late night song

Chapter 21
After the Spring Equinox, Hehe, Beiling, and Xirong all submitted their letters of credence to Dongqi. After April [-]th, they entered Beijing one after another. The five-year alliance of the Four Nations was about to begin.

Qi Ji was busy guarding the Royal Forestry in the eastern suburbs of Qidu and adjusting the border guards to prevent the traitor Xiao Xiao from taking the opportunity to sabotage the peace talks, and to prevent neighboring countries from taking the opportunity of the alliance to cause commotion and spy on Dongqi's military and national strength.

For such a grand event, in addition to the King of Qin, the other princes also had their own division of labor. King Rong was responsible for the alliance's state banquet and the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven; King Ning and King Hong were responsible for settling in and contacting the envoys from the alliance; and King Han was responsible for the rituals, music and state gifts. They are all extremely busy.

From this point of view, it is quite beneficial to have many sons.

…………

Although this four-nation alliance is the most important event in the world, its origins can be traced back to 35 years ago.

A long time ago, in the East and West continent, three great powers dominated one side. Dongqi, Beiling, and Xirong were the overlords of the world. Their swords faced each other, and the war lasted for hundreds of years.

The three kingdoms were in conflict with each other, and it was hard to tell the winner. However, everything turned around in the fifth year of Emperor Dongqi Ming's accession to the throne.

At that time, General Qi Sheng of Dongqi led an army of 30 to sweep across the land of Caoyuan. He first quelled the civil strife in Hehe and brought it back to Dongqi's territory. Then he repelled the armies of Xirong and Beiling going south. Dongqi made great achievements in the Three Kingdoms campaign. Total victory.Because of Qi Sheng's outstanding military achievements, Emperor Ming personally granted him the title of King of Northern Qi, the second prince of Dongqi with a foreign surname, and was appointed to control the northern border.

After the Battle of Cao Yuan, although the war between the East and the Northwest had subsided slightly, there were still constant frictions between the three countries.

In the following year, natural disasters occurred frequently in Xirong, the Beiling Kingdom was ineffective in its long-term military campaigns, and the people were full of resentment. The Battle of Caoyuan in Dongqi suffered heavy losses and severely damaged the troops, and the Hehe Kingdom failed to become a state.

In order for the world to be stable and prosperous and the people to return to paradise, Chang Yuanqing, the head of Sanxing Academy, came forward to mediate the peace talks between the Three Kingdoms, so that they could abandon their armor and weapons and return to the fields to cultivate and live.

In order to show his sincerity in the peace talks, Dong Qi took the lead in returning power to the Lejia royal family, and Hehe was restored to the country.

After that, both Xirong and Beiling followed the general trend, and the four countries established an alliance. As long as the king of the country was alive, there would never be war on the border. They also established an alliance agreement between the four countries once every four years to jointly worship God's grace and consolidate it. It is good to have peace and harmony.

Such grand events as the Four National Congresses allow all countries to sit down and calmly discuss matters such as border commerce and trade, sharing of farming and animal husbandry technologies, and the resolution of border interest conflicts. Whether it is self-cultivation or political reform, all countries benefit from this, and the world is peaceful. one slice.

But the good times did not last long. In the 28th year of Emperor Ming's reign, the Northern Qi king in Dongqi failed to rebel. Qi Sheng's line was executed, and half of the generals in the northern border were involved. The Dingbei army was demoralized and reorganized into the Pingqi army. From then on, Dongqi's northwest border The edges are no longer impregnable.

In the 31st year of Emperor Ming's reign, the old Chanyu of Xirong died, and his eldest son Anuda succeeded to the throne. He was ambitious. After gaining power, he raised his troops to fight at the borders of Dongqi and Beiling. Looting occurred from time to time. He also intended to annex Hehe Kingdom and directly intervened. In the heart of Dongqi North, the world seems to be breaking the alliance.

However, the change in the border gave the third prince, who had lost power due to the conviction of his mother and concubine, a great opportunity to regain his strength. With his outstanding leadership talent and bravery in charging into battle, he won the trust and trust of the Pingqi army. Following his pursuit, he repeatedly defeated the Xirong invasion in the northern border, reorganized border security, defended important trade towns, and regained the sacred heart of Emperor Ming.

In the 39th year of Emperor Ming's reign, King Qin Qi frame was named the commander-in-chief of the Qi army. In the name of Dong Qi's new generation of war god, he temporarily stabilized the war that was brewing on the border.

During the 35 years of the Four-Nation Friendship Alliance, in addition to Xirong's obvious ambitions, the two eastern powers, Dongqi and Beiling, seemed peaceful and uncontested, but they were engaged in iron ore and copper mining in the Yushan Mountains, Yuyang Qianhu, Conflicts over division continue to intensify, and relations between the two countries become acutely tense.

At the same time, Beiling is still secretly supporting Xirong in harassing the northwest border of Dongqi. Otherwise, even if Xirong strengthens its troops and cavalry, its precarious national power of nomadic livelihood will be difficult to sustain for many years.

Although Dong Qi understood this, Emperor Ming was complacent and fickle in his later years. In order to centralize power for himself, he used all means to weaken the princes. During this period, some treacherous people used the opportunity to make false accusations and frame ups in order to purge dissident parties, similar to Yuchi. It was not uncommon for a school to be imprisoned unjustly, which eventually led to instability in the government and chaos in the administration of officials, so there was no time to solve the difficulties of the external situation.

At the same time, it was equally difficult for Hehe, which was defeated and resurrected. Because its territory was adjacent to three major countries, it was still in a difficult situation even if it was cautious.Although the Hehe Kingdom was known as one of the Four Kingdoms due to its thousands of miles of fertile fields and abundant reserves, it had been harassed by the Xirong for hundreds of years, so it could only rely on the two countries of Dongqi and Beiling, enduring humiliation and hardship to survive.

In order to continue the glory of the clan and regard marriage as a national policy, the Lejia royal family has continuously sent princesses to marry into the Dongqi and Beiling royal families for many years, in order to seek the blessings of the two countries, preserve the survival of Hehe, and the happiness of the people.

There was no tradition of hunting disputes during the first meeting of the Four Kingdoms Alliance. However, in the 29th year of Emperor Ming's reign, due to the loosening of border defenses in the east and north, it became more orderly and alleviated the competitive and aggressive tempers of the countries that were seemingly stable but ready to stir up. At Emperor Ming's suggestion, the Four Kingdoms The alliance has a special hunting competition, in which the winning country can gain mutual trade with other countries and be exempted from classes for two years.

The Xirong people were inherently martial and unruly. In addition, they lacked land resources and barren land, and relied on trade with each other in exchange for food and cloth. When necessary, they hunted and competed with each other to strive for the best national interests. Emperor Ming followed suit and gave the Xirong the opportunity to reap the benefits of fishing, and successfully transferred Border frictions and conflicts eased the pressure on Ping Qi's army from external defense.

In this regard, the Hehe Kingdom had no right to speak, while Beiling knew it well but did not comment in order to keep a low profile. In this regard, Dongqi and Beiling took turns to act eastward, allowing Xirong to gain small profits and calm down the border troubles a little, but maybe this year there will be different.

......... In order to make arrangements for the four-nation alliance, Qi Ji did not return home for half a month, and the same was true for Qi Yiyu. The entire Qi capital seemed extremely busy and cautious. Each department performed its duties and tried its best to arrange and arrange things. Various rituals and banquets of the alliance were held in order to demonstrate Dongqi's great power style.

At the Prince of Qin's residence, Qi Yiyu, who had not been seen for many days, appeared out of nowhere, disrupting Gu Yuxin's pleasant spring day of supporting the pavilion and feeding fish.

"Sister Yu Xin, I haven't seen you for a few days. Do you miss me?"

Qi Yiyu smiled and took out a red lacquered sandalwood box and handed it to Gu Yuxin.

"If King Han doesn't handle his duties well, he comes here to scare people."

Gu Yuxin was startled and did not reach out to pick it up. She just casually said impatiently.

"One day without seeing you is like three autumns. How many three autumns have it been? Today I took the time to see sister Yu Xin, how could I be so despised by you?" The beauty was slightly angry. She was also so beautiful that King Han looked at her like crazy. Drunk, but in order to tease her, he immediately drooped his face, pretending to be aggrieved.

"That's not what I meant." Gu Yuxin thought that he was really unhappy, and regretted her lack of restraint, so she hurriedly explained.

"I care about you, so I won't blame you. I'll give this to you." Seeing Gu Yuxin at a loss because of him, Qi Yiyu was filled with joy and immediately changed his face again, revealing a bright smile. , shaking the gift in his hand again and again.

Gu Yuxin was a little hesitant, but out of curiosity, she accepted the sandalwood box engraved with plum blossom branches.

She opened it gently and saw that it was a white emerald imperial concubine bracelet with floating flowers. It was full of moisture, and the occasional red brushed texture turned out to be a plum blossom. It looked really expensive.

Gu Yuxin liked it very much, her eyes were full of surprise.

"I specially selected this from He He Guojin's national gift. Do you like it?"

Gu Yuxin smiled and nodded, but then shook her head.

"It's too valuable. I can't accept it. I hope King Han will forgive me." She refused.

"It doesn't matter, it's just a small gift. My mother-in-law is the princess of Hehe Kingdom. You can still do this. If your sister dislikes it, you can throw it away. If you send it out, it will be returned. Such an embarrassing thing can't be done by the king. Never encountered it before.”

"This...isn't good." Gu Yu felt really embarrassed and still didn't dare to accept it.

"Take it, consider it my early birthday gift to you." King Han said with sincerity on his face.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Seeing that he was so persistent, Gu Yuxin couldn't help but give him this face, so she politely thanked him. Qi Yiyu was very happy about this.

"Will you come to the spring hunt and state banquet in a few days?" He sat next to Gu Yuxin and started chatting with her.

"Your Majesty is joking. The alliance between the Four Nations is such a big deal that I am not qualified." Gu Yuxin touched the plum blossom box containing the jade bracelet and replied absentmindedly.

"I don't like those kind of formal occasions. If you weren't here, I would just feel more bored. I really want to be by your side every day, just like I am happy sitting next to you now and doing nothing."

Qi Jinyu spoke affectionately and without any hesitation. Gu Yuxin pursed her lips, her cheeks turned red, and she didn't know what to say.

"When the four countries gather together, they will be harmonious on the surface, but secretly they will inevitably fight for strength. If there is anything funny, I will come back and tell you."

The man didn't care what her reaction was, whether she wanted it or not, he had already made his own decision. To this, Gu Yuxin smiled and refused to answer.

(End of this chapter)