Lord Loulan breathed a sigh of relief when he saw this, and quickly filled Mao Sui's wine glass with a smile on his face.
A majestic king who lives in such a humble state is like no one else.
"I wonder what the population of Loulan is? How many victorious soldiers are there?" Mao Sui glanced at the Lord of Loulan and asked in a deep voice.
"Envoy, we in Loulan have a population of more than 20,000 and an army of 5,000." The Lord of Loulan said cautiously.
"Mr. Loulan, do you know how many people our Zhao Kingdom has and how many soldiers we have?" Mao Sui put a piece of meat into his mouth, chewed it slowly, his eyes slowly passed over the heads of everyone, and said slowly, without completely talking about the relationship between Lord Loulan and him.
The Minister of Civil and Military Affairs took it seriously.
"Young King, I don't know." The Lord of Loulan and the Minister of Civil and Military Affairs were sitting upright, bowing their heads slightly, not daring to move.
Those who don’t know better think that Mao Sui is the king and Lord Loulan is the minister.
"We, the State of Zhao, have 50 million civilians, 3 million in armor, one million cavalry, and thousands of generals. Mr. Loulan, what do you think is stronger or weaker between your country and our State of Zhao?" Mao Sui said.
"The envoy is joking. Loulan is a small country, how can I compare with Zhao." Lord Loulan shook his head bitterly. He didn't know whether what Mao Sui said was true or false, but he could see the endless flow of caravans every day.
Passing through Loulan, every caravan carried treasures that were beyond the reach of a king like him.
In the past, there were still some Hu and Qiang people who liked to plunder Zhao's caravans. After Meng Ao led his army to plow twice, from the Hexi Corridor to the vicinity of Cheshi Kingdom, no one dared to attack Zhao's caravans.
It was Zhao Guo's extremely tough attitude that filled Loulan with worry.
Loulan is different from other countries in the Western Regions. They are so close to the Zhao State that they can almost be said to be neighbors. If the official roads are well established, the Zhao State can reach Loulan with a quick march and destroy it in less than a day.
Lord Loulan was afraid of the State of Zhao, but he did not dare to offend the State of Zhao. He was always in fear, fearing that he would become the king who would subjugate his country.
"Last year, our country, Zhao, pacified the barbarians in the north and wiped out dozens of tribal countries, large and small. The weakest among them was several times more powerful than Loulan. Our country, Zhao, only dispatched 10,000 troops." Mao Sui.
He raised a finger.
"Congratulations to the Kingdom of Zhao." Lord Loulan's mouth twitched twice, trying hard to smile.
"We, the State of Zhao, are a peace-loving country. We have always insisted on not attacking others unless they offend us. If anyone offends us, we will kill them all. The northern barbarians have repeatedly invaded the borders of our State of Zhao, killing the people of our State of Zhao, plundering the property of our State of Zhao, and occupying our State of Zhao."
The territory of the country. Our country of Zhao and the Hu people will fight to the death...but our country of Zhao and Loulan don't have any hatred, right?" Mao Sui looked at the Lord of Loulan.
"Yes, yes, Loulan and Zhao have always been on good terms." Lord Loulan was stunned for a moment and nodded repeatedly.
To be honest, Zhao State was trading with the Western Regions, and the caravans that traveled every day also promoted Loulan's development to a certain extent. If it weren't for the great pressure brought by Zhao State, the Lord of Loulan would not mind having a good relationship with Zhao State.
"We, the State of Zhao, do not want anything unpleasant to happen between us and Loulan." Mao Sui took out a document from his sleeve and placed it in front of Lord Loulan. "This is the credential drawn up by our State of Zhao. As long as Lord Loulan signs it,
, we will be our own people from now on, and I, Zhao Guoguo, will protect the Loulan Kingdom."
It is said to be a letter of credence, but in fact it is an unequal treaty.
Loulan recognized the State of Zhao as its suzerain state and had to pay tribute to Zhao State with a thousand war horses every year. The king's accession to the throne had to be canonized by the State of Zhao. At the same time, the heir had to stay in the State of Zhao as a hostage and learn the culture of the State of Zhao.
Loulan provides tax exemptions to Zhao’s caravans. Zhao’s caravans can trade freely in Loulan, and Loulan has the responsibility and obligation to protect their safety.
The State of Zhao has the right to dispatch officials and garrison troops in Loulan. During the war, Loulan should obey the dispatch of the State of Zhao and send troops to fight with the State of Zhao.
Loulan's laws are rudimentary. If Zhao commits a crime in Loulan, he needs to be handed over to Zhao for trial and decision. Loulan has no right to deal with it privately.
…
Lord Loulan's face darkened every time he read one, and by the time he finished reading them all, his face was already darker than the bottom of a pot.
In the credential, almost all of them are responsibilities and obligations that the Loulan Kingdom should fulfill. The only obligation that the Zhao Kingdom needs to fulfill is that the Zhao Kingdom should send troops to support Loulan when it encounters foreign enemies.
"This is too much bullying. I have repeatedly given in. Do you think Zhao Guo really thinks that I, Loulan, can be squeezed out of clay?" Lord Loulan suddenly stood up, stared at Mao Sui, and roared.
Zhao Guo was so arrogant that he didn't take him seriously at all. Even if he had some regard for him, Lord Loulan, he wouldn't be able to do such a thing.
"So... did Mr. Lou Lan refuse?" Mao Sui picked up the wine glass, drank it slowly, raised his head and looked at Mr. Lou Fan, and said calmly.
"Yes, as long as I am the king of Loulan, I will never agree to Zhao Guo's unreasonable request." Loulan Jun said firmly. Zhao Guo's conditions are no different from the subjugation of Loulan. He will not agree to it no matter what.
"Oh." Mao Sui slowly stood up and pulled out the sword from his waist. "Poof" the sword light flashed past, and scarlet blood spurted out from Lord Loulan's throat like spring water.
"Now you are no longer the Lord of Loulan." Mao Sui looked at Lord Loulan and said calmly.
Lord Loulan fell heavily to the ground, with two eyeballs protruding from his eye sockets. His face was full of shock. He never thought until his death that Mao Sui dared to kill him in the palace.
How crazy is this!
Wow!
When the guards on both sides saw this, they were shocked and quickly surrounded Mao Sui.
All the civil and military ministers were so frightened that they backed away and looked at Mao Sui in disbelief. After just a disagreement, the Zhao envoy killed their king?
"Everyone, please think carefully. Now it's just Lord Loulan who dies. If I die here, no one in the entire Loulan Kingdom of more than 20,000 people will be able to survive." Mao Sui looked at Loulan, who was three floors inside and three outside.
The soldier, without any fear, inserted his bloody sword into the scabbard and strode outside.
Wow!
Loulan soldiers stood in front of Mao Sui.
"Let the Zhao envoy go." The old minister sighed deeply and waved his hand.
The entourage quickly followed Mao Sui. The scene just now almost scared him to death.
Returning to Zhangye County, Mao Sui met Meng Ao and Gongsun Long, clasped his fists and said, "I would like to ask the two governors to forgive me for failing to complete my mission."
"Loullan Lord doesn't agree?" Meng Ao's face darkened, and he subconsciously placed his right hand on the hilt of his sword. "It seems that we can't do it without sending troops. I will report this to the king and send troops to capture Lord Loulan alive."
"My subordinates have already killed Lord Loulan," Mao Sui said.
"!" Meng Ao looked at Mao Sui suddenly. A scribe on the other side was actually more reckless than him. He killed Lord Loulan in the Loulan Palace, and how could he still come out alive?
"At this time, Loulan Kingdom is in chaos. My subordinates advise the governor to send troops immediately, so that Loulan can be captured in a short time." Mao Sui said, clasping his fists.
"It's better to ask the king for instructions first. After all, we are sending troops to a country." Meng Ao said, quickly writing a letter and sending it to Handan. Anyway, with the letter eagle, you can receive a reply the next day at the latest, so there is no need to wait.
What.
…
Zhao Kuo was very happy during this period. Nothing major happened in Zhao State. All government affairs were handled by someone. He only needed to look around the country.
How the country is governed and how well the people are living can only be known by seeing it with your own eyes. You cannot feel it just by reading the cold words on the memorial.
Zhao Kuo is not afraid of assassination either. He himself is a strong man in the Transcendent Realm, one of the best in the world. He has two great bodyguards around him, one on the left and one on the right. Gai Nie has become a strong man in the Holy Realm some time ago.
Even if someone with shortsightedness comes to assassinate Zhao Kuo, they are no match for Ge Nie.
Lin Xiangru, Li Mu and others were busy relocating people and property. In order to prevent everyone from dying on the road, Lin Xiangru and others specially spent money to hire a large number of doctors to treat everyone free of charge.
In the past, they didn't care about these civilians. The two sides were completely two classes and there would be no intersection. But now, these civilians are their treasures. In the Western Zhou Dynasty, they were equivalent to the people of the country and the foundation of a country.
When encountering foreign enemies, they will bring their own weapons and war horses and follow the country to resist the presence of foreign enemies.
They all feel sad if one of them dies.
Wei Wuji and Tian Dan even sent people directly to Wei and Qi to recruit people.
Zhao Kuo pretended not to see it. As long as they were not from Zhao, they could do as much as they liked. That was their ability.
To put it bluntly, the people brought here are all strengthening the strength of Zhao State.
Even if they are princes, they are also princes of Zhao State. They need to pay money to Zhao State every year and obey Zhao State's orders.
During the Western Zhou Dynasty, didn’t those small countries have to obey the Zhou Dynasty? It was not until the Spring and Autumn Period that they gradually ignored the declining Zhou Dynasty.
There was a gap of hundreds of years.
The sun has just risen in Zhao State now, and it is still early for the sun to set.
The King of Wei and the King of Qi watched the population under their rule decrease. Although they were unhappy and even angry, they did not stop it in the end. They were kings in front of the people, but in front of the clan, they were just equivalent to the clan leaders, and they could not do that.
Covering the sky with one hand.
Everyone understands that eggs cannot be put in the same basket. Now that Zhao is becoming more and more prosperous and its tendency to dominate the world is becoming more and more obvious, the Wei family and the Tian family must also make a choice.
To put it bluntly, the benefits provided by Zhao Kuo directly bought the Wei and Tian families behind Wei Wuji and Tian Dan, and the King of Wei and the King of Qi were no longer the only choices.
Just like at the end of the Shang Dynasty, Wei Ziqi left the country and finally defected to the Zhou Dynasty and was granted the title of Song Dynasty.
In the military camp, the Great Wall Army was training, and Zhao Kuo and several children were watching.
It can be seen that the Great Wall Army is more than one level stronger than before. It can cause changes in the surrounding space with every move of its hands and feet, and its powerful aura is even better than that of Zhao Feiqi.
Yan Ju's eyes were a little lonely. Zhao Feiqi had always been the pride of Zhao State and the most powerful legion in Zhao State. Now, it was finally surpassed by the new legion.
Although Yan Ju was happy about the strength of Zhao State, at the same time he was filled with unwillingness.
He watched Li Mu lead the Great Wall Army step by step to reach today's height.
When Zhao Feiqi was handed over to him, it was a military soul army, and now it is still a military soul army...
Sometimes I have to admit that there is a gap between generals and generals.
"Father, can we ride horses?" Zhao Ponu said excitedly. Bin, Zhao Zheng, and Zhao An also looked at Zhao Kuo expectantly.
No boy can refuse a war horse, just like they cannot refuse an excavator.
"Go, be careful." Zhao Kuo said.
"I want to ride a sweaty horse."
"I want it too, I want it too!"
…
The four little guys jumped and rushed towards the stable.
"Come over and have a look, and help them choose someone with a docile personality." Zhao Kuo said to Tou Man.
"General Mo, let's go right away." Touman quickly followed.
After a while, four little guys came out on war horses. I have to say that the sweaty horses are indeed handsome. The smooth fur is like silk, the slender neck and thighs, and the lines of the whole body are very in line with human aesthetics.
Among Zhao's native war horses, only pure white horses can compete with them in appearance.
"What a great horse, but it's a pity that there are too few of them." Zhao Kuo couldn't help but sigh as he looked at the bloody horses.
After so many years of accumulation in Zhao State, there are only a few dozen purebred sweat-blooded horses, not even a hundred.
Dawan has very strict control over sweat-blooded BMWs and prohibits transactions between merchants. Even in the State of Zhao, it is difficult to buy them.
"If your Majesty wants it, just send an envoy to Dayuan to buy it. Now that the Hexi Corridor is in the hands of Zhao, it is convenient to travel there." Guo Kai said.
"The sweat-blooded BMW is Dawan's national treasure, and Dawan will not sell it." Zhao Kuo shook his head. If he remembered correctly, in history, Dawan fought two wars with the Han Empire because of the sweat-blooded BMW, and finally defeated the Han Empire.
The king is done for.
I guess Dawan didn't expect that the Han Dynasty would be so reckless and send troops thousands of miles away to beat him.
If Zhao State has now unified the Central Plains, Zhao Kuo would not mind following the Han Dynasty and expedition to the Western Regions. However, Zhao State is still some time away from unifying the Central Plains, and it is a bit early to march into the Western Regions.
"You can give it a try, even if it doesn't work, it doesn't matter." Liu Ping advised.
"Then let's give it a try." Zhao Kuo thought for a moment and realized that what Liu Ping said did make sense. Even if it failed, Zhao Guo would not lose anything.
Moreover, in history, the conflict between the Han Dynasty and Dawan was mainly due to the fact that the envoys of the Han Dynasty were too foul-mouthed, had a tough temper, and were too stubborn. They did not regard Dawan as a human being at all. How could they not be angry?
The envoys from the Zhao State were better than the envoys from the Han Dynasty. After a good discussion and spending more money, it was still possible to buy some hard-earned BMWs.
What he didn't know was that the Zhao State envoy, whom he thought was stronger than the Han Dynasty envoy, had just killed the Lord of Loulan...
"I have a brother named Guo Yuan. He has been very witty since he was a child. He is familiar with history books and can be sent to Dawan as an envoy." Guo Kai leaned over and said.
"Then let him go, prepare more gifts and have a better attitude." Zhao Kuo warned.
"No." Guo Kai said.
"Chu is buying horses from Zhao, and Zhao is buying horses from Dawan, hahaha." Zhao Kuo said with a smile.
Some time ago, the State of Chu sent envoys to the State of Zhao to buy horses, but they were finally rejected by the State of Zhao.
Now the grasslands in the north, northeast, and northwest are all controlled by the State of Zhao. The few horse farms left by the State of Qin are only enough for Qin State's own use and cannot be sold to the State of Chu.
There are horses in the south, but Yunnan horses... if you ride that thing on the battlefield, you will be laughed at.
Chu State could only ask Zhao State to buy horses.
But how could Zhao Guo agree?
This is no longer ten years ago. Zhao and Chu were allies at first, but now they are enemies.