Looking at Ye Li Jirong's scarlet eyes, Tuoba Jiqian was silent for a moment and then said: "As for who the murderer is, please give me a certain amount of time, brother. After this battle, who is the murderer?" I will definitely get to the bottom of what I did. Brother, the army and the army are here at a moment's notice. This battle is related to the fate of the entire party. Please let me finish this battle before talking about it."
Regarding Tuoba Jiqian's answer, Ye Lijirong didn't believe it at all. He grabbed Tuoba Jiqian's lapel and said angrily: "In this Lingzhou City, who else but you can do this? When my father was alive, you sent people to win over the Yeli tribe more than once. , do you really think we don’t know anything? Just for the sake of my father, you just kept silent."
"A few days ago, your Pingxia tribe suffered a huge defeat and lost 70% of its troops and horses. They are eager to replenish their strength. Even the remaining thousand defeated soldiers of the Zheluo tribe have become meat and potatoes in your eyes. More What's more, the 7,000 people my father brought to Lingzhou must have become fat in your eyes. In the past few days, you have always asked my sister to persuade your father to hand over these 7,000 people to you. .”
"My father never agreed, so you took the murderous step. Because you know that as long as your father is here, your desire to annex Yelibe can only be a fantasy. That's why you killed him in order to annex Yelibe for you. Be prepared. Tuoba Jiqian, you are really vicious. Without your father's full support, how could you have gotten to where you are today? Now you are repaying your favor and sending someone to kill him."
Seeing Ye Lijirong's Buyi Buluo and the Yeli soldiers around him, he was at war with his own guards. Tuoba's move was really a headache. To be honest, for Tuoba Jiqian, it is not just as simple as his father-in-law. The Yeli tribe is the largest and richest tribe among the Dangxiang tribes in Ningxia, and even among the entire Longyou Dangxiang tribes.
Although after his own uprising, Yeli only rallied hastily. But sending 7,000 elite cavalry at once was already the largest force that the various parties could muster. As long as his father-in-law is alive, these seven thousand fine cavalry are equal to his own soldiers. This is very important to me right now. And as the largest tribe among the Dangxiang tribes, the Yeli tribe has become a bellwether.
As long as Noribu firmly supports him, other tribes will not be easily shaken. What's more, my father-in-law is scheming and has an extremely accurate vision of things. He often gives himself some long-term strategic suggestions, which is almost like his most beneficial counselor. For me, my father-in-law is more useful alive than dead. A living father-in-law is far more valuable than Noribe's seven thousand cavalry.
As long as my father-in-law lives, these seven thousand spirits will be as ready as him. Can I risk assassinating Yeli Qiji at this time when the war is imminent but there is internal division? But even if he knew that there was something fishy about this matter, Tuoba Jiqian also knew now that even if he was covered in words, He couldn't explain that he was really not a murderer, and he never thought about annexing Noribe.
There is no other reason, because right now in Lingzhou City, everyone from the garrison to the people are members of his Pingxia tribe. Although other tribes came to rely on and submit, the tribal troops they brought could only be stationed outside the city. As for the Han people in the city, they had either been killed or driven out of Lingzhou City. In other words, Tuoba Jiqian couldn't find anyone to take the blame now.
And the most important thing is that he can't fall out with Ye Li Jirong yet. It's easy to kill a wild person, but the consequences are not something you can bear. If he kills Yeli Jirong, the most valued son of his father-in-law, not only will he feel sorry for his father-in-law who has always supported him, but his wife will not agree, and it will also cause a complete falling out between himself and Yelibe.
Since the founding of the Qi Dynasty, although the Dangxiang people have been divided repeatedly, various policies have been adopted to force the Dangxiang people to sinicize. In the nomadic areas where Dangxiang people lived, prefectures and counties were set up to govern by floating officials. The Ming Dynasty repeatedly stipulated that the Tibetan officials of various ministries and their own local officials should not break the soil or govern the people. Even civil disputes within one's own tribe are not allowed to intervene. All litigation must be based on the decision of local officials.
In other words, the original clan leader and leader were given a hereditary official position to support them. The rights that could determine the life and death of all clan members within the clan were completely deprived. But the question is, how can the patriarchal system that has been passed down for thousands of years be so easily and completely erased? Although the clan leaders and chiefs have been deprived of the right to openly handle various matters of the clan, big and small.
But privately, when disputes arise among the clan members, they prefer to go to the clan leader for judgment in private. In addition, some officials acted unreasonably and unreasonably, and the plaintiff and the defendant were usually divided into 50 and 50. Those tribesmen are even less willing to complain to officials if they have litigation or other matters. Within their respective tribes, it is actually these clan leaders who have the final say privately. It's just that lynching cannot be used publicly.
The rights deprived of these clan leaders and leaders are only public. In fact, they still control the rights within their own clan. If he did anything to Ye Li Qi Rong, and if Ye Li Qi Ji died without any explanation in Lingzhou City, Ye Li Bu would openly break with him. You know, Yelibu's seven thousand fine cavalry, now led by his father-in-law's second son, are stationed outside Lingzhou City.
Now that the war is imminent, he cannot afford it, nor can he bear the consequences of breaking with Yeli. It's not just about the seven thousand fine knights. If he breaks with the Noribe now, the final result can only be that the various tribes that rely on him will completely fall apart.
Just facing his uncle's distrust and reluctance, Tuoba Jiqian also had a headache. However, he could not speak openly in front of these clan leaders and leaders about his conversation with Yeli Qiji last night, and the matter that he entrusted to his old father-in-law to lead the two thousand cavalry to cover the Pingxia tribe's withdrawal first. He didn't even start this battle, so the morale of the army had to be completely dissipated.
Just when Tuoba Jiqian was in a dilemma, his wife, Yeli Qiji's daughter, got up from the hospital bed and rushed over after receiving the news. Seeing the tense situation between her husband and brother, she said directly: "Brother, I believe that my father's death was caused by someone with ulterior motives. The reason why he assassinated my father at this time was to sow discord between Taira and Noribe."
"Right now, it's time to decide the life-and-death battle for the party. I hope that my brother will not fall into other people's conspiracy and start a feud between brothers at this time. Brother, since he said that he will give Ye Li a fortune after the war. I hope that the eldest brother can believe him. I hope that as the leader of the Yeli tribe, the eldest brother will not fall into other people’s tricks."
"Brother, I am as painful as you are about my father's death. Because although I am the wife of Tairabe now, I am still the daughter of Noribe. If you believe my little sister, put down the knife in your hand and wait until this fight is over. Let’s talk about the battle later. What’s more important now is the survival of our Ningxia Dangxiang tribes. As for the death of my father, I will guarantee with my life that he will give an explanation to my elder brother.”
My sister's persuasion made Ye Li Jirong put down the knife in his hand involuntarily. He looked at the girl who was so haggard because she had just experienced the pain of losing her son. Ye Lijirong sighed, raised his head and said to Tuoba Jiqian: "Well, I will trust my sister this time. Let's finish the current battle first. However, in this battle, your Chinese army will have to fight with Ye Lijiqian. Let’s go with the tribe’s army.”
Ye Li Jirong finally relented, and after Tuoba Jiqian breathed a sigh of relief, he naturally agreed to this request. As for the family members who were supposed to be evacuated by his father-in-law, it gave Tuoba Jiqian another headache. Now, he can only take one step at a time. Originally, he was thinking of finding a chance to talk to Ye Li Jirong alone after avoiding other tribal leaders.
But during the march after leaving Lingzhou, Ye Lijirong's cold attitude and surveillance eyes made Tuoba Jiqian have no choice but to give up this idea. Until they joined other tribes in Shigou City, they were still a little unwilling to give up. Tuoba Jiqian didn't even get a chance to talk to Ye Lijirong. Because along the way, the Yeli brothers didn't even say a word to him except to monitor him.
Tuoba Jiqian abandoned the left and right armies, especially the left army, which was the weakest among the three official armies. Neither He Yuanfeng in the center nor Huang Qiong who followed the left army knew anything about the decision to concentrate the 80,000 troops to attack the center army. Although the Third Route Army was on the move, the reconnaissance cavalry still found nothing along the way, and they did not find the hiding place of Tuoba Jiqian.
After setting off from Huanzhou, Huang Qiong's tightly furrowed brows never relaxed as he looked at the rolling mountains on both sides that were completely different from what he remembered in his previous life. Tuoba Jiqian disappeared quietly, leaving him in the most nervous and worried time since arriving in Longyou. He is not afraid of meeting an obvious enemy, but this feeling of not being able to find an opponent is really bad.
On the third day after entering Ningxia Prefecture, the Left Route Army arrived at Tongxin County, where the Ningxia Prefecture is located. Seeing that Tongxin County was in ruins, not to mention that there were no people, even chickens and dogs, Huang Qiong sighed slightly. Nothing was said. War disasters are more fierce than tigers, and the ancients really did not deceive me. Tongxin County, which was once the seat of Ningxia Prefecture and should have been bustling with activity, is now in ruins.
Du She, who was beside him, also looked at the Tongxin County in front of him. After hesitating for a moment, he said: "Your Majesty, after passing Tongxin County, there is no county seat. If you walk another two hundred miles, you will reach the Yellow River. I guess it may not be possible." If you go too far, you will encounter the rebels. Do you think we should rest here overnight so that the brothers can recharge their batteries? The brothers have been marching for days and are now a little tired."
"Although the party members destroyed Tongxin County, they did not destroy the city wall here. The entire Tongxin County is still on guard. It is going to be dark now. Instead of sleeping outside, it is better for us to rely on the city wall to protect us and rest for the night. It’s safer than sleeping in the mountains. If you have a good night’s rest today, you will be more energetic to fight the enemy tomorrow.”
In response to Du She's request for instructions, Huang Qiong did not answer him, but remained silent for a long time before speaking: "General Du, you are the commander-in-chief of the Left Route Army, not my king's herald. What should the Zuo Route Army do? , that is your right as the commander-in-chief. You don’t need to report everything to the king during this march. If you think it is correct, just implement it directly."
Speaking of this, Huang Qiong suddenly remembered something: "The only thing I want to remind you is to be more cautious. If you decide to camp in Tongxin County today, then send people to search carefully. The closer you are to the enemy, The closer we get, the more cautious we must be. There is no harm in us doing more searches. Especially water wells, we must check carefully to see if they are drinkable."
