With Xiao Qing's permission, Kristy was finally able to enter and pay her respects to the Princess of Ning Shuang, who was nominally acting as regent.
After the ceremony, Kristy looked at Xiao Qing and Ning Xuejun, hesitant to speak.
Xiao Qing understood and smiled, "Commander Ning is one of the four great ministers left by the late emperor to assist my imperial brother, loyal and true."
Only then did Kristy relax, taking a specially made sheepskin scroll from her sleeve and presenting it with both hands.
Ning Xuejun took the sheepskin scroll and examined it, her eyes full of doubt. She spread it out on Xiao Qing's desk.
Xiao Qing looked closely. The surface of the sheepskin scroll was full of wrinkles, with various mountains and terrains drawn on it, and three obvious red dots marked.
One of them was marked to the south of Yanzhou!
The other two were in the country of Kuchih, and deep in the desert, the savage royal court!
Seeing Xiao Qing's confusion, Kristy took a deep breath, trying to remain calm, and explained, "Your Highness, this is a treasure map from the ancient Xiongnu king, Heluo Fu!"
Xiao Qing's expression changed, "The ancient Xiongnu king Heluo Fu?!"
Even Ning Xuejun trembled all over!
Heluo Fu, the Chanyu who unified the desert hundreds of years ago, integrated the various tribes of the desert into a new country called "Xiongnu" and declared himself the Xiongnu King.
After the Xiongnu was established, Heluo Fu successively incorporated the Xianbei, Turkic, and other ethnic groups, becoming unprecedentedly powerful. He led campaigns east and west, conquering the countries of the Western Regions, and even invaded the Great Zhou Dynasty of that time from the south, accelerating the disintegration of the decadent Great Zhou Dynasty!
Originally, the Xiongnu should have continued south and completely conquered the Central Kingdom, the Great Zhou Dynasty. However, Heluo Fu's hundreds of thousands of troops met their defeat south of Yanzhou!
It was the King of Donghai who caused the Xiongnu to be defeated!
After that, the Xiongnu were driven back to the desert by the Daheng Kingdom, which replaced the Great Zhou Dynasty. Heluo Fu never managed to march back to Yanzhou in his lifetime, and his prestige was greatly diminished because of this battle.
The Xiongnu subsequently fell into internal strife, and Heluo Fu was tragically killed by the rebel army.
Because this great battle saved this land, the King of Donghai was immortalized in history. Neither the Daqian Kingdom nor the Da Liang Kingdom could bear to tarnish the reputation of this former general.
For several hundred years thereafter, the Xiongnu repeatedly invaded from the north, causing serious harm.
It was not until the founding emperor of the Daqian Kingdom led the three armies, with the Marquis of Dingguo, ancestor of the Qin Sage, and other valiant generals as his aides, that the Xiongnu were stopped north of Yanzhou. At all costs, the magnificent Yanzhou City was built, preventing the Xiongnu cavalry from ever entering this land again. From then on, the Xiongnu bore the humiliating title of "savage"!
Kristy nodded, "Back then, the Xiongnu were defeated by the King of Donghai south of Yanzhou. The Xiongnu King Heluo Fu's army had countless gold that could not be transported in time. Out of necessity, they had to hide it urgently, waiting for a later day to retrieve it. Similarly, at that time, our Western Regions countries also took the opportunity to unite and drive out the Xiongnu, and they also hastily hid their treasures..."
Ning Xuejun asked, "Such a legend is too extraordinary. Princess Kristy, how can you prove the authenticity of this treasure map?"
Kristy's voice trembled slightly.
"This treasure map was also accidentally found by our country's warriors in the ruins deep in the desert. Later, with this map, our Kuchih country found the portion of treasure hidden in the Western Regions, which was over ten million taels of gold! With this gold, our Kuchih country secretly recruited mercenaries from the Frost Empire in the west, which allowed us to deter the savages and become the overlord of the Western Regions!"
Xiao Qing and Ning Xuejun seemed to understand.
Kuchih country had unexpectedly risen in the last few decades, and even the Xiongnu dared not launch long-range raids into this country. Both internally and externally, people attributed this to the wise governance of the King of Kuchih. Only the high-level officials of Daqian Kingdom had always been skeptical, and all the officials and subjects of Daqian Kingdom unanimously believed that it was because Kuchih country had stumbled upon a fortune.
This ten million taels of gold perfectly explained it!
Then Kuchih country sending this treasure map to Daqian...
Xiao Qing had to look at Kuchih country and the Kristy before her with new eyes.
Kristy continued to explain, "Your Highness, according to the ancient Xiongnu inscriptions on the treasure map, the treasure hidden deep in the desert not only contains countless gold but also innumerable jewels and jades! As for the treasure hidden south of Yanzhou, the amount of gold stored there is likely over twenty million taels!"
Xiao Qing almost suffocated.
Twenty million taels of gold, at market prices of gold and silver, was equivalent to over two hundred million taels of silver!
Kristy's expression was nervous, lest she offend Xiao Qing, "After all, that gold was all plundered from your land! And that ancient Xiongnu king always harbored ambitions to invade this land, so he must have wanted to reclaim the treasures he hastily abandoned!"
Ning Xuejun, who had always been indifferent to external affairs, also rarely breathed with such difficulty, "No wonder, after the Great Zhou Dynasty, gold became increasingly scarce. Outsiders only said that the royal family of Great Zhou was extravagant in their burials and liked to bury gold with them..."
It turned out to be because of the ancient Xiongnu!
The ancient Xiongnu's invasion of the Central Plains at that time relied on their invincible cavalry. They suffered an unbelievable defeat at the hands of the King of Donghai and fled in haste, naturally having no time to transport so much gold!
"If the treasure map is real, this gift is too precious. I can finally understand why you were reluctant to present it. Your father must have kept a backup, right?" Xiao Qing sighed.
This might be a treasure map concerning the fate of the nation, enough to allow her and Liang Xiao to create an unprecedented era of peace and prosperity more quickly!
Kristy nodded, then knelt down and explained with tears in her eyes, her voice sincere.
"His Majesty is indeed an unprecedented wise ruler. With the Marquis of Anguo assisting him, and General Tian driving the savages seven hundred li away, Daqian Kingdom's morale is unprecedented. In the future, it will definitely be capable of defeating the savages! Moreover, General Tian might even manifest, leading the soldiers of Daqian to drink at the sea, and rescuing us Western Regions people from the oppression of the savages..."
Xiao Qing's eyes were moist.
So it was still because of my elder brother, and General Tian!
Xiao Qing left her seat and helped Kristy up, sighing, "Princess Kristy, we have completely understood the sincerity of Kuchih country. From now on, Daqian Kingdom and Kuchih country will be eternally allied. Daqian Kingdom will sooner or later defeat the savages, open the path to the Western Regions, and treat the countries of the Western Regions well!"
Kristy finally got her wish, and was overwhelmed with gratitude, "Your Highness! However, the location indicated on this treasure map is not clear enough, and there may be some traps within the treasure site. Please be extremely cautious. It is likely that only a person of great wisdom and courage, leading loyal subordinates, can find it..."
Xiao Qing was startled and nodded slightly, lost in thought.
Late at night, Xiao Qing, along with Ning Xuejun and Ding Wuyi, impatiently rushed to Liang Fu to find Liang Xiao.
"Shuangmei, are you here to see us off?" Luo Qingxue said happily.
Xiao Qing nodded, looking obedient, and requested, "Sister Qingxue, I have a very, very important national affair that I need to discuss with Brother Xiao properly..."
Luo Qingxue smiled knowingly, "I was just thinking of going to see Mi'er~"
Liang Xiao took Xiao Qing's small hand and led her into his room. Only then did Xiao Qing hug Liang Xiao involuntarily and cry uncontrollably.
Liang Xiao whispered, "Good Shuang'er, is it because your imperial brother showed you Brother's secret plans, and you were moved to tears..."
The jade person in his embrace trembled, having to admire her lover's unconventional thinking.
Ning Xuejun and Ding Wuyi's eyelids twitched, wishing they could hang Liang Xiao up and whip him!
"Yes, yes, yes, Brother Xiao, this bad guy always wants to trick people into crying!" Xiao Qing playfully chided, giving Ning Xuejun a look.
Ning Xuejun understood and truthfully told Liang Xiao about the treasure map.
The more Liang Xiao listened, the more horrified he became, unable to maintain his composure.
South of Yanzhou, a treasure site?
And another largest treasure site, deep in the desert of the savages?