Jiuxi

Chapter 1041 Extra 05 [Old Friend]

The years are in a hurry, time flies, the rising and setting of the sun and the moon are not subject to human will.

For Samani, the twelfth emperor of the Xining Dynasty, the last few years have been very difficult. The days have become increasingly difficult, and one can almost describe them as living day by day like a year.

For more than two hundred years, the Shining Dynasty had been the supreme ruler of this vast land until the rise of the Tria Khanate more than twenty years ago.

The genius named Arab was of humble origins, but possessed natural appeal like the wolf king in the wilderness. It took him only seven years to complete internal integration, and then he continued to encroach on Samani's territory for more than ten years.

Compared with the enterprising and vigorous Tria Khanate, the Shinin Dynasty seemed like an old man on his deathbed, just like Samanid, who was almost sixty years old this year, showing signs of decline and decay everywhere.

If there was only one strong opponent, Arab, perhaps the Samani could still rely on the two hundred years of heritage of the dynasty, the vast territory, and the large population to barely delay the opponent's pace of conquest. However, six years ago, a group of more ferocious jackals suddenly came from the distant east, and the situation faced by the Samani took a sharp turn for the worse.

Although the Trians were ferocious, the Jinglian people who came from the East possessed more powerful cavalry and mysterious firearms. In particular, their inherent brutality and longing for a new homeland condensed into a force that was powerful enough to create the world.

After several years, the territory of the Xining Dynasty has been reduced by 40% compared to its heyday, of which 60% was occupied by the Tria Khanate, and the rest was occupied by the Jing Kingdom.

In such a precarious situation with internal and external troubles, Samani had to lower his proud head and be willing to receive the envoy from Jing State.

Inside the luxurious and spacious palace hall, the aged emperor sat high on the throne, his gloomy old eyes slightly narrowed as he examined the envoys from the Kingdom of Jing who were neither humble nor arrogant below.

Facing the burly and fierce guards around him, the envoy ignored them and calmly stepped forward to salute, saying: "I, Han Xian, the envoy of Jing State, pay my respects to His Majesty the Emperor of the Xining Dynasty."

Compared to when he asked to see Lu Chen that year, Han Xian was obviously much older, but his temperament had become more calm and steady, and there was a hidden edge.

To Samani's surprise, the nearly fifty-year-old envoy from the Kingdom of Jing could speak fluent Xining, which made the interpreter he had prepared in advance useless.

The old emperor suppressed his thoughts and said indifferently: "What are you doing here?"

Han Xian replied respectfully: "I am here on the orders of His Majesty to discuss the alliance with you."

"Covenant?"

Samani squeezed out two words from between his teeth and said in a cold voice: "In the past few years, you Jinglian people have frequently provoked wars and invaded hundreds of miles of my territory with despicable means. Now you come to me to negotiate a bullshit alliance. You are so bold! Come on, drag this stupid and arrogant guy down and chop him into pieces!"

"Yes!"

More than a dozen guards immediately stepped forward, surrounded Han Xian with their spears tightly grasped, and forced him to walk out.

Under Samani's cold gaze, Han Xian said calmly: "Your Majesty, can you let me finish my words before you die?"

He raised his head slightly and calmly met the old emperor's murderous gaze.

Samani believed that he was not wrong. This envoy from Jing State was indeed not afraid of death. He even showed a quality that it was a great honor to sacrifice one's life for the country, just like those Jing State soldiers who fought bravely on the battlefield in the past few years and frightened the Xining warriors.

After a brief scrutiny, Samani said coldly, "Speak."

Han Xian smiled at the guards surrounding him, then said to Samani: "Your Majesty, we Jinglian people have no old grudges against your country. It's just that we are forced to need a piece of land to survive, so we have some conflicts with your country. In addition, our country has gradually reduced the killing in the past two years and is unwilling to fight with your country to the point of mutual destruction. Your Majesty is a wise leader with a broad vision. You must know that the situation of Tria Khanate is different from that of our Jing Kingdom. If the Xining Dynasty and Jing Kingdom still have a chance for peace talks, with Tria Khanate, there is only a fight to the death."

Samani felt a surge of anger and helplessness in his heart.

As Han Xian said, the Trians had been enslaved and ravaged by the Shinin nobles for more than a hundred years. The hatred between the two sides was difficult to describe in words. After Arab appeared, the Trians began to settle the blood debt of more than a hundred years. They had only one goal, which was to destroy the Shinin Dynasty and kill all the Shinin nobles. Samani, the emperor whose hands were stained with the blood of the Trians, was naturally the first to bear the brunt.

From a big picture perspective, if Jingguo continued with its previous strategy, Samani would not be able to cope with the attack from these two powerful enemies. In fact, this was the reason why he allowed Han Xian to enter the palace.

At this moment, the other party had exposed the key point with a word. Samani waved his hand to signal the guards to retreat, and said in a deep voice: "If you want to negotiate, you must show sincerity. Otherwise, can you only rely on your mouth?"

"It's natural."

Han Xian said frankly: "The greatest sincerity that this foreign minister brings with him is the promise of His Majesty."

"What promise?"

"From the day the alliance was signed, the Xining Dynasty and the Jing Kingdom became brotherly states and will never invade each other."

Samani remained silent. Considering the current situation of the Xining Dynasty, he would undoubtedly be greatly relieved if he could really reach such an alliance with the Jing Kingdom. However, he was obviously not satisfied and hoped to get more benefits.

As if seeing through his thoughts, Han Xian continued, "Your Majesty, you know that Tria Khan Arab has sent six groups of envoys to our country in the past two years."

Hearing this, Samani's face immediately turned a little ugly. How could he know nothing about this?
As for Arab's intention, it is easy to guess. He just wants the Khanate of Tria and the Kingdom of Jing to join hands and divide the vast territory of the Xining Dynasty like Han Xian is doing now.

Samani knew the implication of the other party's words. If he asked for too much, Jingguo would naturally change its course and choose to stand on the side of the Trian Khanate.

Under the premise that the Xining Dynasty and the Tria Khanate are destined to fight to the death, the outsider Jing Kingdom, relying on the powerful strength they have demonstrated, is indeed qualified to control the situation. Moreover, because they and the other two parties have not accumulated deep hatred for hundreds of years, confrontation and cooperation are actually just a matter of thought, and there is not much resistance.

It has to be said that the young empress of Jingguo had a very clear and keen judgment of the overall situation. She knew that Samani could not refuse this proposal, otherwise the Xining Dynasty would inevitably fall into the crisis of extinction.

Thinking of this, Samani couldn't help feeling a little melancholy. If he were twenty years younger, how could he have given in so easily?
Now that he is very old, he no longer has the courage to give up everything. He only hopes to preserve the existing territory of the Xining Dynasty and hopes that the successor can regroup and let the lion flag of the Xining people continue to fly in every corner of this land.

"Tell me, what kind of alliance does your empress want to sign?"

When the old emperor said this, a sincere smile appeared on Han Xian's face.

Two months later, Han Xian returned to Xiayou City having accomplished his mission.

In the main hall of the imperial palace, which was still simple and now even unworthy of an empress, Han Xian recounted the entire journey.

On the throne, in addition to the increasingly majestic and profound Qing Yu Huaijin, there was a boy of five or six years old next to him, who was none other than the current Crown Prince of Jing State, Qing Yuchen.

There are also a number of important civil and military officials in the palace, such as Miegudi, Xilie, Shanyang, Tuomanwulu, Zhao Kai, Qu Yutang and others, all of whom are die-hard supporters of Qing Yu Huaijin and firmly hold the military and political power of the court.

However, even these people occasionally have doubts about the prince's identity.

Qing Yu Huaijin's public statement to the outside world was that the prince was born to her and a young talent from the Jinglian clan, but the important officials in the palace knew that the young talent was just a cover for being honest and upright, and in fact he had not even been qualified to enter the palace in these years.

If it had been during the heyday of the dynasty or during a peaceful period, Qing Yu Huaijin's actions would most likely have caused controversy, but she led the Jinglian people through all the difficulties and escaped the crisis of death and annihilation, and successfully found a new home in the far west. Her prestige was unprecedented, and no one in the court or the public dared to question her lightly.

Today, everyone has accepted the fact that Qing Yuchen is destined to be the future emperor of Jing State.

After half an hour, Han Xian finally finished telling his story. Qing Yu Huaijin remained silent. The ministers looked around and asked respectfully, "Your Majesty, what is the next step?"

"Next step?"

Qing Yu Huaijin raised her eyebrows slightly, as if she didn't quite understand why her most trusted coach would have such a problem.

Mie Gudi explained: "Your Majesty, now that the South is willing to sign an alliance with our dynasty, can we use this bargaining chip to negotiate with Arab?"

Others nodded.

The Jinglian people certainly don’t care about the life or death of the Xining Dynasty. The key point is how to seek the greatest benefit for themselves in the situation of entanglement between the three parties.

The so-called covenant, so what if it is betrayed?
Negotiations between countries must of course be based on interests.

Qing Yu Huaijin glanced at his son beside him, and then said slowly: "I really want to establish an alliance with Samani this time, not to use him to intimidate Arab."

Mie Gu Di was slightly startled.

Qing Yu Huaijin continued, "You must understand the simplest truth. Arab is only 39 years old this year, but Samani is already 60 years old. In other words, if we join forces with Arab, then when the Xining Dynasty loses its ability to resist, the Trians will immediately turn their weapons against us. An ambitious hero like Arab will never be satisfied with dividing this land with Dajing."

Everyone suddenly came to their senses.

As of now, the Xining Dynasty is still the strongest one, but it is difficult for them to withstand the joint attack of the Tria Khanate and the Jing Kingdom. However, Arab is not a pushover, and cooperating with him is tantamount to seeking the skin of a tiger.

"Samani was indeed a great ruler when he was young, but he is now in his twilight years and has lost his ambition. He only wants to keep his existing territory, so he urgently needs our support to resolve the current crisis. As for the future of the Xining people, he can only place his hopes on his successor, so there will be no complications before he dies. This is the opportunity we must seize."

Qing Yu Huaijin looked around at everyone and said calmly, "Now that we have established a firm foothold here, we might as well accumulate strength and quietly watch the two tigers fight each other. When necessary, we can give some support to Samani. After we destroy the Tria Khanate, we will go and talk to the Xining people. This will be the national policy of Dajing for the next 20 years."

The ministers said with full conviction: "Your Majesty is wise!"

After more than half an hour, the civil and military officials who had reached an agreement bowed and left, and Qing Yu Huaijin took Qing Yuchen's hand and walked towards the side hall.

"Mom, it's time for me to practice." Qing Yuchen said obediently.

Qing Yu Huaijin looked up and saw a middle-aged man standing respectfully in the corridor not far away.

If we only talk about martial arts, the Qing Yu family is obviously the strongest among all the surnames in Jinglian. Back then, Qing Yugong was able to be ranked as the number one master in Dajing. In addition to his own talent, it was also inseparable from the Qing Yu family's family background.

Qing Yu Huaijin's martial arts skills are not as good as Lu Chen's, let alone Lin Xi's, but she is surrounded by many trusted masters left by Qing Yugong. These people have made great contributions to her in the process of gaining power. Just like Yelu Huai in front of him, who had been lurking in Dadu for ten years, it is natural that he has become the prince's enlightenment master.

"Go."

Qing Yu Huaijin touched his son's forehead and smiled at Yelu Huai who was not far away.

Looking at Qing Yuchen's back as he left with Yelu Huai, the 29-year-old Qing Yuhuaijin's eyes became very gentle.

Surrounded by a group of palace maids, she came to a side hall, where there was a middle-aged man with simple clothes and bright eyes.

Seeing the arrival of the Queen of Great Jing, the middle-aged man bowed and said, "Su Yunqing, the Great Qin Western Regions Observation Envoy, greets His Majesty the Emperor of Jing."

"Give me a seat."

Qing Yu Huaijin spoke calmly, and after Su Yunqing sat down, he said with a smile: "Visiting envoy? They say Lu Chen cares about old friendships, but in my opinion, it's just that. If I remember correctly, Lord Su has served him many years ago. Even if you can't be in charge of the Weaving Bureau, you should be given a rich and leisurely position. How can you be sent to such a bitter and cold place?"

Su Yunqing said calmly: "Your Majesty, you are joking. In fact, I think this job is very good. As the saying goes, reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. It is a good thing to be able to see the different scenery in this world."

"is it?"

Qing Yu Huaijin said leisurely: "In my opinion, it is probably because Lord Su is involved with the remnants of the Li royal family of the previous dynasty. Although he has not betrayed the emperor of the Qin Dynasty, it will eventually become a thorn in his heart. Due to the friendship in the past and your contributions, he really can't bear to kill you, but he doesn't want you elite members of the Weaving Bureau to continue to stay in the Qin Dynasty and become a hidden danger, so he has to send you here. On the one hand, he can rest assured, and on the other hand, he can rely on you to monitor the situation here."

Su Yunqing smiled but said nothing. He couldn't help feeling a little surprised. It seemed that the twists and turns of these years had indeed tempered people. The Princess Jing, who was very naive back then, could now see through people's hearts.

Seeing this, Qing Yu Huai Jin laughed and said, "Otherwise, I can't understand why you, at your age, would appear in the far west thousands of miles away from Qin."

At this point, Su Yunqing bowed and said, "Your Majesty is wise and wise, and I admire you."

"There's no need to admire it."

Qing Yu Huaijin looked directly into Su Yunqing's eyes and said slowly, "Although this is the first time I've met you, I've heard of your name before. Wang Shidao has a deep grudge against you and Qin Zheng, which shows that you are definitely not an ordinary person. This time you were discovered by Wang Shidao's men, I think you did it on purpose? Tell me, why did you take the risk to come see me?"

She received a secret report from Wang Shidao a few days ago that the spies discovered a mysterious Qi man in Gushan City, dozens of miles away, and the man then introduced himself.

Wang Shidao did not dare to make a decision on his own and quickly reported to Qing Yu Huaijin, so Su Yunqing was brought to the capital and today's meeting took place.

Qing Yu Huaijin certainly believed in her confidants, but she didn't think that a person like Su Yunqing would be exposed so easily. The other party must have taken the initiative to ask for a meeting.

Su Yunqing said calmly: "Your Majesty, I am here on the orders of your Majesty."

Even though he had vaguely guessed the answer, Qing Yu Huaijin's heart still trembled at this moment. He asked calmly, "Oh? What did he ask you to do?"

Su Yunqing replied, "Your Majesty wants to know the latest situation here, and asked a foreign minister to deliver a letter."

He reached out from his sleeve and took out an envelope with intact sealing wax. The Jinglian clan masters in the hall reacted instantly, and their cold eyes were focused on him.

Qing Yu Huaijin waved his hand to signal them to leave, and asked a palace maid to bring the envelope.

She didn't read the letter immediately, but looked at Su Yunqing and said, "What does he want to know?"

Su Yunqing hesitated for a moment, then bowed his head and said, "I told His Majesty that we should have parted ways, but a few years ago he heard that Your Majesty had a son and that Jing Country had a successor, so he always had to pay attention to the situation here. The Far West is far away from Daqin, and there will be no conflicts and contradictions for at least a few decades. This is the best outcome. On this basis, His Majesty hopes that Jing Country can gain a firm foothold here and not rush in."

"What does this have to do with him?"

Qing Yu Huaijin's tone was stern, but a complex emotion flashed deep in his eyes.

Especially the two words "let's part ways and live in harmony" and "happy to have a baby boy" stirred up a storm in her heart that could not be calmed for a long time.

Su Yunqing seemed unaware and said, "Your Majesty of our dynasty has the whole world in mind. If Jingguo cannot survive here, it means that Daqin will most likely encounter an extremely powerful enemy in the future. We must make some preparations in advance."

"He thinks ahead."

Qing Yu Huaijin snorted coldly, then slowed down his tone and said, "If he really wants to, he can copy down the latest firearms technology. I will be very grateful to him."

Su Yunqing recalled the detailed instructions Lu Chen gave him when he left Beijing for the second time the year before. He felt a little strange for a moment and said, "I told His Majesty that firearms are the most important thing for the country and we cannot give them to you as a gift. But if you need it, you can use gold and silver to buy a batch of our firearms, which may give you an advantage in future wars. In addition to firearms, our dynasty is willing to trade with Jingguo. This is a win-win move. I hope Your Majesty will consider it."

Qing Yu Huaijin was silent for a moment, then sneered, "So this is what he is up to."

She would never believe Lu Chen's sweet words. The so-called firearms for sale were mostly defective products eliminated by the Qin Army. Although they were useful in the far west, they were still a huge disadvantage when facing the Qin Army.

Moreover, she gradually understood Lu Chen's plan. Wasn't it to let Jinglian's people fight in the front while Daqin would reap the benefits of trade in the back?

Naturally, her vision is now much broader than it was back then. She knows very well how big the world is. It is said that there are countless territories and countries to the west, which contain endless wealth and resources.

You guy...

Do you want me to work for you?

"We'll talk about trade later. First, let your emperor sell us a batch of firearms."

Qing Yu Huaijin almost failed. The dignified image he had maintained for so many years was almost destroyed. In the end, he gave a bad reply.

Su Yunqing responded respectfully, saying that he would report to Lu Chen as quickly as possible and asked His Majesty to wait for good news.

At this moment he could not help but be filled with admiration, although he did not understand some of the things Lu Chen said at the time, such as wanting Daqin's goods to appear in various parts of the world, exchanging for countless gold and silver to further promote Daqin's domestic development, and continuously boosting national strength on the basis of giving priority to farming.

But judging from Qing Yu Huaijin's reaction at this moment, Su Yunqing gradually understood why Lu Chen had given Jing Lian a chance to live.

And that Prince Jingguo...

Su Yunqing certainly wouldn't talk nonsense in front of Qing Yu Huaijin. After discussing the business, he bowed and left.

When Qing Yu Huaijin returned to the bedroom, the sky was gradually darkening.

She asked all the palace maids to leave and sat down by the window alone.

The letter was slowly opened, and Qing Yu Huaijin did not notice that her hands were shaking slightly at this moment.

On the night of the palace coup, she was determined to cut off the past, inherit her father's will, and do her best to fight for the survival of the Jinglian clan. However, she was ultimately no match for the elite soldiers trained by Lu Chen himself. Even if he did not have the help of firearms at the time, he would have won in the end by relying on his military talents and the bravery and fighting skills of his soldiers.

You should know that before the decisive battle, Lu Chen's record against Jing's army was a terrifying complete victory.

In desperation, Qing Yu Huaijin could only accept Lu Chen's proposal and take her people away from their homeland. As one of the conditions, she hoped to get pregnant with a child.

This is probably a change that even Qing Yugong could never have imagined.

Qing Yu Huaijin also could not have predicted that when she actually gave birth to his child, some things would change inadvertently and would become more serious as time passed.

She didn't know how to describe her feelings towards Lu Chen. She still had hatred and resentment, but when the night was quiet, she did feel a trace of attachment to him.

Looking at the casual conversation on the letter, Qing Yu Huaijin couldn't help but shake his head and laugh.

Lu Chen did not talk much about state affairs in the letter. He just asked about her experiences over the years and hoped that she could let go of past grudges, accept his proposal to cooperate with Daqin, and strive to create a better future for the people of Jingguo.

"lay down……"

Qing Yu Huaijin looked up at the bright moon rising quietly outside the window, wrinkled his nose and said: "If I really let it go, why did you send me this letter?"

"Well, I hope you can keep your promise."

(End of this chapter)