Zhenguan: I, Dou Fengjie, will not be the first cuckold.

Chapter 86 Lack of Martial Morality

Honglu Temple, Dianke Office dormitory.

Dou Fengjie ate his snacks without saying a word.

The steward, Cheng Chumo, glared with his leopard-like eyes at the somewhat frail Tuyuhun Tianzhu King: "The Tuyuhun have invaded our Great Tang borders, killed our Great Tang soldiers, and plundered our Great Tang commoners. Now they are on the verge of collapse, and they want to sue for peace?"

Zhang Ke Beimenshuang bared his rat-like teeth, a dangerous glint in his eyes: "When to start the conflict is up to Tuyuhun, but when to end it is up to the Tang Dynasty."

King Tianzhu smiled wryly and patted his chest: "My lords, the Tuyuhun people have lived this way for hundreds of years, and it is inevitable that they will offend the Celestial Empire."

"Please, in consideration of the past alliance between Tuyuhun and the Tang Dynasty against Li Gui, grant them a way out."

Well, King Tianzhu was referring to the Wude era, but now it's the Zhenguan era, so we're not talking about Wude anymore!

"The Tuyuhun could have a Khan, namely, Murong Shun, the Jiuhu Lüwugandou Khan;"

"There can be a capital city, but it must be a place like a cow's heart mound."

"You may name your descendants Murong Fu, but they must not break away from the control of the Tang Dynasty."

Dou Fengjie began to speak slowly and deliberately.

If Murong Fuyun doesn't want to die, he should abdicate.

Upon hearing the name "Murong Fu," Cheng Chumo couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Having been classmates with Dou Fengjie, I never knew this scoundrel was so wicked.

"As for King Tianzhu, if the three tribes of Tianzhu are willing to serve the Tang Dynasty, I will guarantee you a fifth-rank official position."

Dou Fengjie began to tempt her.

The Heavenly Pillar King may look frail, but the three tribes of Heavenly Pillar are not weak. The Tang Dynasty would have to pay a considerable price to take them down head-on.

"Khan Busabo treated me as a national hero, and I should repay him as a national hero in return."

"The Khan is willing to pay tribute of 5,000 fine horses and 5,000 cattle every year, as well as 20 Qinghai steeds produced on Longju Island every year."

King Tianzhu gritted his teeth and offered his highest price.

The Qinghai Cong can only be bred on Longju Island, an island in the center of the West Sea, and the number is pitifully small, with about twenty horses being the maximum each year.

The number of fine horses was also close to the maximum production capacity of Tuyuhun.

On the issue of cattle, Tuyuhun played a trick, not specifying whether it was yaks, cheat cattle, or yellow cattle, which Dou Fengjie automatically assumed was yaks.

Both beef cattle and draft cattle are cattle, but their status in the Tang Dynasty was worlds apart.

This shows that Tuyuhun's sincerity was not actually that sincere.

Dou Fengneng's ability to refrain from using foul language already demonstrates his respect for a loyal subject like Tianzhu Wang.

"The cattle and horses of the Tuyuhun can be taken by the Great Tang."

Dou Fengjie refused outright.

Just kidding. After finally managing to string together all the tribes around Tuyuhun and strangle Murong Paopao's escape route, Dou Fengjie was not about to let Tuyuhun catch their breath.

Next year, Dou Fengjie will push forward the campaign to wipe out Tuyuhun, allowing him, as a guerrilla general, to earn a solid military merit.

With twelve military merits, Dou Fengjie gained three merits in battle, so getting the rank of Flying Cavalry Captain shouldn't be a problem, right?

If you're still in good health while living in the Tang Dynasty, it wouldn't be right not to become a high-ranking official.

Honglu Cheng Feng Dexia strolled into the Diankeshu (Office of Foreign Affairs), glanced at Tianzhu Wang (Prince Tianzhu), and a strange look appeared in his eyes: "Perhaps the Diankeshu should just pass the problem up to higher authorities?"

As long as the procedures are strictly followed, if the first hurdle of the Bureau of Foreign Affairs is not overcome, the demands of Tuyuhun will not be heard in the court.

Then, the officials who had been subtly or overtly courted by the King of Tianzhu had no choice but to reciprocate in kind, trying to smooth things over for Tuyuhun.

Dou Fengjie glanced at Feng Dexia with a half-smile: "Is Shangguan going to be appointed as the Director of the Bureau of Guests?"

Cheng Chumo glanced at this blunt statement that he had no friends.

This guy, despite being a coward, still has such a sharp tongue.

Would Feng Dexia, a sixth-rank official in charge of official duties, be willing to lower himself by five ranks to a seventh-rank official in charge of official duties for the sake of his "old friend" Tuyuhun?

Clearly, he was unwilling.

Feng Dexia chuckled without a trace of a smile in his eyes: "It seems I've been meddling. This is just idle talk; the Bureau of Guests need not take it seriously."

If some fool listens to people like them and causes serious consequences, they'll just shrug it off:

I was just talking casually, who knew you would take it seriously?

This is what a cunning bureaucrat is like—clever and ruthless, never doing good deeds and always making others take the blame for bad ones.

Dou Fengjie knew he was bad, but he had no way to deal with him.

Even if they deployed miniature drones to monitor him, the evidence they gathered wouldn't be enough to do anything to him.

Just like when the clerks of the Ministry of Personnel collect documents from various prefectures, they demand a hundred coins for each document, and who can do anything about it?

The typical example of the clerk arrested in "The Judgment of Dragon Tendons and Phoenix Marrow" was nothing more than a maggot scooped from a latrine to feed a chicken.

"The Bureau of Guest Affairs will not approve any requests from Tuyuhun. Please seek other channels."

Dou Fengjie was like a rock in a latrine, both foul and hard, extinguishing the hopes of the Heavenly Pillar King.

He could seek approval from the Tang Dynasty through other means, but if he couldn't get past the hurdle of the Bureau of Foreign Guests, his position would ultimately be illegitimate and unjustified.

A common saying goes: "It's easier to see the King of Hell than to deal with his underlings."

Feng Dexia gave Dou Fengjie a deep look, then left the Dianke Office with a forced smile.

Unable to move the Pitiful Bureau, Feng Dexia had no choice but to retreat, as he couldn't risk his future.

King Tianzhu realized something was wrong.

Since the Dianke Bureau explicitly rejected Tuyuhun, fewer and fewer officials have been willing to meet with him, seemingly having some reservations about the Dianke Bureau.

How could the Dianke Office, a mere seventh-rank government office, have such a great influence?

In a pavilion in the middle of the northern part of Pingkangfang, Feng Dexia listened to the girl playing the pipa from afar, took a sip of Xinfeng wine, ate a bite of Xiaotiansu (a type of pastry), and slowly began to speak.

"The Duke of Zanguo held a low position, but his influence was considerable. He was involved in several major upheavals in Tuyuhun."

"His schemes included forcing the King of Gaochang and the Duke of Luoyang to rebel, facilitating the Duke of Lu's army to march out of Zhangye River, and making the King of Daning declare himself Khan."

Feng Dexia recounted the events to the Prince of Tianzhu one by one.

He also handled the situation very well. He was able to pass the message to King Tianzhu, and it was something that everyone already knew, so no one could accuse him of leaking secrets.

However, all these things together only illustrate one point: Dou Fengjie harbored deep-seated hostility towards Tuyuhun.

Or rather, Dou Fengjie was determined to use Tuyuhun as a stepping stone for his advancement.

"I don't understand why the King of Gaochang and the Duke of Luoyang are willing to be manipulated by the Duke of Zan?"

A fierce glint flashed in the eyes of the Heavenly Pillar King.

Even if the Duke of Luoyang is not known for his martial arts skills, surely he has a few formidable figures accompanying him?

"Although the Duke of Zan's martial arts skills are not outstanding, he can still protect himself."

"He killed a wild boar with an arrow at Kunming Pool, the arrow piercing its forehead; in Chang'an City, he wounded his enemy who had shot him with a sneak arrow."

Feng Dexia briefly recounted Dou Fengjie's story.

Getting Dou Fengjie to leave the stage due to injury or death is quite difficult.

King Tianzhu lowered his head and thought for a moment: "Could we consider making him the son-in-law of Busabo Khan?"

Feng Dexia spat out a mouthful of wine.

Leaving aside Princess Yongjia's covetousness of Dou Fengjie, how could Busabo Khan, who had been on the throne for over fifty years, possibly have a young daughter?

Even if he did, would it be his child?

King Tianzhu sneered, "Isn't this the current practice?"

By adopting a woman from the imperial clan, they could marry her off as a princess. That's how it worked in the Sui Dynasty.