The journey of the only child of a peasant family to take the imperial examination

"The first is to return all the Tatar captives. The second is that the territory of the Jinwu Khanate is bounded by the Jinjie Moat in the south, Lake Baikal in the north, Jiayuguan in the east, and Hangai Mountains in the west. The Jinwu Khanate is a vassal of the Great Zhou Dynasty, and the Great Zhou Dynasty must formally enthrone the Khan." Yang Zhong couldn't bear to read any further after seeing the second clause.

He asked angrily, "When did you Tatars establish your own Khanate? Hasn't it always been an alliance between tribes?"

Kanghe, the envoy sent by the Tatars, was a tribal prince, about thirty years old. He looked clean and tidy, with a gentle smile, very different from ordinary Tatars, and was fluent in Chinese.

Hearing Yang Zhong's question, he calmly bowed and replied, "Master Yang, you may not know that our Khanate was just established three days ago. We have already informed the other tribes. A grand founding ceremony will be held at that time. If you are interested, Master Yang, you can go and participate."

"You are very different from ordinary Tatars. You look more peaceful and speak Chinese so well. Aren't you afraid that I will detain you and force you to hand over the antidote?" Yang Zhong narrowed his eyes and snorted coldly.

"Lord Yang has a good eye. I do have Han Chinese ancestry. My great-grandmother was a princess sent to Mobei by the Great Xia Kingdom in the previous dynasty as a peace treaty. I am the most like her among the younger generations," Kang He said with a gentle smile.

He then spread his hands and said helplessly, "As for detaining me, let's not talk about me being a nobody and not having the antidote. There are also many tribal princes. Moreover, it is a customary rule between two countries not to kill envoys. If Lord Yang breaks this rule, wouldn't it make the world laugh? The emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty would also lose face!"

"You're quite good at talking. It's a shame you didn't take the imperial examination," Yang Zhong said sarcastically. Then, pointing at the silk, he said, "What about the third item? Your Jinwu Khanate is a vassal of the Great Zhou, so you should pay tribute to us. Why do you want us to open markets in Zhangjiakou, Datong, Xuanfu, and other places and grant you tax-free trade?"

"Alas," Kang He sighed and explained, "Master Yang, you've seen that the North has been in chaos for the past few years, with wars everywhere. The people have long been living in poverty. Although Abula is brave and good at fighting, and led his tribesmen to plunder a lot of money in various cities, he doesn't know how to manage business, nor does he have the talent to govern the country. The result of his extravagant spending is that both sides suffer. Most of the herdsmen in Mobei are also living in hardship. Opening a market is a mutually beneficial thing for all of us. Why not?"

"This is impossible," Yang Zhong waved his hand and refused.

Isn't this just inviting a wolf into the house?

"Lord Yang, please don't be in a hurry to refuse. Why don't you write a letter to the emperor of your Great Zhou Dynasty and ask his opinion first?" Kang He still had that unhurried attitude and was very calm.

Then he pointed to the lines on the silk and continued, "There are three left. Let me explain them to you one by one!"

"The fourth clause stipulates that our two countries will not invade each other for a hundred years. If the countries in the Western Regions rebel, we can borrow troops from each other to quell the rebellion. The fifth clause stipulates that each side will send ten royal children as hostages to ensure the smooth implementation of the alliance. The sixth clause stipulates that anyone who violates this alliance will be punished by the gods!"

"Sending hostages to each other?" Yang Zhong slammed the table in anger. "That's bullshit!"

"Master Yang, please don't be angry!" Kang He said with a smile, then continued slowly: "Although the North is only one step away from unification and the situation seems to be very good, whether this step can be taken is very critical. The Han people have a saying that I think is particularly good. 'Nine feet of mountain, one fails at the last basket of soil.' Sometimes it is just the last basket of soil that makes the goal fail. It is really a pity!

As far as I know, Shaanxi is still under the control of Bai Chao's subordinates. The countries in the Western Regions are also unstable. The Central Plains is a piece of fat meat that everyone wants to take a bite. Even if we are driven away, there will still be someone else who will miss us. It is better to have more friends than more enemies. Lord Yang, please think carefully. I will leave first!"

Kang He said this and stood up to say goodbye. Before leaving the tent, he pretended to remind her casually, "Oh, I forgot to mention that our Khan has traveled extensively throughout the Western Regions and is quite familiar with the royal families of each country. Even a large number of ants can kill an elephant!"

"Wait!" Zhao Renzhi listened for a long time and finally couldn't help but speak up to stop the man.

He asked his inner doubts: "Aside from the clause about opening the market, I really don't see anything in this treaty that is particularly beneficial to your Khan. If that's the case, there's no need for you to submit to him. Can you tell me why?"

After hearing this, Kang He turned around and bowed, then said softly, "Actually, this is not a secret. We naturally have our reasons for doing this. The Tatars have long been a loose group with many branches, and none of them submit to each other. Even if they form an alliance, it is difficult to sustain it for a long time. This is one of the reasons why the Tatars cannot completely occupy the Central Plains, and this time they are even more exhausted!

Our Khan is not of the purest bloodline, and he also needs a title to command the tribes. As long as we can conclude an alliance, the Tatars will immediately withdraw from the Central Plains and return to the various regions of the desert north, and no longer invade. Isn't this a good thing? I hope you will consider it carefully, otherwise we will be doomed to fail!"

After Kang He left, Yang Zhong and his companions immediately formed different opinions.

Yang Zhong was a tough guy who didn't understand much about politics. He thought, "If they were really that powerful, they wouldn't be so defeated by us. They'd be running back to their base in Mobei. I think they're just trying to scare us!"

Liu Sanlang disagreed. "General, although I haven't read much, I think he's right about one thing: more friends are worse than more enemies. If the Tatars can submit to us, it will be a deterrent to the countries in the Western Regions. They will certainly not dare to act rashly. Only then can we free up our hands to unify Shaanxi. Besides, our soldiers are now infected with the plague, numbering in the tens of thousands, and the number is increasing every day. We urgently need an antidote. We can't just watch them die in pain!"

Zhao Renzhi also advised: "Such a major matter must be left to His Majesty for the final decision. We just need to explain the situation here in detail! Also, send someone to the Tatars to inquire about the situation and see if what Kang He said is true!"

The other generals, some advocating war and some advocating peace, argued so fiercely that Yang Zhong's head ached. Finally, he slammed his hand on the table and said, "Stop arguing! In my opinion, let His Majesty make the decision. Send a letter to Lin'an immediately!"

Liu Sanlang and Zhao Renzhi looked at each other and no longer objected.

I don’t know if these generals in the army were in better physical condition or something, but they didn’t get sick. They looked full of energy when they were arguing.

When it comes to sending the letter to Lin'an, everything quiets down.

Zhang Ping'an didn't find out about this until half a month later. It was almost the 20th day of the twelfth lunar month, and the Chinese New Year was only a few days away.

Mr. Huang had a very bad year and was sighing a lot.

Both of them were very surprised by the sudden appearance of this Khan.

Some of it is hard to guess.

The imperial court responded quickly, agreeing to all conditions except the exchange of hostages.

Along with the imperial edict, there was also a pure gold and jewel crown and a golden sword, which symbolized the alliance between the two countries and the exchange of tokens.

The person who represented the Great Zhou Dynasty was the newly appointed king of a different surname, Qin Qingshan. Zhou Ziming did not go to the capital in person.

The alliance ceremony was also held on the outskirts of the capital.

When they saw the Khan of the new Khanate, Qin Qingshan, Yang Zhong, Liu Sanlang and others were all surprised. If they had not known in advance, anyone would have thought that he was a Han Chinese.

There is really no trace of Tatar in his body.

Qin Qingshan was experienced after all. He quickly calmed down and ordered the ceremony to begin.

The one who was most frightened was Liu Sanlang. He rubbed his eyes several times and felt unbelievable.

Isn’t this Guo Jia?

Although he had become a little darker, a little stronger, and had grown a beard, his facial features had not changed, especially his eyes. He would not mistake him.

Watching Guo Jia calling himself Bater and communicating with everyone in fluent and natural Tatar.

He was somewhat doubtful whether this scene was real!

"Brother Zhao, pinch me!" Liu Sanlang murmured while grabbing Zhao Renzhi's hand.

"What's wrong? Why would I pinch you for no reason?" Zhao Renzhi was a little amused, but also puzzled.

"I suspect I'm dreaming. Pinch me and I'll know if it's real!"

"Ah?" Zhao Renzhi didn't understand.

Liu Sanlang didn't care anymore, grabbed Zhao Renzhi's hand and pinched himself hard.

He grimaced in pain.

Now he was sure it was true.

This world is so crazy!