Chapter 146 Princess Gwanghwa
Chapter 146 Princess Gwanghwa
Fuqi City is located on the west bank of the West Sea. It is the only city of Tuyuhun. It is equivalent to a county town in the Central Plains, and its city walls are much shorter.
There lived thousands of Tuyuhun nobles in Fushi City, all of whom were Xianbei people. Business in the city was quite prosperous, and the Tuyuhun nobles were also extremely fascinated by silk, porcelain, tea, and various exquisite daily necessities from the Central Plains.
Therefore, Han merchants can often be seen on the streets of Fuqi City, bringing all kinds of high-end goods from the Central Plains.
That morning, a Han merchant caravan came in from outside the city, bringing with them hundreds of mules loaded with goods. The leading merchant was an old man about fifty years old named Liang Zan. He had been traveling between Guanzhong and Tuyuhun for a long time, and knew many Tuyuhun nobles, and even the soldiers guarding the city knew him.
There was a tall and strong young man in the team who looked young. This man was Xiao Xia. They met this Han merchant caravan by chance on the road. Liang Zan immediately agreed to help him go into the city to find Princess Guanghua. Xiao Xia immediately dressed up as a man and followed the caravan into the city.
The caravan entered the city without inspection, and soon arrived at the inn they had been cooperating with for a long time to stay. Liang Zan asked his men to stay and said to Xiao Xia, "Follow me!"
The two of them left the inn and came to the northernmost part of the city. In the distance there was a typical Central Plains mansion covering an area of about thirty acres. Liang Zan said, "This is the Queen's Mansion. The Tuyuhun King and the Queen have always been separated. The Queen is Princess Guanghua. She is actually the Tuyuhun King's sister-in-law. According to the Xianbei tradition, she remarried to her younger brother-in-law, who is now the Tuyuhun King."
"Is Tuyuhun King Murong Fuyun an anti-Sui faction?"
Liang Zan shook his head. "Murong Fuyun was actually a neutral party. The ones who opposed the Sui Dynasty were a group of princes under him. In fact, they were tribal chieftains. They all gave themselves nice-sounding titles, such as the King of Nanchang, the King of Gaochang, the King of Longhe, the King of Dingcheng, the King of Zhongliu, the King of Guangding, the King of Gaoning, etc. There were more than twenty of them, big and small. They were called famous kings, and each famous king had his own land and population.
Most of them wanted to seize the Hehuang Valley, so they were called the anti-Sui faction. Murong Fuyun had two sons. The eldest son, Murong Shun, was born to Princess Guanghua, and he was pro-Sui. The second son was born to a Tubo princess, named Dayan Mangjiebo, and he was a stubborn anti-Sui faction. It was said that he was the one who brought in the Turkic Buqa Khan. "
As the two were talking, they came to the Queen's Palace. Liang Zan went up and said a few words to the guard. The guard knew Liang Zan and immediately went in to report.
Xiao Xia smiled and said, "It seems that the guard knows Uncle Liang?"
Liang Zan nodded, "I've brought things to the queen several times, and the guards know me!"
Xiao Xia smiled and said, "Luckily I met Uncle Liang, otherwise I might not be able to see the queen. All my troubles are solved."
Liang Zan smiled slightly and said, "Sir, don't you think this is God's will?"
"It's God's will indeed!"
Not long after, a middle-aged Han man who looked like a manager came out and asked, "What good things did Lord Liang bring for the princess?"
His voice was sharp and thin, and he was obviously a eunuch. Liang Zan smiled and said, "I brought some rouge and spices to Her Royal Highness the Princess, and also a message from the Princess's father."
The eunuch was startled. He glanced at Xiao Xia meaningfully, nodded and said, "Please come in! I will go and report to the princess."
Xiao Xia and Liang Zan were led to the lobby of the back house by an old eunuch. Not long after, a noble woman in palace dress walked in, surrounded by a group of maids. She was nearly middle-aged, and although she had maintained herself well, her eyes and eyebrows still showed the vicissitudes of time.
Liang Zan whispered to Xiao Xia: "She is Princess Guanghua of the Great Sui Dynasty!"
Princess Guanghua walked up to the hall and asked with a smile, "What good things did Lord Liang bring?"
"Bring some fine cosmetics for the princess!" Liang Zan smiled and placed a large exquisite box on the table.
Princess Guanghua nodded and said, "Thank you, Lord Liang. I'll have the steward settle the bill with you later. Also, what is my father's message?"
Liang Zan waved his hand and said, "This young master brought it here. It has nothing to do with me!"
Princess Guanghua thought Xiao Xia was Liang Zan's waiter, and she was surprised that this waiter had such a good temperament. At this moment, Princess Guanghua suddenly realized that Xiao Xia was not an ordinary person.
"Who is this young master?" "My name is Xiao Xia. I have no official position for the time being. I am the Duke of Hailing County. I have extraordinary news to report to the princess!"
Liang Zan retreated to the courtyard. Princess Guanghua turned around and said, "All of you leave!"
More than a dozen maids retreated to the courtyard, leaving only Princess Guanghua and Xiao Xia in the hall.
"Please tell me what you want to say!"
"Your Highness, I was following Changsun Sheng on a diplomatic mission to Tuyuhun and was intercepted on the way."
Xiao Xia then recounted in detail how they were ordered to go on a diplomatic mission to Tuyuhun and how they were intercepted by 3,000 Tuyuhun troops. Finally, he said, "We found that this army has ulterior motives. On the surface, they are sending us back to Chiling, but in fact, they are sending us to the Turks. Your Highness, the current situation of General Changsun is unknown. I'm afraid he is in danger. Please find a way to rescue him immediately!"
Princess Guanghua was stunned for a while and asked, "What evidence do you have?"
Xiao Xia took out the envoy's gold medal and handed it to Princess Guanghua. Princess Guanghua's face changed and she immediately said, "Please wait here, sir. I will go to the Tuyuhun King and ask him the reason!"
Princess Guanghua turned and left in a hurry, and Liang Zan also said goodbye and left.
Xiao Xia paced back and forth in the lobby. He couldn't leave at this moment and could only wait patiently for news. He was really worried that Chang Sun Sheng and his party would be sent to the Turkic tent. If they were really sent there, their lives would be in danger.
After waiting for about an hour, Princess Gwanghua finally came back with anger and worry on her face.
Xiao Xia went up to him and asked, "Excuse me, Princess, what's the situation?"
Princess Guanghua sighed and said, "The prince denied that he sent troops to welcome the Sui Dynasty envoys. He also denied that he knew about it. He said that it was probably done by the southern garrison, which was actually the second prince's army."
"What should we do now?" Xiao Xia asked.
Princess Guanghua said, "I have analyzed the stakes for the prince. If the Sui envoy gets into trouble, the Sui Dynasty will certainly launch a massive attack on Tuyuhun. I am afraid that Tuyuhun will be uprooted by the Sui army. The prince also realizes the seriousness of the problem. He has sent General Shalid to lead 10,000 troops to the south to rescue the Sui envoy. I have also sent my eldest son Murong Shun to lead 2,000 troops to search along the official road on the south bank of the West Sea to see if the envoy can be found."
Xiao Xia bowed and said, "Thank you for your help, Princess. Are the Turks also in the city?"
"It's not in the city, but at Tianma Lake. Go south for more than 20 miles and you will see their camp."
"Approximately how many people are there?"
"Two to three thousand people! Buqa Khan fled with his remaining troops, so they are not many?"
"Thank you for the information, Princess. Xiao Xia will take his leave now!"
Princess Guanghua was startled. "Isn't Master Xiao waiting for news at my house?"
Xiao Xia shook his head. "I still have more than forty men outside the city. Let's go look for General Changsun and see if we can find him."
Princess Guanghua did not force it and arranged for her men to escort Xiao Xia out of the city.
Xiao Xia found Li Wang and his 45 men. He put on his armor and said to them, "Princess Guanghua has arranged for people to search for him. The Tuyuhun king has also sent troops to the southern garrison camp. Now all clues point to the south. Let's go to the Turkic camp to search. If it is confirmed that General Changsun has died, we will rush back to the Sui Dynasty immediately."
Led by Xiao Xia, the crowd turned around and rushed south.
(End of this chapter)