Traveling through Tianlong: Starting from the Zhenlong chess game

Chapter 535 Either Kneel Down and Become a Dog, or Feed You to the Dogs

Facing the excited Yelu Yanxiu, Zhao Mu comforted him, "All land under heaven belongs to the king. All the people in the world are his subjects. Although I am now in charge of a country, I am only defending it for the Song Dynasty and for Your Majesty. I will always be the king of the Song Dynasty, not the king of Qi."

Zhao Mu looked at Yelu Yanxiu and smiled, "Your Highness Princess, you came this time to probably still want to separate the relationship between me and Your Majesty, to turn my Qi Kingdom into a real country, to turn me, a fake dragon, into a real dragon. Whether you want to instigate me to really split the territory, or to urge me to return to Bianjing to seize the throne. Or to make Your Majesty suspicious of me and turn us against each other, your plan will not succeed. Perhaps this is difficult for you to understand. But Your Majesty and I have always been loyal to each other and never doubt each other."

Seeing that Zhao Mu saw through his purpose, Yelu Yanxiu said nothing more.

She let out a long breath, as if she was relieved all of a sudden. She sat back on the armchair at the bottom.

After Yelu Yanxiu sat down, he looked at Zhao Mu and said, "Can we talk to each other as a friend today?"

Zhao Mu also sat back in front of the dragon desk at this time. He slowly took off his crown and put it aside, then said: "Of course. To be honest, there are not many people in your Liao Kingdom who are worthy of my admiration. But Your Highness, you are one. You are a woman, but your ability to stir up trouble is really not inferior to that of men. If it weren't for the fact that Your Majesty and I had no doubts about each other, I would have almost fallen into your trap. If you and I were not on opposite sides, I would admire you very much."

Yelu Yanxiu also said: "To be honest, Your Highness Prince Qi, you are the biggest trouble that my Great Liao has encountered in the hundred years since its founding."

When Zhao Mu heard this, he murmured in his heart: "The biggest trouble is still hunting in the jungle."

Yelu looked at Zhao Mu and said, "If possible, we don't want to be enemies with His Royal Highness Prince Qi. But perhaps we are natural enemies."

Zhao Mu also said: "Perhaps, if you had not occupied the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun and invaded the Central Plains so many times, we would not have become enemies with opposite positions."

Yelu Yanxiu asked: "Are our differences only on the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun?"

Zhao Mu shook his head and said, "Maybe more than that. Since ancient times, there has never been two suns in the sky, and there has never been two rulers for the people. Even if the Song Dynasty takes back the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun, our relationship will only be that of the Han Dynasty and the Xiongnu, or the Tang Dynasty and the Turks. In short, any powerful country will not allow a country that can threaten itself to appear around it, even if that country has not yet become hostile to it. Perhaps we have been enemies from the beginning."

Yelu Yanxiu sighed and said, "Perhaps. In this case, you and I are really not destined to be together. Yanxiu will bid farewell to His Royal Highness Prince Qi today."

Hearing Yelu Yanxiu's words, Zhao Mu smiled and said, "Oh? So, Your Highness has contracted a terminal illness and will not live long? If so, I can recommend a few good doctors to you."

Seeing Zhao Mu's joking look, Yelu Yanxiu's face instantly fell.

Seeing the woman's serious expression, Zhao Mu smiled apologetically and let her continue.

Yelu Yanxiu said: "I am not young anymore, it is impossible for me to remain single for the rest of my life. My father has already said that this is my last diplomatic mission. If I cannot stay in Qi, marry me to Gaochang Uighur. If we meet again in the future, you will be the king of Qi, and I will be the princess of Gaochang Uighur." Zhao Mu was a little surprised to see the disappointment in the woman's eyes.

Zhao Mu sighed in his heart: "Could it be that this woman really loves me?"

Yelu Yanxiu looked at Zhao Mu and said, "If you want, I can give you my virginity. Rather than giving it to an old man I've never met, it's better to give it to someone I know and like."

In the face of Yelu Yanxiu's kindness, Zhao Mu just smiled indifferently.

Yelu Yanxiu smiled bitterly and said, "It seems that I really cannot catch your eye. Forget it, forget it."

Seeing her lost in thought, Zhao Mu still smiled and said, "Haha, Princess, I appreciate your kindness. I reject you not because you are not pleasing to my eyes. It's just that I'm afraid you won't be the princess for many days."

Upon hearing this, Yelu Yanxiu looked at Zhao Mu and asked, "Why is that?"

Zhao Mu replied, "It's very simple, because Gaochang Uighurs won't exist for a few more days. When I conquer Gaochang City, I will capture all the wives and concubines of the Uighur King. You are right too! If you marry to Gaochang, you will be my slave after I conquer Gaochang City. This way I won't have to go to Zhongjing to look for you again."

Yelu Yanxiu was a little surprised when she heard what Zhao Mu said. She asked, "You want to take action against the Gaochang Uighurs so soon?"

Zhao Mu sneered and replied, "Haha, your majesty has appointed me as the General of Heavenly Strategy, given me the reign title of 'Zhenguan', and named the capital of Qi, Lingzhou, 'Zhongxing Prefecture'. Your majesty's intention is to have me follow the example of Emperor Taizong of Tang who wiped out the Turks and restored the Protectorate of the Western Regions."

But Zhao Mu was overthinking this. Zhezong's obvious hint was not to let Zhao Mu learn from Li Shimin's expansion of territory, but to learn from Li Shimin's "Xuanwu Gate Incident" at the right opportunity, so as not to let the "Great Tang" dynasty fall into the hands of fools. Instead, it fell into the hands of him, the "Heavenly Khan" who could create a powerful "Glorious Tang" and subdue the four barbarians.

Zhao Mu said, "Now I have a strong army and horses under my command. Among the surrounding countries, Xixia is my ally, and the Song Dynasty is my suzerain. As for your Liao Kingdom, although it borders my Qi Kingdom, the heartland of Liao Kingdom is in Yanyun. If I go north to take land, all I get is Gobi grassland. I don't raise cattle and sheep, so what do I need your grassland for?"

Hearing what Zhao Mu said, Yelu Yanxiu covered his face and laughed, "Haha, that's true. So His Royal Highness Prince Qi has set his sights on the Gaochang Uighurs?"

Zhao Mu smiled and said, "Yes, the Western Regions have been a key point connecting the East and the West since ancient times. When the Tang Dynasty was prosperous, merchants from all over the world passed through the Western Regions and arrived in Dunhuang, and then through the Hexi Corridor to Chang'an and Luoyang. After doing business there, they returned to Persia, Daqin and other countries with the goods from the Central Plains. Now that the blocked Xixia Kingdom has been conquered by me, if we want to reproduce the prosperity of the Han and Tang Dynasties, then Gaochang Uighurs will be an obstacle."

"So there are only two options for the tribes in the Western Regions. Either kneel down and serve the Song Dynasty as dogs, or feed them all to the dogs. However, if we want them to be willing to kneel down and serve the Song Dynasty as dogs and respect the Celestial Empire again, feeding some of them to the dogs is also a way. Besides, I have been coveting the Hu concubines in the Western Regions for a long time. Now most of the troops that the Song Dynasty sent to the West have not been recalled. With these troops in hand, I don't go to Gaochang to make a fortune, but just use them to garrison. This is a bit of a waste of natural resources."

(End of this chapter)