Li Dan was dumbstruck, momentarily speechless at Trinling's words.
He suddenly remembered, in the third year of Xianqing, when Tubo proposed marriage to the Tang dynasty, Tubo King Mangsong Mangzan was only eight years old. In the fourth year of Yifeng, when Tubo proposed marriage to the Tang dynasty, Tubo King Chitusong was only four years old. In a political marriage, the decisive factor was the political benefits attached to the marriage, age was definitely not an issue.
In fact, in the history of the Tang dynasty, Tubo had asked for a marriage with the Tang several times, including the third year of the Divine Dragon. Tubo had asked for a peace marriage with the Tang. At that time, the Tubo King, Yinde Zuzan, was only three years old. Three years later, the peace marriage was successful. The six-year-old groom married the twelve-year-old Princess of Jincheng.
It was not that Li Dan did not know about the Tubo's marriage proposal to the Tang several times in the past. The problem was that the Tubo King was still a child when the Tubo King married the Little Princess. At worst, the husband and wife would grow up together. But now the Tubo King was already over thirty years old. How could a man over thirty marry a twelve year old little princess, so Li Dan completely ignored this point.
It was only when Misa nonchalantly said that a seven or eight year old princess would be fine that Li Dan suddenly understood. A political marriage could not be judged with common sense. Not to mention his twelve-year-old daughter, even if his daughter was only three years old, as long as it was in line with political interests, she could still become the Tufan King's wife, even if the Tufan King was already eighty years old.
Lun Misa stared at Li Dan with bright eyes. His expression did not have the initial feigned awe and ignorance. He believed that Li Dan was willing to marry his daughter to Tubo. Tubo had investigated the current situation of Great Zhou. They believed that a peaceful marriage would help to consolidate Li Dan's position. He would definitely be willing. His current refusal should be because he was afraid of arousing the fear of the Crown Prince and the Wu Clan.
Li Dan hesitated for a moment before saying reluctantly, "A twelve-year-old girl who is young and inexperienced, how can she become a qualified consort and wife? Our imperial family has other imperial daughters …"
Lun Misa interrupted him. "Your Highness the Prince of Xiang, based on what this foreign subject knows, the Crown Prince's daughters have all been married off, so the only one suitable to marry my king is Prince of Xiang's daughter. Hehe, your country pays particular attention to the marriage between two families of equal social status. Isn't it the same in Tubo? As your daughter, even if she is young, I believe that she is well-educated, gentle, and virtuous. As for the fact that she is still young, that is not a problem. After my wang marries wang fei, we can wait until she is a bit older before consummating the marriage. "
Li Dan couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't possibly say that his eleven or twelve year old daughters were also engaged, right? Even if he could change his words now, what about his six or seven-year-old daughter? Could it be that they were already engaged? But he did not even want to marry his grown-up daughter to Tubo, how could he be willing to marry an innocent twelve-year-old girl to Tubo to suffer?
Li Dan could only brace himself and say, "This … My daughter is still young. In this prince's opinion, it's not appropriate for her to get married so early. How about this? Let this prince discuss this matter with the Empress first. Today, we are only hosting a banquet for the esteemed envoy. Let's not talk about this matter for the time being. Come, come, come, let's have a drink. "
…
Li Dan could only use the delaying tactic against the Tubo proposal, but he didn't know how long he could delay it. Lun Misha would go to the Imperial Palace every other day to seek an audience with the Son of Heaven, urging him to agree to the marriage. From time to time, he would also visit the Crown Prince, the Prince of Xiang, and Prince Liang, using both the carrot and the stick.
Wu Zetian had also tried to marry a sinner daughter to Tufan as a princess, but she was flatly rejected by Lun Misa. Lun Misa's reason was that Tufan Zanpu was, after all, the ruler of a country and could not be matched with a sinner daughter of the Great Zhou Dynasty. Only the blood of the Empress was worthy of the ruler of Tufan.
The only children who had continued Empress Wu Zetian's bloodline were Li Xian and Li Dan's branch. Li Xian's six daughters were all married off, so only Li Dan's daughter could be married off.
However, even if Crown Prince Li Xian still had a daughter to marry, Wu Zetian did not wish for a marriage with the Tubo Empire to increase the balance of power in the Great Zhou Empire in the future. Moreover, it was Li Dan's daughter. Once the Prince of Xiang, Li Dan, married the Tubo Empire, the political situation in the future would become even more complicated.
But if she did not agree, she was worried that Tubo would once again send an army to war. Tubo was currently a powerful neighboring country. Although the Great Zhou had gradually gained the upper hand in military power after the death of the Tubo's military god, Lun Trinling, it was still not strong enough to completely suppress the other side. To kill one thousand enemies, one would suffer eight hundred casualties. Wu Zetian, who had just moved the capital to Chang 'an, did not dare to lightly start a war.
In the past, it was not that Wu Zetian did not have this confidence, but ever since the little Khitan rebelled and lost Wang Xiaojie and several other great generals, sent troops to Hebei, and dealt a blow to the Great Zhou, Wu Zetian suddenly realized that although the Great Zhou still looked like a colossus, it was no longer as powerful as it was in the days of Taizong and Gaozong.
The court did not delay for more than half a month. Lun Misa's attitude gradually hardened, and he came to the palace every day to pester them. Even Wu Zetian found it difficult to deal with him. At this time, the Turkic Khagan, Moqu, suddenly sent troops to harass the entire Wuzhou territory. Traces of the enemy appeared in Yan Province, Xia Province, Bing Province, Daizhou, and Xinzhou.
After receiving the report, Wu Zetian didn't dare to send those nephews of the Wu family to mess things up. She first appointed Xue Jichang, the Chief Scholar of Yong Province, as the Defense Ambassador of Shandong Province, in charge of the troops in Hebei Province, Cang, Ying, You, Yi, Heng, and Ding Provinces. She also appointed Zhang Renyuan, the Provincial Governor of You Province, to be in charge of the defense of You, Ping, Gui, and Tan Provinces. Together with Xue Jichang, they worked together to repel the Turks.
Shortly after, Wu Zetian appointed Prince of Xiang, Li Dan, as the Northern Protector-General of Anbei and the Grand Marshal of the Path of Heavenly Soldiers, commanding the troops of Yan, Zhao, Qin, Long, and Yan against the Turks. However, she still used the same trick, appointing Li Dan as the Grand Marshal but not letting him lead the troops. It was just a title for Li Dan, but in reality, Prime Minister Wei Yuanzhong was the Grand Marshal to deal with the Turks.
At this time, Wu Zetian had a good reason to evade Lun Misa. Since the Great Zhou was at war with foreign enemies, it wasn't appropriate for them to discuss the marriage. When Lun Misa learned that the Great Zhou was at war with the Turks, he didn't go to the royal palace to urge them. Instead, he settled down in the Four Quarters Embassy. It seemed like he could stop urging them for the time being, but he wouldn't let the marriage go just like that. He wouldn't leave until the marriage was settled.
… …
Thick clouds covered the sky, and a cold wind howled. The snowflakes were swept up by the fierce winds, making it difficult for the passersby to open their eyes. The snow fell more frequently this winter, and the earth seemed to be covered with a thick blanket. The farmers were overjoyed. This year was destined to be a bumper harvest.
On the other hand, the shepherds couldn't help but pray to the heavens to give them a break. They couldn't do without snow, but if the snow was too heavy, it could easily turn into a white calamity, freezing all of their cattle and sheep to death. That would be their nightmare.
It was currently the midwinter season, and with the end of the year approaching, the mountains and villages were all empty. Humans and animals alike were beginning to hide for the winter. The roads were blocked by the heavy snow, and there shouldn't be any humans in the world of ice and snow beyond the Great Wall. But in this weather, on the outskirts of Maozhou (present-day Maowen Qiang Autonomous County, Sichuan), several figures were arduously traversing through the snowy plains.
The snow was a foot deep, knee-deep, and coupled with the abominable weather, there shouldn't be any humans in the wilderness. Yet, these figures were clearly humans. They were leading their mounts and hurrying through the heavy snow. As the snow was too deep, it was impossible for the horses to gallop. As such, the four of them could only lead their mounts on foot.
The horses were wrapped in warm wrappings, and a blanket was draped over their backs. The four of them were dressed in thick sheepskin jackets, and their pants were sewn from wolf pelt. The legs of the pants were tucked into high felt boots made of cowhide, and their legs were bound with leather leggings to prevent the snow from seeping in.
The four of them wore dog skin hoods on their heads, and they used towels to cover their mouths and noses, leaving only their eyes exposed. Their breaths emitted hot air from the towels, and a thick layer of frost covered their mouths and the corners of their eyes. It seemed that they were working very hard.
The four of them walked forward with uneven steps. None of them expected that as they advanced, six figures would suddenly appear in the snow around them. All six of them were dressed in white, the same color as the snow. In the wind and snow, if they hadn't suddenly appeared and brandished their knives, no one would have noticed them.
The snow was knee-deep, and it was difficult to move forward. But the six of them were unusually agile. As soon as they appeared, they pounced on the four Walkers like a pack of hungry beasts.
"Kill!"
With a cold shout, the six of them transformed into six gusts of wind, filling the sky with snow as they pounced on the four Walkers. The four Walkers had walked a long distance in the snow, and they were exhausted. Moreover, they covered their mouths too tightly, and their vision and hearing were affected. By the time they discovered the danger, it was already a beat too late.
Moreover, the six attackers had suddenly launched an attack. Their movements were swift and agile. As the shadows intertwined, blood splashed everywhere. Amidst the screams, one of the Walkers broke out of the encirclement, turned around, and madly ran. While running for his life, this person suddenly had a divine strength, and he was able to run knee-deep in the snow as if he was flying. The other three companions of the Walkers were cut into meat paste by the six people the moment he broke out of the encirclement.
The escaping Walkers ran seven or eight feet away, leaving behind a trail of blood that looked like blooming plum blossoms. The six people didn't chase after him. One of them just sneered. He used one of his feet to pick up a knife from the ground, and used the tip of his foot to kick the handle of the knife. The knife suddenly whizzed out like a windmill, and spun in between the right leg of the escaping Walkers.
As the knife spun, the Walkers' right leg, which had just been raised, was cut off from the ankle. The Walkers let out a miserable scream, and fell diagonally into the snow, wailing mournfully as he rolled on the ground. A white-robed assassin slowly chased after him, and with a palm strike, he struck the Walkers' neck, and knocked him out. Then, he grabbed the Walkers' collar, and dragged him back like a dead dog, leaving a horrifying trail of blood wherever he passed.
This person was left alive, but they didn't try to bandage his wound. In the cold of the twelfth lunar month, a drop of water would turn into ice. Soon, this person's wound would freeze into ice, and he wouldn't die from excessive blood loss.
The six people suddenly killed three people, and chopped off another person's leg, but they looked as if they had just slaughtered three wild dogs. Their expressions were terrifyingly calm. They carefully searched the three corpses, and put everything they found into their own pockets.
A moment later, the six people led the four horses and carried the half-dead Walkers, and disappeared into the endless wind and snow. The wind and snow would quickly bury the blood on the ground, the scattered corpses, and the weapons. If the beasts with a keen sense of smell couldn't dig them out from under the snow and wrap them up, they would have to wait until spring before they could be discovered.
These six people were just one of the hundreds of small teams that Xianzong had sent out after Yang Fan gave the order. They had luckily found the people they were looking for in their mission. After completing the mission, they turned in the things they had found and the people they had captured alive. As for why and who they had killed, they didn't care at all. They were originally horse bandits who killed without blinking, and only cared about getting paid.
After the things they had seized and the people they had captured changed hands five times, they were taken over by Yang Fan's people. Before this, the five layers of relationships did not know that they were working for the Succession Hall, and did not even know that the Succession Hall existed in the world. The people who were alive were interrogated by Yang Fan's people. As long as they were still alive, they had a way to make them talk.
Very quickly, the information they had obtained was carried by a dog-pulled sledge, and like an arrow, it passed through the snowy Guanzhong plains into Chang 'an. At this time, Yang Fan was on duty in the Thousand Horsemen Camp, and the information was passed to Ren Wei. When Yang Fan read the secret letter, he couldn't help but be shocked. Unfortunately, he was right. The Tubo really had other plans!
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
