Traveling through Tianlong: Starting from the Zhenlong chess game

Chapter 553: The Palace Built with the People's Money

However, when Zhao Mu, accompanied by a few personal guards and several generals who had come to join him, walked into the palace of the Uighur King, everyone couldn't help but exclaimed.

Zhao Mu felt that he was a worldly-wise man, but he was still shocked by the splendor here.

The palace of the Uighur king was truly luxurious. The word "magnificent" is at most an exaggerated adjective when describing other palaces, but it is a realistic word here.

Although the palace of the Uighur King was not very big, everything around it was decorated with gold, silver and precious stones. Especially the throne of the Uighur King, which was inlaid with precious rubies, emeralds, sapphires, cat's eyes, peridots and so on.

The walls of the palace are also decorated with various patterns made of gemstones, and are inlaid with gold and silver bricks.

And what is hung in this small palace is the most expensive silk from the Central Plains.

Zhao Mu and his generals were all amazed when they saw this scene.

One of the generals said, "Your Majesty, I have been to the imperial palace before. But compared to this place, the Jinluan Palace and Yin'an Palace in Song Dynasty and Xiqi are much more shabby."

Zhao Mu walked to the Uighur King's throne, touched it and said, "Yes, this Uighur King's chair is a gold nugget. Even if it is gold wrapped in silver, such a big silver nugget is not small. The various gems inlaid on it are even more valuable. Alas! I wonder how much of the people's blood and sweat have been accumulated on it. No wonder their Uighur army is so vulnerable. They don't use the people's strength and wealth where they should be used, but use them to decorate their own palaces. Such a country deserves to perish!"

Upon hearing this, all the generals couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Then Zhao Mu sat on the throne of the Uighur king, waiting for his soldiers to bring over the king who knew how to enjoy life, as well as his concubines, princesses, princes, and officials.

Zhao Mu also asked his men to go to the camp to invite Musa and the Princess of Yue. After all, the wind and sand outside the city were unbearable. Now that they had captured the palace, they could find a better place to rest tonight, at least they could take a comfortable bath.

A moment later, the soldiers brought in all the people they needed to arrest. Musa and Yelu Jinnu's carriages also arrived at the palace.

The two looked at the palace ladies and officials kneeling inside and outside the hall, and Yelu Jinnu couldn't help but feel a lingering fear.

If she had not been sent to Zhao Mu's camp, she would have been the prisoner.

Seeing Musa and Yelu Jinnu arrive, Zhao Mu asked, "Princess, please identify who among the people in this palace is your husband, the Uighur King!"

Yelu Jinnu did not follow Zhao Mu's advice to identify him. Although she and the Uighur King were not actually married, they were married in name only. It was the Uighur King who sent her away, so she could not betray him.

Seeing that Yelu Jinnu refused to identify him, Zhao Mu did not force him.

Musa quickly found the old Uighur king from the crowd.

Musa said in Uighur: "Our Majesty is here!"

As he said this, Musa pulled the Uighur King out from the pile of servants.

Zhao Mu looked at him and said, "Oh! So this is the Uighur King. No wonder Yelu Yanxiu said she was going to marry an old man. You are indeed not young anymore. With your big beard and gray hair on your temples, you should be sixty years old."

However, in response to Zhao Mu's questioning, the Uighur King did not answer.

At this time, the generals around Zhao Mu asked, "Our Lord is asking you a question, are you deaf?" Musa said, "Don't get angry, he probably doesn't understand Chinese."

So Musa translated what Zhao Mu had said before to the Uighur King.

How could everyone in the palace identify the Uighur king and his concubines and princesses? However, none of the people Zhao Mu brought could understand Uighur, and none of them knew Chinese. Before Musa, the translator, arrived, they had no way to communicate.

The Uighur King looked at Zhao Mu and muttered a lot, then kept bowing to Zhao Mu.

Zhao Mu also looked confused, but he understood that the old man was begging him for mercy.

Musa smiled and translated: "Our Uighur Majesty said that he is already fifty-five years old this year. Even if the king does not kill him, he will not live long. He hopes that the king can be merciful and spare his life."

Zhao Mu looked at the Uighur King, then at the Princess of Yue. He laughed and said, "Haha, a fifty-five-year-old man paired with a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old girl. It's really like a pear tree overshadowing a crabapple tree. Hahahaha."

Hearing Zhao Mu's voice, all the generals present also started laughing.

Zhao Mu ordered Musa, "Musa, ask someone who among these people is the prince or the grandson of the emperor. Pass on my order. Except for the concubines, princesses and other female relatives, all other members of the Gaochang Uighur royal family must be killed."

Hearing Zhao Mu's order, Yelu Jinnu widened his eyes and said, "This! Aren't you being a little cruel?"

Zhao Mu sneered and said, "Cruel?" Zhao Mu looked at Musa and asked, "Musa, am I cruel?"

Musa shook her head and said, "Of course not. And the king is too kind. The Uighur King has plundered the people's wealth over the years, and has long caused public resentment in the country. We in the Ming Cult have long wanted to eradicate him. But at that time he had the support of the Xixia Yipintang and the Liao Kingdom, so we couldn't touch him."

Musa looked around and said, "This golden palace is proof of his extravagance. He also likes to collect beautiful women." Musa looked at the palace ladies who were veiled and said, "These women should be his concubines."

Musa looked at the Uighur King and said viciously, "If you follow my advice, not only should you kill him, but you should also take him and all his corrupt officials to the city and execute them. Let the people of the city see it. This will also let everyone vent their anger."

In response to Musa's words, Yelu Jinnu's pupils couldn't help but tremble.

Zhao Mu thought for a moment and said, "In that case, then I will follow my beloved concubine's wishes. Take them all into custody, and when order is restored tomorrow, invite the people of the city to watch the beheading. Take them away."

After receiving Zhao Mu's order, the soldiers dragged out all the men present. Although the Uighur King and the princes and grandchildren did not understand what Zhao Mu was saying.

But seeing this, they also understood their fate. Some people's eyes were filled with despair, some kept crying and struggling, but they were greeted with punches and kicks from the soldiers, and some were even frightened to the point of incontinence.

Seeing several young princes being pushed out, Yelu Jinnu felt sorry for them and begged, "Your Highness Prince Qi, can you spare those young princes? They..."

Zhao Mu knew the necessity of "eradicating the root of the problem". He asked, "Young? Who is young? Do you think they are young?"

The generals around Zhao Mu also began to lie with their eyes open.

One of them said, "How can he be younger? He has more wrinkles on his face than I do. He looks older than me!"

(End of this chapter)