Chapter 204: The Great Khan of the Grassland
"Your Majesty, the ceremony of offering sacrifices to the heaven has been prepared on the bank of the Huang River."

At the end of March, Xiao Yan's camp had moved dozens of miles north from the Cang'er River and arrived at the bank of the Huangshui River.

At this time, in addition to a few tribal chiefs who had previously gone south to pay homage to Shulido, there were already more tribal leaders and chieftains who responded to the call and came.

From Cang'er River to Huangshui, which is dozens of miles away, Xiao Yan ordered Yuan Xingqin and Yu Zhong to lead the Lulong Army and Ding Badu respectively, and divided them into two routes to sweep northward along the way. If there were any chiefs who disobeyed the orders of Queen Shuliduo, their chiefs would be killed, and then a new leader would be selected to participate in the ceremony of offering sacrifices to the sky on the banks of Huangshui.

The so-called new king is about to be established, and the visitors must certainly not be just the chiefs of a hundred or so small tribes.

At first, Xiao Yan did not approach the royal court. There were still many large tribes with millions of cattle and sheep that had not wavered, such as the eight tribes that could keep pace with the Yelu clan, namely the Daji, Hebian, Duhuo, Fenwen, and Zhuijin tribes, as well as some large and small tribes that were dependent on them, who were also still waiting and watching.

However, at this moment, Xiao Yan suddenly led his troops and rushed towards the nearest pastoral area of ​​the Daji tribe, beheading thousands of heads in one battle.

Afterwards, he, Yuan Xingqin and Yu Zhong led three groups of troops to attack the area. Taking advantage of the panic among the tribes near Huangshui River and the hesitation between the royal court and Shuliduo, they advanced nearly a hundred miles to the north in two days. Countless tribes, large and small, were stunned and no longer cared about the eight major tribes behind them. They all went south to pay homage to Shuliduo.

At this time, not to mention the other seven tribes, at least the Daji tribe had been defeated. It was not that they did not have soldiers that could be recruited, but in terms of marching and fighting, they could not even catch up with the coordination and tacit understanding of the various armies. On their grasslands, there was always endless work to do, endless sheep to herd, and endless roads to walk. How could they have time to gather the men in the tribe together to get used to each other?
They are not in the Central Plains, where there is someone to provide them with cattle and sheep so that they don't have to work and can concentrate on training. But apart from some soldiers and horses that are always on standby in the royal court, how can people like theirs get such treatment?
In the past two days, Xiao Yan caught the Daji tribe and made an example of them, almost with the idea of ​​solving the problem once and for all. He killed all the disobedient men, drove the disobedient tribes out of the pastoral area, and forced the women and children to go south.

As a military leader who had charged into the grassland with great force, Xiao Yan did not have to worry about the balance among the eight tribes or the election of the kingship. He held the strongest gun and used Shuliduo to divide the hearts of the people on the grassland. He would attack wherever he pointed and without mercy. If there was a tribe that refused to back down after being given a way out, all the men would be slaughtered and the women and children would be assigned to other small tribes close to Xiao Yan.

For him, perhaps it is unrealistic to solve the problem once and for all, but at least he can intimidate the entire grassland for five to three years. During this time, it is enough for him to slowly infiltrate Mobei, make rules, and make Mobei become like him.

Therefore, under the tactic of holding back no mercy, not only did the troops kill to their heart's content, but even the new recruits of the Lulong Army and the hostages sent by the powerful men in Yan were making rapid progress. Training soldiers with human lives meant that they could not afford not to grow.

This kind of gangster fighting style, just as planned, shocked most of the tribes on the grassland who were still watching. Even the other seven tribes such as the Zhuijin tribe, as well as the Xi tribe, the Shiwei tribe and other tribes, all of them traveled hundreds or thousands of miles to Huangshui to participate in the ceremony of offering sacrifices to the sky.

Of course, among them was Shuliduo's mother's clan, the Shuli tribe, as well as the three major clans that were attached to the Yelu family, the Dahe clan, the Yaonian clan, and the Shili clan, who also secretly sent people from the royal court to the south to Huangshui to pay a visit.

……

The person who came in to report was Serika, who had caught up with them a few days ago.

It is worth mentioning that Yelu Zhiwu also returned with her. From Shili Qixiang, Xiao Yan learned about the dispute between uncle and nephew, which ended with Yelu Diela's miserable defeat and Yelu Zhiwu's complete victory.

Nonsense, no matter how powerful witchcraft is, can it compete with magic?

Xiao Yan didn't care about what happened, nor did he want to know why Yelu Diela was so stubborn as to challenge Yelu Zhiwu. He just needed to know that he had been detained by the bad guys.

Shulido will handle this matter himself.

At this moment, Xiao Yan sat with his legs up in the first seat on the right side, reading the letter sent from Youzhou in his hand, tapping his knees lightly with his fingers, as if he did not hear Shili Qixiang's voice.

Shuliduo, who was sitting behind the desk at the top, just stood up, looked at Xiao Yan's reaction, exhaled, and then glanced at Shili Qixiang with a cold look.

Shili Qixiang suddenly reacted and bowed to Xiao Yan: "General Xiao, the heavenly sacrifice ceremony is ready."

Her scalp subconsciously tensed up and a few drops of cold sweat oozed out immediately.

To be honest, she didn't mean to ignore Xiao Yan's existence. It was just that she had just returned to Shuliduo's side, and she was still used to respecting only the queen. She hadn't yet converted the "king" in her mind into the three words "General Xiao".

"It's okay, no need to wait for me." Xiao Yan just smiled casually, obviously not taking it to heart.

Shili Qixiang breathed a sigh of relief and looked up at the queen, only to see Shuliduo with a solemn expression, emphasizing: "General Xiao is indispensable for this heavenly sacrifice ceremony."

Xiao Yan then raised his head and handed the letter in his hand to a bad man behind him, and whispered, "Ask Wang Yanzhang to wait outside the tent."

"Here."

"In that case, let's go."

Xiao Yan adjusted the black gauze hat on his head, picked up the Tang sword beside him, hung it at his waist, and then stretched out his hand to make a gesture of invitation: "Queen, please go."

Shuliduo was stunned at first, then he let out a sigh of relief, smiled faintly, nodded slightly, and walked out slowly.

The space outside the general's tent was large, but it was crowded with people, such as the head of the Shuli tribe, and some tribal chiefs who were originally close to Shulido. They were all leading their people to wait outside the tent.

In addition to this, there was a particularly imposing group of cavalrymen, wearing heavy armor covered in endless bloodstains, with their spears raised high and flags fluttering among the trees in the forest, revealing a fierce aura almost everywhere.

Wang Yanzhang stood in the front, leading his horse, with a pair of fierce eyes staring at the tribal chiefs and others vigilantly. Then his eyes swept across and landed on Xiao Yan, who was only wearing a fu hat, a Han-style narrow-sleeved military robe, and a Tang sword on his waist.

He nodded and led nearly a thousand Longxiong soldiers under his command to mount their horses.

Then, Shuliduo and Xiao Yan brought Yelu Yaoguang, together with the tribal chiefs of the Xiali tribe, the Yaonian tribe and other tribes, and the main force of the Longxiang Army to the banks of the Huangshui River.

The chiefs of the eight tribes and the chieftains of various tribes came out to greet them respectfully.

The entire bank of the Huangshui River was covered with herds of cattle and sheep. The heads of various tribes who came to pay homage to Shulido either came with their entire clan or sent representatives with gifts. Therefore, the momentum was very large. Looking down from the sky, almost the entire ground was filled with people.

The banks of the Huangshui River were controlled by Yuan Xingqin and the Lulong Army. Outside the ceremony of offering sacrifices to the heavens, Yu Zhong and the commanders of the various camps under his command had already taken Ding Ba to several locations and were ready for battle. Tens of thousands of elite cavalry in helmets and armor were roaming in all directions, which seemed to intimidate all the tribal leaders.

At least, on the surface, they appeared to be very respectful.

Looking at the leaders of various tribes kneeling on the ground, Shuliduo glanced at them majestically and walked towards the ceremony site taking Yelu Yaoguang by the hand.

The breeze blew across the grassland, the sun was shining brightly in the sky, and the scene of tens of thousands of people seemed eerily quiet at this moment.

Most of the tribal leaders secretly glanced at the young man who was dressed in Han Chinese clothes and sitting on a chair guarded by countless armored soldiers.

Actually, it’s not quite right to call him a young man, because Xiao Yan’s beard has grown very fast in recent days, his skin has been tanned into a bronze color, and his aura makes it easy for people to mistake him for just a young man in his twenties.

Of course, it doesn’t matter whether he is a young man or not, and no one cares about this. It is enough for them to remember the name Xiao Yan deeply.

The two words "Xiao Yan" brought violence, blood, and cruelty to those large tribes, but brought wealth, honor, and a future to some tribes that were originally unknown but had come south to show their goodwill to Shuliduo early on...

This is a Han Chinese who makes people jealous, but also unable to help but fear him.

At this time, the Han man just sat there, slowly watching Shuliduo leading Yelu Yaoguang towards a desk on the bank of the Huangshui River. His face showed no joy or anger, only calmness.

The armored soldiers behind him just held their swords at their waists and looked around fiercely. Wang Yanzhang was holding a large iron spear and stood beside Xiao Yan like an iron tower, his eyes wide open, as if he was waiting for someone to jump out and cause trouble so that he could fight fiercely.

Seeing this, all the tribal leaders bowed their heads without saying a word.

"Meet the Queen, Prince Yaoguang."

Beside the desk, Shuliduo, who was dressed in luxurious military uniform, turned around and finally felt relieved when she saw this scene. She did not look at Xiao Yan, but first slowly glanced at the countless tribal leaders and said loudly: "Everyone, please stand up."

"Thank you Queen."

"Yelü Lage usurped the throne, causing the king's whereabouts to be unknown, whether he is alive or dead. The royal court has fallen apart, and the people of all tribes are in panic. This year, I have frightened you all."

Everyone was silent, and the eight tribe leaders exchanged glances with each other before saying, "May I ask your Majesty, Yelu La Geshang controls the royal court. Should we expel Yelu La Ge first?"

"Yelü Lage, of course he must be driven away."

Shuliduo said calmly: "Of course, the country cannot be without a king for a day, and the grassland cannot be without a master for a day. Without the king, the thief Yelu Lage would dare to usurp the throne, and the royal court would also fall into the hands of such people. This queen summoned you all here to offer sacrifices to the heaven for only one thing -

Establish a new king and return to the royal court."

Although everyone knew that this would happen, many people still started to groan. Leaving aside the small tribes, the leaders of the eight tribes looked at each other in dismay, their faces really didn't look good.

Shulido didn't give them any chance to react.

"Now, the king is unknown whether he is alive or dead. He may be trapped in Bohai, or in Goryeo, or he has already... Things happened suddenly, and people are in a panic, so there is no time to delay. I have appointed the queen for the king. She has the power to assist in the administration and the responsibility to supervise the administration. Since the grassland has no master, I will appoint the king's legitimate son Yelu Yaoguang to succeed him. I am telling you today so that you can spread it to the grassland and inform all the tribes.

But Yaoguang is still young and inexperienced. According to royal law, before he comes of age—"

Mobei, this queen will be the regent. "

quiet--

The field suddenly became extremely quiet. The leaders of the Shuli and Yaonian tribes, who had been prepared for a long time, bowed down immediately, but they hesitated for a moment because of the sudden silence and carefully observed the situation in the field.

It seems that most people are still somewhat unconvinced. The eight leaders looked at each other and said indifferently: "What if the king comes back?"

Shuliduo was obviously well prepared, and said calmly: "In extraordinary times, we should do extraordinary things. It is the queen's decision to establish a new king. If the king comes back... then whenever the king comes back, the king will make the decision."

The eight leaders looked at each other again, then looked at Xiao Yan, and seeing that the latter did not react, one of them stepped forward and sneered.

"But according to the king's wishes... even if the queen wants to establish a new king, she should establish the eldest prince. The eldest prince is older than the second prince, and has been carefully taught by the king for many years. He is already capable of ruling the country. Why doesn't the queen establish the eldest prince? We can also assist the eldest prince wholeheartedly."

"Yelü Bei is in the hands of Yelü Lage, how can he survive?"

"But the Queen's move will put the eldest prince in danger, won't it?" The eight tribe leaders said in surprise, "The Queen's move is also not in line with the King's wishes. We suggest that you negotiate peace with the royal court first, let Yelu Lage step down, rescue the eldest prince, and then appoint a new king."

Shulido's beautiful eyes fixed and she slowly scanned the eight people, knowing that they had obviously secretly united a long time ago.

In other words, they did not oppose the establishment of a new king, but did not want her to be regent.

She looked at Xiao Yan.

The latter did not move, stroking his chin slowly, as if thinking about something.

Shuliduo's heart sank. She had no idea what Xiao Yan was thinking. She felt a little flustered and winked at Shili Qixiang.

Shili Qixiang immediately understood and wanted to ask Yelu Zhi to dance.

On the other hand, the leaders of the eight tribes were all ecstatic. They had secretly sent people to contact Xiao Yan, and almost said that they were willing to become Xiao's dogs. They had suffered a lot at the hands of Shuliduo over the years. In order to concentrate power, this queen tried to weaken the strength of the eight tribes, so she supported Yelu Lage to usurp the throne.

Now that they saw that Yelu Lage was dying, they didn't want to let Shuliduo come back. With this queen in power, the small tribes under her might be grateful, but their eight major tribes would be miserable. They really couldn't allow Shuliduo to harm them again.

In any case, letting Yelu Bei succeed to the throne is a thousand times better than Yelu Yaoguang. As the eldest son of Abaoji, although Yelu Bei is not strong-willed, he at least has his own opinions. Unlike Yelu Yaoguang, he listens to Shuliduo's arrangements in everything. In addition, he is still young. Isn't Shuliduo the only one who decides on the grassland?
Seeing this, the wavering tribes, large and small, began to hesitate, and each of them became cowards, refusing to charge into battle for the queen.

Of course, the eight tribe leaders would continue to take advantage of the situation and force Shulido to cancel the procedure of establishing a new king.

It would be enough for us all to work together to offer sacrifices to the heavens. It would be a real bummer to establish a new king.

However, at this moment, the sound of hurried horse hooves was heard.

"Yelü Lage sent an envoy to ask to see General Xiao!"

This sound caused everyone to look in surprise, and sure enough, they saw a team of Dingbadu cavalrymen leading a group of people from the royal court entering the room.

The crowd immediately became noisy, and it was obvious that they had no idea what the purpose of releasing Yelu Lage's envoy was.

"Meet General Xiao."

The royal envoy, who had come many times and was already familiar with Xiao Yan, bowed deeply to Xiao Yan without even looking at anyone else.

Shuliduo stood there in a daze, looking a little stunned.

Xiao Yan looked indifferent.

"explain."

"In compliance with General Xiao's order, Lage Khan is willing to give up his throne, hand over the royal court, and hand over the eldest prince Yelu Bei to General Xiao in exchange for General Xiao's withdrawal of his troops."

Everyone was stunned.

Shuliduo was also stunned and clenched his fists in confusion.

"Go back and tell Yelu Lage that as long as Yelu Bei is safe, I can spare his life and allow him to go to Bohai or the Western Regions. I will give him three days to get out of here. As for withdrawing the troops, don't bother him."

The messenger did not refute. Instead, he breathed a sigh of relief and bowed down with tears of gratitude. However, Wang Yanzhang would not allow him to act wildly any longer and ordered his men to take him back.

Hearing this, the eight tribe leaders were overjoyed again, and they all put pressure on Shuliduo, saying, "Queen, the eldest prince is coming back, you should establish him as the heir..."

"Who said that Yelu Bei should be enthroned?"

The eight people paused and looked at Xiao Yan in astonishment, who spoke so quietly.

Xiao Yan ignored Shuliduo's gaze, stood up with his sword in hand, glanced at everyone, and said indifferently: "In order to promote harmony between Mobei and the Central Plains, I intend to submit a petition to the court to appoint Yelu Bei as the governor of the Central Plains.

He, if he goes to the Central Plains, cannot be the new king."

Everyone was at a loss, not understanding what it meant.

The eight leaders reacted immediately and were about to speak out.

"bass--"

Xiao Yan slowly drew out the hilt of the sword from his waist, looked around at everyone and said, "The Queen's intention is very much to my liking. Prince Yaoguang is brave and virtuous. Who supports him as the new king and who opposes him?"

The eight leaders froze suddenly, only to see Wang Yanzhang behind Xiao Yan grinning grimly and picking up the iron spear beside him.

Looking around carefully, one could also see iron cavalry running in the distance, with countless cold lights flashing, as if they had surrounded both sides of the Huangshui River.

Shuliduo was stunned for a moment.

Xiao Yan suddenly put the sword back into the sheath, then slowly walked a few steps forward and bowed to Yelu Yaoguang.

"Xiao, congratulations to the new king of Mobei on his succession to the throne."

There was a moment of silence in the field, and the cry of an eagle was heard in the sky.

Suddenly, countless leaders, chiefs, and chieftains of tribes, big and small, bowed their heads.

"Welcome the new king to the throne!"

Among the people present, only the eight leaders were still standing there in a daze. Their Adam's apples rolled, and finally they bowed down.

"Welcome... the new king to the throne."

Shulido clenched her hands tightly behind her back and bit her lips, seeming to be unable to hide her excitement.

She slowly looked around at everyone, and finally only looked at Xiao Yan.

"Yao Guang, tell all the leaders to stand up."

Yelu Yaoguang had a tense face. In fact, his mind was a little confused, as if he felt that the throne was not so easy to sit on, but he just shouted out very obediently.

"Everyone is safe!"

……

Then, the new king ascended the throne and the ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven began.

The new King of Mobei and Great Khan, Yelu Yaoguang, drank blood wine with the leaders of various tribes and offered sacrifices to the Eternal Heaven to show the legitimacy and orthodoxy of his throne.

……

"Queen, there is another Great Khan of Mobei who is still in the south. I don't know how to deal with him. Please make a decision, Queen."

"This Queen, This Queen..."

Shulido closed her eyes.

"There is only one Great Khan in Mobei."

(End of this chapter)