Tibet

Several saints in black slowly retreated and closed the door. Only two people were left in the room. Aling, the saint in red, could no longer restrain her inner passion and ran forward and threw herself into Li Ye's arms.

The two hugged and kissed each other passionately. For a while, Aling said with tears in his eyes: "I thought I would never see you again."

"Why?"

Aling whispered: "Didn't they tell you? The Silver Saint is a lifelong position, the Gold Saint is over sixty years old, the Silver Saint on the right is also over forty years old, and I am over twenty years old. This is the successor." arrange."

Li Ye said coldly: "What kind of lifelong position is of no use to me. You will come with me in two days!"

Aling shook his head and said sadly: "If I escape with you, I will be liberated myself, but the Zoroastrian women east of the Stone Kingdom will not be able to hold their heads up. They will bear all the shame. I can't do it."

Li Ye's face sank, "Then let's forget it. Will I see you for the last time today?"

"No! No! I'm thinking of a way too?"

"What can you do?"

At this time, the sound of footsteps outside came from a distance. Aling said urgently: "I have a way. Listen to me. No one knows about our relationship. You are here to see me on behalf of the Suiye official. You If you can clearly ask the Saintess Association to pay attention to the East, the Saintess will send me to Suiye Guangming Temple to take charge."

"Can it be implemented?"

Aling nodded, took a few steps back, and sat on the chair solemnly. The door opened, and another saint in red robe walked in. Judging from the wrinkles on her forehead, she was a middle-aged woman, and she should be the Right Silver Saint.

Aling stood up and saluted her, "He Dai'er, he is General Li, the new governor of Hezhong in the Tang Dynasty. I knew him in Chang'an before."

The Silver Saint took two steps forward and bowed slightly to Li Ye, "On behalf of the Gold Saint Midu, I welcome Governor Li to visit the Saint Women's Association."

Li Ye guessed their nationalities from their surnames. This one was from the country, and the golden saint was from the United States.

He took a closer look at He Dai'er, she should be the princess of He country! The body is very thin. Although she is wearing a veil, Li Ye can still feel her cold temperament and thin face. This is the change in appearance brought about by years of abstinence.

"Please sit down!"

The two sides sat down, Aling sat upright, sitting calmly next to the silver saint on the right, pursed his lips and said nothing.

Li Ye smiled and said: "Not long ago, I reached a formal agreement with Governor Ziyad of Khorasan. Both parties agreed to use the Amu Darya River as the boundary to determine the respective boundaries of Datang and Dashi. Of course, the term "border" may have some meaning for the countries in the river. It’s a bit unfair, so let me change the word! As for the sphere of influence, Dashi recognized that east of the Amu Darya River was the Tang Dynasty’s sphere of influence.”

He Dale frowned slightly and said a little impatiently: "General Li, this kind of war or politics should have nothing to do with us!"

"There are relationships!"

Li Ye's eyes became aggressive, "If Dashi wins, how long do you think Daguangming Temple can survive?"

"But now the Tang Dynasty wins."

"So it's related!"

Li Ye calmed down his tone and said: "Although the Tang Dynasty did not interfere with religious beliefs, people in the Tang Dynasty generally believed in Buddhism and Taoism, and had no impression of Zoroastrianism. Broken leaves are different. It can be said that Broken Ye has several beliefs. At the intersection, as the Tang Dynasty established the Hezhong Dudufu, Taoism and Buddhism will soon come to Broken Leaf, and then use Broken Leaf as the foundation to develop westward. Has the Silver Saint ever thought about the future of Zoroastrianism?"

The red-robed saint nodded, "I understand what Governor Li means. Indeed, we don't pay enough attention to Dongfang. We will consider it!"

Li Ye stood up and said: "I will stay in Samarkand for five more days. If you have any ideas, you can come to me at the military camp outside the city at any time. Say goodbye!"

He gave Aling a meaningful look, stood up and left.

Back at the camp, the soldiers reported: "The Prime Minister of Kang State, An Bo, has been waiting for a long time to see him."

Li Ye nodded and came to the side tent. Amber, who was waiting here, quickly stood up and saluted, "I'm disturbing the general's rest!"

Li Ye smiled and said: "I went out for a walk and kept Shi Xiangguo waiting for a long time."

Anbo is about fifty years old, his full name is Shi Anbo, he is from Xiaoshi State, but he has been working as an official in the state of Kang, step by step from a tax collector to the prime minister, he is very smart and capable.

Li Ye asked him to sit down and asked the soldiers to serve tea. Amber said: "In a few days, the inauguration ceremony of the new king will be held. Does General Li want to attend?"

Li Ye shook his head, "The inauguration ceremony will be ten days later. I will send someone to attend on my behalf, but I don't have time. I will have to go back in a few days."

"We can hold the ceremony earlier, what if it's three days later?"

Li Ye smiled and said, "It will be fine in three days!"

"General Li came to Kang State this time, didn't he come specifically to attend the ceremony?"

Li Ye said calmly: "Shi Xiangguo doesn't need to trick me. If you want to know the purpose of my visit, I can tell you clearly."

"I would like to hear the details!"

"It was agreed last year that the kings of the Sogdian countries would go to the Tang Dynasty court to apologize to the emperor, but none of you went. Some people sent princes to study, but some got no response. Not as pious as Bukhan, the prince representative The king presented a national gift to the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, a nine-deer tripod weighing a thousand kilograms, all made of gold. The Emperor of the Tang Dynasty was very satisfied. King Murdo and his son were crowned kings. In comparison, you are a bit You are contemptuous of the Tang Dynasty."

At this point, Li Ye's tone became very stern, "Go back and tell Constantine and his son that if they are unwilling to be kings, Kang Hua's descendants will still live in Chang'an."

Amber explained with sweat on his head: "We didn't go to Chang'an not because we were defying the imperial court, but because there was a special reason. Last autumn, civil strife broke out in the country of Dashi, and Abu Muslim was executed by Caliph Abbas. We originally planned to go to Chang'an. Mansoor also canceled his trip.

We were afraid that the Dashi army would fight back into the river again, so we were on tenterhooks and did not dare to move anywhere. Once Datang and Dashi formally reached an agreement, we would have no worries and would definitely go to Chang'an to pay homage to the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. "

Li Ye nodded, "In that case, I will give you another chance. You must go to Chang'an to have an audience at the latest next spring!"

It was already early September. Even if they set out now, the road would be blocked by heavy snow as soon as they reached Beiting, and they would have to travel next spring.

"Tomorrow spring, we will definitely go to Chang'an!"

Li Ye added: "This time I am not here to ask questions. I came to Kang for four things. First, on behalf of the Tang Dynasty, I have reached a boundary agreement with Ziad. The two sides use the Amu Darya River as the boundary. This time I I came here specifically to inspect the Amu Darya River.

Second, attend the inauguration ceremony of the new king.

Third, Juchanti has been captured by me. As for the ownership of Juchanti, Tosao cannot make the decision. Sogdians need to make a collective decision. If the Sogdians decide they don't want to fight, then I'll give it to Bakhna.

fourth. Since the imperial court does not have the tax power of Anxi and Beiting to be handed over to the Hezhong Dudufu, our finances are relatively tight. I hope that the Hezhong countries will bear part of our military expenses. As for paying tribute to the court, I think it would be more meaningful to send a jar of local soil. "

Amber's heart skipped a beat, and he suddenly understood that what he had said for a long time was a prelude, and the key was the last one, which required all the countries in the river to pay protection fees to the Tang army every year.

Amber hurried back to the palace, where the king and his son were still waiting for him eagerly!

Constantine said anxiously: "How is the situation? Don't be impatient and tell me slowly."

Amber nodded and recounted the conversation between him and Li Ye one by one.

When Constantine heard the name Kang Hua, his face turned pale.

Kang Hua was once the king of Kang State. In the early years of Kaiyuan, he went to the Tang Dynasty to pay homage. Kangbad, the prime minister who stayed in Kang State, launched a coup with the support of Baiyi Dashi and seized the power of the king.

Kangbad was Constantine's great-grandfather, who seized the throne of the king as prime minister. Kanghua never came back and has been living in Chang'an, and his descendants are also in Chang'an.

Obviously, Li Ye was giving them a stern warning.