Chapter 664 Your surname is Shang?
Ashina Zhuye immediately stood up, silently walked to the side of the Pasha general, and knelt on one knee: "Father Khan, last night I admitted that the reinforcements I led did not arrive in Taiyuan as scheduled."
Lady Jiayuan laughed and said, "So, the eldest prince admits that the loss of Taiyuan is your responsibility?"
Ashina Zhuye did not look up at her, but kept his head down and said, "However, I also reported to Father Khan yesterday that the reason why my reinforcements did not arrive in Taiyuan on time was because they were ambushed by the enemy on the way."
"Um?"
"Right in Shouyang, it seems that the other side knew in advance that our Turks would send reinforcements to Taiyuan, and it seems that they knew in advance which route I would take and were waiting for us there."
"..."
"Although my soldiers and I fought back in time, we did not expect to encounter Wang Shaoji's troops again. They attacked us as if we were enemy soldiers, and in the ensuing melee, we lost some men."
"..."
"After that, I was forced to detour to Qixian, firstly to rest and secondly to find out the situation in the south. But as soon as I got there, I found that Qixian had been taken by the Yuwen family. I had no choice but to turn back to the Turks."
At this moment, General Pasha struggled to straighten his knees. He looked up and saw Lady Jiayuan sitting next to Ashina Shali. She gave him a wink, which he understood. He immediately sneered and said, "Your Highness, after all you've said, Taiyuan was lost because your reinforcements didn't arrive."
Ashina Zhuxie turned to look at him and said in a deep voice, "What I want to say is—my whereabouts have been leaked."
"..."
“The enemy knew I would arrive even before I did.”
"..."
"But, apart from the Turkic heartland, the only other place you know about my marching route is the garrison in Taiyuan—that is, General Pasha. So, have you ever considered who leaked my whereabouts, allowing the enemy to ambush me in Shouyang in advance?"
Upon hearing this, Ashina Shali's gaze immediately turned cold again.
Equally calm was Shang Ruyi, who had remained silent, trying her best to avoid being noticed. She noticed that General Pasha's eyes flickered and his aura trembled slightly after hearing Ashina Zhuxie's words, and she immediately understood what had happened in Shouyang earlier.
Everything was exactly as Yuwen Ye had predicted.
However, what he probably didn't expect was that Wang Shaoji's troops would also be involved? He had previously heard that a force had come from near Luoyang, passing through Zhiguan Pass and entering the Taihang Mountains. They had been speculating whether it was Liang Shide's troops trying to join the battle, but now it seemed that it was Wang Shaoji's troops.
The Wang brothers split their forces to fight, originally for the sake of stability.
Unexpectedly, Yuwen Qian used them to make Wang Shaoji and Ashina Zhuxie's troops kill each other, and he profited from it. In this way, he weakened the Wang brothers' military strength and blocked the Turkic reinforcements, leaving Taiyuan without any external support.
It is unclear whether this plan was conceived by Yuwen Qian himself or suggested by Yu Mingyue.
If it were Yu Mingyue, it would be expected, but this woman is clearly more terrifying than I thought. However, if it was Yuwen Qian's own scheme, then he is even more terrifying than Yu Mingyue!
This man has been chanting Buddhist scriptures for so many years, yet he has never given up his military career!
Just as Shang Ruyi was lost in thought, General Pasha suddenly raised his head again and sneered, "Your Highness, you are mistaken. Besides our own troops and the Taiyuan garrison, there are others who also know."
"Oh? Who?"
"That's yourself."
"..."
"Perhaps it was because you revealed your marching route that the enemy was able to take advantage of the situation."
Upon hearing this, Ashina Zhuxie gritted his teeth, but instead of laughing in anger, he said, "You mean, I revealed my own marching route so that the enemy could ambush me? What would I do that for?"
"Well, I don't know. After all—"
General Pasha said, glancing coldly at Ashina Zhuxie, "Those who are not of our people are sure to have different intentions!"
As soon as these words were spoken, the entire grassland fell silent.
Ashina Zhuxie's eyes turned blood red in an instant, glaring fiercely at him, but he couldn't utter a single word. Ashina Shali, who had been looking gloomy and still thinking about the war in Taiyuan, also frowned at this moment, and a strange expression appeared on his face.
He let out a deep breath and said, "Alright!"
General Pasha was taken aback and looked up at him: "Khan, I—"
Ashina Shali said with a stern face, "You go down and receive one hundred lashes; your subordinates will each receive fifty lashes!"
"Khan!"
"Get down!"
General Pasha was still unwilling, but when he looked up and saw that Lady Jiayuan had gently shaken her head at him, he had no choice but to give up. He bowed again, struggled to stand up, and staggered to the side.
Shang Ruyi couldn't help but take a deep breath.
Just now, although it was just a few people arguing about the responsibility for the fall of Taiyuan, she saw the undercurrents in the Western Turkic court.
Looking back, when they arrived at Tongguan, they already knew that the Western Turks would send reinforcements to Taiyuan, which is why they split into two lines of fighting, east and west. However, they still do not know the source of the information. Ashina Zhuxie's whereabouts could not have been leaked without a reason.
It now seems highly likely that someone deliberately leaked this information, sending their men to ambush the reinforcements. Regardless of whether Taiyuan fell or not, Ashina Zhuxie could be held responsible. If it fell, the blame could be placed entirely on Ashina Zhuxie; if it didn't fall, he could still be held accountable for being late.
As for the reason—
Shang Ruyi's eyes flickered as she looked at the gentle and charming Lady Jiayuan, and she understood what was going on.
It turns out that in the Western Turkic court, there were also two princes vying for their future, and behind them, many court officials had also sided with their respective factions.
Moreover, it is clear that Ashina Zhuxie is at a great disadvantage.
I wonder what the final outcome will be.
Just as Shang Ruyi was deep in thought, General Pasha was about to walk out of the crowd when Ashina Shali suddenly said, "Wait a minute!"
As soon as he spoke, everyone perked up again.
Shang Ruyi also looked up and saw that General Pasha immediately turned around and walked back to his seat, whispering, "Does the Khan have any further instructions?"
Ashina Shali's one eye flickered slightly in the firelight as he asked, "Who took Taiyuan?"
"...!"
Upon hearing these words, Shang Ruyi's heart skipped a beat.
Almost simultaneously, she heard Lei Yu beside her subconsciously hold his breath, staring intently at General Pasha. General Pasha paused for a moment, then frowned, as if trying to recall something. After thinking for a while, he said, "Reporting to the Khan, it is a member of the Yuwen family."
Ashina Shali said, "Of course I know they are from the Yuwen family. What I want to ask is, who in the Yuwen family are they?"
The atmosphere became even more tense.
Although Shang Ruyi knew that things had come to this point and whoever took Taiyuan would have nothing to do with her, who was trapped by the Turks, she still subconsciously held her breath.
General Pasha thought for a while before saying, "It seems to be Yuwen Ye..."
"...!"
Shang Ruyi took a deep breath.
Ashina Shali frowned slightly and then said, "You saw him?"
General Pasha shook his head: "I didn't see him, but I saw his men. His personal guards are the only ones he can command, so he must have been the one who attacked Taiyuan that night."
At this point, he added with a hint of resentment, "If reinforcements had arrived in time, we certainly wouldn't have suffered such a crushing defeat."
"..."
"Now, not only has Taiyuan been lost, but 50,000 troops have also been captured."
"..."
"However, Yuwen Ye isn't all good."
"oh?"
Ashina Shali had initially ignored what he said afterward, but the last sentence made him think again. He looked up at General Pasha and asked, "What do you mean by that?"
General Napasha said, "While we were fighting the enemy, we heard a message from outside that the Princess of Qin had gone missing."
"..."
The air grew colder after those words were spoken.
Clearly, General Pasha did not recognize Shang Ruyi, so even though she was sitting on the felt mat not far from him, he did not recognize her at all and only mentioned it as a benefit. Meanwhile, the people of the Western Turks not only knew that Yuwen Yuan had ascended the throne and appointed his second son, Yuwen Ye, as the Prince of Qin, but they also knew that the woman their eldest prince, Ashina Zhuxie, had brought back was the Princess of Qin of the Great Sheng Dynasty.
It wasn't even a surprise.
Ashina Shali waved his hand listlessly, about to dismiss General Napasha, when General Napasha casually remarked, "I heard it's someone named Shang Ruyi."
"...!"
In an instant, Ashina Shali's gaze sharpened.
Shang Ruyi's breathing tightened as well.
Ashina Shali suddenly leaned forward, nearly knocking over the table in front of him. The wine cups on the table wobbled, spilling wine, but he paid no attention to that, staring intently at General Pasha: "Tell me, what is that Princess Qin's surname?"
"Shang Ruyi - surname, Shang".
"..."
As soon as he finished speaking, the entire grassland fell silent.
At this moment, hundreds and thousands of eyes focused on Shang Ruyi. These eyes were filled with anger and resentment, each one like a sword burning with fire, as if they wanted to pierce her body.
Ashina Shali slowly looked at her, his face contorted with a sinister and bloodthirsty smile.
He asked, "Your surname is Shang?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com