More than a month later, the wedding of Qin Mubai and Ashina Xuelian was held as scheduled.
As an old aristocracy on the grassland, the Ashina tribe has declined for a time, but it is still very influential among the tribes on the grassland. Coupled with Qin Mubai's current reputation and Li Ji's appeal, all the chiefs and leaders of all the tribes in the grassland came to celebrate in person. Even the Hulu tribe, which was eight hundred miles away in the desert and lived at the foot of Jinshan Mountain, didn't know how they got the news. Their leader Huluwu invited several leaders from nearby tribes and traveled thousands of miles to come in person to congratulate him.
Since the Tang Dynasty annihilated the Turks, such a grand gathering has not been held on the grassland for many years, and it can actually bring together the leaders of all the grassland tribes. As the host of the wedding, Li Ji was not busy because Tumidu, the leader of the Uighur tribe, helped organize everything.
During the wedding, both Qin Mubai and Li Ji noticed one detail: Although these big leaders came for Qin Mubai's wedding, after they came, in addition to congratulating Qin Mubai, every one of them What the big leader must do is visit Tumidu!
"It seems that after Xue Yantuo was destroyed and Yi Nan died, the Uighur tribe will soon replace Xue Yantuo and become the most powerful tribe on the grassland, and Tumidu will soon become the uncrowned Khan in the hearts of the grassland people." Li Ji His eyes were always keen, and he said to Qin Mubai, "Mubai, what do you think?"
"Tumidu is indeed ambitious." Qin Mubai said, "In the early years, when Xue Rengui broke through the siege and went north to the Huihe tribe, Tumidu relied on Xue Rengui's power to defeat the invading Yi Nan. From that time on, He began to make plans in his mind, wanting to use my power from the Tang Dynasty to realize his dream of dominating the grassland. So, he borrowed troops and married a daughter, and tried his best to marry me and Xue Rengui. "
"I can also see that Tu Midu is a sophisticated man. Once the Tang Dynasty's control over the grassland weakens, he will expand his strength, want to unify the grassland, and become the second Yinan, or even the second Jieli Khan." Li Ji sneered and said, "But it's a pity that he spent a lot of money on foreign aid earlier, but now he has resigned!"
"This is called losing your wife and losing your troops." Qin Mubai said with a smile, "I had already expected that Tu Midu had many intentions and ambitions, so I didn't have any of the 40,000 cavalry he lent me. They were all eaten alive and incorporated into the Kansai Army. Now, although I am married to Xuelian, I have resigned and left the court. I am not in my position and I am not doing anything. He is alone in what he wants to do on the grassland. A big movement is unlikely in a short time. However, after Shishu returns to the court, he still needs to remind His Majesty to be wary of Tu Midu's ambition to expand his power. Otherwise, the northern grassland will be like before, not long after Jieli was pacified. , and the Yi men started to cause rebellion. In fact, if we want to completely solve the problem of future troubles in the grassland, we can adopt the strategy of "break and then build" when the war is over and the situation is still uncertain. We can follow the method of the Western Regions and establish prefectures and counties in the grassland. State officials, county magistrates, and troops stationed in separate offices. Such checks and balances on all sides can greatly weaken the power of tribal leaders and their own influence, and can capture thieves and capture the king, as in Chang'an. "
"Mu Bai, you should return to the court!" Li Ji said after hearing this, "I think if you were in charge of the military affairs of the Tang Dynasty, you would be better than anyone else!
Qin Mubai smiled and said: "Uncle Shi, you are too flattering to me. With you here, why do you need my nephew to play tricks and superfluous things? I just talked too much and made a fool of myself. Let's not mention it anymore!"
Li Ji shook his head helplessly and said with a smile: "Okay, let's not mention these military matters on your special day - Mu Bai, you are better than your father!"
"How do you say that?" Qin Mubai smiled.
"Although your father was also a handsome and handsome man back then, and his reputation for chivalry and martial arts spread all over the world, he was never as popular with women as you." Li Ji also smiled and said, "Look at you, all the beauties from all over the world are like you. I have been plundered by you. Counting all the women around you, there is no one who is not charming and beautiful. If an ordinary man can meet any one of them, he will have no regrets and nothing to ask for in this life. It is like collecting treasures. Cars are being driven home! —Look at your mother, she’s so happy!”
"Haha!" Qin Mubai laughed and said, "Uncle Shi, you may not know that commanding troops to fight and governing as an official are actually my side jobs. My real main job is - romance, Xunhua asked Liu about this. As a man, who doesn’t like wine, sex, and wealth
Li Ji was angry and funny, "If your father Quanxia Youzhi hears these words from you, he will get up and slap you in the face!"
Qin Mubai sighed softly, with a smile on his face, and said softly: "If my father is still alive, I would rather be slapped in the face by him."
Li Ji patted Qin Mubai on the shoulder, "Uncle Bao is alive in heaven and will be proud of you!"
Because there are so many guests, the wedding will be held for seven days. On the fifth day, the Tang Dynasty court sent an envoy.
The envoy came with the imperial decree to recruit Li Ji to return to the court!
In addition, Chu Suiliang went to Lanzhou to find Qin Mubai but rushed back to Beijing to report the news. As a result, the court also knew that Qin Mubai was about to marry Xuelian in the grassland. Therefore, the envoy also brought congratulatory gifts from the court.
The congratulatory gift was not gold and silver jewelry, but a plaque with Li Shimin's unique Fei Bai calligraphy and eight big characters personally mentioned - "Beads and curtains close together, a hundred years of kindness".
Qin Mubai thought to himself: "Since His Majesty the Emperor knew that I was here, but did not mention the matter of summoning me to return to the court and marrying Shuang'er, it seems that he also knew that I had made up my mind and would not force anyone to do anything difficult again. Furthermore, Even I can clearly see the overall situation in the court at this moment, how can he not see through it? The reason why he sent someone to invite me to come back to the court is because this kind of superficiality is necessary, otherwise outsiders will say that he is jealous of the meritorious officials. But if I go back now, it will actually bring about one benefit and a hundred disadvantages. Therefore, he should not force me again."
"I have fought with him and my ministers, and we have worked hand in hand to help each other, but things are unpredictable... If we can maintain the current situation, I am afraid it is the best outcome!"
However, the messenger also brought a wedding gift sealed by Li Ke, which was very original. It is also neither gold, silver nor jewelry, but a chessboard, a gold tea set, and a small cloth bag.
Qin Mubai couldn't help but remember that Li Ke once said that only by playing chess with Qin Mubai could Li Ke find the game interesting. In Li Ke's view, playing chess is like drinking. When drinking with a close friend, a thousand cups are too little. Now that his confidant is gone, there is no one to play the chess game - so Li Ke gave the chessboard to Qin Mubai.
And that set of gold tea sets was something Qin Mubai was very familiar with. Li Ke liked to drink tea and became addicted to it. No matter where I travel, I always carry this tea set with me. If he had even a moment of free time, he would make a pot of good tea and enjoy it. This tea set is a beloved pet that always follows him.
As for the small cloth bag, Qin Mubai opened it and saw that it was just Chinese medicine - Angelica sinensis!
"Still not giving up, you want me to go back!" Qin Mubai was secretly amused while holding the piece of Angelica sinensis.
The envoy took the opportunity to say to Qin Mubai: "His Royal Highness, King Wu, I have something to tell my subordinate to tell Marshal Qin! But... it is a curse word. Therefore, I must first ask the Marshal to forgive me!"
"Why did he scold him?" Qin Mubai asked with a smile.
The envoy's face twitched a few times and seemed extremely embarrassed. He emboldened himself and leaned into Qin Mubai's ear, whispering: "Your Highness scolded - Qin Mubai, you look like a hungry ghost dressed like a beast, even the emperor of Zhaowu Kingdom The little widow queen didn’t let her go, and even made her pregnant. When the baby is born, remember to tell me the news and invite me over for a wedding drink, otherwise I won’t let you go!”
"Ahem!..." Qin Mubai coughed dryly and couldn't help laughing, "Please reply to King Wu, just say... Samajian is more than 10,000 miles away from Chang'an. If he dares to come, I dare to invite him! If you really want to drink With this wedding drink, he can leave now!"
The envoy couldn't help but laugh twice and said: "Young Marshal Qin, I can see that His Highness the King of Wu is really reluctant to let go of your close friend. He said that even if you want to resign and go into seclusion, you can still Stay in Chang'an, so that he can meet you sooner or later."
Qin Mubai smiled and said: "If His Highness King Wu really regards me as a close friend, why do we need to meet every day? There are close friends in the sea, and there are no neighbors in the world!"
"His Royal Highness King Wu also said that you have been like his eyes, ears, hands and feet for so many years. Without you, he seems to be blind and deaf, and everything feels difficult." The messenger said, "He said that without Qin Mu Bai, there would be no Li Ke today. As long as you are willing to return to Chang'an, His Highness King Wu will not force anything, but he sincerely hopes to have a close friend by his side... He will only have you as the only one in his life. A true friend!”
Qin Mubai shook his head gently with a smile, and said helplessly: "Let's talk about it later!"
The envoy suddenly beamed with joy, "Can I convey this sentence to His Highness the King of Wu intact?"
Qin Mubai pondered for a moment and said: "Then you can pass along another sentence! I once told my sister this sentence, and now I give it to His Highness King Wu - some people are better off than missing each other when they meet; Some feelings are better than forgetting each other in the world."
The messenger was suddenly stunned, "This..."
Qin Mubai smiled and said, "Just tell him the truth."
"All right… "
"How is Princess Gaoyang?" Qin Mubai asked.
The messenger quickly replied: "The official is about to inform Marshal Qin that two or three months ago, Her Royal Highness the Princess left Chang'an and went to Lanzhou to look for the Marshal. It is said that Her Royal Highness the Princess did not see the Marshal when she arrived in Lanzhou, so she went straight to Yumen Pass Going away seems like heading to the Western Regions!”
Qin Mubai nodded, thinking, it seems that His Majesty the Emperor is still sensible. He did not embarrass Gao Yang, but let her come back to reunite with me. It can be seen that neither he nor Li Ke wanted to complete the matter, but always retained their last fantasy, hoping that one day I would be able to return to the court and serve as an official.
Unknowingly, Qin Mubai thought of Concubine Yin De. That one, the woman who surprised Qin Mubai the most and made him feel the most heartbroken after he came to Datang.
He wanted to inquire about her news, but couldn't ask directly, so he asked in a roundabout way: "I heard that His Majesty the Emperor is in poor health. Is he feeling better now?"
"Blessed by God, His Majesty's illness has been mostly cured." The envoy bowed to the south and said, "His Majesty the Emperor can now return to the Jinluan Hall to host court meetings. However, when the official left Chang'an, His Majesty returned to the harem to recuperate. , ordered Xianggong Changsun, Xianggong Fang and others to assist His Majesty King Wu in supervising the country's administration. This imperial edict to summon the British Duke to return to the court was issued by His Majesty King Wu! "
"King Wu is supervising the country?" Qin Mubai was somewhat surprised.
"Yes!" the messenger replied, and then began to describe the current situation in the court at length, but it was vague and did not mention Concubine Yin De.
Qin Mubai didn't know how to ask any more questions. After thinking for a while, he interrupted him and said directly: "Princess Gaoyang left Chang'an, leaving her mother and concubine alone in the palace, with no one to take care of her from now on... To say the least, it's all my fault. Female separation.”
The envoy was stunned - I was talking vigorously, why did I suddenly mention Concubine Yin De
So he said: "This... the affairs of the harem are unknown to the lower officials."
Qin Mubai could only nod his head, not wanting to say more, and thought to himself: After coming to Datang, I have three close friends. One is Yao'er, but she has long since disappeared; the other is my old enemy Gar Qinling, but he committed suicide by taking poison and died in front of me; the remaining one is Yin De Fei, but I am afraid that she will never see her again in this life. The day we met…
"Hey-" Qin Mubai couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
"Young Marshal...why are you sighing?" the messenger asked in confusion.
Qin Mubai shook his head, showed a wry smile, turned around and walked away without speaking to the messenger. In my heart, I couldn't help but think -
"I want to pay Yaoqin my thoughts
Few close friends…
Who will listen to the broken string? "