Chapter 44: Filibuster
Tent of the Turkic Grand Gesa.
The faint dry bones were thrown away to make candles, and the ritual utensils and ritual tools used for the sacrifice were all the skin or bones of a man or a beast. The entire camp was soaked in an atmosphere of terror, and from time to time a few wisps of rotting corpses emitted a disgusting afterglow.
Jieli Khan bowed respectfully outside the tent, reported his intentions, and without waiting for the shaman to answer, he lifted the curtain and walked in quickly.
"You're so reckless!" Shaman Rugret said tepidly.
"Reckless? What recklessness? It's just what the military wants. Jieli Khan scoffed at the shaman's words, as if the resentment had long been accumulated. In the Turkic nomadic people, the old shaman's words are like that of the father, and the Rugret in front of the first Khan of Kejieli, except for putting a few thin noodles in front of people, has never given him a good look in any private meeting. Because Jieli Khan has always suspected one thing, his father Khan Qimin Khan died unexpectedly in battle, which is somewhat inseparable from the person in front of him. If it is more serious, it is estimated that he may have been regarded as an enemy who killed his father.
"According to my confession of Yuan Tiangang, it may be that guy named Li Chunfeng who made the move behind the scenes, that is, Yuan Tiangang's place of death, and Gongzi Bai's enemy. If you act recklessly like this, you will only follow that Li Chunfeng's wishes, and your father Khan's appearance tonight is probably related to that Li Chunfeng. Lu Gelie analyzed all the causes and consequences, and insisted that Li Chunfeng was the trick, and Jieli Khan was the trick.
"I told you before I set out from the royal court! In today's Tang Dynasty, it is not Li Yuan who is in charge, this time it should be mainly tempted, and he will blackmail them into giving them some money and food. Jieli Khan once again reiterated his previous good plan.
"He Li Shimin, the new king, took office, there are disputes between friends and parties, there are kings outside, all industries are waiting to be prosperous, and the army is ten cities and nine empty, only in Chang'an, the royal capital, less than 10,000. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, if you don't take the Central Plains at this time, will you have to wait for their wings to harden before they come over? You are delaying the fighter and going against the general trend! Rugret's admonition, with a strong smell of gunpowder, was obviously extremely dissatisfied with the indecisive state of mind of the Jieli Khan.
"Even if he has less than 10,000 soldiers, do you know the terrain pattern in this pass? Surrounded by mountains, easy to defend and difficult to attack, we killed the Weishui River so easily, don't you doubt the cat in it? Don't you think this is a ploy by King Tang to lure the enemy into depth? When we kill the red eye, it will not be the Tang army that will come from all directions, but the hell messenger who wants to destroy my Great Turk! Jieli Khan was a little impatient, but he did not lose his mind, and still talked to the old shaman about the doubts in his heart. In business, the soldiers are treacherous, Jieli Khan knows the essence of the Central Plains culture very well, he knows that the too smooth march must be in danger in the end, and even has suspected that the spies' arrival report is fake, saying that Chang'an has less than 10,000 soldiers, and the ghost knows where to hide, so it is very possible to wait for a stab in the back.
"Don't you believe in your own horse? They're all warriors you've trained yourself. The implication of Rugret is that he has not participated in, nor has he ever caused any of the Tanma to serve him, which is both a show of loyalty and a rhetoric to ease the atmosphere, and he does not want a disagreement between the two Turkic leaders, and everything is based on the overall situation.
"Oh?" When the Khan heard this, he was a little skeptical, but as far as he knew, it was true. At this time, the shaman Rugret said the same thing, but his heart also fell a little angry, calmed down, stepped forward and knelt on one knee, and apologized to the shaman.
"You don't have to, I'm just a shaman, my heart is full of the reproduction and future of the entire clan, and I don't care who in your family will be in the position of the khan. I believe that as long as he can lead the tribe to grow and grow, so that the people have clothes to wear, cattle and sheep to raise, he will be our Khan King! ”
"I know you've always supported me, and it makes me work harder! I want to inherit my father's will and grow our tribe stronger, but now is really not the time, it is about to be winter, except for the royal family and important ministers who can protect against the winter, the other clansmen are all single and thin, you say, such a family, how can we compete with the Tang Dynasty? "Jieli Khan is on the matter, but he is also reasonable.
"Take Chang'an in one fell swoop! When the time comes, the treasury will have all the money, food, and baggage! Lu Gelie swore an oath, as if he had already calculated the treasury of the Tang Dynasty.
"Are you sure? Have you seen the ledgers or have you checked the books of their treasury? Will there be less than 10,000 soldiers? You didn't even notice such an obvious suspicion? Do you still believe the arrival of the horses? You believe it, I will never believe it! Jieli Khan put on a confident posture to convince the shaman's stubbornness in one fell swoop.
"I ......" Ruger was dumbfounded on the spot, speechless.
"I've already received a report that those guys who were discharged earlier have long been detained by some people from Dali Temple and Jin Wuwei! What else can the reimbursement sent now be other than fraud? "Jieli Khan pointed out the most crucial part of the matter.
"You mean, Li Tang has already controlled these people? And the messages sent back, are they all fake? Even if Lu Gelie is stupid, he will understand the key point, he doesn't know where this problem is, and he doesn't know that Datang's action is far faster than he expected.
"If you don't believe me, tomorrow morning, I'll report the arrival of the two teams to yourself!" Jieli Khan felt troublesome, and the words had already been said to this, but the old stubborn in front of him still didn't answer his own words, and went along with his own wishes. I don't know what I'm thinking, what doubts do I have?
"Great Khan! I'm all up to you! But there are some things that I need to report back to you. The shaman shifted with a mysterious emphasis.
"What else?"
"Yuan Tiangang is already on the way, and he will come to us in a few days! I'm scheming if you can hold off for a few days. Let me ask this guy about it, and then I'll discuss my next steps with you. It can be regarded as a safe approach, so as not to be blinded by some unwarranted news! ”
"Good! Let's do it! With that, Jieli Khan turned his head and walked out of the tent.
Finally managed to find a time. Shaman Lu Gelie was actually very much looking forward to what big news Yuan Tiangang could bring and persuade Jieli Khan to send troops to capture Chang'an in one fell swoop. Let the Turks enter the Central Plains from now on! End the nomadic life of wandering.