Chapter 862: Court Debate, Decision! I (1/2)
Chapter 862: Court Debate, Decision! (I)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
With the two hundred thousand warhorses delivered to the City of Steel, Wang Chong held up his end of the bargain and sent the Turkic Fourth Prince back. Meanwhile, he also withdrew the three thousand cavalry from the Turkic steppe. With this, Wang Chong finished the largest ransom of a prince in the history of the Western Regions.
……
”Hulayeg, just how did you do it? Two hundred thousand! This isn't a small number. Even if everything on that boy were made from gold, he still wouldn't be worth that much!”
”That's right! When he heard that this many warhorses were coming, even Lord Marquis was stunned. Let me tell you, I was with Lord Marquis in the war of the southwest, and even at the most intense and grim moments of that war, Lord Marquis never once creased his brow.”
”That wasn't all! Everyone knows about Lady Xu. Everything she does is handled carefully and methodically, and she manages countless resources, an astronomical number! But even Lady Xu was flabbergasted when she heard the news.”
The City of Steel was brightly lit, and all the guards and Wushang cavalrymen that Hulayeg was friends with had gathered around a table. One of them, a prison guard, had broached a question that the entire City of Steel wanted to know the answer to.
”Heheh, I won't tell. This is my own little secret.”
Hulayeg belched and smiled, holding his crowd in suspense.
”Hulayeg, just spit it out. We're all brothers here, so you can tell us,” another guard said.
”That won't do. If a merchant gives away their secrets, how could they do business? Just keep guessing!” Hulayeg smugly declared.
The sight of Hulayeg's smug face made all these people clench their teeth in rage. Exchanging glances, all of them quickly agreed to an idea.
”Come, come, come! For your efforts, Hulayeg, your brothers will give you a toast.”
”Come, I'll also drink a toast to you. I submit to none of my brothers except you. After all, you've rendered a great service.”
”That's right! Everyone, a toast to Hulayeg!”
All of the crowd exchanged toasts with Hulayeg, drinking a cup while he downed one as well. In an exuberant mood, Hulayeg accepted all the toasts, drinking cup after cup. Gradually, Hulayeg's mind grew hazy as he hiccupped, his face reddening as he drank himself into a drunken stupor.
”Let me tell you! There's nothing that I can't do amongst the Western Turks. For the Fourth Prince matter, I had to make bribes both high and low. Amongst the Western Turks, I'm basically all-powerful, able to summon the winds and call the rain.”
”You? How could that be? You must be exaggerating!” a prison guard immediately shot back, 'disbelief' on his face.
”What did you say!”
Unable to accept this provocation, Hulayeg straightened his neck, his eyes flying open.
”That's because none of you understand. Let me tell you, don't be fooled by Ishbara Khagan's heroic air. In truth, his ears are rather tender. I just had to give a few bribes to those concubines in Ishbara Khagan's harem, especially the Khatun, the Fourth Prince's mother, and the matter was over and done with. Just think about it. No matter how formidable Ishbara Khagan is, how could anyone stand a throng of women nagging him at his ear all day?”
”Ohhh!”
The crowd was instantly enlightened. They had thought that Hulayeg was some brilliant genius, but he had really just relied on women. This was completely different from what they had imagined, and with the riddle solved, they immediately lost interest and began to disperse.
”Heyheyhey, where are all of you going? I still haven't finished yet!” Hulayeg shouted out from behind.
……
In the distant court of the Western Turkic Khagan, in Mount Sanmi…
With the Fourth Prince's arrival and reunion with the Khatun at the back of the mountain, this incident had come to a perfect conclusion.
However, with the departure of those two hundred thousand warhorses, the steppe between here and Qixi was much emptier, leaving behind only a sense of frustration. But this had been the will of the esteemed Blackwater Shaman, the will of the gods, so no one dared to object.
Very few people knew that deep in the night, when the stars shone over the steppe, two figures seated themselves side by side in the Khagan's tent. There were no lights within, and the two peered out, seeming to see through the tent and into the infinite beyond.
”Venerable Priest, why did you have me agree to Hulayeg's request of two hundred thousand warhorses?”
There was no one in a radius of several dozen zhang around the tent when Ishbara Khagan finally broke the silence. If Hulayeg had heard these words, his soul would have definitely fled his body, all his intoxication instantly dispersed. He had been under the impression that Ishbara Khagan had only agreed due to the pressure from his harem. Little did he know that the truth was completely different.