Chapter 326: The Empire is here to envoy

The New Year of the twelve year of Tianbao is coming. Amid the sound of firecrackers, Saiye City is filled with festive festive celebrations. In the past year, Anxi has won the brilliant victory of the Tubo Battle and obtained a large amount of food from Dashi. These victories have made Saiye's New Year particularly relaxed and prosperous, and all the restaurants in Saiye City are full of customers.

There is also a Taibai Liquor House in the east of the city. It was originally called Heli Restaurant. It was just renamed in September this year. Although Li Bai is well-known in the Central Plains, few people know about his hometown. It was not until a large number of immigrants from Hedong moved to Saiye that many scholars came to inquire about Li Bai's old residence. The Saiye people then realized that there was a famous Tang Dynasty person in their hometown. So Heli Restaurant immediately changed its name to Taibai Liquor House and hung a horizontal plaque on the gate. Li Qing'an wrote an inscription: "Taibai's four sides are the most authentic here."

Like other restaurants, Taibai Restaurant is crowded from early morning. Every floor is full of guests, and the noise is endless. Several seats by the window on the second floor were all covered. Thirty or forty people were seated, all of which were white-skinned and blue-eyed Hu people. There were two Turkic translators sitting in the middle. There were also many Sogdian Hu people, many of them had high noses and blue eyes, but they were different from these dozens of people. These people had high noses and deep eyes, and their language and clothing were also very different from Sogdians.

The hotel's staff read countless people, and he immediately guessed that these Hu people were Byzantium from the extreme west. Byzantium was actually called Fuqi in the Tang Dynasty. Because Li Qing'an called Byzantium, Anxi officials also followed Li Qing'an's name. Over time, Anxi no longer called Fuqi, but was changed to Byzantium, while Byzantium called himself the Roman Empire.

These Hu people from Byzantine were the envoys sent by Byzantine Emperor Constantine V. Li Qing'an sent Pei Yu to Byzantine envoys the year before yesterday because he was just an envoy sent by the local governor. Just like the current delegation to visit China in a certain state, the level was relatively low and therefore not taken seriously. Although Constantine V met him out of curiosity, he did not take it seriously. It was not until June this year that Constantine V heard about the Battle of Talas from the cannibals. Only then did he know that the Abbasid Dynasty was actually defeated by the local army of the Tang Dynasty. The leader of this local army was Li Qing'an, the governor of Anxi who had contacted him.

Only then did Constantine V take it seriously. He slowly learned about Li Qing'an's situation from the Turkic people. He learned that his land control was far more than him, which made him respect him. He immediately sent his younger brother Joseph as the special envoy to Anxi.

Sitting on the first table was the envoy Joseph. He was about thirty years old, tall and tall, elegant in temperament. A long beard on his lips raised to both sides, and was extremely delicately trimmed. He was the chief minister in charge of trade in the Byzantine Empire. The meaning of Constantine V sending him to Ansi was very obvious. We must start with trade and strengthen the ties between the two sides.

Sitting with Joseph was a very beautiful young woman with blue eyes as temptation as a deep pool. She had golden hair like a waterfall, white skin like mutton fat, tall figure, and a pair of breasts. Although she was a peerless beauty, she wore a sharp sword around her waist and a long bow on her back. She always used to holding the handle of the bow with one hand, and her fingers were slender and powerful, which made a trace of murderous aura hidden in her beautiful appearance.

Her name is Ellenni, and she is the precious daughter of Constantine V. She is also one of the three famous archers in Byzantine. She has a beautiful appearance, but she is also murderous and cruel. In Talas, she once met Li Qing'an.

She betrothed to Prince Mark a year ago through a political marriage, but before the wedding, her passionate fiancé was fascinated by a young Aval dancer, and she ignored her fiancée at an engagement dance.

The humiliated Ellenni was furious and took advantage of the fact that her fiancé and her lover had a tryst, and shot her fiancé and her dancer to death on the bed with an arrow from a big tree outside the window.

This incident triggered a diplomatic crisis between Mark and Byzantium. Under the arrangement of her father, Ellenni left Byzantium and traveled eastward. This time her uncle was about to come to Anxi for an envoy, so she came with her.

They were not lucky. When they arrived at Saiye, they learned that Li Qing'an had gone to the farther east to suppress the bandits. However, Saiye's officials had already notified Li Qing'an. It is said that Li Qing'an was on his way back, but that's it, they had to wait at least another month.

"Uncle, do you know? Today is the most important festival for the people of the Tang Dynasty, their New Year."

Ellenny smiled like a flower and comforted his frowning uncle, but Joseph sighed and said, "But for me, today is another difficult day. I wonder when will their governors come back?"

"Uncle, why not do this. Didn't they say they would be back at least one month? Then let's go out and learn about the customs and customs here, or see what they produce. Don't you often say that the silk fabrics of the Tang Dynasty were much better than ours? Let's see how they made them?"

"Well! Let me think about it!"

Joseph was a serious and meticulous person. His mission was to serve Anxi. He would definitely wait for Li Qing'an on the broken leaves and would never run around. However, when it comes to silk fabrics, he was a little moved. More than two hundred years ago, the Byzantine Empire learned to raise silkworms from the Persians, but the silk fabrics woven were very rough and far from comparable to silk fabrics of the Tang Dynasty. The Byzantine Queen once obtained a silk product that was lighter than clouds, which became her most cherished treasure, which was also produced by the Tang Dynasty.

Although Joseph was already very moved, it took some courage to change his habits and personality. Ellenni knew his uncle's personality very well. She was about to continue to encourage him. At this time, a woman came up from downstairs. She was about eighteen or nineteen years old, with a pretty face and looked very delicate. She walked up to Ellenni and gave her a gift, handed her an invitation, and said in a skillful Turkic language: "Princess Ellenni, this is the invitation my wife gave to the princess. Please go to the banquet in the evening."

"lady?"

Ellenny asked strangely: "Who is your wife? Why did you invite me to the banquet?"

"My wife is the wife of the general of the Jiedushi, Princess Anxi. Today is the New Year. The wife invites the family of Anxi officials. When she heard that His Highness was also shattering leaves, she asked the princess to go to the banquet with her."

"So that's it, but your wife and I can't speak. What should we do?"

The young woman smiled and said, "It doesn't matter. I am the wife who sent her to accompany His Highness the Princess, and I can serve as your translator."

Seeing that she was handsome and capable, Ellenny couldn't help but have a good impression of her, so she smiled and asked, "What's the name of the girl?"

"My name is Li Lian, and I am the female official of the Prince's Mansion of Anxi County. I am responsible for the external contacts of my wife."

Li Lian is Xiaolian of the past. Li Qing'an once recognized her sister. She has been living in Kucha to study and study. As time goes by, she has grown up and reached the age of marriage. After Mingyue came to Anxi, she brought her to Thunder Ye. Xiaolian is smart, can read and write good words, and is proficient in Turkic language. She is deeply loved by Mingyue. Just then, the Prince's Mansion was established. Li Qing'an did not use eunuchs, and Anxi abolished slaves. He set up a system of female officials in the royal palace, which is completely different from the female officials in the imperial palace. The female officials in the imperial palace are the emperor's concubines, and the female officials in the Anxi County Prince's Mansion are actually female officials in the inner palace. They are all done by them. They have the same rank and salary as the officials in the yamen. They pay for it out of their own pocket.

Currently, there are eighteen female officials in the county prince's mansion, who are responsible for the county princess Dugu Mingyue. The supervisor of the eighteen is Li Lian. Because Ellenni's status is very high, Mingyue specially sent her to invite Ellenni to the banquet.

Ellenni was inspiring her uncle to go out for a trip, but suddenly she received this invitation, and her attention was distracted. This kind of banquet was very ordinary for Ellenni, who had been in the royal dance party since she was a child and attended various banquets. However, it was the first time she attended the banquet of the Tang Dynasty people. She happily agreed: "Okay! I will definitely come to attend."

Seeing her agree, Xiaolian smiled and said, "If the princess is convenient, please follow me to the palace. My wife also wants to see you. By the way, I will tell you some basic etiquette of the banquet of the Tang Dynasty."

Ellenny came to Saiye and heard that Li Qing'an's wife was the number one beauty in Anxi. She wanted to see her for a long time. Since Li Lian invited her, she immediately became moved and looked at her uncle.

Joseph nodded and smiled, "Go! Bring a few more luxurious gifts. You must remember your identity and not let the people of the Tang Dynasty underestimate our Roman Empire."

A few months ago, Li Qing'an went to Kucha because of Li Longji's secret order, so he was not in the process of shattering leaves. As the New Year approached, it was customary that Li Qing'an held a New Year banquet to host the generals of Anxi Army. However, he was far away in Hexi and had no time to return, so he sent a pigeon letter to entrust his wife to the wife and daughter of the generals.

Five days ago, Mingyue began to get busy, preparing banquets and lists, preparing wine and food, and arranging seats. She asked her to ask about all the things she had. Fortunately, she had the help of a female official. Although there were many things, she was still orderly. Today was the first day of the first lunar month, Mingyue got up early in the morning, and there were still several invitations not sent out today. Shi Sanniang, the wife of Lizhi Yuanli, came from the river today, and she sent someone to deliver them early in the morning.

Another one is for the princess of Byzantine. She only learned the news last night. Although the Byzantine princess was not in the category of banquets, Mingyue decided to invite her to the banquet, so she sent Xiaolian to send her an invitation.

The banquet was held at the Suiye Political Affairs Hall. This is the most magnificent building in Suiye. The hall alone can accommodate 3,000 people to have dinner at the same time. However, there were not so many guests attending today, only more than 800. In addition to the wives and daughters of officers above the lieutenant, there are also more than 500 soldiers' wives and daughters. However, this does not mean that there are so many families of the Anxi Army. The others are distributed in Kucha, Shule, Bahuancheng, and Gaochang and Jinman in Beiting. Today, the only ones who live in Suiye are only the families of the military.

The banquet was not prepared by Li Qing'an's mansion, but was jointly undertaken by five restaurants. Several famous singing and dancing workshops were invited from Ningyuan and Shiguo to cheer them up, including the dressing room for women to use, the special rooms for cleaning, etc., and all the details were carefully considered.

From the afternoon, the female family rushed from Shuye to the Zhengshi Hall Square. The atmosphere of Anxi was open and the folk customs were strong, which also affected the wives and daughters of these officers. They did not ride horses like Chang'an women, but rode horses and donkeys. The dozens of horse-tie stakes on the square were tied up with horses, and the women were not wearing long skirts like Chang'an women, with soft breasts half exposed. Instead, most of them were wearing tight Hu clothes, mainly red and white, simple and bright. Most of the women were young, all heroic and enthusiastic, and there were not only Han people, but also many Hu girls.

It was still early to leave the banquet, but the women had already sat in early, talking about various topics of interest to each other, and there was a buzz in the entire political affairs hall.

Dugu Mingyue had not come out yet. She was chatting with Wuyi in the back hall with the Byzantine Princess Ellenni who was specially invited. Xiaolian sat in the middle to interpret them. She placed a golden wine pot and a pair of wine glasses on the table. The wine pot and wine glass were inlaid with various precious gems, and the light was shining brightly. This was a gift from Ellenni to Mingyue.

At this time, she had already changed her clothes, wearing a white long skirt, a fiery red fox fur around her slender jade neck, and long boots. She had a very tall figure. According to the standards of later generations, she should be about 1.75 meters tall. Her golden hair was scattered on her shoulders like a waterfall, making her look slender and beautiful.

They had a pretty speculative conversation. After talking about some customs of their respective countries, the topic gradually turned to marriages and loves that both women in the East and the West were interested in.

Ellenni has a cheerful and straightforward personality. She smiled without hesitation: "I met General Li Qing'an in Talas City two years ago. He is young and handsome, reasonable, and not as lustful as other men. He is very likable. It's a pity that I don't have time to spend more time with him. I have been obsessed with him in the past two years. This time I come, I also want to come and see him specifically."

Mingyue saw that she praised her husband so much, although she said it a little biasedly, for example, Ellenny said that Li Qing'an was not lustful and that she was Li Qing'an's wife. Mingyue knew that Li Qing'an was actually lustful and had a strong sexual desire. It was just that he could control himself and not show it. But that was it, she was still a little proud in her heart. Mingyue smiled and said, "The General will come back soon, and you will see him then."

After pausing, she asked again: "I'm very presumptuous to ask His Highness the Princess, I wonder if the princess is married?"

Ellenny smiled indifferently: "I was going to get married, but two days before the marriage, my fiancé unfortunately died."

Xiaolian had just finished translating, Wuyi, who was sitting next to Mingyue, couldn't help but sigh in a low voice, full of sympathy for her. She had the same fate back then. Mingyue gently patted Wuyi's hand and said sympathetically: "On the eve of marriage, my husband unfortunately passed away. This is one of the greatest sorrows of a woman. Your Highness the Princess asked me to mourn."

Unexpectedly, Ellenni shook her head and said, "What's sorrow? When I shot him with an arrow, I was not sad at all. There was only disgust and hatred in my heart."

Now, even the translator Xiaolian was stunned. She stammered and translated. Mingyue and Wuyi looked at each other, and their eyes were shocked. She actually shot her husband to death with an arrow. What is this?

Ellenny understood their surprise and explained lightly: "It's nothing. Although he and I have a political marriage and have no love at all, I am the princess of the Roman Empire. As my fiancé, he actually showed great care to a prostitute at the engagement dance and neglected me. This is an insult to the Roman Empire. He deserves to shoot him to death. In addition, I will never tolerate my husband being fooled with other women. He should be devoted to me."

Princess Ellenny's previous passage Mingyue can understand. She should indeed fight back against this humiliation when she maintains the glory of her motherland, but it is a bit too much to shoot her husband to death. Moreover, this princess cannot tolerate her husband having other women, Mingyue feels even more incomprehensible. If she also had this idea, Li Qingan would not know how many times she had died.

Wuyi's heart was full of loss. In fact, she had the same idea. It would be better for Li Qing'an to marry her only, and the two of them flew together, but she couldn't do it. If that were the case, Mingyue would not allow Li Qing'an to marry her as her second wife, but this Byzantine princess was loyal and killed her husband. This was a little too powerful.

Mingyue felt a little dissatisfied with Ellenni. She never had the idea of ​​monopolizing Li Qing'an like Wuyi. In her childhood thoughts, men would never satisfy a woman. Her grandfather had thirteen concubines, and her father had seven concubines. In her childhood, she never expected her husband to marry only one in the future. She cared about her status. This is the biggest difference between her and Wuyi. Wuyi could be Li Qing'an's second wife for love, but Mingyue would not be wronged. She also loved Li Qing'an, but she would rather not marry for life than become Li Qing'an's concubine.

But in terms of love, she did not force others to be the same as hers. She was not dissatisfied with Ellenni because of her different views on love, but because she believed that Ellenni killed her husband not to defend love. If that were the case, she should have killed that woman. Killing her husband only showed the might and domineering of the Byzantine Empire.

Although Mingyue was already a little dissatisfied with Ellenni, she did not show any signs of her face. She smiled and said nothing. Unexpectedly, Ellenni asked her curiously: "I heard that the Tang Dynasty was polygamous, so I wonder how many wives General Li had?"

The Tang Dynasty was also monogamous. Li Qing'an naturally had only one wife, but Wuyi was beside him, so Mingyue couldn't answer her like this. She smiled and said, "General Li is the Prince of Anxi, and I am his concubine."

She pointed to Wuyi and smiled, "This is the general's concubine. In addition to us, he has two concubines. According to you, he should be four wives, and it may increase in the future."

"My God!"

Ellenni exclaimed softly, and she shook her head and said, "If it were me, I would never tolerate it. If my future husband marry another woman besides me, I would also shoot him to death with one arrow."

Mingyue smiled and said, "Then I wish His Highness the Princess to find her satisfactory husband as soon as possible."
Chapter completed!