It wasn't until he set up camp to rest in the evening that Tuoba Luguan, who had been in a state of excitement, realized that something was not right.
Because he found that his grandfather brought too many people this time.
Looking far into the distance, one cannot see the end of the camp.
Just from what I can see, I'm afraid there are not 30,000 or 40,000 people there.
The strange thing is that he didn't see a single woman or child, not even the old or the weak.
The strangest thing is that supposedly my grandfather's tent was not only the tallest, but also should have been erected in the center of all the tents.
But the fact is that my grandfather's camp was only slightly larger than the surrounding ones.
Separated by a camp ditch, on the territory that clearly belonged to another camp, there was a camp the same size as my grandfather's.
This is not the most important thing.
The most important thing is my grandfather's camp, which is located on the periphery of the entire camp.
Like other camps, the central tent with the big flag was guarded layer by layer.
There seems to be Chinese characters written on that big flag.
Tuoba Luguan didn't understand what a camp was.
But he knew that this kind of unclear and powerful method of setting up camps was simply not something that the Luhui tribe could do.
Because even the head of the rope is not capable of doing this.
Tuoba Luguan wanted to cross the camp ditch to find out what was going on, but the guards in the camp next door did not give him any face because of his identity. Instead, they shouted at him:
"You are not allowed to cross the border without military orders, otherwise you will be shot without mercy!"
At the same time, he also raised his crossbow.
Facing the gleaming clusters of arrows, Tuoba Luguan had to retreat to his base camp.
All these things made Tuoba Luguan, who was originally extremely happy, suddenly feel a bad feeling in his heart.
He didn't bother to observe the camp anymore, turned around and ran towards Dou Bin's tent.
"Third Young Patriarch?"
"I want to see my grandfather!"
"Your Excellency has just returned to his account and is discussing something..."
Dou Bin's voice came from inside: "Is there a senior official outside? Let my grandson come in."
The guard then stepped aside and allowed Officer Tuoba Lu to enter the tent.
"Grandpa..."
As soon as Tuoba Luguan entered the tent, he called out his grandfather, but as his eyes fell on a familiar figure, he immediately forgot all the words he had yet to say.
His eyes were about to pop out, and his face was full of disbelief:
"Brother?! You, why are you here?"
Tuoba Desert Khan, who was standing next to Dou Bin, was much more calm. He smiled at Tuoba Luguan and nodded:
"Fourth brother, long time no see."
"Meng Fu, is this your fourth brother?"
Standing next to Tuoba Desert Khan, the bald Tianli asked Tuoba Desert Khan with a playful smile on his face.
Tuoba Desert Khan nodded: "Exactly."
The bald man stood up and said to Tuoba Luguan:
"Tuoba Luguan, right? I am Tufa Kheli, your clan brother."
Bald?
When Tuoba Luguan heard this name, his pupils suddenly shrank.
Tuoba Luguan naturally knows the relationship between the bald part and the head.
Because according to common sense, the position of leader of Suotou does not belong to you, but to your elder brother Tuoba Pigu.
But because you are the son of a goddess, my grandfather decided to pass on the position of leader to you.
Tuoba Pigu was displeased, so he changed his name to Tuoba Bald and led the tribesmen who supported him to leave.
A few years ago, news came that the Bald-headed tribe had defected to the Han people and planned to use the power of the Han people to come back for revenge.
One of Tuoba Luguan's legs instinctively turned outward, but his body stopped abruptly.
His eyes fell on Dou Bin and hissed:
"Grandpa, what do you mean?"
"My fourth grandson, I heard that you are the smartest among all my grandsons. Can't you still see it now?"
Dou Bin's expression and tone were as amiable as ever, but in Tuoba Luguan's eyes, he had become ferocious and terrifying.
At this moment, Tuoba Luguan finally understood it completely, but he still asked with the last trace of luck:
"Could it be possible? Could it be that you all defected to the Han Kingdom?"
Apart from the Han Kingdom, he really couldn't think of any other force that could make a tribe as big as the Luhui tribe surrender.
Dou Bin praised:
"Let me tell you, the fourth grandson is indeed the most alert in mind."
Tuoba Luguan did not want this praise at all.
His eyes fell on Tuoba Desert Khan again, with fear and anger:
"Brother, do you really want us to exterminate our clan?"
He could understand why the Bald Ministry took refuge with the Han people.
After all, they were expelled from the clan at worst.
Even if Lu Hui did not join the Han people, he could still understand it.
After all, it is not as big a tribe as the Luhui tribe, and it is still the former suzerain tribe of Suotou.
In addition, my two uncles have always been prejudiced against Suo Tou.
Now that Suotou wants to make Wuluhui tribe surrender, it is not impossible for them to take refuge with the Han people out of resentment.
But what Tuoba Luguan didn't expect was that the eldest brother not only got involved with the Tufa and Wuluhui tribes, but even defected to the Han people.
Now Tuoba Xianbei and Hebei Sima Yi are allies, but they are enemies of Han. Don't you know this?
I remembered that this was the time when the clan was at its weakest, and most of the warriors in the clan were gone. If the enemy attacked at this time, the consequences would be...
Tuoba Desert Khan just sighed when he heard this.
It’s just because I don’t want our Tuoba Xianbei to be exterminated, so I do this!
Fourth brother, haven’t you heard of the name Feng Wenshen?
If I don't do this, do you think our Tuoba clan can escape this difficulty?
Our whole family will eventually become slaves of the Han people, and there will be no Tuoba clan in the world from now on.
On the contrary, if I betray my tribe and join the Han people, I will be able to save as many tribesmen as possible in the coming disaster.
Naturally, Tuoba Desert Khan would not explain such embarrassing matters to Tuoba Luguan.
And he doesn't need to explain.
Facing Tuoba Luguan's questioning, Tuoba Desert Khan's expression remained unchanged and his tone was calm:
"Fourth brother, when my lord allowed my second brother to hunt me down, did you ever persuade my lord and my second brother that this was fratricide and the way to create chaos?"
Tuoba Luguan was speechless for a moment.
On the other hand, the bald man standing beside him suddenly said with a smile:
"Tuoba Liwei claims that his destiny is his own. He has always liked to kill each other. I'm afraid he doesn't know what the way to create chaos is."
When Tuoba Luguan heard this, he immediately glared at Bald Khotan: "You..."
The bald Khotan looked at Tuoba Luguan sarcastically: "Did I say something wrong?"
Seeing the bald man standing, Tuoba Luguan thought about the bald man again, and he couldn't help but be speechless again.
"Okay," Dou Bin raised a hand, interrupting the quarrel among several people. He looked at Tuoba Luguan, "Luguan, you have always been smart and know that talking about this matter is useless."
"Because you are my grandson, I gave you the opportunity to stand here. Otherwise, all of you, a hundred people, would have been dead from the beginning."
Hearing Dou Bin's words, Tuoba Luguan wanted to show his integrity.
But when he saw his uncle Dou Suhou's eagerness to try, and his cousin Bald-haired Khotan's hand already pressed on the handle of the knife, he finally complied.
Because he knew that his grandfather might let him go for the sake of his mother.
But my uncle doesn't do that.
Not to mention my cousin.
"Grandpa, please don't forget that my mother is still looking for her head. Could it be that grandpa turns a blind eye to the safety of his daughter?"
Tuoba Luguan could only remind him with an implicit threat, and at the same time he looked at Tuoba Desert Khan:
"Brother, I and my second brother are sorry for you, but my mother is not sorry for you."
"Besides, although eldest brother was abandoned by your lord, your three nephews are safe and sound. You even let my eldest nephew lead your eldest brother's original tribe."
Tuoba Desert Khan was abandoned by Tuoba Liwei and defaulted to Tuoba Xilu to pursue his brother.
Although Tuoba Desert Khan had a chance to escape, he never dared to have high hopes for the three sons he left behind in the clan.
Now that he heard that his sons were still alive, Tuoba Desert Khan immediately showed an excited look on his face.
He subconsciously blurted out:
"Is this true?"
"How dare I lie to brother? The hundreds of followers I brought with me on this trip must have been controlled. Brother, just ask and you will be able to tell the truth."
As the saying goes, a son is better known than his father, and vice versa.
From what Tuoba Luguan knows, if you know about the incident of Wu Lu returning to the tribe, you will most likely be angry with my mother.
By then, I'm afraid my mother will be in trouble.
After all, my lord can even kill my eldest brother. If my mother is involved in the genocide, my lord may not let my mother go so easily.
Therefore, although what Tuoba Luguan said may not be well-intentioned, it is fact.
He had been paying close attention to the bald hair of everyone in the tent, and realized that Tuoba Desert Khan's mood was not right.
He looked sideways at the other person, his eyes quite meaningful.
It seemed that he immediately noticed the subtle changes in the atmosphere in the tent. Dou Bin coughed slightly and interrupted the conversation between the two:
"Lu Guan, it's precisely because your mother and your nephew are still asking for your head, that's why I want to see you."
When Tuoba Luguan heard this, his expression changed:
"Grandpa, what does this mean?"
Dou Bin said matter-of-factly: "Of course we ask you to help us, probably to help your mother and your nephews."
Tuoba Luguan almost wondered whether his ears had heard wrongly, or whether the grandfather in front of him was crazy and didn't understand what he was talking about.
I saw him laughing angrily:
"Grandfather, although I am afraid of death, I also know that death is more serious than death of the family!"
Dou Bin seemed to have expected Tuoba Luguan's reaction. He lowered his eyes and spoke calmly:
"Lu Guan, I told you that you are a smart man. Smart people should know what it means to know the current affairs."
"Whether you are willing to help or not, Suo Tou is dead."
"From the moment the Han Dynasty sent out troops, it was doomed. Even if the gods came, they would not be able to keep it. This is what the Han general said."
"Not to mention that at this time, most of the warriors you are asking for are not here. This is probably the will of the gods."
Tuoba Luguan suddenly felt as cold as if he had fallen into an ice cave.
"The difference is that if you are willing to help, your mother may be able to escape from the rebels. If you are not willing..."
Dou Bin paused for a while before continuing:
"Then we can only leave it to fate."
After saying that, he raised his head and looked at Tuoba Luguan, his eyes becoming cold:
"But afterwards, I will definitely let you go down and explain to your mother and nephews in person that the reason why they died was because you were unwilling to help."
At this moment, Dou Bin was no longer an old man, but the leader of the Wuluhui tribe.
He showed Tuoba Luguan what a leader of a large tribe should look like.
After leading the Luhui tribe for decades, Dou Bin is just getting old. He may not have the ambition, but he still does not lack the cruelty and gaze that he should have.
Suo Tou would be exterminated. If he and others harbored disloyal intentions, wouldn't it be possible that the Lu Hui tribe would not have been exterminated?
Whether to let others exterminate the clan or to allow oneself to exterminate the clan, whether a tribe is more important or a daughter is more important, no matter how confused Dou Bin is, he can still tell the difference.
Tuoba Luguan swallowed hard.
——
Once spring appears on the grassland, it will speed up and will soon come to the world.
It's just that Tuoba Liwei has never been like this today, hoping that the weather will get warmer later.
As more and more ice cubes were exposed, and even dark gray soil could be seen faintly in some places, Tuoba Li couldn't help but feel a little worried.
"A Chuo should be arriving at the Nanxia frontier soon, right?"
Only when they reach the territory of Nanxia can the warriors and war horses heading south receive supplies.
In fact, sending troops this time is actually taking a risk, and the risk is not small.
It can even be said to have an element of gambling.
If Sima Yi did not provide food and grass as agreed, then even if the warriors going south did not starve to death, their horses would die from exhaustion.
As a result, Tuoba Xianbei is afraid that his vitality will be seriously damaged and he will not be able to recover for three to five years.
Tuoba Li looked towards the south, with a lingering sadness between his brows. He sighed:
"The Han Dynasty is so powerful that I really don't want to be an enemy of it unless I have to!"
Tuoba Xianbei was originally a small species. He snatched the position of leader from his eldest brother, and the race experienced another split. He had no choice but to rely on the Wuluhui tribe to survive.
After working hard and using all means, he found a place for his people to rest.
After so many years of careful management, I finally have such a family business.
If his vitality was seriously damaged due to this adventure, Tuoba Liwei would definitely feel heartbroken.
The deacon in black, who followed him like a shadow, heard this and said:
"What Ke Han said clearly shows his compassion for his people. However, Ji Han was determined to regain the power of the two Han Dynasties. Judging from his past actions, no one, no matter the barbarians, could escape his hands."
"Moreover, there is the god Feng Wen. He is the reincarnation of a fierce ghost. He feeds on flesh and blood and likes to kill. No one from the barbarians in the south or the Qiang Hu in the west is spared."
"Not to mention that on the grassland, from the Xianbei tribesmen in the west to Kebineng in the central region, all were poisoned. But Han was not trying to be his enemy, but to protect himself."
Tuoba Li nodded slightly:
"What the deacon said is true!"
His eyes turned to the west again:
"Now there is no one I can rely on on the grassland except the Luhui tribe. I just hope that my uncle can see the situation clearly and agree to merge the clans as soon as possible without any further delay."
Grassland Dixie, just when he mentioned the Deer Huibu, he suddenly saw a horse running towards this side:
"Kehan, Kehan, the Fourth Young Master is back with his people!"
When Tuoba Liwei heard the words, he was happy at first and then shocked:
"I estimate that no matter how fast he is, he has just arrived at the Noluhui Department. How could he come back at this time? Could it be that something happened on the road and he only returned halfway?"
The black-clothed deacon also frowned and asked:
"Where is the young clan leader?"
"Still twenty miles away, the fourth young clan leader met people from the clan when he came back, and asked someone to come back first to report the news."
Tuoba Liwei quickly asked: "Then does he have anything else to say?"
"The leader of the Fourth Young Master said it is a happy event and a big surprise!"