Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 2007 Infernal Affairs?
The wind is not strong, and the snow is falling.

Ashi Nasimo put on his armor and stood on the top of the city, not afraid of the heavy snow like goose feathers falling on the armor, bringing the bone-chilling cold.

As far as he could see, the mountain ridge in the south was covered with heavy snow, like a monster dormant on the ground. Through the wind and snow, indistinctly, the undulating Great Wall was winding and criss-crossing on the mountain.

Looking north, the wilderness with withered vegetation is flat.

In summer, this flat and fertile land will grow fertile grasslands, abundant rivers, and herds of cattle and sheep. This is the last breeding ground of the Eastern Turks. The industrious and brave Turks call it Baidaochuan.

And the city at the foot of Ashina Simo - Dingxiang City, is the last territory of the Eastern Turks.

This is the price he led more than [-] Turkic people to surrender to the Tang Dynasty, swear allegiance to the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, and promised to eliminate the border troubles in the northern border for the Tang Dynasty, and use the flesh and blood of his tribe to build another Great Wall in exchange for the price.Once upon a time, Ashina Simo naively thought that exchanging blood and sacrifices for Datang's support would enable the clansmen to multiply in this fertile land forever, and they would no longer be free from the evil of killing each other by barbarians, and no longer be chased by water plants. And the pain of migration, the children and grandchildren, from generation to generation, have settled down at ease. Perhaps in the near future, the descendants who speak Chinese and write Chinese characters can also become a real Han, and can migrate to the magnificent mountains and rivers of Guanzhong, Wenrun. In the prosperous Jiangnan, be a real Tang.

Now, however, everything seems to be coming to naught.

As far as the eyes can see in the north, a huge military stronghold stands there, and the continuous felt tents can be seen clearly even under the heavy snow all over the sky.

There, there are 20 Xue Yantuo's iron cavalry standing ready, perhaps at that moment, they will charge towards Dingxiang City!
Of course, 20 is just Xue Yantuo's claim, and Ashina Simo believes that it is just a number they boasted.Yinan Khan "won 20 soldiers, and established his two sons as the north and the south, and ruled them separately." At his peak, Xue Yantuo had only 20 cavalry. How could it be possible that all of them went south without leaving a single soldier in the country?
What's more, it was Yinan's second son, Dadushe, who led the army south this time, and his eldest son, Ba Zhuo, was the successor to the Khan throne. This is the real elite of Xue Yantuo.

Therefore, Ashina Simo dared to assert that the number of soldiers under his command would never exceed [-] in this grand deployment to the south.

However, it was only [-], a number that was not even eyelids when the Eastern Turks were at its peak, but now it is very likely to bring disaster to his clan.

Since the death of Jieli Khan, the Eastern Turks have been hunted down by the Tang Dynasty, and rebelled and divided within.The clansmen who followed him to surrender to the Tang Dynasty totaled no more than a hundred thousand people, and there were still many old and weak women and children among them. Most of the young and strong died in the battles for Bai Daochuan these years. The number of soldiers is only [-], and it is far from returning to the scale when it was strong.

It is precisely because of this that Datang will rest assured to hand over this fertile land to them to thrive...

This used to be the hometown of the Turks, but now they settled down here relying on the breath of the Tang Dynasty.

Facing the wind and snow, Ashina Simo sighed, and the heat from his breath turned into white mist and dissipated before his eyes.

He has long been tired of the hard life in the wind and sun on the grassland. Chang'an's singing, swallows, dancing, bells, and food have worn away the strongest physique he once had as a descendant of the Ashina family, and also eroded the greatness he once aspired to be like his ancestors. Khan's ambition.

His only wish is to lead his people to live in this fertile land...

"Great Khan, an old man braved the snow and came to the city. He said he was an old friend of Jieli Khan's camp back then, and asked to see him."

A lieutenant came quickly and said loudly.

"Ashina" is the most noble surname on the grasslands. It has been Turkic Khan for generations, meaning "noble wolf" and symbolizing the highest ruling power of Turks.Ashina Simo's father, Duliu, was the younger brother of Jieli Khan. When Jieli Khan was in power, he loved Ashina Simo very much. The latter inherited the rights of the Turkic Khan in sequence.But because he looks like a Hu, not a Turk, his uncle Chu Luo Khan suspects that he is not of Ashina family blood, so he has a high status, but he has never been able to hold power and set up a tooth tent.

After surrendering to the Tang Dynasty, His Majesty Li Er trusted and reused him very much. He was appointed General Youwuhou and Governor of Huazhou. Yellow River, who settled in Baidaochuan and built a city in Dingxiang, has been the Ping Fan of the Tang Dynasty for generations, guarding the frontier for the Tang Dynasty for a long time.

Therefore, all Turkic people call him "Khan".

"An old friend in Jieli Khan's tent?" Ashina Simo raised his thick eyebrows, and asked in astonishment, his cheeks twitched from the fat that had been raised by Chang'an's comfortable life.

Jieli Khan had been dead for nearly ten years. The tigers and wolves under his tent had already been separated and scattered all over the grassland.
Ashina Simo was a little hesitant, wondering whether he should see him or not.

As a vassal, it is the most important thing to insist on words and deeds at all times. Who knew that an inadvertent move would arouse the suspicion of the Tang emperor?Although the emperor of the Tang Dynasty had a broad mind and no doubts about employing people, but he couldn't hold back the censors who were full of courts, and it was uncomfortable to be targeted by them...

But at the time when Xue Yantuo's large-scale southern criminals approached the city, someone who claimed to be an "old man" came to ask for an interview. Who knows if there will be any secrets?
It's not right to see...

The soldier replied: "The man refused to reveal his life, but only said his surname was Zhao."

"Surname Zhao?"

Ashina Simo looked suspicious, turned his head, and then his heart skipped a beat, and hurriedly said: "Follow me to meet him!"

First stride along the city wall and head towards the west gate.

*****
The wind and snow fell all over the sky, forming a vortex in front of the city gate, and the snowflakes swirled down one by one, and the snow on the ground was already knee-deep.

The moat for irrigation from the Shili River has long been frozen, and the river is covered with heavy snow, making it difficult to distinguish the river embankment.

An old horse stood more than ten feet in front of the city gate, snorting from time to time, puffs of white air from its nostrils, pawing the snow with half of its legs missing.

A figure wrapped tightly in fur, sitting on the horseback safely...

Ashina Simo came to the city gate tower, looked down from a high place, leaned on the mouth of the dish and asked loudly, "Who is here?"

Immediately the figure heard the sound, raised his head, did not answer, just kicked the horse's belly lightly, the old horse flicked its tail, walked forward slowly, and stopped only three feet away from the city, and immediately opened the door. The cloak on his head raised his head, revealing a wrinkled face full of age spots, he smiled at Ashina Simo and said, "Boy, are you okay?"

Even if Ashina Simo didn't look at this face, the familiar voice let him know who it was, he was shocked, and said in a voiceless voice: "Are you still alive?"

Immediately the old man laughed loudly and said, "The Khan is not yet full of revenge, how dare he die in the underworld?"

Ashina Simo waved his hands again and again, ordering the soldiers around him: "Quickly, quickly open the city gate!"

After all, he also came down from the city.

A soldier put down the suspension bridge and opened the city gate. Ashina Sima walked out of the city quickly, came to the old man, and said respectfully: "I haven't heard from you for several years. I thought you were dead long ago. You should have come here earlier." Look for my talents, so that I can be filial!"

After saying that, he took the rein with his own hands and walked into the city.

The Turkic soldiers at the city gate were too shocked to speak, who is this old man?Actually let our crazy and irascible Khan personally lead the horse to fall...

Ashina Simo held the rein of the horse respectfully, walked through the snow-covered long street, and arrived at the general's mansion in the city.

The door of the mansion opened, and the old man from the mansion came out to welcome Ashina Simo, seeing that his master was holding the rein for someone else, he stood there dumbfounded at a loss.When he saw the face of the old man on the horse, the old slave was shocked, fell to the ground, and shouted loudly: "This old slave has seen Mr.!"

Ashina Simo laughed, helped the old man get off the horse himself, and said with a smile: "Look, even if you haven't heard from you for ten years, even an old Turkic dog still remembers you. Back then If you hadn't disappeared, Jieli Khan would not have been defeated in Yinshan, and the Khanate would have been wiped out..."

(End of this chapter)