The reason why Ze Luo had such great prestige in Qiuci was not only because he was granted the title of a fifth-rank military official by the Tang Dynasty: General Dingyuan.
Moreover, the leaders of many tribes here, especially those in some small towns, were basically those he deployed when Kucha was still in power, and now they are the ones who govern the people there on behalf of the Tang Dynasty.
The purpose of Ze Luo's banquet today was of course very clear. He had just had a conflict with Li Hong yesterday, and then he immediately sent someone to send invitations in the afternoon, obviously hoping to make peace with me.
But Li Hong would not think so. The house he found yesterday along the scattered cement was indeed Zhe Luo's original residence. Now it has been abandoned and has only been used to place some items, but no one lives there.
What surprised Li Hong even more was that there was not only cement there, but also a large number of weapons and armor hidden there, as well as some gold, silver and jewelry.
But until now, Li Hong has not found out where Ze Luo came back from yesterday.
Pei Xingjian and the other two accompanied Li Hong and others. They watched Li Hong chatting and laughing on horseback, but they always felt something was wrong.
Before they reached the gate of Zhe Luo's mansion, Zhe Luo was already standing at the intersection waiting for them.
When he saw the handsome young man on horseback, who was the young man he met in the restaurant yesterday, Zhe Luo couldn't help but be stunned. Although the people he sent to follow yesterday had been confirmed, he couldn't help but feel a little uneasy when he saw Li Hong again today.
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Being able to become the Grand Protector of Anxi Protectorate of Tang Dynasty at such a young age, this young man must be really capable, or he must be related to the royal family and nobles.
In an instant, Ze Luo put on a smiling face, and accompanied by several family generals, he took a few steps forward again, stopped in front of Li Hong's horse, and said loudly: "I am General Dingyuan Ze Luo, I greet the Grand Protector General, the Deputy Protector General, and the Chief Official."
"Stand up, we are all officials in the same dynasty, there is no need to be polite." Li Hong said lightly on horseback.
"I am willing to personally lead the way for the Grand Protector." Zhe Luo said with a smile, then he grabbed the reins of the food coupons with one hand and walked forward.
Li Hong squeezed the horse's belly with his legs. Liangpiao then raised his hoof and took a step slowly and leisurely forward.
It was just a little unhappy that someone was holding the reins, and it kept shaking its head, trying to break free from Ze Luo's hand.
Ze Luo's face naturally looked a little unnatural. Horse training was a piece of cake for him. He knew at a glance that this horse was definitely a top-quality horse, but he didn't expect it to have such a bad temper.
"Let go of its reins. It doesn't like strangers to be too close to it." Li Hong said slowly while still riding on the horse.
"This... is. I had a conflict with the Grand Protector yesterday. I hope you won't mind. I'm a rough man, just like the people here. The folks here are tough, so I've been used to being wild since I was young. I hope you will forgive me, Grand Protector." Ze Luo let go of the reins, but still followed closely beside him. He looked up at Li Hong on horseback and said.
"No way, I am a petty person. As the saying goes, there is no acquaintance without fighting. Look, we are going to sit together and have a banquet today." Li Hong said with a smile.
"That couldn't be better. In order to apologize to you, I have specially invited the chef from yesterday's restaurant to your house today, as well as the best musician and Hu girl in Qiuci. They are rare beauties in Qiuci City, or even in Anxi." Zhe Luo looked at the four women of Xia Zhi and thought that this Grand Protector should be very fond of women.
But today, when he looked at Xia Zhi and the others, he was a little evasive and no longer dared to be as presumptuous as yesterday.
Accompanied by Ze Luo, Li Hong slowly dismounted at the door, handed the reins to his personal guard, and then walked inside, saying, "By the way, I saw General Dingyuan rushing back from outside yesterday. I wonder where he went?"
"Haha, where can I go? It's almost New Year's Day, and I am just going out to pick up some goods for the New Year. You also know that I am just a military official. I can't compare with you, the powerful Grand Protector. My salary is not as good as yours, so naturally I am just doing some small business." A trace of uneasiness flashed in Zhe Luo's eyes, and he hurriedly explained.
The mansion where Zhe Luo lives now is even bigger than the one Li Hong saw yesterday, and the entire layout and furnishings are much more luxurious. It can even be compared to the mansion of the King of Qiuci that Pei Xingjian arranged for Li Hong when he first arrived in Qiuci.
This mansion has been carefully repaired and rebuilt, and everything has been rebuilt and renovated in the style of a Tang Dynasty manor.
Everyone in the Zeluo Mansion was busy running around because the master was going to welcome the distinguished guests today. Perhaps because it was the New Year's Day, the entire mansion was decorated with lights and colorful lanterns, and there was a joyful atmosphere everywhere.
After walking through the front garden, under the guidance of Ze Luo, everyone accompanied Li Hong to a hall covered with gorgeous Persian carpets. Now, various fruits were placed on each table.
The Kucha musician in the corner had already started playing music, and the charming and seductive Hu Ji stood up with the musician on the open space in the middle which was covered with thick carpet.
As Li Hong slowly walked in and sat in the seat of honor, the Hu girls and musicians began to salute Li Hong respectfully, and then ran to the corner again, waiting for their master's call to perform again.
In the Tang Dynasty's Chang'an City, banquets with tables, chairs and benches had become a normal form of banquets, but the wealthy and powerful families in Qiuci were still imitating the Tang Dynasty's banquet style of sitting behind tables and enjoying singing and dancing.
This does not mean that the Tang Dynasty abandoned its traditions and imitated the Hu culture. It is just a food development process that keeps pace with the times.
However, the wealthy and powerful families in Kucha learned the culture and banquet styles of the Tang Dynasty because they were full of admiration for the Tang Dynasty. At the same time, they were full of inferiority complex about their own situation, so they hoped that they could become like the nobles of the Tang Dynasty and have noble temperament through imitation.
But in the end, he was just imitating others and not only failed to learn the essence, but also lost his own essence completely.
Ze Luo and a few of his trusted followers sat on the left side not far from Li Hong, while Pei Xingjian and others sat on the right side of Li Hong. Between the two of them and Li Hong, naturally, Xia Zhi and Xiao Xue accompanied Li Hong.
"I wonder if the Grand Protector has heard of any strange thing recently?" Zhe Luo put down his wine glass and asked.
"I don't know." Li Hong didn't even look at Ze Luo. He asked the maid for a piece of raw meat and threw it to Bai Qi, the foodie.
Ze Luo looked at Li Hong meaningfully and said, "I recently heard that the third prince of the White Arabs disappeared on the way to the Tang Dynasty, and now Muawiya is questioning the Persian Governor's Office."
"Their people are missing, and they are blaming our Tang Dynasty? Have the White Arabs always been so rampant?" Li Hong glanced at Zhe Luo.
Pei Xingjian and others were also confused. The third prince of the White Arab Empire actually disappeared in the Tang Dynasty. This was no small matter. If not handled properly, it might cause disputes between the two countries.
"That's right. I once hosted a banquet for him in the city of Qiuci. It is said that after he arrived at Yumen Pass, there was no news of him again, as if he had disappeared from the world." Zhe Luo sighed, feeling sorry for the disappearance of the third prince of the White-robed Arabs.
"General Dingyuan knows the prince of the White Arabs?" Li Hong was a little surprised.
"I can't say that I know him. I have met him a few times before. So this time he came to visit me when he passed by here on his way to our Tang Dynasty. We can't say that we are close friends." Zhe Luo's face was calm.
"Then do you know why that prince from the White Arabs came to our Tang Dynasty? He can't be going to pay homage to the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, right?" Li Hong looked at Zhe Luo, trying to find something suspicious from him.
The third prince, Kasim, had been nailed to death on the city wall of Yumen Pass by himself a long time ago. It had been such a long time before the White Arabs remembered to look for their third prince.
Moreover, this matter was not learned from the Anxi Protectorate himself, but from a military official of the Tang Dynasty. Is there something strange about it?
"I heard something from others after leaving the city these few days, so I reported it to you, the Grand Protector. I am afraid that the White Arabs will vent their anger on the Tang Dynasty because of the disappearance of the prince. We will be in a passive position then." Zhe Luo's wolf-like eyes seemed to be full of cunning at all times.
"By the way, when you mentioned the disappearance, I remembered something. The whereabouts of Bai Sunizhi, the King of Kucha, is unknown. I wonder if General Dingyuan knows where he is?" Li Hong looked at Zhe Luo who was toasting him and continued, "I know that when Nali and Hu Biaoli defected to Tubo, they did not take Bai Sunizhi and his family with them. Do you think Bai Sunizhi and his family are dead? Or are they living in seclusion somewhere now?"
Ze Luo listened very carefully, without any unnatural expression on his face. After listening, he said with regret and some sadness: "Yes, it is said that the king was kidnapped by Nali and Bai Biaoli that day. I didn't have time to pursue him because I had to welcome our Tang army into the city. Otherwise, Your Majesty would have granted the king the title of Kucha, and he wouldn't be missing like now."
"But I heard that General Dingyuan and Bai Sunizhi have always been at odds? He once killed your brother, is that true?" Li Hong was very curious, and the gossip mode had gradually started, and he kept talking about things that were not related to the topic.
"This... Grand Protector, I don't remember much about what happened back then. Zeduo was killed because he violated Bai Sunizhi's law, so this matter can only be..."
"But I heard that you threatened to overthrow Bai Sunizhi, and you did so later, didn't you? When the Tang Dynasty attacked the city, didn't you think of imprisoning them and then avenging your brother Zeduo?" After carefully reading the secret letter handed to him by Hua Meng, Li Hong handed it to Pei Xingjian.
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