Chapter 42: White Wolf Mountain Water Interval (9)

  The Bailong River originates from the northern foot of Mount Bailong, formed by the convergence of large and small streams and springs in the mountains. It winds its way out of the mountains, flowing tortuously under Mount Bailong, irrigating this fertile land. The river flows out of the mouth of Mount Bailong more than ten miles away, passing through a flat grassland, turning eastward with a big bend, continuing to rush towards the direction of Yingzhou.

  Several months ago, after the Khitan army moved south from Yingzhou, they occupied this fertile pasture and used it as a base to spread out in all directions, charging into village after village, plundering the Han people who had lived and worked hard on this land for generations into slavery, and sweeping away everything of value. The Khitan herdsmen, who had been allocated slaves and goods, were overjoyed, driving their slaves to graze cattle and sheep, and then freeing themselves from heavy and tedious labor, mounting their horses, carrying bows and arrows, holding sabers and guns, and bringing a bag of strong milk wine, continuing to spread out in all directions, plundering even more slaves and even more abundant goods.

  The gradual increase in the number of tribes and the accumulation of wealth could not truly satisfy ?zbeg's desires, but instead made him more eager to ascend to the position of Khan. His mother had the noble surname "Sarta'ul", and was the principal wife of his father who had died suddenly a few months ago; in any case, he felt himself to be far nobler than his brother Tuli, whose veins ran with the blood of the Shih-wei and Hsieh peoples.

  Unfortunately, Wuli felt that heaven was unfair to him. Not only did the tribal elders not support themselves, but even their cousin Ake seemed to have signs of abandoning themselves. Since the news of the defeat at Yu Guan was sent to his cousin Ake, Wuli had been anxiously waiting for Ake's next instructions. Unfortunately, he waited left and right, but didn't see Ake send back any indication, as if Ake had already forgotten about himself. The news from Ake did not arrive, but the news that arrived was that the Yelü Department, Tuhu Department, and other Khitan departments launched a large-scale attack on the border of Lulong Military Prefecture, and it was said that the war went very smoothly. Yelü Hu, the chief of the Yelü Department, even led his troops to break through the tightly defended Zhenyuan, plundering countless people and goods.

  The smoother the war went, the more terrified Wu Li became. The next news seemed to prove his worries, and it was said that his cousin Ah Ke had sent someone to Yingzhou! When he heard this news, Wu Li felt a biting cold wind that came ahead of winter, and he was chilled from head to toe!

  Wuli finally waited for the messenger sent by Abao, and the messenger was a Han Chinese slave captured by Abao. When he learned of the messenger's identity, Wuli's heart had already cooled down halfway. Looking at Wuli who was about to explode in anger, the messenger trembled with fear and told everything he needed to convey, but the last and most important sentence, he dared not utter. He had seen too much of these Khitan masters' habits, even if they killed him, Abao would probably not care, let alone since he sent himself, it means that Abao had already anticipated Wuli's reaction in anger.

  "You damned bastard! Speak quickly! What exactly did Ah Kuo say?" He panted, his eyes wide open and staring at the messenger's eyes like a hungry wolf on the prairie.

  Looking at the trembling messenger, Ke Dan frowned beside him: "Speak up, what instructions does Lord Apo have, don't worry, we won't do anything to you."

  "Ah, great Khan, the great Khan says that now is the best time for the Khitan to rise. Whether the descendants of the blue cow and white horse can become the masters of the grasslands depends on this moment. So... so... if Wuli Khan has no ability, then let Tuli Khan take charge of the Pin Department..." The messenger stuttered out his words, then immediately prostrated himself on the felt rug, his eyes darting towards Kadan, who sat cross-legged to one side, with a pleading expression.

  He stared at the messenger with his mouth agape, looking utterly incredulous. But Dan hastily waved his hand at the messenger, who scrambled out of the tent as fast as he could.

  He turned his head and looked at Ke Dan, his initial anger gradually turning into confusion, muttering: "Uncle Ke Dan, how could my cousin Ah Kuo be like this... He's my cousin... We have the same blood flowing through our veins... I'm also half a member of the Shu Lu family..."

  Kedan sighed, this is the grassland, where the weak are prey to the strong, and if you show weakness, don't expect help or sympathy from others. Blood ties and intimacy mean nothing in the face of this law. Unlike Wuli, who was defeated at Yu Pass, Tuli, who stayed in Yingzhou, won victory after victory against the Shiwei and Xianbei people. In comparison, it's only natural that Shulü chose to ally with and support Tuli. Moreover, according to the envoy's words, the Khitan king's plan is actually to become the master of the grassland! Those big shots really have grand ambitions, Kedan thought to himself, and he couldn't help but feel a thrill of excitement at this idea. Under such circumstances, what does Shulü's bloodline matter?

  Kedan was a personal bodyguard from the imperial family of Shi Lu, and his blood also flowed with the bravery of the Khitan people. When he heard the phrase "Master of the Grasslands", his passion was suddenly ignited, as if he had returned to twenty years ago. He yearned to gallop freely on the grasslands, conquering all enemies with his sword and arrow. However... Looking at Uri in front of him, he couldn't help but sigh. Uri was the son of the mistress, whom he had watched grow up. In his heart, he had long regarded this child as his own, protecting him and letting him truly grow up to become the Khan of the tribe. This was not only his responsibility but also the lady's entrustment to him. His life was like this, and to fulfill this entrustment, he would even sacrifice his own life.

  "The only thing that can be done now is to use a victory to win back the heart of Ah Kui." Ku Dan said slowly, looking at Wu Li who was in a daze.

  Wu Li suddenly came to his senses under the reminder of this sentence, and said in a somewhat flustered tone: "Yes, yes, Uncle Ke Dan, Brother A Kuo doesn't trust us anymore. We must win a victory. How can we do it? Should we attack Yu Guan again? Or should we fight another battle? If we concentrate all our forces, we'll definitely be able to take it down, right, Uncle Ke Dan?"

  Ke Dan felt a bit helpless. This child had grand ambitions and a desire for power, but in reality, he didn't have much ability to speak of. When faced with difficulties, he easily became flustered. But he was the only son of the mistress, her darling and future reliance. Ke Dan could only do his best, as for how far he could go, even he himself wasn't too confident. Fortunately, this child was still obedient and had always been respectful to him, in this regard, Ke Dan felt that things weren't too bad.

  "With our current manpower, it's going to be tough to take down Yu Guan. These past few days, the guards on the city walls have been increasing in number and more defensive equipment has been added. However, that group of soldiers who came out from Yu Guan a while back, we might be able to take them on." Ke Dan thought for a moment before saying.

  As soon as he mentioned the troops from Yuguang, Wuli suddenly became spirited, like grasping a lifesaving straw: "Right! I almost forgot that we've been keeping an eye on this troop of Lulong Army for many days, just waiting for them to come out of the mountains! We're not good at besieging cities, but in a field battle, we'll definitely win! If we can eliminate this troop, perhaps Ah Kan will look up to me and I'll get the opportunity... Ah, right, Uncle Ke Dan, hasn't that troop come out yet? It's already been seven days, what do you think they're doing inside the mountains?"

  Kadan furrowed his brow in thought, then shook his head: "Let's wait a bit longer, it's not clear yet. I've already gathered all the warriors from the tribe, as soon as we get the news, we can set off immediately."

  Just then, the scout who was in charge of monitoring the Bai Lang Mountain Pass hurried back and reported the situation to Wuri and Kedan.

  "There were over a hundred people in total, about eighty or ninety of them were dressed neatly and armed with knives and guns, they should be the Lu Long army. There were also fifty or sixty young men without armor, they drove ten horse-drawn carriages into the mountains. We carefully examined the wheel tracks, from the depth we couldn't tell what was loaded, some tracks were deeper, some shallower, it's likely that different things were loaded. But there must be grain and dried meat, Hei Yun's nose is very keen, he could smell the meat from far away." The scout said, stroking the black-backed dog squatting beside him. The dog stuck out its scarlet tongue, licking the scout's wrist.

  After listening to You Ji's report, Ke Dan asked a few more questions and then said to the scout: "Ke Hun, you go gather people, all the brave warriors who can fight. Let everyone eat their fill, and we'll set out an hour later! Also, go find a local Han slave and bring him here quickly."

  Kui Yun's name was Ke Hun, the nephew of Kui Dan. He was also a famous brave warrior from the Pin Department. As soon as he heard this, he excitedly left his tent and went to gather the tribal warriors.

  Khagan gazed at Wuli, who looked puzzled, and said: "Young lord, we were wrong. These Lulong troops are going to set up camp in the mountains. We overlooked this and never thought of entering the mountains after arriving here. I don't know what's inside that mountain either. However, this is a good opportunity for us to attack them before they stabilize their foothold. As long as we don't attack the city gate, I'm sure our Khitan people can win this battle!" Wuli listened to Khagan and also showed an excited expression, pacing back and forth in the tent while muttering to himself: "Good! Great! Really good!"

  Before long, a slightly fat Han man was dragged into the camp, kicked to the ground with one foot, and shouted: "Ask you what to say honestly, say half a wrong word, and bury you alive!"

  That fatty was lying on the felt carpet, shivering non-stop, with a flattering smile on his face: "Whatever you gentlemen want to know, I dare not conceal anything..."

  "Are you a local? Can you speak Khitan?"

  The fatty nodded his head on the carpet: "I can, I can. My humble home is in Luo's village not far from here. Every year, I go to Yingzhou to do some business. In the past, I also knew many nobles in Khitan, so I can speak Khitan language. I have always been very respectful of the Khitan nobles, but unfortunately, I am not a Khitan person myself. My heart has always been towards Khitan, please don't misunderstand me, adults..."

  Ke Dan smiled and said: "Don't be afraid, as long as you tell the truth, I won't kill you. What is White Wolf Mountain like? How many entrances are there to enter the mountain? Speak slowly, don't rush..."