Helian Chen wasn't just talking; he was also thinking about how to repay Xie Yuan, his benefactor.
"Your Majesty, you mentioned before that Her Majesty the Empress intended to send someone to Gaochang to find a certain crop?"
Helian Chen thought quickly and remembered something. He hurriedly asked, "What kind of crop is it? Does it have a name or blueprints?"
As an old man from Lingnan and a confidant of the Prince of Yue's mansion, Helian Chen naturally knew that his princess consort loved drawing blueprints the most.
Whenever she has a creative idea or a spark of inspiration, she will unconsciously draw it out.
Xie Yuan drew many designs for projects such as the curved plow (Yuande plow), hot air balloons, and cross-sea bridges.
Initially in Yuezhou, Helian Jue did not have enough manpower, and Helian Chen was the one who did all the work.
Therefore, Helian Chen had seen many of Xie Yuan's "genuine works".
"Hmm! Your memory is pretty good!"
Helian Jue was quite satisfied with his top confidant.
He nodded slightly and casually explained, "The crop that A Yuan is looking for is called cotton, which is produced in Gaochang."
"The flowers of this plant are pure white, soft, and fluffy."
"As for designs, of course there are—"
Before Helian Jue could finish speaking, Helian Chen excitedly said, "Your Majesty, since this is the crop that the Empress needs, why don't you let me lead the troops to Gaochang?"
It wasn't that Helian Chen "deserted in the face of battle," but rather that the war on the Turkic side was quite intense.
The Turkic Khan was cunning. Knowing that the Great Zhou Emperor was personally leading the expedition, he moved the royal court to a deeper grassland.
Although the Turks have recuperated and recovered some of their strength in recent years.
However, the struggle within the Turkic royal court never ceased.
The Left and Right Wise Kings, like the Turkic Khan, were cousins of the former Khan.
They each had their own tribes, soldiers, and livestock.
However, the Turkic Khan was slightly stronger, which is why he seized the throne.
Although he became Khan and took control of the royal court, it was a short time and his prestige was not high.
Leaving aside others, the Left and Right Wise Kings alone were dissatisfied with him and had always coveted the Khan's throne.
As for the Great Zhou Dynasty, although the late emperor had passed away, it did not cause too much of a turmoil.
Helian Jue was an adult prince and had served as crown prince for twenty years.
After ascending the throne, although there were some minor troubles, he quickly stabilized the court and secured his position on the dragon throne.
Furthermore, the Great Zhou Dynasty unified the north and south, greatly increasing its strength.
The money and provisions alone would be enough to support Helian Jue in launching a major campaign.
The Turkic Khan couldn't afford to fight—
Firstly, he had not yet completely taken control of the entire Turkic Khaganate.
Secondly, the grasslands suffered a snow disaster last year, which froze countless cattle and sheep to death.
The reason why the Turkic Khan sent his young prince to the Great Zhou was not only to test the waters, but also because the Turks were having a hard time.
If the Great Zhou Dynasty were to experience turmoil due to the death of its emperor and the ascension of a new ruler, the Turks could take the opportunity to plunder and pillage.
If they were even luckier, they could have joined forces with the powerful families of the Great Zhou Dynasty to divide up the vast Zhou Dynasty.
It's a pity that no one expected Helian Jue to be so incredibly brave.
In the wild and untamed land of Lingnan, tens of thousands of elite soldiers were raised.
There are also terrifying artifacts such as hot air balloons and small porcelain bottles.
The Turks' probes failed completely, and Helian Jue seized on their weakness to launch a "punishment."
When the news reached the royal court, the Turkic nobles, led by the Left and Right Wise Kings, seized the opportunity to launch an attack.
"It's all the Khan's fault! First Ashina He, then Ashina Xue, made one stupid mistake after another, angering the Emperor of Great Zhou!"
"That's right! And there's Empress Dowager Ashina. She was the only link between the Turks and the Great Zhou, and she was killed by Ashina Xue!"
"I told you long ago not to bother with that fool Ashina He, but the Khan wouldn't listen! Now look what's happened, the Emperor of Great Zhou is personally leading the expedition, and he's about to storm the royal court—"
Everyone commented that it was "hindsight."
According to them, the Turks suffered this calamity entirely because of the Khan's family.
Turkic Khan: ...
His face was very pale, and he gripped the armrest of the seat tightly, with veins bulging on the back of his hands.
He wanted to remind everyone:
The decision to send troops to attack the Great Zhou was made after discussion and unanimous agreement.
After Ashina He was captured, Helian Jue sent people to demand a ransom. The Turkic Khan originally intended to pay the ransom, but these people disagreed.
And then there's Empress Dowager Ashina. Look at how nostalgic these people look when they mention her. If someone who didn't know better saw them, they would think they were close relatives of Empress Dowager Ashina.
In fact, they were all distant relatives separated by several branches of the family, and some of them probably hadn't even forgotten what Empress Ashina looked like.
And most importantly, Empress Dowager Ashina was not poisoned by Ah Xue at all.
Although the smallpox scabs were indeed brought from the grasslands, Ah Xue intended to poison Empress Xie and her four illegitimate children, not the Empress Dowager!
All of this was nothing more than Helian Jue's conspiracy and his excuse.
Opinions were divided among the court officials, but the Turkic Khan managed to suppress the "public anger" by relying on his troops.
However, the Turkic Khan did not dare to actually fight Helian Jue to the death.
He knew that if he sent his main force to fight Helian Jue's royal army, his own stronghold might be raided by the Left and Right Wise Kings.
If you can't beat them, just run away!
The Turkic Khan directly ordered the relocation of the royal court and dispatched various forces, including the Left and Right Wise Kings, to launch surprise attacks with small groups of troops to harass the main force of the Great Zhou.
Of course, the Turkic Khan did not actually send other forces out as cannon fodder. He also sent several of his princes to lead their troops to fight guerrilla warfare along the border.
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