He Lanxiong turned over and dismounted, stumbled, and almost fell to the ground, He Lanrui, who was guarding outside his tent, stepped forward with an arrow and supported him, "Patriarch, why did you drink so much wine?" He asked in a low voice.

"Go get me a basin of cold water." Helan Xiong said, "By the way, call me the swallow by the way." ”

"Yes, Patriarch!"

Returning to the big tent, he untied the scimitar and threw it in the corner of the tent, Helanxiong sat down cross-legged, but his mind was recalling the lofty proposal from earlier.

What to do? It's an opportunity to save the clansmen, but at the same time, it's also a shackle, a noose around the neck. Once he should come down, he will no longer have the opportunity to develop independently, and will forever be reduced to a lofty subordinate and a vassal of the Fufeng Army.

"Patriarch, the water is coming!" He Lanrui put a basin of cold water in front of He Lanxiong, He Lanxiong buried his head violently, and immersed his head in the basin of water, the cold water made him finally feel a little sober, raised his head, and looked at He Lanrui drippingly: "What about the swallows?" ”

"Brother, how late is this, you still haven't slept yet, what are you calling me to come over?" He Lanyan opened the curtain and entered, looked at He Lanxiong's appearance, and exclaimed, "What are you doing?" Make it like this? Grabbed a few steps, took a cloth towel from the side, wrapped He Lanxiong's head, and rubbed it a few times, a strong smell of wine made He Lanyan frown, "Why do you drink so much wine?" ”

"I'm with Gao Yuan at night!" He Lanxiong said in a low voice.

"What? Gao Yuan came to Curie to close? He Lanyan screamed in surprise, and jumped in front of He Lanxiong at once, almost knocking the basin to the ground. This guy is really annoying, he went to Curie Pass quietly, and he couldn't even look at me? ”

He Lanxiong raised his hand and waved, and He Lanrui stepped forward knowingly and picked up the basin. Walk outside.

"Rui, go and inform the elders and ask them all to come to me."

"Yes, Patriarch!"

The curtain was lowered, and He Lanxiong looked at He Lanyan, "He is getting married, and I heard that the wedding date is scheduled for the first day of the new year." In Fufeng, Ye's envoy had already discussed all the details with Cao Tiancheng. It won't be long before Takato will set off from Fufeng to meet his bride. ”

He Lanyan's head slowly lowered his head.

"Swallow!" He Lanxiong stretched out his hand with some concern. Gently stroked Helan Yan's long black and shiny hair. He Lanyan suddenly raised her head, with a smile on her face, "It's nothing, I already knew it, brother, why are you telling me this?" Is that why you called me here? ”

If He Lanyan was sad, weeping or even angry because of this, He Lanxiong would be more relieved. At this time, looking at He Lanyan's usual demeanor, he became even more uneasy.

"You're fine, are you?"

"What can I do!" He Lanyan's tone seemed very relaxed, "Brother, when he left Fufeng and went to Yuyang." He and I made it very clear that there was no possibility between us. ”

"I hope you're really going to let go!" He Lanxiong sighed. "You know. Did Gao Yuan talk to me about something today? ”

He Lanyan shook her head.

"He invited me to join the Fufeng Army!" Helan Xiong said, "It's to join, not the previous alliance." Swallow. What do you think about this? ”

He Lanyan was silent for a moment, "Brother, you must be sad!" ”

"yes, I'm sad." Helan Xiong said: "When we formed an alliance with Gao Yuan, the strength of the two sides was about the same, and we were even stronger than him, but now, you see, in just two years, Gao Yuan has been the general of Dayan's expedition to the east, with thousands of elite soldiers under his command, the territory of Fufeng and Chima counties, the base of Curie Pass to build weapons for him, and the trading company of Sihai Commerce and Trade that creates wealth for him, and what do we have now?" Now they have all become lost dogs! ”

There was pathos in He Lanxiong's voice.

"Brother!" He Lanyan moved to He Lanxiong's side and reached out to hug one of his arms, "Brother, you don't have to be presumptuous, you are also a hero, it's just that the times are not good, brother, now the grassland is on the verge of chaos and danger, but it is not without opportunities, maybe, we can use this opportunity to increase our strength, brother, don't you want to be a big hero who dominates the grassland, maybe, now is the opportunity." The big tribes that we couldn't afford to mess with in the past can go away, and the decline of decline is no longer the behemoth of the past. ”

He Lanxiong laughed miserably, "I used to think so, but today's words with Gao Yuan made my heart completely cold, sister, I will never succeed, the Central Plains country, will not tolerate the emergence of another powerful Xiongnu tribe, which one stands out, which one is the target of their attack, Gao Yuan said, even if it is him, he will make a move." ”

Helan Yan was stunned for a moment, "Gao Yuan said, he will also make a move?" If this person were you, would he have done it too? ”

Helan Xiong was silent, and only said after a while, "The Wu clan just saw this clearly, so they ran away, Yanzi, in the next time, which tribe has the will to replace the royal court and gather the Xiongnu tribe again, it will usher in their fierce blow, no matter who it is!" ”

"They all want the Huns to keep messing around like this?" Helan Yan said in a trembling voice.

"Yes, only if the Huns continue to mess up like this, will they not pose a threat to them." He Lanxiong closed his eyes and said.

"Patriarch, the elders are here!" Outside the tent, He Lanrui's voice came.

He Lanxiong sat up straight and rubbed his face, "Please come in, all the elders." ”

In the past two years, as the Helan Department got rid of the fate of dying at any time, and turned to thrive, their power was deprived of by Helan Xiong little by little, and now, it is purely an honorary title.

The lifeblood of Helan Ministry, the army, was firmly controlled by Helan Xiong.

"Patriarch!" Several people sat cross-legged under He Lanxiong, and in the past two years, they have been tempered by Helan Xiong to the point that they have lost their temper.

"Now that we are in a situation, I believe everyone is clear, what will happen to the Helan Ministry in the future, I don't know what the elders think?" He Lanxiong asked straight to the point.

Several people glanced at each other, all of them were a little surprised, Helan Kang coughed, "Didn't the patriarch be the master in the past, but now, we naturally obey the patriarch's orders." ”

Several other people nodded yes, "What the patriarch says, we will do." ”

"As long as you have a stutter and can herd sheep and cattle safely, we have no opinion!"

He Lanxiong heard the sourness in his words, and he couldn't help but feel irritated in his heart. "Everyone, to tell you the truth, our Helan Department has reached the critical point of life and death, one wrong step will lead to the death of the whole clan, at this moment, we should work together instead of pushing."

The three elders were silent for a moment, and He Lankang said in a low voice, "Patriarch, can't we live here forever?" With the backing of the lofty Fufeng Army, there should be no problem in terms of safety. ”

Helan Kang started, He Lanjie, and He Lanmin all nodded again and again, and echoed: "This is reasonable, we will stay here, now the grassland is in chaos, we only have five hundred cavalry left, if we rush to intervene in the meantime, it will inevitably lead to the disaster of extermination, today, didn't the sentry cavalry come back to report that even Yiqu, a tribe that is stronger than us, has now been wiped out?" ”

Looking at the three elders, He Lanxiong asked, "Have you ever thought about it, what obligation does the Fufeng Army have to protect us all the time?" This is their territory, can we stay here forever? Now that the trade routes have been cut off and there is no source of money, how can we live? ”

He Lanmin looked at a few people in the room and said, "Patriarch, haven't our two families been united in the past?" Amazing, as before, we helped them to help the wind army fight, and they provided us with land, food, grass, and ordnance. In this way, in a few years, my Helan Department can also recuperate and develop and grow. ”

"This method can be considered." Helan Kang Helanjie immediately agreed, "Anyway, when we return to the grassland, we still have to fight, and we don't know whether we live or die, and it is difficult to decide whether we will win or lose, so we can help the Fufeng Army to fight, that is, we can have backup, and there is no shortage of ordnance." ”

"Gao Yuan's proposal is to join, not to form an alliance!" He Lanxiong's deep voice sounded in the tent, "What do the elders think about this?" ”

"Does that make a difference? Left and right are just helping them fight! Helan Kang said.

"Of course it's different, with an alliance, we have a lot of independence, and by joining, we will be part of the lofty Eastern Army." Helanxiong sighed, "We will lose our autonomy. ”

There was silence in the tent, and after a while, Helan Jie stood up, "Patriarch, with all due respect, I know your ambitions, but now the tense is also strong, this road is simply impassable, if you don't agree to Gao Yuan's request to join, I'm afraid that we will have to leave Curie Pass, but if we leave here, I'm afraid that the lives of the whole clan will be difficult to protect, for the sake of the entire Helan Department, for the sake of the old and weak women and children in this big camp, I ask the patriarch to agree to join the Eastern Army." ”

In the Curie Pass, Gao Yuan and Bai Yucheng still did not rest, but instead made a few dishes again, sat down and drank a little, Bai Yucheng's amount of wine was indeed amazing, first drank Cao Tiancheng, and then drank with Gao Yuan, without falling behind.

"General, Helanxiong is different from me, he is an ambitious person, will he join?" Bai Yucheng asked.

"Tiancheng has done a lot of work." Gao Yuan smiled, "Several elders of the Helan Department now have shares in the Four Seas Commerce. ”

Bai Yucheng was speechless: "It turns out that the general has already made arrangements. ”

"It's not about arrangement, He Lanxiong doesn't have much choice, if he doesn't agree to join, he can only leave Curieguan, he is not so thick-skinned, and after rejecting me, he still stays here. But leaving means the danger of the destruction of the whole family, and I believe he will make the right choice. “

"But if he is forced to join by the form, there may be a repetition in the future."

Gao Yuan raised his glass with a smile, "He is a fierce horse, but I am a better horse trainer, and, with my military system of the Eastern Army, do you think he has a chance to repeat?" (To be continued......)