On the grassland outside the Saiwai, the army of Han Jiu'er, the general of the Western Qin, escorting the body of Ashina Daluoben, had penetrated three hundred miles into the north of the desert.

Because it was to return the remains of the Turkic Khan, the steppe tribes along the way did not attack the Western Qin army, but some tribes sent wine and food to reward the Western Qin soldiers.

Han Jiu'er's deputy general, Zhang Dezhao, led two hundred cavalry as the vanguard, and he had been exploring the road ahead, and the army marched all the way to the realm of Ding Lingren.

Ding Lingren, belonging to the Gaoche tribe, was moved into the Central Plains by Cao Cao during the Three Kingdoms Wei period.

It played a key role in the war of Northern Yan to break the Northern Zhao, and was led as a strong reinforcement by Taiyuan Wang Fuqu Wufeng, and then after the establishment of the Northern Yan State, he gave the state generation to Ding Lingren.

Later, when Emperor Wu of Northern Qin saw the unification of the north, Dingnan Hou Wei Zhi defeated the Ding Lingren who came to the rescue in a battle outside Pingcheng, and then Ding Lingren was expelled from the Central Plains and could only return to the grassland to settle down.

Although Ding Lingren suffered heavy losses in the Central Plains War, due to their long time in the Central Plains, serious sinicization, and advanced planting technology and weaponry, they quickly dominated the grassland, whether it was Shanhu or Turkic, they did not dare to force Ding Lingren too much.

If it weren't for the lack of population in Dingling, I am afraid that he would also have to compete for the position of the overlord of the grassland.

Ge Shuchang chose to ambush the Western Qin army on the territory of Ding Lingren, also because Qin and Ding Lingren had a deep blood feud, so it was reasonable for Ding Lingren to retaliate against the soldiers of Qin.

Zhang Dezhao naturally knew this, so he kept a very low profile after entering the Ding Ling realm, trying not to make enemies with Ding Lingren.

At this time, Zhai Tong, the leader of Ding Ling, was also a person, and after hearing that the Western Qin army had entered his territory, he did not plan to make enemies with the Western Qin, but instead sent wine and meat to labor the army.

Zhang Dezhao was very surprised, but on the grassland, giving wine and meat is to release goodwill, if not, I am afraid it will disturb the interest of Ding Lingren, so Zhang Dezhao accepted Ding Lingren's kindness by a lake, and then when the army arrived, everyone feasted by the lake.

Cui Jin, the envoy of Western Qin, came here with more than 1,000 soldiers and a coffin, and saw Zhang Dezhao waiting here, so he learned about it, so Yue Zhai told him.

Seeing that the person from Western Qin was a literati and ink writer, not Han Jiu'er, Zhai Tong couldn't help but be suspicious, and when no one knew about it, he asked: "I heard that Han Jiu'er, the general of your country, personally escorted the body, why didn't you see this person?" Han Jiu'er defeated the Turks in the pass, and his prestige shook the desert, and I admired him very much. ”

Cui Jin saw that Zhai Tong's words were also quite knowledgeable, and he couldn't help but be secretly surprised at the moment.

After the two talked, after confirming that Ding Lingren had no malicious intent, Cui Jin informed: "Da Luo Ben died at the hands of his own people, according to the accusations of his personal guards, we infer that he died at the hands of Ashina, and General Han led the army to follow in disguise." ”

Zhai Tong thought for a moment, and then came to his senses: "Do you think that Ashina will jump over the wall and attack you?" ”

Cui Jin nodded slightly, but he had already walked to the territory of Ding Lingren, and then he went to the royal court, and he still didn't see a trace, Cui Jin felt that Ashina would not attack him.

But Zhai Tong felt that things were not so simple, he had always been at odds with the Geshu family, and now Ge Shuchang was Ashina's confidant, if he really wanted to take action, it would definitely be commanded by Ge Shuchang, and if he ambushed the Qin army in his own territory, he might not be able to escape the relationship.

At this time, Ge Shuchang also got the news that the Qin army was repairing in the boundary of Ding Ling, and Zhai Tong sent wine and other things, and now the Qin army gathered by the lake to drink and eat meat.

Ge Shuchang sneered and said: "Ding Lingren still thinks that he is a Han, and he is so attentive when he sees the Han people here, this Zhai Tong is also a slave." ”

Subsequently, Ge Shuchang informed Ge Shuhang that he would attack Ding Lingren in the middle of the night.

Cui Jin learned from the casual chat with Zhai Tong that there are now more than 30,000 people in the Ding Ling tribe, including more than 10,000 Zhuangding, because his people are not only nomadic, but also proficient in textile and other industries, so they are also quite famous on the grassland.

However, the relationship between the Geshu clan and the Ding Ling tribe is not close, because Geshu Chang is greedy, and when Ashina Daluo was in power, he relied on his identity to repeatedly oppress the Ding Ling tribe and obtained textiles from the Ding Ling tribe at polar prices, Zhai Tong was reluctant to do business with him later, and the two sides often quarreled.

Then Ge Shuchang began to instigate the rest of the tribes to start high-pressure bullying of Ding Lingren, thinking that Ding Lingren monopolized the living goods on the grassland, whether it was the caravan of Eastern Qin or Western Qin, they all liked to do business with Ding Lingren, and after Ding Lingren accumulated wealth, they gradually began to buy the goods of the caravan, and then became a middleman himself.

Cui Jin keenly discovered the problem, so he hurriedly found Zhang Dezhao and said to him: "You go and inform Zhai Tong and ask him to send his clansmen to a nearby place suitable for ambushes to observe, if Ge Shuchang really wants to attack us and others, then you can blame Ding Lingren, but if Ding Lingren is also attacked, you can also blame us." ”

After Zhai Tong got the news, he thought so, and then sent some of his clansmen to visit the mountains everywhere.

At this time, it was dinner time, and there was smoke in the valley of Ge Shuhang's troops, and Ding Ling's spies groped all the way to the vicinity, and when he looked closely, he saw thousands of cavalry in the valley, so he hurriedly returned to the tribe and told Zhai Tong the news.

Zhai Tong was immediately afraid, if thousands of cavalry launched an attack on the tribe at night, it would definitely be a catastrophe, so he had to immediately set off for the lake, Cui Jin saw Zhai Tong coming here, and knew that what he expected came true.

After receiving Zhai Tong's affirmative answer, Cui Jin studied the terrain everywhere and said: "The distance between you and me is not very far, and the number of cavalry found so far cannot be able to attack us at the same time, I speculate that they must still have cavalry nearby, and at that time, the two sides will be flanked, and they will be confused with each other in the dark, and they can't see who it is at all." The king could pretend to be the same at night, but dig a trench in the tribe to block the cavalry onslaught, and then arrange an ambush outside, and when the fire broke out in the camp, he would lead the army out to kill. ”

Zhai Tong nodded yes, and then asked worriedly: "There are only more than 1,000 of you, in case as you expected, there is an army attacking, wouldn't it be dangerous for you?" Why don't you go to my camp? ”

Cui Jin shook his head and said, "There must be someone watching here, so I asked the king to come in ordinary clothes." If I withdraw to your tribe, they will not dare to act rashly, I just want to lure the snake out of the hole, although the king can rest assured, don't look at me, there are only more than a thousand people, but they are all elite, and there are not only gifts for the Turks in the box, but also many strong crossbows, which have long been prepared under the array, enough to protect themselves. General Han's headquarters is not far behind him, and I am only half a day's away, and after the king repels the incoming soldiers, he can come to the rescue and wait. ”