Volume 4 Chapter 59: Old Place
In mid-October, Hu Hongxiu, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of War, hurriedly set off westward.
Of course, although it was hurried, it was well equipped, including staff from the Ministry of Rites, staff from the Ministry of War, an entire squad of imperial guards, an entire cavalry of the imperial camp from Hehuang, several Jinshi who followed the imperial camp, several new Jinshi, and even a team of monks and a team of Taoists.
The envoys' ceremonial guards and gifts prepared for Yelu Dashi all had what they should have, but they were not spread out specially.
The group traveled light in the heart of the Central Plains and arrived at Guanxi at leisure. Then the military minister, who was going to Guanxi to check logistics and buy war horses from the Qingtang tribe, just had a brief conversation with Yuwen Xuzhong, who had received the news in advance, and continued to travel west. In order to save time, Hu Hongxiu and Yelu Yudu, as well as a small Tibetan tribe in Qingtang, a Han merchant caravan with experience in traveling west, and a Khotan merchant caravan that was about to turn back, simply met in Lanzhou.
There, local officials and local troops had already arranged logistical vehicles, horses, food, and some necessary salt, cloth and other items.
But at this time, it was already November and the weather was getting colder.
In northern Shaanxi, it is said that the war situation has become somewhat tense again. The Jin army of the Bao'an Army was successfully driven out by Wu Jie and Guo Hao. But at the same time, because one of the three rulers of the Jin Dynasty, the King of Wei Wanyan Wushu, arrived in Daning, an important town along the river, the situation in Danzhou, which faces the Yellow River, has become somewhat tense again.
But it didn't matter. At least Hu Hongxiu, Yelu Yudu and his group didn't bother to pay attention to it, because they had to go straight west without stopping.
As for the road to the west, it is actually not that complicated.
First of all, thanks to the opening of the Hehuang border during the reign of Emperor Shenzong, Lanzhou, Huangzhou and Xiningzhou have all become civilized Han territories, and the Tibetan Zuosiluo regime that was entrenched here at that time has been basically annexed and "matured". Even during the reign of Cai Jing, he did not forget to strengthen his rule over this place and suppressed the once-shaky Qingtang City (the capital of Xiningzhou, which is Xining in later generations). However, it was Zhao Huai'en, the Huangshan Affairs Commissioner who took office five years ago, who, as a descendant of Zuosiluo, has always been loyal to the Song Dynasty...The local Tibetan small tribe was provided by him, specifically for negotiating with the Tibetan tribes along the way.
So, this road is generally safe.
Secondly, it is precisely because the Western Xia had long controlled the Hexi Corridor and consciously isolated the Song Dynasty from the Western Regions that many Western Regions merchants were forced to take the Qinghai Road.
Even after Emperor Shenzong took control of Xining, envoys from Khotan immediately began to come from that place. And because they came too quickly and in too large numbers, the Song Dynasty felt tired of rewarding them and had to limit their visits to once every two years.
Yutian is the later Hotan. "Tian" means gate, which means that Yutian is a transportation hub in southern Xinjiang. At least this Qinghai Road can lead directly to Yutian.
In other words, this road has been clear and obvious since ancient times until now, and has never been a wild road.
Or to use the almost unanimous words of the three guides from Han, Tubo and Khotan, if you continue this journey westwards, as long as you can endure the hardship, you will definitely enter a major city in the Western Regions within two months, and then go to look for Yelu Dashi at your leisure.
If the road is smooth, forty to fifty days is also appropriate.
Hu Hongxiu and Yelu Yudu naturally had nothing to say, especially since there were Khotanese merchants who had just arrived in Xining City and told them some clear news. That is, before these Khotanese people set out, they did hear news from Yelu Dashi in southern Xinjiang. They knew that a Khitan king had swept through Yesili and was going to turn to the south, because the Western Region Uighur tribes who controlled Gaochang and Hamili were conducting diplomatic negotiations with the Khitan king at that time in an attempt to avoid war.
This was consistent with the information Yu Du had obtained from Xixia. Considering that Xixia controlled the Hexi Corridor, they naturally knew more quickly and more completely. Therefore, the huge delegation led by Hu Hongxiu had almost no doubts and immediately left Xining Prefecture and headed west in order to meet Yelu Dashi as soon as possible.
However, traveling is always full of surprises and excitement, but also boredom and dullness.
Less than a hundred miles west of Xining Prefecture, the group of people were shocked for the first time because they saw the Qinghai Lake, which was like a natural wonder.
Qinghai Lake, in those days no one would call it a lake. The Tibetans called it the "Blue Sea" from the beginning. After seeing such a large and blue salt water, the Han people did not dare to believe that it was a lake. They just called it the West Sea, but at the same time they had to admit that this was a "Blue Sea".
Of course, when the Han people continued to expand and saw the Aral Sea further west, they changed the definition of the West Sea and re-determined that the area on the Xining Prefecture was just "a blue sea".
At that time in Qinghai, everyone, Hu Hongxiu, the educated Khitan remnant Yelu Yudu, and the accompanying Jinshi, including the Guangdong guy with the lowest education level among them, 'Jiayingzi', who was promoted to the position of Yuwenlang in the Ministry of War just because of his strong backing and experience in suppressing rebellions in Yaoshan and Qianzhou, all remembered the poem instantly.
So-called:
The long clouds from Qinghai darken the snow-capped mountains, and the lonely city looks towards Yumen Pass in the distance.
I’ve worn out my golden armor through a hundred battles in the yellow sand, and I will never return until I have conquered Loulan!
This land has not been effectively ruled by the Central Plains dynasty for hundreds of years.
The Tang Dynasty that once dominated the universe is gone forever; the Tubo that once fought against the Tang Dynasty, the Uighurs, the Arabs, India, and Nanzhao and expanded in five directions was like a flash in the pan, and completely collapsed beyond control; even earlier, the Turkic people who once dominated the world had already rolled to the edge of the Mediterranean and redefined the West Sea... However, this blue sea and this poem that almost everyone can recite clearly remind everyone that this land, from the mountains to the sea, has long been integrated into the cultural bloodline of the Central Plains dynasty.
Even Yelu Yudu had such a ridiculous idea.
The huge team continued to walk on the north side of Qinghai. In the first few days, the scholars in the team could not suppress their excitement. They clearly recalled various allusions:
They knew that to their south was Qinghai, where "clouds cover the snowy mountains";
Knowing that somewhere in the east lies the source of the Yellow River, where the water of the Yellow River comes from the sky;
I know that the snow-capped peaks in the north that are faintly visible on a sunny day are the Qilian Mountains, which are the place where "a long journey of thousands of miles to Qilian" was made. The north of the Qilian Mountains is occupied by Liangzhou and Ganzhou, which are the Liangzhou mentioned in so many "Liangzhou Ci" poems.
They also knew that if they continued westward, they would pass Yumen Pass, where "the spring breeze does not reach Yumen Pass", and Yangguan Pass, where "there are no old friends west of Yangguan".
But I don’t know whether it is sad or funny that these places that are clearly recorded in their minds, places that even the Guangzhou people and the remnants of the Khitan can name, have not been to them for hundreds of years?
Is this reasonable?!
Of course , this inexplicable restlessness unique to young intellectuals would eventually be suppressed by the boring itinerary. After leaving Qinghai Lake, they marched in the Caotou Tatar territory south of Qilian Mountain for the next twenty days.
Then the topic turned to the four words "Grass-headed Tatar".
By the way, no one can tell the origin of the Grass-Headed Tatars.
Some people in the team speculated that they were close relatives of the Ganzhou Uighurs; others speculated that they were close relatives of the Xizhou Uighurs; the accompanying Khotanese merchants interrupted and said that these people should be the descendants of the Nine Zhaowu Clans, who were driven away from the north of the Qilian Mountains by the Xiongnu and then returned to the south of the Qilian Mountains; but when they asked a local tribal leader who had done business in Xining, he said that some of the ancestors of his tribe were Turgesh people... Everyone was talking about it, and the only certain information seemed to come from Yelu Yudu and his Khitan and Xi followers. These people insisted that no matter what, this group of so-called grass-roots Tatars were definitely not Tatars, because the difference was too great.
But, so I say but.
Suddenly one day, while writing his official travel diary in the sunset, the accompanying member of the Ministry of Rites suddenly lost his composure. He clearly remembered a text he had read in a corner, which seemed to indicate that the reason why this group of tribes were called Grass-headed Tatars was because when the envoys of Khotan went to see Emperor Shenzong, they said that this group of mixed tribes south of the Qilian Mountains were Grass-headed Tatars... and at noon that day, the accompanying Khotan merchant even said in all seriousness that this group of people were originally called Yellow-headed Tatars in Khotan, but the Song people kept calling them Grass-headed Tatars, so they were forced to change the name.
As for the Yellow-headed Tatars, it is much simpler. It has always been a general term for the scattered Tatar tribes in the west of the desert. In other words, this tribal group is very likely to have come from the north, crossed the Hexi Corridor, and then arrived here from the Qilian Mountains Pass.
But if that were the case, not only would Yelu Yudu be wrong in insisting that they were Tatars, the key point is that the reason why this tribal group in the southern part of the Qilian Mountains was called Grass-head Tatars was probably because an official in charge of recording or transcribing made a mistake in copying or remembering, or it was simply something that the Khotanese made up after being asked about it by Emperor Shenzong.
And they actually struggled with this mistake for more than ten days.
However, everyone couldn't help but focus on the four words "grass-headed Tatar" because they were too bored.
This place is too poor and too dilapidated. The largest tribe has only three or four hundred cavalrymen and cannot even afford dozens of sets of armor. When they saw the huge delegation of envoys from the Song Dynasty, they almost thought that the Song Dynasty was coming to the west for an expedition and they surrendered immediately... The officials from the Ministry of Rites wanted to write a document temporarily, but were stopped by Hu Hongxiu because they were worried that it would alert the enemy and cause unnecessary trouble.
As for buying a woman with half a piece of cloth, although it is cost-effective, it is of course not allowed. Few people would do such a thing as exchanging a handful of salt for a sunbath... After all, it has only been more than half a month since I left Xining, how could I not be able to resist?
However, the towering Qilian Mountains stretch endlessly, separating the only possible military threat to the north.
Then the land was covered with yellow meadows and swamps in winter. After looking at the Qilian Mountains for more than ten days, they felt bored. After reciting the poem dozens of times, they were tired of it. They could not help but start to kill time by reciting the four words "Grass-headed Tatar".
In this way, 20 days after leaving Xining, we finally passed the front section of Qilian Mountain, left the range of Caotou Tatar, and arrived at a mountain pass (Dangjin Pass). Next, according to the guides, we will enter the territory of the Yellow-headed Uighurs. The Yellow-headed Uighurs are stronger and theoretically can pose a threat to the team, but the probability is not high. Compared with this theoretical danger, the more troublesome thing is that there will be intermittent no-man's land next.
That's right, compared with the first half of the road, the second half of the road still has high mountains (Altun Mountains) in the north that are enough to block everything, but there is no Qinghai and lush grass in the south. That place is a desert, and only the narrow semi-desert area at the foot of the mountain is passable. This is also the fundamental reason why the military threat of the Yellow-headed Uighurs is actually relatively low. Robbery in such a place is a bit like a blind cat looking for a dead mouse.
Of course, there was water, so the journey was generally fine. But based on experience, a considerable number of people were likely to get sick, not seriously, but various minor illnesses that were difficult to explain. And based on the size of the team, an indefinite number of people would die on the journey, and war horses and yaks would also be lost.
But everything would get better after another twenty days of traveling, when they turned into the mountain pass and entered Datun City in the heart of the Western Regions (according to the description of the Khotan envoys, this journey was most likely to pass through the Solkuli Corridor in the middle section of the Altun Mountains and enter the prosperous Lop Nur area at that time).
This was expected, everyone was prepared, and there was nothing to say.
However, Hu Hongxiu, the leader of the delegation who had gathered these guides and had gradually figured out some geographical factors over the past few days, suddenly took the initiative to raise a question: "After arriving at Datun City, do we still need to go north through the Nanhe River (the Han name for the Tarim River), to the foot of the Tianshan Mountains, and then turn east to reach Hamili?"
The Khotanese merchant nodded immediately.
"And if we go through the mountain pass in front of us," Hu Hongxiu, with a ruddy face, turned around and pointed to the Qilian Mountain Pass behind him. The pass was so obvious that it was visible to the naked eye. "Can we avoid taking a detour and go directly to Hami? "
"Yes." It was the Han merchant from Xining who answered Hu Hongxiu. "So that Minister Hu knows that if we go from here, we will reach Shazhou (Dunhuang), and Hamili is just north of Shazhou. If we go from here, we can arrive in half a month..."
As soon as these words were spoken, Yelu Yudu and others, who also had red faces, looked at each other, apparently moved.
"But Shazhou is in the hands of the Xixia people." The Han merchant responded cautiously. "When the Xixia people encounter ordinary merchants, whether they are Han or Hu, they will set up checkpoints and exploit them, let alone the nobles in Dongjing City?"
Everyone fell silent again.
"If we go from Shazhou to Hamili, are there any natural dangers that we must cross?" Hu Hongxiu asked seriously.
"Minister Hu is confused." Lian Yelu Yudu was somewhat helpless. "To the northwest of Shazhou is Yumen Pass, and to the southwest is Yangguan Pass. We go to Loulan through Yangguan Pass, and to Gaochang through Yumen Pass. We are going to Gaochang... We can't avoid the Xixia people. According to the foreign generals, we should be patient for a while and continue to go west!"
Hu Hongxiu frowned when he heard this: "General Yelu, should we go to Hamili or Gaochang?"
Yelu Yudu was slightly startled, and immediately asked, "Aren't they all the same place? Are they all where the Western Region Uighurs are? And according to what was said before, the Western Region Uighurs have just signed a subordinate agreement with my King Dashi, so if we find the Western Region Uighurs, we can get news about my King. Calculating the time, it's impossible even if we see them in person."
"That being said, Gaochang and Hamili are not the same place." Hu Hongxiu shook his head. "Gaochang has to go through Yumen Pass, so what about Hamili? We are actually going to find the Western Region Uighurs, right? We didn't specify Gaochang or Hamili?"
Yelu Yudu wanted to refute, but was discouraged in the end... He really didn't want to offend this Zhao Song official whose personality was a little serious to the point of being awkward.
In fact, even other Song Dynasty entourage felt that Hu Hongxiu was overthinking it. Hamil and Gaochang both belonged to the Western Regions and were one family. If one wanted to go to the Western Regions, wouldn't one have to go through Yumen Pass or Yangguan?
However, at this moment, the Khotanese merchant who could speak Chinese suddenly interrupted and said, "If you go from Shazhou to Hamili, you don't have to go through Yumen Pass."
Everyone turned around to look.
"Shazhou, Guazhou, Hamili and Gaochang are a four-cornered circle..." The Khotanese merchant hurriedly explained under the gaze of the crowd. "Yumenguan is between Shazhou and Gaochang, Hamili is northeast of Gaochang and northwest of Guazhou... If you want to go to Hamili from Shazhou, of course you can go through Yumenguan to Gaochang and then go to Hamili, but you can also turn east from Shazhou, retreat to Guazhou, and then go directly to Hamili from Guazhou... There are no checkpoints on this road."
Han Shang also nodded heavily.
Yelu Yudu and Hu Hongxiu looked at each other in silence, apparently moved, and the latter turned back to look at the two heads of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of War.
The two officers hesitated for a moment, and then one of them, a certain official in the Ministry of War named Liang Jiaying, blurted out in a strange accent: "We can bet! The population here is so sparse, we can split our troops into two groups, one with light cavalry from Guazhou to Hamili... How can we not bet!"
Hu Hongxiu nodded immediately, and the matter was approved.
There was no way. Among the four people who had a say, three had been to the battlefield, and the three who had been to the battlefield had basically no doubts about this risky choice, which left the learned Yuwenlang of the Ministry of Rites speechless.
After a while, everyone had made a plan. Hu Hongxiu and Yelu Yudu carefully selected a hundred riders, covered them with tattered clothes of the local yellow-headed Tatars, took enough water and food, went out of the Zhengbei Pass, entered Shazhou, retreated to Guazhou, and then went straight to Hamil.
The rest of the group, led by Liang Jiaying and the deputy minister of the Ministry of Rites, continued to move westward with baggage, caravans, gifts, and ceremonial guards. After another twenty days of walking, they turned into Datun City in the Western Regions as a backup plan.
Since the decision had been made and the leaders were all veterans of the battlefield, they did not hesitate and immediately implemented it.
It can only be said that the Xixia people never thought that the one hundred cavalrymen who appeared at the Qilian Pass were actually Han envoys. In fact, they did not even notice these one hundred cavalrymen... After the one hundred cavalrymen came out of the Qilian Pass, they followed the guide's instructions and ignored Shazhou City. Instead, they hid during the day and moved at night, first rushing to Sanwei Mountain, and then passing the small town of Changle City on the way. They only bought enough food and water in the villages around Changle City, and then crossed the river at night from the north of Guazhou City, bypassing the small desert in the Shule area, and finally galloping all the way to the northwest.
The Xixia people did not react throughout the whole process.
They had no reason to react. The Xixia Xiping Military Headquarters in Guazhou only received a report from Changle City two days after the incident, saying that there was a group of yellow-headed Tatars, who must have just made a robbery and were actually quite rich, heading from west to east... The people of the Xiping Military Headquarters wanted to look for them, but when they learned that these people had already crossed the Shule Desert, they lost all interest.
Who would be willing to care about a place like this, as long as it doesn't disturb the core land of the Hexi Corridor?
So, after a few surprises, nothing serious happened. Five or six days before the Chinese New Year, Hu Hongxiu and Yelu Yudu arrived in Hamil, and then they received accurate news that Yelu Dashi was in Gaochang (later Turpan) ahead!
Moreover, after a long discussion, the Western Region Uighur tribes with Gaochang as their actual capital expressed their obedience to Yelu Dashi early on. However, Yelu Dashi was not so simple-minded as to accept a letter, and he still led his army south. After Yelu Dashi's troops moved south to Beiting (Beshbalik), the Western Region Uighur regime headed by the Uighur King Bilege, after a final ideological struggle, formally pledged loyalty to Yelu Dashi.
They offered a huge gift of 600 horses, 100 camels, and 3,000 sheep, and promised to provide the sons of Uighur nobles as hostages.
Therefore, Yelu Dashi completely subdued the Western Region Uighurs without bloodshed, and was about to lead his army to Gaochang to meet Bilege and accept his gifts and hostages.
This is great news.
But it was also bad news... because Yelu Dashi had told the Western Region Uighur tribes from the beginning that he was going to the Black Khanate further west to "borrow troops", so he was just borrowing a passage from the Western Region Uighurs and would soon head west.
In other words, if they arrived too late, Yelu Dashi might have continued his journey westward.
Hu Hongxiu, Yelu Yudu and others were already exhausted, and the hundred cavalrymen who followed them had been reduced to seventy or eighty people, and they were all exhausted. But at this time, they could not care about anything else. The two of them immediately exchanged horses in Hamilin Street, exchanging three tired horses for one good horse, and got thirty horses. Then they selected eight followers, each with three horses, and immediately went west to Gaochang again in the name of Yelu Dashi's subordinates.
I have to say that Bilege was very powerful. He did not play any tricks. Facing Yelu Dashi and his army, the Uighur king honestly opened the city gate, presented gifts, handed over his children, and at the same time took out his savings to entertain Yelu Dashi and his entourage, and even held a banquet for three days.
The entire Gaochang City was in a frenzy because they had avoided a war.
On the third day of the banquet, Yelu Dashi, who was happily drinking wine, suddenly heard a name that was enough to bring back the sad memories of his half-life.
And it is the authentic Khitan pronunciation.
"Yelü Yudu?" In the joyous atmosphere of the city, when everyone was excited about avoiding a war, Yelü Dashi, who was less than 40 years old this year, sat on the throne of the Uighur King. Hearing these words, he felt as if he were in another world. "He dared to come to see me? How many people did he bring with him?"
"Ten!" In front of Dashi, a Khitan general bowed his head. It was Xiao Worila, a right-hand man under Yelu Dashi.
"Ten?" Yelu Dashi, who was ruddy and dressed in brocade robes, smiled, then picked up the glass cup beside him, shook the wine in the cup, and then turned to the Uighur King Bilege beside him. "Ten is not bad! Ten warriors who share life and death fighting side by side, can laugh at the thousands of troops with different intentions... This guy can bring ten Khitan warriors here to find me, I am embarrassed to chop off his head."
Bilege smiled... He didn't understand a word... But that didn't stop him from smiling.
"There is also a Zhao Song military assistant minister!" Xiao Wulila waited for the Uighur king to finish laughing before adding , "Ten people, one Yelu Yudu, one Zhao Song military assistant minister Hu Hongxiu, a Yutian guide, seven Zhao Song imperial cavalrymen from Xihe Road... It is said that there is also a handwritten letter from the Zhao Song government and a gift specially selected by the Zhao Song government."
Yelu Dashi was stunned when he heard the first additional description. He listened to it all in one breath and remained silent for a long time. Then he stood up suddenly, sat back down suddenly, raised his hand again, stopped halfway, and finally opened his mouth to speak, but remained silent for a while.
No matter how you look at it, he looks like he's drunk.
But after waiting and thinking for a long time, this biggest Khitan exile remnant still waved his hand heavily with a smell of alcohol: "Bring them in together!"
Without drinking a glass of wine for three days, Xiao Worila, who was arranging the city defense, immediately came out and brought ten people in a moment.
The Uighur King and his subordinates had already noticed the situation, but they observed the people's words and expressions and became solemn.
Besides, the ten people had come here with all their might and were already extremely exhausted. When they entered the hall, they looked really embarrassed and out of control compared with the nobles of the Uighur and Khitan tribes who had been feasting and reveling for three days.
As for the two leaders, Yelu Yu saw the situation and knew that the success or failure of today depended on whether they could form an alliance, but he said nothing, just stood in the hall gasping for breath, and then went to see Hu Hongxiu.
As for Hu Hongxiu, he relaxed his breath and bowed calmly: "Today is the New Year. Hu Hongxiu, the Minister of the Ministry of War of the Great Song Dynasty, asks Dashi Lin Ya on behalf of the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty, what is the fun of celebrating the New Year in a foreign country?"
"Is it the New Year today?" Yelu Dashi was surprised to hear the question in his familiar Hebei dialect, but then he shook his head. "Is it the New Year or not? You are such a high-ranking envoy, don't you know that the Song and Liao have been at war for fourteen years since your family broke the alliance? How dare you come to the enemy territory of Gaochang?"
Hu Hongxiu remained silent for a while, and the atmosphere suddenly became cold.
After a moment, Xiao Wulila snorted coldly: "Why doesn't the Song envoy speak? After traveling thousands of miles, you have nothing to say?"
"It's not ten thousand miles. From Xining Prefecture to here, it's only more than two thousand miles, and it took less than two months." Hu Hongxiu responded earnestly. "And if we can go through the Hexi Prefectures, it will naturally be faster. Besides, it's not that I have nothing to say... I thought about it for a long time on the horse when I came here, and I also thought that after seeing Dashilin Ya, there would be such boring words waiting for me, so I also thought of many responses... For example, at this time, just say that Gaochang was originally a Chinese land, and I am a Chinese minister, so why can't I come? But just when I was about to say it, I felt that after all, I had traveled two thousand miles to get here. If I just said these nonsense, it would seem quite meaningless, and it would also be unfair to the emperor who is waiting in Tokyo."
Yelu Dashi sneered, and it was unclear whether he was mocking himself or the person in front of him.
At this point, Hu Hongxiu turned to Yelu Dashi and bowed calmly again: "Dashi Lin Ya... my government wants to use the river as the boundary and grant the six counties and four districts of Hexi in Western Xia to Liao. The two families will divide Western Xia equally, so that Dashi Lin Ya can look back at his homeland. What do you think?!"
Yelu Dashi's heart was pounding, but he sneered again. He seemed to think that it was a bit unworthy of him to threaten a senior official of the Song Dynasty who dared to cross the 2,000-mile blockade of Xixia with only ten people. He considered the pros and cons in his heart, and stroked his chin perfunctorily: "You just said you had a gift for me?"
"have."
As Hu Hongxiu spoke, he took off the helmet of a Han knight beside him in front of Yelu Yudu's stunned gaze, and handed it to Xiao Worila, who was also a little confused.
But then, this important official of the Song Dynasty, who did not look like an important official of the Song Dynasty at all, said just one sentence, and all the Khitan people present changed their expressions:
"This is the helmet that Wanyan Loushi wore when he died at the foot of Yao Mountain! My emperor heard that this man had a close relationship with Dashilin Ya, so he asked me to bring it to you... It's just the right gift for Dashilin Ya and the Khitan warriors."
Xiao Worila, who had been keeping a stern face, also lost his composure. His helmet, which smelled of sweat, fell to the ground and rolled several times in the magnificent palace of Gaochang before it stopped.
"Minister Hu." After a long while, Yelu Dashi broke the silence. "I also heard some words from the Tangut merchants... Some people said that in the battle of Yaoshan, it was your emperor who shot Wanyan Loushi to death with an arrow?"
"No, it was Qu Duan, the commander of the Imperial Camp Cavalry, who shot Lou Shi under the armpit with an arrow, Han Shizhong, the commander of the Imperial Camp Left Army, who shot Lou Shi on the head of his horse with an arrow, and Li Shifu, the deputy commander of the Imperial Camp Cavalry, who was hit by another arrow. Then Hou Dan, the commander of the Imperial Camp Central Army, rushed forward with an axe, first chopped off his arm, then chopped off his head!" Hu Hongxiu answered seriously. "As for my emperor, although he had drawn his bow and wanted to shoot early, he failed. If it weren't for Commander Qu's arrow, he would have almost died on the spot... However, these are all old stories. My emperor has a few words for me to pass on to Dashi Lin Ya..."
"No hurry." Yelu Dashi suddenly stood up and turned to look at Bilege, the Uighur king of Xizhou. "I would like to borrow flowers to offer to Buddha and ask for a glass of fine grape wine for Minister Hu."
