Juyanhai.

The Zhangye River originates in the Qilian Mountains, flows through Ganzhou and the southern desert, and finally joins the Juyan Sea. The Juyan Sea is located in the western part of Tatar, where the grassland and the desert meet, and the 100-mile transition zone is mostly thorny grass, and the Gobi is the only main landform.

The mountains are slightly cloudy, the sky is even declining grass, and a crowd of more than 10,000 people has appeared on the horizon.

It was a large procession of troops, civilians, livestock, and baggage, who were ragged, hobbled and haggard, the cavalry drove the cattle, sheep and horses, and the common people carried parcels, carried bags, and pushed simple wooden carts, and walked with great difficulty.

The steppe tribe could tell at a glance that it was a migrating tribe. It's just that their migration did not seem to be so smooth, the crowd rang out from time to time with the cries of children, and some even fell down during the trek, while the cavalry with knives on both sides had blood stains on their robes.

Outside the slanting sun, there are ten thousand thorny grasses, and shallow water surrounds the wooden remains.

In the middle of such a crowd of people who looked panicked and did not look back, there was a father and daughter walking together, riding horses, the middle-aged man was merciful and strong, and the girl was shy and shy in the moon, and her eyes were smart and charming. This is the current leader of the nine Tatars, Tubak, who is known as Tubak Khan, and the girl is his only daughter, Ahri.

The appearance of the Juyan Sea in sight lifted the spirits of the Tatar tribesmen, and at Tubak's orders, they quickened their march and finally arrived at the lakeside before dark.

A few months ago, dissatisfied with the oppressive rule imposed by the Khitan after submitting to the Khitan, Tubak angrily led the whole clan to revolt and expel the Khitan army in the territory. But what followed was the cruel revenge of the Khitan State, and the northern courtyard of the Khitan State was detached from the enemy of Jianye and led tens of thousands of troops to the west.

Knowing that the battle was inevitable, Tubak led tens of thousands of warriors with the surname of Tatar to fight with him, but in the case of absolute superiority in troops, he was repeatedly defeated, and finally in the last decisive battle, he was completely defeated by Jerod's enemy, and more than half of the hundreds of thousands of warriors were killed and wounded. As a result, Tubak had to lead the rest of his people away from the rivers and pastures they had lived in for generations and move westward.

However, the retreat and evasion did not get the Tatars out of their predicament, but brought them more serious disasters, and the Khitan cavalry, with the speed they feared, followed closely behind, attacking them again and again, bringing nightmares to the Tatars.

From the beginning of the rebellion against the Khitan to the present, the Tatar tribe has experienced dozens of large and small wars, and when there are less than 30,000 adult warriors left in the Ju clan, the sons of the heroes of Tubak have also died one by one, and finally only his youngest son, Barasi, who is still less than 16 years old, and his newly married daughter Ahri. This sudden war not only cost Tubak several sons, but also made Ahri the youngest widow in the Tatar tribe.

In the makeshift camp, tents were lined up and bonfires were lit as the only light in the night except for the stars overhead, and Tubak sat around the campfire, all staring at the campfire, silent, and letting the light of the fire flicker in their faces.

The Khitan pursuers still don't know when it will come, and war may come at an unpredictable time, and in this road full of unknowns, even where the end point is uncertain, any danger is enough to deal a deep blow to the tribe that is struggling to survive, so that they fall into the abyss and never see the light again.

They are of Turkic descent, some of whom were once invited by King Li Keyong of the Jin Dynasty to set foot in the Central Plains to compete for world dominance, but now, they are just a group of homeless and precarious wanderers.

This situation is desperate enough, but there are always some people, even if the sky is falling, as long as they have not been stoned to death, they will not know what it means to be worried. There are also such people in the Tatar tribe, and Ahri is one of them.

The young Ahri has a delicate face, and her eyes seem to be overflowing with charm that can make men crazy anytime and anywhere, and she does live up to her praise as the first beauty of Tatar, not only has a sinking fish and a goose-like appearance, but also has a passionate figure, whether it is the twin peaks on her chest, or the thin waist that is unbearable to hold, or the straight and round double-buttocks, it is one of her biggest assets as a woman.

The firelight made Ahri's delicate face under her long hair more mysterious, and the continuous running made her a little tired, she yawned, stretched a big lazy waist, straightened her legs, thin and slender and perfect, stood up, Ahri patted her cherry red lips, and said to the two most important men in her life at the moment: "Father Khan, Barasi, I'm going to sleep!" ”

Barasi's gaze had been on her since Ahri yawned, and the seductive curves of the other party when he stretched his waist also fell on his eyes, and the young Balasi's eyes were a little straight, and there was a fire in them that he could not fully understand and control, faintly burning. As Ahri spoke, his gaze stayed on the twin peaks that would make the man happy, and when Ahri turned to leave, his eyes fell on the infinite reverie-buttocks.

Tubak has been silent, even when Ahri spoke, he did not look up, and the recent experience has made this once glorious and famous Khan feel very depressed.

Balasi stood up and said to Tubak: "Father Khan, I have gone to sleep too, you rest early." ”

Tubak raised his head, stopped Barasi, who wanted to leave, motioned for him to sit down safely, and said in a low voice: "Barasi, sit down, I have something to say to you." ”

Balasi sat down with some hesitation, and when he looked back, Ahri's figure had faded into the night, and he asked Tubak, "Father Khan, what do you want to say?" ”

Tubak sighed, holding a dry branch and casually fiddling with the bonfire in front of him, "Now that your brothers have gone to the arms of the Immortal Heaven, and your father Khan is also old, you are the future Great Khan of the Tatar Ministry, you have to support the future of the Tatar Ministry, and in the future, you must be mature and stable, and you must always keep the future of the tribe in mind, and do your best for this, and do not slack off in the slightest." ”

Balasi didn't know why Tubak suddenly said such a thing to him, and in his astonishment, the other thoughts in his mind dissipated without a trace, and when he looked at his father, he wondered: "Father Khan, but what have I done wrong lately?" ”

"You didn't do anything wrong, you just could have done better." Tubak spoke earnestly to Balasi. As the leader of the Tatar tribe, the Tatar tribe flourished and declined in his hands, and now he was forced to leave his homeland and trek to the unknown distance, deep tribal disasters and personal defeats, leaving Tubak exhausted, and when he thought that he could not defeat the Khitan and make the Tatars strong again, he pinned all his hopes on his son, hoping that the other party could complete his unfinished ambition.

Tubak said: "Tell me, Barasi, what will happen to the Tatars?" ”

This question made Baraxi very embarrassed, he disturbed his head, his face showed a sad look, and he only skimmed out a fart in the middle of a sound, "Father Khan, the Khitan thieves are powerful, we can't fight them head-on, and now it seems that we can only find another helper." As soon as he said this, he was shocked by himself and continued, "Father Khan often said that the enemy of our enemies is our friends. At present, the Khitan has enemies on all sides, as long as we win over other tribes, there is no chance to defeat the Khitan and return to our homeland! ”

After saying that, Tubak himself was a little excited, and he looked at Tubak expectantly, hoping to see the other party's approving eyes.

Tubak nodded and said in a deep voice, "It's a good idea." However, right now, in this grassland, who is the opponent of the Khitan who can block the Khitan horse's hooves? The Tatar tribe is the most powerful tribe in the steppe except for the Khitan, I always thought that the Tatar tribe had the strength to fight the Khitan, but my father Khan was wrong, and he was completely wrong. Balasi, even the Tatars were defeated, who else could compete with the Khitan? ”

These words are very painful to say, but it is also a reality, Tubak may be far less talented than Yelu Abaoji and Yelu Dilie, but at least he has self-knowledge and the courage to face his mistakes.

Barasi was unwilling, he felt that his thoughts and directions were not wrong, and he continued to work hard: "There are no such allies on the steppe, what about outside the steppe?" ”

"Outside the prairie?" Tubak was stunned for a moment, a glimmer of light flashed in his eyes, but then it was dark, "There is only the Han state outside the grassland, but today's Datang is no longer the Tang Dynasty of the past, the Han people are in civil strife, where is the mind to send troops to the grassland as they did back then, to help our grassland people?" Fu sighed again, "The Khitan captured the two states of Feng and Sheng, which originally belonged to the Tang Dynasty, and the Tang Dynasty did not send troops to recover it, which shows that the Tang Dynasty is not as good as it used to be, and it is difficult to even protect itself, so how can I attack the Khitan?" ”

The excitement on Barasi's face cooled and was replaced by a deep sense of helplessness and disappointment, behind which his young heart was also confused. But after all, he was young and active, and in a blink of an eye, he thought of something, and said again: "But Datang is not powerless in the face of the Khitan, and no one in Datang recovered Pingzhou occupied by the Khitan last year?" ”

"Pingzhou? You mean Li Congjing? There was also a glimmer of hope in Tubak's eyes, but this hope still didn't last long before it collapsed, "Li Congjing is the envoy of the Tang Lulong Festival, he is in the east of Youyun, in this Western Desert grassland, he can't reach ......"

Barasi: "......"

He looked at Tubak with some despair, "Father Khan, is there really no way?" ”

Tubak threw away the dry branch in his hand, looked up at the night sky with stars like a sea, and said melancholy: "The Khitan country is growing day by day, and it has become a catastrophe for the grassland, not only that, after the Khitan is dominant, it will also endanger the Central Plains, which the Tang Dynasty will not be unaware of...... It's just that if it was placed in the Tang Dynasty, Tian Khan would have already sent troops, but now...... Hey, alas! ”

After Ahri left Tubak and Barasi, she did not go back to the tent to rest as she said, she just didn't like the silence of the three of them, and after leaving the campfire, Ahri wandered around the camp like a lively little fox. Even at such a time, there was no bitter sadness on her face, and everyone could see her optimism. Seeing the smile on her face, these Tatar people will subconsciously feel that the Tatar department has not reached a desperate situation, and there is still hope for tomorrow.

A cry from a short distance attracted Ahri's idea, and she walked over to see a mother crouching on the ground, looking sad and comforting the child in front of her. But the child kept crying, which made the young, frugally dressed mother particularly helpless.

Ahri walked over, crouched beside the young mother, and touched the boy's head with a smile, "Don't cry, don't cry, the warriors of the Tatar tribe can't cry, it won't look good if you cry!" ”

Seeing the beautiful big sister, the boy's crying was a little quieter, but it didn't stop there. When the young mother saw Ahri, she hurriedly saluted, "Your Royal Highness, Princess! ”

Ahri motioned to the other party not to be polite, and asked her with concern: "Why is the child crying so fiercely?" ”

The young mother's face was embarrassed and glutinous, and her hands pinched the corners of her clothes, embarrassed and uneasy.

Seeing the other party's appearance like this, and then looking at the other party's behavior, Ahri immediately understood, and she said to the maid behind her, "Go and get my jerky!" After speaking, he added in an unquestionable tone: "All! ”

The maid didn't dare to say much, so she hurriedly complied.

The young mother immediately fell to the ground in panic, and her voice trembled: "Your Royal Highness Princess, how can this be, you are the most expensive Your Royal Highness, that is your ration, and we are just humble civilians, how can we take your food......"

Ahri helped the young mother up, her charming eyes were pure at this moment, and she said seriously: "You are the mother of the Tatar tribe, raising future warriors for the Tatar tribe, and your son will become the patron saint of the tribe in the future, how can you be humble?" You are the greatest man in the Tatars! ”

The young mother burst into tears, not knowing what to say, she was ordinary and clumsy, so she could only thank her vigorously: "Thank you, Your Royal Highness, thank you, Your Royal Highness!" ”

Ahri comforted him, squatted down and smiled and talked to the boy for a while, until the boy stopped crying and the jerky was brought by the maid, and she left.

The young mother took the boy by the hand and saluted Ahri's back.

Outside her tent, Ahri met an oncoming patrol of warriors, and she stopped and stepped aside to let the patrol pass first. Leading the patrol was a ten-captain, and when he saw Ahri, he stood up and saluted respectfully, "Warwick has seen Her Royal Highness the noble and beautiful princess!" ”

"Warrior, I am grateful for your dedication." Ahri returned the salute, his eyes fell on the other party, and he immediately saw that the other party's battle robe was torn several times, and there were conspicuous blood stains on it, "Warwick, are you seriously injured?" ”

Warwick replied humbly: "A little wounded, I don't dare to ask the princess." ”

Ahri took off his wide white coat and handed it to Warwick, only then did everyone find that this beautiful princess was wearing tight leather armor and a noble-looking and sharp scimitar at her waist. ”

Warwick was stunned, "Your Royal Highness Princess, how can this be ......?"

Ahri said, "Please take it, put it on, and continue to fight for the clan!" ”

Warwick's eyes were slightly red, and he respectfully and carefully took the big gun, and said with his head held high: "Yes, Your Royal Highness Princess!" ”

Ahri smiled and nodded, looked at the Tatar warriors behind Warwick, and said: "You are all the best warriors in the steppe, and you are the strongest guardian saints of the Tatar tribe, because of you, the women and children of the Tatars, so many have survived, I thank you for them!" After speaking, he bowed deeply.

These Tatar soldiers, who were defeated again and again in front of the Khitan army and had been demoralized all the way west, were all moved because of this sentence, and they bowed down in shame and gritted their teeth, "It is our honor to fight for the Great Khan and Her Royal Highness the Princess, and we will not swerve until death!" ”

Ahri's smile was even warmer, and he was about to say something more, when his face suddenly changed. There was a sudden commotion in the distance, accompanied by the sound of horses' hooves shaking like the earth and mountains. The Tatar tribesmen, who had been being pursued by the Khitan army for many days in the west, were all too familiar with such movements, and at this moment, almost everyone realized what would happen next.

"Pull my war horse!" Ahri commanded the maid behind her, and looked solemnly at Warwick and the others in front of her, "Warriors, the enemy is here again!" For the sake of our tribe, for the sake of our women and children, go fight with me! ”

"Yes, Your Highness Princess!" The Tatar warriors promised in unison.