Page 113
The wall of Jingjue City was right in front of them, and everyone began to make final preparations. Hu Xiuwu sent Hadili and Chen Duo into Luofengtian to avoid being seen, while he himself got off the horse and put on the shackles that had been prepared in advance. To ensure that nothing could go wrong, Hu Xiuwu also asked Chen Duo to leave a few Guiyuan needles before entering Luofengtian.
He also asked Tang Yifu to insert the Biyuan needle into his Du meridian. The Guiyuan needle was a method of restraining strange people that Nadutong found in ancient books, and Tang Yifu was no stranger to it.
Tang Yifu inserted the Guiyuan needle into Hu Xiuwu's Du channel with precise techniques.
After the injection of the Bi Yuan needle, although Hu Xiuwu could still feel the twenty-four spirits in his body, he was unable to drive the Qi in his body, just like the oil pipeline of the engine was blocked. However, Hu Xiuwu could also feel that the blockage was not serious and it could be pushed open by simply stepping on the accelerator.
After inserting the Guanyuan needle, Tang Yifu said to Hu Xiuwu: "I didn't insert the Guanyuan needle all the way in. If you want, you can use Qi to force it out, but it's usually not visible."
Zhang Qian said to Hu Xiuwu, "How is it? Can you do it?"
Hu Xiuwu said: "No problem."
Zhang Qian praised him, "Well done, you are indeed the descendant of Liu Hou. In that case, let's set off. Success or failure depends on this one move."
Zhang Qian told Hu Xiuwu the first half of the sentence, and he told the second half to King Zeluo of Qiuci.
Ze Luo mounted his horse and called out to his soldiers to stop resting and continue advancing towards Jingjue. Hu Xiuwu pretended to be a prisoner and was led behind Ze Luo's horse. After another half a day's journey, they finally arrived at the foot of Jingjue City.
As soon as he arrived at the gate of Jingjue City, Hu Xiuwu realized that his attitude towards Jingjue City was biased. Jingjue City may not cover a large area, but it cannot be called stingy.
The walls of Jingjue City are tall and thick, and the entire wall is built with hard bluestone, which is expensive and rare in the Western Regions. You should know that the location of Jingjue Kingdom is not good. Within a hundred miles, it is almost all plains and deserts.
There is no quarry within a hundred miles of Jingjue, and I don’t know how much manpower it took to transport these bluestones.
The city walls are equipped with strong bows and crossbows, and even the seemingly ordinary city gates are made of fine steel and ironwood.
To build such a strong city in the desert is not much less difficult than to build an Eluohai city on the snowy mountains.
Not only that, all the Jingjue people seen passing by the gate of Hu Xiuwu City were wearing gold and silver jewelry, and the level of luxury of their clothes was not inferior to that of Zhe Luo.
But who is Ze Luo? He is the ruler of a country. The ordinary people in Jingjue City can be compared with the ruler of a country. One can imagine how wealthy Jingjue Country is.
It was just like the rumor Hu Xiuwu had seen on the Internet that even beggars in Dubai had golden bowls, and it had come true.
The Jingjue City Gate was not as difficult as the Cishan Pass, because the messenger of the Jingjue Queen was waiting for them at the city gate, ready to take them to see the Jingjue Queen.
The envoy was wearing gold and jade, and his clothes were intricately patterned and worth a lot of money. Zhe Luo stood next to him, as if he was the little envoy and the other was the king of Kucha.
When the messenger saw Zhang Qian coming on horseback, holding a staff in his hand, he stroked his chest and said:
"I am Xuda, the servant of the great Queen of Jingjue. I am waiting here for the Han envoys under the Queen's order."
"The great queen has learned of the purpose of the Han Dynasty envoy's visit and is waiting for an audience with him in the palace."
Tang Yifu translated the envoy's words to Zhang Qian. Zhang Qian took advantage of the fact that Suda did not understand Chinese and complained, "You are really a barbarian who does not know etiquette. When an envoy from afar meets the king, shouldn't you first arrange a place for me to stay and wait for me to bathe and change clothes before meeting the Queen of Jingjue?"
Tang Yifu replied expressionlessly: "The Han envoy said that he is happy to meet the Queen of Jingjue."
Sudatta touched his chest, and then encouraged Zeluo with the attitude of a superior:
"You were able to deliver this year's weapons so early. It seems you put a lot of thought into it."
"Zero, you can go back after you transport the weapons to the warehouse."
Ze Luo responded with a smile: "Okay, Lord Suda."
The envoy of Jingjue treated the King of Kucha by his name and treated him like a slave. It was no wonder that Ze Luo was so resentful towards them.
Ze Luo handed the chain that bound Hu Xiuwu to Tang Yifu, and Suda frowned and said:
"Wait, who is this?"
Zhang Qian looked at him with interest, thinking secretly: I heard from Zeluo and the others that the Queen of Jingjue was omnipotent near Jingjue City, but she couldn't see Xiuwu? It seems that Xiuwu was right, he could indeed block the perception of the Queen of Jingjue.
Hu Xiuwu raised his head and revealed his face.
Sudatta strategically took a step back in shock, and then he was overjoyed: "This is the person in the oracle!"
"Zhe Luo, you actually managed to catch him."
Hearing Suda calling out his name again, Zhera tightened the reins until they creaked and managed a smile:
"No, I don't have that ability. It was the Han envoy who captured him."
Xuda Ying poked Hu Xiuwu's body with his finger and said hesitantly: "He..."
Tang Yifu explained: "We used the secret Guiyuan needle of the Han Dynasty to seal his Du channel. Now he is a useless man."
Suda didn't understand things like the Du channel and Guiyuan needle, but Tang Yi Fu translated the word "useless person" very well.
Suda said to Zhang Qian with more enthusiasm than before: "I didn't expect that the Han envoy would prepare such a great gift for Your Majesty. Your Majesty will definitely be happy when he sees it."
"Han envoy, please."
Xuda led Zhang Qian towards the country of Jingjue, completely ignoring the remaining Zeluo people.
Ze Luo looked at the direction where Zhang Qian and Hu Xiuwu were going, and said to Gao Gu, "Are you sure that as long as the Queen of Jingjue dies, the remaining Jingjue soldiers won't be a problem?"
Gao Gu knew that Ze Luo was a little nervous, so he wanted to give Ze Luo some confidence, so he said firmly: "Of course, in fact, Jingjue is not a monolithic country."
Ze Luo said to Zumuredi, who was standing aside and wearing ordinary Kucha clothes:
"Then it's up to you from now on."
Chapter 152 Royal Palace Temple
Zumureti and Hadili are a loving couple with deep feelings and mutual understanding. Zumureti even developed a derivative skill of his telepathy that had never been seen before.
We can understand each other's minds and be united forever.
Even if they are thousands of miles apart, a pair of lovers who are devoted to each other can contact each other. If it weren't for the fact that this operation was too important, requiring both sides to cooperate well and seize the opportunity, and if Zumureti insisted on helping him share the pressure, Hadili would have agreed to let Zumureti join the operation and become the liaison officer for both sides.
This was not the first time that Ze Luo came to Jingjue City to transport supplies. He didn't need anyone to lead the way. He led his troops and transported the weapons to Jingjue's armory with ease. There were more than 5,000 people in their group, but there was no one to monitor them.
Even when the common people in Jingjue saw such an army coming in, some children were curious, some were indifferent, and some were just watching the fun... There were all kinds of expressions, but none of them were afraid or frightened.
In addition to the fact that at this time, the world's unrivaled alien army of Jingjue was stationed in Jingjue City,
The biggest reason why the Jingjue people can feel so at ease is the invincible Jingjue Queen who is within the scope of the Ghost Cave.
······
On the other side, Zhang Qian and others, led by Xuda, passed through the main road of Jingjue City. The people in Jingjue City came out of their homes, watched the excitement, pointed at them, talked and laughed, as if they were watching a circus coming from afar.
Hu Xiuwu felt vaguely familiar with this scene, as if he had seen it somewhere before.
Yes, it was in Pei Min’s memory, when he was young, when Emperor Xuanzong of Tang had just ascended the throne and the Tang Dynasty was strong, the people of Chang’an also looked at the envoys who were shocked by the prosperous and magnificent city of Chang’an with a sense of superiority, and laughed at them for being worldly-wise.
These people have ruddy complexions and are dressed in bright clothes. There are all kinds of shops on the streets. One can tell at a glance that the people in Jingjue City live a good life.
It is not without reason that the people of Jingjue love the Queen of Jingjue, and it is also natural that the people of other countries in the Western Regions resent the Queen of Jingjue. After all, the paradise-like life in Jingjue City is built on their suffering.
Among a group of well-dressed Jingjue people, Hu Xiuwu keenly discovered a few people who, compared to the Jingjue people, had worn-out clothes and dark and rough skin.
Those were the Yanqi people who arrived in the Jingjue Kingdom before them.
After seeing Zhang Qian and Hu Xiuwu, these Yanqi people did not communicate with them. They left the crowd quietly and disappeared in the flow of people.
Hu Xiuwu also turned his head as if nothing had happened and no longer paid attention to them.
Jingjue City is not big, and the streets are naturally not as long as those in Chang'an. In just a cup of tea, Suda had brought them to the Jingjue Palace.
The regulations of the Jingjue Palace are completely different from those of the Central Plains palaces, and can even be said to be the opposite.
Ordinary royal palaces are built on high places, in the center of the city, to demonstrate the emperor's superior status and majesty. However, although the Jingjue Palace is also located in the center of Jingjue City, its location is the lowest place in the entire city.
Moreover, the construction style of the Jingjue Palace is also very peculiar. It is not only very different from that in the Central Plains, but even compared with the Palace of Kucha, it is much stranger.
The Jingjue Palace as a whole resembles a Mayan pyramid, with seven floors high, and each floor is painted and carved with stone murals.
The bottom of the tower is painted with a group of black snakes like a tide, and above the black snakes are carved slaves, and above them are the people of Jingjue, and then there are human figures with huge pupils, and snake-bodied guardian gods. On the top of the tower, towering above everything is a huge stone sculpture in the shape of an eyeball.
Although the styles of each layer are different, they all have the same exquisite and gorgeous style, and the carving level is also at the master level. Each stone sculpture is lifelike, especially the stone eyeball on the top of the tower. In every corner of the city, you can feel that it is looking at you, as if it has been monitoring the world since time immemorial, which is a bit scary.
The Palace of King Jingjue is more like a temple than a palace, but there is no doubt that this palace can definitely be called a wonder of the world. Although it cannot be compared with the Changle Palace of the Han Dynasty in terms of scale, the level of luxury reflected in the details of this palace is even greater than that of the Changle Palace.
Hu Xiuwu took a look at the big eyeball on the top of the tower and confirmed that this was the entrance to the ghost cave that Hu Bayi and the others mentioned. Suddenly, an idea popped into his mind:
Professor Chen believes that this is the Jingjue altar temple, but this is actually the Jingjue palace. Have I solved a historical mystery?
The shock on Zhang Qian and the other members of the delegation's faces at the Jingjue Palace gave Xuda a great sense of pride. He introduced it to Zhang Qian with a proud tone:
"Everyone, this is the palace where our great Queen of Jingjue lives. I wonder if the palace of the King of Han is as magnificent as this."
Tang Yifu translated it verbatim to Zhang Qian, who sneered:
"The Weiyang Palace of our great Han Dynasty is so large that it can encompass all four seasons. Standing inside the palace, one can see the rising sun and setting moon at the same time."
As an envoy, regardless of other abilities, one must have the best eloquence. He must not fall into the verbal trap of other countries, but also maintain the face of his country in front of other countries and demonstrate the magnanimity of a great country.
The connection between the Western Regions and the Han Dynasty had long been blocked by the Huns. Now the people of the Western Regions could only get a few descriptions of the Han Dynasty from the merchants who had managed to escape the Huns' blockade and come to the Western Regions.
No matter what they think in their hearts, few people will speak ill of their own country in front of people from other countries. They usually just praise it as much as possible and say how strong it is.
Suda, who had heard other merchants from the Han Dynasty give obviously distorted descriptions of the Han Dynasty, actually believed Zhang Qian's words.
He actually believed that the Han Dynasty could build a palace that covered day and night.
Suda suddenly became humble, and said to Zhang Qian with longing: "I really want to see that magnificent palace."
But I can't deal with Zhang Qian.
I was just bragging, why did you take it so seriously? Is there something wrong with your brain?
After changing his mind, Zhang Qian immediately said in a caring tone for the patient, "Should we go see Her Majesty the Queen?"
Tang Yi Fu rolled his eyes, trying to keep a straight face, and translated Zhang Qian's words to Suda.
"Oh, of course, I was rude." Suda came back to his senses and said to Zhang Qian apologetically.
"Everyone, please follow me."
The moment before entering the palace, Hu Xiuwu glanced at the statues on the outer layer and suddenly discovered something.
The black snake sculpture he had thought of was actually a real snake, a tide of pure-seeing Agama snakes, but this group of snakes lay motionless at the bottom of the palace as if they were hibernating. That was why he had mistaken it for a sculpture when he had just watched it from a distance.
Tens of thousands of snakes guard the Jingjue Palace, which is the first layer of defense for the Jingjue Palace.
The interior of the Jingjue Palace maintained the same style as the outside, respecting the gods and keeping people at a distance, with a strong atmosphere of sacrificial offerings. In the center of the first floor hall of the palace was a large altar.
There are stone pillars all over the outside of the altar, which are divided into multiple layers and have strict hierarchy just like the outside.
Fortunately, I don’t know if it was because it was not the right time yet, or because the Han envoys were coming, so the surrounding stone pillars were not hung with mummies as Hu Bayi had said.
Suda did not lead them upwards, but instead led them down the stairs. All the way down, Hu Xiuwu could even feel the moist moisture in the air.