Chapter 781: Harakhorin (II)

"I've always been curious, is the legendary 'Twenty-Four Cities of Mobei' one city or twenty-four cities?" Li Haitang frowned, recalling all the rumors about the "Twenty-Four Cities of Mobei" while asking questions like a string of cannonballs, "The Twenty-Four Cities of Mobei are quite famous in the martial arts world, and are known as the 'Three Major Sects of the North' together with the Red Wind Ridge and the Huma Gang. The 'Three Major Sects of the North' are also as famous as the 'Three Major Sects of the Western Regions', and together they form the 'Foreign Martial Arts World', competing with our Central Plains Martial Arts World and occupying half of the world's martial arts world. So... is the Twenty-Four Cities of Mobei one sect or twenty-four sects?"

"Ha ha……"

Facing Li Haitang's confusion, Su He couldn't help but laugh out loud and corrected him, "In fact, Saibei is Saibei and Western Regions is Western Regions. The Red Wind Ridge, the Hu Ma Gang, and the Twenty-Four Cities in Saibei and the Golden Wheel Temple, the Sky Burial Peak, and the Linglong Sea in Western Regions have nothing to do with each other and have had almost no intersection for many years. As for the 'foreign martial arts world' you mentioned, it's just a name imposed on us by you people from the Central Plains."

"So, the Twenty-Four Cities of Mobei is a sect?" Wu Chan cautiously probed.

"Compared to a sect, the Twenty-Four Cities of Mobei are more like a... large gang." Su He pondered, "It is not a city, but twenty-four cities of similar size, distributed to the north of Helin, arranged in a fan shape. Although the Twenty-Four Cities are nominally civilian forces, their essence is actually the 'fortress' of Helin, guarding against enemies from the east, north, and west, and never actively intervening in the affairs of the martial arts world."

"What do you mean by that?"

"It's a long story..." Su He explained slowly, "The predecessor of the 24 cities was actually the 24 guard camps set up by Genghis Khan. Each camp had 3,000 soldiers and all came from the Khan's relatives and tribes. They could be said to be the most trusted among the trusted. They were not constrained by any external factors and only obeyed the Khan from beginning to end."

"Hiss!" Su He's words aroused the interest of Liu Xunyi and others, but also made them exclaim in surprise.

"Back then, Genghis Khan had just unified the Mongolian tribes. The morale of the army and the people was very unstable, and there were often evildoers who wanted to murder the Khan, so the 24th Battalion was set up to protect the Khan." Su He continued, "Later, with the gradual stabilization of the overall situation in Mongolia, the Khan faced fewer and fewer threats, so the soldiers of the 24th Battalion were turned into civilians, and they cultivated land, built houses, married and had children, and multiplied, gradually evolving into the 24 cities today. To this day, the 24th City is still the Khan's trusted tribe, and the young and middle-aged people in the city are constantly improving their bows, horses, swords and arrows. Once needed in wartime, the civilians can be turned into soldiers in an instant, forming a powerful and powerful fresh force."

"So that's it!" Liu Xunyi suddenly realized, "If I remember correctly, Long Yu... is from the Twenty-Four Cities of Mobei, right?"

"Exactly! Not only is he from the Twenty-Four Cities, but he is also the best among the Twenty-Four Cities."

"Twenty-four cities guard the east, north, and west of the forest. What about the south?" Wu Chan couldn't help but ask, "How is the south guarded?"

"This..." Su He seemed to be hesitant. After thinking it over again and again, he evaded the question, "As you can see, to the south of Helin is a wilderness of desert stretching for hundreds of miles. It is a natural barrier. If the enemies in the south have no one to guide them, most of them... cannot get out of the desert. What's more, the Huma Gang has been entrenched in the desert for many years. It is not easy for outsiders to get close to Helin without being noticed."

"Besides this, there must be another reason." Ding Qinghong, who had been taciturn all the way, interrupted quietly, "Mongolia has always adopted an aggressive strategy towards the south. As the saying goes, 'the best defense is an active offense.' Now, the 50,000 troops in the Beijing North Camp are eyeing the Hexi area covetously. Yunnan and Dali have all been surrendered to Mongolia, and there are countless hidden troops. They are even more coveting the rich land of Jiangnan. The Song Dynasty court is already busy defending the north and the south, so how can it have the energy to attack and capture Helin?"

Ding Qinghong revealed the secret in one sentence, making the slightly depressing atmosphere even more awkward.

"I hope this marriage can help the two countries to make peace." Su He didn't care and smiled lightly, "Since the prince is in charge of the military and national affairs of the Han area south of the desert, his strategy towards the Central Plains will definitely improve after he marries the princess of the Great Song Dynasty."

"Brother Su, I... there are some things I shouldn't ask..." After hesitating for a long time, Liu Xunyi finally couldn't resist the inner struggle and spoke slowly, "If Brother Su doesn't want to say it, you don't have to say it."

"Tell me now!"

"I want to ask..." Liu Xunyi hesitated and repeated his words, "What kind of person is this prince who is about to marry the princess?"

Su He was stunned and said hesitantly: "Brother Liu is asking..."

"As long as Brother Su can tell me, I want to know everything." Liu Xunyi said hurriedly, "For example, how old is he? How tall is he? What does he look like? What are his talents? Is his personality tough or gentle? Is his temper good or bad..."

"You will see the prince soon anyway, so it doesn't matter if I tell you." Su He was thoughtful, and a touch of reverence gradually appeared in his eyes. "The prince is the grandson of Genghis Khan, the son of the regent 'Tolui', and the younger brother of the current Khan. Not only is he born in a prominent family, but he is also talented, hardworking and motivated. He is one of the real rulers of Mongolia, and can be said to be 'second to none and above ten thousand people'. The prince is over 40 years old this year, in the prime of his life. He has a dignified appearance and a majestic demeanor. He has the heroic spirit of 'taking the head of a general in the midst of thousands of troops', and the elegance of 'planning strategies thousands of miles away'. He is both virtuous and talented, and is a man of both civil and military talents. He is a person that Su admires very much."

"This……"

Liu Xunyi had never seen Su He speak so highly of someone before, and was shocked. At the same time, she was secretly worried: "Is he exaggerating to comfort himself?"

"In terms of age, the prince may be older than the princess, but with his status and talent, he is definitely a dragon among men, and he will never let the princess down." Su He said seriously, "More importantly, the prince is very interested in Han things, especially Confucian culture, and has been fascinated by it for a long time. Little do people know that he often uses tactics from Han military books when deploying troops, and many of his civil and military officials are also Han people."

"This……"

As if seeing Liu Xunyi's doubt, Su He smiled and said, "You Han people have a saying that 'hearing is false, seeing is true'. Even if I say something fantastic, I'm sure you won't be dissuaded. It doesn't matter, when you see the prince with your own eyes, you will naturally know whether what I said is true or not..."

"General Long!" Before he finished speaking, a hurried shout suddenly came from the end of the street, immediately interrupting everyone's thoughts.

The man who came was a Mongolian warrior wearing a short jacket and a curved sword on his waist. He hurriedly stopped the bride's escort team, approached Long Yu mysteriously, and the two of them whispered to each other.

After a moment, the expressionless Long Yu suddenly showed hesitation, turned to look at Liu Xunyi and others in the team, and an inexplicable smile quietly rose at the corner of his mouth.

Seeing this, Liu Xunyi's heart sank and an ominous premonition came to his mind.

"Got it, go down!" Long Yu drove the warrior away, and then walked towards Liu Xunyi with a leisurely pace, gloating, "The Khan has ordered that no one from the Song court will be seen today, and Hu Lie and Zhao Xin will be summoned to the palace separately another day. You can go directly to Hu Lie's camp to rest."

"What?" The hot-tempered Feng Tianba was furious and jumped up and down, "We have come all the way here, but the Mongolian Khan avoided us? He just wanted to send us away with a few simple words, what does that mean? Do you think we are beggars?"

This time, Liu Xunyi not only did not stop Feng Tianba from getting angry, but instead shared the same hatred and echoed in a deep voice: "How can this be absurd! Why doesn't the Mongolian Khan see us? Is this the way of entertaining guests on the grasslands?"

This matter concerns the honor and disgrace of the Song Dynasty. As the "marriage envoy", Liu Xunyi naturally takes on the responsibility and will never show weakness.

"Long Yu, come with me..."

"No need!"

Su He wanted to call Long Yu aside to ask the reason, but Long Yu didn't seem to give Su He face. He stared at Liu Xunyi with a provocative look and said sarcastically: "Your 'Brother Su' has already explained the reason clearly. Are you all deaf?"

"What do you mean?" Liu Xunyi glared at Long Yu without hesitation and said sternly, "You don't have to beat around the bush in front of me, just tell me! Does the Mongolian Khan want to tear up the marriage agreement? Or does he have other plans and dare not see us?"

"How dare you!" Long Yu's eyes turned fierce, and his tone became more sinister. "Who do you think you are? How dare you say that the Khan dare not see you? Aren't you afraid that the wind will blow your tongue away?"

"So you want to break off the engagement?"

"Liu Xunyi, you keep talking about 'breaking the engagement'. Why? Are you hoping that the marriage between the Mongols and Song will break up?" Long Yu narrowed his eyes slightly, and looked at Liu Xunyi with a creepy look and said quietly, "The Khan's order is very clear. You are asked to go to the prince's camp. Meeting the prince is equivalent to meeting the Khan."

"Nonsense!" Liu Xunyi said unhappily, "The prince is the prince, and the Khan is the Khan, how can they be confused?"

"Since you know that they cannot be confused, why bother making trouble?" Long Yu retorted.

"you……"

"Your Highness is the chief steward of the Han territory south of the desert. All matters are handled by your Highness alone." Long Yu ignored the anger of Liu Xunyi and the others and asked arrogantly, "You are Han people. Your affairs should be handled by your Highness. What's wrong with that?"

"But we are envoys from the Song Dynasty..."

"Song Dynasty... where did the envoy come from?" Long Yu said with contempt.

"What did you say?" Liu Xunyi's face darkened, and murderous intent was revealed in his eyes.

"Since you have no shame, I will just get straight to the point." Long Yu raised his eyebrows slightly, with a very playful tone, "The Khan refused to see you and only allowed you to see the prince, because in the Khan's mind, the Song Dynasty today is no longer worthy of being a diplomatic partner of Mongolia. Therefore, you are not envoys, let alone qualified to meet the Khan."

Long Yu's words made Liu Xunyi feel ashamed and angry. He could no longer bear it and shouted angrily: "If the Song Dynasty is not a diplomatic country, then what is it?"

"Perhaps, it can barely be considered... a vassal state."

……

(End of this chapter)