Chapter 77

"Your Majesty, I have been dispatched by the Emperor of the Great Han from Chang'an, traveling thousands of miles, to form an alliance with your country to jointly attack the Xiongnu! If Your Majesty is willing to sign the alliance, we will do our utmost to help your country resist the Wusun, a vassal of the Xiongnu!" If you want our help, sign the alliance first so I can complete my mission!

Hu Fu gave me two tasks. The first was to lead the envoy group to avoid the Xiongnu's ambush and successfully reach Da Yuezhi, which is now accomplished. The second task is to form an alliance with Da Yuezhi to jointly attack the Xiongnu and return to Chang'an successfully! This is the best time to form an alliance with Da Yuezhi!

If Da Yuezhi loses to the Wusun's Lian Qiao Mi, they will migrate west to the Amu River and will certainly not sign an alliance with the Great Han. If they defeat the Wusun, whether they dare to seek revenge on the Xiongnu is uncertain, as Da Yuezhi is currently much weaker than the Xiongnu. Perhaps after they lose their value, the king of Da Yuezhi will outright refuse the request to form an alliance to attack the Xiongnu?

Therefore, Li You proposed the idea of forming an alliance at this moment! It's easy to ask for our help, just sign the alliance first! As long as the king of Yuezhi signs and seals the alliance, the second task will be half complete!

As for whether Da Yuezhi will abide by the alliance and attack the Xiongnu in the future, that is not Li You's concern! Hu Fu has no such requirement, and he and Emperor Wu of Han will not pin all their hopes on this!

Moreover, even if Da Yuezhi does not actively attack the Xiongnu, can I not show the alliance to the Xiongnu to incite them to attack Da Yuezhi? The journey back to Chang'an still has to pass through the territories of King Xiutu and King Kunye! Oh, perhaps Zhong Xing Shuo is still waiting to intercept us?

When Chen Qingzhi first led fifty Han soldiers to defeat Wei Xishika, Li You decided to choose the right moment to propose the alliance! And now is the best time!

"This!" The king of Yuezhi did not hesitate for long and decided to sign the alliance! This is not the 21st century, where countries sign alliances and then immediately break them! Without any means of enforcement, such an alliance is not even worth the paper it's written on! The king of Yuezhi has already decided to use the alliance to gain the help of the Han envoy, and as for the future! Jointly attacking the Xiongnu is not impossible! As long as the million-strong Han army reaches the Western Regions, we will ensure a fierce stab in the back to the Xiongnu!

"Please have the envoy draft the alliance, and our Da Yuezhi will form an alliance with the Great Han!" The king of Yuezhi said loudly, even beginning to summon his servants to bring out his seal!

"Forming an alliance is a matter of state! It must not be done so hastily!" Li You wanted more people to know about the alliance, not just a few people signing it in this small house, "According to the customs of the Great Han, before two countries form an alliance, they must bathe and use incense for three days! Then, all important ministers and envoys from neighboring countries must be gathered, and a special platform must be built. The alliance can only be signed with the witness of these important ministers and numerous envoys!"

All of this was a fabrication. At least during the White登Encirclement by Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang, this was not the procedure! But Li You was sure that no one in the Western Regions knew what the process should be for the Great Han to form an alliance with other countries! Everything he did was to make the Xiongnu aware of this as soon as possible, to cut off any other ideas Da Yuezhi might have.

"This..." The king of Yuezhi was once again confused. This was completely different from his expectation of signing the alliance privately, but he did not know how to refute it. As Li You thought, the king of Yuezhi did not know the actual process for the Great Han to form an alliance with other countries! However, just from the Han emblem Li You carried, a country that could produce such exquisite items seemed to have a rigorous process for forming alliances!

"The alliance ceremony not only symbolizes the formation of an alliance between two countries! It is also an opportunity to showcase the civilization of both countries! Unless it is a barbaric nation like the Xiongnu, other countries should display their proudest aspects to each other! The Great Han has inherited the thousand-year civilization of Huaxia, with great etiquette, hence called Xia; with beautiful attire, called Hua! Therefore, the Great Han has very strict requirements for the etiquette of forming alliances! And Da Yuezhi has been established for several hundred years! Surely it is not a barbaric nation like the Xiongnu, right?" Li You put the king of Yuezhi in a difficult position. Da Yuezhi has been nomadic in the Hexi Corridor since the 5th century BC, with a long history.

The king of Yuezhi did not understand the art of being thick-skinned and black-hearted, and could not say what the king of Chu once said, "I am a barbarian" (as recorded in the "Records of the Grand Historian - The House of Chu": In the 35th year, Chu attacked Sui. Sui said, "I have no fault." Chu replied, "I am a barbarian." This was a bold statement by King Xiong Qu, where Chu attacked Sui, and the king of Sui said, "I have no fault, why do you attack me?" Xiong Qu directly replied, "I am a barbarian, I do not reason with you!" showing the audacity of a great bully!).

Moreover, Da Yuezhi now needed the help of the Han envoy, and he placed all his hopes for victory on Chen Qingzhi. Therefore, he could only grit his teeth and agree to Li You's proposal, "Everything will be done according to the wishes of your envoy! I will order the ministers to consult! In three days, Da Yuezhi and the Great Han will form an alliance!"

After bathing and using incense, and changing into clean clothes, Li You led the entire envoy group with solemn expressions, marching in unison towards the platform that had been hastily constructed over the past few days.

On the platform, the king of Yuezhi and his ministers also changed into their most splendid attire, and under the protection of the elite guards of the palace, they walked towards the platform.

Three zhang away from the platform, the soldiers on both sides stopped. Li You led Tang Yifu and Chen Qingzhi; the king of Yuezhi led his prime minister and Wei Xishika up to the platform.

Music was played, incense and candles were offered, and a grand sacrifice to heaven and earth was performed. The elaborate and eye-opening procedures for the people of Da Yuezhi were completed, and the king of Yuezhi was already drenched in sweat! These rituals were concocted by Li You and Chen Qingzhi, based on the principle of making as much noise as possible, and it was quite a折腾! It was not until an hour later that Li You and the king of Yuezhi signed the alliance and sealed it with their respective seals!

What Li You did not know was that the fabricated alliance process he created quickly spread throughout the Western Regions, becoming the standard procedure for alliances among the countries there! And it was later transmitted to Central Asia, Western Asia, and South Asia with the future Kushan Empire.

Of course, these are all later developments. Today, after Li You and the king of Yuezhi signed the alliance, the king of Yuezhi could not wait to ask, "May I ask, can you now help us resist the Wusun's attack?"

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