The two hundred thousand warhorses were quickly delivered to the City of Steel, and as promised, Wang Chong escorted the Turkic Fourth Prince out. The three thousand cavalry of the Turkic steppe quickly withdrew. With this, Wang Chong had created the largest ransom transaction in the history of the Western Regions.
… …
"Hulayeg, just how did you do it? Two hundred thousand warhorses! That's no small number! Even if that brat's entire body was made of gold, he still wouldn't be worth so much! "
"That's right! Even Marquis was shocked to hear that there were so many warhorses. You have to know that I fought with Marquis in the war of the southwest, and even at the most intense and dangerous moments of the war, Marquis never once creased his brow. "
"That's not all! Everyone knows that Lady Xu has always been methodical in everything she does. Who knows how many resources she's handled? That's an astronomical number! But when Lady Xu received the news, she was also shocked. "
… …
The City of Steel was brightly lit, and the Wushang cavalry and clan guards who were on good terms with Hulayeg were gathered around a table. One of the jailers asked the people of the City of Steel about the matter that everyone was most curious about.
"Haha, I won't tell you. That's my personal secret."
Hulayeg hiccupped as he smiled and kept them in suspense.
"Hulayeg, just tell us. We're all brothers, so just tell us," another clan guard said.
"That won't do.
It's a trade secret. If I told you, how could I do business in the future? Just keep on guessing! "
Hulayeg smugly said.
The sight of Hulayeg's smug expression made the crowd gnash their teeth in anger. The group of people exchanged glances with each other and immediately had an idea.
"Come, come, come! Hulayeg, you've worked hard. Let us brothers offer you a toast."
"Come, I also offer you a toast. Brother, I don't respect anyone but you. You've truly rendered a great service."
"That's right! Everyone, let's toast Hulayeg! "
… …
The crowd toasted Hulayeg as they toasted him. A person was in high spirits during a joyous occasion, and Hulayeg was feeling very pleased with himself. He did not refuse any of the toasts, downing cup after cup. Gradually, Hulayeg became tipsy, burping one after another. His cheeks were red, and he was slowly getting drunk.
"Let me tell you! There's nothing that I can't handle in the Western Turks. For the Fourth Prince's matter, I've made all the necessary arrangements. In the Western Turks, I can summon the wind and summon the rain, omnipotent. "
"You? How is that possible? He must be bragging! "
One of the jailers immediately said, "deliberately" with a face full of disbelief.
"Why not?!"
Hulayeg could not stand this sort of provocation, and he immediately straightened his neck, his eyes going round.
"That's because you don't understand. Let me tell you, don't be fooled by Ishbara Khagan's heroic air. In truth, he was born with soft ears. I only needed to make some arrangements with the concubines in Ishbara Khagan's harem, especially the Fourth Prince's mother, Kedun, and the matter was resolved. Just think about it. No matter how formidable Ishbara Khagan is, how could he endure a bunch of women constantly blowing wind into his ears? "
"Oh!"
The crowd was instantly enlightened. They had believed that Hulayeg had some sort of incredible ability, but it turned out that he relied on women. This was completely different from what they had imagined. With the riddle revealed, the crowd immediately lost interest and dispersed.
"Hey, hey, hey, where are you going? I still haven't finished talking! … "
Hulayeg called out from the back.
… …
In the distant court of the Turkic Khaganate to the west of Sanmi.
With the Fourth Prince ascending Mount Sanmi and meeting with the Kedun mother and son, the matter had come to a successful conclusion.
But as the two hundred thousand warhorses left the Western Turks for Qixi, the Turkic steppe suddenly became much more spacious. Many people couldn't help but feel a sense of loss. But this was the will of the supreme Blackwater Shaman, the decree of the gods. No one dared to object.
However, not many people knew that when the night was deep and the sky was filled with stars, in the Khan's tent at the front of Mount Sanmi, two figures were sitting side by side. There was no light in the tent, but the two people's gazes seemed to penetrate the tent and look into the endless distance.
"Lord Priest, why did you have me agree to Hulayeg's offer of two hundred thousand warhorses?"
Ishbara Khagan quietly asked. There was no one in a radius of several dozen zhang around the tent. If Hulayeg had heard these words, he would have been so frightened that his soul would have left his body and the wine in his stomach would have spilled out. He had always believed that Ishbara Khagan had agreed because he had used the concubines in Ishbara Khagan's harem, but he had no idea that the truth was completely different from what he had imagined.
Ishbara Khagan had agreed, not because of him, but because of the Blackwater Shaman.
"Haha, Khagan, don't you find that horse merchant very interesting?"
The Blackwater Shaman's voice rang out in the darkness, tinged with a thought-provoking tone.
"Interesting?"
Ishbara Khagan creased his brow as he recalled Hulayeg's chubby and rather comical appearance.
"He's just a clown, an insignificant nobody. If you didn't want to keep such a person alive, I could have killed him at any time."
"An insignificant nobody?"
The Blackwater Shaman shook his head.
"Khagan is wrong. Can an insignificant nobody save the Fourth Prince?"
"This …"
Ishbara Khagan froze, momentarily at a loss for words. Now that he thought about it, before Hulayeg had appeared, they had actually been negotiating with the Tang people of the City of Steel for a very long time, but they had made no progress, and the other side had always refused to negotiate. If it had been a normal person, they could have just dispatched soldiers, but that youth from the City of Steel was not someone they could send soldiers to deal with.
In truth, the deaths of the Black Wolf Yabgu and Agudu Lan in battle had already illustrated this problem.
This had originally been a dead end, but with Hulayeg's arrival, the Fourth Prince really had returned. Not even Ishbara Khagan had expected this.
"A nobody has a use for a nobody. This insignificant nobody was able to save the Fourth Prince from the City of Steel and accomplish what we could not. Isn't that enough? Moreover, with an additional one hundred thousand warhorses, Khagan's losses will be limited, and the warhorses of the steppe will quickly multiply. But with a horse merchant like Hulayeg, Khagan will have an additional channel of communication with the Tang dynasty. In the future, who knows what use this passageway will be? "
The Blackwater Shaman indifferently said.
Ishbara Khagan pensively lowered his head, but he still couldn't help but sigh.
"But We are still somewhat unwilling …"
"If Khagan is unwilling, it's very simple. We just need to wait a little longer."
The Blackwater Shaman smiled. His pitch-black eyes flickered with a faint light in the darkness of the night, seeming to contain a profound meaning.
"Reporting!"
At this moment, the voice of one of Ishbara Khagan's closest private wolf guards came from outside the tent.
"Great General Duwusili has come to report that he has already quelled the rebellion of Huyan 'er's seven tribes and defeated the rebel army supporting Huyan' er. In addition, he has also driven back the Beiting Protectorate army that wanted to take advantage of the chaos to advance north. Around noon tomorrow, he will arrive at Mount Sanmi to report! … "
Ishbara Khagan's body trembled at these words, and he subconsciously turned to the Blackwater Shaman at his side.
The Blackwater Shaman silently smiled.
… …
Time slowly passed. While Wang Chong was energetically preparing for Talas and the region of Qixi was still peaceful, the tranquil Imperial Court was gradually beginning to grow tense.
"We can't delay any longer! More than thirty letters have arrived from Anxi requesting reinforcements, and Great General Gao Xianzhi is still trapped at Talas. The Imperial Court must send troops as quickly as possible! "
An official in Taiji Palace yelled, his voice vehement and impassioned.
"It's just a minor campaign, and Great General Gao Xianzhi hasn't lost yet. Chen Han, why are you in such a rush? Do you think that our grand Tang Dynasty can't beat a puny Arabia? "
"Isn't Goguryeo also a tiny country? The Sui mobilized all of its strength, but didn't it still lose? Great General Zhang Shougui is invincible and invincible, but didn't he also stop there? Can the strength of one's military be measured by the size of a country! Great General Gao Xianzhi has always been skilled in quick battles, but after so long, there's still no news. If something happens, will you be able to take responsibility? "
"Absurd! Does not having news for more than a month mean defeat? If the Great General really was defeated, the news would have long since reached the Imperial Court. Do you not understand such a simple principle? "
"Anxi, Qixi, and Longxi are like lips and teeth, and without the lips, the teeth will feel the cold. If Anxi is lost, Qixi will be lost, and if Qixi is lost, Longxi will be threatened, and then the safety of the capital will be threatened. If the Arabs, Ouzan, or the Turks are allowed to march through Qixi and Longxi and reach the capital, it will be a disgrace to the entire Tang Dynasty. All of you who are passionately opposing this today will be criminals of the Tang Dynasty! I'd like to see just how you'll deal with this when the time comes! "
… …
The debate in the Imperial Court was extremely intense.
The matter of Talas had not yet reached this stage, and everyone believed that someone of Gao Xianzhi's abilities would be able to easily defeat the Arabs. After all, based on Gao Xianzhi's previous record, this War God of Anxi had never been defeated. But reality had developed in a completely different way from what they had imagined.
The urgent letters from Anxi were getting more and more urgent, and the thirty thousand elite soldiers of the Tang Dynasty led by Gao Xianzhi, all of them armed to the teeth, were still trapped at Talas. If this was just a war on the border, it would have been fine, but this had never been the case. Anxi was the barrier to Qixi, Qixi was the barrier to Longxi, and Longxi was the barrier to the capital.
The Tang Dynasty had invaded the Western Regions and the Four Garrisons of Anxi for two reasons. One was to expand their territory and display the power of the Tang Dynasty, and the other was to protect Longxi and the capital and protect the Holy Emperor of the Tang Dynasty!
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.
