Chapter 207 This is what a man should do

Mid May.

The sky was clear and everything was quiet. Only one Saker Falcon spread its wings and flew across the sky, easily breaking through the clouds and circling in the sky.

Shulido walked up the hill slowly, gently holding down the cloak that was fluttering in the wind behind him, and just watched quietly as the outline of a city was rising from the ground in the distance.

It was a newly built city named "Dading Prefecture".

Two hundred years ago, when Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, conquered Goryeo, he stayed here and later established the Raole Military Governor's Office here. Because this area had always been the place where the Xi people had lived for generations, the leader of the Xi people was appointed as the Raole Military Governor.

However, with the rise of Mobei, the surrender of the Xi people, and the great changes in the Central Plains, the so-called Raole Governor's Office became a mere name and was no longer recognized by the people of the grassland.

However, a hundred years later, Xiao Yan lightly tapped the map with his finger, and this place was given a Han name again. Hundreds of famous craftsmen from Yan area went out of the border one after another, and based on the terrain, they planned a blueprint for a city.

Originally according to Shuliduo's idea, the first city should be built in the royal court, but Xiao Yan chose this place as the site. According to Shili Qixiang's private report to her, when Xiao Yan was on his way north, he saw the clouds in this place from afar and thought it looked like a city wall and towers, so he thought it was suitable for the location of the new royal court in Mobei.

This statement may seem absurd, but it sounds much better than saying that this place is only 600 miles away from Gubeikou and 900 miles away from Youzhou.

You must know that the royal court's Xilou Town is located nearly 700 miles away from Dading Prefecture. Xiao Yan chose this site to build a city. It seems to be very far away from Youzhou, but compared to Xilou Town, it has almost cut the distance between Youzhou and the Mobei royal court in half.

If a cavalry unit set out from Youzhou, they could reach Dading Prefecture within ten days just by marching quickly during the day. It can be said that the royal court's move of seven hundred miles to the south really made it easier for Xiao Yan to control the situation.

However, according to the initial plan, it would take one or two years to roughly build the city. If the entire royal court was to be moved in, it would not be possible within three to five years. Therefore, in the past two years, the Mobei royal court was still in Xilouyi.

Therefore, under this premise, even if Shuliduo was a little dissatisfied, he would just obey this resolution on the surface.

Who asked Xiao Yan to make the decision?

In fact, not everyone on the grassland was afraid of him. At that time, Xiao Yan rushed northward for hundreds of miles, annihilated several tribes, and injured countless others. In this situation, some surrendered immediately, some wanted to escape, or fought to the death.

If Shuliduo had not stepped in in time to appease the tribes, the people on the grassland would not have stabilized so quickly.

Because in this kind of matter, although Xiao Yan is strong in military force, he cannot do it well without Shuliduo. After all, he is a warlord who has just entered the grassland and has no credibility on the grassland. Not all tribes will believe in his promises, and blindly suppressing with force will only backfire and provoke the tribes to want to resist all the time.

Only with Shuliduo's influence could Xiao Yan have the credibility and prestige to win over all the tribes and bring stability to the grassland.

She borrowed Xiao Yan's power, and Xiao Yan borrowed her power. The cooperation between the two could barely be considered a win-win situation, but overall, Xiao Yan had a much greater chance of winning. After all, Shuliduo's own prestige had also dropped a lot. If there were undercurrents in the eight departments, she also needed to spend time trying to win them over, appease them, and compromise.

In the past few years, she has been inseparable from General Xiao, who is feared by all the leaders of the tribes.

Therefore, she could not refuse the royal court's decision to move south.

"Queen Mother."

Behind her, a maid in military uniform came forward with a cup of tea and handed it to Shuliduo respectfully.

In addition, maids carried chairs and small tables and set them up quietly.

Shuliduo took it and took a sip. He did not put it down, but held it in his hand and asked calmly, "It's so fast. The merchants from the south have arrived here... It's really fast."

If you say it was fast, it wasn't that fast if you count them carefully. After all, the ceremony of enthroning the new king was a month ago, and the burial ceremony of the previous king Yelu Abaoji was even half a month ago. So many things can happen in a month, let alone such a trivial matter as the Han merchants going out of the border.

However, the arrival of these Han merchants was too quick. Almost as soon as the war was settled, they poured into the grassland and gathered here.

If you look to the south, you can see a large-scale market formed among the endless tents along the Tu River that meanders past the city wall of Dading Prefecture. Han merchants from the Central Plains and people from the grasslands come and go, as if they are conducting barter transactions at any time.

Shili Qixiang, who had been standing by, whispered: "Yesterday, many Han merchants from the south came here again. I thought that someone in the south had been organizing them to enter the grassland..."

"It's a good thing."

Shuliduo brushed his cape, placed the tea on the small table, sat casually on the chair, and said calmly: "Since General Xiao wants to promote trade between Hebei and the grassland, it will be a profitable business for the future, so don't worry about anything."

At this point, she suddenly remembered something and asked casually, "What is General Xiao doing?"

Shili Qixiang immediately turned around and looked at a maid.

The latter hurried forward and whispered, "Queen Dowager, this morning, Great Khan Xiao taught Your Majesty archery in the camp. During lunch, Your Majesty also ate with Great Khan Xiao in the camp."

Shiri Qixiang had a subtle expression, but she just lowered her head and said nothing.

Shuliduo also slightly closed her beautiful eyes, nodded slightly, and took a sip of the tea.

She was the first to know about Yelü Abaoji's death, and she personally ordered the details to be kept secret. Even Xiao Dilu, who knew the truth, and the Mobei soldiers who were present at the time had been placed in the south by her.

Her feelings regarding her husband's death were indeed complicated, or perhaps mostly guilt. However, in the final analysis, apart from guilt, she was not sad, but rather felt a little relieved.

She knew very well that according to Yelu Abaoji's temperament, after knowing the inside story, the trust between them would no longer exist, and she would lose all her power.

Over the years, the couple have always respected each other, and Abaoji also respects and trusts her, but that doesn't mean he is a fool, a idiot, or incompetent.

Abaoji loved the queen, but he loved Mobei more. He would not do anything detrimental to Mobei because of the queen.

The queen only loves Mobei.

For the rise of Mobei and to become a figure like Emperor Wu, she was willing to give up some things when necessary, even if it meant temporarily sacrificing some of Mobei's interests.

When the previous king passed away and the new king took the throne, she took over as regent.

This is the best situation.

As for Xiao Yan, if he is really willing to treat Yelu Yaoguang as his adopted son, that would be the best situation.

But Shulido knew it was impossible.

In Xiao Yan's hands, there is also Yelu Bei.

She knew very well that when Xiao Yan proposed to take Yelu Bei to the Central Plains in front of the leaders of various tribes that day, he was indeed trying to help her out. But upon closer inspection, Xiao Yan just wanted to hold Yelu Bei, the real and legitimate heir of the Yelu family, in his own hands.

According to the Central Plains, Yelu Bei was the prince of Mobei, a figure like the crown prince, with absolute legitimacy.

If there is any change in Mobei, Xiao Yan can have a legitimate reason to do so, that is to say, he has the strongest claim to send troops to Mobei.

He supported Yelu Yaoguang to become the King of Mobei as promised, but there was no mention in his promise that he could not take Yelu Bei to the Central Plains.

The clash between the two ambitious men was ultimately full of intrigue.

Shuliduo wanted to win the heart of General Xiao, but she had no idea how to do it.

Seeing her lost in thought, Shiriki Xiang suggested, "Queen Mother, should we bring the King here?"

"That's all."

Shuliduo shook her head slowly, and then squinted her eyes at the distant city for a long time on this high hill before she said, "How is Ao's plan to cure General Xiao's residual illness?"

"It doesn't seem to be going well." Shili Qixiang replied: "According to Aogu, General Xiao... Great Khan Xiao is not simply suffering from the aftereffects of his mission. He has too many demons in his heart. Aogu can only cast a spell to treat the aftereffects of Great Khan Xiao's mission. Aogu is still studying the matter of demons in his heart."

"Inner demon..."

Shuliduo read these two words carefully and nodded slightly.

"Queen Mother." Shili Qixiang bent down and whispered, "Why not take this opportunity to let Aunt Ao find a solution..."

"Don't say such things anymore." Shuliduo covered the tea lid and said calmly, "Trust is cultivated bit by bit. I don't need to take risks for such a trivial matter. Mobei can't afford to suffer any more."

"It's the slave's stupidity."

"Let's go and get ready. General Xiao will be returning to the Central Plains soon. We will hold a banquet in the next two days. One is for the king to reward the leaders of the tribes, and the other is for General Xiao to see him off."

……

In the training ground of the large camp beside the Tu River, countless knights were galloping. Yelu Yaoguang was riding his horse in the front, drawing his bow and shooting an arrow, hitting the center of the target.

All around him, the sons of more than a dozen chieftains of various tribes were also riding horses, drawing their bows constantly, and the sounds of carefree joy could be heard continuously.

On the stage, Xiao Yan, wearing a Mobei-style military uniform, sat in the first chair.

His skin color had turned completely bronze, and there was a little stubble on his chin, which made him look several years older.

But even so, he still looked like a pretty boy among the rough-looking barbarian leaders.

At this time, he laughed heartily, pointing at the young man who was riding a horse and surpassing Yelu Yaoguang and leaving a few arrows on the target, and said: "Whose good boy is this?"

Among the various chieftains who were also sitting on the chairs, a short and strong man with a braid stood up, crossed his chest and saluted happily, saying: "Your Majesty, it's my son!"

In fact, before Yelu Yaoguang ascended the throne, many leaders of small tribes had called Xiao Yan "Great Khan" when they met him. It was not until Shulido officially gave Xiao Yan the title of "Southern Khan" that all the tribes changed their words.

At this moment, the big man looked very happy, as if he knew that his son had brought honor to him.

"I remember you are from the Nera tribe?" Xiao Yan laughed and asked in fluent Mobei dialect.

"Exactly!"

"Please remember this for me." "Yes." A bad guy standing behind Xiao Yan immediately took two steps forward.

"Reward the Nera tribe with ten pieces of brocade and ten kilograms of tea."

The leader of the Nera tribe was overjoyed when he heard this. Even though these were only ten fine horses and ten kilograms of tea, he would need to spend a large amount of leather, medicinal materials and even horses to exchange for such rare items.

"I thank the Khan!"

"No problem." Xiao Yan waved his hand and said with a smile, "I like you, my good man. How about you be my personal guard?"

"It is my... uh... son's honor to serve as the Khan's personal guard!"

The former did not hesitate. It was just one son, and he had plenty. Sacrificing a son to ensure the prosperity of the Nerala tribe was a huge profit.

The other tribal leaders were either surprised, or envious, or unmoved. In short, their expressions were different, and it was obvious that they all had some ideas in their minds.

After more than a month, these tribal leaders were still stranded in the south. It was not that they did not want to leave, but they simply did not dare to leave.

After the late king passed away, Xiao Yan, who was rumored to be the sworn brother of the late king, stationed his army here and often took Yelu Yaoguang for a walk, which was obviously done for them to see.

The royal court suffered heavy losses, with only one tenth of its regular troops left, and some of them were taken away by Yelu Lage when he fled. In their view, Xiao Yan's reluctance to leave and let them go was obviously a warning to them.

At this time, it seemed that the only way to ensure the future of the tribe was to serve the Khan of the Central Plains well.

However, unexpectedly, Xiao Yan asked them to stay here, but only asked them to prepare for trade and let his men bring livestock, furs, medicinal materials, etc. to Dading Prefecture.

What followed was a scene of Han merchants coming in droves for more than ten days. These Han merchants sold tools, grains and tea from the Central Plains to them in exchange for things from the grasslands. They were simply doing business.

In addition, Xiao Yan also transferred a batch of brocade, porcelain, and tea from the south, and distributed some of them to all the tribal leaders who cooperated with the trade, which was truly surprising and pleasing.

After this series of moves, 90% of the tribes could no longer sit still.

Khan Xiao was actually a man of his word. How could they give up such a great opportunity? They all sent people back to the tribe to pass on the message. Apart from anything else, it was worth it just to save face and leave a good impression on Xiao Yan.

Anyone with eyesight can see it.

The reason why Queen Mother Shuliduo can sit firmly in the royal court is because of Khan Xiao. The rise and fall of the grassland is in the hands of these two people. If they don't add now, there will be no chance later.

Without mentioning what the leaders of the various tribes were planning in their hearts, after everyone accompanied Xiao Yan to watch the little king Yelu Yaoguang's archery, they followed Xiao Yan to discuss matters with Shuliduo in the tent.

The things that are being discussed are nothing more than things that have already been on the agenda.

Every spring and autumn, the grassland would hold a large-scale trade fair in Dading Prefecture, and in autumn a ceremony to worship the sky would be held along the Tu River.

Xiao Yan and Shuliduo would personally participate in all the ceremonies of offering sacrifices to the heavens. They would give the chiefs of various tribes some rare items such as gold and silver wares, brocade, and porcelain, and the chiefs of various tribes would present them with specialties such as fine horses, wolf skins, and sheep skins.

Of course, why there is no tea? Because tea is controlled by Xiao Yan. This is something that Shulido needs to trade with him alone, without having to discuss it with the leaders of various tribes.

After the discussion was completed, the first trade meeting was held in the next few days, which had the effect of calming the hearts of the people.

Then, on the last night of the trade fair, Queen Mother Shulido personally hosted a banquet, and all the leaders of the tribes, including the generals of Dingbadu, Lulong Army, and Longxiang Army, attended the banquet.

……

"The candidate for the garrison is Yuan Xingqin?"

White tents, exquisite carpets, spacious and gorgeous decoration.

The woman's body fragrance floats in the air, very refreshing.

But in between, there was obviously a scent of blooming heather mixed in, which was a little pungent.

There were beads of sweat on Shuliduo's face. She just rested her cheek on the couch and looked at Xiao Yan who was changing clothes.

From her perspective, she could see the latter's extremely strong back muscles, broad shoulders, and a very obvious jawline from the side.

Indeed, if there were no other conflicts of interest, Shulido would be obsessed with this young body.

"Yes, he is calm and steady, and has enough experience in leading troops. I feel at ease."

"Two thousand soldiers, aren't they too few?" Shulido frowned, picked up the hair that was soaked with sweat and stuck to her cheeks, and brushed it behind her ears.

Xiao Yan tied his belt and laughed.

"I hope the Queen Mother can think like this if she waits a few more years."

"..." Shuliduo also smiled but didn't say anything.

Xiao Yan didn't say much and turned around to walk out of the tent.

“Jiulang…”

Shuliduo saw Xiao Yan paused, and then she remained silent for a long time before she said in a sad voice, "Everything I have depends on you."

Xiao Yan laughed, not knowing whether he believed it or not, and strode out without hesitation. It was obvious that he was not afraid of being seen sleeping with the most noble woman on the grassland.

Shuliduo stood up, putting on his coat.

She didn't care whether Xiao Yan believed it or not. She just wanted him to know that she was trustworthy.

Mobei.

It's hers.

……

At the end of May, thousands of cavalrymen holding various weapons stood proudly on the grassland.

Countless flags were fluttering, and a large banner with the word "Xiao" on it pierced deeply into everyone's eyes.

In the breeze, Yuan Xingqin, wearing a helmet and armor, knelt solemnly on one knee, and took the tiger talisman that Xiao Yan handed to him with both hands.

"I will definitely live up to Commander Xiao's important responsibility."

Xiao Yan patted his shoulder, said no more, and got on the horse.

In the distance, next to the remaining Dingbadu knights, Shulido, who was guarded by countless people, was riding on a horse, her beautiful eyes half-covered, and there was a hint of sadness in her tense face.

In front of her, Yelu Yaoguang strode forward.

"Farewell, Father Khan!"

Afterwards, countless tribal leaders, whether sincere or not, would bow down respectfully no matter what.

"We are waiting to see the Khan off!"

Xiao Yan sat on the horse, looking at this spectacular scene, and suddenly felt heroic, but he just kicked the horse's belly and headed south.

Behind him, thousands of riders followed one after another, flags waving, everyone was extremely excited, and their heroic spirit shook the whole area.

But it was different from their excitement.

Xiao Yan knew that after this matter was over, there would be more unknowns waiting for him in the Central Plains.

Such as the affairs of Bianliang.

Like the quarrels among princes.

Countless people are trapped between life and death, but don’t know where the way forward lies.

And there is the Marshal who has been waiting for him for three hundred years.

However, as the saying goes:
The sea ends where the sky becomes the shore, the mountain reaches the top where I am the peak.

Like the sun rising from the east mountain, the roc spreads its wings and regrets that the sky is so low.

……

Xiao Yan turned around and looked at the countless grassland heroes from all over the place who were lying on the ground and still dared not get up, as well as the countless brave men who followed him south.

The eagle in the sky flapped its wings, but it also submitted to him.

He just knows.

A real man should be like this.

(End of this volume)

(End of this chapter)