When he came to Shanshan Palace, Liu Xin was surprised that not only Shanshan King Hani, but also the princess, the prime minister, the general Zhendaye and the open-mouthed Liya all came out together. Liu Xin looked at it again, her eyes were bloodshot, presumably they didn't sleep well that night, or they didn't sleep at all. And Liya's face was covered with a thin veil, I don't know what the intention was. It's just that no matter what the reason for them to gather in the palace, Liu Xin's plan to take advantage of Hani's sleep to negotiate will be frustrated.

Everyone welcomed Liu Xin into the palace, and still let him sit down, Jia Xu sat aside, and the one standing behind Liu Xin was replaced by Wei Yan. What happened last night, Liu Xin naturally attached great importance to Minchan's safety, and now, Dian Wei and his Flying Tiger guards were left in the barracks to protect those female dependents.

Liu Xin saw that Hani and the others also sat down, and did not directly enter today's topic, but said to Liya with a smile: "Why did Her Royal Highness the princess cover her face?" It's not like it's suddenly full of pimples. ”

Many things will be settled in this meeting this morning, and Hani and the others gathered at the palace so early, apparently having had some serious deliberations, or they have been discussing them since they returned from the Han army camp yesterday. On the surface, they were very enthusiastic about Liu Xin's arrival, but with Liu Xin's shrewdness, they could still see that their expressions were a little unnatural, revealing solemnity and apprehension. Therefore, before Liu Xin started formal negotiations, he used the veil on Liya's face to liven up the atmosphere.

Of course, Liya didn't have any acne on her face, and she didn't understand what Liu Xin meant by acne, she covered the veil completely from Minchan. Last night in the Han army camp, because she was a woman, she was invited into the back tent by Minchan with Princess Shanshan, and Minchan also casually removed the veil covering her face. Liya and the princess were immediately stunned by Minchan's beauty, and Liya asked Minchan why she was veiled. Minchan naturally couldn't tell her the real reason, so she had to lie, saying that the wind and sand in the Western Regions were too big, and the veil could prevent her from scratching her face. It is a woman's nature to love beauty, so after Liya came back, she made a veil by herself, and Princess Shanshan also covered her face now because she considered etiquette.

Of course, it is impossible for Liya to say these real reasons, but she didn't know how to answer Liu Xin's question, so she was hesitant for a long time. And Liu Xin had suddenly changed the topic, and said to Hani and the others: "Liu's determination to rebuild the Western Regions Protectorate is unquestionable. After the completion of the Metropolitan Protectorate, all the countries of the Western Regions will be under the jurisdiction of the Imperial Protectorate, and the names of the kings will be retained, and the treatment will be equivalent to that of the marquis of the Han Dynasty. The countries no longer set up prime ministers and generals, but changed the positions of Changshi and Du Lieutenant, and ate 2,000 stones. What do you think? ”

There are many things that need to be finalized today, but the one that Liu Xin is talking about now is undoubtedly the most important. Liu Xin came from later generations, and his concept of the land was more important than anyone in this era, and he would rather shed blood than lose an inch of mountains and rivers. Although for a long time, the countries of the Western Regions were sandwiched between the Han and the Xiongnu, and the Protectorate of the Western Regions was not able to truly exercise effective rule over the countries, but in Liu Xin's view, the entire Western Regions was already the inherent territory of the Han Dynasty.

Hearing Liu Xin's words, Hani and the others all had a sudden change in complexion, could it be that Liu Xin planned to turn Shanshan into a county of Dahan? This can offend their core interests, and how can it not make them tremble. However, the two sides of this negotiation are not sitting on an equal footing, the strength of the Han army is there, and if they do not agree, they are likely to suffer a catastrophe. Some of the bargaining arguments they had prepared were now useless.

Liu Xin saw that Hani and the others were calm and did not speak, smiled slightly, and said: "In the future, the kings of the Western Regions, as well as the governors of various countries, and the captains of the capitals, will all be transferred by the imperial court. The taxes of the kingdoms did not need to be paid to the imperial court, but were at the disposal of the kingdoms. ”

The faces of Hani and the others suddenly softened. They fought for this position just for profit, and now, the income of the entire country is still owned by themselves, and the imperial court has also paid them a generous salary, so their resistance has naturally subsided a lot.

Liu Xin did not first put forward this condition that was favorable to them, which was to prevent them from continuing to ask for sky-high prices on this basis. On the premise that they thought that Liu Xin was going to take back their power, suddenly getting such a big pie would naturally change their mentality a lot, and the negotiations would become extremely smooth. And they didn't even think about it, this pie was their own.

Hani breathed a sigh of relief, hurriedly beckoned a thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy, and arched his hand and said, "Lord Liu's decision, Xiao Wang naturally does not dare to disobey it." This is Xiao Wang's only son, Tong Groga, and Xiao Wang is willing to send him to the Han as a hostage. ”

Liu Xin laughed and said, "Liu is also the father of several children, how can he bear to let the prince be separated?" Don't worry, although Liu has set up the Western Regions Protectorate, the positions of the kings are still hereditary. This child still follows the prince to learn the way to govern the country, so that the people of Shanshan can live a life of abundant food and clothing in the future. ”

At this time, Hani suddenly pushed his son out, and the purpose was naturally not to really send his son to Liu Xin as a hostage, but to euphemistically remind Liu Xin about the heir to the Shanshan throne, and this problem was also what he was most worried about. Now, Liu Xin finally gave him a reassurance.

Hani immediately stood up and said, "I, Shanshan, will be a part of the Han from now on and will never betray!" ”

Liu Xin waved his hand and said, "I still have a few conditions. First, the officials and people of Shanshan and even the entire Western Regions, whether Han or Hu, have been subjects of the Han Dynasty from then on. Second, our Han army will be stationed in the city for a long time, and has the right to take over the defense of the city at any time. 3. Han people engaged in commerce and trade in Shanshan should enjoy the same treatment as Shanshan locals. ”

The most important questions have been agreed, and Hani and others have no reason to refuse these conditions. And what Liu Xin wants is not the tax revenue of the Western Regions countries, but to let the Western Regions countries return to the territory of the Han Dynasty from now on, and at the same time ensure the smooth flow of trade routes. In order to achieve this, it is not a big deal for the imperial court to bear the burden of three people per country.

The basic questions were settled, and the atmosphere became relaxed. Liu Xin said with a smile: "There are no other questions, how did you discuss the name of Loulan mentioned by Liu yesterday?" ”

Hani hurriedly said: "Lord Hui, Xiao Wang and the Prime Minister, oh no, Xiao Wang and Changshi have discussed it, Shanshan's name has been used for a hundred years, and it is better to keep it the same." ”

In fact, they didn't want to restore the name of the country to Loulan, but after thorough discussions, several people felt that it was too risky to change the name of the country, in case Liu Xin said this just to test them, then they would lose more than they gained. As for ordinary people, as long as they can live a good life, is it really that important what the country is called?

As soon as Hani's words were finished, Liya suddenly got up and said, "Lord Liu, I have two small requests, and I hope that the adults can fulfill them." ”

Liu Xin frowned, nodded and said, "Please speak." ”

Ignoring Hani's glance at her, Liya said, "Liya asks your lord to give me the title of Princess Loulan. In addition, Liya also wants to go all the way with her wife, and she also asks for your permission. ”

"You were originally Princess Loulan, and it is not a problem to give a title." Liu Xin was slightly surprised and said, "But Madame is going to go west with Liu, why do you want to go with Madame?" ”

Hearing that Liu Xin agreed to her request for a title, Liya did not hide the excitement in her heart, clenched her small fist lightly, and said, "Madame's dancing skills are convincing, I want to learn from Madame for a while." ”

Dance is only a small skill in the eyes of the Han people, but it is very different here for the Hu people, many of whom have been able to sing and dance since childhood, and Liya is no exception. And Minchan can not only run the Han dance, but also the dance of the Huns, barbarians and Qiang people, and even the dance of the Hu people in the Western Regions She dances so beautifully, as if she is already a generation of grandmasters in the dance world, Liya naturally wants to learn from her.

Liu Xin suddenly said: "I don't have any opinion on this matter. However, I still need to ask for the opinions of Lord Hani and my wife. ”

My sister can often stay with Liu Xin's wife, so isn't she able to dangle in front of Liu Xin from time to time? Even if she can't get Liu Xin's favor, at least she can enhance the relationship between them, which is beneficial and harmless for consolidating his position in Shanshan, Hani is naturally happy to see it happen, and raises his hands in agreement. And Liya also said confidently: "Madame will definitely agree." ”

The main purpose of Liu Xin's trip to the Western Regions was to be able to open up the Silk Road, and now that the status of Shanshanguo in the Han Dynasty has been negotiated, all that remains is to sell the goods he carried with him. Of course, these goods could not be sold to Hani and them, but were given as gifts.

Liu Xin had prepared these gifts a long time ago, but he never took them out. Liu Xin is not the kind of person who doesn't see a rabbit and doesn't scatter an eagle, but he feels that giving gifts after the negotiation shows the fairness of the negotiation. But he didn't think that his army had already arrived at someone else's doorstep, so how could such a negotiation be fair?

However, the gift that Liu Xin took out still made Hani and the others shine, and everyone's eyes were attracted to the past, as for whether their country was annexed by the Han Dynasty or not, it no longer matters.