Achoo—
Achoo!
During the army's march, Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin, riding on horseback, sneezed several times in a row, which puzzled him greatly.
He thought to himself: I have neither a cold nor a flu, so why am I sneezing so much?
Could it be that someone is talking about me behind my back?
"Your Highness, Prince Jin—"
The words of the Uyghur envoy, Ahmaiti, brought Chen Huai'an back to reality.
The latter said respectfully, "Your Highness, we have now entered the Orkhon River basin of the Uyghur Khanate. Less than a hundred li to the west, we will reach the territory of the Uyghur capital, Harabalgas."
"Your humble servant has already dispatched messengers to Harabalgas to inform the valiant Khan, instructing the princes, nobles, soldiers, and subjects within the city to prepare for the arrival of His Highness Prince Jin and the Longcheng army."
With a hint of pleading in his voice, Ahmaiti continued, "Your Highness, I humbly request that you lead your army to rest briefly in the Orkhon River area, and then proceed to the city of Halabalgas three days later!"
"because--"
"Because our valiant Khan says that His Highness Prince Jin has come from afar with the army of Longcheng, and is the most honored guest of our Uyghur Khanate. The valiant Khan and the soldiers and civilians of Kharabalgas City must welcome His Highness Prince Jin and the soldiers of Longcheng into the city with the grandest and most solemn ceremony!"
"Yes, we need a little time to prepare for the welcoming ceremony. We hope Your Highness will grant us permission!"
After saying this, Ahmaiti knelt down and bowed to Chen Huai'an.
Out of the corner of her eye, she was stealing glances at Chen Huai'an's reaction.
Clearly, Ahmaiti's excuse of needing three days to prepare for the welcoming ceremony was a pretext.
In reality, this was the heroic Khan Moyanchuo's plan to buy time by searching for five hundred handsome young men in the city of Harabalgas to present to His Highness Prince Jin.
Chen Huai'an, kept in the dark, had no idea.
What was merely a joke he made about resisting the marriage alliance with Princess Bilge was interpreted by the Uyghur envoy Ahmad as Prince Jin having homosexual tendencies.
Furthermore, the rumors spread so widely that the valiant Khan Moyanchuo actually believed them and even took practical actions to please him.
As a result, this farcical incident has escalated to the point where the Uyghur Khanate is now mobilizing the entire capital's resources just to please His Highness Prince Jin.
At this moment, Chen Huai'an, who was riding on horseback, finally agreed to the request made by Aihamati.
"Ahmaiti, I grant your permission!"
He then instructed, "Xiao Po, pass down the order: the army shall rest in place for three days!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
Thus, Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin personally led 100,000 troops from Longcheng to set up camp and rest near the Orkhon River, less than 100 miles from the Uyghur Khanate.
Two days later.
Another army from Longcheng, marching along the Kerulen River and conquering more than 20 cities of the Uyghur Khanate, also set up camp less than 100 miles from the Uyghur capital, led by General Lan Yu.
Lan Yu then led several hundred personal guards straight to the Orkhon River area and went to the central command tent to meet Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin.
That night.
Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin held a grand banquet in the central military tent to reward the generals of the Longcheng army.
The Uyghur envoy, Ahmaiti, accompanied him, which was considered a small way of showing hospitality as a host.
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. The banquet featured hand-pulled mutton and strong mare's milk liquor.
During the banquet, General Lan Yu, whose face was flushed from drinking, insisted on performing a wrestling dance for the group of generals, claiming that he had learned it from a wrestling king of some Uyghur Khanate.
Chen Huai'an, sitting in the center of the tent, was quite pleased to see his generals gathered together in a joyful and harmonious atmosphere.
With a wave of his hand, he granted Lan Yu's request.
Furthermore, he also had the brave general Pang Xianchu, who had twice followed the late King Chen Polu on expeditions to the Western Regions and had some knowledge of the Western Regions' musical instruments, the drum and gong, personally accompany Lan Yu on the drumming.
Knock knock, knock knock!
Accompanied by the cheerful rhythm of drums, Lan Yu, now thoroughly intoxicated, began to sing and dance with abandon inside the large tent.
To be fair, despite his rugged and burly appearance, Lan Yu's rough and bold wrestling dance was surprisingly skillful, with each move quite impressive.
However, his solo dance seemed somewhat lacking in grandeur.
This scene immediately made Ahmad, the Uyghur envoy accompanying him, realize that the time was ripe.
He then rose and approached Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin, respectfully saying, "Your Highness, I have several Uyghur people by my side who are skilled in singing and dancing and proficient in musical instruments."
"Should we have them sing and dance to entertain His Highness and the generals?"
Um?
Upon hearing this, Chen Huai'an raised an eyebrow, and for no apparent reason, a scene of exotic beauties dressed in light gauze twisting their necks and dancing the belly dance appeared in his mind.
Then, with a reserved expression, she nodded and said, "That's excellent!"
"My generals have fought their way here for so long, it's time for them to relax and enjoy themselves!"
"Ahmaiti, go and make the arrangements!"
"Your humble servant obeys!"
Soon, a cheerful musical performance began, immediately attracting the attention of the Dragon City generals who were drinking and making merry inside the tent. They all stopped what they were doing and turned their gazes to the outside of the tent.
In particular, the valiant general Pang Xianchu, who had twice led expeditions to the Western Regions, knew from the sound of musical instruments that it was time for the beautiful women of the Western Regions to perform their hot dance.
With the effects of the alcohol taking hold, even the usually stern and reserved Pang Xianchu began to look forward to the upcoming song and dance segment.
Chen Huai'an was alright, after all, short videos had already swept the globe before he transmigrated, and with the help of a series of special effects, he had seen all kinds of beauties.
After transmigrating to the Great Xin Dynasty, as the crown prince, his knowledge far surpassed that of the rough and tough military generals under his command.
The only thing that could pique his interest was comparing the differences between belly dance from the Western Regions a thousand years ago and belly dance a thousand years later.
A moment later, the "dancer" appeared.
However, the "dancing girl" who walked briskly and danced her way into the central command tent surprised the generals of Longcheng present.
General Lan Yu, in particular, was almost ready to stand up and shout: "What the hell is this Western Region beauty, this seductive dancer?"
Because those singing and dancing inside the tent were all young Uyghur men.
Each of them was handsome and refined in appearance, and they danced with exceptional energy.
but--
This whole room is full of rough, uncouth men, all flushed and drunk, and you expect them to watch a bunch of male dancers?
This effect is no less than sending eunuchs to brothels.
If it weren't for the fact that Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin was also sitting in the tent, and that General Lan Yu was drunk, he probably would have overturned the table long ago, and even cut off Aihamati's pig head to use as a chamber pot.
Pang Xianchu, Fan Wuji, and the others lost interest in watching the dance and went off to drink alone in their solitude.
Chen Huai'an was also quite puzzled. How come this is completely different from the exotic dance he had imagined?
However, in order to maintain the demeanor and aura of a superior, Chen Huai'an naturally could not say anything in front of his subordinate generals.
Instead, he took his wine glass and went to clink glasses with Lan Yu, Pang Xianchu, and others, chatting and joking around.
After that, he never looked at the group of Uyghur male dancers who were singing and dancing energetically inside the tent again.
Instantly, the noisy drinking and finger-guessing games inside the large tent, along with the singing and dancing accompaniment of the Uyghur men, stood out starkly in the vast tent, creating a jarring contrast.
Only Ahmaiti, as a Uyghur envoy, dared to presume that Prince Chen Huai'an of Jin had homosexual tendencies, and was left bewildered alone in his tent.
Completely bewildered, he muttered to himself, "What's going on? Does His Highness Prince Jin not like male dancers who are barely twenty?"
"Could it be that he has fallen for an older, martial artist?"
Fortunately, Chen Huai'an couldn't hear Aihamati's inner thoughts.
Otherwise, the self-righteous Ahmaiti will certainly not see the sunrise tomorrow!
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