"King Ladan, we came yesterday and heard that the Qiang people attacked your tribe, not only snatching the population of cattle and horses, but also snatching away a princess and princesses?"

Halfway through the banquet, Li Shun suddenly asked Rashi who was drinking beside him.

After listening to the translation, Rashida's face suddenly became ugly, and his cheeks nodded with twisted head and said, "Yes, half a month ago, the Qiang people's Shaodang tribe attacked King Ruha. Not only did he snatch hundreds of cattle, sheep, horses and hundreds of people, he also kidnapped King Ruha's wife and daughter. King Ruha was seriously injured and killed in the battle. Yesterday, we were summoned by the king to discuss this matter and were preparing to attack the Qiang people, but he did not expect that the messenger suddenly came..."

"This Qiang people's Shaodang tribe is very powerful?" Li Shun asked curiously.

"It's not amazing, but they run faster than rabbits, and there are ravines everywhere near the Shaodang tribe. We are not familiar with this kind of mountain battle, so it's easy to get into ambush. In the past, the territory of Shaodang people near the royal court was originally Shaodang people, and they fought with us for hundreds of years. It was not until the king appeared that more than ten tribes gathered to experience several wars before they drove away the Qiang people and seized this treasure land with abundant water and grass..."

While drinking and eating meat, Rashida briefly explained the grievances between Yuezhi and the Qiang people.

In fact, the Qiang people knew much more about the Central Plains than the Yuezhi people. The Yuezhi people used to live in bitter and cold places west of the Yellow River north of the Qilian Mountains. They were basically similar to the Xiongnu. They were typical nomadic peoples and did not farm. The Central Plains actually classified Yuezhi as Hu people, and their living habits were similar to those of the Xiongnu, and they lived in tents through the water.

But the Qiang people are different. The Qiang people originated earlier than the Hu people. They developed from clan tribes in the Huangdi era. They lived in the Jiangshui area in the upper reaches of the Yellow River. The Huangdi tribe later migrated to the Guanzhong Plain. Some of the Qiang tribes left behind also began to slowly develop from simple hunting life to farming, and then occupied large areas of the Western Regions and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. At present, Longxi County and Shu County in Daqin both live in mixed Qiang tribes, and their living habits are similar to those of the border residents of the northwest counties. They farm and collect cattle and sheep, including small countries with sufficient water resources in the Western Regions, were also mainly Qiang people. The Qiang people are also proficient in farming, firing pottery, smelting metal, spinning and weaving fabrics, etc. Apart from the difference between clothes and clothing and people in the Central Plains, there are basically no difference in living habits.

Later studies have shown that the Qiang people, Tibetans and Han people have very close relationships, and their genes are very similar. They can be regarded as a nation with the same origin.

It is precisely because the Qiang people have such close contact and relationship with the Central Plains that the Central Plains countries do not exclude the Qiang people. The two agricultural civilizations can get along well, but the nomadic peoples are a disaster for the agricultural civilization.

The Huns and Donghu continued to raid the Central Plains in the north and looted the border counties of the Central Plains countries.

The Yuezhi was not very good at attacking the Central Plains through the Helan Mountains, the Yellow River and the Huns in the Hetao region, so she continued to cross the Qilian Mountains to develop in the Hexi Corridor, a place with abundant water and grass, and slowly drove the Qiang people living here to the high and cold wasteland of Qinghai.

Therefore, the conflict between the Qiang people and the Yuezhi people has been irreconcilable since ancient times, and the two sides are constantly fighting for this area of ​​the Hexi Corridor.

Shaodang is a large tribe of the Qiang people. After being driven away by the Yuezhi people, he was unwilling to accept it. He almost every year he came to steal some small tribes of the Yuezhi people. However, the Yuezhi people could not fight back, ran away and returned, fully carrying forward the spirit of guerrilla warfare. Just like the battle between the Central Plains and the Huns, the Yuezhi people were very frustrated.

While eating and drinking, Li Shun also roughly figured out the grudges between the Yuezhi people and the Qiang people, and then silently kept the news in his heart.

In the next two days, the tribal leaders who came to attack the Qiang people left one after another and returned to their tribe, and also took away some exquisite porcelain, red wine, tea and silk from the Emperor of Qin. In the past two days, Li Shun and other envoys were familiar with the Yuezhi royal family, and they also kept giving gifts to some princes and princesses, princesses and ministers.

On the fourth day, Li Shun proposed to the King of Yue to take a look at the tribes near the royal court. The King of Yue agreed without much hesitation, and sent King Zuo Ping and Wen Bupo as the guide, and took Li Shun and several Qin officials to check the nearby seven or eight Yue tribes accompanied by hundreds of Qiang soldiers and the Qin imperial guards. In order to show the enthusiasm of the Emperor of Qin, the messenger team also distributed the Central Plains rice cakes and candies and exquisite printed and dyed clothing fabrics to some Yuezhi children and girls. When they came back, the items brought from Xianyang were basically distributed, leaving only some supplies and a truck of gifts prepared to be given to King of Yuezhi.

Although this car of gifts was said to be given to King Yuezhi, Li Shun did not see the rabbit and did not show off the eagle, so he naturally had to wait until the Yuezhi people handed over the Maodun before counting. King Yuezhi also knew Li Shun's plan, and he was still warmly entertained every day without any dissatisfaction.

On the evening of the ninth day, dozens of fast horses galloped from the northwest and rushed directly into the royal court, then rushed to the front of the tent and jumped off the horse. A burly young man in the lead rushed straight into the tent, and he had already reported sweating all over.

"King, Maodun killed the guards of the Mingsha tribe and fled without knowing where to go!"

"Dang~~"

The glass of wine in the hand of King Yuezhi who was eating meat and drinking with Li Shun and others fell on the desk and broke into pieces. He stood up with a dark face and shouted: "How could this happen? How long have you been running away!"

"King, according to the people of the Mingsha Tribe, just the night before we arrived at Mingsha Mountain, Maodun and his entourage suddenly attacked, killed more than a dozen guards of the Mingsha Tribe, snatched horses and dry food, and then ran away overnight. The subordinates had arranged for people to pursue, but one day and one night passed, and the wind and sand had already covered up the whereabouts of Maodun's escape, and they were probably unable to catch up..."

Although the Yuezhi King and the people who reported the news said Yuezhi's words, Li Shun also listened clearly because of the general translation by his side.

"Sir, what should I do? Maodun escaped, I'm afraid our errand cannot be completed!" An official whispered with a ugly expression.

"It's okay, Maodun escape is good news for us!" Li Shun shook his head gently.

Several officials were stunned for a moment, and one of them said anxiously: "Why did you say this by sir?"

"This shows that the Marquis' guess was correct at the beginning. The Yuezhi was not united. The people of the Yuezhi King had just arrived, but Maodun fled early. It was obvious that the tribe leader of the Yuezhi King was not yet fully reported to Maodun. This gave me the Qin Dynasty an opportunity to take advantage of. If the Yuezhi united, it would be a good thing for me, the Qin Dynasty..." Li Shun explained in a low voice.

"So that's it, I understand!" Several officials came to their senses and nodded together.

"Don't discuss this matter, just wait and see what happens!"

"yes!"

After discussing a few whispers with several officials, Li Shun still sat in his seat calmly. The Yuezhi nobles and royal families who accompanied the banquet in the tent all looked extremely ugly. Many of them secretly looked at Li Shun and others, not knowing how the next thing would end.

"You retreat first!" The King of Yuezhi waved his hand weakly, and the person who reported the news bowed and left the tent. The King of Yuezhi sat down slowly, his old face was extremely gloomy.

This matter cannot be covered up. Even if Li Shun and other envoys are not in the big tent, tomorrow will be the deadline for handing over to the person. If Maodun cannot hand over, it will definitely not be delayed. Because Maodun ran away, the Western Regions are so vast and complex. Races of all sizes have formed dozens or hundreds of countries, and there are many places that are rarely visited by snow-capped mountains and deserts. Maodun can never find it in his life.

The Great Qin mission has its own translation, so Li Shun and others must have heard the conversation clearly just now. Therefore, King Yuezhi was silent for a while and looked at Li Shun and said, "The messenger may have heard it clearly. Maodun killed the guards of my Mingsha tribe and robbed the dry food of the horse and ran away overnight. I'm afraid we can't hand over the person!"

Li Shun was also silent for a while and said, "Mao Dun is the prince of the Huns. Since the Yuezhi King promised to hand him over to us, he has broken his promise and is fat now. It is difficult for us to explain to His Majesty the First Majesty when we go back!"

"What does the messenger mean?" Wen Bubo, who was sitting next to the Yuezhi King, spoke in a low voice.

"Mao Dun must be caught and sent to the Qin Dynasty. This is the only condition. However, because Mao Dun's escape was not the original intention of King Yuezhi. Therefore, after returning to Xianyang, we will report this matter to the emperor in detail. It may be lenient for several months. But in the end, the emperor cannot make a decision on how to arrange this envoy. This time, thanks to the kind hospitality of King Yuezhi and the large number of gifts given by the leaders of the tribes, we are also grateful. We can only help you delay. The envoy speculates that it will take for half a year. If you still can't hand over Maodun, I'm afraid the emperor will have thunderous rage..."

"In half a year..." The Yuezhi King's face trembled violently.

Li Shun's words were very obvious. I gave them half a year to find Maodun and sent him to the Qin Dynasty to apologize. If he couldn't find it in half a year, it would probably be the time when the Qin army was approaching.

But finding Maodun within half a year is like looking for millet in the sea of ​​sand, there is almost no hope.

"Brother Wang, now that things have come to this point, I can only arrange people to find Maodun as soon as possible!" Zuo Ping's face was also gloomy and was about to drip out of ink.

"Oh, this is the only way. The matter will be arranged as soon as possible by the king. I am tired, so please entertain the envoy. I will go and rest first!"

The King of Yuezhi sighed and slowly stood up, but his body shook slightly, and was quickly supported by the two maids behind him, and then slowly staggered backwards. His body was hunched and looked like he had just become more than ten years old, and he had reached a staggering point.

The dinner ended soon, and Li Shun and others returned to the yurt to discuss what happened next. At the same time, the entire royal court began to become busy. Although it was already dusk when the sun set, there were continuous sounds of ox horns, and countless Yuezhi soldiers rode their horses to gather in the royal court.

"Mr. Li, what happened? Why did the Yuezhi people suddenly start to gather?" The Imperial Army Captain hurried in and asked with his fists.

"Don't be nervous. Maodun suddenly killed the guards of the Yuezhi Liusha tribe and fled. The Yuezhi King summoned the troops to discuss countermeasures. You should defend strictly tonight, and do not relax at all. We will pack up our luggage and set off for Xianyang early tomorrow morning!"
Chapter completed!