Chapter 4 Qiancheng (Part 1) Shibi Khan (Note 1) looked at the quarreling tribal leaders in front of him, and couldn't help but feel a sense of desolation in his heart. The southern expedition that he had been preparing for since his father was alive had just begun, and he had to stop.
It's not over. Except for a few carts of gold and silver that can't be used as food or firewood, the Turkic Kingdom has harvested almost nothing. But from now on, those Central Plains people will never believe that the Turks are brothers, no matter the Sui Dynasty continued to control Yanmen County.
, or which rebels occupy these forty-one cities, they will use the threat from the north as the main defense target. If the coalition wants to find the same opportunity to conquer the south, it is estimated that they will have to wait at least five or six years.
"But will Changshengtian give me another five years?" Shibi Khan asked himself sadly deep in his heart. His physical condition was not very good. Half of it was due to the hard work of government affairs, and half of it was due to the things before him.
As long as people like Melu, She, and Tutun are not careful, they will play all kinds of weird tricks to either attack each other or plunder other people's cattle and sheep, as if they can't survive without taking advantage of each other and staring at them all day long.
They are more tiring than dealing with government affairs
"We can't just leave like this, otherwise we will be looked down upon by those people in the west!" The loudest one in the crowd was Shibi Khan's eldest brother Zilifu. This young and energetic guy was just like him.
They look the same, rough and lacking in scheming
"Yes, we would rather die under this wall than look back!" The other person who shouted that he wanted to fight the Sui army to the death was his second brother Du Bisi. His words were very fierce, and he even did not hesitate to draw a knife and kill himself to show his determination.
But in Shibi's view, Duo Bisi's excitement was more like a disguise to win the loyalty of some young warriors from the tribe through such a tough stance.
Shibi Khan was very dissatisfied with Du Bi Si's clever behavior, but he did not feel it was dangerous. There is an old saying on the grassland that it is not wisdom that can make people see wisdom. The more Du Bi Si shows off, Shi Bi Khan
The more confident Khan was in controlling him, what he disliked the most was Gutuoru who was sitting in the corner of the tent and said nothing from the beginning to the end, even though he always behaved well.
To be precise, Gutuolu is Shibi's cousin. Judging from the history of the Ashina family in the past hundred years, this kind of relationship that is close in blood but not related by flesh and blood is extremely dangerous, such as a smart cousin taking away his nephew.
The situation, or the clever cousin accidentally annexing the cousin's tribe, happens almost every twenty years or so, and the cycle continues like a curse.
Gutuolu is obviously the one who has been cursed. This guy is famous for being weak and henpecked. He always takes three steps back when encountering problems. However, such a cowardly person rarely suffers a loss in a fight with others. In order to deal with it, he failed.
Yu, had to join forces with him. Who expected to break Queyu's teeth, but found that what he had gained was far worse than what he had lost. With his "loyalty" and decisiveness, Tuoru inherited all the power of Queyu in the east of the desert.
In addition, he also got the canonization of Shibi, and the favor of Xi, Ping, Khitan and Shiwei tribes that Queyu had never won.
Shibi Khan wanted to find an opportunity to kill Gutuoru, but the opponent was as slippery as a loach in the stream. This man almost never made any mistakes, and he never argued about the distribution of the spoils. He paid tribute to the tribal elders and shamans every year.
, he has always been the most powerful, and this person knows how to preserve his strength very well. Just like this southern expedition, he was initially placed on the outermost edge, in the direction most likely to be attacked by the Sui reinforcements. As a result, several fierce battles were fought in succession.
When they came down, other devices and Burkes suffered considerable losses, but Gutuoru was almost unscathed.
No one can accuse Gu Tuolu of not being active in fighting. His reputation for cowardice has already spread outside. His behavior of refusing to move forward is a shame if it happens to others, but it is just and justified if it happens to him. Moreover, in the battle with the Sui reinforcements, Gu Tuolu
Tolu has worked harder than usual. All the people who were defeated were saved by him, and more than a dozen Burkes all owed his life-saving grace.
No matter how much hatred he harbored in his heart, Shibi Khan could only treat this kind of naughty man with kindness. He could not make other Khans feel cold because of his temporary intolerance, so he tried his best to keep his face cold.
He smiled and said, "Gutuolu, what do you think? Should we withdraw our troops and return to the grassland, or should we continue to attack Yanmen?"
'If I say to withdraw to the grassland, you will definitely put all the responsibility for the withdrawal on me alone!' Gutuolu cursed in his heart, with the same smile on his face, "In the words of Hui Khan, I suggest to continue the attack.
Anyway, Yanmen still has enough dry food for a while, and after the outside news is verified, it will be too late for us to withdraw our troops!"
"What are you talking about? Do you think it is the enemy's plan to mislead the enemy when more than a dozen tribes were burned in a row? If we continue to waste time here, our house will be robbed. Then why bother to return to the division? Anyway,
You will starve to death if you go back!" Yudushe Ashinajiepo and Gutulu had always been at odds with each other. After hearing his suggestion, he immediately rushed forward to refute.
"The Great Khan asked me. It is my duty to make suggestions. If Brother Jiebo disagrees, just tell me your suggestions. I will listen attentively!" Gutulu bowed to Jiebo and humbly asked for advice.
"They are not burning your tribe!" Jiebo choked on the soft nails and rolled his eyes as he said that his territory is at the foot of Baishan Mountain, closest to Yanmen, so the news of Liu Jizhen's departure from the fortress first came from there.
It only took three days for Liu Jizhen to loot more than 20 winter camps, burnt all the hay that the herdsmen had worked hard to accumulate for a year, snatched away all the livestock, and displaced more than 10,000 old and weak people.
These more than ten thousand old and weak sons and fathers were all under the command of Ashina Jiebo. In the past few days, everyone had no intention of fighting the Sui army. They were clamoring every day to go back to Baishan Mountain and kill Liu Jizhen for revenge.
and regain the stolen rations.
"My subordinates suffered more severely from the disaster, but I have to take the overall situation into consideration!" Gutuolu smiled slightly and corrected the mistakes in the other party's accusation, "Luo Manzi took his tiger and horse cavalry out of the fortress, from the wet water to the
Poor Luoshui, his people are doing evil everywhere!"
This is also a well-known news, but every time it is repeated, everyone's heart tightens. The evil reputation of General Luo Yi is not for nothing. When he fought against the Western Turks, every time Luo Manzi won a battle, the people on the ground
His blood can cover people's ankles and even to this day, when some tribes mention this person, cold air comes out of their backs.
First he was possessed and took away the holy wolf, and then Luo Yi invaded the territory. Everyone here, no one suffered more losses than Ashina Gutuoru. Even so, he still forced a smile and thought wholeheartedly for the sake of the entire tribe.
What kind of broad mind is this? Thinking of this, the eyes of many Xiaohans turned to pity when they looked at Gutuoru. At the same time, the eyes they looked at Ashina Jiebo were full of disdain.
Shibi Khan knew that he had missed the point again, so he waved his hand and ordered Jiebo to stop arguing with Gutuolu, "Forget it, you two, stop arguing. Gutuolu is right, we should take the overall situation into consideration and Jiebo is worried."
You are right, if the news that Luo Yi and Liu Jizhen left the border is true, we should indeed save our own people first!"
"Each tribe left half of its troops to continue besieging Yanmen, while the other half returned to save themselves. Liu Jizhen didn't have many people under his command. Luo Yi's command was mainly armored cavalry. There couldn't be many people, and the marching speed couldn't be fast either!" Du Bisi stepped forward and suggested loudly
This suggestion was indeed feasible, so it aroused a burst of responses. However, everyone's enthusiasm dimmed a lot, because Gutuolu asked another question, "I also agree with Du Bi Si's idea. If someone is willing to lead the team to fight, Luo Yi, I can give him half of my troops!"
In an instant, the tent was so quiet that even the sound of breathing could be clearly heard. No one took the initiative to ask for help. Even the two brothers Ashina Lifu and Ashina Dubi, who were causing the most trouble, shut their mouths and walked away thousands of miles away. Returning to help other people's tribes, while the tigers and iron cavalry are waiting for work on the grassland, no one will get any advantage, and if they are not careful, they may even lose their reputation for a lifetime.
Shi Bi, who was sitting on the tiger-skin chair, couldn't help but sigh again when he saw this scene. This is the key to the difficulty for the Saishang people to take over the Central Plains. Each tribe has its own thoughts, and there are as many surnames as there are. I thought that when the Central Plains was in decline, everyone could still come together to take advantage. Once the Central Plains was reunited by a strong man, the entire nation would have to be defeated one by one.
"We'd better withdraw as soon as possible, at least we can retreat with the whole army!" Ashina Queyu saw Shibi's true thoughts, stood up, and whispered that he didn't have a single soldier in his hands now, and he could no longer threaten anyone. So no matter what you say, it won't cause unpleasant associations
Without waiting for others to speak, Shibi Khan nodded, "Que Yu is absolutely right. Since we have lost our spirit, we might as well withdraw our troops as soon as possible. We just need to think of a safe withdrawal plan. We can't be too hasty." An opportunity to take advantage of!”
This is another gain from this southern expedition! All the tribal leaders knew that the general named Li was the man who snatched Gutuolu's silver wolf and injured his wife. He also communicated with Qu Tutu A nail was stuck behind everyone. It was like an awl for more than ten days. Anyone who touched it was pricked with blood.
"I suggest that everyone evacuate one by one and act in a unified manner. After coming to Sanggan River, they can disperse and go home." Queyu thought for a while and offered advice again, "Master Yu Dushe's tribe suffered the greatest losses, so he was the first to withdraw from the fire." The territory of He and Ashubi was also attacked, with the second wave of Du Xi Ke, and Zhan Chu and Jie Tuili Shi with the third wave..."
"I am willing to marry everyone!" Ashina Gutuoru finally became brave for once, stood up and said loudly
Everyone's eyes were attracted to him again. No one expected that at the critical moment, the most cowardly person would actually behave so bravely. Worthy of the bloodline of the Ashina family, more worthy of everyone's trust
"I, the Bone Tolu of the Ashina family, as long as I am still breathing, the Sui army will not be able to catch up!" Ashina Bone Tolu pulled out a knife and pricked his finger, "As witnessed by the Immortal Heaven, if you violate this oath, you will Humans and gods have been abandoned!"
Note 1: In the Turkic pedigree, the son of Qimin Khan is Ashina Duji, that is, Shibi Khan. Shibi Khan has two younger brothers, Ashina Qilifu and Ashina Dubi, who are the heirs of Chuluo Ke. The son of Shibi Khan and Jieli Khan Tuli Khan was named Ashina Shibobi.
Note 2: On the real map, Yanmen City and Yanmen Pass are not the same place. The author of the novel is lazy and merged them into one. Please don’t go into details.
