The Northern Rong army was stationed ten miles outside the city of Tokyo.
Because the amount of gold, silver, and silk offered was so great, even when pulled by horse-drawn carriages, the wheels sank deep into the ground due to the excessive weight of the load. In addition, there were thousands of young girls and children, making the procession a long, winding dragon, which slowed down the journey.
Xue Shen rode at the front when he suddenly heard a commotion behind him, mixed with the sound of a woman crying. He turned around to look, but because the crowd was so close together, he couldn't see what was happening. He could only ask the imperial guards, "What happened?"
The imperial guards were also puzzled. They rode over to take a look and returned to report, "One of the noble ladies who came with the dowry twisted her ankle and is throwing a tantrum."
These noble ladies were usually pampered and spoiled at home, but unexpectedly, one day, they fell from their pedestal as the pride of heaven and became sacrifices in the peace talks with the Northern Rong. Now, they are being married into the Northern Rong as maids accompanying Xuan Ci, and they have no title or ceremony, and their treatment is almost the same as that of a female servant.
Just as Xuanci can still ride in a carriage, they can only walk behind the carriage.
Xue Shen frowned slightly, said "I'll go take a look," and spurred his horse toward the source of the commotion. The imperial guard wanted to stop him, but after thinking that if he could quell the disturbance, he could reach the Northern Rong camp as soon as possible, so he didn't say anything more.
Xue Shen rode over and saw a woman sitting on the ground sobbing, surrounded by several other women who couldn't help but sob along with her.
Xue Shen glanced around and asked, "Can you still walk?"
"We can't leave."
The injured woman responded softly, then looked up to see a face that wasn't entirely unfamiliar.
Xue Shen raised an eyebrow and glanced at Wang Yuanguang in the wedding procession. If he remembered correctly, the woman in front of him was Wang Yuanguang's eldest daughter.
Wang Yuanguang seemed oblivious to the commotion and was unaware that his eldest daughter had twisted her ankle.
Xue Shen instructed the guards to bring a horse and asked, "Can you ride a horse?"
Wang Yunting nodded and, with the help of others, mounted her horse. Although she had injured her leg, she mounted the horse with great skill. Seeing this, Xue Shen didn't interfere any further and prepared to ride back to the front.
Unexpectedly, Wang Junting suddenly called out to him, "Your Highness."
Xue Shen turned around and saw her looking at him strangely. She said, "Your Highness once said that you would not rest until you had wiped out the Northern Rong. Are you really going to send us to the Northern Rong for peace talks?"
Xue Shen frowned slightly; these were words he had spoken when he was still the crown prince.
He had no intention of saying more to the other party, and coldly nodded, saying, "How can I disobey the Emperor's orders?"
Then he spurred his horse forward.
Wang Junting sat on his horse, gazing at his retreating figure from afar, his eyes dimmed.
A young woman who knew her well advised her, "You're still thinking about it? The King of Qin isn't the Crown Prince he used to be, and we've been sent away for a political marriage..."
The young woman stopped mid-sentence, her voice trembling with tears.
Wang Yunting lowered her eyelashes and stopped speaking.
The commotion subsided, and the procession resumed its march.
The marriage procession set off in the morning, but did not arrive at the camp of the Northern Rong people until almost evening.
Upon receiving the news, Yelü Hachi, the general of the Northern Rong, rode out to greet them. Seeing the long, winding procession that stretched into the distance and seemed to have no end, he laughed with delight and shouted to the Northern Rong warriors behind him, "Go and tell the soldiers that tonight there will be good wine and meat, and they can choose any woman they want."
The Northern Rong warrior shouted and immediately spurred his horse toward the camp to inform the others.
Another general who stood alongside Yelü Haci said, "The Central Plains are so rich and prosperous, why does Your Majesty need to negotiate? Why not just conquer Tokyo and make Your Majesty the emperor of the Central Plains?"
Yelü Hachi laughed and said, "Your Majesty has long had this intention, but although the Emperor of Great Wei is weak, he has a considerable number of troops. If we really push them to the brink, they will fight to the death in the city, prolonging the war. When the Crown Prince of Great Wei arrives with reinforcements, we will be attacked from both sides, which will be bad."
"It's called peace talks, but it's just the king's scheme. There's a saying in their Great Wei: 'boiling a frog in lukewarm water.' We'll first squeeze their gold and silver dry, and then test their bottom line step by step. Even if the crown prince arrives with reinforcements, we'll still suffer losses. If the plan goes smoothly, we might even capture their emperor alive. At that time, they'll have to agree to whatever we want."
As they were talking, Xue Shen and the others had already arrived. Yelü Hachi stopped the conversation, arrogantly spurred his horse forward, and circled the procession as if inspecting merchandise. Finally, he stopped in front of Xuan Ci's carriage, rudely lifted the curtain, and looked Xuan Ci up and down. He then said to the warriors following behind him, "Send this to the King." As he spoke, his gaze turned to the noble ladies accompanying Xuan Ci's carriage, and he pointed to Wang Yunting: "This one is also good; send her to the King as well."
Seeing Yelü's attitude of treating him like a lamb being chosen, yet not mentioning the peace talks at all, Wang Yuanguang, who was in charge of the peace negotiations, stepped forward and said, "General Yelü, regarding the peace talks..."
Yelü Hachi interrupted him rudely: "What's your rush? If you want to negotiate, you have to show sincerity. After the king has enjoyed the beauties, he will naturally discuss the peace talks with you."
Wang Yuanguang wanted to say more, but Yelü Hachi didn't even give him a glance. Instead, he rode up to Xue Shen and looked him up and down with a critical eye: "You are the Prince of Qin?"
Xue Shen looked up at him and nodded.
"Send it to the princess." Yelü Hachi looked at him with great dissatisfaction and said, "He is only somewhat handsome, but he has no manly courage at all, yet he can make the princess take a liking to him."
The Northern Rong currently has only one princess, Yelü Nanxian, who fled the palace after the Northern Rong launched their attack.
Xue Shen remained unmoved upon hearing this and said, "The Great Wei has come with the sincerity of peace talks, but the King of Beirong is avoiding meeting them. What is the reason for this?"
Yelü Hachi laughed heartily upon hearing this, seemingly incredulous at his naive question: "Your Majesty is so noble, yet you can see him whenever you wish?"
Xue Shen chuckled contemptuously: "I've heard that the current Northern Rong King is not valued by the previous Northern Rong King because he is short and ugly, and is like a dwarf among the Northern Rong people. The previous Northern Rong King was always ashamed of him. No wonder the Great Wei has repeatedly sent envoys, but they have never seen the true face of the Northern Rong people."
Upon hearing this, Yelü Hachi's face immediately darkened.
The Northern Rong people valued bravery and strength; the more powerful and robust one was, the more respect and admiration they received. Although the Northern Rong king was not as tall as other warriors, he possessed superhuman strength and was highly respected in the Northern Rong army.
However, Xue Shen's words were not unfounded. Because he was not born strong and tall enough, the Northern Rong King was indeed disliked by his biological father. This was something that only the Northern Rong King's confidants knew.
Since the Northern Rong King seized the throne, he has become a taboo subject for everyone.
Unexpectedly, a prisoner seeking peace dared to provoke the Northern Rong King.
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