinks, and entertainment.
After he finished handling some matters related to the Shangyuan Festival, he went to Jinyang Tower to meet the King of Gaochang.
Here, he saw a familiar face, Hu Shangqulai, the one who sold Gaochang Ma to Yang Ming back then.
This guy is a member of the royal family of Gaochang Kingdom, resident in the capital, and has been responsible for the trade between Gaochang Kingdom and the Sui Dynasty. His title is General Fubo, and he seems to be the number one figure in Gaochang.
"Didn't King Gaochang bring some fine horses when he came this time?" Yang Ming said with a smile after sitting down in the hall.
Gaochang speaks Chinese, so communication is no problem and no translation is needed.
Qu Boya smiled and said: "Don't worry, King Qin. I am bringing two thousand of the best horses with me this time. I am still on the way and should be able to reach the capital in three to five days."
Two thousand horses is not too small, but it is certainly not the best. The best people are reluctant to give it, and Sui doesn't care about the number, only the breed of horses.
Once you have a stallion, you can breed them slowly.
Yang Ming was quite satisfied and said: "So this time King Gaochang comes to the Sui Dynasty, besides paying homage to the Emperor of the Sui Dynasty, does he have anything else to do?"
Qu Boya smiled and winked at Qu Lai beside him, who quickly stood up and said: "Our king hopes to get married with the Sui Dynasty, and we sincerely ask the Emperor of the Sui Dynasty to give us a princess."
Gaochang? Marriage? You guys really think highly of yourself. Yang Ming nodded and said, "I will forward your wishes to His Majesty the Emperor of the Sui Dynasty. Whether it can be done or not depends on His Majesty's wishes."
At this time, Qu Lai asked someone to bring a small box over with a playful smile, placed it on the table in front of Yang Ming, and said:
"I hope King Qin can put in a good word for us. A little kindness is nothing but respect."
Yang Ming raised his eyebrows and winked at Su Lie, who stepped forward to open the box.
A chest full of gold.
King Gaochang also knew in his heart that he was not qualified to marry the Great Sui Dynasty, because the current Western Turks Ni Chuluo Khan had not yet been able to marry the Great Sui Dynasty, and the Western Turks had always been the most powerful in the Western Regions.
Of course Yang Ming thinks so too. With the temper of his father Yang Guang, how come you want to get married to me even though you are a big-ass? You don't even take a pee to look after yourself.
But Pei Ju's letter made it very clear that he must appease King Gaochang and the other party, so that the Sui Dynasty could attack Yin Wu with the minimum force in the future.
As for the princess, she was originally a Hu Nongren. It is impossible for the emperor's daughter to marry, only the daughter of a clan, and the daughter of a marginal clan.
For example, if you ask Yang Xiong’s daughter to get married, is it realistic? This is simply impossible.
Yang Ming has always had a question in his mind. In history, the princess of Sui Dynasty and Gaochang Kingdom, named Yuwen Yubo, was named Princess Huarong by Yang Guang and married to Qu Boya.
Since your surname is Yuwen, how can you be the princess of the Sui Dynasty?
Yang Ming couldn't figure it out either, so he could only say: "I will give it a try."
As soon as he said this, Su Lie immediately put away the box of gold.
Next, the band performed. Everyone stopped talking and everyone thought about their own things.
After returning to the palace, Yang Ming went directly to his wife Yang Yinjiang and asked her to send someone to find out if there was a woman named Yuwen Yubo.
Yang Yinjiang's biological mother was born in the royal family of the Northern Zhou Dynasty. She was the second son of Emperor Wu of Zhou Dynasty Yuwen Yong and the daughter of Han Wang Yuwenzan, the biological brother of Yang Lihua's husband Yuwen Yun.
Her three uncles, Yuwen Daode, Yuwen Daozhi, and Yuwen Daoyi, all died at the hands of Yang Jian. Her mother was able to avoid disaster by marrying Yang Su's eldest son Xuangan. However, due to the overthrow of the family, she could not bear the blow. , and even early death.
So Yang Ming found the right person when he asked Yang Yinjiang to inquire about this person.
Yuwen Yubo was still a relative of Yang Yinjiang, and was the daughter of her maternal ancestor Yuwenzan's sixth brother Yuwendui.
"Yuwen Dui's daughter, do you still have to call her aunt?" Yang Ming asked curiously.
Yang Yinjiang nodded: "She should be thirty-two this year. She lives in Jingzhao'an and practices cultivation."
Judging from Qu Boya's age, she is already forty years younger, but is it a bit too much to crown a woman in her thirties as a marriage princess?
This was in ancient times. Women did not have so many skin care products. Once they were over 30, crow's feet appeared. Even if they tried to change their age and pretend to be young, they couldn't pretend to be younger. It was also difficult for them to have children.
Calculating the time, Yuwen Yubo should have been thrown into Jingzhao Temple after the founding of the Sui Dynasty. He was only four or five years old at that time. Since he was a nun, he should have been a virgin.
But Yang Ming knew that his father would never agree to a marriage with Gaochang. The old Yang family clan was withering. If there was a suitable candidate for a marriage, why not make a marriage with the Western Turks?
Pei Ju said that after taking care of Yin Wu, he would take care of Gaochang, so is there any need to get married?
So Yang Ming thought about it and wanted to see what his father meant first. After writing the memorial, he sent someone to Luoyang as soon as possible.
As for himself, he took his wife to Jingzhao Temple in Niuer Mountain.
When Yang Yinjiang saw Yuwen Yudu, she was completely speechless. Although the two were very close relatives, they had almost never met, so they had no feelings.
Yuwen Yudu has an ordinary appearance, but perhaps due to his cultivation, he does not look old at all.
If you say she is only in her twenties, some people must believe it. But if you say she is eighteen or nineteen years old, that is nonsense. However, most princesses are around seventeen or eighteen years old.
"Why did you come to me?" Yu Wenyu talked to Yang Yinjiang without being polite at all. After all, he was an elder.
Yang Yinjiang smiled: "How is your aunt doing?"
"It's been more than twenty years, and you just thought of coming to see me today?" Yu Wenyu sneered, "You're not planning on me, are you?"
"Haha..." Yang Yinjiang was speechless. She didn't like talking to smart people.
Then, after Yang Ming and his wife met Cui Heng, they chatted for a few words and then went down the mountain early to leave. After all, they had to rush back to the capital before dark.
"Your idea is really weird." On the way back, Yang Yinjiang, who became the concubine again, was in a good mood and said with a smile: "Isn't it inappropriate to use the clan lake of the old Zhou Dynasty to mess with King Gaochang?"
Yang Ming smiled and said: "What is a marriage princess? A daughter can be called a princess only if His Majesty recognizes her daughter. Therefore, even if the daughter of a commoner family represents the Sui Dynasty marriage, she is still a princess, and is not considered a Hu Nong."
"Although my Sui clan has a small number of people, it's not like we can't find a few girls of the right age. Why should we pretend to be the leader?" Yang Yinjiang said.
Yang Ming smiled and said: "Because my father looked down on Gaochang and felt that King Gaochang was not even qualified to marry a daughter of the clan, but Pei Ju did not intend to spend too much money when using troops against Yin Wu, so Gaochang needs to be appeased for the time being. , and it will not be an easy task to deal with Gaochang in the future, which will make Western Turks and Xue Yantuo think wildly, after all, Gaochang is the choke point for their two countries to enter the Sui Dynasty. "
"The current situation is indeed not suitable for another war," Yang Yinjiang nodded and said: "My stepmother is from the Cui family. I heard that my father is negotiating with the Cui family. I hope they can stand up in the future and accuse Yang Jian of causing harm to Hebei. I hope there won’t be any surprises this time.”
After saying that, Yang Yinjiang held her husband's hand and said softly:
"If you have a husband like this, what more can you ask for from a wife? Thank you for everything you have done for me. No matter how you treat me in the future, I will not have the slightest resentment."
Yang Ming smiled and said: "Although Yang Yue was demoted as the governor of Xiyang, he must be very happy now, but you have to be mentally prepared. It will not be easy for him to come back."
"I know this. I've known for a long time that my father is jealous of our family," Yang Yinjiang said with a forced smile: "I don't mean to resent my father. The Yang family is a huge family with as many as 400 officials. It’s impossible for a family like this not to be remembered.”
"And I also know," Yang Yinjiang suddenly looked at Yang Ming, looked him directly in the eyes and said: "If you succeed to the throne in the future, you will also target the Yang family, but please don't worry, husband, I will only stand on your side and help You suppress your natal family.”
Yang Ming smiled and did not answer her directly, but said:
"If you have such a wife, what more can a husband ask for?"
Yang Yinjiang smiled and buried her head in her husband's arms.
