Realm of Power

Under the moonlight, the fat man's fingers gently held up Yelu Qiyeguang's jade-white chin, and gently touched the prairie beauty's rosy and attractive lips with his fingers, and then said in a slow voice, "You should know, even if Wumu helps you It's useless to talk. In the name of unifying the northern grassland, To the Yelu family, but you should be very clear that the empire cannot allow the rise of a powerful and unified grassland royal court. The Yelu family must make a choice, move back to the northern grassland to replace the northern royal court, or keep the existing imperial capital area. , run your own Yelu Palace.”

The fat man paused for a moment, then put down his hand from Yelu Qiyeguang's soft and smooth lips with unfinished thoughts, turned around, looked at the grassland in front of him, and sighed, "This is a unique and vast area, and the most precious thing is grass. , the second is water, which is the basic condition for survival and is indispensable. Whenever water and grass are exhausted in a place, pasture is moved to solve the problem of raising livestock. The nomadic life of living on water and grass. Livestock is the livelihood, and water and grass are the basic conditions. The peoples on the prairie compete for hegemony around these two elements. Each tribe succeeds in becoming the overlord of the prairie. Some tribes were annexed and integrated with the annexers, while others took refuge in distant places. Once a powerful person unified them, it would be a disaster for any surrounding country."

If the empire wants to fully control the northern grassland, in order to maintain its military advantage in the Central and South Asian regions, it must increase its military strength.

The empire has stationed 100,000 troops on the Imperial Capital West Road. Even if the Imperial Capital West Road has recovered a lot now, it can only barely provide part of the army's supplies. The entire army must maintain sufficient combat power while it is stationed. It is not just enough to have food. Yes, there are also ordnance weapons Maintenance and repair, rotation and reorganization of soldiers, soldiers are also human beings, and it is unrealistic to station in distant places for a long time. Just the annual rotation has already caused the Imperial Ministry of Military Affairs to make three requests to increase the military expenditures for the troops stationed in Central Asia in one month. Stabilize the floating military morale,

Allowing the empire to station tens of thousands of elite troops in the northern grassland area will be a heavy burden even with the empire's financial resources. This kind of thing is not worth the gain in both strategic and economic terms, but it is not appropriate to sit back and watch the Yelu family unify the northern grassland. The interests of the empire, a divided northern grassland, is far more reassuring to the empire than a powerful unified royal court.

"I understand what your Majesty means,"

Yelu Qiyeguang's delicate body trembled slightly, twisting and turning, gasping softly. "Although it is the wish of two generations of my Yelu family to unify the Northern Grassland, the Northern Grassland has long been unable to accommodate the Yelu family. It is enough to get a name." It’s very good. The soldiers of the Yelu family defeated the Imperial Capital with their blood. If I really had to choose, I would choose to keep the existing Imperial Capital.” "I just ask that your majesty can help the North Prairie get out of this crisis of cold people going south. After all, this is the ancestral land of the prairie people."

"Is it a crisis? Where do you see the crisis?'

The fat man glanced at Yelu Qiyeguang and smiled slightly. Yelu Qiyeguang really cared more about what the Yelu family currently had. It was tempting to unify the Northern Grasslands, but it was absolutely impossible for the Yelu family to give up the Imperial Capital area. Besides, there is a North Royal Court on the North Grassland, he said coldly. "Don't look at the fact that Beiwangting suffered a complete defeat in the battle with the Coldlanders. They were either defeated in one battle or retreated in panic. In fact, you know better than me. That's not the case at all. The Yelu family is anxious to march north to the North Grassland, not because of the North. The grassland was invaded by the cold people, but because if the Yelu family did not go north to the northern grassland, they would never have this opportunity again. "

"I don't understand your Majesty's words." Yelu Qiyeguang's delicate body trembled slightly.

"Originally I was aware of it, but in the north of Yanzhou, I heard something that reminded me that Wang Ting was borrowing the help of cold people from going south to increase his strength." The fat man's eyes were a little cold, and his voice was slow. Said: "For the Wang Ting Army, retreating after defeat is just a normal strategic arrangement, but the tribes in these areas are another matter. That is their home. Faced with the king's following The Cold Earth Army coming from behind the Imperial Court's army had no choice but to stick to this road. It was impossible for the North Royal Court not to know this. "The fat man talked about it." For this reason, I paid special attention to the retreat route of the Imperial Court, and found that the Cold Earth Army These grassland tribes that were swept south were all tribes that occupied grasslands in the northern grassland and had a certain power. The defeat of the North Royal Court was simply leading the way for the cold people."

"It turns out that His Majesty already knows."

Yelu Qiyeguang's pretty face turned pale, and he suddenly knelt down in front of the fat man, gritted his teeth and said, "This march to the north is indeed under the guise of saving the North Grassland. In fact, it is just to seize the last chance. As His Majesty the Emperor said, If the Yelu family keeps waiting, they will never have another chance."

"Wang Ting seemed to be losing successively due to the impact of the cold people from the south. However, the most powerful Wang Tingwei never suffered any losses. On the contrary, the Wang Ting army retreated all the way, as if they were showing the way to the cold people. These powerful tribes were in disarray and suffered heavy losses. The warriors of several tribes were massacred by the cold people at the cost. The women, children, cattle and sheep of the tribes that retreated naturally It was also taken over by the Royal Court. This collapse was like a snowball getting bigger and bigger, and the effect was amazing. The strength of the Royal Court did not decrease but increased in two months. In just two months, the number of tribal slaves and wealth it owned But in addition to showing geometric growth, it also forced the weaker tribes to take the initiative to move towards the North Royal Court. The situation that had been ignored when the Royal Court just retreated was reversed in one fell swoop." "The current military strength of the North Royal Court has made the tribes stranded on the grassland dare not disobey." Yelu Qiyeguang's voice paused and said, "When the Royal Court withdrew from Zhongbia Yanzhou, the army led the tribes with only more than 200,000 people." Humans are like lost dogs. Their popularity has even been suppressed by the subsequent rise of the Fengtai tribe. Up to now, the Royal Court is no longer what it used to be. According to intelligence, there are already more than half a million prairie people. Surrounding the royal court, you must know that there were never more than 400,000 tribes near the royal tent of the former Khan, but now the new Khan has surpassed the former Khan. Our grassland people have always gathered to form an army and dispersed. People, that is to say, the Royal Court seems to be defeated on the front line, but in fact it maintains a mobilization strength of nearly 200,000 grassland warriors at any time. If it continues to grow, it will be a joke for my Yelu family to move northward. "

"It seems that my guess is correct. There must be a secret agreement between the Coldland people and the Royal Court. The Royal Court deliberately gave up part of the land, and the Coldland people are responsible for helping the Royal Court eradicate their opponents. If at the entrance of Yawu Valley, the Empire does not What will happen if he attacks? "The fat man's black pupils are like stars, staring at Yelu Qiyeguang kneeling in front of him, looking at the long hair as beautiful as a waterfall hanging on his shoulders. This situation is a bit too unexpected. No wonder Yelu Qiyeguang made such a big splash in the north of Yanzhou, and also told him the plan of the cold people who might take advantage of Dao Onnacuo. It was obvious that he wanted to drag the empire into trouble. It was obvious that Yelu Qiyeguang must have known about Beizhou. In fact, the Royal Court has secretly joined forces with the Coldlanders, and even deliberately lured the Coldlanders to attack the rear. If that were the case, the Yelu Royal Court would still be defeated by the two forces, even if it was an overwhelming force this time!

"If His Majesty really doesn't care about Qi Yeguang's life or death, then Qi Yeguang will have no choice but to accept his fate." Yelu Qi Yeguang raised his head, his eyes cold and sad.

"Why is this? Since we know that there is no danger in the northern grassland, why do we still take such a risk?" The fat man looked at the grassland woman in front of him with confusion on his face. If he hadn't seen the problem himself, he really wouldn't have thought about it. , Yelu Qiyeguang's nationwide war, is it just a wedding dress for the empire to conquer the northern grassland?

"Does Your Majesty know about Dongbo?" To Fatty's surprise, Yelu Qiyeguang said

"Dongbo?" The fat man was stunned for a moment. He had actually heard of the geographical name Dongbo. It was a narrow strip of land in the northeast of the Central Asian continent. The downward peak mountains divided the northeast into two parts. Second, the area to the west is the North Grassland with lush grasslands, while the area to the east is the hilly land with relatively poor terrain. The grassland people Known as Dongbo, Dongbo has a towering terrain, rugged mountains, and thousands of large and small lakes. The prairie people have crossed the Bofeng Mountain several times to launch wars eastward. Although they occupied some areas, they often lost control over the next dozen or so years. In the year, we had to give up due to insufficient logistical supplies. In addition, the Dongbo area was barren, and it finally came to nothing.

"My ancestors of the Yelu family are not the traditional grassland people here, but the Dongbo royal family who were plundered by the grassland people more than three hundred years ago. This Dongbo plate is proof of the royal family." Yelu Qiyeguang looked calmly and took a look from his sleeves. He took out a dark disc with some unknown patterns carved on its surface and held it in both hands before delivering it to the fat man.

"Dongbo royal family?'

The fat man took a deep breath, took the carving and looked at it. He didn't see anything special. He twisted his hand on the disk a few times along the lines, and heard a clicking sound. The surface of the disk looked like A roll of animal skin was staggered, and one side was exposed. He spread it out and took a look. The fat man was a little uninterested. What, didn't he just look like he didn't know? Are you talking about a treasure map that's been around for many years? It clearly shows some terrain and a mark on a certain area in the upper right corner of the map. It should be a map of a certain area in Dongbo, even if the Yelu family once belonged to the Dongbo royal family. Identity, more than a hundred years have passed, and now the Yelu family has even established a royal court. What is a mere Dongbo royal family?

"Actually, this is useless?"

There was some embarrassment on Yelu Qiyeguang's beautiful face, and he smiled lightly, "Back then, King Dongbo was defeated by the Royal Court of the Grassland and died. King Dongbo's son was captured and came to the North Grassland as a prisoner of war. He was then used by the servants of the Royal Court family in various ways. Humiliated, and finally died of grief and anger. After more than a hundred years of hard work, my Yelu family has escaped from slavery. He climbed up to the position of Prime Minister of the Royal Court, but the Northern Royal Court is still worried about our Yelu family. If it weren't for the empire's march to Onnacuo, our Yelu family would have been doomed long ago. This northern march is not only the last chance to take revenge on the Northern Royal Court. , but also because my Yelu family wants to open up the road between China and Bia and Dongbo.

"Now is the moment when the royal court's blockade of the Dongbo area is the weakest in hundreds of years. I also sent people to Dongbo, and they agreed. As long as our Yelu family can prove our strength, the Dongbo tribes will agree. Join forces with our Yelu family to declare war on Beiwangting!"

After listening to Yelu Qiyeguang's words, Fatty was also considering the feasibility of uniting the Dongbo tribes.

The current North Royal Court is obviously struggling to its death. Although it seems to be accumulating strength, it is at the expense of shaking the foundation of the grassland people. Everyone is not a fool, just like the various discussions he heard in the Yanzhou North Army Camp. Likewise, the grassland people have shown contempt for the North Royal Court. The Royal Court has lost all of its centuries-old aura, and they are just using various means to gather people from various tribes around them. Once this false strength is A major setback is a disaster

The opportunity before the empire is so obvious. As long as the last force of the Northern Royal Court is defeated and the three forces of the Coldlanders, Dongbo and Prairie people are involved in the chaos of the Northern Prairie, the Northern Prairie will not have decades, or even decades. In a hundred years, it is impossible to gather a dynasty as powerful as the former Royal Court again. This is enough. Without the strong neighbor of North Grassland, the empire can devote itself to running the Central and South Asian regions. As long as there is ten years During the recovery time, the Central Asian region will inevitably become the empire’s largest commercial and trade supply region.

"Actually, you should have said it earlier, or you didn't want to do this." The fat man pulled Yelu Qiyeguang up. "What do you mean, Your Majesty?" Yelu Qiyeguang's beautiful black eyes blinked.

The fat man's eyes flashed, the corners of his mouth turned up, and he smiled slyly and said, "Since the North Royal Court can sacrifice part of its interests to win over the cold people, why can't we?" Anyway, the Northern Grassland does not belong to your Yelu family, nor does it belong to my empire. It is precisely that neither your Yelu family nor the empire wants to see the unification of the Northern Grassland. That would be easy. The climate in the cold areas is getting colder, and people from the cold areas are fleeing south. The main reason, that is to say, as long as anyone agrees to the Coldlanders settling in the North Grassland to avoid disaster, the Coldlanders will unite with them. It was because the North King Court saw this that the Coldlanders agreed to help him eradicate his dissidents. , in exchange for settlement land."

The fat man paused and continued, "I was wondering at first. It can be seen from the battle at the mouth of the Yawu Valley. In fact, it is impossible for the cold people to defeat the Wang Tingjun in combat. I believe that from Aonacuo, we can go around the mouth of the Yawu Valley behind. This plan, Even if Beiwangting, who is familiar with the terrain, provides it to the people from the cold areas, Beiwangting probably did not expect that you would win at the mouth of Yawu Valley. Now that you have taken advantage of the victory at Yawukou, there are still 20,000 people from the cold areas. With a prisoner in hand, if you show your willingness and coldness The people from the cold area will definitely agree to what the local people want to talk about. As long as the people from the cold area promise not to go south, the tribes that were forced to surround the North King's Court will disperse on their own. By then, the North King's Court will naturally not be able to sit still. , it was you who made the cold people If you don't go south, it's you who allowed the ministries to return with peace of mind, and the person who started the war again is the North King's Court. As long as friction breaks out between the North King's Court and the cold people again, then justice will be on your side, and then there will be opposition to the North. The reason why the royal court used force!"