The Emperor ordered Zhao Tang

Chapter 319 Queen
It took Du Hu a lot of effort to convince King Yuchi that he was a Chinese envoy.

Half a month after acknowledging his identity, King Yuchi held a grand reception.

Civil and military officials, members of the royal family, eminent monks, local city lords, and leaders of various tribes such as the Uyghurs and Turks within the territory all gathered at the palace, pointing and whispering among themselves as they looked at Du Hu with curiosity, anticipation, and fear.

Aside from occasional glimpses of news from higher-ups through channels like the Guiyi Army, most of them were completely unaware of the existence of the Han Dynasty, let alone the Wei and Jin Dynasties. Therefore, their surprise and astonishment upon seeing the special envoy seemed like a perfectly normal reaction.

"May I ask you, envoy, has the Eastern Land returned to the Tang Dynasty? Has the sage still been surnamed Li?" a Turkic general asked, raising his cup.

The music and dance music immediately shrank, and pairs of eyes turned towards them.

"Haha." Du Hu laughed, cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to the north, and surveyed everyone present in the hall: "The Holy Tang Dynasty existed then, the Holy Tang Dynasty exists now, and the Holy Tang Dynasty will exist forever. Who can take away this destiny?"

"That's right, that's right." The Turkic general nodded and smiled in agreement, then asked, "Has the imperial lineage changed? Which emperor was the sage...?"

Du Hu replied quickly and urgently: "Nothing has changed. Emperor Taizong passed the throne to Emperor Tianhuang, Empress Tianhuang passed it to Emperor Li, Emperor Li passed it to Emperor Li... Emperor Xuan passed it to Emperor Wu, Emperor Wu passed it to Emperor Ling, Emperor Ling passed it to Emperor Shun, Emperor Shun passed it to the Great Sage Zhaozhang... The current emperor's name is Ye, he is the twelfth generation descendant of Emperor Taizong, and the twentieth emperor of the Holy Tang Dynasty."

Seeing the puzzled looks on the faces of many ministers, Du Hu explained the matter of the Holy Emperor building the temple. Only then did everyone know who was who, but that only extended to the Ling Emperor.

"I see." The Turkic general stroked his beard and sighed, "How times have changed."

The beautiful queen, wearing a gold-embroidered headscarf, interjected, "How old is the Emperor?"

Why do you care about this? Du Hu glanced at the Queen with a hint of doubt, assuming she was just curious: "At the age of thirty."

"The Sage is so young~" the Queen murmured, somewhat surprised. She smiled and asked, "How has the Sage been lately? How many sons and daughters does he have?"

"Your Majesty, all is well." Du Hu knew she was worried about internal stability, so he answered frankly: "We have over a hundred children, including Prince Qi Wushi, Prince Lu Fei, Prince Song Qushuo, Li Guanyin, Li Zichuan, Gusu Li Yang, Li Tao, and Li Lizhi. The eldest, Prince Wu, and Princess Pingyuan, are already over ten years old."

More than a hundred?

The queen was startled; it turned out that the saint was far more energetic, ambitious, or rather, driven by desires than she had anticipated.

However, more than a hundred of them, how were they made? It's unprecedented and will never be repeated.

The Queen remained silent, only nodding and smiling: "Very good, His Majesty the Emperor is well, very good."

He then exchanged a glance with Yuchi Wang.

"Is the Eastern Lands at peace now?" the Queen continued to inquire. Having lived in seclusion in the Western Regions, she had always been ignorant of this matter, only hearing from the Guiyi Army that things were going badly. It was a rare opportunity to meet an envoy and verify this information.

Du Hu was eager to know the name of this queen who sounded both young and charming, and wanted to see her beautiful face beneath the mask.

Judging from her gentle voice and fluent Mandarin, she should not be a Hu woman.

"Uh, this..." Du Hu lowered his head, forcing himself not to look at the young woman who was making him uneasy, and lied, "There are some thieves causing trouble, but they are just like those rebels who dared to cause trouble in the past, like mayflies trying to shake a tree."

"Which ones?" the Queen pressed.

"Central Plains. Zhu Dalang and his underlings. This man is the son of Zhu Wen, who was a general of the Chao rebels, thus a continuation of the Chao rebellion."

"So... does that mean Zhu Dalang and his gang can't be classified as thieves? They should still be quite troublesome?"

"If you don't know how to ask, then don't ask, okay?" Du Hu was annoyed and was about to make up some excuse to get away with it when the perceptive queen noticed his fleeting hesitation and already had her answer in her heart: It seems that the Eastern Land is in a state of chaos. No wonder the Guiyi Army underestimates it.

“Even the most stubborn bandits crumbled in an instant under the will of Heaven. What is Zhu Dalang, a mere mortal, worth mentioning? As the saying goes, it’s easy to cut down a tree trunk but hard to entangle its roots. Clearing out the embers will indeed take some time,” she said, trying to defuse the situation.

Du Hu swallowed the words that had risen to his throat. He couldn't help but straighten up and look into the hall: a beautiful woman in white, draped in the same style of white turban as Zhang Hui with gold flowers, her beautiful hair gently covering her ears, her colorful earrings shimmering. The Queen lowered her head, and their eyes met.

The Queen's voice still echoed in my ears; her gentle voice was so soothing to hear.

No wonder that Holy Emperor...

"Let's not talk about this." Upon hearing this, King Yuchi was certain of the man's identity and began to take control of the conversation.

Du Hu then seemed to realize something and replied, "As the Queen said, it is indeed a bit troublesome, but it's only a matter of time."

But his gaze remained vacant.

"So, Lord Du, what is the meaning of His Majesty's decree this time?" King Yuchi asked, resting his chin on his hand. Du Hu replied quickly and urgently: "Your Majesty is hereby granted the title of Military Governor of the Four Garrisons of Anxi, with the additional title of Grand Master of the Three Dukes—the reign of the Kingdom of Khotan will follow the precedents since the Han Dynasty, subject to orders but not summons, only required to pay tribute and participate in military campaigns. For any internal or external troubles, the Holy Tang will provide support. Your Majesty is instructed to sever ties with the leaders of friendly tribes, the Guiyi Army, and the Tubo, and to seize the rear of Zhang Chengfeng and the southern Tubo."

King Yuchi shuddered, and a buzzing sound immediately filled the hall.

The smile on one side froze instantly, and deep worry was revealed in their eyes.

"Why?" asked King Yuchi.

"The Holy Emperor has decided to conquer the West and recover lost territories," Du Hu said firmly. "The Uyghur tribes in the Gansu area have already changed their flags and returned to the country. Now it's the turn of the Guiyi Army and the Tubo. But the court suspects that Zhang Chengfeng will not give in easily and may rely on foreign aid to oppose him, so they sent me here."

King Yuchi acted as if he hadn't heard.

His left hand rested on the table, his expression shifting uncertainly. The previously lively atmosphere of clinking glasses almost froze, with only the faint, melodious music audible.

This tone suggests it's serious.

So, what should Khotan do? Khotan had severed ties with China for over a century. Although the power of Tibet played a role, Tibet did not resume paying tribute after its collapse, demonstrating its contempt and arrogance. What should be done when the Holy Emperor tries to win over Khotan?
Will the Holy Emperor seek revenge later? Furthermore, if he were to abandon his military power and sever ties with the Guiyi Army and Tibet, wouldn't Khotan become a target for various factions to carve up if the Holy Emperor's westward expansion failed?
Fortunately, Du Hu did not force King Yuchi to make an immediate statement, and said calmly, "Your Majesty, please consider for a few days. The court's intention is very clear: as long as Khotan can pledge allegiance to the Holy Tang again, its treatment will remain the same as before, and it will forever be a land that will not be conquered."

This made King Yuchi's heart itch with desire.

He traveled a thousand miles to serve as an official, all for the sake of food and clothing.

What difference does it make who you follow? Besides, we are currently facing the threat of Western heretics. If the Holy Tang can guarantee high-ranking positions and generous salaries, then loyalty is indeed a good choice.

However, we do not yet know the true strength of the Holy Tang Dynasty. Judging from the envoy's tone and Du Hu's aura, the Holy Tang Dynasty does not seem to possess the absolute strength that it had in its early days, encompassing everything.

After a long silence, King Yuchi coldly waved his hand: "This matter is of great importance, allow me to consider it carefully... The envoy's words and edicts also need to be verified. I can understand that Lord Du secretly crossed over here and his entourage was lost. However, how can such an important matter be without the evidence of three edicts and five envoys? Allow me to send more people to contact the Uyghurs of Ganzhou, the military commissioner of Liangzhou, and the Guiyi Army to verify the evidence before we can make proper arrangements..."

Du Hu sighed inwardly.

It seems that Khotan will have to wait and see for quite some time. Perhaps these people will only reveal their stance after the Holy Emperor leads his troops westward, witnesses bloodshed, and sees the Holy Emperor's tyranny and the ruthlessness of the warriors.

"Lord Du," the Queen comforted, "We've been in this chaotic world for far too long! We've long known how to survive on this land. We're not worried about anything else, but we're afraid you can't protect me, afraid the Holy Tang can't bless us! We hope that while Tibet is weakened, we can be lucky enough to reclaim the Western Regions."

She stood up and pointed to the south and west: "What if the great city lords of Tibet and the great masters of Bon join forces and rush down the mountain? What if the mad dogs of Jihad advance eastward? The Holy Tang can withdraw its troops and leave like it did a hundred years ago, but our home is right here."

"I understand." Du Hu said, like a child who had been scolded by a rich woman.

"Sigh, never mind." The Queen descended the steps and handed over a golden token: "I've had your clothes washed by the palace servants, and I'll bring them to you in a bit. Go back to your quarters and rest. Just ask for whatever you need; my husband and I wouldn't dare refuse..."

The queen appeared before him, and the surroundings were enveloped in her fragrance.

Du Hu glanced at the unremarkable Prince Yuchi, who was whispering with his ministers, then at the Queen's skirt and shoes. Seeing this mismatched couple, Du Hu suddenly became very angry.

Why would the Queen marry a man like Prince Yuchi? He was filled with doubt and anger.

"Hey, are you listening?" The Queen's soft voice brought Du Hu back to his senses.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Du Hu raised both hands above his head and accepted the golden token.

Then, without warning, he, who had never danced for the Holy Emperor before, lifted his robes and stretched out his arms in the Khotan palace, in full view of everyone, and danced the Hu Xuan dance for the Queen and King Yuchi.

"You danced beautifully." The Queen clapped her hands and asked, "Such elegant dance moves must have required learning from a young age, right? Did you succeed through the imperial examinations or through family connections?"

“Menyin. My uncle is the former prime minister, Grand Commandant Du Rangneng.” Du Hu’s eyes were piercing.

The queen smiled.

She turned and walked back to the throne, while Du Hu remained devoutly staring at her retreating figure.

With a mountain of tasks piled up, he felt his ambition had been diminished; his mind was elsewhere, constantly haunted by the Queen's fragrance and body. He wondered... he wondered how Cui Xuan and the others were doing!

Hopefully, the war will not reach Khotan.

(End of this chapter)