Chapter 151 The Royal Court
Mobei, Xilou Town.

Ten years from now, this place will have a resounding name, called the Imperial Capital. Thirty years from now, it will have a name that is more well-known to the world and will be able to support the existence of the capital for more than two hundred years, called Shangjing and Linhuang Prefecture.

But in today's vast grassland, this place also has a resounding name, called Wangting.

Xilouyi was the original grazing place in Mobei. A hundred years ago, when the Turks dominated the grassland, the Mobei people forced the Xi people to surrender to the Turks, crossed the Xilamulun River to the north, and moved hundreds of miles north of Helong, taking root here.

Mobei, along with its younger brother, the Xi tribe, became the younger brother of the Turkic Khanate, the former steppe khanate, and then wavered between the khanate and the Tang Dynasty. But overall, they tended to side with the Turkic Khanate and frequently rebelled against the Tang Dynasty. However, this situation completely changed when the Turkic Khanate suddenly became good at singing and dancing. Mobei completely turned to the Tang Dynasty and quietly embezzled the legacy of the Turkic Khanate after its fall.

Xilouyi, with the Greater Khingan Range at its back and the Xilamulun River at its front, is considered a natural holy land by Mobei. The grass and water here are lush and the people can move freely. Mobei was able to rise from the grassland Hu tribes because of the good living conditions here. It was a gift from the goddess. The royal court was naturally set up here, and no one would object.

At this time, the Central Plains was approaching the end of the year, and it was the season when the ground was covered with white snow. In the royal court, 3,000 miles south of Youzhou, the north wind was blowing, and heavy snow was falling. The mountains and rivers on all sides were all covered in silver.

There were almost no people among the tents with their doors facing east. This royal court was in the extreme north, the cold wind was as hard as a knife, and the snowflakes could choke people to death. Naturally, no one would be stupid enough to go out of the tent for a walk in the snow.

But unlike the somewhat desolate northeastern area with only layers of felt tents, the low-rise building complex in the south is slightly more lively. Almost every household has couplets posted on the door, and there are occasional sounds of firecrackers. Even some caravans that risked their lives to come from the south open shops in the snow to accommodate the Han people who come here to buy New Year's goods.

That’s right, the Han people.

The entire Mobei royal court was divided into two parts, north and south. The northeastern area was where the Khitan nobles and garrison personnel lived. It was also where the royal tent was located and had a sacrificial altar, stone towers for worshiping totems, and so on.

A little further south is a "Hancheng", where the Han people from the south live. In fact, twenty years ago, there were almost no Han people in the royal court. If there were any, they were just slaves, and there was no place for them to live properly. But now this Hancheng is quite large, enough to accommodate hundreds of households.

You must know that the entire royal court has no walls, let alone any buildings, but there is such a short city on this vast grassland, which is really an eyesore. However, these Han people are all Han "talents" recruited here by Yelu Abaoji and Shuliduo, or mainly by the queen in the past ten years. During these years, the status of some Han people has even far exceeded that of many Mobei nobles, which is closely related to the reason why Yelu Abaoji appointed Han people.

Especially after Shuliduo suggested that Yelu Abaoji specially build a Han city, this contradiction became more and more intensified.

However, in the past, with the queen in charge and Yelu Abaoji treating them with courtesy, although there were many nobles who disliked the Han people, at most they could only make some small troubles behind the scenes, which were basically harmless. Most Han people were still able to maintain basic decency here.

But now, it is different...

……

Seoul was already bustling with activity because of the arrival of two new merchant caravans from the south in the past two days. Cloth, grain seeds, salt, tea, etc. were all their basic needs.

Although many Han people went to Mobei because they had nowhere else to go, and some were forcibly detained and left here, most of them were poor in the Central Plains. However, because of Yelu Abaoji's respect, many families still had savings over the years. Although they did not have the currency circulated in the Central Plains, they could still exchange sheepskins, lambs, etc.

And because the Spring Festival is approaching, it is a major event of the year for every Han Chinese who was born and raised in the Han area. Every household has some decorations, and the slightly richer families can also hang lanterns and decorations. In addition, in front of the two caravans, the narrow streets are crowded with people. If not for the left-side-lapel clothing, it would really be no different from an ordinary market town in the Central Plains.

A member of the caravan was breathing out white air as he checked the goods and accepted money and other things handed over by his subordinates.

A Han Chinese wearing a felt hat asked in a Hebei accent, "We all heard that Youyan was in chaos and caravans couldn't get through the Great Wall. We all thought there would be no caravans coming here this year. How did you get here?"

"Huh? That happened half a year ago." The clerk looked flustered, but he smiled and replied with a Hebei accent, "Nowadays, the Great Wall has long been open for trade. A man appeared in Yan. It was said that his surname was Xiao, but I forgot his name. Anyway, it was said that this man was capable... Do you know Li Cunxu, the crown prince of Jin?"

The man was at a loss for a moment. Judging from his appearance, he should have been in Mobei for quite some time. Perhaps when he entered Mobei, Li Cunxu was only a child of about 11 or 12 years old.

Someone nearby responded in a Hedong accent: "Li Yazi? The Prince of Jin praised by Emperor Zhaozong himself! When I was still serving in Taiyuan Prefecture, this Li Yazi had already become famous throughout the world and was feared in Hedong."

From his tone, it was obvious that he was proud that his hometown had produced such a brave general. He also did not forget to explain to those around him who had less information, how good Li Cunxu was in fighting and how he almost frightened Zhu Wen so much that he dared not go north.

The man waited for him to finish speaking before covering his hands and then said with a smile, “Let me put it this way, this Li Yazi was beaten badly by that Xiao from Yan at Gaoliang River. Tsk tsk tsk tsk, I heard that tens of thousands of people died in that battle, it was tragic.

When we passed the Great Wall in October, Yan was already safe and sound. This Yan man named Xiao was really a man. He not only made the entire trade route unimpeded, but also dealt with the Yan tyrants who used to extort money along the way. What did he say? Encourage trade inside and outside the Great Wall? I'm not sure. I heard it from the shopkeeper. But there is one thing, iron tools cannot be taken out of the Great Wall. This year, you don't have the skills to hoe the fields, so you can only think of a way by yourselves."

Not far away, about twenty scholars were about to leave with a pot of wine. When they heard this, they slowed down their pace a little.

"And strangely enough, when we left the Great Wall, the garrison at Gubeikou was actually you Mobei people. We heard that..." When the guy said this, he suddenly seemed to remember something, and he stopped for a moment, his face becoming a little unnatural.

The caravan naturally needed to know about the huge changes in the Mobei royal court as soon as possible, and he didn't dare to talk nonsense here.

After hearing that he had stopped talking, the other buyers stopped asking questions. It was freezing cold outside, and everyone was wrapped up like dumplings, still wanting to go back early. The main reason was that the royal court was in trouble at the moment, and knowing too much was not a good thing.

The young scholar who was about twenty years old, however, narrowed his eyes slightly and squeezed through the crowd, trying to go upstream to the waiter again.

He finally moved closer, holding a few copper coins in his hand, and asked in a low voice: "Young man, you came from Yandi and passed Gubeikou. Have you ever heard of the Queen of Mobei..."

The waiter hadn't heard clearly yet and was about to ask a question when suddenly everyone heard the sound of horse hooves. Then, as the waiter looked up, the sound of a bowstring being pulled suddenly rang out.

"puff."

An arrow came through the air and hit the guy's cheek right on target. Blood splattered instantly and turned into red ice crystals in the air.

The young scholar was startled when the blood mist hit his face.

The others suddenly reacted. A woman screamed subconsciously, then covered her mouth and looked back in panic.

"Ahahahaha..." On the other side of the street, more than twenty Mobei cavalrymen wearing felt hats and bulky clothes came rushing over. Leading them was a short and strong man wearing a sable coat and a chaotic combination of Central Plains brocade and silk. While laughing, he raised his bow and arrow again and aimed at another guy with a pale face.

The forty-year-old shopkeeper next to him was immediately shocked, took a few steps forward, and shouted in Mobei dialect: "Sir, Sir, we have paid the money, we have paid..."

"puff."

The target was deflected, and the shopkeeper died in the next moment.

The Han people wearing left-side-lapel clothes all changed color and crowded back. A voice was heard faintly in the crowd: "It's Yelu Huage..."

The young scholar recovered from his shock, wiped the blood off his face angrily, then turned around expressionlessly and stared at the short and strong man, who was Yelu Huage, the cousin of Yelu Abaoji and an ally of the coup d'état of the current Mobei King Yelu Lage.

Yelu Huago completely ignored the panic of the crowd, raised his bow and arrow and pulled it left and right, shooting to death more than a dozen caravan servants, guards and managers in one breath.

All the Han people in Mobei just turned their heads away and dared not make a sound.

"Hahahaha, what a joy! It's more satisfying to kill these two-legged sheep from the south! What's the point of hunting?"

Yelu Hua Ge looked at the nearly 100 people who were afraid of him, as well as the remaining members of the caravan who had no power to resist, and was very satisfied. He waved his hand and said, "Take back all these two-legged sheep from the Central Plains who came from the south and make them slaves!"

"How can trade be treated so cheaply?!"

The young scholar finally couldn't stand it anymore, he threw down the wine bag in his hand, squeezed out of the crowd, glared at Yelu Hua Ge and said: "The trade between Central Plains and Mobei was promised by the previous queen herself! Without them, how could the royal court have salt, tea and porcelain supplies? Even King La Ge would not destroy it easily! Hua Ge Khan, you have gone too far!"

All the Han people in Mobei were shocked and looked at the young man out of the corner of their eyes. There were a few young men in the crowd who were also filled with righteous indignation when they heard this, but before they could leave, they were pulled back by their families and prevented from showing off.

Since Yelu Lage came to power, the treatment of the Han people in the royal court has become increasingly worse. The fact that Yelu Lage did not massacre them all shows that he still has some humanity left...

"Oh?" Yelu Hua'ge's eyes widened as he looked at the young man. He suddenly smiled and rode towards him, holding his horse's belly. "What did you say? Which queen?"

"She is the wife of King Abaoji, Queen Di Shu..." The young man was not afraid at all and was about to respond.

But before he could finish, Yelu Huago suddenly raised his horsewhip and lashed him on the head. With just one lash, bloody marks were left on the young man's face and shoulders.

"Empress of the Earth! Empress of the Earth, Empress of the Earth? You bastard, are you worthy enough to scold this Khan?"

The young man gritted his teeth and glared at the attacker, but he did not try to dodge. He let the flesh on his face get beaten to pieces without saying a word and continued to punch forward.

"You bastard."

Yelu Huage jumped off the horse, kicked the young man to the ground, and drew his sword.

All the Han people were frightened, and some were angry. However, after seeing the twenty or so Mobei cavalrymen laughing behind them, they could only grit their teeth and turn their heads away, unable to bear to watch.

"what?"

Unexpectedly, Yelu Huage suddenly smiled, and put the tip of the knife against the young man's chest, and the flesh on his ugly face laughed grimly: "This Khan has an impression of you. Are you a Han slave of that bitch Shuliduo's mother's clan? You also proposed some stupid plan to Abaoji, saying that you want to establish a Haner Division? This Khan is right, right? Bastard, what's your name?"

"You dog, if you have the guts, I'll kill your Grandpa Han!" The young man suddenly grinned and laughed, "A savage is a savage. Do you think you can be respectable by wearing a Central Plains brocade fur coat? Uninformed savages like you can only stay in this bitter cold place for a hundred years!"

"Fuck."

Yelu Huage cursed angrily and thrust the tip of his knife fiercely, but suddenly he stopped and smiled grimly again: "Oh, your name is Han Zhigu? If I remember correctly, you have a father and a wife?"

Han Zhigu's expression changed slightly, but he quickly hid it and smiled: "Even if you kill my whole family, what does it matter? You ignorant barbarian, you dare to covet the throne? Do you think that the next King of Mobei of Yelu Lage will be you? You are short-sighted. If your grandfather Han dies today, you will come to find me tomorrow!"

Yelu Huage was so angry at these words that he screamed and raised his sword, ready to chop him down: "This Khan will favor your wife and daughter day and night!"

All the Han people held their breath, but could only turn their heads away, unable to bear to watch this cruel thing.

"Why is Hua Ge Khan so angry?"

At this moment, a laugh was heard, but it was in Mobei dialect with a Hedong accent: "You are just a slave, and the Khan is a nobleman, why are you so angry with him? Isn't that lowering your status?"

Yelu Huage was furious and turned back angrily: "Who dares to stop me?"

But his expression suddenly changed, and then he forced a smile, and then his expression became generous: "It turns out to be General Bal, a rare guest, a rare guest, it is rare for this Khan to see you in the royal court."

On the opposite side, several riders were galloping over slowly. The leader had a scar on his face and looked somewhat sinister. The men accompanying him were all tall and strong, and they were Yelu Lage's personal guards.

This shows how high this person's status is in the royal court.

Sanqianyuan just smiled faintly, then pointed at Han Zhigu who was lying in the snow and said: "Hua Ge Khan, why don't you hand this man over to me? I have the means to avenge the Khan."

(End of this chapter)