After walking along the narrow passage that could only be passed by one person, he suddenly opened up, and a dark room came into view. Li Yuanqi thought secretly, he had never seen such an exquisite dark room. It seems to be built under the water of the pond next to the pavilion, and a row of round holes the size of wine cups have been opened on the top, and they are plugged with colorless glass unique to the Western Regions, which will let in the light. Because under the water, there is a pond of fish and grass to cover it, and you can't find this place when you look at it on land. But the people inside are much more comfortable, after all, they can see the light of day, and they may not feel tired after spending a day inside. The interior furnishings are simple, except for a hundred treasure shelves on the side of the wall, there are only three or four rattan mats, a low table, sit down, just to discuss.

Seeing Li Yuanqi looking at the design of this secret room, Pei Feng seemed to recall the past again, and reluctantly said: "This house and the dark room are all the handiwork of the general, and there was a plan to send someone to secretly stare at Qiuzi, but he never thought about ......it."

Although he didn't like to listen to these words that didn't cause people to worry, Li Yuanqi still comforted him and said: "General Right has never forgotten the old master all these years, he is really loyal and courageous, which is admirable, and the soul of the second uncle in heaven will be comforted." After saying that, he raised his hand and motioned for Pei Feng and Nanhua to sit on the rattan mat.

Seeing that the two of them were seated, Li Yuanqi spoke: "General Right knows the purpose of my envoy this time, and it is thanks to your assistance that this matter is completely grasped. It's just that Feishu has a lot of inconveniences, and many details are not fully understood. This special visit, first, I have not seen him for many years, and I am very concerned, so I must visit the general in person to reward the general for his help over the years; Second, I also want to hear the general's opinion, how to do this western land? ”

Seeing Li Yuanqi calmly spit out these words, Pei Feng saw another high-spirited teenager through this face in a trance. At that time, the young man was only eighteen or nineteen years old, and he had just received the official rank of the Ministry of War, looking at the map of the Western Territory, his brows were tightly locked, and he raised his eyes and asked him: "Pei Feng, what do you think of the Western Regions?" ”

"Right General!" Nanhua saw that Pei Feng had not replied, only staring at the six princes, and estimated that he was afraid that he would think about the past again, so he called him and pulled him back.

After coming back to his senses, Pei Feng got up and took the ebony box placed on the top of the treasure shelf, opened it and presented it to Li Yuanqi and Nanhua. "The Sixth Prince, what is in this box is all the maps of the Western Regions that Lao Chen has personally verified over the years." As he spoke, he picked up the top volume, unfolded it and placed it on the desk.

"Six princes, please look, this is Qiuzi. It is bordered by Yanqi in the east, Gumo in the west, Khotan in the south, and Turkic in the north. And because it is a rare oasis along the way, the people are very large and the products are abundant. In the past dynasties, the communication between the countries of the Western Regions often converged here, and over the years, it was a major town in the west. Therefore, in order to control the Western Regions, the Turks have also had close contacts with Qiuzi since the previous dynasties, and there are endless envoys, and there are countless marriages. For example, the first queen of Bai Yan, the current king of Qiuzi, is the daughter of the Turkic Khan. Bai Yan's grandfather, Bai Xian, the first king of Qiuzi, also married a Turkic royal daughter as a concubine, and was the biological mother of Bai Yan's father. It can be seen that the Turks are courting the heart of Qiuzi. Backed by the Turks, Qiuzi has become more and more powerful, and has the meaning of dominating the states in the western border. ”

Li Yuanqi looked at the territory map in his hand, and listened to what Pei Feng said, and had a lot of surprises for a while: "General Right, these Yuanqi have also heard a little in Beijing, but at the beginning of General Liu's plan with me, he chose Qiuci as the country of peace because it seems to be concentric with the Turks, but in fact, the gap is quite deep, and at this time there is a lack of opportunity to break free from the control of the Turks." But listening to the general's words today, it seems that this turtle is deeply related to the Turks and is intertwined, how can he ensure that this king's trip will be successful? ”

Pei Feng lifted the clay pot on the case, refilled the tea for Li Yuanqi and the others, and said with a smile: "No matter how deep the relationship is, it is also for the two countries, if one country wants to swallow one country, the other country will not be willing to do so." In the past hundred years, although one side has supported, but also one side has been controlled, just like the original purple bamboo shoot tea in this pot, Qiuzi earned thirty percent, and seventy percent actually fell into the Turkic pocket. ”

Li Yuanqi was quite surprised: "How can this be done?" Could it be an annual tribute? ”

Pei Feng replied: "Nian Gong is just an exchange on the surface, and it is a big deal in secret." Since the return of Qiuci in the previous dynasty, the Turks allocated tens of thousands of people for Qiuci on the grounds of insufficient military strength, and all the salaries, grains and grass of these people were supplied by Qiuci. In the early decades, there were still some garrisons, but later the days were peaceful, and there were not a few Turkic soldiers throughout the year, but the military salaries and grain were not exempted. The king of Qiuzi wrote several times to negotiate, but the Turks never heard back. Over time, this money became a black account, and Qiuci paid it on time every year, but he didn't even hear a sound, and this bad debt, Qiuci people had to break their teeth and swallow blood. ”

Seeing that Li Yuanqi and the others were fascinated by what they heard, Pei Feng took a sip of herbal tea and continued: "It's a trivial matter to suffer some losses in money, after all, Qiuci is a small country, and there is no difference in the amount of money, but this Turkic ** worships shamanism, but Qiuci is a famous Buddhist country in the Western Regions. Buddhism has been growing here for more than 500 years, and the royal family is a devout disciple of Buddhism. But in recent years, the Turks have taken advantage of the cheap sacrifice of the princess and the princess, and built a number of shaman shrines in Qiuci, and the first queen of the current Qiuci King has built the shrine in the harem of the royal city. But forced by the obscenity of the Turks, King Qiuzi dared to be angry and did not dare to speak, so he could only endure it silently. And how is this a long-term solution? ”

Li Yuanqi listened, his heart was slightly soothed, but he was not very exposed, and laughed coldly: "In this way, these two relatives are also some unspeakable relatives lawsuits. ”

Pei Feng chuckled: "When it comes to the in-laws, another story is brought out." Although the two countries have always been close to each other and have established diplomatic relations with allies, after all, there are also children and daughters who are mixed in. The Turks are brave and good at fighting, and the people are strong, and the royal nobles are inevitably coquettish and willful, and have a violent temper. The lord of the country of Biana Qiuzi may be because he believes in Buddhism, and his temperament is gentle and gentle. When you get married, it's hard to get along. The concubine of Bai Xian, the king of Qiuzi, was rarely fortunate to be the king after giving birth to her sister-in-law, and in a fit of anger, she had an affair with the prime minister, and she was not afraid to avoid it. Both inside and outside the royal court heard about it, and Bai Xian had to pretend not to know because he was afraid of the power of the queen's mother's family. The first queen of today's Qiuzi King Bai Yan is also a remarkable figure. It is said that the queen was also the most beautiful flower in the Turkic steppe, but at a glance she took a fancy to Bai Yan, who came to the court to congratulate him as a prince, and regardless of asking the Turkic Khan to order peace, she did not think that Bai Yan had already intended someone. Although he finally got married, he was not favored all his life, and he had a grudge with Bai Yan's side concubine at the top of his heart for many years, and finally died of depression seven or eight years ago, leaving only a little princess. ”