Chapter 375 How can I allow others to snore beside my bed?
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After watching Li Shiyue say something to Wang Datou, Xie Mingyue mounted her horse and rode with She'er to the outskirts of their camp.
Li Shiyue and She'er were followed by people. Li Qiutian was left at the camp, while Shi Tou and He Lu, She'er's cousin, rode after them.
The moonlight on the grassland tonight is quite bright, but Xie Mingyue's eyesight is only good enough to see about ten feet away.
So, after a short while, Xie Mingyue drew the curtains and lay down inside the carriage.
If you can't see anything, there's naturally no need to look around anymore.
Xie Mingyue, who was resting with her eyes closed, did not fall asleep. She felt that the information about Li Shiyue that she had sent someone to buy from Xingshenglou was not entirely accurate.
That intelligence report didn't mention that Li Shiyue had such a good relationship with the Turkic prince She'er!
When the two met, they acted so familiarly, as if they were friends!
Although the new Khan of the Turks was not Sher, Sher was at least a Turkic prince!
Meanwhile, Li Shiyue and She'er, who were being pondered by Xie Mingyue, arrived at a small riverbank where the surface was frozen.
She'er brought Li Shiyue here. Because of the water source, even though it was still cold, there were still some tender grasses sprouting by the river.
After dismounting, Li Shiyue patted the horse's neck and let it lower its head to find food.
Shi Tou and He Lu dismounted and stood on the riverbank.
Li Shiyue, however, walked upstream with She'er.
When Li Shiyue was a few feet away from the two men's horses, stones, and He Lu, she stopped and looked up at the crescent moon in the sky.
"Your Highness, why do you insist on calling me out into the cold wind in the middle of the night?"
After asking the questions, Li Shiyue waited for a while, but she still didn't hear a reply from She'er standing next to her.
She then turned to look at She'er beside her, "Hmm? Your Highness?"
"I lost."
At first, Li Shiyue didn't understand what She'er was talking about, but in a moment, she realized that She'er was telling her about the Turkic princes fighting for the Khan after the old Khan's death.
Li Shiyue was somewhat surprised; she hadn't expected She'er to discuss this matter with her.
For a moment, Li Shiyue didn't know how to react, so she didn't say anything, but just hummed in agreement to let She'er listen.
Not receiving a reply from Li Shiyue, She'er didn't care. After a few moments, he continued talking to himself.
"I am not actually the Khan's youngest son, haha, but I am the Khan's favorite son!"
When my father was still alive, he stroked my head and told me that I would one day inherit his Khanate and soar freely in the blue sky like an eagle on the grasslands.
Hearing this, Li Shiyue felt that She'er had really grown up in the past two years. Not only was his Chinese much more fluent than before, but he could even use metaphors.
"When my father Khan lay motionless in his golden tent, I realized that what the grasslands needed was not a soaring eagle, but a wolf king who could subdue the pack of wolves!"
In Li Shiyue's view, it was perfectly normal that Sher had failed in his power struggle among the eight Turkic princes after the old Khan's death.
Before coming to the Turkic Khaganate, Li Shiyue and Zhou Yiran had heard everything from Liu Tan at the General's Mansion about the affairs of the Turkic royal family.
To make a long story short, the old Khan doted on Sher's mother, not only because she was beautiful, but also because her maternal clan was a force to be reckoned with among the various Turkic tribes.
Moreover, from birth to adulthood, Sher's face and physique were very similar to those of the old Khan.
However, the problem still lies with the old Khan, even though he prefers his youngest son, Sher, to be the next Khan.
First of all, Sher is much older than his brothers!
The eldest prince of the Turkic Khaganate died young;
The second prince was the son of a female slave, which made him even less worthy of inheriting the Khanate in the Turkic Khaganate. It could even be said that he was not worthy of being ranked alongside Sher and others.
The third prince, however, came from a large clan, and his mother was a noble Turkic woman like Sher's mother, so the third prince's status was also noble!
And, most importantly, the third prince is eleven years older than Sher!
When Sher was still a boy, the third prince was already leading troops into battle!
In this respect, their situation is somewhat similar to that of Liu Tan and Liu Shu.
Secondly, the old Khan became increasingly greedy for power as he got older!
The third prince had long held military power, and the old Khan could not find any fault in him to strip him of his power. Moreover, the third prince's maternal clan was not to be underestimated and would not allow the old Khan to take away the third prince's military power.
Therefore, it was Sher's turn. Besides being young, the old Khan was afraid that another son of a noblewoman's mother would gain military power, fearing that he would be overthrown from the throne before he even died.
The old Khan didn't give Sher any military power!
This is the main reason why Sher failed to win the position.
Since ancient times, might makes right!
Without military power, one is at the mercy of others when vying for power!
In other words, it's perfectly normal for Sher to lose.
It would be strange if he won.
However, judging from the information provided by Liu Tan, the Third Prince had actually made preparations in advance. Before the old Khan died, he had his men surround the Khan's tent and immediately had the leaders of several major tribes recognize him as the next Khan.
Liu Tan even said to Li Shiyue and Zhou Yiran, "The death of the old Khan might also have been orchestrated by the Third Prince's family!"
Of course, in Li Shiyue's opinion, it was only because She'er wasn't ruthless enough. If, during the struggle for the throne, he had led his mother's clan to unite with other tribes and killed more people, he might have been able to compete with the third prince for the Khan's throne.
So, what could Li Shiyue say at this moment?
She didn't say anything, just listened silently.
"Haha, my mother and uncle both said that I can't bring myself to do it, so I should just admit defeat."
My maternal clan is powerful, so no matter what, we'll always have food to eat.
After saying this, She'er suddenly turned around and whispered to Li Shiyue, who had also turned around in surprise, "Even though I listened to Mother and bowed to Third Brother, he still didn't intend to let me go!"
At this point, She'er suddenly raised his hand and clenched his fist. Li Shiyue could see that She'er's mouth was pursed into a line because of anger, and his eyebrows were furrowed to the sky.
"Li Shiyue, why do you think I'm going hunting with He Lu at this time?"
My third brother actually made me go and offer a toast to that slave brat!
Who does he think he is?
"Now that you've become Khan, do you think you can disregard me and my mother's clan?!"
Obedience test!
This was the first thing that came to Li Shiyue's mind.
This is perfectly normal!
Throughout history, those who successfully seize power have always put their opponents in a test of obedience.
If the loser is obedient and compliant, then he can live a couple more days;
Otherwise, wouldn't that just give those in power a legitimate reason to kill the losers?
Power is a very fascinating thing.
The only relationship in which power can be shared is that of a husband and wife who share a bed and are equals.
How could someone in a position of power possibly share power with a former competitor who is now a loser?
The most likely explanation is that successful people who rise to power will find every possible reason, or rather, they don't even need to find a reason; they simply want to kill the losers!
In Han Chinese parlance, it means "How can one allow another to snore beside one's bed?"
In the words of the barbarians, "Only one scimitar can be drawn from its sheath in the golden tent!"
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