Although the Gaochang Palace is very large, there are only two palaces. Apart from the two where the envoy and the king live, the king's harem is located behind them, and it is not convenient for them to enter. Therefore, the meeting place today is still the palace of yesterday.
Think about it, the pavilions and towers of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty are really beyond the reach of a small country like this. If you really count them, let alone the pavilions and towers of His Majesty the Emperor, even the royal palaces in the capital of the Tang Dynasty are much better than here.
Of course, the locals wouldn't say this. The king of a small country built a palace with great difficulty, just waiting for you to compliment him. If you were to say it's not as good as a mansion in the capital of the Tang Dynasty, what would the king think? If you ask the king to do something for you, don't even think about asking him to do it for you. You'll probably lose your head.
After both parties submitted their letters of credence, the first procedure was completed. The King of Gaochang seemed a little nervous because he knew that the second procedure was about to begin. He had discussed this second procedure all night long, and he had not made a decision yet.
This was perfectly normal. This guy was inherently indecisive, unable to make decisions on matters big or small. When he first ascended the throne, Gaochang was quite powerful, but what was its current status in the Western Regions? It had declined considerably compared to what it was then.
"Your Majesty, I have come to your country this time not only to present my credentials, but also for a more important matter, which is regarding the enemy of the Tang Dynasty, the Xueyantuo Khan..."
Lord Zhao has already given this guy a whole night, and there is no way he can delay any further. Our army's daily food, clothing, and expenses also cost money, so we must solve this problem as soon as possible.
Here it comes...
The king and his ministers of Gaochang were silently repeating this sentence in their hearts. They had also hoped to come up with a solution last night, but the court was too deeply divided. They all had various ideas, and in the end, even His Majesty the King was confused.
Lord Zhao’s meaning is very simple. He only gives you two choices: either bring the Khan of Xueyantuo here, or you show us a way and we will be responsible for capturing him ourselves.
After Lord Zhao finished speaking, there was no sound in the entire palace. Everyone was afraid that their movements would attract other people's attention. The King of Gaochang also moved his body unnaturally. He was obviously the ruler of a country, but now he was threatened by others. If it were other countries, he would have been exposed long ago. But the old man in front of him came from the Tang Dynasty. It was said that the Tang Dynasty had more than one million capable fighters. Who would dare to refuse them?
"I really don't know what Lord Zhao is talking about. Although Gaochang is much smaller than the Tang Dynasty, we have fewer people and more land. Our situation is completely different from that of the Tang Dynasty. If the Tang Emperor wanted to know the situation around him, he only needed to ask the local officials. But we have no place to detain people here, and I have not received any news about the Xueyantuo."
What Su Dingfang and Lord Zhao did not expect was that this guy would shirk responsibility so cleanly. They originally thought that he would shirk responsibility for arresting Xueyantuo Khan, but they did not expect that he did not even know about this matter.
After hearing his words, Su Dingfang snorted coldly. It was a very unreasonable behavior for a Tang Dynasty general to make such a move in the hall of another country's king. However, the people present only felt scared and no one felt it was excessive.
When they were discussing things last night, they all heard Wadahan talk about the strength of the Tang army. The Xueyantuo army launched a sneak attack on the Tang army and did not give them any chance. Instead, they annihilated most of the sneak attacking army. Then the Tang army made a long-distance attack and wiped out part of the Xueyantuo army outside the border. Even the Xueyantuo Khan fled in panic.
In the past, others were always talking about how powerful the Tang army was, and they didn't feel any pressure. But now this sentence comes from our own people, and Wadahan saw it with his own eyes. In addition to him, many followers also said so. The combat effectiveness of Gaochang Kingdom and Xueyantuo is similar, and in some aspects, it is even inferior to Xueyantuo.
The Xueyantuo people were completely defeated by the Tang army. Can our people perform differently?
"Your Majesty really doesn't know?"
Lord Zhao was also angry at this time, and he spoke in an interrogative tone. You have to know that Lord Zhao was just an ordinary foreign minister, and it was actually very excessive to speak to the king of another country in such a tone.
"I'm really not sure. I'll go check right now. The part of the border between Xueyantuo and our country is in the northeast. Where is the King of Beiyuan?"
The King of Gaochang started acting. He didn't care about the tone of Lord Zhao and Su Dingfang. The law of the jungle is the law of the world, and he himself is very clear about it. If you want others to respect you, you have to show enough strength. Why should others respect you now?
"To reply to His Majesty, King Beiyuan has gone out hunting and has been gone for three months."
The people below also started to act along, but when they spoke, they glanced at the two adults from the Tang Dynasty intentionally or unintentionally, fearing that the two adults would get angry directly, which would make it impossible to deal with the situation.
"Please calm down, Special Envoy. Our Gaochang Kingdom is indeed different from the Tang Dynasty. The border area is only a vague line, and we don't have enough soldiers to patrol. It's possible that Xueyantuo deserters have indeed entered our territory, but we haven't detected it yet. Why don't you two rest here for a while? We will immediately order the tribes below to conduct inspections and report back as soon as we have any news."
The general defending the country said with a stiff upper lip that the show the king and those people had just put on was so crude that not only the people of the Tang Dynasty couldn't stand it, but even the people of their own country couldn't stand it.
Su Dingfang was ready to cause trouble here, but after hearing the words of the general, he exchanged glances with Lord Zhao. It seems that there are still sensible people in this country.
"General, this is your attitude to solve the problem. I will be waiting for your good news at the posthouse."
After Lord Zhao finished speaking, he bowed to the King of Gaochang and left with Su Dingfang. This was utterly unreasonable, but it was also a protest against the King of Gaochang's shamelessness. "Aren't you putting on a show for us? Then we'll embarrass you. Your acting is really not that good."