The hall was filled with laughter and the air was filled with the rich aroma of barbecue, spices and fine wine.

In the felt tent, Wei Chi Damo had an indifferent expression, Yang Qian drew his sword and confronted his bodyguards, and the atmosphere was tense.

Yao Ying remained calm, not even glancing at the long sword in the guard's hand, and walked up to Wei Chi Damo: "If the king really wants to please the Northern Rong, all he needs to do is shout a few times to attract Lady Yina's guards."

Wei Chi Damo stared at Yao Ying without blinking, his eyes bloodshot, "Yina is just a princess, she has no soldiers and no power, while Haidu Aling has military power and many followers, he will surely replace Wakhan Khan one day, I will give the princess to Haidu Aling, and I will get more."

Yao Ying smiled and said, "King, the Wakhan Khan is still here. As you said, Lady Ina is just a princess, but she can keep the king under house arrest. Isn't it because the king is afraid of her uncle, the Wakhan Khan, so he is patient and yields? The Wakhan Khan is getting stronger and stronger, and Haidu Aling is still a little lacking in skills. Before they have decided the winner, as a person, the king will not allow his handle to fall into the hands of others."

Wei Chi Damo curled his lips and said, "What leverage do I have?"

Yao Ying said calmly: "The king reported the news to Haidu Aling, and the news reached the ears of Wakhan Khan. This is the handle of your secret collusion with Haidu Aling. Haidu Aling's ambition is far greater than Wakhan Khan. If he wins, Gaochang will be destroyed in the blink of an eye. If Wakhan Khan wins, he will definitely be angry with the king. How can the king protect himself then?"

"No matter who you tell on, the king will lose nothing. The king has worked so hard these years, endured humiliation and tried his best to achieve peace. I don't think he would do a business that would lose money."

Like Yang Qian, Wei Chi Bodhidharma was originally from Hexi. Wei Chi's family was famous for its generals. His grandfather was once the governor of Guazhou. When the Central Plains was in turmoil, Wei Chi's family was forced to move westward and exiled to Gaochang, where they married into a prominent family and became the ruler of Gaochang.

Their family was a family of military generals, but unfortunately, Wei Chi Damo and his son were weak and frail, and were not suitable for martial arts training. They failed to inherit the family legacy and were rather cowardly. Whenever someone led troops to attack Gaochang, they would send beauties and gold and silver to please the other party without saying a word, and were therefore often criticized by the world.

How shrewd was Yuchi Damo who was trying to survive in the cracks. He stayed out of everything, was afraid of everyone, and didn't want to offend anyone. He would never completely turn to Haidu Aling when the position of Wakhan Khan was stable. After all, he thought his two children were still in the hands of Lady Ina.

Moreover, Tanmarajiva had informed all the countries to openly protect her, so he did not dare to offend Tanmarajiva.

Yao Ying pointed out everything in his mind. Wei Chi Damo's face darkened slightly. He threw off his cloak, sat up and waved his hand.

The sword-wielding guard retreated silently.

Yang Qian was stunned for a moment, sheathed his long sword, and frowned as he looked at Wei Chi Damo: "Why is the king so mysterious when he has no intention of telling the secret?"

Yao Ying sat down with legs crossed and said, "Because the king wants to test me to see if I am worth the risk. If I am frightened, the king can take the initiative."

She changed the subject and looked into Wei Chi Damo's brown eyes.

"May I ask, Lord, have I passed the test?"

Wei Chi Da Mo looked at her for a moment, and a smile appeared on his lips. "Princess, you are calm and composed. Da Mo admires you."

Yao Ying said sternly, "I don't deserve it. The king has endured humiliation and heavy burdens, which is like being tortured in a raging fire. Yao Ying is far inferior to the king."

Wei Chi Damo was stunned for a moment, then laughed at himself.

As the ruler, he knew that Gaochang could not resist the Northern Rong army, so he surrendered, abandoned his first wife, married Princess Yina, and tolerated Princess Yina's misdeeds. Whenever the Northern Rong envoys came to ask for gold, silver and treasures, he was very respectful and dared not say a word. The princes, nobles and common people secretly scolded him for being servile. A dignified ruler was actually controlled by a woman.

His two children are ashamed of him and still refuse to forgive him for having killed their mother.

Who can understand his difficulties?

Without the strong support of the Central Plains Dynasty, Gaochang was doomed to survive in the struggle between the major powers. A pair of jade arms to support thousands of people was Gaochang's way of survival.

He knew that if he submitted to the Northern Rong, he would have to deal with their demands and bear heavy taxes. He would be exploited by them and the people would not be able to bear the heavy burden.

He also knew that there were many high-spirited young men like Yang Qian in the city who hoped that he could lead them to fight against the Northern Rong. He was the son of the Wei Chi family and the king. If he had enough troops and the support of the Central Plains Dynasty, why wouldn't he want to fight to the death with the Northern Rong?

Reality extinguished his anger and ambition.

The Western Regions countries that depended on the oasis for survival could hardly support an army, and were like lambs to be slaughtered in front of the Northern Rong. The only thing that could stop the Northern Rong's conquest was the Royal Court, which had been prosperous since ancient times. It had large tracts of fertile green fields moistened by snowmelt, smooth trade routes to India, Persia, and Samaria, and a Buddhist son of the Royal Court who was popular with the people, a master of military tactics, and who could attract followers with a single wave of his arm, making the Wakhan Khan deeply jealous.

Gaochang had nothing, and he didn't dare to risk the lives of the people in the city!

Wei Chi Damo's eyes were as red as blood. He picked up the gilded wine cup on the table and drank it all in one gulp. The deep red wine flowed down his pale neck and wet his inner clothes.

Although Princess Wen Zhao was an outsider, she was able to express his hardships in one sentence.

Years of resentment slid down his throat with the cold wine. The wine tasted sweet, but it tasted bitter and astringent on his tongue.

He was playing with the empty wine cup when he suddenly realized that his train of thought had been disrupted by Yao Ying's casual words. He was startled, but after calming himself down, he asked slowly, "Has the Wei Dynasty unified the Central Plains?"

Yao Ying nodded: "Not bad."

"Has the imperial court not yet recovered Hexi?"

Yao Ying nodded.

Wei Chi Damo sneered: "The imperial court can't even recover Hexi, how can it recover the Western Regions? Princess Wen Zhao can't guarantee me anything, how dare I form an alliance with the Wei Dynasty?"

Yao Ying sat upright and said, "I dare not and do not want to deceive the king with false words. I can't guarantee anything to the king. I can only tell the king that once the Northern Rong are strong enough to conquer the Western Regions, all tribes will become their slaves. The Wei Dynasty has the intention to recover Hexi and has already joined forces with the Hu people to recover Liangzhou..."

Upon hearing this, Yang Qian couldn't wait to interrupt and said, "Lord, the Great Wei has already unified the Central Plains. As long as the time is right, they will definitely send troops to retake Hexi. By then, we will cooperate with the Great Wei from within and without, so there is no need to worry about not being able to return east soon! This is a great opportunity for us to realize our ambitions!"

Wei Chi Damo remained silent.

Yao Ying looked into his bloodshot eyes and asked, "Hasn't the king already agreed to an alliance?"

Wei Chi Damo leaned back on the table, his clothes opened wide: "Princess, you must have misunderstood. My agreement to see you does not mean that I agree to form an alliance."

Yao Ying smiled, "I was not mistaken, the king has already agreed."

Wei Chi Damo sneered, his eyes grim.

Yao Ying said slowly: "A ruler of Gaochang once said that eagles flap their wings in the sky, pheasants fly in the bushes, and mice live in caves. The powerful dynasties have their own way of living, and the weak city-states also have their own way of survival. This sentence actually refers to people like the ruler of Wei Chi."

Wei Chi Damo raised his eyebrows.

Yao Ying continued, "The king is flexible and can endure humiliation when he is weak. When he is strong, he can also transform into a fierce eagle, soaring into the sky and showing his ambition."

How could Wei Chi Damo be a coward without any fighting spirit if he could become friends with Yang Qian and silently support Yang Qian in contacting the Central Plains?

"Besides, I dared to take the risk to come to see King Wei Chi because of a letter."

Yao Ying read out the letter word by word, and finally said: "...I swear to return to my country at the cost of my life, and look forward to the arrival of the king's teacher."

What she was reading was a letter for help that had been sent to Chang'an many years ago, written by the previous ruler of Gaochang. The emperor at the time was Zhu, and uprisings were breaking out in various places. The court was busy with its own affairs, and Zhu was busy fleeing south, so how could he care about the help from thousands of miles away?

After Li De ascended the throne, he asked the ministers in the court to circulate the letter from King Wei Chi.

At that time, he and his staff thought that the letter for help was old and there was no need to pay attention to it, so they ordered the ministers to circulate it, one to show Zhu's incompetence, and the other to hint that he wanted to recover Hexi.

Yao Ying had heard Li Zhongqian mention that letter.

Several generations of Gaochang rulers had been trying to contact the Central Plains, from Wei Chi Damo's grandfather to his father, and then to him. Although the hope was slim, they still had hope. Finally, Yang Qian and his party embarked on the journey back to the east. For decades, countless men came one after another just to ask the Central Plains to send troops.

Yang Qian's dry bones and ten thousand-word letter were discovered, and there are more Yang Qian and letters buried forever under the quicksand.

Holding back tears, he asked the messenger, when will the six armies really arrive?

Yao Ying looked into Wei Chi Damo's eyes and said, "When the last king did not know whether the Central Plains was unified, he still risked sending people to ask for reinforcements from the Central Plains. How determined was his will to return to the east? At that time, the court had no time to look west. Now that the Central Plains is unified and the Wei Dynasty is strong, will the king, as a descendant of the Wei Chi family, refuse to form an alliance with the Wei Dynasty?"

Hearing her read out the letter, Yang Qian's expression was excited, and tears welled up in his eyes. His father gave him this name so that he would always remember that they were forced to move to Gaochang. He should inherit the will of his grandfather and father and return to his country at the cost of his life!

He looked at Wei Chi Damo and said word by word: "Damo, what are you waiting for? We have spent all these years trying to contact the Central Plains, isn't it just to ask the court to send troops?"

Wei Chi Damo placed his hands on the voucher, his red hair was loose, and he was in a relaxed posture, as if he was drunk. His brown eyes were hazy, and he said nonchalantly, "I didn't promise anything."

Yang Qian's forehead was throbbing with veins: "You——"

Yao Ying smiled, pulled back Yang Qian who was about to jump up in anger, and looked at Wei Chi Damo.

Wei Chi Damo was very cautious. In the past few years, he tacitly allowed Yang Qian to contact righteous men from all over the country, but he himself never showed up. If Yang Qian got into trouble, he could clear himself of the matter and push Yang Qian out as a scapegoat.

He neither offended Wakhan Khan nor Haidu Aling, and certainly not Tanmarajaga and her. He maintained a delicate cooperative relationship with everyone. He would side with whichever side was stronger. No matter how you manipulated him, he would always find a way to survive.

So, you can cooperate with him, but you can't trust him completely.

Yao Ying smiled and said, "I understand. Lord Wei Chi did not agree to anything. I did not meet Lord Wei Chi today."

There was a gleam of light in Wei Chi Damo's eyes.

The two looked at each other and understood each other's meaning.

"I heard that the princess is recruiting volunteers, hiring merchant caravans, and redeeming the Hexi people who were sold into slavery..." Wei Chi Damo said, "If there is anything I can do to help, the princess can give Yang Si a message."

This is so that she can find Yang Qian if she has any problems.

Yao Ying nodded.

Yang Qian puffed out his chest and said, "I will definitely take good care of the princess!"

Wei Chi Damo's expression softened a little.

Several people discussed some matters about how to secretly train the rebel army and pass on messages. Outside the felt tent, there were bursts of music, singing and dancing.

I don't know how long it was before a few whistles were heard outside the tent.

Yang Qian signaled to Yao Ying that it was time to leave.

Yao Ying stood up to say goodbye, and as if she suddenly remembered something, she lowered her head, took out a round and small zither from her sleeve, and handed it to Wei Chi Damo.

When Wei Chi Damo took the gem, his face changed drastically. He raised his head abruptly, his eyes widened, and his hands trembled slightly.

Yao Ying said softly, "Not long ago, my personal soldiers passed by Dahaidao and found that several Beirong people were chasing a brother and sister. They rescued them. This Sese is the young lady's ornament."

Wei Chi Damo clenched his fists and trembled all over.

"Please rest assured, Your Majesty. They will be sent to the royal court and will be taken care of in the best possible way. No one will know their identities. Madam Ina may have thought that they had died in Dahaidao."

After Yaoying finished speaking, she turned and walked out.

"Princess."

The voice of Wei Chi Damo came from behind.

"Princess, why are you telling me this now?"

Yaoying turned around.

Wei Chi Damo narrowed his eyes and carefully observed the expression on her face in the dim light.

This Sese belongs to his daughter, he won't make a mistake.

Ina wanted to kill his son and daughter, but Princess Wen Zhao saved them. Or maybe Princess Wen Zhao sent people to stop Ina's people in order to persuade him to agree to the alliance, save the siblings, and frame Ina... Whatever the truth is, he would rather his children be sent to the royal court of Fozi.

When the children were sent away, he thought he would never see them again in his life.

Princess Wen Zhao saved the siblings, why didn't she tell them their whereabouts earlier?

Yao Ying smiled and said, "The king is very handsome. I just saw him and couldn't remember him for a moment."

She sent people to rescue Yuchi Damo's child, intending to impress Damo so that he would worry less. However, if she mentioned the siblings right away, it would sound like she was asking for trouble, so she didn't mention it.

Regardless of whether Yuchi Damo agrees or not, the child has been rescued, and she will not send the child back to Madam Ina. It will be the same no matter when she says it.

Wei Chi Damo and Yang Qian have never forgotten their homeland, which is worthy of admiration, and she is willing to show her sincerity.

Yaoying turned and walked out.

Wei Chi Damo stared at her back and was lost in thought for a while.

Just as Yang Qian said, he hoped to restore contact with the Central Plains as soon as possible and get rid of the situation of being bullied and trampled upon. Princess Wen Zhao came from the Central Plains and was favored by the Buddha. He would take the initiative to show his goodwill to her without her asking. However, he did not want to reveal his thoughts, and was afraid that Princess Wen Zhao was a weak woman who only knew how to cry, so he wanted to wait until he met her before making a decision.

Now, he suddenly had a strong intuition that this adventure would bring him rewards far beyond his expectations.

…

Yao Ying walked out of the felt tent and Yang Qian followed her.

The two walked and talked in low voices. Yao Ying said, "Tomorrow I will ask Lao Qi to send some things to Silang's house. Silang will use them to recruit more volunteers."

Yang Qian nodded in agreement. He was not good at managing household affairs. In recent years, he had sold his land and estates to support the rebel army, and his expenses were not enough to cover the income. The princess's help was just enough to solve his urgent problem.

The corridor was dark; the flickering candlelight in the hall cast a soft, thin glow on the ground.

Several masked Hu women, holding up their skirts, walked through the corridor, chattering about something.

Yao Ying heard her own title in a trance, was stunned for a moment, and listened carefully.

"The twelve-color skirt that the girl from the Zhang family wore today is so beautiful. Where is the material from?"

"Isn't it the material brought by the merchants of the royal court? I heard that Princess Wen Zhao wore a twelve-colored skirt to dance for the Buddhist disciples. When she danced, the skirt spread out like a blooming flower..."

"Yes, Princess Wen Zhao wore it..."

A few Hu women ran away smiling.

In the corner, Yaoying's mouth twitched slightly.

Yang Qian stood beside her, scratched his head, looked at her with a sharp gaze, and asked in a low voice: "Princess, is the rumor true?"

Yao Ying shook her head: "The Buddha protected me out of compassion, and it had nothing to do with the rumors."

She could guess what Yang Qian was thinking. He was obsessed with uprising and wanted to persuade her to use her relationship with Tanmarajiva to get the royal court to send troops to attack Beirong.

Yang Qian showed a slight disappointment on his face. The Buddhist son announced to the world that his sisters talked about him and the princess every day, and he thought the rumors were true.

The two turned the corner and saw a tall figure standing there. He glanced at Yao Ying and Yang Qian with his green eyes, and his gaze was as sharp as a knife.

Yao Ying went to meet him.

The author has something to say: Recommend a friend's article "The Princess Cheats After Rebirth" by Wei Zhu

In her previous life, she gave her true heart to the wrong person and ended up with a tragic death.

After living a new life, Qing Jiusi decided to change the way she lived. She was well-behaved in front of people but cold and indifferent behind their backs, and made everyone who owed her pay her back tenfold. However, she was caught by the great commander-in-chief one day.

"How can a little girl do such a vicious thing? Aren't you afraid of getting your hands dirty?"

"All the elders are gone, and I have to rely on myself. After all, the governor is my elder, so I should call him uncle." Then she smiled and said, "Hello, uncle."

“…”

Later.

"Come here, Qingqing, let your uncle support your waist."

This support lasted her entire life, and it helped her rise from an orphan girl living beside the empress dowager to the throne of empress.

The darkened orphan girl living under someone else's cage x Zhang Yang, the cruel governor