Early in the morning, while the shepherds were busy milking their cows, walking their horses, and driving their sheep to graze on the sparse grass on the barren land, Kerstein was brought to the Turkic Khagan's tent.
Kerstein was still dressed in the splendid attire of a shaman. He wore a crown of pheasant feathers on his head, a colorful fur coat, a boar skin cloak on his shoulders, and a skull made of cow bones around his neck. He held a strange walking stick in his hand.
The moment he entered the Khagan's tent, he discovered that the Turkic generals had already filled up the tent. Soon after, he noticed that the Tang emissary was sitting firmly on the seat of honor.
Grand Shaman Kerstein's heart immediately tightened. This was not a good sign!
"Khagan! I know that the Tang have sent an emissary, but I don't know if the Khagan believes his flowery words or if he's willing to befriend us honest Khitans? "
Kerstein did not dare to be negligent and immediately went straight to the point, questioning Moche.
Hearing this, Yang Fan sneered. He was not the only one who sneered. Among the leaders who listened to the scout's account yesterday, there were quite a few young ones who could not keep their cool and also sneered.
Kerstein's heart sank even deeper. He stared at Moche and harshly said, "Khagan! Just what did he say to you? I can swear on the name of the ancestral spirits that nothing I said to the Khagan was false! "
By now, Moche had completely believed Yang Fan's words. Originally, he had wanted to tease Yang Fan by calling Uzbekistan over and have him confront Yang Fan face to face. Now that he saw Yang Fan's exasperated expression, he suddenly lost interest.
Moche indifferently said, "Grand Shaman Kerstein, since you believe that your ancestral spirits will protect you, there is no need for you to seek our cooperation. I admire your loyalty to your people, so I do not want to embarrass you. You can leave now. Take your people and leave this place immediately! "
The Khitans had already begun to build their base in the Yingzhou region, and they did not suffer too much on the battlefield in Hebei. Although the situation began to change with Li Duozuo's victory and the entry of Lou Shide and Shazha Zhongyi into Hebei, these generals were still led by the incompetent Wu family.
The commander of the north was Wu Youyi and the commander of the south was Wu Yizong. The existence of these two severely restricted the development of the Hebei battlefield to the Zhou's advantage. Even if the Turks were unwilling to ally with the Khitans, the Khitans would still be able to survive, though the battle would be even more confusing.
If that was the case, and the alliance failed, Uzbekistan could just leave in a huff. Although it would not be the icing on the cake, their situation was not too bad. But now, things were different. Stan's keen senses told him that the goal of the Wu-Zhou envoys wasn't just to ruin their alliance, but something else.
What if the Turks formed an alliance with Zhou?
He had already heard that Moche's condition for the surrender of the Hequ Six Prefectures was to fight the Khitans on behalf of Wu Zhou. Initially, he firmly believed that this was an excuse for the Turks to deceive Wu Zhou. But when he saw the Wu-Zhou envoys, who was treated as an honored guest by the Turks, he no longer dared to harbor such fantasies.
"If my mission cannot succeed, then I will not let you succeed!"
With this thought, Stan said loudly, "Even if the Khan did not say it, I could still guess it! This cunning Wu-Zhou envoys must have told you that we have already suffered a great defeat, that we are at the end of our rope, and even asked you to send troops to help them destroy us, right? "
Stan's words hit the nail on the head, and Moche's face immediately darkened. Yang Fan sighed inwardly, "This Khitan envoy could have retreated safely. If he was a little stupid, not only could he have kept his life, he could have also sent the news back in time to warn the Khitans. Now that he has guessed the Turks' plan, how can Moche let him go? "
Seeing the expressions of Moche and the rest, Stan knew that he had unfortunately hit the nail on the head. In a moment of desperation, he blurted out, "The Tangs are cunning and cannot be trusted! Khan Moche. Have you forgotten how Li Tang bowed to you when he wanted to conquer the world during the chaos of the late Sui Dynasty? "
Stan's eyes bulged out in anger, and he looked around at the leaders in the tent. He said vehemently, "Li Yuan pledged allegiance to the Turks in order to get you to stand on his side. He promised that as long as you lend him your troops, you can have as much as you want from the children and wealth obtained from the war. The Tang Empire will only take the land. If you did not send your troops, as long as you did not cooperate with the other rebellious kings to attack Li Tang, we would still give you gold and jewels!
When the Khan of the Turks passed away, the Tang Empire stopped the court to mourn for three days. All the officials in the court went to pay their respects. Whenever there was a Turk envoy, Li Yuan would personally attend a banquet and be very respectful. What happened in the end?
As soon as the Tang Empire stabilized, he wanted to catch up from behind. Khan Jieli deeply hated the Tang Empire and sent troops to attack. The Tang Empire was no match for them. Li Shimin emptied his treasury to bribe the Turks and promised marriage. All he wanted was to retreat. You retreated, but what happened in the end? "
Stan said sternly, "In the end, Li Shimin only paid lip service to the Turks. On the surface, he was respectful but he was secretly accumulating the strength of the country. Coincidentally, the Turks were in internal strife and he took the opportunity to attack. He first destroyed the East Turks and then the West Turks. Even your Khan Jieli and Khan Ishbara were captured alive. Your land became the Tang Empire's Governor's Office and Protectorate!"
Stan glared at him and shouted, "The sons of the Turks became the slaves of the Tang Empire. Innocent women were reduced to slaves of the Tang Empire. The Turks were forced to abandon the name of the Turks and use the name of the Tang officials. They served the Tang Emperor for more than fifty years, bowing and scraping and losing all their prestige! It was not easy for you to restore your country and become strong again. Are you going to repeat the same mistakes? "
Stan's words caused an uproar among the leaders in the tent. The Turks were unhappy at the mention of the bitter experiences of the Turks.
Yang Fan saw that the Turks had been incited to hate the Tang by Stan's words and knew that things were not going well. While Stan was speaking, he was racking his brains for a solution. When Stan finished, Yang Fan immediately laughed and clapped his hands, saying, "Wonderful! Truly wonderful! "
Mozhi glanced at him and saw that he is calm and smiling. He knew that he must have something to say and the hatred he felt for Stan lessened. He wanted to hear what he had to say.
Yang Fan casually said, "Before the Sui Dynasty, the Turks were powerful. China promised marriage and treated the Turks like a distinguished guest. During the Sui Dynasty, Emperor Yang Jian was a great strategist. He unified the world and all sides submitted to him. Didn't the Turks do the same? "
When Emperor Yang Guang arrived at the Yanmen Pass, the Khan of the Turks personally led the court officials to welcome him. Yang Guang went to inspect the camp. The envoy was the first to lead the way. The envoy complained that the area outside the Khan's tent was not clean. The Khan personally pulled out his sword and cut the grass to show his respect to the Sui Dynasty. This is the difference between the strong and the weak.
At the end of the Sui Dynasty, the Central Plains was in chaos. Rebellions broke out and the Turks rose. All the rebellions in the Central Plains tried to curry favor with the Khitans, promising them wealth and people. They did everything they could to curry favor with the powerful Turks. But they are not as strong as the Turks. What else is there to say?
By the time the Central Plains was unified and became stronger, the Turks had internal strife and split into the Eastern and Western Turks. The two fought endlessly and the country's strength weakened day by day. By this time the Tang Empire has risen. If they did not take this opportunity to attack the Turks, in my opinion, it would be unimaginable.
Yang Fan laughed coldly and said, "The strong and the weak are relative. Every country has its time when it is strong and also its time when it is weak. When it is strong, it will bully other countries. When it is weak, it will be bullied by other countries. Since ancient times, this has never been the case!" The people of the grasslands who believe in the law of the jungle agree with this saying. But when it comes to themselves, they do not feel so comfortable.
Yang Fan said, "Today the Khan of Moche is a wise ruler. He has 400,000 soldiers and a territory of ten thousand miles. All the tribes in the north serve the Khan. As for the future, whether the Turks or Zhou will be stronger, it will depend on whether they have a wise ruler. It is not something you and I can decide.
As the people in charge, we only need to do what we are doing. What is the current situation? Now that the Turks are on the rise, our Zhou is still a strong country, having inherited the power of the Great Tang. If the two countries fight, it will not be a good thing for either side. Once both sides suffer, others will benefit from it. Thus, the Turks and Zhou are at war. On the other hand, your Khitans … "
Yang Fan looked at Stan and said with a smile: "You begged for troops, groveled and groveled, and even gave a large piece of land to the Khagan. Your methods are exactly the same as us when we were weak!"
Yang Fan turned to Moche and asked with a smile, "Does the Khan not feel that the Khitans' methods today are the same as when our two countries were weak? As a nomadic people, if the Khitans become strong, I wonder if the first to bear the brunt will be my Zhou or your Turks. "
When the generals in the tent heard this, they could not help but look at Stan with a dangerous glint in their eyes. At present, Zhou was obviously not a country that they could take over. Even if Zhou became stronger, with the Great Desert Plains, a place where no other races could survive except nomads, it was impossible for them to be their mortal enemy. Khitans were different.
The Khitans' submission today is like how the Kagan Khan mowed the grass for the Sui Emperor and how the Tang Emperor wore mourning clothes for the Turks. But once the Khitans become strong, as nomadic people, they can rule the entire grasslands and integrate the Turks like the Xiongnu, Rouran, Xianbei and other nomadic people into their own tribe and completely wipe them out.
The Khitans have now shown their strength. This is the most dangerous enemy!
Stan's face turned red and he wanted to say more. Moche had already made a decision. He slammed his palm on the table and shouted, "Men!"
A few warriors outside the tent answered and entered. Moche pointed at Stan and said fiercely, "This Khan has long made an agreement with Zhou to form an alliance and be friends forever! This person is cunning and eloquent in order to frame us Turks as an unjust person! He deserves to be killed! Drag him out and execute him along with his followers. Leave no one alive! "
The bodyguards complied, and dragged Stan away.
Stan turned pale with fright. His walking stick was snatched away and his hands were twisted. Stan struggled with all his might. His pig skin cloak fell to the ground and the feather hat on his head tilted. He shouted at the top of his voice, "When two countries are at war, envoys are not to be executed! Moche, you cannot break the rules. You cannot kill me! "
Chebichri sneered and spat at him. "The Khitans are just a vassal of Zhou. What kind of country are you? Bah! "
Yang Fan secretly heaved a sigh of relief but he maintained a calm expression on his face.
Moche looked around at the leaders and said in a deep voice, "I think we should fulfill our promise and cooperate with Zhou to attack the Khitans. What do the leaders think?"
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