Wang Chong finally rejected Guo Chongtao's order on the grounds that "a general is not always subject to military orders when on a mission."
Despite the reminders from his subordinates, he remained steadfast and that allowed Wang Yueyao to escape.
I have to say that the people in the Secretary's Office were really lucky, as they were spared from death because of this.
After nearly losing his life, Shi Yu finally couldn't stand the feeling of having his life and death completely controlled by others, so he resolutely snatched the dagger from Zhu Si's hand and fiercely cut a bloody mark on Wang Yueyao's pink neck to force Wang Chong to give way.
Seeing Shi Yu's determination to die together with her, Wang Chong compromised. He could not afford the consequences of Wang Yueyao's death, so he had to order his men to clear a passage and let the women leave. Of course, Shi Yu also took Wang Yueyao with him.
Not long after everyone from Cuiwei Pavilion left, Wang Chong once again resolutely decided to follow alone, hoping that Yi could find an opportunity to rescue Wang Yueyao. The rest of the ghost guards were all sent back to the general's mansion.
In the main hall of the general's mansion, Yuchi Jin frowned and looked at a group of Khitans in the middle of the hall. It was this group of people that prevented her and Guo Qizuo from getting away.
If one of them knew Wang Yueyao's actions and experiences, the result might be different.
Most of the people in the middle of the hall were Khitans, but the leader was a Han Chinese.
This man was over six feet tall, with red lips, white teeth, beautiful beard, and sharp eyes. He was extremely handsome. I believe that when he was young, he must have been a very romantic figure.
This person was none other than Han Mengyin.
Speaking of Han Mengyin, you may not be familiar with this person. His two sons were Han Tinghui and Han Zhigu, famous ministers of the Liao Dynasty.
According to historical records, Han Tinghui and Han Zhigu made indispensable contributions to Yelü Abaoji's establishment of the Liao Dynasty. The two brothers were both founding heroes of the Liao Dynasty. Historically, the Han family was a famous official family of the Liao Dynasty.
As the father of Han Tinghui and Han Zhigu, Han Mengyin was equally extraordinary. He was born into a family of officials and served as the governor of Jizhou. However, because of the internal strife between Li Keju and Li Quanzhong and the successive battles in Jizhou, he angrily defected to the Khitan with his family.
The Khitans were defeated in both battles by Zhu Li and were in internal unrest, so they had no choice but to send Han Mengyin to Shuozhou in an attempt to resolve the feud through peaceful means and rescue Yanmujin and Yuelixin.
The Khitans did not pay homage to the Tang court, but instead showed goodwill to Zhu Li. For the entire Heshuo, this was the first major historical event, and Yuchi Jin and Guo Qizuo could not help but take it seriously.
Han Mengyin looked at the young lady sitting on the main seat and frowned slightly. They went to Shuozhou mainly to pay a visit to Zhu Li, but the Shuozhou side actually sent a young lady to meet him. How could he feel comfortable
However, facing Zhu Li, the Khitans had lost two battles and were not confident enough. Even though he was doubtful and dissatisfied, he had to bow and say, "I am Han Mengyin, and I am on a diplomatic mission to Heshuo. My main purpose is to pay a visit to General Huaihua. I wonder if the general... "
"Hmph." Before Yuchi Jin could speak, Zhao Wu, who was standing at the side, snorted coldly and said arrogantly, "How can you meet my general whenever you want? The one sitting up there is our general's wife. It is a great blessing for you that the lady can take time out to meet you. What's wrong? Aren't you satisfied?"
"I dare not, I dare not." Han Mengyin felt relieved when he heard that this young lady was Zhu Li's wife.
Since the rise of feudal dynasties, monogamy has been promoted in the Central Plains.
We see the phenomenon of having many wives and concubines in history books and classics. That's because these books record high-ranking officials and nobles. If the history books were recorded about ordinary people, we would definitely see a different picture.
Monogamy has been advocated in feudal society. Ordinary people rarely take concubines. If you don't believe it, you can check it yourself.
Therefore, in the eyes of the ancients, the status of wife and husband was equal.
If Zhu Li had something to do, it would not be considered rude to let his wife come out to meet the Khitan envoy. It was for this reason that Han Mengyin didn't even dare to do so.
"I am sorry that I didn't recognize you. I hope you can forgive me for my rudeness." Han Mengyin apologized quickly. He came to seek peace, so he had to lower his posture a little. He must not rashly offend important figures in Shuozhou. In his opinion, Yuchi Jin was obviously very important.
Zhao Wu announced that Yuchi Jin was Zhu Li's wife. All the Shuozhou civil and military officials in the entire hall thought it was natural. But to Yuchi Jin, it was obviously a different feeling. She hadn't even gotten married yet, but she was already being called Madam. Even though she had always been strong and brave, her pretty face flushed and her heart was shocked.
However, Zhu Li was in a coma, and she had to shoulder all the affairs of Shuozhou. At this time, she suppressed her shyness and said, "To be honest, your arrival surprised me. Last September, you Khitans, together with the Xi people and Tuyuhun, raised an army of 200,000 to attack Juyong. At the beginning of this year, you joined forces with the remnants of the Tanguts and the Uighurs of the Shulü tribe to ravage Fengzhou. Now you are here to pay a visit again. It's really puzzling."
Yuchi Jin's words were quite harsh, as if he did not take the Khitans seriously at all.
Following behind Han Mengyin, several Khitan warriors who could understand Chinese, heard the sarcasm in Yuchi Jin's words. Their faces turned red instantly, and they were about to explode with temper. However, at the signal of Han Mengyin's eyes, they finally endured it.
Han Mengyin was very respectful. Even though he could hear Yuchi Jin's sarcasm, he still smiled and said humbly, "Who in the world doesn't know the reputation of General Huaihua? With a general in charge of Heshuo, how dare we act rashly?"
"However, we have eight Khitan tribes and millions of soldiers. Looking at the whole world, the only person we Khitans can regard as a friend is the general."
Han Mengyin said this very ostentatiously, and although he praised Zhu Li highly, he did not lose the Khitan's majesty at all.
The words were soft but firm, and the meaning was very clear. If the Tang Dynasty replaced someone else to rule Heshuo, the Khitans would not be so polite.
When faced with Zhu Li, who was able to win two battles and defeat the Khitans, they would give him enough face; as for other vassal states within the territory of the Tang Dynasty, the Khitans really did not take them seriously.
In a word, the fact that Khitan could not defeat Zhu Li does not mean that they are weak and can be bullied by others.
These soft yet sharp words made the civil and military officials in Heshuo feel happy but also uncomfortable. But when they looked up, they saw that the leader Guo Qizuo was still squinting his eyes as if asleep, and their uncomfortable mood naturally faded away.
Guo Qizuo's expression clearly showed that he didn't take Han Mengyin's words to heart. Why should they care? In a word, in Guo Qizuo's eyes, the Khitans were nothing.
Guo Qizuo could ignore it, but Yuchi Jin felt very uncomfortable and continued to tease: "Well, since the Khitans are so powerful, what are you doing coming to Shuozhou? Are you really here to make friends?"
Ever since this group of people came to visit at this critical juncture, Yuchi Jin felt very annoyed, so he spoke rudely.
This is Zhu Li's foundation, and it is now facing its first severe test. Let me ask you, which infatuated wife would not cherish her husband's foundation? Of course, except for the spendthrift wife.
In Heshuo today, the Wolf Guards have been formed into an army, and repeating crossbows have been mass-produced and deployed on a large scale to border troops.
It can also be said that Heshuo's northern expedition against foreign tribes, especially the Khitans, was ready and only awaiting Zhu Li's order. Yuchi Jin dared to say this because he did not take the other party seriously at all.
Han Mengyin was still magnanimous and didn't mind after hearing this. He cupped his hands and said, "Since Madam asked about my purpose of coming, I will congratulate you."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone in the hall was shocked. Han Mengyan looked around with a smile on her face. She was very satisfied with the effect she had created. Her expression was as if she was saying that Yuchi Jin had won five million and she didn't even know it. It was very pleasing.
Upon hearing this, Yuchi Jin narrowed her eyes and said coldly, "Congratulations? Why doesn't this... Madam know where this joy comes from?"
"Haha, Madam doesn't know, that's because Madam hasn't finished listening to what I say. As long as she finishes listening to what I say, Madam will definitely be happy to see it happen." Han Mengyin seemed very confident.
"Well, tell me about it then."
"I will follow the madam's orders and speak frankly. My Khan heard that the general has a younger sister who is eleven years old. Coincidentally, the Khan has a nephew named Yelu Yi who is thirteen years old. If our two families become close friends, share what we have and help each other, wouldn't it become a good story?" Han Mengyin said with a smile on his face, as if things were really as beautiful as he said.
So that's how it is. Once the foreign tribes in the northern border express submission or show weakness, they will either surrender and acknowledge the godfather, or ask for the daughter of a nobleman to marry. This phenomenon has a long history and is not uncommon. In the eyes of officials in the Central Plains, it is a common practice.
In fact, when these Khitans presented thousands of fine horses, several boxes of treasures, and hundreds of beauties from outside the Great Wall, Guo Qizuo had already guessed their purpose. Now that the truth finally came out of Han Mengyin's mouth, he was naturally not surprised.
It's just that his personality is like that. If it's something that will become clear sooner or later, he's happy to be confused. What's more, he has no objection to this marriage. If he can take advantage of the opportunity of the marriage to send troops to the grassland, it would be a good opportunity.
Guo Qizuo certainly would have no objection to using the pretext of marriage to confuse the Khitans, secretly sending a large army to catch the Khitans off guard.
But he didn't mind. There were people who minded. Among all the civil and military officials in the palace, if one were to be the most disgusted with the idea of marriage, it would be Yuchi Jin. After all, she was a woman. There were many cases in ancient times where women were used as political bargaining chips.
But behind this, as women, are they really willing to do this
Any woman, as long as she can look at the problem from a certain perspective, will not have a good impression of such things, and Yuchi Jin is no exception.
Moreover, Zhu Li had once told her something about the character of a dynasty. In that dynasty, there were no marriage alliances or tribute payments. The emperor guarded the national border and the king died for the country. It would be hard for such a character and such a spirit not to be praised by people for thousands of years.
In Zhu Li's words, as long as all men are alive, how can we use a weak woman to exchange for a humiliating peace
Of course, Zhu Li himself is a somewhat angry young man who cannot tolerate any injustice, so it is not surprising that he said this. However, the speaker did not mean it, but the listener took it to heart, and Yuchi Jin kept it in his heart.
Now the Khitans have set their sights on Zhu Ning'er. As Zhu Ning'er's future sister-in-law, how could Yuchi Jin not be disgusted