As October approaches, the grass on the grasslands begins to turn yellow. The cattle and sheep, raised all summer, are ready for slaughter as autumn arrives. The nomadic people living on the grasslands begin slaughtering some of their livestock, which they have raised for most of the year, in October, keeping only the lambs and calves. This is because by autumn and winter, the grassland fodder is finite. Only by slaughtering the adult cattle and sheep can they protect the pastures from being completely devoured, ensuring that grass can grow again the following year to continue feeding the people and livestock living on this grassland.

The Eighth Prince, accompanied by several civil officials sent by Emperor Kangxi, bypassed the Galdan tribe and arrived at a pasture in the northwestern part of the Mongolian steppe. Also accompanying him were the Prince of Zhi, the Ninth Prince, and the Fourteenth Prince. They each led their troops, following the Eighth Prince for a mile or two.

Eighth Master was wearing a black leopard-print cloak with fur trim, and a brown casual suit. He was handsome with dignified features and a tall, elegant figure, making him a truly dashing and dignified man.

Jelir was over fifty years old. He was born to one of Galdan's grandfather's favorite concubines, and was not a full brother of Galdan's father. After Galdan's father's death, Jelir was only forty, and immediately began a civil war for the throne with Galdan's nephew, who was over thirty. In this royal infighting, Jelir's eldest and third sons were killed by Galdan. Thus, the enmity between the uncle and nephew ran deep. In the end, Galdan won and ascended to the throne. Jelir, with his followers and a portion of his cattle, sheep, and slaves, left the steppes ruled by Galdan and fled to the northwestern pastures.

Eighth Prince galloped across the grassland on a black horse, followed by dozens of other black horses. Apart from three civil officials, the rest were his bodyguards. Although there were only seven or eight of them, they were all carefully trained by him, and each of them had the ability to take on ten men.

Eighth Master led his men into the area of ​​Jelier's camp, where two rows of steppe warriors, each wielding a scimitar, stood outside his tent. They were all dressed in cow and sheep hides, their faces dark and their lips parched, all signs of long-term exposure to the wind and sun on the steppe, quite unlike Eighth Master and the Qing Dynasty men behind him.

Eighth Prince dismounted, and the others followed suit. He walked up to Jelier's guard and, seeing the tents were tightly closed, said with displeasure, "Is this how Jelier Khan receives his guests?"

Jeliel has proclaimed himself Khan, but the territory he rules over is nothing compared to Galdan's.

"Hahaha..." A hearty, boisterous laugh came from inside the tent.

Immediately afterwards, the tent flaps were quickly pulled open, and a middle-aged man wearing a snow fox fur coat, a necklace of red coral and sky blue turquoise hanging from his chest, and a hat made of snow fox and peacock feathers stepped out of the tent. It was indeed Jellil.

"Form ranks!" At the middle-aged man's command, the two rows of grassland warriors raised their scimitars and braced themselves, their movements perfectly synchronized, their aura imposing and deadly.

"Welcome, Eighth Prince of the Great Qing!" Jellil raised one hand, making a graceful arc in the air, and then bowed to his chest.

Seeing this imposing manner, the Eighth Prince was unperturbed and returned the bow, saying, "Khan Jeli, I am here on the orders of the Emperor of the Great Qing to speak with you."

Jelier had a broad face, but his eyes were long and narrow, typical of people from the grasslands, with slightly upturned corners. His nose was very straight, and his thin lips made him look like a very capable and decisive man.

"The Khan's envoy has arrived, please!" Jellil waved his hand and said. Eighth Prince and his entourage entered Jellil's tent under the forest of knives.

This was an enormous tent, with a whole roasted lamb sitting in the middle. The lamb was sizzling and dripping with oil, and two women dressed in Mongolian attire were cutting into the lamb with small knives.

Eighth Master and his entourage sat on the floor in the guest seats. The floor was covered with felt mats made of wool, which were very warm. The tables were all in the style of the Eight Immortals' Seats, and all of them were bought from the interior. These Liu herdsmen were very skilled at wielding knives and swords, but not at carving or axe work, and they had no carpentry profession at all.

Eighth Master glanced at the people sitting opposite him and saw that they were all wrapped in wolf and bear skins, and wore chains that looked like coral beads on their heads. They were even more primitive and fierce than the people of the Horqin Grassland.

“Eighth Prince, I recently sent people to pay homage to the Heavenly Khan, but those people have not returned. Do you know their whereabouts?” Jelier asked.

Eighth Prince smiled slightly and said, "Khan, the people you mentioned have already conveyed your message to the Emperor of the Great Qing. Afterwards, we let them leave. As for why they did not return to the Khan's side, I'm afraid I don't know. Perhaps they were captured by Galdan's men and cannot return for the time being."

Seeing that Master Ba had said this, Jelier had no words to refute him. He could only lower his face, take a sip of mare's wine, and then use his knife and fork to put a piece of mutton into his mouth.

"Please have some," a man wearing a bronze mask suddenly said to the Eighth Prince and his entourage, "When the Khan heard that the Eighth Prince was coming, he personally arranged for today's whole roasted lamb."

Eighth Master glanced at the masked man in Hanfu a few times, then raised the Ma Mou wine in front of him and said to Jelier, "Khan, a toast to you. I hope you will soon reclaim the position that belongs to you."

Hearing this, Jelier was quite pleased and boldly raised the bowl of mare's wine in front of him, saying, "Very well, Eighth Prince, please!"

As everyone raised their glasses together, the atmosphere inside the tent instantly became less cold and tense.

"The Eighth Prince has arrived. I wonder what promises the Qing Emperor has made to our Khan?" The masked man sat below Jelier's throne, clearly separated from the military generals, suggesting he was a strategist or similar figure.

"May I ask who this gentleman is?" Eighth Prince smiled and asked Jelier.

“Oh. This is my strategist. He’s from your Great Qing Dynasty.” Jellal said with a hint of sarcasm.

"I am but a lowly scholar, fortunate to have been appreciated by the Khan. I am not worthy of being known by the Eighth Prince's humble name," the masked man said, bowing to the Eighth Prince.

"Then how can you, an unknown scholar, keep interrupting when I'm speaking to the Khan?" Eighth Prince said with slight displeasure.

Seeing that the Eighth Prince was displeased, Jelier coughed a few times and said, "Eighth Prince, please don't take offense. Mr. Tong is my strategist. I value him highly. What he asked is exactly what I wanted to ask."

Eighth Prince immediately gestured for Chen Wenjie, who was seated to his left, to speak with the masked man, while he himself remained silent. Clearly, Jeremy's actions showed that he didn't take this Eighth Prince seriously.