Many states came to participate in Yuwen Wuji's campaign, and some of them were quite powerful. For example, there was Beiqing in the northwest. Although this country was composed of tribes, their warriors were extremely brave and fierce, and their fighting style was domineering.
If it weren't for the severe shortage of supplies, which would have been insufficient to sustain their continued fighting against the Great Chen, the Great Chen might not be ruled by Han Chinese emperors by now. Therefore, Yuwen Wuji was quite wary of the Northern Qing.
Meanwhile, the various kingdoms of Beiqing came to celebrate Yuwen Wuji's birthday in a grand and imposing manner. Although they were separated by cities, Beiqing had also heard that Da Chen had suffered from both floods and droughts in the past two years.
After the drought struck Da Chen, they originally intended to take advantage of the enemy's weakness and kill them. However, their spies discovered that the people of Da Chen were very united, and the disaster victims were quickly resettled without any uprising.
So Beiqing decided to wait and see, but the other side immediately started digging a canal, which stunned the emperor of Beiqing. What kind of national strength did they have? After suffering two disasters, they still had the resources to dig a canal? Did they not take Beiqing seriously at all?
So they decided to observe further. And that observation has continued until now.
Therefore, their purpose in coming to offer birthday greetings was to find out the specific national strength of the Great Chen Dynasty and see if they could take the next step!
If there's no chance, they'll just keep playing it safe; if there is, they'll go all out! They want this vast territory! They want this land of a thousand miles!
The royal family of Beiqing had a very good plan, so they sent a prince and a princess on this mission.
Before the formal state banquet, the envoys of Beiqing need to visit the king of Dachen first, and then present gifts at the Mid-Autumn Festival state banquet.
However, when the officials from the Court of State Ceremonial discovered that these people truly treated themselves as ancestors, behaving extremely arrogantly and showing no humility whatsoever. They didn't seem like guests, but rather like masters.
That day, Consort Shu took a break from her busy schedule to show the princess of Beiqing around the palace. The Imperial Garden was filled with exotic flowers and rare plants, while the Imperial Animal Garden housed exotic animals from various countries, a dazzling sight.
This was naturally a spectacle for Princess Beiqing, who was seeing it for the first time, but for the concubines in the harem who had nothing to do and often came to stroll around, it was something they had long been tired of seeing.
They were all shrewd and knew that the Emperor had asked them to entertain the princess of Beiqing in order to demonstrate the power of the Great Chen Dynasty, so their words were full of boasting.
“Princess Tuoba, look at this giant panda! Your country doesn’t have any, does it?” A concubine pointed at the giant panda eating bamboo in the animal park and covered her mouth with a smile. “Don’t be fooled by their cute appearance; they are actually quite fierce. Princess, just look at them and don’t get too close.”
Tuoba Hongyun naturally understood the official language of the Great Chen Dynasty. She laughed heartily and did not hold back her praise, saying, "Your Great Chen Dynasty is truly amazing. You can even tame a ferocious beast like the Iron-Eating Beast and keep it as a pet!"
A sense of apprehension crept into their hearts. Such a powerful beast would naturally be sent to the battlefield to serve the country in their Northern Qing. But why did the Great Chen Dynasty keep such a formidable fighting force confined to a garden? Did they think Northern Qing was nothing to fear?
Following in Consort Shu's footsteps, Tuoba Hongyun saw many animals she had never seen before. Most of them looked cute and harmless, but in reality, they had terrifying attack power.
Tuoba Hongyun then realized that this was Beiqing's way of putting him in a tough spot, deliberately trying to show off!
After looking around, the imperial concubines all went to the horse farm. The horses in the stables were all plump and strong, but the Akhal-Teke horses of Beiqing were the most famous. A single horse could sell for ten thousand taels of gold in the capital. It would be presumptuous for them to show off their horses in front of the Beiqing princess.
"I heard that the gift Beiqing presented to the Emperor this time was also a fine horse?" Consort Shu smiled as she looked at the young princess.
Tuoba Hongyun smiled and said, "Of course, every precious horse in our Northern Qing is a treasure!"
Although Beiqing and Dachen trade horses, all of Beiqing's horses have been gelded and there are no stallions, so they naturally cannot breed horses with this bloodline. Moreover, Beiqing has many grasslands, which are most suitable for horses to run freely, while Dachen does not have such unique geographical conditions and can only import horses from Beiqing every year.
"I wonder what's special about BMW this year?"
Tuoba Hongyun smiled and said, "Why is Your Majesty in such a hurry? Why not wait until His Majesty's birthday and enjoy it with everyone?"
After saying that, she seemed to have a sudden inspiration and said, "Da Chen buys fine horses from our country every year. I wonder how Da Chen's horsemanship compares to our Bei Qing's? Why don't we hold a polo match? I have brought a few maids who can ride horses. Let's have a friendly competition."
Consort Shu remained outwardly calm, but inwardly she was displeased. As a guest, this was blatant disrespect, a direct challenge to her authority.
"A polo match?" one of the concubines exclaimed. The noble ladies in the capital were all delicate and frail, and they were always surrounded by more than a dozen servants when they left the palace. How many of them were skilled in riding and archery?
Even if a noble lady could ride a horse, that was all she knew; she certainly couldn't play polo. Many matriarchs of aristocratic families were unwilling to let their daughters participate in such a brutal sport, as the sweat and grime afterward would completely ruin their dignified demeanor.
"What, does the vast Kingdom of Chen not have any women skilled in riding and archery?"
These words are tantamount to issuing a challenge. If Consort Shu does not respond, wouldn't that confirm the fact that the Great Chen Dynasty has no one to rely on?
But if she agrees, and she can't find anyone, even if she manages to gather enough people, if she still loses in the end, it will still be a disgrace to Da Chen.
Consort Shu feigned difficulty: "It's not that our Great Chen has no talent, it's just that Great Chen has strict rules. If we were to hold a polo match, I would first have to choose an auspicious day and then apply for a venue, which would probably take quite a while!"
Upon hearing this, the concubines thought to themselves, "Consort Shu is amazing! This delaying tactic is brilliant!"
When is an auspicious day? That's up to them to decide!
If we keep dragging it out until the Emperor's birthday celebration is over, and then we can get rid of this plague god from Beiqing, everything will be fine!
"Very well, Your Majesty, please find an auspicious day and set a date. I can then go back and practice with my maids more. I am very much looking forward to seeing the strength of the Great Chen!"
Consort Shu smiled outwardly, but inwardly she was cursing the princess of Beiqing to the core.
Where is she going to find someone who knows how to play polo!
Just as she was feeling frustrated, the nanny beside her whispered in her ear, "Your Highness, isn't the Princess very skilled in horsemanship? Why not entrust this matter to her?"
Consort Shu glanced at the old nanny, her eyes filled with admiration. By shifting the blame to her, even if things went poorly, the Emperor wouldn't reprimand her; he would only think that Yuwen Xian hadn't tried his best.
"Since Your Highness is so eager for this, I will have someone ask the Imperial Observatory to perform a thorough calculation later."
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