The atmosphere inside King Zhelan's tent was like an icy cave.
The news that Timur captured the Salt Lake and was named King Shule was like a loud slap in the face of King Zhelan!
His face was pale, his chest heaving violently, and a strange hoarse sound came from his throat.
"Timur...you...you ungrateful beast!"
King Zhelan suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, staining the front of his shirt red, and his body was shaking.
Salt Lake! That was the lifeline his Zhelan tribe had always dreamed of!
But now it has been occupied by his former subordinates, who exchanged it for rewards from the Chanyu and set up their own faction!
This is a great shame!
"Your Majesty, please calm down! Take care of yourself!"
The few trusted generals left in the tent hurried forward to support him, their faces filled with sadness.
The army suffered heavy casualties under Shuozhou City, and Timur took advantage of the Salt Lake. The Zhelan tribe's strength was greatly damaged and its prestige was destroyed.
King Zhelan sat down dejectedly, staring at the ceiling of the tent with empty eyes.
He knew it was over.
After this series of failures, the tribes became divided and the leaders of the small tribes that were dependent on them were probably planning to find another way out.
He waved his hand wearily: "Everyone... go down... let me... be in peace."
The generals withdrew quietly.
The moment the curtain fell, Huyan Gu, the prime minister whom King Zhelan relied on most, paused for a moment, glanced at the decadent figure in the tent with complicated eyes, then quickly lowered his head, walked away quickly, and disappeared into the night.
Instead of returning to his tent, he turned a few corners and came to an inconspicuous felt tent at the edge of the camp and knocked lightly three times.
When the felt tent was opened, the person sitting inside was Timur's trusted envoy!
Hu Yan Gu showed a flattering and shrewd smile on his face and whispered:
"Go back and tell King Shule that I, Huyan Gu, am willing to serve you at my utmost! The Zhelan tribe... has run its course!"
.....
The atmosphere in King Loufan's tent was equally solemn.
The Murong tribe's defection to Zhao Muyun was like a poisonous thorn that pierced deeply into the heart of the Loufan tribe alliance.
This time, the expedition to Shuozhou ended in failure with heavy casualties, which made the tribal leaders, who were already shaken by the defection of the Murong tribe, even more active.
King Loufan was keenly aware of the flickering glances and private whispers of the leaders under his tent.
"Your Majesty!" Han Yanshou lowered his voice. "The defection of Murong Hu and his son has had a devastating impact! If this isn't dealt with quickly, more tribes may follow suit, and the alliance could crumble in an instant!"
A cold light flashed in King Loufan's eyes, like a hungry wolf stalking its prey on the grasslands. "My sword is still sharp! Send a message to our spies near Yinzhou to find the whereabouts of those traitors of the Murong tribe at all costs!"
"Isn't Murong Hu's brother, Murong Bao, still in our hands?" Han Yanshou understood. "We can use his brother as a hostage to force Murong Hu to surrender. Or...we can just eliminate Murong Hu and his son to intimidate the rest of the gang!"
"Prepare for both scenarios!" King Loufan's voice was icy cold. "Find them first! If we can force them to return, that's great! If not... hmph, the heads of Murong Hu and his son will be the best warning to those who are wavering!"
"The Murong tribe is leaderless, so it's a good opportunity to bring it back under my control! As for that brother Murong Bao..." A trace of cruelty flashed in his eyes, "Let's see if Murong Hu knows his place!"
A bloody purge of traitors quietly began in the dark night.
......
On the top of Shuozhou City, the blood-stained flag with the word "Zhao" on it was still fluttering, but the atmosphere in the city was completely different from the hellish scene a few days ago.
With the full efforts of Ma Bao, who had become a "living Bodhisattva" in the hearts of the soldiers and civilians of Shuozhou, and other medical masters such as Doctor Liu and Doctor Zhou, Han Zhong, who was seriously injured and unconscious, finally opened his eyes with difficulty.
Although he was still extremely weak, with thick bandages wrapped around his chest and his voice rumbling like a broken bellows, the light in his eyes was more steadfast than before he was injured, like fine steel tempered a hundred times.
"Old Han, you finally woke up!" Zhong Dahu, Wang Tiezhu, Tian Qing, Lin Feng, Guo Luo, Xi Sheng and others gathered around the couch, their eyes red with excitement.
After experiencing the hellish bloody battle in Shuozhou, these generals became mature one by one, and became more calm and decisive.
"City...city..." Han Zhong uttered the words with difficulty.
"Hold it! Old Han! Reinforcements have arrived, the counterattack was successful, and the Tartars have retreated back to the grasslands!" Zhong Dahu said hurriedly, "That Xiao man and the three prefecture commanders were also taken away by the imperial envoy."
Han Zhong breathed a sigh of relief. "We're fighting a bloody battle in Shuozhou, and what Zhao Tou is waging in the capital is also a bloodless battle! Have those soldiers from the three prefectures left?"
"Still outside the city, preparing to break camp and leave." Lin Feng responded.
Han Zhong slowly closed his eyes, then opened them again after a moment. His voice was weak but carried an undeniable force:
"Pass... pass on our military order... the reinforcements from the three prefectures of Hedong... have worked so hard and made such great contributions... prepare wine, meat, and fodder... Captain Zhong will personally lead the troops... escort... escort them out of the country... be sure to... show the utmost courtesy!"
Everyone was stunned.
The imperial envoy sent by the court has already taken the three prefecture commanders away. These soldiers are leaderless and are eager to return home. Why are they seeing them off now?
But seeing Han Zhong's unquestionable look, Zhong Dahu immediately clasped his fists and said, "As you command!"
When Zhong Dahu brought the Shuozhou soldiers and civilians to deliver steaming hot meat, dry food and jars of good wine to the soldiers from the three prefectures who were preparing to break camp, these exhausted Hedong soldiers were all stunned.
Looking at the sincere gratitude in the eyes of the Shuozhou soldiers and civilians, and listening to the heartfelt words of "Thank you brothers from Lanzhou, Daizhou, and Xinzhou for saving our lives", many soldiers' eyes instantly became red.
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