Chapter 95 Bowing "Are you sure they mentioned the Dzungar Khanate? ...
"Are you sure they mentioned the Dzungar Khanate?"
The maid knelt on the ground, her voice trembling slightly: "I heard these few words clearly, but as for the others, I dare not listen to them anymore."
The candlelight in the big tent was shining quietly. Mu Xue lowered her head and thought for a moment, then stepped forward to help the maid up. "Since you have come to me, for your own safety, don't go back. Just stay in my camp. Rong'er——"
Rong'er agreed.
Mu Xue ordered: "Bring her mother here as well, and go immediately."
Watching Rong'er go out to make arrangements, Muxue comforted the maid: "Thank you for coming here specially to tell me. Don't be afraid, no one will hurt you here."
"Princess? There won't be any more wars here, right?" The maid's eyes were filled with tears.
"I will do my best to bring peace here." Mu Xue promised solemnly.
After having the maid who brought the news settled down, Mu Xue calmly arranged the situation and asked her guards to be on alert immediately. She also informed the officials of the Lifanyuan to stand by at a place a little further away from here. In case of any unexpected situation, they could quickly return to the capital to inform the news.
Mother Zhao was rarely anxious. She knelt forward and advised, "Master, it's not just them. You, your precious body, should get out of here as soon as possible. What you said is true. They are coming for you. You should get someone to escort you back to Beijing as soon as possible. Even if there is a big fight, it has nothing to do with us."
"Things haven't gotten that bad yet." Mu Xue said.
If there was a hint that Dorji was involved in this matter, she would have run away by now. But according to the situation we know now, it is clearly the act of a certain Taiji. Otherwise, there would be no need to contact Ah Hai for the first time at this critical moment.
Now the enemy outnumbers us, I am in the open and the enemy is in the dark. If I run away at this time, I will be at a disadvantage.
She quickly arranged everything, put on her cloak, and went to look for Dorji.
These two days were the time for the old Khan's sacrifice, and Dorji was the main sacrificer, so he had to stay in the spirit shed until late. Worried that Muxue would not be able to rest well, they slept in separate tents.
After finding Dorji, Mu Xue briefly told him the whole story. Dorji's face became serious: "How dare you collude with them?"
"You are more familiar with the grassland than I am. How many people do you think have this idea in their hearts?" Mu Xue looked at him and asked.
Dorji frowned and held her hand. "Princess, I will tell you in the most frank manner. It is true that some Taijis may still miss their past glory and fail to understand the situation. But they are definitely a minority. My grandfather, the great lama, and I are all loyal to the court and have no second thoughts."
His grandfather had absolutely accepted his fate. Before he died, he only told him to protect the people of the tribe and the grassland. His great-uncle did not express any dissatisfaction.
"I believe you." Mu Xue smiled softly, "Otherwise I wouldn't have come here eagerly. If I were to ask you, I would have run away overnight."
Dorji pulled the corner of his mouth and said nothing: "It's just that uncle, why did uncle interfere in the confidential conversation? I always felt that his nature..."
"You must not have the intention to harm others, but you must be on guard against others." Mu Xue said, "I think we should cut the Gordian knot quickly. Send troops to surround him now. Then interrogate him carefully to find out how many people are involved in this matter."
"You are right." Dorji immediately slung the golden sword over his shoulder, told his personal guards to take good care of the princess, gathered the men and horses, called his uncle, and immediately ordered him to go out and capture the traitor.
As soon as I walked out of the tent, I suddenly heard a loud noise.
Many torches were lighting up in disorder.
Dorji was shocked. Could it be that the other party had already taken a step ahead of him?
The soldiers around him who knew the situation drew their swords in unison and guarded him nervously.
"I have something to report to the Khan."
Hear? Ah Hai's voice sounded like thunder outside the city.
Dorji narrowed his eyes and said, "Take off the armor and bring it in?"
Ah Hai walked in unarmed, not alone, but holding a taiji tied up, it was Wunachu. Ah Hai threw Wunachu to the ground, crushing his neck with his boots: "Khan, this beast is secretly colluding with the thieves, intending to rebel, and he wants to persuade me to go crazy with him."
Unachu's mouth had been sealed long ago. He was wriggling and struggling on the ground. Seeing so many swords and sabers, he was trembling like a sieve.
Dorji stared at Ahai's face which was illuminated red by the blazing torch. Ahai and his father, the two brothers, had somewhat similar face shapes.
He laughed: "Uncle is an understanding man."
Ah Hai kicked Wunachu fiercely: "I do have my own little thoughts, that's true. But I haven't forgotten how my brother died, and I dare not forget that I am the prince of this grassland! Once the war starts, countless people will bleed. What a beast! How dare you guess my thoughts. Bah!"
"The Khan is loyal and devoted, and the prince is also righteous. This matter is just the work of a villain and will not disrupt the overall situation."
In the night, the soft yet firm female voice is particularly clear.
Everyone turned around and saw that the princess had come out, supported by her maid, and was approaching step by step.
This sentence set the tone. Dorji thought to himself, "I'm sorry to scare the princess."
"It's just a small matter," Mu Xue glanced at the person on the ground and said, "Why not imprison him first and interrogate him strictly to see how many people are colluding with him."
The man was taken away and interrogated overnight. He was not a very strong man. He confessed everything when he was asked. He said that someone had given him gold, silver and jewelry by chance a few months ago. He must be someone who had dealings with the Dzungar Khanate.
Two more people were arrested immediately based on their confessions. The man who gave the gold, silver and jewelry had escaped long before. It is said that the original message left by the man was to let them pay close attention to the situation in Khalkha, and if there was an opportunity, they could unite and fight against the Qing court together. However, Wunachu was dissatisfied with the new Khan, and seeing the look on Prince Ahai's face, he took the initiative to lure him to join, but the news leaked out.
"I remember the incident clearly. I think it would be easier to just chop them up now." Ah Hai was about to draw his sword, but was stopped by Dorji. "It would be useful to keep these dogs alive."
Mu Xue nodded: "This kind of treasonous crime should be reported to the court and the court will make the decision. Executing him privately will only arouse unnecessary suspicion."
"I hope the princess can explain the matter to His Majesty. Heaven and earth can bear witness to our loyalty." Dorji bowed to her.
"Of course. I am now the mistress of our tribe, so I naturally hope that no trouble will happen."
Before submitting the memorial, Muxue had a private conversation with the officials of the Lifanyuan.
"I thought the Dzungar Khanate had calmed down after its defeat, so why is this happening again?"
Li Wen of the Lifanyuan frowned and said, "It is true. At that time, Galdan was on a military expedition, and his nephew Tsewang Arabtan surrendered to the court and joined forces with the royal army to cut off Galdan's retreat. After Galdan's death, he became the new Khan and took charge of the old territory. The past two years have been relatively stable, and I have never heard of any behavior that violates the rules."
The entanglement between this uncle and nephew in the Dzungar Khanate was quite tortuous. The original Khan was Galdan's elder brother, but he died early. When the uncle ascended to the throne, he forced his nephew's fiancée to marry him. There was hatred for both the throne and the wife, which could be described as a deep blood feud. In the end, the nephew was overjoyed to see his uncle commit suicide at the end of his rope, and presented his remains to Emperor Kangxi.
Perhaps inspired by the uncle and nephew of Junggar, Wunachu thought it would be easy to sow discord between Dorji and Ahai.
"I have been in Khalkha for three or four years and have rarely heard of the new Khan of Dzungar. What are they doing now?"
"I heard before that they mainly operate in the West."
The previous eastward advance was severely beaten, and the memory is still vivid. The news received by the Lifanyuan before was that the new Khan was recuperating while sharpening his sword to march towards the small countries in the west. The Qing Dynasty had no control over the western territories. As long as he did not come to invade the border, no one would care.
After all, the three previous wars had consumed too much silver and silk. Even though the Qing Dynasty won, it also spent a huge amount of silver. It was also true.
After listening to what the official from the Lifanyuan said, Muxue had a general idea in her mind.
Although the people arrested this time had their property seized, there was no written evidence or anything like that. They had only communicated verbally. Under such circumstances, it was not easy to expand the case. What if it was too harsh and aroused the fear of some Taijis, who had originally not planned to do anything, were frightened and their minds were not clear, and something might happen.
After the imperial court is informed, it is highly likely that it will not take this opportunity to strike back vigorously.
But this is also an opportunity, so we can't let it go.
Muxue thought about it for a day and made up her mind. She wrote a memorial herself and ordered people to send it to the capital at full speed along with the memorials written by the officials of the Lifanyuan, Dorji and the great lama.
For such important military and national affairs, the speed of transmission was far beyond that of ordinary routes, and it was delivered to the capital within twenty days.
By the time the reply came back, the old Khan was being sent up the mountain.
The ice and snow melted, and the green mountains appeared.
The road down the mountain was difficult to walk on, and Dorji held Muxue's hand tightly to prevent her from falling.
When they reached a valley, they saw green trees and birds singing. Muxue looked up for a while.
"What's wrong?"
Mu Xue turned her head to look at him: "The scenery here is beautiful. When I am a hundred years old, I can be buried here."
Dorji's eyebrows twitched: "Okay, then we will rest here together forever."
"That's good. I'll have someone to accompany me on my journey to the underworld."
When she returned to the king's tent, she heard the letter from the court and opened it immediately.
The letter said that the new Khan of Dzungar Khan presented a batch of heads of the remnants of the former Khan, saying that they were secretly plotting to destroy the hard-earned stability of the grassland.
Emperor Kangxi asked her to handle the matter impartially and deal with the matter on its own merits. The implication was that the overall stability should be the priority.
However, he obviously did not believe it completely, and allocated some silver to ask Mu Xue to quickly build the entire line of post stations from Guihua to Kulun according to the previous request. This would facilitate the communication and exchange of information between the garrisons along the line.
Muxue said to Dorji: "Don't worry, His Majesty knows your loyalty, just execute the main culprit. However, before the execution, we need to gather the Taiji, and we can have a drink and chat."
On the day of the banquet, Muxue and Dorji sat on the left and right in front of the golden tent.
When everyone arrived, although there was fine wine and delicious food, they all had heavy thoughts and their faces were full of worries.
Collusion with external tribes could be a big deal or a small one. Once the new Khan and the princess try to take advantage of the opportunity, everyone will be in danger.
As everyone was worried, they suddenly saw two bodyguards coming over carrying a basket full of papers with words written on them.
The princess's voice sounded from the top: "These are the confessions from Unachu's interrogation and the letters found in the tent."
Everyone's heart was in their throat.
This damn guy wouldn't involve other people in this, right?
However, the princess said, "The court has already investigated the case and only executed the main culprit. The Khan has just ascended the throne, so I would like to ask all of you to assist me and jointly maintain the stability of the grassland and serve the court."
As soon as she finished speaking, she actually took a fire starter and threw it into the basket full of evidence.
The fire snakes ignited instantly, climbing over the papers, and soon burned all the documents that could have involved other people and put them to death.
Everyone was stunned as they watched all the documents being burned and turned into a wisp of smoke that dissipated into the air.
The princess smiled softly: "You can all rest assured, right?"
The whole room was silent.
After a long while, someone finally stood up. It was Prince Ahai. He walked to the front of the table first, knelt down and kowtowed: "I am willing to be a hawk and dog for the Khan and the princess, and protect the peace of the grassland!"
As soon as he moved, the other taijis followed suit and bowed. The sound resounded throughout the world in front of the golden tent.
"I am willing to be the hawk and dog of the Khan and the princess, and protect the peace of the grassland!"
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