Zheng Rong was puzzled when he heard the news. He had exchanged letters with Dali Khan several times and had already agreed on a place for the alliance. It was still a hundred miles away from where they were stopping. How could such a team appear? Did Dali come out to meet them? Or did Pisimi intercept them on the way? Or was this all a scam to lure him to death and then kill them calmly.
Thinking of this, Zheng Rong's face was already fierce, so he ordered the troops to stop, with General Wei Hu's troops defending in the front, General Cui Nan's troops waiting for an opportunity to attack on the left, and he led the central army in between, forming a crescent-shaped formation. The Youyan soldiers were well-trained, and with a flag signal, they formed a formation in the blink of an eye, waiting for the Turks to attack.
Spies kept coming to report that the Turks were moving very slowly, with their swords unsheathed, their arrows unstrung, their flags waving, and they had no intention of fighting. If the Han people in the Central Plains fought in this manner, one would inevitably wonder if it was a trick to confuse the enemy, but the Turks have always fought with strength rather than intelligence, so they must not be coming to fight. Even Zheng Rong, who had experienced many battles, had guessed most of it, but he did not dare to have any luck in his heart, so he ordered the formation to be consolidated and wait for the enemy.
This team of Turkic soldiers was indeed slow. The short distance of 20 miles would have taken the Turkic cavalry a blink of an eye, but it took them two incense sticks of time to vaguely appear in front of everyone. Qiu Yizi tightened the reins, straightened his body, and looked at the Turkic team with his hands on the awning. He saw that the flags were fluttering, the men were fat and the horses were strong. It was a team that should not be underestimated.
At this time, Yiran showed a look of joy, and said to Zheng Rong: "Please be at ease, Prince Youyan. Looking at the flag, it should be Wulin Yala's troops who are coming to welcome the prince."
"Hmm?" Zheng Rong snorted, thinking that what Yiran said was true, but he still had to be on guard, and he did not let his soldiers let down their guard.
As Yiran said, two people from the Turkic army came galloping on horseback holding imperial seals, and stopped in front of the battle line. They said they were envoys of Dali Khan of Wulin Yala, and they came to see Youyan King Zheng Rong. Zheng Rong received the report, which matched what Yiran said, so he ordered the soldiers in front of the battle line to make way for the two envoys to come in slowly.
The two envoys stopped in front of Zheng Rong's horse one after the other. Just as they were about to speak, Cui Nan, the general beside Zheng Rong, shouted, "This is His Royal Highness the Prince of Youyan. How can you, as a minister of a lower state, not bow to the emperor of a higher state?"
The leading envoy turned and glanced at Cui Nan, then retracted his gaze, and his eyes quickly turned around. He immediately rolled off his horse skillfully and adjusted his clothes on the grass. The deputy envoy behind him saw it and stood still. The main envoy then performed the most solemn etiquette on the grassland, holding out the carefully wrapped sheepskin scroll and saying in awkward Chinese: "Young birds always flap their wings like eagles soaring. The envoy of Wulin Yala comes to pay homage to the Han prince Youyan."
Zheng Rong took the parchment scroll and unfolded it. The handwriting was the same as last time, written in very elegant regular script, and it should be written by the same person. There was nothing unusual in the content of the scroll. Zheng Rong quickly read it and handed it to Zhong Likuang behind him for safekeeping. He also took two ingots of gold from his subordinates and was about to reward the envoy, but he saw Yi Ran's face with indescribable joy, and felt something was wrong, so he said to the envoy: "Messenger, please raise your head and let me see it."
The messenger hesitated for a moment, then looked up at Zheng Rong.
Yao Ling was leaning to the west, casting a shadow on the envoy's face, making the round and broad face of a man in his thirties look even darker. His two slender eyes looked confidently at the majestic prince, making it hard to guess. Zheng Rong looked carefully, a barely perceptible smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he looked at the deputy envoy again. The deputy envoy had a Han face, no more than thirty years old, handsome and elegant, and a good-looking person.
Zheng Rong returned the gold he had been stroking for a long time to the attendant, dismounted, walked up to the messenger, shook his hand with his back, and said with a smile on his face: "An honest man does not do shady things. Are you Dali Khan?"
The messenger half opened his mouth in surprise and stayed there for half a cup of tea. Then he smiled happily and said, "The eagle soaring in the sky can always see through everything that happens on the grassland. I am Dali from Wulin Yala. His Royal Highness the King of Youyan is so smart and wise, and his reputation is well-deserved."
Zheng Rong was very happy to hear this and greeted him, "An extraordinary child will be born extraordinary; a virtuous person will live a long life. Dali Khan has a majestic and unique appearance. If you were not blind, how could you not recognize him?"
Although flattery and greetings are meaningless, they are an indispensable appetizer when people and countries interact with each other.
"Your Highness, you have come a long way to the grassland. You must be very tired. However, this is not the place to talk. The city of Ulinyala, Hural, is in the west. I have prepared some good wine. Your Highness, please lead your troops into the city to rest."
Zheng Rong smiled and waved his hands, saying: "No hurry, no hurry. Let me introduce several brave generals and counselors to the Khan." As he said that, he took Dali's hand and introduced them one by one, starting with General Cui Nan, the General of the Northern Expedition, even Zheng Miao and Yizhi were not left out.
After listening to the introduction, Dali also pulled the deputy envoy behind him and introduced him to everyone: "This is my think tank, Mr. Cai Wenchou."
Cai Wenchou was dressed in Turkic clothes, but his handsome face clearly showed his Han identity. He bowed and said, "I have met the Prince of Youyan and all the generals."
Zheng Rong noticed him early on, but pretended to be surprised and asked, "Could it be that the two beautiful articles were written by you, sir?" Seeing Cai Wenchou nod respectfully, Zheng Rong continued, "Sir, you are very talented, even in the Central Plains, you are rare. I wonder why you came to this cold desert to serve?"
Cai Wenchou had a smile on his face, but his eyes were filled with melancholy. He shook his head and said nothing.
Seeing that Cai Wenchou seemed to have something to hide, Zheng Rong laughed heartily and said, "A real man is born between heaven and earth. As long as he can show his strategies, what else can he do? Mr. Zhongli, whom I just introduced, although he can't write pedantic essays for the imperial examinations, has many ingenious ideas, just like Mr. Wenchou. You can talk to him."
After some more conversation, the team set off for Hural.
The weather on the grassland changed suddenly. The sun at noon was covered by thick clouds by dusk. A huge shadow covered the earth. With the howling cold wind, thunder rolled in the depths of the dark clouds. Dali Khan said that a blizzard was coming and asked the Han army to move forward quickly.
No matter how famous you are or how powerful your achievements are, you will always seem small and vulnerable in front of nature. After listening to Dali's reminder, Zheng Rong did not dare to be negligent and ordered the team to speed up.
Qiu Yizhi was once driven out of his maternal uncle Zhao's house and committed to a ruined temple. He had also experienced a lot of miserable winds and rains, but compared with the fierce wind on the desert grassland, it was just like a gentle breeze and drizzle. The cold wind mixed with sand and dead grass whistled towards him, scratching countless bloodless wounds on Qiu Yizhi's face like an iron grate, forcing him to lie on the horse's back to avoid this ruthless invasion. Suddenly, it started snowing again, and the torn snowflakes flew all over the sky with the wind. Yizhi looked up and saw white diagonal lines all around.
Yizhi was panicked, and his hands holding the reins gradually loosened, almost falling off the horse. At this time, someone rode a horse with Yizhi, and after a few steps, the knight jumped lightly from his horse onto Yizhi's mount in the wind and snow, and rode forward with him.
Yizhi looked back, his big eyes gleaming like blue glass. "How could it be Yiran?" Yizhi was about to ask, but he couldn't utter a word. The wind filled his mouth with snow, causing him to cough non-stop. Yiran raised his index finger and placed it on the red lips that were raised at the corners. Yizhi understood, so he didn't say anything, but just quietly felt the warmth behind him.
Although heaven is harsh, it is not cruel.
The team marched for an unknown amount of time before finally seeing the faint light of a lamp in the darkness. Dali Khan shouted to Zheng Rong, who was riding with him, "Your Majesty, please hurry up a bit, Hural is right in front!"
Zheng Rong nodded and told Cui Nan to pass on the order: the camp is nearby, stay alert and don't fall behind. Cui Nan was naturally taciturn and knew that even if he shouted desperately, he wouldn't be able to reach far, so he asked the soldiers to pass on the commander's order by word of mouth.
By the time the order had passed through the entire team and reached the ears of General Wei Hu, who was at the rear, the leader had already reached Hural. After counting the men and horses, half of the cattle and sheep following the team were killed, but not a single soldier was lost, which was a blessing in disguise.
In the dim light, Qiu Yizi didn't have time to see what kind of city this Hural was before he was taken into a huge tent. The tent was in the shape of a circle with a diameter of four or five feet and a height of more than ten feet. It was surrounded by low brick walls and airtight. A large brazier was set up in the middle, and it immediately became warm.
After entering the tent, everyone hurriedly brushed off the snow on their bodies to prevent their clothes from getting wet after being melted by the fire. Dali called the maid to serve goat milk tea to the distinguished guests. Although the steaming hot milk tea exuded a strong smell that made the people of the Central Plains feel uncomfortable, it was a good thing to drive away the cold. Zheng Rong and others took a big sip and tasted it, and even Zhongli Kuang took a small sip. Yizhi and Zheng Miao were young and weak, and it was their first time to experience a snowstorm on the grassland. After getting off the horse, they couldn't even walk steadily. They staggered into the tent and sat on the mattress made of two or three layers of sheepskin.
Yizhi took the goat milk tea, and a pungent smell of goat hit his face. He felt sick and was about to put down the stone bowl of milk tea. But Yiran came up and said softly, "You have to drink it. This is the rule of our grassland people." Yizhi listened to Yiran's words, picked up the bowl again, held his breath and took a sip. Suddenly, a sweetness rippled in his mouth, and a warm current filled his body. He felt comfortable and drank the rest of the milk tea.
Seeing that she was happy, Yiran took the empty bowl and smiled and said, "We will treat you to the best barbecue later. Don't eat too much or you will get an upset stomach."
With Yiran's instructions, Yizhi originally wanted to just fill his stomach, but the barbecue cooked by this grassland family was really different. It was not known whether they used unique seasonings or controlled the heat to the extreme, but the whole piece of meat was roasted crispy and tender, and the refreshing aroma of the meat wafted throughout the tent with the steam rising from the heat.
Yizhi couldn't help but eat two more bites, which made Yiran pout and glare at him. Only then did he reluctantly put down the delicious food.
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PS. Same as the previous chapter, is this how the grassland warriors entertained their guests? Anyway, it’s probably pretty close. But if there are any descriptions that don’t match reality, please let me know… (To be continued)