Chapter 214 I'll see what happened
"Princess, some of the cities we passed by along the way are almost as prosperous as Xingqing Prefecture. I wonder how prosperous Bianjing is."
On the official road more than 20 miles west of Bianjing City, a thousand imperial guards were escorting several carriages heading towards Bianjing City.
In one of the carriages, the curtain was lifted, and a maid about fifteen or sixteen years old was looking at the scenery outside and chattering.
In the middle of the carriage sat a woman of about seventeen or eighteen years old, wearing an orange-red tight-fitting long skirt, a peach-shaped bun on her head, a step-shaking ornament, and a veil covering her face. She was staring out the window in a daze. Upon hearing this, she curled her lips and said, "What's the point of being prosperous? The population of Song is dozens of times larger than that of Great Xia, but we were still defeated by our father back then."
"The men of the Song Dynasty do look much weaker than those of the Xia Dynasty." The maid nodded in agreement.
As a maidservant of the princess, she had seen the imperial guards of the palace quite often. She felt that the imperial guards of the Song Dynasty who escorted them were far inferior to the imperial guards of the Western Xia Dynasty in terms of momentum.
"My father was a good warrior, but unfortunately he died young. But my brother is also very smart. If he gets rid of the treacherous ministers, he will surely be able to continue his glory and maybe even rule the Central Plains in the future." The princess raised her lips with a confident look, as if she had already seen the scene of Western Xia ruling the Central Plains.
As he was talking, a horse galloped over, slowed down beside the carriage, and said with a folded hand, "Your Highness, Lord Chu said that the Crown Prince of Song is waiting for you in front. He will be there in a few miles. Please let your Highness get ready."
"I understand." Princess Xixia replied and asked the maid to lower the curtains.
…………
At Shili Pavilion outside the west city of Bianjing, hundreds of imperial guards imposed martial law within a few hundred meters.
Zhao Xing sat in the pavilion and said with a smile, "Zhong Huai, it's a pity that your marriage has already been decided, otherwise I would have let you marry the prince of Xixia."
"Your Highness, please stop teasing me. The Princess of Western Xia is marrying your Highness. A rough man like me is not worthy of her." Gu Tingye said with a wry smile.
"That's not necessarily true." Zhao Xing said with a smile, "Father said that Xixia has not decided to marry a princess to Xixia, and I have to be favored by the Xixia princess. But I don't think so. I think the marriage is a certainty. If the Song Dynasty insists on letting you marry the Xixia princess, Xixia may agree."
Zhao Xing also felt at first that the so-called marriage was just a cover, and Western Xia wanted to express goodwill in this way.
After all, the Song Dynasty suffered a great loss at the hands of the Western Xia, and the Western Xia also seized some cities from the Song Dynasty.
Even Lingzhou City, the important road leading to the Western Regions, was lost.
If Lingzhou City had not been lost, the Song Dynasty could have obtained war horses through the Western Regions and would not have been so short of them.
Although the young emperor of Western Xia succeeded in seizing power, his uncle had been in control of power for more than ten years before that, and there were many internal disturbances.
The Song Dynasty was worried that the Western Xia would send troops to invade the border, and the Western Xia was also worried that the Song Dynasty would send troops.
Not to mention revenge, it is still possible to retake Lingzhou City.
Moreover, the relationship between the Three Kingdoms is somewhat similar to the Three Kingdoms period in history.
There were conflicts between Western Xia and the Song Dynasty, which were as significant as those between Western Xia and the Liao Dynasty.
The previous emperor of Western Xia, also the founding emperor of Western Xia, was indeed a great warrior, if nothing else.
Not only did the Song Dynasty suffer at his hands, but the Liao Dynasty as well.
Although the Song Dynasty appeared to be the strongest, in the eyes of the Western Xia, the Liao Dynasty was the strongest.
The best option is for Xixia and Song Dynasty to unite.
At this time, Xixia sent a princess, saying that they wanted to marry the prince, and the princess had to choose the one herself. Isn't that ridiculous?
Zhao Xing is the crown prince of the Song Dynasty and the only son of the emperor.
It would be a humiliation for Zhao Xing if the Xixia princess did not like him.
Xixia wanted to repair relations with the Song Dynasty, so how could it do something that would offend others?
Therefore, Zhao Xing estimated that Xixia did have the intention of marriage, but there should be some conditions.
I say this just to take the initiative when negotiating terms.
The Xixia, the object of the marriage, may not care much.
"Your Highness, please stop joking." Gu Tingye shook his head.
He guessed that Zhao Xing intended to launch a military attack on Western Xia in the future.
If he married the Xixia princess and sent troops to attack Xixia in the future, his identity would become sensitive and he would hardly have the chance to go to the battlefield.
"Haha." Zhao Xing smiled and said nothing more.
Anyway, he had made up his mind that if the Xixia princess was pretty, he would marry her. If she was not, he would find someone of similar status to marry into the Xixia clan.
"Your Highness, the Princess of Xixia is still two or three miles away. Your Highness should get ready." Huang Song, the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, came over and saluted. "I understand." Zhao Xing nodded, stood up, straightened his clothes, and walked out.
In the middle of the road, Zhao Xing stood in the front, with Huang Song and Gu Tingye standing on his left and right.
After a while, there were clouds of dust in the distance, and soon the imperial guards on war horses could be seen ahead, followed by several carriages guarded by infantrymen.
There were also some Western Xia soldiers in the queue.
The team stopped when they were still two or three hundred meters away.
"play music!"
The sound of drums and melodious trumpets rang out. Huang Song saluted Zhao Xing and walked forward to negotiate.
After waiting for a while, Huang Song came back with a group of people.
In the front is a woman, who is not clear due to the distance. Behind her are officials from the Song Dynasty and envoys from Western Xia.
Although the Song Dynasty recognized the independence of Western Xia, the two countries had equal status.
However, Western Xia also declared to the outside world that it was a brother country with the Song Dynasty, with the Song Dynasty being the elder brother and Western Xia being the land.
The reason why Xixia admitted this was that it had to pay for it.
After the Song Dynasty was defeated in the Song-Xia War, the two countries held peace talks.
The Song Dynasty paid a sum of money as compensation to Western Xia, and Western Xia recognized the Song Dynasty as a brother country.
The same is true between the Song Dynasty and the Liao Dynasty, the Song Dynasty is the elder brother.
However, the deal between the Song Dynasty and Western Xia was a one-time one, unlike with the Liao Dynasty, where annual tribute had to be paid.
Although this title was bought, the dynasties in the Central Plains have had a common problem since ancient times, that is, they care about face.
Anyway, in name only, the Song Dynasty was higher than the other two countries. Prince Zhao Xing could come to welcome them, but there was no reason for him to go up to greet them.
As he walked a little closer, Zhao Xing also saw the Princess of Western Xia clearly.
She was wearing an orange-red dress embroidered with patterns unique to Western Xia. The overall appearance was not much different from the clothing of the Song Dynasty, but the sleeves were not as wide as those of the Song Dynasty. Instead, they were very tight.
She had a graceful figure, but her face was covered with a veil, so her appearance could not be seen clearly.
"The Princess of Xixia greets His Royal Highness the Crown Prince of Song!"
The Princess of Western Xia placed her right hand across her belly and bowed slightly.
"You are polite, Princess." Zhao Xing returned the greeting and said with a smile, "I have heard that both men and women in Xixia love hunting, and women are even more outgoing and generous. Why is Princess covering her face with a veil? Why don't you take it off so that I can admire your beauty?"
The Princess of Western Xia frowned slightly. What Zhao Xing said was right. The customs in Western Xia were indeed more open than those in the Song Dynasty.
Women in the Song Dynasty did not cover their faces when they went out, and naturally there was no such custom in Western Xia.
The reason why she covered her face with a veil was because with so many soldiers accompanying her as guards, dust would inevitably be raised as she walked.
You can enjoy the scenery along the way and wear a veil to avoid dust.
It’s not that it can’t be taken off.
But what Zhao Xing said sounded somewhat frivolous. As a princess, no one dared to speak to her like that.
"This is a personal preference. I'm afraid it cannot satisfy His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's wish." The Princess of Western Xia said in a slightly cold tone.
"What if I really want to see it?" Zhao Xing looked at the Princess of Western Xia with a smile on his face, his eyes still looking her up and down.
"Your Highness, the Crown Prince of Song!"
A Xixia official stepped out from the crowd and said, "The princess is here to represent Daxia as an envoy to the Song Dynasty, and also to seek marriage. Your Highness's frivolous words are not only an insult to the princess, but also an insult to Daxia!"
Zhao Xing glanced at him and said, "Since you are here for marriage, then she is my woman. Let me see what's wrong."
Zhao Xing did this not out of haste, but just to test the attitude of Western Xia and at the same time give Western Xia a warning.
"Your Highness!" The man said angrily, "The marriage has not been finalized yet. Even if it is, Your Highness cannot humiliate the Princess of Daxia like this."
(End of this chapter)