jdhmnovel Chapter 1061: Tubo's Probe
Chapter 1061: Tubo's Probe
"Duke Wei!" When His Royal Highness the King of Chu brought Zhang Zhenxuan and Wang Xuance into the study room, which was lit with candles again, he immediately found the most comfortable place to sit down. Then, he said to Wei Zheng, who was sitting behind the desk, "Today, I, along with three of my retainers, have brought three priceless gifts. So in return, you must at least tell me three sincere words. Isn't that too much?"
"What the hell are you doing?" Wei Zheng felt that he was really... unlucky to have a son-in-law like the King of Chu: "When did I ever lie to you?"
"Duke Wei, what you said..." His Royal Highness the King of Chu blinked his eyes after hearing this: "Okay... Father-in-law, it was my fault..."
"Your Highness, please don't be like this..." Wei Zheng saw that His Highness the King of Chu was so respectful to him, he subconsciously held the armrest of the chair and leaned back: "Actually... I am not here for a big deal. His Majesty thought that I was in Chang'an and must be missing my daughter who married far away, so he specially asked me to follow Lord Xiao and Lord Yu to Qiongzhou to visit his daughter. By the way... I have a piece of news for you."
"What news?" King Chu knew that the last sentence was the key point.
"The Tubo sent an envoy this time..." Wei Zheng stared at Li Kuan as he spoke, "They said they wanted to ask for a royal daughter for their king, and the Honglu Temple -"
"What?!" Before Wei Zheng finished speaking, the King of Chu suddenly stood up from his seat and asked, "Did the tyrant king agree?"
"Your Majesty has not made any public statement on this. However..." Wei Zheng saw that His Royal Highness the King of Chu had such a big reaction. He thought about it and decided to follow His Majesty's previous instructions and tell him his plan: "The Duke of Xincheng County is quite positive about this matter - he proposed to Your Majesty that his daughter Yuwen Xiuduoluo be married to him."
"I'll marry his old *#@!! I'll %￥him##@!!!" - As everyone knows, His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu is as proficient in the elegant language of the Tang Dynasty as he is in the art of war. After he had finished cursing, Wang Xuance suddenly said, "Your Highness, didn't Yuwen Xiuduoluo... have a grudge against the princess... Even if you... are broad-minded... you don't have to stand up for this person..."
"Xuan Ce, you are wrong." His Royal Highness the King of Chu glanced at Wang Xuance after hearing this and said, "Then Yuwen Xiuduoluo has committed the crime of murder. She is a subject of the Tang Dynasty and should be punished by the laws of the Tang Dynasty. Even if she is beheaded in public, there is nothing to say.
But now...if she were to marry far away in Tibet, not only would her personal fate become extremely miserable, but the dignity of the Tang Dynasty would also be challenged once again!"
"Your Highness the King of Chu..." Actually, Wei Zheng himself was in favor of the marriage, because in his opinion, the best strategy for dealing with wild and unruly foreigners was to use both kindness and force. So he thought that the reason why Emperor Li II sent him here might not be without his intention of asking him to persuade His Highness the King of Chu to accept this result: "Don't be so angry, let me explain..."
"Duke Wei, shut up first and listen to what I have to say." Although His Royal Highness the Prince of Chu is an irritable person in the eyes of outsiders, even when he is most angry, as long as he wants, his brain will not stop thinking, and now, the result of his thinking has come out: "If we agree to their request, it will be troublesome."
"What do you mean, Your Highness?" Wei Zheng also sat up slightly and looked like he was listening attentively.
"The tyrant king had promised me to act according to the original plan - when I joined forces with Tubo and Tuyuhun to attack Tianzhu, he would send troops to attack Tuyuhun and Tubo after the war reached a stalemate. Judging from the time, it is impossible for Tubo to know our plan in advance - that is to say, the reason why Lu Dongzan suddenly did this was because he keenly sensed the crisis and planned to test it by asking to marry a royal daughter.
If the Tang Dynasty agreed to his request, he would immediately climb up the ladder and take this opportunity to ask for more benefits from the Tang Dynasty.
And once we refuse, this guy will naturally say that he will no longer cooperate with us in attacking India.
But if we agree to his request..." His Royal Highness the King of Chu said this and couldn't help but smile coldly: "Lu Dongzan will definitely ask for a price that will make the Tang Dynasty feel painful, and if the Tang Dynasty gives this price, then Lu Dongzan will know that what we want is not just Tianzhu..."
After Li Kuan finished speaking, there was silence in the study for a long time.
“So that’s how it is!” After Wei Zheng was surprised, he began to review the situation nervously. However, when he finished reviewing, he found that things were exactly as His Royal Highness the King of Chu said: “Lu Dongzan…he is seizing the initiative!”
"That foolish king might not be able to see this." His Royal Highness the King of Chu curled his lips upon hearing this: "That's why he sent you, Duke Wei, to Qiongzhou, hoping that I could come forward to break the impasse."
"Your Highness, why you?" Wei Zheng felt that there seemed to be another explanation for this matter.
"It's simple. The Khan wants face, but I want substance." His Royal Highness the King of Chu felt that it would be very impolite for Wei Zheng to continue to play dumb like this: "Duke Wei, we are a family now after all. If you keep getting so nervous, I won't play with you anymore."
"That's great!" Wei Zheng nodded, "I'm just afraid that one day I'll lose my head if I play along with you."
"Heh..." King Chu thought Duke Wei was joking again: "Even if you don't play with me, if something happens to me, you can't escape, right?"
"..." Wei Zheng was powerless to refute the heart-piercing words from His Royal Highness the King of Chu.
"Your Highness, how do you plan to break the impasse?" Wang Xuance saw that Wei Zheng was in an awkward position, so he considered that the relationship between his own master and the other party as father-in-law and son-in-law must be maintained well, otherwise, if the King of Chu was chased by his childhood sweetheart with a feather duster... that would not be very pleasant.
"There's no need to think too much about this matter!" King Chu smiled calmly after hearing this: "I already have an idea in my mind..."