The big boss of Hetian Zhai, Qin Shucai, known as the "No. 1 Jade Craftsman in Western Xinjiang", slowly opened the brocade box in front of him with his slender and dexterous hands.
Everyone standing around held their breath at the same time, staring at the contents of the brocade box without blinking.
Boss Qin's calm face revealed an elegant confidence. He gently took out the items from the box and held them in front of Curiban with both hands.
The little prince of Shenhua took a deep breath and took it carefully with both hands, unable to conceal the excitement on his face. He held the jade that was as big as a fist in his hand, looked at it carefully for a long time, and then turned around and handed it to the old medical officers Samor and Metasequoia to look at.
The expressions of the two old men were even more excited than Kuliban's at this time. They turned around and carefully examined the piece of jade.
Du Jian was a little impatient and asked with concern: "How is it? Does it look like it?"
Summer and the old medical officer looked at each other and murmured: "How should I put it? From the old man's point of view, it is almost as if the fake is confused with the real..."
"No, no, no, it's not that the false is confused with the real." The old medical officer felt that Samour's description was not appropriate enough, and waved his hands repeatedly: "Sir Samour, I can't even tell which one is real and which one. It’s fake.”
"Oh——" After hearing this, everyone in the room cheered at the same time.
Efentia was particularly happy, clapping her hands and giggling happily.
Li Jiangyao and Xu Youchang smiled at each other, and at the same time they saw the joyful light in each other's eyes.
"With the Black Crystal Jade Holy Stone, what should we do next?" Lin Feng was most concerned about this issue.
Although Kuliban is the young prince of the Shenhua family, he is young and has little experience in this matter, so he can only look at Summer with questioning eyes.
Old Samor carefully put the "new version" of the black square jade into the brocade box, handed it to the old medical officer for safekeeping, and then replied calmly: "According to the tradition of our Shenhua family, before the heir ascends the throne, he must first Send multiple messengers to various parts of Western Xinjiang to meet with the clan elders of the seventy-two tribes, and invite them to the family holy place to witness the enthronement ceremony of the clan leader and prince. As long as His Royal Highness the Prince is on the golden sheepskin scroll brought by each clan elder, Sign your name with your own blood, and then stamp it with the black crystal jade sacred stone, and you can gain the allegiance of the seventy-two tribes. The core and most important part of the entire succession ceremony is completed."
"The family's holy land? Isn't that in the King's Court of Chechi?" Li Jiangyao frowned and said, "It has to be there?"
You know, except for Metasequoia City, the entire Chechi Kingdom has been controlled by Geerhan's rebels. It is impossible to ascend the throne in the Holy Land.
"That's not necessarily the case," the old medical officer said while stroking his white beard: "According to the records in our clan's Divine Code, there have been three prince enthronement ceremonies in history. Due to wars and plagues, they were held outside the family's sacred place. It was completed at the right place. Now that the Ghost Desert in Western Xinjiang is in the midst of war and turmoil, we changed the ceremony to Metasequoia City. I think the clan elders can understand."
Samor nodded in agreement and turned to Kuliban: "Your Highness, what do you mean?"
Kuliban responded without hesitation: "The enemy may invade Metasequoia at any time. Mr. Li and the entire city's soldiers and civilians are looking forward to the help of the Shenhua family. What else do we have to consider? Uncle Samuel, please do your best." Immediately send a messenger to inform the people of the 72nd Department that I will hold a succession ceremony immediately!"
Hearing this, Samor shouted crisply: "Yes! The old minister arranged manpower and invited the elders to come to Metasequoia."
In order to ensure that nothing goes wrong, Xu Youchang proposed to select some elite soldiers from his former army to accompany and escort Kuriban's envoy to the Seventy-Two Division. Everyone felt that this arrangement was more secure and agreed.
Ma Mu seemed a little worried at this time and couldn't help but said: "My lords, we have invited the elders of the seventy-two clans to Metasequoia City with such great fanfare, and then we will also hold the enthronement ceremony of the prince of the Shenhua family here. Is this going to happen? To attract the attention of the Turks and rebels? I'm worried that there might be enemy spies sneaking into the city now, keeping an eye on us in the dark."
"Your concern is very reasonable," Li Jiangyao nodded and said, "So, we must make some preparations at the same time to divert the enemy's attention and ensure that the Shenhua Family's ceremony can be completed smoothly."
When Huoliya and Du Jian heard what he said, they guessed that there might be military action, and they couldn't help but asked excitedly: "What action?"
Li Jiangyao smiled confidently and said to everyone: "According to what Efentia told me, there is a big conflict between Geerhan and Alik Jiang, which may be exploited by us."
"Yes, yes," Efentia interjected from the side: "Those two guys were obsessed with each other and planned to propose marriage to me, and they were arguing about it. Geerhan also shamelessly said that he would take the black man in his hand. I gave the Holy Jade Stone as a gift to my father. Unfortunately, I have a lot of this stuff at home!"
Li Jiangyao nodded slightly and continued to say to his subordinates: "Not only that. Although there is indeed a jealousy between Geerhan and Alik Jiang, the more important thing is the dispute over the control of Western Xinjiang. According to my analysis , I am afraid that the goal of the Turks is not just to occupy Western Xinjiang. The great rivers and mountains of the Holy Tang Dynasty are the fat in their eyes. And if they want to invade the Central Plains in a large scale, then the Ghost Desert of Xijiang as the rear base must be maintained At least it needs to be stable.”
Xu Youchang then analyzed: "Yes, the Western Frontier has a vast territory and numerous vassal states, which can provide a large amount of war resources, including population, food, war horses, minerals, and countless funds. In this way, the Turks' best choice , is to let the people of Western Xinjiang manage Western Xinjiang by themselves, while they hide behind the scenes and direct the puppets."
"So, whoever sits on the throne of the leader of the Western Xinjiang Alliance will be able to get strong support from the Turks and suppress other Western Xinjiang vassal states," Li Jiangyao continued: "Gelhan worked hard and finally won When he takes the position of King Chechi, he will never be willing to have an overlord to control him. In other words, he may even have a dream of becoming the leader of the alliance."
Holia sneered and said: "Gerhan has a good idea. Almost all of his team members are from the horse thieves gang, and Chechi's national strength has never been as powerful as Loulan. Why should he challenge the ferocious Alek Jiang?"
"That's the problem," Li Jiangyao nodded: "If I were Geerhan, since I couldn't confront Alek Jiang head-on, I would have to make some small moves behind the scenes. And my three strategies are based on From this perspective.”
"Three strategies? There are actually so many?" Du Jian said in surprise: "Boss, please tell us quickly."
"Although they are three strategies, they are actually doing the same thing." Li Jiangyao showed a sly smile on his face: "The first strategy is to attack the east and attack the west. We will make various arrangements next to divert the enemy's attack to the greatest extent. attention; the second plan is to hide it from the enemy. By disguising themselves, the elders of the Seventy-two Departments can come to the Metasequoia without anyone noticing; the third plan is also the most important - the counterintuitive plan. I want to provoke Geer The two guys, Han and Alek Jiang, are going to fight each other with real swords and guns. As long as they bite each other, there will be no interference in the succession ceremony."
As a classmate of the imperial martial arts hall, Xu Youchang is naturally the most familiar with Li Jiangyao's ideas of using troops to fight. Just by looking at the evil smile on his face, it is not difficult to guess that Geerhan and Alek Jiang are going to be unlucky this time.
-
In early spring in the Ghost Desert of Western Xinjiang, the weather is often unpredictable. Wearing single clothes and thin trousers during the day, and fur and cotton clothes at night, the sun was shining brightly and the sky was clear just now, but in the blink of an eye there may be strong winds and continuous rainstorms, making people always confused about how to dress and go out.
The weather at this time was a bit gloomy and depressing, and a round of daylight hung between the sometimes dense and sometimes sparse clouds, making the earth look particularly cold and desolate.
Among the Loulan soldiers stationed in the small town of Sedan, some were wearing cotton robes, while others were wearing single clothes. They were sitting on the top of the city in twos and threes, chatting leisurely.
The war in Western Xinjiang that lasted for several months has basically come to an end. Being able to survive on the battlefield without any injuries or illness is the happiest thing for these soldiers. At present, there is no more battle to fight in the entire Western Xinjiang, and the distant Zijin Pass and Shengyuguan are guarded by Turks. It can be said that now is the time to enjoy life.
Sedan City, guarded by these Loulan troops, is one of the twelve military towns in Western Xinjiang designated by the Turkic Command.
Sedan was originally a small town in the Chechi Kingdom. It occupied a small area and had a small population, but its location was very important. Therefore, the Turks decided to use this place as a supply base to store grain and military supplies to provide supplies for the troops operating nearby.
The other eleven military towns are also in a similar situation to Sedan and are distributed throughout the Ghost Desert in Western Xinjiang.
After the war, the Turkic army was ordered to move eastward, but logistical supplies still required support from the countries in Western Xinjiang, so all military towns were retained and handed over to the care of the Loulan Army and the Shule Army respectively.
Regarding this matter, Gerhan once raised objections to the alliance. At least, the military towns in his own territory should be responsible for their Che Chi army.
However, the leader of the alliance, Alek Jiang, expressed his usual disdain for King Chechixin's ideas. Under the banner of the Turkic Command, the Loulan army continued to stay in Sedan and refused to leave, which made Geerhan very angry.
However, anger was still anger, and there was nothing Geerhan could do about it. As long as the Turks didn't say anything, he couldn't force the Loulan soldiers away.
At this moment, the Loulan soldiers who were lazing on the top of the city suddenly saw a team from a distance, emerging from the mountains and forests to the east, marching towards Sedang.
The sharp-eyed warriors quickly identified from the flags that the people passing by should be His Highness Geerhan's Chechi army.
It didn't take long for the Chi army to arrive at the gate of Sedan city. When all the soldiers and horses stopped, an old officer rode out and shouted loudly toward the city, asking the Loulan Army to quickly lower the drawbridge and open the city gate so that they could enter the city to rest.
When the Loulan army guarding the city saw this, they became worried for a moment.
The Western Xinjiang Alliance was originally a loose military system. They had neither unified military regulations nor verification methods for contact and coordination. In terms of mutual care, they were far less rigorous and thorough than the Shengtang Army and the Turkic Army. Therefore, when the army of a country encounters the army of an allied country, it is difficult to obtain even the most basic identity verification. It can only simply judge the other party's affiliation based on its flag and clothing.
Because of this, facing the sudden appearance of Chechi's army in front of him, Commander Loulan in the city hesitated: Should he let them in?
It stands to reason that the establishment of the military town is to provide supplies and rest for all friendly forces. All alliance teams that encounter this place should be opened and allowed to enter the city to rest. However, there were too many chariots and horses in front of them. A rough count showed that there were three thousand cavalry, which was larger than the size of their city defenders.
If you put it in so hastily, will there be any problems?
Unexpectedly, when Commander Loulan hesitated like this, the veteran Che Chi below was immediately dissatisfied and pointed at the city head and cursed angrily. The Chechi cavalry who followed him also became irritable and kept making loud noises. Some even pulled out their sabers and waved them randomly in the air.
Seeing that Che Chi was about to go berserk below, Commander Loulan was immediately startled and felt weak in his heart. The place Sedan originally belonged to the Chechi Kingdom. I heard that King Chechi had a very unpleasant quarrel with their Highness Alike Jiang over the issue of garrisoning. Therefore, when Chechi's army mentioned the small town of Sedan, they were filled with evil spirits from top to bottom. Now if there is any big trouble caused by banning Che Chi's friendly troops from entering the city, then the blame will be taken on him.
Thinking of this, the commander did not dare to hesitate any more and hurriedly ordered the suspension bridge to be lowered to welcome Che Chi's friendly troops into the city to rest.
Seeing the color, when the city gate opened, General Che Chi took a deep breath, turned to the people behind him and whispered: "Master Xiaowei, it's done."
