The capital of Pyu Kingdom was Naypyidaw.
King Mangyinglong of Pyu has received a letter from Emperor Murongfu of Nanzhao, who sent a special envoy to inform him that he has set off for Naypyidaw with Nanzhao's elite troops and will arrive soon.
To understand the relationship between King Mangyinglong of Pyu and Emperor Murongfu of Nanzhao, we must start with the establishment of the Pyu Toungoo Dynasty.
Mangyung, the then King of Pyu, was the brother-in-law and confidant of Mangye Ri, the King of Toungoo. In his early years, he followed the King of Toungoo in his campaigns and made great contributions.
At that time, the Pyu Kingdom was a country with many powerful regimes and strongmen. The power of Wang Mang Ti Rui of Dongyu was one of the larger ones, and the territory he controlled in Pyu was the largest.
However, after the assassination of King Mang Tirui of Toungoo, the Toungoo Dynasty he established was on the verge of collapse.
At that time, Mang Yinglong, who was not yet thirty years old, was powerless to control the situation after the death of the King of Dongyu. It was Murong Fu, the then King of Pingxi of the Great Xin Dynasty, who took the initiative to send a large army to help Mang Yinglong stabilize the chaotic situation.
Furthermore, he ultimately single-handedly helped Mangyinglong ascend to the throne of Pyu Kingdom.
As a result, Pyu naturally became a vassal state of the Great Xin Dynasty, paying tribute to the Great Xin Dynasty with gold, silver, jade, and rare treasures every year.
After Murong Fu declared himself emperor, Mangyinglong also declared that Pyu Kingdom had broken away from the vassal state of the Daxin Dynasty and become a loyal follower of the Nanzhao regime.
Therefore, upon learning that his benefactor, Murong Fu, was in trouble, King Mangyinglong of Pyu did not hesitate to lend him a helping hand, even going so far as to send the Pyu's most elite elephant troops to assist in the battle.
In Mu Rongfu and Mang Yinglong's plan, they would use a strategy of luring the enemy deep into their territory, leading the Longcheng Southern Expeditionary Army into the territory of Pyu Kingdom to fight, so that the elephant cavalry could take advantage of the favorable timing, terrain, and popular support.
This is why Emperor Murongfu of Nanzhao took the initiative to abandon the capital, Dali.
Let's get back to the main topic.
Three days later, Mu Rongfu and his entourage arrived at Naibidoo, the capital of Pyu Kingdom. King Mangyinglong personally led all the civil and military officials out of the city to welcome them, giving the emperor of the suzerain state the highest level of reception to Mu Rongfu, the emperor of Nanzhao who had fled for refuge.
"Your subject, Mang Yinglong, along with all the civil and military officials of Pyu Kingdom, kowtows to the Great Emperor of our suzerain state, wishing the Great Emperor a long life, a long life, a long life!"
"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
The accompanying civil and military officials of Pyu all knelt down and performed the three kowtows and nine bows to Mu Rongfu.
This scene deeply moved the exiled Emperor Murongfu of Nanzhao.
He hurriedly stepped forward and personally helped King Mangyinglong of Pyu to his feet, saying with tears in his eyes, "Since ancient times, true friendship has always been revealed in times of hardship."
"The King of Pyu treated me with great courtesy and sincerity, which deeply moved me!"
"I have decided that from this day forward, our two countries will no longer be in a suzerain-vassal relationship, but rather equal brother states. From this day forward, I and the King of Mang will also address each other as brothers!"
As he spoke, Mu Rongfu took Mang Yinglong's hand and said sincerely, "I am a few years older, so I will consider myself his elder brother. I wonder what you think, my virtuous brother?"
Mang Yinglong was flattered and said, "I am deeply grateful for the Emperor's favor, and I could not have asked for more!"
Ha ha!
Mu Rongfu laughed heartily and said, "Very well, then let us two brothers swear an oath of brotherhood in front of all the civil and military officials of our two countries!"
Mang Yinglong raised his hand and said firmly, "How dare I disobey!"
Immediately afterwards, Mu Rongfu and Mang Yinglong held a simple sworn brotherhood ceremony at the foot of the capital city of Pyu, in front of the officials of both countries. They swore an oath of blood and became sworn brothers.
In fact, for small countries in Southeast Asia like Pyu, the awe and worship of the Central Plains dynasties is innate, a genetic memory etched into their very bones.
Therefore, when faced with Emperor Murong Fu of Nanzhao's demand to swear a blood oath and become sworn brothers, King Mangyinglong of Pyu Kingdom was completely powerless to resist.
Even the civil and military officials of Pyu Kingdom considered it the highest honor for Pyu Kingdom to become sworn brothers with the emperor of the Central Plains dynasty.
Although this emperor of the Nanzhao regime was now just a figurehead, a puppet so weak that he needed the protection of the Pyu Kingdom.
However, this did not diminish the deep-seated awe and reverence that the Pyu rulers and their ministers held for the emperors of the Central Plains dynasties.
This is why Emperor Murongfu of Nanzhao, who has come from exile and is trying to restore his country with the help of the Pyu Kingdom's military power, took the initiative to propose a blood oath alliance with Mangyinglong.
This is also a way to win people's hearts!
After Mu Rongfu and Mangyinglong became sworn brothers, the royal family members, civil and military officials who had fled from Nanzhao also moved into Neibi, the capital of Pyu Kingdom.
Mu Rongfu and Mang Yinglong were not idle either; they immediately went to inspect the elite elephant cavalry of the Pyu Kingdom.
This elite elephant corps of the Pyu Kingdom was small in number, totaling over three thousand men and a thousand well-trained adult elephants. Their role was roughly equivalent to the Iron Pagoda troops of Longcheng, mainly used to charge into enemy formations.
Compared to the massive elephants that weigh several tons, even the heavily armored Dragon City Ironclad Cavalry appeared rather small.
Emperor Mu Rongfu of the Nanzhao Kingdom was aware of the existence of the Pyu Kingdom's elephant cavalry.
But he didn't expect that the elephant corps would be so large.
Therefore, when he saw the entire formation of the Pyu elephant corps at the training ground outside Naypyidaw, he was deeply impressed.
Mu Rongfu exclaimed, "Brother, with the assistance of your Pyu Kingdom's elephant cavalry, plus the 20,000 elite troops I brought back from Nanzhao, we will surely catch the Longcheng southern expeditionary army completely off guard!"
"Once I have recovered the lost territory, you may take whatever gold, silver, valuables, and women you desire in the city. As for the military equipment and provisions of the Dragon City bandits, I will leave them all to you without taking a single penny."
"This is my humble gratitude to my brother for his timely assistance in helping me to restore Nanzhao!"
Upon hearing this, King Mangyinglong of Pyu Kingdom replied with a smile, "In that case, my virtuous brother will respectfully comply and follow your arrangements!"
"Report—"
Just as one was dreaming of restoring his kingdom and the other of getting rich, a messenger from the Pyu Kingdom rushed to the elephant cavalry camp to urgently report to Mang Yinglong:
"Your Majesty, our scouts report that the vanguard of the Longcheng expeditionary force has entered the territory of our Pyu Kingdom and is advancing towards the capital, Naypyidaw!"
oh?
Upon hearing this news, both Mu Rongfu and Mang Yinglong raised their eyebrows, exchanged a glance, and then Mu Rongfu said, "Chang Yuchun is really persistent!"
"I had barely arrived in Naypyidaw when the vanguard of the Dragon City rebels had already crossed the border!"
Mang Yinglong chimed in, "Brother, these bandits from Longcheng are rushing here to their deaths!"
Then, with a wave of his hand, he said, "Men, convey my order: the elephant cavalry shall immediately set off for the front lines to join forces with our fraternal forces of the Nanzhao Kingdom to jointly defend against the enemy."
"I'd like to see whether the cavalry of the Dragon City bandits are more powerful, or whether my Pyu Kingdom's elephant cavalry is superior!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
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