Qiu Yizi interrupted Yelu and said, "Zheng Xin is now a rebellious son of the royal family and a traitor to the court. Brother Yelu, you can just call him by his name without any honorifics. Brother Yelu, please pay attention to this and also pay attention to it in various documents and records of your country."
Yelu heard Qiu Yizhi's cold tone, which was not like the prince Yi who was running dogs and horses in Guangyang City in his early years. His heart tightened immediately, and he said seriously: "I know, I know. The Han Dynasty is the parent country of our country, and our country has no disrespect. So, after knowing the news, I immediately sent a trusted person to the north to inform the Khan, asking him to send people to attend the funeral..."
Qiu Yizhi interrupted Yelu again and said, "You are not in a hurry to attend the funeral. I asked you to come here to pass on a message for me, asking Dali Khan to send troops to help me wipe out the thief Zheng Xin."
Ye Lu was shocked. He did not expect Qiu Yizi to speak so directly and make such a request in just a few words. He asked tentatively, "If there are too few soldiers, it will be useless. If there are too many soldiers, we will not be able to mobilize them for a while... I wonder how many troops the Regent wants us to send to help?"
Qiu Yi said: "Within a month, send all the troops you can gather to me."
After hearing this, Yelu's heart tightened again, and he thought: Sending so many troops here, wouldn't it mean that all the strength of the Bohai Kingdom will be drained away
As an envoy, Ke Yelu didn't dare to promise, nor did he dare to refuse directly. He just evaded the matter and said, "This matter is too important. I am just a servant of the Khan. How dare I make the decision at will? How about I write a letter to the Khan today and tell him what the Regent said, and let him decide?"
It would take at least ten days for Bohai State to travel to Youyan Road even at the fastest speed. Adding the time it takes to mobilize the army to the south, it would take at least two months. If there is any further delay, it would be unclear what the situation in the world would be like by then.
Now Qiu Yizi only wanted to quickly mobilize Bohai's troops to the south, so he could not afford to delay like this, so he said, "Isn't your country's Prince Ulton in the capital? He must be able to make the decision, why don't we discuss it with him?"
Yelu came to Beijing in a hurry and had not yet met Prince Wudun. According to etiquette, he should indeed report there, so he said: "The regent's words hit the nail on the head. After all, Prince Wudun is the heir of Dali Khan and the son of King Zhongshun. For matters like this, only he can be consulted."
Seeing that it was still early, Qiu Yizhi did not delay and immediately asked people to prepare horses. Together with Ye Lu, Lin Shuhan, Zhao Chengxiao and others, they went to the "Four Barbarians Hall" specially arranged in the capital Luoyang for the accommodation of envoys from various countries.
Bohai was an important vassal state of the Han Dynasty, shouldering the heavy responsibility of shielding the northern border of the Han Dynasty from the pressure of the Turks. Therefore, although the prince of Bohai nominally lived in the "Four Barbarians Hall", he actually built a rather grand official residence on a piece of land outside the hall in the style of a second-rank official of the court, exclusively for Wu Dun and his entourage to live in.
Qiu Yizi had come to Ulton's mansion quite often in the past few days and was very familiar with the route. She almost took the initiative and led Yelu all the way to Prince Ulton.
Ulton is a tall and strong man with a face like a Hu man, but he is dressed in Han Chinese clothes inside and out, which makes him look quite out of place.
He had received the news from the messenger who had gone ahead, and knew that Yelu was coming to the capital city on his father's orders, but he did not expect that he was led by Qiu Yizi, so he said: "Yelu, you are very diligent in your work. You have not come to see me yet, but you have gone to see the regent, His Highness Yi. It seems that His Highness Yi has much more face than me."
Qiu Yizi had serious matters to attend to, and had no reason to see Wu Dun picking on Yelu's etiquette, so she lied to smooth things over, "It's not Yelu's fault. I met him on the way. So, I'm bringing him to see the prince. If we come together, it will be a great honor for the prince."
After hearing these words, Ulton's mood suddenly improved. He scratched his head and said, "I see. After hearing what His Highness the Regent said, I seem stingy. Come on, I recently bought a few barrels of good wine. Let's drink some wine and tea first."
Qiu Yizhi interrupted immediately and said, "Good wine is not afraid of staleness. I came here for a matter that I want Prince Wulton to decide. After this matter is settled, it won't be too late for us to get drunk again."
Although Qiu Yizi was just a person of a different surname, he was now nominally the ruler of the imperial court. Even the new emperor—although the coronation ceremony had not yet been held—was supported by him. He could be said to be a powerful official with utmost power in the court and the country.
Therefore, when Wu Dun heard Qiu Yizhi asked him to handle something, he was very pleased and pretended to be humble and said, "Your Highness Yi, why do you have to do this? Just ask if you have anything. We are a vassal state of the Han Dynasty. We are in a relationship of mutual dependence. We can't be polite."
Qiu Yizi nodded and said, "That's good. The Han Dynasty has not been peaceful in recent years, but fortunately the northern border is relatively stable. Although Bohai is facing the increasingly resurgent Turkic forces, the Han Dynasty often sends troops to assist in the war, right?"
Although Urton had been in the capital, he knew something about the situation in the north.
Although the Turkic leader Bishimi is nearly sixty years old, he is still ambitious. In the past few years, he has been annexing the forces of other tribes on the Turkic steppe, always thinking of invading the south to avenge the annihilation of his army at Mantou Mountain. Although the Turkish wolf Bishimi has gradually recovered his vitality, the Han Dynasty is like an elephant, which he cannot covet for the time being, so he has to find trouble with Bohai, the vulture. As a result, the Bohai Kingdom has been under increasing pressure from Bishimi in recent years, and has had conflicts with the Turks on a large or small scale from time to time. The national strength of Bohai is not as good as that of the Turks. In order to avoid Bohai being eaten up by the Turks and then having to face the Turkic attack directly, the Han Dynasty sent troops from Youyan Road from time to time to assist Bohai in resisting the Turkic attack.
Wulton couldn't deny such a thing, so he nodded and said, "Your Highness Yi is right. Fortunately, we have the support of the great man behind us, otherwise we in Bohai would have been bitten to blood by the hungry wolf Piximi."
Qiu Yizhi followed his words and said, "If that's the case, then if the Han Dynasty encounters problems, Bohai will also send troops to help, isn't that right?"
At this point, Urton could no longer refuse and could only say, "Of course, of course. 'It is impolite to come without returning the favor, and it is also impolite to return the favor without coming back'..."
"Okay then. Prince Wudun, please write a letter and ask Dali Khan to mobilize all the elite soldiers and cavalry of Bohai Kingdom to go south to help eliminate the traitor Zheng Xin. They must arrive within one month." Qiu Yizi said, "The military pay and food will naturally be supported and supplied by the Han Dynasty. Please rest assured, Prince Wudun."
Wulton was stunned and said quickly, "Isn't this inappropriate? His Highness Yi just said that the Turkic ambitions have never died. If our country sends all its elite troops south, the country will be empty, and we may not be able to resist the attack of the Turkic. Once our country fails, the Han Dynasty will have to fight the Turkic directly, and that will be bad. Your Highness Yi, don't you think this is the truth?"
Qiu Yizi said, "What's so great about Piximi? How old was I when we fought at Mantou Mountain? The late emperor used my brilliant plan and only used a few thousand men to defeat Piximi's tens of thousands of elite cavalry. If I can defeat him once, I can defeat him again. If Piximi dares to attack Bohai, I will send troops to join forces with the Bohai cavalry to annihilate him once again and take back your territory for you."
After hearing this, Wulton remained silent and refused to speak, but Qiu Yizhi continued, "Even if our army is not doing well in the battle, it doesn't matter. At that time, I can temporarily lease Guangyang City to your Bohai Kingdom to help your country recover its national strength and then fight with Pisimi."
As soon as these words came out, Ulton's eyes suddenly lit up - he knew in his heart that although the Bohai Kingdom claimed to have a territory of 1,200 miles, most of its land was grasslands and swamps in the bitter cold of the far north. Even if all the land was squeezed together, it would not be as prosperous as a city in Guangyang - Qiu Yizi's promise was extremely generous.
Then, Wu Dun's frown seemed to relax a little, and he said: "I believe what His Highness Yi, the Regent, said. But this matter is too important, and I cannot make the decision alone. So, according to His Highness Yi's wishes, I will write a letter to the Khan and ask him to consider it together with Mr. Cai Wenchou..."
Before he finished speaking, Lin Shuhan interrupted and asked, "Prince Wulton, I have something to ask you. How many brothers do you have?"
Ulton was stunned for a moment, and answered truthfully: "About a dozen..."
Although Bohai was annexed by the Han Dynasty, its customs and habits still followed the traditions of the northern Hu people. A wealthy man with horses and sheep could marry several wives and have countless children. Dali Khan was no exception. He married seven wives and had more than 30 children, including more than a dozen sons, whose names he could not even name.
"That's hard for His Royal Highness Prince Wulton..." Lin Shuhan said quietly, "The late emperor has exactly three princes. But for the throne, they have to go to war, causing Lord Qiu to worry all day long. Now, he has to plan to borrow troops from your country. His Royal Highness has more than ten brothers, and King Zhongshun is not young anymore. His Royal Highness must make preparations early..."
Wudun, a strong and powerful grassland man, was actually frightened by these words from Lin Shuhan, a weak and weak Jiangnan scholar. It was true that among all the sons of Dali Khan, Wudun was indeed the most talented and powerful one, and the one most valued by his father. However, he had stayed in the capital Luoyang for so many years, and it was difficult for him to grasp the situation in Bohai. He really didn't know which stepmother was favored by his father, which brother was lucky, and whether he was still the heir to the throne...
He was thinking about it distractedly, but heard Lin Shuhan said slowly: "But it doesn't matter. Although Prince Wudun is not in Bohai, he has the support of the Han Dynasty. Our Lord Qiu is the regent Yi, and the word "Yi" means "loyalty". As long as the prince can persuade your country's cavalry to go south to help, when the critical moment comes, His Highness Yi will naturally lend you a hand."
"Are you serious?" There was a metallic sound of excitement in Ulton's voice.
Lin Shuhan smiled and said, "In fact, when that time comes, the Han Dynasty will not be able to help the prince much. Think about it, your country has so many cavalrymen heading south, and Dali Khan must stay in Bohai to prevent the Turks from taking advantage of the situation. Who will command these cavalrymen? In terms of talent, reputation, and status, I can't think of anyone else except Your Highness." Lin Shuhan suddenly smiled, "Hehe, I don't need to say more about the rest. Anyway, the imperial edict to promote Prince Wudun as the new King Zhongshun must have been drafted by me."