Traveling through the Tang Dynasty: The Concubine Goes to War

Last time we talked about Yunxi encountering a Turkish envoy group on the road. One of the eldest prince’s close guards recognized him at a glance as Envoy Yang who had visited the Turks before.

"How is your eldest prince doing?" Yunxi's thoughts were instantly pulled back to the time in Turkic, and she asked anxiously.

"Our old Turkic king fell ill suddenly last year and unfortunately passed away. The eldest prince successfully inherited the throne and has now become our Jie Li Khan." The messenger who recognized Yunxi replied.

"Jie Li Khan..." Yunxi murmured the new title in a low voice.

"This time our Jie Li Khan sent us to the capital, on the one hand to present a batch of precious Turkic treasures to your emperor, and on the other hand to hope to marry the woman our Khan has long admired and promote a marriage between the two countries." The messenger's eyes fell on Yunxi and said with a smile.

Yunxi was shocked. The Turkic Khan actually asked to marry the person she had admired for a long time! This was definitely not an ordinary matter. She couldn't help but recall the special attitude that Jie Li Khan, who was only the eldest prince of the Turkic Khan at that time, showed to her when she was in the Turkic Khanate. A strong feeling of uneasiness suddenly surged in her heart.

Yunxi knew that the matter was urgent and serious, and she had to tell the emperor the news as soon as possible. So, after a brief conversation with the Turkic envoy, she turned around and left without hesitation, and hurried towards the direction of the palace. Along the way, her mind was surging like a tide, and she couldn't calm down at all. She really couldn't figure out what kind of impact this sudden marriage would have on the Tang Dynasty?

At the same time, inside the palace, the emperor was busy preparing to welcome the Turkish envoys...

The emperor was pleasantly surprised to see Yunxi coming, and said, "Yunxi, you came at the right time. You have been on a diplomatic mission to the Turks before, and you are quite familiar with the culture and customs of the Turks. This time, when the Turkic envoys come to visit, you can receive them on behalf of our Tang Dynasty."

"Your Majesty, I am here for this matter. I have met Turkic envoys on the way, and I know one of them." Yunxi paused and continued, "In addition to paying tribute to treasures, they also want to... establish friendly relations with Qin and Jin..." Yunxi looked at the emperor and was hesitant to speak.

The emperor frowned slightly, "Marrying a princess? Do you know which princess it is?"

Yunxi gritted his teeth, knelt down and kowtowed, "Your Majesty, the Turkic envoy said that he wants to marry the woman that their Khan has long admired."

The emperor's eyes turned cold, "The woman you've admired for a long time? Can you tell me who it is?"

"This...I don't know." Yunxi replied with her head down.

The emperor was silent for a moment and said, "Let's meet the Turkic envoy first."

At this moment, the eunuch came to report that the Turkish envoys were already waiting outside the palace.

Soon, the Turkic envoys were called into the hall.

"Greetings to His Majesty the Emperor!" After the envoys saluted, they explained their purpose.

After hearing this, the emperor asked, "Who is the woman your Khan has been fond of for so long?"

"It's Yang Yunxi who was once sent as an envoy to the Turkic Empire - Envoy Yang." The Turkish envoy said as he looked at Yunxi with a smile.

The emperor was stunned, "It's Yunxi, your Khan wants to marry Yunxi?" At this time, he also remembered that when the former eldest prince, now the new king of the Turks, came to pay homage to Yunxi, the look in his eyes made him jealous.

So he looked at Yunxi, "Yunxi, the new Turkic king has specially sent someone to ask for your hand in marriage. What do you think about this matter?"

Yunxi knelt down hurriedly and said, "Your Majesty, I only want to serve the Crown Prince wholeheartedly."

The emperor nodded with satisfaction, and then said to the envoy: "Yang Yunxi is neither a princess nor a royal relative, so she is not a suitable candidate for marriage. How about you report to the Khan and I will choose another beauty to marry the Khan?"

The envoys looked at each other, as if they were at a loss for a moment. Then they discussed quietly for a while, and the leading Turkic envoy said, "Well, we will talk about it after we report back to the Khan."

Afterwards, the emperor asked Yunxi to escort the envoy out of the palace.

Yunxi walked in front with a heavy heart. The envoys looked at each other and followed him.

After being escorted out of the palace gate, Yunxi breathed a sigh of relief. However, she was still worried.

Just as she was about to leave, the envoy suddenly called her.

"Envoy Yang, you should know that our Khan has always had his heart set on you. The Khan has not yet appointed a princess. If we cannot take you back, we will not be able to explain to the Khan."

Yunxi was stunned. She didn't expect Khan, the former eldest prince, to be so persistent in his feelings for her.

The envoy continued, "The Khan said that if you don't agree, he will do whatever it takes."

Yunxi's face turned pale as she realized the seriousness of the matter.

Perhaps the eldest prince who has become Jie Li Khan is no longer the straightforward eldest prince he used to be.

Yunxi took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down. "As a citizen of the Tang Dynasty, how can I marry a foreigner at will? Please tell the Khan not to force it." After saying that, she turned around and left resolutely.

After returning to the palace, Yunxi immediately informed the Queen Mother of the incident. The Queen Mother was horrified and decided to report the Turkic envoy's words to the Emperor with Yunxi.

The emperor was furious after hearing this. "How can this be! A Turkic Khan actually wants to force a woman from my palace to marry him. This is an insult to my Tang Dynasty!" He looked at Yunxi, with a trace of heartache in his eyes. "Yunxi, don't worry, I will never let you suffer this injustice."

Immediately, the emperor summoned his ministers to discuss countermeasures, and everyone expressed that the Turks must not be allowed to succeed.

Soon, the court drafted a plan and sent envoys to the Turks to explicitly reject the Khan's request and emphasize that the friendly relations between the Tang Dynasty and the Turks should not be compromised by marriage. At the same time, the Tang army strengthened the defense of the border to prevent the Turks from launching an attack on this ground.

A few days later, the Tang envoy returned to Chang'an with the Khan's reply. Although the Khan expressed regret in the letter, he also expressed his respect for the Tang's decision and his willingness to continue to maintain friendly exchanges with the Tang. The storm finally subsided, and Yunxi finally felt relieved.