"Reporting!"
"Reporting to the Khan, the Special Service and State Teacher have returned to the grasslands! They are now at the Scarlet Pagoda Division and will reach the royal court in another hour! "
In the depths of the grasslands, Mount Yudujin of Qibei was the location of the Eastern Turkic royal court's tents. In the most majestic tent, a Turkic soldier reported respectfully to a middle-aged man sitting at the head of the table.
The so-called special service was a kind of official title on the Tujue side. The 《Book of Zhou: History of the Tujue》 said, "High officials have Ye Hu, Secondary Office, Secondary Office, Secondary Office, Secondary Office, … all twenty-eight ranks, all of them." However, the New Book of Tang said that the Special Service was a title for the Khan's descendants and not a noble title. It was not within the twenty-eight ranks. (Because the Khan's descendants monopolized this title, there was such a saying.) They were in charge of internal affairs, handled diplomatic relations, and often negotiated military and national affairs.
In the beginning, the position of secret service was filled by members of the Turkic Khagan family (Ashina family). Because this position required rich political experience, profound knowledge, and agile adaptability, it was not the specialty of the Turkic people. Therefore, in the later years, it was gradually filled by Sogdians. In the historical records, "Taitou" was a mistake. In the future, the various ethnic groups in the north continued to use this title, such as the Huigs' "Diyin" and the Khitans' "Tiwen".
In the Turkic Khans, there was the Yabgu below the Khan. The Yabgu was equivalent to the King of Qin and the Duke of the Central Plains and had considerable power. And below the Yabgu was the Special Service!
That middle-aged man had a stocky build and wore a brocade robe. His hair was combed into small braids, and there was a thick beard on his chin. His eyes were as fierce and sharp as a wolf king's, and he was full of power and influence!
This man was the current ruler of the Eastern Turkic Khans — Xieli Khan!
"Hm? The State Teacher is back? Do you know if they brought back the confidential files of Yanhuang College on this trip? "
Hearing this, a glint flashed across Xieli's eyes. He leaned forward slightly and looked at the soldier below and asked in a deep voice.
"Re … Khan, I don't know about this! However, only a little over a thousand people came back with the State Teacher! "
The soldier looked carefully at Xieli's expression and then said with a trembling fist and palm salute.
"What? Only a little more than a thousand out of fifty thousand came back? "
When he heard these words, Xieli suddenly stood up, his voice also raised by an octave. He walked down from his seat of honor and arrived one zhang in front of that soldier, continuing, "Last night, this khan even received news that the state preceptor has already obtained the secret dossier from Yanhuang College, that the Sher Secret Service led fifty thousand elite wolf riders to receive the state preceptor. Why is it that in the short span of one night, only a thousand or so of the fifty thousand elite are left?"
"It's said that … it's said that the State Preceptor and the Special Service were ambushed by Li Zexuan at the Longmen Pass of the Great Tang. Later, they were surrounded by the combined forces of the northern provinces of the Great Tang and were almost completely wiped out!"
The messenger carefully reported to Xieli.
Speaking of which, this kind of messenger soldier was considered a high-risk job. When they delivered bad news, they had to be prepared to be killed by their superiors to vent their anger!
"Li Zexuan! Li Zexuan again! "
A hint of surprise flashed through Xieli's eyes, but then he felt that this result was somewhat illogical. He said with a face of disbelief, "That's not right! Isn't it said that Li Zexuan is treating the plague of locusts in the Great Tang's Guanzhong provinces? Then why was he able to set up an ambush in advance on the State Preceptor's way back to the grasslands? "
The messenger soldier immediately had a troubled expression, "This … this lowly one does not know!"
How could he know how Li Zexuan could set up an ambush in advance, he could only answer truthfully.
Xieli's eyes were filled with anger. After a pause, he said in a deep voice, "Leave! When the State Preceptor and the Special Service return, have them quickly come to see this khan! "
Previously, Xieli had wanted to personally welcome Wu Jie and Ashina Sher's army's triumphant return. But now that he knew that Wu Jie and the others were not triumphant, but fleeing in defeat, how could Xieli still go and welcome them? Right now, he even had the heart to kill! That was forty thousand elite wolf riders, Xieli's heart was bleeding!
"Yes! Khan! "
The soldier cupped his fists and left after receiving the order.
After the soldier left, Xieli snorted heavily and scolded angrily, "Trash! All of them are trash! A Great Grandmaster expert and fifty thousand elite troops actually fell at the hands of a small Li Zexuan. Could it be that this kid is really the nemesis of our Turks? "
"Great Khan, calm your anger!"
Seeing that Xieli was unable to calm down, a middle-aged man in luxurious clothes stepped forward and bowed to Xieli, saying, "Whether it is the State Preceptor or the Special Service, they are both good ministers and fierce generals of our Turks. Although they were defeated in this battle, it is not to the extent of harming their muscles and bones. Moreover, after the State Preceptor and the others return and after the Great Khan understands the details of this battle, we can then make a decision! Do not create enmity with the State Preceptor and the Special Service because of a moment of anger! "
This person was Ashina Simo, who had gone to Chang 'an to ask Li Er to hand over the Khitan Chieftain two months ago. Back then, he had also held the position of Eastern Turkic Khagan, but later on, he had taken the initiative to abdicate. In terms of blood relationship, Ashina Simo and Xieli could be considered uncle and nephew!
Xieli frowned for a while, feeling that Ashina Simo's words were very reasonable. He could not help but nod, saying, "En! Simo's words are reasonable, let's see what they say in a while! "
The inside of the tent quickly fell into silence.
About an hour later, a flurry of footsteps came from outside the tent, and a soldier quickly walked in. Bowing, he said, "Reporting to the Great Khan, the State Preceptor and the Special Service request an audience outside the tent!"
"Let them in!"
Xieli had long since calmed down, and he expressionlessly nodded.
"Yes!"
The soldier turned around and exited the tent. Not long after, Wu Jie, who was wearing a black robe that had already formed a shell, and Ashina She Er, who was wearing a blood-red leather armour, walked into the tent. Together, they saluted Xieli, "Greetings, Khan!"
"The State Preceptor and the Special Service may dispense with the formalities!"
Seeing that the two were covered in blood, Xieli's expression changed slightly, and his tone became somewhat gentler. After the two straightened up, Xieli asked in a low voice, "The Special Service, this Khan heard that you and the State Preceptor were ambushed by Li Zexuan in the Great Tang and suffered heavy casualties. Just what happened? Quickly tell me! "
Hearing this, Ashina Simo hurriedly bowed and said, "Reporting to the Great Khan, this ambush in the Great Tang was all due to the greed of the State Preceptor for advancing prematurely. At that time, I had already met up with the State Preceptor at the Great Tang's Horse Dipper Pass, but I learned that the secret files that the State Preceptor took from Yanhuang College were snatched by Li Zexuan at the Longmen Pass. At that time, Li Zexuan was already seriously injured by the State Preceptor. I was unwilling to give up and wanted to take back those secret files and capture Li Zexuan alive, so I led the army back to the Longmen Pass!
My army could have broken through the gates of the Longmen Pass quickly, but Spiritual Master Lingxu's Junior Brother suddenly rushed to the battlefield and won some time for the Great Tang's army. After that, Qin Shubao, Cheng Yaojin, and the rest of the Great Tang's army arrived with reinforcements and chased after us! Later, outside the Yonghe Pass, my army was besieged by the Great Tang's army. After a narrow escape, the State Preceptor and I escaped from the Great Tang and returned to the grasslands!
But this time, when we entered the Great Tang, my army suffered more than 48,000 casualties, while the Great Tang's army suffered more than 60,000 casualties. I was greedy and rash, causing the army to be besieged by the Great Tang's army and suffer heavy casualties. I am willing to accept all punishment! "
Ashina Sher did not shift the blame and directly took all the blame. In fact, the loss of this war was indeed his fault. However, if he had not been greedy and rash and led the army back to the Longmen Pass, Wu Jie would have been the one to take the blame. Because it was Wu Jie who lost the secret files of Yanhuang College. If he was not the one to take the blame, who would take the blame?
Unfortunately, there were no ifs in this world. It was his greedy and rash advance that caused the army to suffer heavy casualties. Compared to the consequences he caused, Wu Jie losing the files of the Great Tang Academy seemed insignificant!
Only then did Xieli, who was sitting at the head of the table, understand the general process of this great battle. With a solemn face, he said coldly, "So, this time when you sneaked into the Tang Empire, not only did you not bring back the secret dossier of Yanhuang Academy, you also lost more than forty thousand elite Wolf Riders in the Tang Empire and almost got wiped out, right?"
If they had obtained the files of the Great Tang Academy and lost more than 40,000 elites, Xieli would have felt better. But now, not only did they not obtain the files, they also lost so many soldiers for nothing. Was this not a double loss?
It would be strange if Xieli was not angry!
"We have failed at the start of the war. Please punish us, Khan!"
Seeing Xieli angry, Ashina Sher and Wu Jie both bowed and asked for punishment.
"Hmph! Good! You have caused the Turks to lose soldiers and generals. You deserve ten thousand deaths! Men! "
Xieli's anger could not be quelled. He could not help but shout and call for men.
"Great Khan, calm your anger!"
Seeing that the situation was about to get out of control, Ashina Simo hurriedly stood up and bowed. "Great Khan, calm your anger! Although the Imperial Advisor and the Sher Secret Service were at fault, they definitely do not deserve death. The Tang army's casualties in this war are obviously more than ours. Both the Imperial Advisor and the Sher Secret Service have meritorious service! Merits offset demerits. Great Khan, please be lenient with your punishment! "
Hearing this, Xieli subconsciously wanted to fly into a rage on the spot. But seeing Ashina Simo looking at him with eager eyes, those eyes seemed to be able to speak, constantly hinting him not to be impulsive. Taking a deep breath, Xieli said in a deep voice, "What Simo said is reasonable. But the two of you can be exempted from death. But more than 40,000 Turkic warriors have been buried in the Great Tang. There must be an explanation for this matter! Men, drag the Sher Secret Service out and whip him 50 times. As for the Imperial Advisor … although the Imperial Advisor has no merits, he has worked hard. The Imperial Advisor should go back and have a good rest! "
Although Xieli was somewhat dissatisfied with the result of Wu Jie's infiltration into the Great Tang, in order to leave some face for Wu Jie, he could only suppress these dissatisfaction in his heart. After all, the persimmon to pinch was the soft persimmon. Obviously, Ashina Sher Secret Service was a soft persimmon!
"Many thanks for Khagan's leniency!"
Ashina Sher Secret Service was not dissatisfied with Xieli's punishment. In fact, the moment he had been defeated at Yonghe Pass, he had already thought about the punishment he would receive upon his return. In comparison, this result could already be considered good!
He also did not feel unbalanced because Wu Jie had not been punished. On one hand, the main reason the Turkic army had suffered such heavy losses was because he had made a wrong strategic decision. On the other hand, if not for Wu Jie's formidable strength, he might not have been able to break out of the encirclement with his thousand-some men, and there was a high chance that his entire army would have been wiped out!
Wu Jie was expressionless. He did not show the joy of surviving a calamity or escaping punishment, nor did he show the dejection of defeat. After Xieli's words, he was silent for a few moments. Then, he cupped his fists to Xieli and turned to leave.
His departure was very confident, and his departure was also very domineering!
He was truly worthy of being the Turkic Imperial Advisor, second only to one and above all!
But even so, Xieli did not say anything. Ashina Simo and Ashina Sher Secret Service were also not surprised. It was clear that they had often seen this sort of situation before.
… … …
"Wu Jie, you're finally back? I heard that the army had a bad start. Did Father Khan blame you? "
After leaving Xieli's tent, Wu Jie headed west to a relatively large tent. He opened the flap and walked in, where a beautiful Turkic woman hurriedly came up and asked with concern.
"No!"
Wu Jie indifferently replied, and then he stepped forward and hugged the woman's body, asking, "Yan 'er, while I was gone, did your illness relapse?"
His voice was unexpectedly filled with tenderness. In the eyes of outsiders, Wu Jie was a murderous demon, but in front of a woman, he had transformed into an infatuated man. If anyone were to see this scene, their jaws would have dropped to the ground!
The woman gently smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'm fine! While you were gone, my first time didn't hurt even once. It's just that I often missed you and was very worried about you. I was afraid that you would encounter danger in the Great Tang! Ah, why is there so much blood on your body? Where are you hurt? Does it hurt? I'll have someone call the Kashi Shaman! "
The so-called Shaman was the primitive religion of the northern tribes. It originated from a very early time, and in the matriarchal society, it was already very developed and mature. Shamans were almost all clan leaders, and the deified Queen Mother of the West was both a Shaman and a tribal chief.
Historians did not use the term 'Shaman', but only referred to them as' Wu '. In the Xiongnu Era, Shamans played a certain role in politics and military affairs. In any war or other indecisive matters, the final decision was made by Shamans. The Shamans of the northern tribes were very different from the Wu of the Central Plains. Shamans needed to have a lot of common sense and knowledge, to be able to expel diseases, to be able to observe the development of things, to predict the future, and to predict good and bad luck.
"Yan 'er, don't worry, this blood isn't mine!"
Wu Jie looked at the thick layer of blood on his body and hurriedly comforted the woman.
The woman breathed a sigh of relief, but then she frowned and worriedly asked, "So much blood, did you encounter danger in the Great Tang?"
"Ha! It's not dangerous! No one in the Great Tang can hurt me! "
Wu Jie's lips curled into a smile, and then he lifted the black hood on his head, intending to take off his blood-stained robe. But as soon as he lifted the hood, his face hidden in the darkness was revealed. It was a resolute and thin face, not very handsome, but very pleasing to the eye. On the right side of his cheek, there was a very terrifying scar, as if it had been burned by fire!
It was a shocking sight!
… … …
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