"Report~!"
"Qi Khan, Sheer Teqin and the Imperial Master have returned to the grassland! Now we have arrived at the Chita tribe, and we will reach the royal court in half an hour!"
Deep in the grassland, at Yudujin Mountain in the north of Qihai, this is where the East Turks’ royal tent is located. In one of the most majestic tents, a Turkic soldier said respectfully to the middle-aged man sitting at the top.
The so-called special Qin is an official title in the Turks. "Book of Zhou·Biography of the Turks" states: "High officials have Yehu, the second is set, the second is special Qin,... all twenty-eight grades are all in this world." However, "New Book of Tang" says that "Teqin" is a name for the Khan's children, not a title, and is not within the twenty-eighth rank (this is because the Khan's children have a monopoly on this official title). He is responsible for handling diplomatic relations and often serving as envoys to negotiate military and state affairs.
The position of special service was initially filled by members of the Turkic Khan family (Ashina family). Because holding this position requires rich political experience, profound knowledge and agile adaptability, which are not the strengths of Turkic people, later generations gradually The Sogdians took charge. "Tele" in historical records is a misprint. In the future, various ethnic groups in the north will continue to use this name, such as "Di Yin" in the Uighurs and "Ti Wen" in the Khitan, which are its variant translations.
In the Turks, there is Ye Hu under the Khan. Ye Hu is equivalent to the King of Qin and the Duke in the Central Plains. He has considerable power, and under Ye Hu is the special service!
The middle-aged man had a sturdy back and was wearing a brocade robe. His hair was combed into braids, and he had a thick beard on his chin. His eyes were as fierce and sharp as a wolf king. He was full of power!
This man is the current leader of the Eastern Turks - Jieli Khan!
"Huh? The Imperial Master is back? Do you know if they brought back any confidential files from Yanhuang Academy during this trip?"
When Jieli heard this, a light flashed in his eyes. He leaned forward slightly, looked at the soldiers below and asked in a deep voice.
"Back...back to Khan, this little Ignorance! It's just that there are only more than a thousand people who came back with the national master!"
The soldier carefully looked at Jie Li's face, then he said with trembling hands.
"What? Only a thousand or so people out of an army of 50,000 have returned?"
Hearing this, Jieli stood up suddenly and raised his voice an octave. He walked down from his upper position and walked a few feet in front of the sergeant. He continued: "This Khan also received news last night. It is said that the Imperial Preceptor has obtained the secret dossier from Yanhuang Academy, and Sheer Teqin led 50,000 elite wolf riders to rescue the Imperial Preceptor. Why, in just one night, only a thousand or so of the 50,000 elites were left?"
"It is said...it is said that the Imperial Preceptor and She'er Teqin encountered an ambush by Li Zexuan at Longmen Pass in the Tang Dynasty. Later, they were surrounded by armies from the northern states of the Tang Dynasty and were almost annihilated!"
The messenger soldier carefully reported to Jie Lihui.
It is said that this kind of messenger soldier is a high-risk profession. When delivering bad news, you must always be prepared to be killed by the superior to vent your anger!
"Li Zexuan! It's Li Zexuan again!"
A trace of surprise flashed in Jie Li's eyes, but then he felt that this result was a bit unreasonable. He said with disbelief: "No! Didn't it mean that Li Zexuan was fighting the locust plague in the Guanzhong prefectures and counties of the Tang Dynasty? Then why could he be there? Did the imperial master set an ambush in advance on his way back to the grassland?"
The soldier who ordered the order suddenly looked confused: "This... little kid doesn't know!"
How did he know why Li Zexuan could set up an ambush in advance, so he could only answer truthfully.
Jieli's eyes were filled with anger. After a moment of pause, he said in a deep voice: "Go down! When the Imperial Preceptor and Sheer Teqin come back, ask them to come see this Khan as soon as possible!"
Previously, Jieli had originally thought of personally welcoming Wu Jie and Ashina Sher's army in triumph, but now that he knew that Wu Jie and the others were not returning in triumph, but were defeated and fled, how could Jieli still go to welcome them? He now has the desire to kill! Those were more than 40,000 elite wolf riders, and Jieli's heart was bleeding!
"Yes! Khan!"
The soldier clasped his fists and followed the order.
After the soldier left, Jieli snorted heavily and cursed angrily: "Trash! They are all trash! A great master, plus 50,000 elite troops, actually fell into the hands of a little Li Zexuan. Is it possible that Is this guy really my Turkic nemesis?”
"Khan calm down!"
Seeing that Jieli was furious, a middle-aged man in Chinese uniform standing next to him took a step forward, bowed to Jieli and said: "Both the national teacher and Sheerteqin are my good ministers and fierce generals of the Turks. In this battle, Although he is defeated, his muscles and bones will not be injured. After the Imperial Master and the others come back, the Great Khan will learn the details of this battle before making a decision! Don’t get into trouble with the Imperial Master and Sheer Teqin out of anger!"
This person was Ashina Simo, who went to Chang'an more than two months ago to ask Li Er to hand over the Khitan chieftain. He also served as the Khan of the East Turks back then, but later he voluntarily abdicated the throne in favor of someone more powerful. In terms of blood relationship, , Ashina Simo and Jie Li are considered uncle-nephew relationship!
Jie Li frowned for a long time after hearing this. He felt that what Ashina Simo said was very reasonable. He couldn't help but nodded and said, "Yes! What Simo said is reasonable. Let's see what they say later!"
Within the big tent, silence soon fell.
About half an hour later, there was a burst of chaotic footsteps outside the tent, and a sergeant walked in quickly, bowed and said: "Qi Khan, the national advisor and Sheer Teqin are outside the tent asking for an audience!"
"Let them in!"
Jie Li had already calmed down by now, and he nodded expressionlessly.
"yes!"
The soldier turned around and left the tent. After a while, Wu Jie, who was wearing a black robe, but the black robe was already encrusted, and Ashina Sher, who was wearing a blood-colored leather armor, walked into the tent and saluted Jie Li together. : "See Khan!"
"The National Preceptor and She'er are exempt from the gift!"
Seeing that both of them were covered in blood, Jieli's face moved slightly, and his tone became a little softer. After the two of them straightened up, Jieli asked in a deep voice: "She'er Teqin, Ben Khan heard that you and The Imperial Preceptor encountered an ambush by Li Zexuan in the Tang Dynasty and suffered heavy casualties. What happened? Tell me quickly!"
Hearing this, Ashina She'er quickly bowed and said: "Reporting to the Khan, this time I was ambushed in the Tang Dynasty, it was all because of She'er's greed for success. At that time, I had already met with the national teacher at Ma Douguan in the Datang Dynasty. However, I learned that the secret files that the Imperial Master had taken from Yanhuang Academy had been snatched away by Li Zexuan at Longmen Pass. At that time, Li Zexuan had been seriously injured by the Imperial Master. I was unwilling to take back those secret files and captured Li Zexuan alive, so I decided to Lead the army to fight back to Longmen Pass!
Our army could have quickly breached the Longmenguan city gate, but Master Lingxu's younger brother suddenly rushed to the battlefield, buying the Tang army some time to survive. Later, Qin Shubao, Cheng Yaojin and others from the Tang Dynasty arrived with their troops and gathered together. Together with several other reinforcements, pursue us! Later, outside the Yonghe Pass, our army fell into a tight siege by the Tang army. After nine deaths, the Imperial Guard and I escaped from the Tang Dynasty and returned to the grassland!
But this time when we entered the Tang Dynasty, our army suffered more than 48,000 casualties, and the Tang army suffered more than 60,000 casualties. I was greedy for credit and advanced rashly, causing the army to be surrounded by the Tang army and suffering heavy casualties. I am willing to receive all punishment! "
Ashina Sheer did not throw away the blame, but directly took all the blame. In fact, the fault of the failure of this war did lie with him, but if he had not been greedy for credit and led the army to fight back to Longmen Pass, At this time, Wu Jie should take the blame, because it was Wu Jie who lost the secret files of Yanhuang Academy. If he doesn't take the blame, who will?
It's a pity that there are no what-ifs in the world. It was his greed for success that led to heavy casualties in the army. Compared with the consequences he caused, Wu Jie's loss of the academy files seemed a bit insignificant!
Jie Li, who was sitting at the top, only then understood the general course of the battle. With a solemn face, he said in a cold voice: "So, not only did you not bring back the secrets of Yanhuang Academy when you sneaked into the Tang Dynasty, According to the dossier, more than 40,000 elite wolf riders were lost in the Tang Dynasty, and the entire army was almost wiped out, right?"
If he had obtained the academy files and lost more than 40,000 elites, Jieli would feel better. But now that he has not obtained the files and has lost so many troops in vain, isn't this just losing his wife and losing his troops?
It’s no wonder Xie Li isn’t angry in his heart!
"We are waiting for a bad start, please be punished by the Khan!"
Seeing Jie Li's anger, Ashinashe'er and Wu Jie all bowed down to plead guilty.
"Hmph! Okay! You deserve death for allowing the Turks to lose their troops and generals! Come on!"
Jie Li was so angry that he couldn't help but shouted and wanted to call someone.
"Khan calm down!"
Seeing that the situation was about to get out of control, Ashina Simo on the side quickly stood up and bowed and said: "Great Khan, please calm down! Although the national teacher and Sheer Teqin made mistakes, they are definitely not guilty of death. The casualties of the Tang army in this battle are Obviously there are more than us, the national teacher and Sherte Qin both contributed! The merits and demerits are balanced, so I hope the Great Khan can give me a lighter punishment!"
When Jieli heard this, he subconsciously wanted to get angry on the spot, but when he saw Ashina Simo looking at him eagerly, his eyes seemed to be able to speak, constantly hinting him not to be impulsive and take a deep breath. Li said in a deep voice: "What Simo said is reasonable, but you two are exempted from death, but more than 40,000 Turkic warriors were buried in the Tang Dynasty. This matter cannot be left without an explanation! Someone, drag Sheer Teqin out and whip him five times." 10. As for the Imperial Preceptor... Although the Imperial Preceptor has no merit, he still has hard work, so the Imperial Preceptor should go back and have a good rest!"
Although Jieli was a little dissatisfied with the result of Wu Jie's infiltration into the Tang Dynasty, he could only suppress these dissatisfaction in his heart in order to save some face for Wu Jie. This persimmon is softer!
"Thank you Khan for your mercy!"
Ashina Sheerjiu was not dissatisfied with Jieli's decision on punishment. In fact, at the moment he was defeated at Yonghe Pass, he had already thought about the possible punishment he would receive after returning. In comparison, the current one The results are already good!
He would not feel unbalanced because Wu Jie was not punished. On the one hand, the main reason why the Turkic army suffered heavy losses this time was because he made a wrong strategic decision; on the other hand, if Wu Jie had not been super powerful, With his personal force, he may not be able to break out of the siege with more than a thousand people, and it is very likely that the entire army will be annihilated!
Wu Jie's face was expressionless. He did not show the joy of surviving the disaster and escaping punishment, nor the depression that he should have after a defeat. After Jie Li finished speaking, he was silent for a moment, then he hugged his fists towards Jie Li, turned around and left. go.
He walked very gracefully and walked very domineeringly!
He is worthy of being the national teacher of the Turks who is inferior to one person and is superior to ten thousand people!
But even so, Jieli didn't say anything, and Ashina Simo and Ashina Sheer didn't show a trace of surprise on their faces. Obviously, they had seen this kind of situation often before.
……………………
"Wu Jie, are you finally back? I heard that the army had a bad start. Did Father Khan blame you?"
After leaving Jieli's tent, Wu Jie went directly to the west. When he came to a larger tent, he opened the tent curtain and walked in. A beautiful Turkic woman inside quickly came to greet him. , asked with a concerned look on his face.
"No!"
Wu Jie replied lightly, then he stepped forward and hugged the woman's body, saying, "Yan'er, has your illness recurred in the past few days when I have been away?"
The tone was full of tenderness. Wu Jie, a murderous demon in the eyes of outsiders, actually transformed into an infatuated person in front of a woman. If anyone saw this scene, their jaws would definitely drop!
The woman smiled softly and said: "Don't worry, I'm fine! In the past few days since you were gone, I haven't had any pain for the first time. It's just that I often miss you very much and worry about you. I'm afraid that you might encounter someone in the Tang Dynasty." It's dangerous! Oh, why is there so much blood on your body? Where are you injured? Does it hurt? I'll have someone call the Kashgar Shaman!"
The so-called shamanism is the original belief of the northern peoples. It originated very early and has become very developed and mature in the matrilineal society. Shamans are almost always clan leaders. The Queen Mother of the West, who was deified in the Central Plains, is both a shaman and a chief.
Historians do not use the term "shaman" and only call it "witch" in writing. In the Xiongnu era, shamans played a certain role in politics and military affairs. All wars or other hesitant events ultimately depended on shamans. The shamans of the northern peoples are very different from the shamans of the Central Plains. A shaman must have a lot of common sense or knowledge, be able to ward off illness, observe the development of things, predict the future, and predict good or bad luck.
"Don't worry Yan'er, this blood is not mine!"
Wu Jie looked at the thick layer of blood stains on his body and quickly comforted the woman.
The woman breathed a sigh of relief, but then she frowned again, and then said with a worried look: "With so much blood, are you in danger in Datang?"
"Ha! It's not dangerous! No one in the Tang Dynasty can hurt me!"
Wu Jie raised the corner of his mouth and smiled. Then he lifted the black hood on his head and planned to take off the bloody robe. However, as soon as he lifted the hood, his face hidden in the darkness suddenly disappeared. It was revealed, it was a resolute, thin face, not very handsome, but very attractive, but on the right side of his cheek, there was a very scary scar, as if it had been burned by fire!
shocking!
……………………
