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Zuo Ying sat in the imperial study, Scarlet Feather accompanied her, and Helan Chu also sat on one side.

"Spread the Turkic ambassador Ke Tuyu." Helan Chu greeted, and the inner attendant passed out layer by layer, and after a while, a middle-aged man walked from outside the main hall. He was tan-skinned, overheaded, and dressed in the round-necked left-hand garb of the Turks, with chains made of orbs around his neck and wrists. That man was none other than the Turkic ambassador Ke Tuyu.

The envoys of a country come on behalf of the monarch of a country, so they do not bow down to the emperor. Ke Tuyu came to the imperial steps and bowed and saluted: "Foreign Minister Ke Tuyu sees Your Majesty, may Your Majesty live long!" ”

Zuo Ying said calmly: "The ambassador came from afar, and he worked hard all the way. Bestow the seat. ”

Ke Tuyu also sat on the side after thanking him, facing Helan Chu.

As soon as Ke Tuyu sat down, Helan Chu opened his mouth and said: "The ambassador's previous request for peace with this seat, this seat has already made your majesty clear, and after discussing the resolution with the ministers, the Holy Lord believes that consolidating the friendship between the two countries is a great good move that is beneficial to the two countries at present, and the Holy Lord is very pleased with the deep affection and kindness of the Khan of Baibu Departure. ”

If this happened four or five days ago, I am afraid that at this time, only a pair of innocent big eyes and a confused expression could express the uncertainty in Zuo Ying's heart; Helan Chu didn't even tell Zuo Ying what he wanted to discuss, but in front of the Turkic ambassador, he said that he had already discussed it with Zuo Ying, didn't he conclude that she didn't dare to question her face to face for fear of "losing her national body", forcing her to acquiesce to everything?

But now it's happening, and it's a different story. Before returning to the palace, Zuo Ying had already learned from the information provided by Wei Chinan that on the night of the enthronement ceremony, Ke Tuyu took the heavy gift to Helan Chu's mansion, and later brought the heavy gift back untouched. Although it was impossible to know what they were talking about at the time, it seemed from the spy report from Ke Tuyu's residence that it was for the sake of harmony.

In Zuo Ying's memory, Helan Chu had always had a deep prejudice against the Turks. He was a calm and sophisticated man, and he never showed such personal feelings, but it was evident from the hard-line attitude towards the Turks in his policy, and his more than one rejection of marriages between the two countries. Therefore, the rejection of Ke Tuyu's request this time was also expected, but at this time, he was actually given the opportunity to face the saint, which made things a little strange.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Ke Tuyu smiled and thanked him.

"However," Ke Tuyu's smile hadn't disappeared yet, and Helan Chu's words changed, "Heqin, I'm afraid it's out of place." First, in the past few years, the Turkic tribes have invaded the people around our country from time to time, and if peace is allowed at this time, I am afraid that it will be criticized by the people, and the good deeds that originally benefited the two countries will be regarded as the cowardice, fear, weakness and powerlessness of our Great Zhou court; Second, I beg your pardon for saying that the influence of the Ashina clan in the Turkic tribes is not as good as before, and if the alliance of the Turkic tribes led by the Ashina clan is about to leave, the saint is worried that even if the matter of harmony is reached, it will not be able to bring peace to the people around me. ”

As soon as these words came out, Ke Tuyu's face suddenly lost its brilliance - didn't it clearly say that his Ashina clan was not worthy of Da Zhou to send the princess and kiss? After saying this, it is a trivial matter to be unable to communicate with the Khan, and it is a big gap that cannot be made up for if the tribe is humiliated and cannot be relied on by the forces of the Great Zhou.

He raised his eyebrows and arched his hand: "Your Majesty, Taishi, I can't hide it, among the Turkic tribes, the controversy over whether to be good or bad with your country has never been broken, and the khans of each tribe are either based on immediate interests or long-term merits, each has its own opinions, and it is difficult to unify, only my Ashina clan has never wavered in its goodwill with your country; As the Taishi said, the Turkic tribes are not in harmony now, and the position of the leader of the Ashina clan is almost challenged, and this is precisely the reason why your country has been in constant trouble this year. If Your Majesty can grant peace and show that your country and the Ashina clan are friendly and helpful, the ministries will surely be afraid of the power of the union between the two countries, and there will be no reason to create a second thing. In this way, once the border troubles of your country are eliminated, the Khan will also repay the favor because of your country's dependence, and form a good alliance between Qin and Jin and become brothers. This matter of sincerity and benefit in the present and in the future, please think twice. ”

"The ambassador has a point." Helan Chu's tone was indifferent, as if he had just heard some nonsense, "Therefore, Your Majesty just thinks that it is inappropriate to make peace with each other, and does not refuse to make friends between the two countries." Your Majesty has a decision that can consolidate the relationship between the two countries more than harmony, that is, to allow your country to send your son Ashina Wujiang into our Great Zhou Dynasty as an official. ”

Hearing Helan Chu's words, not to mention Ke Tuyu, even Zuo Ying was stunned.

The so-called "sending the son of the world to my Great Zhou Dynasty as an official", the son of the world is called an official in his beautiful name, but in fact he is a "hostage" of a country. Sending the prince to another country as a hostage is actually a way for a weak country to show loyalty to a strong country and seek refuge; Although this is theoretically not a disadvantage for the weak country, there are even many weak countries in history who want to send protons, and the strong countries are unwilling to accept the situation, but this is a country to another country's subordination, the unequal status of the two sides is established, and the future government of the party sending the proton will definitely be constrained everywhere, and until the son returns to China to inherit the throne, it will also be affected by the country from culture to policy because of immersion in other countries for many years.

It can be seen that making such a request can almost be said to be a humiliation to the Ashina clan; If the other party refuses, it is equivalent to a rupture.

Helan Chu didn't take Ke Tuyu's expression of astonishment and dissatisfaction to heart at all, and continued: "I heard that the prince of your country, Ashina, has no borders, has a gentle and modest temperament, has been good at Confucianism since childhood, and is proficient in Chinese. At that time, His Majesty will definitely entrust the prince with great power, so that he can have a broad view of political affairs and make a wide range of contacts, which will be beneficial to his succession to the throne in the future. ”

Although the words are nice, in any case, sending protons is the act of being a minister, and there is no way to change this. Ke Tuyu, who was almost cornered in both the political situation of his tribe and the current situation, couldn't refuse this last opportunity to use the power of the Great Zhou for the Khan for a while, let alone agree to such a request, as if he had borne an unbearable burden, he was very embarrassed in his heart, and his face was quite embarrassed.

At this moment, an angelic voice came from the chief, "Ke Tuyu, the Taishi has not fully expressed my meaning. ”

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