Li Zhu glanced at it out of the corner of his eye and saw the characters, but they were in Xiliang script, which Li Zhu didn't recognize at all.
He subconsciously glanced at Nazha beside him, hoping to glean some information from her…
Naza rolled her eyes at Li Zhu, speechless. This was a secret of Xiliang, and Li Zhu actually dared to try to extract information from her. She was the princess of Xiliang, how could she do anything detrimental to Xiliang?
Although that's what she thought, she couldn't help but move her lips...
From Nazha's lip movements, Li Zhu could vaguely discern that she had mentioned a place name: Loulan!
Li Zhu was shocked. Loulan again? He had gleaned the secret of the Imperial Seal's inheritance from the Book of the Zodiac, and it was hidden in Loulan…
Now the Miao people are also mentioning Loulan. Does this mean they want to sacrifice Loulan as well?
He couldn't help but think that Loulan in his previous life had also disappeared suddenly. Could it have been sacrificed by the demon god and Miao Jiang together?
"Li Zhu..."
Tuoba Xiong put down the intelligence report, looked at Li Zhu, and called out…
"Cough cough..."
Li Zhu coughed twice to cover his embarrassment at being distracted, and then spoke with a respectful expression.
"Khan, what are your orders?"
"Do you know how much our Xiliang region has lost because of your appearance this time?"
Tuoba Xiong asked in a deep voice!
This startled Li Zhu, who knew that Tuoba Xiong already knew everything, but he didn't know whether it was Tuoba Dada or Nazha who told him...
However, he naturally couldn't admit to such a thing, he said in a calm tone.
"I also feel sorry for the sacrifice of the Xiliang warriors. I fought alongside them, and I admire their heroism and fearlessness. Yet, such a group of people suffered unimaginable losses, all because of the despicable Miao people. I swear here that I will avenge my fallen brothers..."
Tuoba Xiong looked at Li Zhu and thought to himself that this kid was really hard to deal with. He had given such obvious hints, but Li Zhu just wouldn't take the bait...
"If it weren't for you, how could my warriors of Xiliang have suffered such losses?"
Tuoba Xiong feigned anger and said!
"Khan, I don't understand what you're saying. It was clearly me and my men who helped your Xiliang region overcome this crisis. How can you blame it all on me?"
Li Zhu looked at Tuoba Xiong with feigned confusion and said!
This made Tuoba Xiong feel like he had punched a cotton ball...
“Li Zhu, those Miao people are clearly after you. My Xiliang has only suffered an undeserved disaster. My warriors were originally going to support the border and fight against Loulan, but now, because of this disaster you brought, they are unable to provide timely support to the front lines. What do you suggest we do about this loss?”
Tuoba Xiong angrily questioned, determined to pin the blame on Li Zhu no matter what, and to make his 100,000-strong army serve Xiliang...
"Father, what are you doing? Brother Zhu's 100,000 troops came to Xiliang with me to protect him. Don't even think about harming these soldiers..."
Naza stood up angrily, feeling that her father could be so cruel. Before Li Zhu woke up, he had encouraged her to seize power, and now that Li Zhu was awake, he was trying every trick in the book to get him to send troops…
Tuoba Xiong glared at his daughter, feeling annoyed. He always thought that a married daughter was like water spilled from a bowl, and now she was siding with the other party…
At this moment, Li Zhu suddenly realized that the root of the problem lay here: the other side wanted to use his 100,000-strong army…
He still doesn't know how he ended up in Xiliang in such a muddled way, but that doesn't stop him from figuring things out...
They were originally going to Xiliang, but were delayed by matters concerning Jin and Youzhou. In order to fulfill the imperial order and to protect his safety, they brought him to Xiliang. However, they did not expect that Xiliang would encounter trouble and require his army to solve the problem...
In that instant, Li Zhu thought of many things, then he smiled slightly and looked at Tuoba Xiong, saying...
"The Khan's wisdom is higher than the mountains and deeper than the sea..."
Li Zhu first flattered Tuoba Xiong to make him happy, then frowned and said...
"It's not that I don't want to help Xiliang. I was originally the Crown Prince of the New Tang Dynasty, and I was forced by circumstances to come to Xiliang to get married. This is absolutely a blow to the prestige of my New Tang Dynasty. However, I am an upright and kind person, and I can overlook these things. I can also help Xiliang resist the invasion of Loulan, but I have conditions..."
First, Xiliang must accept the culture and education of the Central Plains. This will also benefit you, since the culture of the Central Plains is profound and extensive, which is what you yearn for. I can bring you these things directly!
Secondly, the Khan of Xiliang must be a descendant of me and Nazha, and receive the investiture from the new Tang Dynasty!
Third, Xiliang must use the currency issued by the New Tang Dynasty and allow our New Tang merchants to trade freely. This will not only help you solve your food problem, but also make Xiliang more prosperous. It's definitely a great thing...
If these Khans all agree, then I will immediately send troops to Loulan and conquer a vast territory for Western Liang…”
Upon hearing Li Zhu's words, the nobles of Xiliang thought they had misheard. Were these conditions conditions or were they being helped? Aside from the second one, which was somewhat difficult to accept, the other two were beneficial to them…
They had no idea why Li Zhu wanted to do this; the most important things for a country are nothing more than politics, economy, and culture…
If these things have no autonomy, then this country ceases to exist...
Li Zhu harbored a grand plan: to make Chinese culture the mainstream culture of the world. This way, wherever they conquered, they would have a strong popular base and wouldn't face major governance issues. Moreover, driven by their admiration for the strong, many would even be eager to be ruled by the strong themselves.
"Your conditions..."
Tuoba Xiong wanted to say that he wouldn't agree to the conditions, but he couldn't bring himself to say it. After all, this was no longer a condition, but a reward to Xiliang. After all, Xiliang was still a nomadic people, and their culture was no longer just a matter of generations compared to that of the Central Plains...
"Tuoba Khan, I'm speaking from the bottom of my heart for the sake of your Western Liang. If you disagree, I truly doubt whether your wisdom is just empty boasting, or if you're actually nothing but a pile of useless mud that can't be plastered on a wall..."
Upon hearing Li Zhu's disrespectful words, Tuoba Xiong's face flushed red. No matter what, he was still Li Zhu's future father-in-law. How could he humiliate his father-in-law like that?
However, these words also provoked Tuoba Xiong. How could he tolerate others questioning his wisdom? He felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't figure out what it was for the time being...
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