I, the prince, only want to be deposed.

Chapter 403: The Eastern Herald is a Respectable Person
As a result, the delegation left for two days.

Dongfang Yu immediately realized something was wrong again.

Because in the past two days, it seemed like we were not walking the way back to Loulan at all!
The way for Yanqi to return to Loulan should be to first bypass a large freshwater lake called "West Sea", and then go downstream along a river called Peacock River. However, this time they did not pass through the West Sea. Although they were still walking along the river bank, they were always going upstream.

Realizing that something was not right, Dongfang Yu immediately found Guo Zhen, who was traveling with him, and asked about the situation.

After all, Guo Zhen and two guides recruited from the Kingdom of Loulan were leading the way, and he, the so-called "mastermind" who had just arrived, could only obey their orders.

"Isn't that right? Isn't that right? Isn't that right?"

However, Guo Zhen's reaction was as slow as if he was missing half of his brain. He uttered a few repetitive sentences that reflected the profoundness of the Chinese language. It seemed that he had not realized that he had taken the wrong path until now.

Seeing him like this, Dongfang Yu's blood pressure rose for no reason.

This trip to Yanqi proved that Liu Ju was still relatively reliable.

But in Dongfang Yu's eyes, this Xian Ma Guo Zhen is still very unreliable... Dongfang Yu even suspected that Guo Zhen was "indispensable" in Liu Ju's previous dethronement as the crown prince. What's the point of keeping such a fool who is more likely to cause trouble than to accomplish anything around him? Waiting to fatten him up and eat his meat after three dynasties?
"Even the directions of the sun rising and setting are wrong. As a guide, you didn't even notice it?"

Seeing that Guo Zhen's brain was not working well, Dongfang Yu knew that there was no point in getting entangled with a fool, so he waved his hands helplessly and said angrily,
"Forget it, forget it. I won't tell you anymore. I can't tell you clearly. Where is His Highness now? I want to see His Highness!"

Speaking of which, apart from meeting Liu Ju once when leaving Yanqi Royal City two days ago, Liu Ju seemed to have never shown up again after that.

Dongfang Yu didn't think there was anything wrong with this.

Even though they were traveling along the river, the wind and sand on the road were quite strong and the sun was very scorching. It was inconvenient for Liu Ju to reveal his identity, so it was most appropriate for him to hide in the carriage, and it was also reasonable for him not to show up.

However, Guo Zhen remained indifferent and just smiled innocently:
"His Highness is resting, I'm afraid it's inconvenient for him to see you."

"What's the point of taking a break? You've led the delegation down the wrong path and you don't even know it. If I don't explain this to Your Highness as soon as possible and change the direction in time, will I let you do whatever you want and lead Your Highness into danger?"

Dongfang Yu scolded Guo Zhen in a bad tone, and simply ignored him. He walked to the back of the convoy, shouting as he walked:
"Your Highness! Your Highness!"

This delegation consisted of only a few dozen people and had no more than a dozen carriages. He believed that as long as he shouted like this, he would soon alert Liu Ju.

But Guo Zhen shook his head when he saw this and stood in front of Dongfang Yu:
"Master Dongfang, it's no use shouting your throat out. His Highness has already returned to Loulan with the messenger who brought the message."

"What do you mean by this?"

Dongfang Yu was stunned.

"Since you have already discovered it, I will not continue to hide it from you."

Guo Zhen then put away his dull and honest appearance, looked into Dongfang Yu's eyes and said seriously,

"We are indeed not on the road back to Loulan, and this river is indeed not the Peacock River, but the Kaidu River. We will not return to Loulan first, but will go to Qiuci on the way."

"Ku-Kucha?"

Dongfang Yu's eyes widened instantly, with a look of surprise and doubt on his face.
"Guo Xianma, please explain to me clearly, what is going on? His Highness gave me the mission of going to Yanqi only, why do you suddenly want to go to Qiuci?"

Even though Dongfang Yu had never been to the Western Regions before, he had heard of the name of the Kingdom of Kucha when he was in Loulan some time ago.

This country borders the western part of Yanqi State and is currently one of the most powerful small countries in the Western Regions besides Wusun State.

The Kingdom of Qiuci had several cities, 6,900 households, 81,000 people, 21,000 soldiers, and lead and iron mines in the territory, so it could forge its own swords and weapons. In addition, the Kingdom of Qiuci was also a vassal of the Xiongnu, and was different from the Kingdom of Yanqi.

Although Huo Qubing crossed the Yanqi Mountains for hundreds of miles during the Battle of Hexi, he actually went all the way north and did not affect the Kingdom of Qiuci, which also never surrendered to the Han Dynasty.

Therefore, the danger of the diplomatic mission to the Kingdom of Kucha was undoubtedly greater than this mission to the Kingdom of Yanqi, and it was several levels greater.

"Don't be anxious, Mr. Dongfang. Let me tell you slowly."

Guo Zhen said slowly,
"Your Highness said that Yanqi is adjacent to Qiuci in the west. Although the Han Dynasty has forced Yanqi to surrender, Qiuci and Yanqi are both dominated by Tocharians. Since they are so close, we are worried that they will suffer if one of them is killed. In addition, we are afraid that the Xiongnu may instigate us, so we have to be on guard."

"So we must send an envoy to stabilize it and ensure that there is no worries when attacking Gushi. This is the strategy of 'making friends with those far away and attacking those near'."

"During his mission to Yanqi, Dongfang Yezhe spoke appropriately, was polite and restrained, remained calm in the face of danger, and did not lose face with the Han Dynasty. He is the best person to take on this important task."

"Please, Master Dongfang, do not betray His Highness' trust."

"..."

Dongfang Yu almost cried out loud when he heard this, and said with tears in his eyes:

"Should I thank His Highness for his trust?"

"That's not necessary."

Guo Zhen said again,

"Your Highness also said that you, the Eastern Hermit, should relax. We will not cause any more trouble in the Kingdom of Kucha this time. You, the Eastern Hermit, can just focus on your mission."

"Before he left, His Highness asked me to tell the Eastern Hermit that it is not difficult to persuade Qiuci. We just need to grasp a few key points."

"First, our Han dynasty is making peace with Wusun, who are neighbors to the north of Qiuci. Wusun is several times more powerful than Qiuci. The Eastern Ambassador should explain the pros and cons to them. "

"Secondly, the ultimate goal of our marriage to Wusun and the dispatch of troops this time is to target the Xiongnu. If they want to sit on the fence, then sit tight and wait and see whether the Xiongnu can get involved in the Western Regions again in the future. Don't take sides in advance, or you may end up hurting others and yourself;"

"Third, Qiuci is a great iron smelting country in the Western Regions, and our Han Dynasty has the most advanced iron smelting technology. Ask him if he is willing to cooperate and turn the royal capital Yancheng into the weapons capital of the Western Regions."

"These three essentials are offered one after another, and there is no way that Qiuci will not cooperate well."

"But……"

How could Dongfang Yu not hear how powerful these three key points are? They can be said to have taken coercion and inducement to the extreme. If the King of Kucha was not a fool who sold out his country, he would most likely cooperate with Liu Ju's strategy of making friends with distant countries and attacking nearby ones.

But the problem is, three years after three years, he was originally an envoy who delivered the emperor's edict. If this continues, when will he be able to return to the capital to report?
However, just as Dongfang Yu opened his mouth, Guo Zhen said:
"His Highness also said that this is guaranteed to be the last time."

"Your Highness said that Dongfang Yezhe is a respectable man. He must feel uneasy to receive such a great achievement for nothing. Only this matter can make Dongfang Yezhe feel at peace and he deserves it."

It's peaceful!
Now that everything is completely peaceful, why did you decide to go back and continue to speak ill of him in front of the emperor?
After all, I thought too highly of Liu Ju. He was clearly a scumbag who was taking advantage of every opportunity. First he hugged me, then he touched me, then he rubbed me, and finally he said, "I will definitely take responsibility!"

In comparison, his father Dongfang Shuo can be regarded as a role model.

After all, Dongfang Shuo never had so many tricks. He usually used his money ability directly, took what he needed, and was fair to everyone... He just didn't care about the lives of his children and grandchildren.

(End of this chapter)