The last conscience of the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 211 The Kucha People’s Trouble
Cao Ping took the letter.

He also had a letter sent to King Qiuci through Princess Qiuci who surrendered in Qingtang City. The meaning of his letter was that the Song Dynasty did not want to target you, we are friendly, etc.

But the content of the letter seemed different.

Zhang Shuye said from the side: "This letter should be handwritten by a certain official in the court. I will never be able to achieve this level of handwriting after practicing for another ten years."

Cao commented: "Fan Shangshu, the calligraphy of Fan Chunli."

Zhang Shuye continued: "Let me make it clear. This letter clearly implies that the people of Qiuci will send a princess to Bianjing, and the Song Dynasty will help Qiuci fight against the Black Khanate. At the same time, it is mentioned three times that the county You, the king...are alone. There is only one daughter and two sons and daughters in your family."

Cao Ping saw it.

With his literary attainments and the level of above-mentioned official articles, it is easy to see through this.

Zhang Shuye felt in his heart at this moment that Cao Pingneng was furious.

But what surprised him was that Cao Ping put down the letter calmly, poured himself a cup of ginseng tea, and sat on the desk quietly as if nothing happened.

Zhang Shuye stood aside with a nervous look on his face.

Cao Ping stood up and saluted: "Thank you Zhang Zhizhou for this."

"Don't dare, don't dare." Zhang Shuye hurriedly returned the greeting, and then asked: "The prince is not angry?"

Cao Ping shook his head but said nothing.

Zhang Shuye said directly: "I have calculated the days. The envoys and caravans from Qiuci have either already entered Bianjing, or they will be able to enter Bianjing in two days at most. There should be a noise in the court. If we work together, many people will impeach the county king. As a county king, if you marry a foreign princess, some people will gossip."

Cao Ping asked, "What if there isn't?"

Zhang Shuye tore open his collar, revealing the arrow wound on his shoulder: "Then I'm asking for orders to lead the troops to Kucha."

Cao Ping smiled slightly: "I'm afraid you won't get your turn. It's not that I underestimate you, it's just..."

Cao Ping didn't say any more, but Zhang Shuye could understand.

Zhong Shidao, Wang Zhen, Wang Hou, Zhe Keshi..., go to the front row, there are at least a dozen people who can lead the army to Kucha, and then it will be his turn.

At this time, both of them were silent.

It was not because Zhang Shuye was not qualified to lead the army, but the two of them realized at the same time that Liang Xin dared to tell Cao Ping about marrying a foreign princess. If there was no reaction from the court, what would it mean?

Cao Ping said at this time: "Let me think about it alone. I have to help Zhang Zhizhou to secretly collect maps and other information about going west. You can't lead the army west, but you can still be a deputy. I have a favor."

"The subordinate takes orders."

Zhang Shuye was also surprised. Cao Ping was not expected to be furious, but instead he received a good job.

He has been hiding this for a long time.

Counting the days, Princess Qiuci will almost arrive in Bianjing, and it won't be long before the Cao family's family letter arrives. If I keep it secret, Cao Ping will definitely be unhappy, so I took this opportunity to copy the letter and give it to Cao Ping.

After Zhang Shu went out at night, Cao Ping dug out all the family letters he had collected.

Read from the beginning.

In the letter, Cao Tan will also mention the situation in Bianjing City.

Zhang Dun was exiled overseas, but actually went to Goryeo, Liang Xin borrowed thirty miles in Goryeo, etc., he knew all about it.

It's just that the letters come slowly. The news he knows is from a month ago. The latest one is from Bianjing City 23 days ago.

What Cao Ping was thinking at this time was, had Liang Xin's right to speak in the court reached the level of a single voice?
It's kind of weird.

Otherwise, given his status, it would be impossible for him to marry a foreign princess. This is a taboo.

Cao Ping had not thought about getting married or anything like that at this time. The first thing he thought about was the honor and disgrace of the Cao family.

Let’s talk about Bianjing City.

Cao Tan heard that the Kucha people would come to visit tomorrow and quickly ordered people to make preparations.Kucha people follow Song rites, and after the formal greeting card was sent, Cao Tan was making additional preparations. Since Princess Kucha was coming, as the eldest lady of the Liang family, she must have the etiquette to receive her in person.

There are also gifts prepared for each other.

What is this.

Can my daughter see what her stepmother looks like in advance?

That's pretty much what it means.

The next day, the Kucha envoy arrived.

According to Song rites, the higher the level of the guest, the host will also invite people with sufficient status to come.

The Liang Mansion naturally wanted to invite Fan Chunli, Han Zhongyan and others to come.

Even if Han Zhongyan is only a seventh-grade official at this time.

In the court, who would dare to treat him as a seventh-grade official?

When you meet someone, you should at least address him as Mr. Han.

The Liang Mansion is divided into the North Courtyard, the Middle Courtyard, and the South Courtyard. The South Courtyard still belongs to the Liang Mansion, so the banquet hall for receiving the Kucha envoys is located in the South Courtyard, while Princess Kucha is invited to the Middle Courtyard. Cao Tan has a separate Banquet reception.

Accompanying the guests were the newly promoted Concubine Cao, Zheng Cairen, and girls from famous families in Bianjing City.

At this time, only the main banquet hall is mentioned.

The envoy from Kucha reported his Chinese name, Lu Amati.

Liang Xin was very curious: "Didn't I hear that the names of you Kucha people are preceded by your father's name and then your own name?"

Lu Amati replied: "That's right. Our family used to be the Uighur royal family and moved there from the Tang Dynasty. According to legend, our ancestors also produced celebrities."

"Lu Buwei?"

"Exactly."

Lu Amati continued: "Her Royal Highness the Princess actually has a surname."

"Please enlighten me."

Lu Amati: "The royal family of Qiuci, surnamed Bai." Then, Lu Amati explained the origin of this surname: "Back then, our Qiuci was also canonized by the Tang Dynasty. Our Qiuci was under the jurisdiction of the Anxi Protectorate. One of the four major clans. Our King of Qiuci has a title, which in Chinese is like 'Bai', so the Tang envoy once used it in the credential."

Liang Xin asked: "What does it really mean?"

"In Chinese, it means Buddha Heaven. The Emperor of the Tang Dynasty not only sent envoys, but also many people with high-level knowledge. Our official system in Qiuci also followed the Tang system. Over time, it was said that the attack was carried out Customized, and in the national certificate of the Tang Dynasty, the surname Bai represents the Qiuci royal family."

Liang Xin: "I see. It seems that there are still some missing relevant documents in our Zhaowen Museum of the Song Dynasty."

Lu Amati: "We in Qiuci have preserved a large number of documents from the Tang Dynasty, and we are willing to dedicate them to them."

Fan Chunli asked at this time: "I heard that Black Khan is suppressing you?"

Lu Amati was silent for a moment: "If we just ask for tribute and gifts, that's it. Black Khan is now controlled by a powerful country further away. Their demands will be terrifying to me, Qiuci, for the annihilation of our race."

"Envoy please speak slowly."

Lu Amati said: "Actually, there is only one reason. They don't want us to believe in Buddhism. I just mentioned that the surname of my Kucha royal family is Bai, which means Buddha Heaven. If there is no Buddha, would Kucha still be Kucha?"

Fan Chunli looked at Liang Xin. He believed that Liang Xin must know about that distant and powerful country.

Everyone here is also waiting for Liang Xin to speak.

In everyone's eyes, Liang Xin knows far more than they do.

(End of this chapter)