Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

Upon hearing such hostile words, the Oirat prince's face immediately darkened.

His gaze swept over the military officer who had spoken, and then, as if relieved, he sat down and said with a smile, "I know that the people of the Central Plains like to build strong cities, which is something that we people on the grasslands do not like or rely on."

This general's faith in these stone walls is remarkable. I recently read some of your Central Plains history books, but I didn't quite understand terms like "Yan Yun," "Jingkang," and "Yashan." I humbly request your guidance.

Upon hearing the words of the Oirat prince, almost everyone present changed their expression.

The terms used by the Oirat prince all essentially represent a war waged by nomadic tribes of the grasslands against the Central Plains, and without exception, all of them resulted in a crushing defeat for the Central Plains, even a humiliating one.

His words were clearly sarcastic, implying that the strong city walls and passes that the people of the Central Plains relied on were utterly vulnerable under the iron hooves of the steppes.

"you!!"

Although the general who spoke first was illiterate, as a military commander, he had heard of these profound terms. Even if he didn't fully understand them, he knew from the reactions of the crowd that he had been mocked and insulted.

He immediately stood up, wanting to reason with his fists.

"General Zhu!" Wu Shiwei shouted in a low voice, then his expression turned hostile as he looked at the Oirat prince.

To maintain the overall situation, he didn't say much, only coldly glancing at the generals below him.

Upon receiving his signal, someone below immediately hummed: "Victory and defeat are common occurrences in war. Our Central Plains dynasty has been passed down for thousands of years, during which time we have conquered and resisted countless foreign tribes."

Your Highness only knows of our several defeats, but you do not know that over the thousands of years, countless treacherous foreign races have either been educated by my benevolent rule or have been wiped out.

Even your proudest Mongolian Empire vanished and disintegrated in just a few decades.

And look at you Oirats, although you claim to be the legitimate successors of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, you can only grovel before my Great Wei and barely survive!

Otherwise, Your Highness, why have you come to this?"

These words made the Oirat prince's face turn extremely ugly.

In the winter of the year before last, the Tatars, allied with the Oirats, launched an invasion of the border of the Great Wei. Although the Oirat king later saw that the situation was not good, he promptly expressed his intention to surrender to the Great Wei court and decided to send envoys to continue to make peace with the Great Wei.

For various reasons, the Wei court was also willing to accept the Oirat king's offer of surrender and alliance.

This led to his journey south to the capital of the Great Wei.

On the surface, the fact that the Oirat sent envoys to the capital of the Great Wei to negotiate peace and form an alliance, rather than the Great Wei sending envoys to the Oirat royal court, is enough to show that the Oirat royal court was showing weakness to the Great Wei court.

He couldn't refute that.

Since he didn't recognize the people below, he could only look at Wu Shiwei and said coldly, "Your side is humiliating my Oirat so much. Does it mean that you do not approve of the alliance between the two sides and want to provoke war again?"

I fear that the consequences will be beyond what any of you here can bear.

Wu Shiwei first gave his subordinates an appreciative look, and then said to the Oirat prince with a smile, "Your Highness, you have misunderstood. He just made a slip of the tongue and had no intention of insulting your side."

This alliance was formed after the King of Oirat petitioned for peace, and His Majesty the Emperor of our superior nation has already agreed.

Such a momentous matter is not something we would dare to disobey.

"Just by looking at His Highness, you can tell he's a reasonable and magnanimous person. He certainly wouldn't stoop to the level of us boorish folks, would he?"

The Oirat prince looked gloomy, but Wu Shiwei could only wave his hand helplessly.

Realizing that these people wouldn't give him the respect due to a prince, he picked up his wine cup, downed it in one gulp, and said, "General Wu, I've drunk your wine. Farewell!"

"Leaving already? Such a fine day, won't the prince stay and watch the show for a while?"

The Oirat prince ignored Wu Shiwei and went to Jia Lian's side.

Upon seeing this, Jia Lian stood up and gestured to them.

The Oirat prince said, "It has been too long since I left the royal court, and I am quite eager to return home."

In addition, judging by the time, the troops my father Khan sent to welcome the princess should be arriving soon.

Therefore, General Jia, please rest well and set off as soon as possible.

Jia Lian said, "I'm fine here, and I can leave at any time. It's just that the princess, being of noble birth, is already quite tired and exhausted after accompanying the army for two months."

Therefore, I have consulted with the princess and we will stay here for two days to replenish necessary supplies.

Please forgive me, Your Highness.

"Um."

Seemingly convinced that two days wouldn't be a problem, the Oirat prince nodded and left.

At this moment, Jia Lian vaguely sensed that the Oirat prince, who had previously displayed a gentlemanly demeanor, had actually become somewhat arrogant.

They don't seem to respect him as much as before.

Is it because he was blamed for not speaking up for him earlier?

It's a joke. As a subject of the Great Wei, how could I possibly side with foreigners on such a matter?

The only reason we didn't stand up for you is because we're about to enter your territory and don't want to offend you.

Just now, Jia Lian saw that Xiang He seemed to want to say something. He probably remembered that he still had to go to the Oirat royal court, so he stopped talking.

Otherwise, this official from the Ministry of Rites in the capital would surely be more "reasonable" than that deputy general.

"He's just a prince from a small barbarian tribe. What's there to be proud of?"

"We'll wipe him out sooner or later!"

"Furthermore, some people, as subjects of our Great Wei and imperial envoys appointed by His Majesty, are actually so subservient to a foreign official..."

"Shh, you have to understand. After all, they're going to the Oirat royal court. If we offend them, things won't go well when they're on someone else's territory."

They're not like us; they come from privileged backgrounds, so naturally they value their lives more and wouldn't dare offend anyone.

As expected of a crude and uncouth brute, he actually turned the tables on him.

She spoke with a veiled barb, deliberately raising her voice as if afraid he wouldn't hear her. Jia Lian shook his head, continued drinking, and ignored her.

Wu Shiwei deliberately observed Jia Lian's reaction before sternly rebuking him, "Stop spouting nonsense! If you dare to be disrespectful to the Imperial Envoy again, don't blame this general for punishing you according to the law!"

He then turned to Jia Lian and apologized, saying, "Please don't take their words to heart, my dear nephew. They're all a bunch of ill-mannered fellows."

Jia Lian shook his head, raised his cup and laughed, "Uncle Wu is overthinking it. The generals were not wrong."

Since we're about to enter someone else's territory, we naturally have to be more cautious.

In my opinion, this is far more useful than studying more military strategies or practicing martial arts for more years.

To everyone's surprise, Jia Lian not only wasn't angry, but also readily admitted it.

For a time, some booed and mocked, while others secretly admired.

Wu Shiwei found Jia Lian increasingly agreeable and raised his cup in invitation, saying, "Haha, it's rare to find such an interesting person as my nephew. I truly regret not having met you sooner."

Come on, you have to drink with me tonight! We won't leave until we're completely drunk!

……

Beijing.

The rear office of Lantai Temple, the Lin residence.

As the rain subsided, Zijuan saw Daiyu sitting quietly by the window admiring the cold moon. Fearing that she might catch a chill, she quickly found a bright red feather-lined white fox fur cloak and draped it over Daiyu.

Leng Buran noticed a cold expression on Daiyu's face and quickly asked with concern, "Miss, what's wrong?"

Daiyu shook her head, indicating that she was fine.

Zijuan thought for a moment and guessed, "Is Miss worried about Master Lian?"

Don't worry, young lady. Even the master said that although Second Master Lian is going far away, he is unlikely to be in any danger.

But once the task was completed, I returned.

Daiyu glanced at Zijuan but didn't take her words to heart.

Perhaps it's because she's been thinking about it all day, but lately she's been having nightmares frequently.

In my dream, swords flashed and shadows danced; in the endless yellow sands, mountains of corpses lay scattered.

At this time, she would always see Jia Lian appear in front of her covered in blood, which would wake her up in fright.

She was extremely worried, afraid that her dream would come true.

Zijuan offered a few words of casual comfort, then said, "Miss, the old lady sent someone again today, saying she'll send someone to pick you up tomorrow."

In my opinion, the old lady really misses you.

For the sake of the old lady, why must you hold a grudge against Master Bao?

The young lady also knew that Master Bao had absolutely no ill intentions towards her.

The old lady is in such a hurry to take the young lady back; it must be because Bao Er Ye pleaded and begged her. The young lady should be more forgiving, considering his kindness towards her.

"Who's angry with him?"

Daiyu pouted and replied, then sighed again.

It's definitely time to go see Grandmother Jia and the three girls.

Staying at home these days has indeed been quite boring and dull.

Several times before, when Grandmother Jia sent people to fetch her, she was refused on the grounds that she was unwell or that Lin Ruhai was reluctant to part with her.

If we refuse to go again this time, I'm afraid Grandmother Jia will become suspicious.