Chapter 348: Old Grievances Hard to Dispel

Coincidentally, Wusun and Kucha are the two Western Regions countries that the Great King has a deep impression of.

One insists on marrying the young Fourth Princess to an old man; the other insists on marrying the Princess to his old father.

Now looking back, the Great King can sense a different flavor.

The Great King's inscrutable performance at the court assembly ended with just a faint nod; returning to Suiyu Hall, he began pulling Bai Ze, insisting on analyzing it.

"Wusun, judging by the arrogant demeanor of that Wusun prince back then, did they already know the Xiongnu plan? They must have done something, even hinted something to my father, to dare propose marrying the princess? I heard from my aunt and sister that the Changchun Princess's dowry contained a lot of salted tea and such, and was mocked by the harem."

White Marsh nodded, its meaning unclear.

The Great King then dragged it along for analysis: 'Maybe it sold some information to my father, which is why he agreed to the marriage alliance to win over Wusun? After that, the personal campaign… my father definitely didn't get all the information!'

The more the Great King thought, the more plausible it seemed, but he couldn't move White Marsh's head, couldn't reach… so he grabbed its tail and shook it, shouting, 'Tell me! Tell me if it's so!'

White Marsh: ……

"Probably."

"Then they deceived my father?!"

The Great King grew angry.

If the Ningde Emperor were still alive, having been deceived by others, the Great King might smirk. Serves him right for neglecting state affairs.

But now his father is dead, lying in the imperial mausoleum, and the Great King feels extremely vexed.

He pondered a moment longer: '…Is Kucha insisting on sending a princess over just to sound out the father emperor in the personal campaign? What role did the Kucha Princess play in that?'

The Great King finished speaking and looked toward White Marsh; White Marsh hurriedly spoke before he could shake its tail wildly: 'This possibility exists. Another possibility is that they want an advanceable and retreatable position, not wanting to give up this fat fish, the Great Jin. Marrying a princess over is not a big deal for Kucha; the likelihood that woman is a real princess is small, more likely a Kucha noblewoman.' The cost is small, just wanting another route.

It still remembered Wei Shen saying that princess was extremely beautiful—what a coincidence.

The Great King fully agreed: 'In short, they harbored ill intentions and deceived my father!'

This cannot be dwelt on; it's suffocating, and the Great King can't bear this grievance.

If these people don't get their comeuppance, the Great King won't sleep. Where in the world is there such a good thing?

The Great King unfolded a map; Wusun counts as a strong country among the Western Regions, occupying a large area north of Heavenly Mountain, larger than the three small states he cleared beyond Jade Gate Pass combined.

Kucha is much smaller—could it even be a wallflower?

'Look here, they can't sit still; I'd guess it's because this time This King's border fortifications have reached their doorstep!'

The Great King's South Mountain Pass lies at the foot of Heavenly Mountain; not far ahead are Wusun and Kucha, with only a few obscure small states in between, such as Yani and Weixu.

'If it weren't for the lack of supplies, This King couldn't have halted beyond Jade Gate Pass.'

Upon returning, the Great King sighed in regret, not knowing when he'd be able to gather enough silver for a western expedition.

'There's no helping it—with an extra hundred thousand mouths to feed from the Jade Gate Pass garrison, running out of supplies is normal.' If the Great King didn't cheat with the storehouses, the twenty thousand cavalry would run out of food on their return.

White Marsh could see this fellow's unwillingness.

Whether the Western Regions colluded with the Xiongnu in a feigned siege of Jade Gate Pass or conspired with the Cui family to trap the southwestern army, both times they precisely struck the Great King's weak point; a major war between the northern borders and the Western Regions is inevitable.

'You should properly cultivate the Jade Gate Pass garrison; next time for a western expedition just use the border troops—much easier. That Tang Qian is fairly reliable.'

'How else to train them? Once South Mountain Pass is rebuilt, they'll be out of poverty; a few million taels of military funds can sustain them for a long time. Instruction has been left to them, and This King will equip them with decent weapons and armor—then it's all set.' The Great King nodded, then shook his head.

Fortunately, he finally released its tail: 'If the Cui family can't be handled by Baili Jin, This King will personally take care of them—hmph!'

Indeed.