After the court meeting, King Loulan went out of the main hall, but did not return to the palace, but walked in the palace.

Not long after, a group of three officials, led by the palace attendants, hurried over and saluted King Loulan.

The three of them were all over fifty years old, richly dressed, with gray beards, and one in the middle was bloated and looked very rich, while the two next to them were much thinner, and they all behaved moderately.

If Qin Cheng was here, he would be able to find that these three people were all officials who had stood at the front of the queue of hundreds of officials in the main hall before, but they had hardly said a word.

said it was an official, but it was actually a Loulan noble.

"You don't have to be polite." King Loulan waved his hand, motioned for the attendants to retreat, looked at the three people with solemn faces, and said, "This king called the three of them, but in fact, he has something to ask for advice." ”

"The king wants to ask, should Loulan form an alliance with the Han Dynasty or with the Xiongnu?" The rich old man in the middle accepted the gift, and did not detour around the corner, but said directly.

"What does Uncle Wang think?" King Loulan looked at the old man who had the absolute right to speak among the nobles of Loulan, and his tone was full of hope.

"In front of the king, the minister does not dare to speak highly." The rich old man spoke respectfully, but his demeanor was not restrained, but on the contrary, it was very suitable, "But the minister does have some thoughts about the alliance with the Han and the Xiongnu. ”

"Uncle Wang, please speak."

"The Xiongnu are wolves, the Han are tigers, both are powerful countries in the world, but they are fighting each other. The so-called competition between the two powers, affecting the pond fish, Loulan is sandwiched between these two big countries, and it is impossible to stay out of the matter, so one must be selected from these two powers as an ally. The old man said slowly.

"This reason also knows which country should be allied with at this time?" King Loulan's face was bitter.

"It depends on whether the king wants Loulan to remain independent in the future, or whether he wants Loulan to become a vassal of other countries." The old man said.

"Please also ask Uncle Wang to explain in detail."

"If you want to keep Loulan independent, the price you have to pay will be a lot greater, and Loulan may also be in crisis at any time; If it is dependent on one country, it can guarantee peace and security in Loulan, but it is ...... Since then, Loulan has become a vassal of another country, and even the king may have to claim vassal status to this country in the future! As the old man spoke, the light in his eyes flashed with wisdom, but he was deeply worried, "The Han and Loulan are far away, if they form an alliance with the Han, Loulan can maintain independence, and will rely on Loulan to a large extent; If it is an alliance with the Xiongnu, because the Xiongnu army can come from day to night, and the Xiongnu act ruthlessly and domineeringly, then Loulan can only become a vassal of the Xiongnu in the future! ”

"If this is the case, how to make a decision, the king has to make an idea."

King Loulan's face was very bad, "According to Uncle Wang, forming an alliance with the Xiongnu is almost tantamount to luring a wolf into the house?" ”

"I'm afraid that if the king doesn't lead him, the wolf will come in." The old man was a little helpless and said, "There are too many wolves, and people can't stop them." ”

"Then invite the tiger to drive the wolf!" King Loulan said sharply.

"I'm afraid that the tiger has not yet arrived, and the wolf has broken in!" The rich old man sighed.

"In this way, Uncle Wang is in favor of an alliance with the Xiongnu?" King Loulan's eyes turned cold.

"The old minister never said that." The old man said, "When I was in the court before, the king asked the Hun envoys for seven days, didn't he just want to see if the tigers could drive away the wolves?" If the tiger becomes an ornament after seven days, then what can I do with Loulan? At that time, the tiger's claws can only be broken to feed the hungry wolves, and it is just a matter of seeking peace. ”

King Loulan was speechless for a long time.

Halfway through, King Loulan asked tentatively, "Can't there be a way to get the best of both worlds?" For example, the Huns are clearly connected to the Han Dynasty. In this way, can Loulan be profitable? ”

"Never!" The rich old man was shocked, and hurriedly persuaded: "Loulan is a small country, and it is still not enough to serve a wolf, how can you serve a wolf and a tiger?" If this is the case, Loulan will definitely have no bones! Please think twice! ”

"That's it, that's it!" King Loulan suddenly felt very tired, and he waved his hand, "You guys go down." ”

"The ministers are leaving."

King Loulan watched the three ministers and princes retreat, and his heart swelled with infinite bitterness.

The Xiongnu is a wolf, the Han is a tiger, what is Loulan?

Let's watch this wolf and tiger fight! Aren't there seven days left?

.......................................................

From the main hall of the Loulan Palace back to the post house, Yi Xue'er was a little distracted all the way, always looking down at the ground, during the conversation between Qin Cheng and Dou Fei, she did not interject, and occasionally Qin Cheng Dou Fei asked her opinion, she was just perfunctory.

Yi Xue'er's eyes seemed to have a deep sorrow that could not be dissolved, her whole face looked dull, her thoughts did not know where she had drifted, and she moved, although she deliberately concealed it, but in Qin Cheng's eyes, it was quite pitiful.

When she arrived at the inn, she excused herself from feeling unwell and went straight back to her room to rest. Qin Cheng and Dou Fei still had something to discuss, so they didn't follow up to ask what was going on, but just told Yi Xue'er to rest.

Qin Cheng and Dou Fei came back, Liu Mu couldn't wait to come over and ask what happened in the court, Huo Quzhi followed behind Liu Mu, looking dispensable.

"Since you are so curious about what happened in the court, why didn't you come with us before?" Qin Cheng glanced at Liu Mu angrily, and followed Dou Fei to the room and sat down.

"Aren't they two different things? If I don't farm, can't I eat? Willow was right, and sat down in the room.

Qin Cheng asked Huo Quai's servants to get some tea and snacks, and he opened the conversation, "Your analogy is appropriate." ”

"Of course."

"However, one of you said that the world's metaphors often seem subtle at first glance, but in fact, they are all stolen concepts. So what you just said doesn't contradict my question. Qin Cheng laughed twice.

"Who has said such a thing, how come I don't know?"

"Han Han ......"

Qin Cheng sat down and straightened the hem of his clothes, "Okay, don't talk about this." Today, in the court, the king of Loulan promised Zhao Xin a seven-day deadline to decide whether to form an alliance with the Huns......"

"Zhao Xin? That guy came to the mud city? Where is he? Willow became excited.

Qin Cheng glanced at her, "He is now the second king of the Xiongnu, the envoy to Loulan, what do you want to do to him?" Do you still want to kill him? ”

"This kind of person, everyone will be punished!" Liu Mu said resentfully.

"Don't divert the topic, when today's business is over, you can do whatever you want." Qin Cheng didn't bother to say more to Liu Mu, and continued: "King Loulan promised to decide whether to form an alliance with the Huns within a limit of seven days, and this time limit was for himself and for us. ”

"We are still in the mud city, how dare the king of Loulan agree to form an alliance with the Xiongnu? Can he endure the death of his great general and more than a dozen officials in vain? Liu Mu was puzzled.

"Don't interrupt you!" Qin Cheng said angrily, "From now on, you shut up for me, you just listened to it without letting you speak, you didn't go to the palace earlier, you always interrupted my train of thought at this time, and now we will discuss a very serious issue!" ”

Liu Mu pouted, "I saw that Princess Yixue's face was not very good, so I was curious......"

At this time, the servants of the post house brought up the snacks, and Qin Cheng said while filling his stomach: "The 30,000 Xiongnu army can come in the morning and evening, what can you do?" ”

"......" Willow, "So what are we going to do?" ”

"Isn't that being discussed?" Qin Cheng swallowed a mouthful full of food, breathed a long sigh of relief, and continued: "Brother Dou, tell me, how can we solve the situation in front of us now?" If we can't let the 30,000 Xiongnu army retreat within seven days, and then give Loulan a certain security guarantee, I'm afraid that Loulan will really ally with the Xiongnu. ”

"The alliance is also an alliance under the city, and it is just a fictitious thing." Dou Fei took a sip of water and said, "However, if the situation is really like this, we can only retreat." ”

"How to retreat into advance?" Qin Cheng listened attentively.

"If the Xiongnu really forced Loulan to sign an alliance under the city with an army of 30,000 this time, then this alliance would be just a formality and would have no effect at all, and there must be many people in Loulan who would regard it as a humiliation. We only need to secretly communicate with Loulan in quyi, and when the Han Dynasty sends troops to the Western Regions next year, Loulan will still be on our side. Dou Fei glanced at Qin Cheng and said calmly.

"No." Qin Cheng said, "I waited for this trip to seek the Western Regions, and now that I have lost the Loulan Kingdom first, I am afraid that I can only take the blame and pay it back." ”

"Then let Zhang Qian trumpet the Xiongnu's bullying behavior in other places, and mobilize the countries of the Western Regions to fight against the Xiongnu together." Dou Fei said again.

"No." Qin Cheng still shook his head, "It's only seven days now, it's too late." Moreover, it is not a trivial matter to unite the countries of the Western Regions, and it is difficult to achieve a climate in a short period of time. If we can't come up with the capital to convince the Western Regions, the countries of the Western Regions will not easily offend the Xiongnu, which is the same as the Loulan Kingdom. ”

"Then I simply killed all the Xiongnu envoys, forced Loulan and the Xiongnu to break the net, muddy the water, and I will ask for reinforcements later." Dou Fei continued.

"Still not right." Qin Cheng sighed lightly, "This approach doesn't say whether it can succeed, even if it succeeds, it will make the Great Han the target of public criticism." ”

"Huh!" Dou Fei smiled suddenly, his expression became relaxed, and he arched his hand to Qin Cheng and said, "So, congratulations to the general!" ”

"What's the joy of?" Qin Cheng asked with slanted eyes.

"Yes, there's no way to do it now, where can you be happy, aren't you having a bad brain?" Liu Mu looked at Dou Fei with strange eyes.

Huo Qu's sick hand dragged his cheeks, silent in thought.

Dou Fei said with a smile: "Since Brother Qin has rejected my proposals one by one, it shows that Brother Qin has already made a plan in his chest." In this way, how can you not like it? ”

"Do you really have a way?" Liu Mu looked at Qin Cheng expectantly.

"I can't talk about anything, after all, the current situation is too grim and there are too many restrictions." Qin Cheng said sincerely.

"Whether there is a way or not, you just say it!" Liu Mu said angrily.

"There's no guarantee of success, but if you look at the moment, you can give it a try!" Qincheng Road.

......................................................

After the king of Loulan saw the three ministers and princes leave, he wanted to go back to the palace to rest, but he received a report from the attendants, saying that the guest wanted to see him.

"Keqing?" King Loulan thought for a while, and reluctantly recalled the young man who Qin Cheng recommended to him some time ago.

King Loulan's impression of Xike Chafu was limited to knowing that this man had some courage, dared to fight against the Xiongnu, and risked his own life. For this, King Loulan still has some appreciation. In normal times, if King Loulan was in a good mood, he would not be able to meet Xike Teaman, but today, King Loulan really felt tired, so he didn't have the heart to see him.

"No, let him go back." King Loulan waved his hand weakly.

The attendant took the order and left, and King Loulan sat in the royal study for a while, hoping to find some wisdom left by his predecessors in the classics to solve the current dilemma, but after flipping through some classics, King Loulan only felt upset and irritable, and in annoyance, he threw the classics aside.

King Loulan looked at the room full of classics, and suddenly sighed dejectedly: "The Han Dynasty has Qincheng, and the Xiongnu have Zhao Xin, all of whom are immortal talents who govern the country and secure the country!" But I, Loulan, why don't I have such a courtier to mention this king to solve problems? ! ”

"My dignified Languo is really so small, don't you even have a talent who can seek a country?!"

After sighing, King Loulan sat down weakly.

The heart is sad and indignant.

"King, Keqing asks to see!" The attendant reported from outside the door again.

"Didn't you say no? Treat all the king's words as a fart!? When King Loulan was furious, he immediately scolded when he heard the words.

The attendants outside the door immediately fell silent, and only promised: "Keqing said that he knows that the king is depressed now, and he can relieve the sorrow in the king's heart." ”

"That's what he said?" King Loulan sneered, "A commoner, how dare he speak so outrageously? ”

Keqing also said......" The attendant swallowed his saliva, although he was uneasy, he still continued to speak, and I don't know if he received enough benefits from Xike Teaman, "Loulan is not enough to seek skin with tigers and wolves, but the thirty-six countries can be killed for meat!" ”

King Loulan was stunned, he couldn't help but be surprised in his heart, calmed down and thought about it, he laughed and said, "What a big breath! In that case, go and tell him, or he will come and tell the king how to kill the tiger and wolf to get his flesh, or if he can't say that he will kill the king and behead him!" Or, get my king out of the palace now!" ”

The attendant answered yes and hurried away.

After a while, a loud voice sounded outside the door, "Minister, meet the king!" ”

"Come in!" King Loulan's mood calmed down a little, and he was already seated, waiting for the Xike teaman to come in.

"King Xie!" The Xike teaman walked into the door and bowed to King Loulan in the middle of the house.

"Presumably, the words of this king should have reached your ears, you can think clearly, if you don't move this king, this king will take your head!" King Loulan looked at Xike Teaman, and his tone was not shocked, "If you retreat now, it's still too late." ”

"The minister didn't know how to get out of the palace, so he simply tried his luck, maybe he could relieve the sorrow in the king's heart a little, so that the minister was not afraid of death." Sikoteaman's voice was not loud, but firm.

"I have seen a lot of people who sell their fame and reputation, and I have seen a lot of people who are not afraid of death." King Loulan said coldly, "If you don't have real talent and real learning, it's useless to just want to attract the attention of this king, and the official uniform you just put on will be gone if you are not careful." Let's say, the thirty-six countries can kill tigers and wolves and take their flesh. What does this mean? ”

The muscles on Xike Chafu's face moved, and it seemed that he wanted to show a smile, but because the smile was unnatural, it was more ugly than crying, but his voice immediately sounded, "Although the Loulan Kingdom is not small, it is less than the Xiongnu and the Great Han. Therefore, Loulan alone to deal with the Xiongnu and the Han is indeed beyond Loulan's strength. However, Loulan is not the only country here, the other 35 countries are in a similar situation to Loulan, and they are all facing the dilemma of surviving under the struggle of the Xiongnu and the Han Dynasty. The Han people have a saying that the lips are dead and the teeth are cold, and the king can send envoys to other countries to explain these problems with them, and unite with other countries to fight against the Xiongnu and the Han Dynasty. ”

After the Sico teaman finished speaking, he stood silent.

After half a ring, King Loulan said, "Finished?" ”

Xike teaman was stunned, and then said: "The Xiongnu is a country of tigers and wolves, and they have long coveted Loulan, and the king must not ally with the Xiongnu!" ”

"Why?"

"There are 3,000 nobles in Loulan, and everyone can rely on the Huns to live, but the king can't! If it forms an alliance with the Xiongnu, the Xiongnu will definitely turn Loulan into its vassals, and at that time, the Loulan nobles will still be Loulan nobles, but the king can no longer be the king of Loulan! Because Loulan can only be owned by one king, and this throne, the Xiongnu will only keep it for their own people! Therefore, everyone in Loulan can vote for the Huns, but the king cannot! ”

Silence, silence again.

King Loulan didn't react, and the Xike teaman didn't know how to continue, even if he had more thoughts in his stomach, he didn't know how to say it. And the attitude of King Loulan is unknown, and the Xike teaman does not know how to say it.

After half a ring, the king of Loulan said: "Then tell me, now Loulan only has seven days, if you don't agree to form an alliance with the Xiongnu, after seven days, how will Loulan deal with the Xiongnu?" ”

The tone has softened a lot.

"The minister thinks that the king should not ask the minister about this matter." Sico Teaman secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Who is the king going to ask?"

"Ask the Han envoy." Sico Teaman Road.

"Han envoy?"

"Nowadays, in the treatment of the Huns, the interests are with