"Yudra, this person is very unusual." Situ Wushou responded: "His position is very clear, resolutely follow Sheng Tang!" ”

Xu You grew up curious: "Why is this?" ”

Situ Wushou explained: "After the leader of the Jade Drasa came to Metasequoia, he had a deep conversation with him in Xia, and he knew some about the situation. The tribe of Yudra, located at the junction of Loulan and Shanshan, has a large population and strong financial resources. A long time ago, he admired the Central Plains civilization very much, and advocated trade with Shengtang through the Silk Road to prosper his own economy and culture. In this great chaos in Western Xinjiang, Loulan invaded Shanshan, burned, killed and looted everywhere, and also injured his people; In addition, the ruling methods of the Loulan king Alikjiang were extremely harsh and cruel, and they were unpopular. This made him even more interested in Saint Tang. Moreover, Yudra firmly believed that the Holy Tang would soon send a large army to drive the Turks away and completely quell the rebellion, so if he held his position at this time, he would definitely benefit immensely in the future. ”

Xu Youchang couldn't help but praise: "Insightful! The leader of the Jade Drasa has a long-term vision, which is really the blessing of the Shenhua family! ”

Li Jiangyao pondered for a moment, and said faintly: "I'm a little worried, is Yudra's words credible?" He came from Loulan's territory, could he have had a private relationship with Alikjiang, and made such a statement of his intentions, just to deceive our trust? ”

"Absolutely not!" Old Samour waved his hand again and again: "My lord, please put ten thousand hearts in this regard." There may be different opinions and different ideas within our clan, but there will never be traitors. ”

Seeing that Li Jiangyao and the others were embarrassed to refute or question his words, Samor went on to explain: "Although the Shenhua family seems to be loose, in fact, the internal connection is far more stable than that of any country. For it is not the royal power that unites our whole people, but religious beliefs. The reason why the princes of the past dynasties were able to become the supreme leaders of the family was because they, as the descendants of the flower god, represented the absolute authority of the Nanjin flower god in the world. ”

Hearing this, Li Jiangyao, Xu Youchang and Situ Wushou suddenly realized.

The Shenhua family is a typical theocratic system. The prince is the head of the family and wields the political power to govern the entire large family. At the same time, he is a divine religious leader, with deep control over the spiritual world of each member of the clan.

In a sense, His Royal Highness's authority in the Shenhua family is much higher than that of the Holy Tang Emperor and the Turkic Great Khan in their own country, and their stability is completely incomparable.

In the Tang Dynasty or the Turkic Empire, there were careerists who dared to challenge the imperial power in every era, and of course there were many successful ones. However, in the world of the Shenhua family, this kind of thing will never happen. The reason is simple, the spiritual pillar of the people is difficult to be replaced by swords and money.

The Shenhua family adheres to the rigid way of succession, even if it is the concubine of the prince of the previous generation, he cannot ascend the throne and take the throne without the black crystal jade holy stone. This may seem old-fashioned, even stupid, and ridiculous, but it actually reflects their religious identity. Lack of sacred rituals is illegal.

In the same way, under this theocratic system, it is difficult to secretly communicate with outsiders and betray the family. Don't say that the people of your own tribe won't agree, even the level in each leader's own heart can't be passed.

Therefore, if you have different political views, you can quarrel internally, but you will never seek support from the outside because you have different views. In terms of credibility, there should be no problem with Yudhara.

"I understand what you said," Li Jiangyao nodded, and then thought of another puzzle: "Since His Highness's influence is so great, why are you still bothered by Hassan's dissent?" His Royal Highness directly issued a will, didn't everyone have to be obedient? ”

Old Samour let out a long sigh and said, "Alas, you don't know, my lord, what I am worried about is that the leaders will 'move'. ”

At this moment, even Situ Wushou, the "Western Xinjiang Pass", was a little confused, and couldn't help but ask: "What do you mean by the 'lifting system' you always say?" ”

Samor pondered for a moment, and then carefully introduced the rules of the Shenhua family to Li Jiangyao and the others.

The lifting system is a special political rule of the Shenhua family for thousands of years.

Because the seventy-two large tribes of the Shenhua family are scattered all over the ghost desert in Western Xinjiang, they seek their own development and protect the Holy Lord. Therefore, except for the leaders and elders of the family's ruling layer, the detailed information of each tribe is always regarded as the family's top secret and cannot be leaked to the outside world.

Back then, it was precisely for this reason that the Gelhan brothers had the Black Crystal Jade Holy Stone in their hands, but they couldn't play a role. Not to mention ordering the entire Shenhua family, even if you want to find those tribes hidden in various countries, you can't do it.

And every time the next prince is about to succeed to the throne, it is also the time when the family's core secrets are most vulnerable. Traditionally, the leaders of the seventy-two tribes are called together, which is tantamount to presenting the most important information to the world.

At this time, if someone with ulterior motives seizes the opportunity to wipe out all the leaders by force, and arrest them all, then they can obtain specific information such as the location, population, wealth, and contact code words of each tribe through torture.

Therefore, the succession ceremony of the prince of the Shenhua family in the past dynasties needs to be held secretly in the family holy place after special and complicated arrangements in advance.

Of course, there are exceptions to everything. The family's "Sacred Codex" also records that there have been three succession ceremonies in history, which were held outside the family's sacred sites due to wars and natural disasters, but the level of security and secrecy is far higher than that of holding ceremonies in holy places.

In order to protect the absolute security of the family's core secrets, in addition to the normal succession, another important measure is stipulated in the "Divine Codex", that is, "lifting the system".

According to the corresponding rules, whenever there is any danger that may endanger the security of the family and lead to the leakage of information of various clans, as long as the current prince of the family or the heir of the prince who holds the black crystal jade agrees, or more than half of the clan leaders jointly sign the proposal, the "lifting system" can be implemented immediately.

As soon as the family system began, the vast majority of the tribes had to be concealed, and for three years the prince was forbidden to have any contact with these tribes.

At the same time, in order not to completely isolate the high-level of the family, in the process of raising the system, twelve tribes will be specially designated to be responsible for guarding Prince Shenhua and the Holy Land, and taking their due obligations for other dormant tribes.

It was not until three years later, when the world was peaceful and the situation improved, that the Prince of the Shenhua family issued a convening order to reunite the seventy-two tribes.

Listening to Samol's detailed explanation, Li Jiangyao and Xu Youchang glanced at each other, and invariably sketched an image of an animal in their minds: gentle personality, cautious action, and a very long lifespan, thousands of years at every turn. And the most important thing is that once that kind of animal encounters any danger, it will immediately give priority to life, retract into the shell, and cannot come out of hibernation......

If you think about it carefully, it is really in line with the long-standing characteristics of the Shenhua family.

At the same time, Li Jiangyao had to make a reassessment of the current situation.

He originally hoped that after Kuriban succeeded to the throne, he would be able to integrate the family forces all over the ghost desert in Western Xinjiang to fully support Metasequoia City, as well as the counterinsurgency operations that would inevitably be launched in the future.

However, judging from the current attitude of the various tribes of Shenhua, I am afraid that this consideration will be difficult to achieve again.

The tribes of the seventy-two major tribes are also the subjects of the countries of Western Xinjiang, and the leaders of many tribes even hold important official positions in the vassal states where they are located. They witnessed the occurrence of the rebellion in the western frontier, watched the 120,000 main forces of the Holy Tang Dynasty be annihilated by the Turkic iron cavalry in Crescent Bay, and then experienced the brutality of the rebels sweeping through the ghost desert.

To be honest, they were scared.

is not only afraid that his life will not be guaranteed, but also that the tribe and even the entire family will be destroyed because of their mistakes.

If Metasequoia City was not a rabble temporarily pulled up by Li Jiangyao, but a dignified elite division of the Holy Tang Dynasty; If Zijin Pass and Shengyu Pass had not been blocked by the Turkic northern and southern camps, the world-famous legions of the imperial dynasty would have appeared in the western frontier a little earlier.

Perhaps the leaders of many tribes will still be willing to support the little prince against the Turks and rebels.

However, it is a pity that there is no news from the army of the Holy Tang Dynasty for a long time, and the metasequoia guarded by Li Jiangyao is just a lonely city.

In this case, if you let the seventy-two major tribes gamble their lives, follow the little prince Kuliban to mess around, and personally destroy the Shenhua family that has been inherited for thousands of years, they will not be happy.

Li Jiangyao pondered for a moment, and couldn't help but ask Samor with some concern: "According to your old judgment, will the leader of Hassan really initiate a move in the end?" ”

"That depends on the outcome of the negotiations between His Highness and them tonight." Samor looked embarrassed: "If Your Highness makes it clear, you must stand with your Excellency and resist the Turks together." Then, I think that Hassan, the old ghost, will definitely follow him in carrying out the punishment because he fears that the whole family will be drawn into the whirlpool of war, and the unstable tribe will be drummed and shaken...... Alas, I know the little prince's temper all too well, and he will never waver in the face of you, my lord......"

Situ Wushou frowned: "That means that the two sides will definitely not be able to talk because of the metasequoia issue." As a result, we still won't be able to get all the support from the Shenhua family. ”

Old Samour sighed again and shook his head apologetically.

Li Jiangyao looked at Xu Youchang, who was also tightly knit, and suddenly his heart moved, he thought about it from a different angle, and then asked Samore: "Father Samor, I just heard you say that after the system, according to the custom, twelve tribes will be selected to be responsible for staying to defend the prince, how are these tribes designated?" ”

Samour was stunned for a moment when he heard this: "Well, there are no certain rules for this. It can be selected by us, the elders and ministers of the family, or it can be recommended by the various clans according to their strength, or it can be volunteered. However, in the end, it is up to His Royal Highness the Prince to decide who to choose or not to choose. ”

Xu Youchang and Li Jiangyao had a tacit understanding, and they immediately heard the way out of the door and understood the intention behind Li Jiangyao's question, so he hurriedly asked: "What if His Highness chooses Hassan's clan?" ”

"What is there to say?" Old Samour raised his head: "If it is handpicked by His Highness, it can be regarded as the blessing and glory of that old guy and his clan, of course he has to go all out!" ”

Hearing this, Xu Youchang and Situ Wushou's eyes lit up at the same time, and they looked at Li Jiangyao excitedly.