Chapter 126 Shuliduo

The water in the river floats up and down, causing the bridge deck to rise and fall accordingly.

A whistle sounded on the shore, and Ding Badu's cavalry straightened their backs and raised the pistols hanging on the side of the saddle.

A tall and handsome horse stepped onto the floating bridge and headed eastward at a leisurely pace.

Several fierce guards followed in front and behind the riders. The first one was named Zhao Siwen. Although he was a Han Chinese, he had surrendered to Mobei a long time ago and served as the commander of the Han army under Yelu Abaoji. He was considered the first Han official in Mobei.

With him by his side, there is no need to worry about who the beautiful woman in the cloak and veil on the horse is.

Shulido covered her beautiful eyes, and her gaze filtered through the veil on the brim of her hat, slowly sweeping over the cavalrymen who were still riding their horses and drinking water by the Beishui River.

At this moment, nearly a thousand Hu cavalry were on the west bank, watching her cross the river, and were ready to support her at any time, full of murderous intent. But even so, these rather leisurely Yan soldiers seemed to not care at all.

What is their confidence?
What kind of confidence could make these soldiers who can barely read and write so fearless?
Shulido raised her head and saw a handsome figure in the distant watchtower of the camp, looking over at her with his hands behind his back.

Her pretty face turned grim, and she subconsciously straightened her back to make herself look more imposing and graceful.

In front, several riders came galloping and blocked the way.

Among the riders, Shili Qixiang had bloodstains on her cheeks, and the scorpion bone accessory on her head was gone, making her look extremely miserable.

The Mobei group just crossed the floating bridge. Zhao Siwen saw this scene and his eyes darkened. He subconsciously grasped the hilt of the knife beside the saddle with one hand and asked in a strong voice: "What do you mean?"

Fu An rode out on his horse and bowed from a distance with a very polite attitude.

"My military envoy said that the queen will enter the camp alone."

"How dare you! What is the status of your military envoy? What is the status of the queen?!" Zhao Siwen sneered, "Your military envoy is always a liar. I dare not trust him easily."

Upon hearing this, Fu An's polite expression disappeared, and he said with a playful smile: "Then you can go back."

Zhao Siwen couldn't help but choke: "You..."

The former said jokingly: "General, why don't you ask the queen if she still wants to redeem the person?"

"Queen, the villains have many evil schemes. The situation is uncertain now, so we must not take risks..." Zhao Siwen stepped back slightly and talked to Shuliduo, who had been silent the whole time, "I still hold on to the idea of ​​retreating to the grassland. No matter what, there is still a glimmer of hope if we return to the grassland."

"You retreat."

Shuliduo pondered for a long time, then rode forward and said, "I will make my own decisions."

Zhao Siwen and his attendants were very anxious and immediately dismounted to dissuade the queen: "Queen, you must not ride into the camp alone!"

"Everyone."

On the other side, Fu An loudly attracted the attention of several people, and then pointed at Shi Li Qi Xiang who was standing beside him, and reminded: "This is the sincerity of our military envoy. As long as the queen shows her sincerity, the military envoy will allow her to accompany the queen."

Zhao Siwen didn't even look at Shili Qixiang, and said anxiously in a low voice: "How can a slave like me allow the queen to stoop to risk her dignity? Now the king doesn't know the inside story. If you are also trapped in the hands of the enemy, how can you talk about your ambitions?"

The frost on Shuliduo's face became even colder, and he said in a deep voice: "Get out of the way!"

Several attendants looked at each other, but did not dare to stop him.

Zhao Siwen's wealth and ambitions for half his life were all tied to Yelu Abaoji, and now that Abaoji was trapped by the enemy, he dared not let Shuliduo leave. He was a native Han Chinese and had long smelled the conspiracy, but he could not stop Shuliduo, and now that he had to ride alone into the camp, he refused to believe it.

He had already come to the conclusion that Shuliduo would never come back. Once the backbone of the Mobei Army was gone, he might not even be able to return to the grassland!

But before he could grab the horse's legs, Shulido whipped him hard with the whip, hitting him in the face.

Feeling the pain, Zhao Siwen immediately moved away.

Shuliduo looked at him coldly and said in a cold voice: "What great things can you accomplish if you look ahead and behind? If I don't come back, you will be the supreme commander!"

After saying this, she rode away eastward without even looking at her attendants.

"Damn it!"

Zhao Siwen was shocked and frightened, and wanted to jump on his horse to rescue the person.

But Fu An and his men had already drawn their swords, rode forward, and said with a smile: "General, you are eager to protect your master, and your loyalty is evident. But as a subject, you should not overstep the boundaries."

The former was secretly angry, but did not dare to act rashly, for fear that war would break out and Shulido would have no chance of returning.

The latter rode his horse forward without anyone leading him, and went straight to the camp gate as if no one was around.

Fu An stared at her, amazed, and then released Shili Qixiang's mute point.

Shili Qixiang was free, and she didn't care about being overjoyed, let alone looking at Zhao Siwen and others. She hurriedly followed them and said in a low voice: "Queen, Queen! This is a trap! Don't fall for it!"

All her powers were sealed, so she could only cling to Shuliduo's mount, holding the leash for it, while she said in an inaudible and urgent voice: "The king... has not been captured!"

Shili Qixiang thought that after hearing this, her queen would immediately turn around, rush back to the Mobei camp, gather her old subordinates, and fight again.

But to her surprise, Shulido didn't react at all.

Perhaps there was a hint of surprise, but it was hidden behind the veil and could not be seen clearly at all.

Shirikika was horrified, "Queen..."

"Don't say too much."

It was not until they entered the camp that Shuliduo said in a calm voice, "I am not here to redeem you."

"Then why did the Queen stoop to such risk!?"

"I'm here to negotiate." Shulido raised her eyes and saw the people on the upper floor clearly.

"..."

Shili Qixiang didn't dare to say anything more because an armored officer came over and asked them to walk over.

She was a little annoyed and asked, "Talking in the watchtower?"

The officer did not look happy, and said coldly: "My military envoy said that if the queen wants to go back now, he will not stop her."

Shuliduo smiled faintly and walked up the stairs.

Shili Qixiang was so humiliated that she followed him, but she was stopped by the officer, "Wait here."

Looking upstairs, Xiao Yan could clearly hear the noise below, so he turned around and said, "No need, let her come up."

But at this moment, Shuliduo had already climbed up the stairs and said coldly, "It's okay, let her wait downstairs."

Xiao Yan smiled casually and ignored him.

He stood beside the wooden fence with his hands behind his back, looking at the distant Mobei camp, as well as the mountains and plains in the distance, and said with a smile: "The queen is indeed more courageous than men, which makes Xiao admire her."

There was a small table on the upper floor. Shuliduo frowned and looked at Xiao Yan's back coldly: "Your surname is Li, why do you insist on calling yourself Xiao?"

"Oh? Is the Queen concerned about this?"

"Your Excellency has many tricks up his sleeve, and I was fooled by one. I took great pains to investigate."

Xiao Yan laughed, turned around and sat down beside the small table, and extended his hand to invite him, "Didn't the queen also deceive me? We agreed to withdraw the troops, but I never thought that the queen actually wanted to kill me."

Shuliduo took off her veil and covered her beautiful eyes: "What did you do to Aogu?"

"The person is not dead, he is alive."

"How can I believe it?" "Does the queen really think that Xiao is sitting here and negotiating with you in a friendly manner?"

Xiao Yan smiled wryly and said, "Queen, do you still have a choice now?"

Shuliduo pondered for a moment, then looked over with cold eyes: "Where is my king now?"

"Liaodong." Xiao Yan tapped his knees, thought for a moment, and said, "Oh no, my subordinate has not retrieved the head, and may have fled to Bohai."

"Do you really want to kill him?" Shuliduo said coldly, "There is no deep blood feud between Mobei and you. As long as you are willing to spare the prince, Mobei will be on good terms with you for generations, and I will never lie!"

She stared at the face of the young man opposite her, but he did not look at her. Instead, he slowly closed his eyes and thought for a long time.

After a while, he asked, "The queen is very concerned about Yelu Abaoji's life or death?"

Shuliduo was stunned for a moment, then frowned.

"What do you mean? Why wouldn't I care?"

"What I mean is that he is no longer the King of Mobei." Xiao Yan smiled and said, "For a defeated Mobei Khan, is the Queen really willing to ride alone into the camp to negotiate?"

"I don't understand what you are saying!" Shuliduo said coldly, "Even if he is not the king, I will never abandon him. Besides, do you really think that you can seize his power by a turmoil?"

Her words were sharp, and she seemed to be extremely confident, trying her best to suppress the young man's momentum.

But Xiao Yan did not respond to her, but continued to speak on his own.

"Oh, Xiao shouldn't call you queen. The Mobei royal court is in turmoil, and Yelu Lage and Yelu Xiadi are fighting for the throne. Whoever wins, you shouldn't be the queen.

"But if we call her Liduo directly, it's really disrespectful. So let's follow the Central Plains customs. How about calling her Madam?"

His tone was gentle, but to Shulido's ears, it sounded harsher and more unpleasant than all his previous words.

"enough!"

She stood up angrily, pressed the table, and gritted her teeth and said, "You bastard, don't think I'm easy to bully!? Although the royal court is in chaos, my mother's family is still alive. Those rubbish of the Yelu family may not be able to subdue the tribes! Your people may not be able to catch up with the king!"

Xiao Yan narrowed his eyes and smiled faintly, saying: "I am not the only one who wants to kill Yelu Abaoji."

Shuliduo was shocked, and then terrified, her beautiful eyes widened: "You..."

"Yes, Xiao sent someone to deliver a gift to the new king."

"You brat!" Shulido's lips began to tremble and shake.

She had obviously put on some rouge today, and her complexion looked very good, probably because she didn't want Xiao Yan to see how flustered she had been in the past few days. But in just this moment, even if she put on more rouge, she couldn't hide her confusion.

Xiao Yan tapped his knees and continued speaking in a low voice.

"Mrs. Shu, the only obstacle you have for me is these tens of thousands of Mobei men. The rest are not attractive at all.

"On the contrary, what Madam Shu just said about Mobei and Xiao being on good terms is unnecessary in my opinion. Since Xiao has already established a good relationship with the new king, why should I bother to make peace with the two who hate me to the core?

"Tsk tsk tsk, Madam Shu's look really shows that she wants to swallow Xiao up."

Shuliduo gritted his teeth, his chest heaving, as if he had nothing to say.

But after a long time, she smiled coldly again, as if she had calmed down, and then sat back down, her tone turning calm.

"Don't be happy too soon, Your Excellency. Youzhou is trapped now. Are you really not in a hurry? Although the tens of thousands of men here may not be a big obstacle to you, it may not be a problem to stop you for three to five days."

She said indifferently, "I forgot. You probably don't know that I have already sent an envoy to visit Li Cunxu. If nothing unexpected happens and I have not returned to the camp, Li Yazi will personally lead the army to the east to meet Commander Xiao."

She said this very calmly, and at the end, her chest even calmed down.

At the negotiation table, the most important thing is bargaining chips and confidence, not the eloquence of this boy to gain a little advantage. Her most important ability is to be able to keenly perceive the opponent's weaknesses in a dangerous situation, and then hit them hard to increase the bargaining chips for the parties.

It is obvious that Youzhou is this guy's weakness.

Xiao Yan pondered for a long time.

Shuliduo raised her face slightly, looked at him coldly, and her aura became fierce again.

Envoy Xiao rubbed his hands, stood up and ordered, "Make a pot of tea."

After a while, a pot of tea was brought up.

Shuliduo had a good memory and could remember the cold woman who served the tea. She was the one who took Xiao Yan away that day.

Ji Ruxue turned her back to her, looked at Xiao Yan with concern, opened her lips slightly, and said with her lips: "Do you need help?"

The latter just smiled faintly, waved his hand nonchalantly, and let her leave.

"A man as decisive and ruthless as Commander Xiao actually has a confidante?" Shuliduo smiled coldly and drank slowly from the cup.

During this time, she raised her eyes slightly and noticed Xiao Yan's solemn expression.

Sure enough, she grasped the weakness of this guy.

But immediately, Xiao Yan drank tea and whispered, "Madam Shu, don't you know that the one who instigated Yelu Lage to rebel was Baer from the Jin Tongwenguan? Oh, there is another person, the Yanmen Guoyi Duwei, Shi Jingtang. These two people are both confidants of Li Siyuan, the holy master of Tongwenguan.

"He is someone who can show off in front of Li Keyong."

Before he finished speaking, Shuliduo sneered, "Yelü Lage, you are short-sighted..."

But in an instant, she choked and the tea gushed out.

Xiao Yan's face was indifferent. He waved his hand and the strong energy dispersed the tea that was spraying towards him. "If Madam Shu thinks the tea is not tasty, you can make more later."

"Shuzi!"

Shuliduo stood up immediately, her pretty face was cold, and she leaned over as if she had broken her defense, trying to grab Xiao Yan's collar: "You brat! How dare you deceive me again..."

But before she could finish, only muffled sounds came out of her mouth.

Xiao Yan pinched her cheeks, not allowing Shuliduo to get even half an inch closer. He said expressionlessly, "Madam Shu, you might as well believe it for now."

The latter was trembling all over, his fingers clenched tightly in his palms, and a few bloodstains appeared in an instant.

Xiao had no doubt that she would pass out immediately.

He loosened his fingers, stood up and walked to the wooden railing, with his hands behind his back, looking at the camp on the opposite bank and the Mobei Hu cavalry that were constantly coming and going.

"Madam Shu is a smart woman. She should understand now that Yelu Abaoji has no chance at all. I am not interested in killing him, but his Yelu family will not allow him to return to the grassland."

Shuliduo lay on the small table with a sad face, as if his heart was dead and he didn't move.

But soon, she was picked up by a big hand.

The vision suddenly became bright. Looking from the watchtower, it seemed that the entire land was at their feet. Whether it was the mountains, rivers, or the army as fierce as tigers and wolves, they all seemed to be submitting to the two men's feet, quietly listening to their orders.

Xiao Yan put his arm around Shuliduo's slender shoulders and forced her to look forward.

He raised his hand and slowly swept across the mountains and rivers, his tone light.

"You want to make a comeback and regain control of Mobei? That's easy, but you should know who in the world can help you.

"queen."

(End of this chapter)