Novoland: Eagle Flag Chapter 3: The six sons

"Get out of the way!" Balu and Baza jumped off the galloping horses, embraced Asule, and strode towards the golden tent.

"Who dares to break into the golden tent!" The guards drew their swords together, and the leading centurion shouted, and the iron heart of the warrior clanged on the iron ring armor.

"My son, it's my son, we are all my son's companions." Baru shouted loudly.

The sound of the Kui drum became urgent. The two drums had already been beaten, and the third drum had come to an end.

"Young son goes in, you can't be a companion!"

"Why?" Bazaar raised his eyebrows, "We were able to go in before."

"Didn't you see that the Khans and the leaders are waiting outside? The Maharaja sent an order, everyone is waiting outside, only the prince is in."

Balu and Bazaar looked around, the four Great Khans, dozens of leaders of the big families, and the generals who led the troops were all kept out of the tent, and they gathered in a small group to discuss. The Kui drum is set there, and it is not struck frequently. Every time it is struck, it is for urgent matters. The kings of Khan and the leaders have countless servants in the northern capital, and no news can escape their eyes and ears, but this call came so suddenly.

"My lord, go in quickly! We'll wait for you here." Balu pushed Asule.

Asule panted with difficulty, tried to push away Bach's supporting hand, threw off the snow fox fur, and rushed towards the golden tent. The guards dodged to make a gap for him to pass through, and immediately surrounded him with an iron wall.

Baza looked at his back, then looked at the silent brother beside him, hesitated for a while, and said in a low voice: "Brother, don't you... want to abolish the prince?"

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Baloo's eyes widened ferociously.

It is said that it has not been a day or two since the Maharaja wants to abolish the youngest son and establish a new crown prince. Although the Tie brothers were young, they were not deaf, so they couldn't help but feel uneasy. If he is the Maharaja's companion in the future, he may be a general who will be passed on to future generations, but what is a deposed companion? Just a stray dog ​​that no one wanted.

"It's all because of our bad fate," Baza said with a flat mouth, "Being a companion to the crown prince, if it's with the eldest prince..."

"You're still talking nonsense!" Baloo stared fiercely at his younger brother, his face flushed red.

The most taboo of the barbarians is to betray their master. Baloo felt that he had many reasons to refute his brother's outrageous thoughts, but he couldn't express every thought that came to his lips. What's wrong with Bazaar's thinking? After all, everyone can only live once. Baza's riding and archery is so good. He should be a general. Is it necessary to give his whole life to a weak and incompetent prince just for the word of loyalty?

Privately, Balu himself thought that it would be fine if he followed other princes, not to mention the eldest prince and third prince, even the companions of the second and fourth princes. The horses in the extreme west have the opportunity to follow the army to fight the enemy, and raise their heads high before and behind others.

But this is just an idea, Baru never really thought about leaving this prince with no future. There is always a feeling of being different about this master, which makes Baloo feel that it is what he should follow. When Danhu's companions came forward, it was Shizi himself who insisted on standing in front of everyone. Balu wanted to rush out, but Shi Zi opened his arms and blocked the three of them like a little eagle.

It is the right thing for a companion to take the beatings for the master. In the future, he should not have any complaints about helping the master with the arrow and the sword. Even Balu felt that it was pure stupidity for Shizi to do so. But at such times, there is always a warmth rising from his chest, which makes him not afraid of anything.

Baloo thought it was stupid, but he couldn't refuse this stupidity.

"I..." Bazaar pursed his lips, "I just want to, just want to..."

"Don't talk about it. The prince... is a very good person," Balu patted his younger brother on the back, "he is different from others."

"Boom!" The last drum sounded.

The lingering sound was like thunder coming from far away in the sky. Asule lifted the sheepskin curtain at the door of the tent, knelt on the carpet with his hands on the ground, panting heavily.

The golden tent was surprisingly quiet. The four elder brothers who arrived first also half-kneeled on the ground waiting for their father's call.

The Maharaja who sat on the bed in leopard skin didn't even look at them. He was sitting there, leaning on a small case. Opposite the case was a man in a black cloak, with a hood covering his face.

The silver plate on the small case is roasted lamb, and the silver bowl is goat milk. Being able to be enthroned on the bed and eating and drinking with the Maharaja is the highest reward for a barbarian. Only when the meritorious person is in the extreme position and can no longer be given other rewards, will there be the grace of "giving enthronement to participate in politics". As far as the princes can remember, only King Taigor the Great Khan has had such an honor.

"It's been a long time since I left my hometown, do you miss the grassland?" The Maharaja smiled.

"I don't really miss the grassland." The man in the cloak cut a large piece of lamb ribs and chewed it in his mouth, "But I miss Mrs. Ying's otter meat and yellow lamb steak. If the majesty doesn't keep me, I'm already in Muli's tent."

"Dahesa!" The princes all recognized the voice.

The man in the cloak took off the hood on his head, with a shiny bald head and long pure white beard.

"Get up." Maharaja waved his hand.

His eyes swept across the faces of his sons: "Dahesa has brought good news. I want to tell my sons first, so the Great Khan, the leader and the generals are all waiting outside, calling you Come in first. But to hear this good news, you must first answer my question. Whoever answers well will be rewarded."

"Yes!" the princes answered in unison.

The majesty nodded: "You are not young anymore, you should know military affairs, so who is the biggest enemy of us barbarians?"

Bimogan hesitated for a moment, and went to see Tie You, who spread his hands, expressing that he had no idea. The barbarians are located in Hanzhou, with Kuafu in the west, Yuguo in the east, and outside the Tiantuo Gorge in the south, the Luyin Dynasty in the east is eyeing a tiger.

"It's Kuafu!" A voice broke the silence.

"Guimu? Okay, tell me, why Kuafu?"

"Many of our barbarians are cavalry, and they are good at archery. Although the feathered people have strong bows, they can't ride horses. The Donglu people have good weapons and fine armor, but they can't run as fast as us. Thirty thousand cavalry killed them 100,000 people. Donglu is learning from us to build cavalry, but how can it compare with our tiger and leopard cavalry?" Guimu said loudly, "Only Kuafu is our opponent. They don't ride horses but run as fast as war horses. He doesn't wear armor, but he is not afraid of being shot by our arrows. So the son thought it was Kuafu. If he could get an army horse, the son would be willing to lead troops to the west to garrison Huta River, so that Kuafu would not dare to cross the river and step into our pasture. !”

"Kua Fu is a strong enemy." Maharaja shook his head, "But, that's not right."

"East 6 people!"

"It's Yuren!"

Bimogan and Tieyou said it at the same time, but they gave different answers.

The majesty nodded: "Bi Mogan said he was from Dongliu, and Tie You said he was from Yuren. What are the reasons for each?"

"My son thinks..." Tie You was a little at a loss for words, he had believed in Bi Mogan since he was a child, but now his answer was different from his brother's, so he was at a loss.

"You talk about yourself!" Bimo laughed dryly.

"My son thinks that although Kuafu is terrible, the population is very small and the birth rate is slow. It takes a long time to recuperate after a battle. Even if we are defeated, we can still regain the land after a few years. Although there are many people in Donglu, The weapons are excellent, but they are scattered in all directions. Since Emperor Fengyan, there has not been a single decent attack. The only enemies we have left are the Yuren."

The majesty still nodded: "It makes sense, Bimogan you say."

"The son said he was from Donglu. Although Yuren and Kuafu each have their own strengths, the combined total of more than a dozen vassal states in Donglu has millions of strong soldiers. Our barbarians claim to have 300,000 cavalry, but really When encountering the iron armor and long spears of East Lu, there is one death and one less. The population of East Lu is large. If you want to recruit, you can easily raise a million troops. If it weren't for this, Emperor Fengyan couldn't have two soldiers after seven years. It invaded North 6 for the first time. So my son thinks that our confidant’s serious trouble is East 6.”

"That's right!" The majesty patted the desk table, "Your knowledge is higher than that of Tieyou and Guimu. What we are afraid of is not the million-dollar army in East 6, but the few soldiers after the million-strong army in East 6." Tens of millions of people, that is a constant source of troops.”

"Xu Dahan," he finally turned to the silent third son, "Your uncles say you are the smartest general among my sons, why are you silent?"

"My son's answer is the same as that of my elder brother. Our biggest enemy in North Lu is the people from East Lu."

"Really?" Maharaja shook his head, "It's a pity that you said it late. But what you can say has been finished by your brothers and brothers, and you can't be blamed."

"No!" Xu Dahan raised his head, "My son said he was from Dongliu, but my son has a different opinion."

"Really?"

"Yes!" Xu Dahan stepped forward, "My son wants to ask my brothers and sisters, who has the largest land and who is the richest in the Kyushu countries?"

Bimogan frowned. There is no need to ask this at all, the Yin Dynasty in the East occupies four states, almost half of the land, and is the largest country in the world.

Xu Dahan didn't want to hear the answers from his brothers at all, and then said: "The territory of Kyushu, the nine states are about the same size, but the difference between rich and poor is huge. My son calculated that day, our Hanzhou's annual production, if Converted into East 6 gold baht, it is about 30 million. But the production of the four states of East 6, Zhongzhou alone is no less than 80 million gold baht. It is said that the output of Wanzhou is more than that of the other three in East 6. The states add up to more. Dongliu people occupy the four most fertile states, while our seven barbarian tribes only have one barren and cold Hanzhou, our enemy, why not Dongliu people?"

"What are you talking about?" Maharaja shook his head, "I'm asking about the enemy, but you're talking about wealth."

"Father," Xu Dahan knelt on one knee, "What is the wish of our barbarians? Of course, it is to establish the achievements of King Tieqin. We want to travel all over the land and sea. What is it to defeat one or two enemies? We We want to defeat everyone! But relying on the production of Hanzhou, we don't have the strength to fight in all directions. Only by occupying the most fertile east land and relying on the production of east land can we complete the achievements that Pantar God directed us! Therefore, our enemies must It's the East 6 people!"

"It's too simple." The majesty shouted coldly, "When the Fengyan Iron Brigade invaded our grassland, don't say that you haven't seen it, I just heard about it. It took only seven months to actually fight. Among them, no less than 200,000 young people died in the battle of our seven tribes. Most of the young and strong died on the battlefield. We have the guts of Qibu, so we dare not cross Tiantuo Gorge. You want to occupy East 6, why do you occupy East 6? Do you have the bravery of your grandfather, King Chindahan?"

"My son is not as brave as my grandfather, but we can do it with the accumulation of decades of our barbarians." Xu Dahan took a step forward, "Our barbarians suffered heavy losses in the battle of Emperor Fengyan's iron line. The split may not be caused by this. As long as they split, we can break it apart. Donglu is not one now, and if we wait any longer, this excellent opportunity will be lost!"

He walked to the door and lifted the sheepskin curtain, pointing to the south: "The enemy we barbarians want to see is the entire Kyushu. We want to become the emperor of this world, defeating Kuafu in the west and Yuren in the east are nothing What? Only by winning the rich East 6 is the foundation of our barbarian's long-term success!"

The golden tent was strangely quiet, Bi Mogan let out a little breath, and nodded.

"Okay! This is what my son should say, and he should be rewarded." The majesty took off the black horn bow on the wall and threw it to Xu Dahan.

"What I want to reward is Xu Dahan's ambition!" The majesty looked around at his sons, "I only see that the ones right now are not heroes. Only when you have the world in your heart can you occupy the land of the world. Before King Xun raised his troops, he could not He is a slave who herds horses, why can he unify the seven tribes? It is because he has the mind to unify the seven tribes! You are not heroes if you only want to guard this grassland!"

"Yes!" the princes answered in unison.

"Abba, my son thought..." Asule, who was at the end of the row, said in a low voice, but his voice was swallowed by the loud responses of his brothers.

The majesty turned to Dahesa: "Dahesa, tell them what you have seen and heard in East Lu."

Dahesa just filled the tobacco pot with tobacco and took a deep breath. He grabbed his bald head and got off the bed, and lifted the curtain on one side of the tent with his hand.

Under the curtain, a huge map is exposed. It is drawn on light yellow raw silk, mountains are drawn in ochre, and rivers are drawn in blue. The thin green lines marked the borders of the vassal states, and the red dots scattered on the map were important passes and cities.

"This is the map of East 6," he pointed to the borders of the countries in East 6: "The four states of East 6 are Zhongzhou, Wanzhou, Lanzhou, and Yuezhou. The land was entrusted to the general and his followers. At that time, it was the system of twelve vassal states, six duchies and six vassal states, and the great emperor only ruled a piece of royal territory around Tianqi City, which was not as large as the large vassal states.”

"In the next 700 years, the princes fought, some two countries merged, and some countries split. Up to now, there are a total of sixteen countries. Among them, there are five big princes, namely the Chun Kingdom in the north of Zhongzhou , Jinbei Kingdom to the north of Lanzhou, and the Kingdom of Xiatang in Wanzhou, Liguo in Yuezhou, and Chuwei Kingdom between Wanzhou and Yuezhou, known as the "Three Kingdoms in the South of Heaven."

"I am on an envoy to the Xiatang Kingdom in Wanzhou," Dahesa clicked on a city in the south of the map, "This is Nanhuai, the capital of Xiatang. There is a Duke in Xiatang, named Baili Jinghong, Be an ally with us."

"How can we form an alliance with the Donglu people who have no faith?" Tie You shouted in shock, "Those people are not as strong as the wolves on the grassland!"

The majesty nodded: "What do you guys think?"

"My son also thinks it's not right. People from Donglu formed an alliance with us, and Xiatang is far to the south. No one knows what their plans will be." Bimogan said.

"Son, I think it's better to discuss the alliance with the Great Khans," Xu Dahan said.

"Son..."

The majesty interrupted Tie You with a wave of his hand: "You must also feel bad."

"Yes."

"I know that if the news spreads, the movement will be much bigger than it is now, so I will see you first." The majesty said firmly, "The alliance with Xiatang cannot be changed! He is my son, so I will see you." Follow my horse!"

"A son will follow his father!" Xu Dahan knelt down.

"The son will follow his father's horse!" The other three princes suddenly came to their senses and knelt down together. Only Asule was left kneeling quietly at the end without making a sound.

"I'm very happy that you can say that." Maharaja said so, but he didn't look happy.

He didn't ask his sons to get up, his cold eyes swept over their heads, when Tie Youwei raised his head, he was frightened by his father's gaze, and hurriedly lowered his head again.

"The rules of East China, if the two countries form an alliance, they will send princes and nobles to each other as hostages. Since you have the courage, who would dare to go to the Tang Dynasty to be a hostage?"

The princes looked up at their father in amazement, their minds blank. They are not just big talkers, Bi Mogan has also been in battle, and braved the rain of arrows in the battle with Zhenyan. But going to the Tang Dynasty is really disturbing. After thousands of miles away, he is no longer a noble prince, but a helpless hostage, like a bird trapped in a swamp, who can only do whatever he wants. At the mercy of people.

And the most important thing is to leave the northern capital, perhaps before the new maharaja ascends the throne, he will not be able to return.

"Why don't you talk anymore?" The majesty stepped down from the bed and looked at the sons who bowed their heads and said nothing, "Don't you have the guts to hear that you are going to East Lu as a hostage?"

The golden tent was silent for a while. Tie You was lying there, only daring to stare at the small area in front of his knees. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his father's heavy boots pacing silently in front of him, as if he could feel the sharp sword-like eyes scratching his back. In the past, the whole body was cold for a while.

"Although they are hostages, the Lord of Xiatang Baili has promised to teach the knowledge of the Eastern Lu Army and let you personally follow the army. If you are willing, you will not only be able to see the customs of the Eastern Lu, but also be able to make friends with the nobles there. , and we can find out the real strength of East Lu. Isn't this our unique opportunity?" The princes still lowered their heads.

"Tie You, you told me a few days ago that you want to learn how to handle soldiers like your elder brother and third younger brother, and you don't want to go to Donglu?"

Tie You raised his head tremblingly: "Son...son...what the son thinks is..."

As if his head was about to explode, he felt that his father's gaze had forced him to the edge of a cliff.

The majesty had no intention of waiting for him to reply, and glanced away: "Bimogan, you are the big brother, Xu Dahan, you are our wise general in Qingyang, don't you dare? There are precious trees, precious trees, precious trees , you dared to kill wolves at the age of seven, you are my bravest son, you lower your head now, is going to Donglu more terrifying than a big wolf that wants to eat you?"

Guimu is not as calm as his brothers, he kowtowed hard: "Father, my son is not going!"

"Heh!" The Maharaja was startled, but laughed instead.

"My son is a descendant of the Lu family, the prince of Qingyang, and he will never embarrass his ancestors. If he rides into battle, if he is greedy for life and afraid of death, he will take half a step back, and his father will kill me with a sword. But he is a hostage," said Guimu Gritting his teeth, "Son is unwilling to do it!"

"Joke!" The majesty sneered, "The envoys from the Tang Dynasty escorted a descendant of the Baili clan from the Tang Dynasty to our Qingyang as a hostage in a few days. None of your brothers went to Tang Dynasty. This is our good man in Qingyang? You look down on the weakness of Donglu people. When I see this, you are not as good as the young people in Donglu! No! Not even a woman It's even worse, King Xun sent Aganda as a hostage, and Aganda rode a white horse without looking back. You are also men of our Pasur family!"

The allusion mentioned by the Maharaja comes from the famous long poem "Biography of King Xun" by the barbarians. Xun King Akanti was the first person to hold the Kulig Conference on the grassland more than 500 years ago. He was a lowly warrior who was born as a slave. The most beloved woman, Aganda, was taken as a hostage in exchange for three thousand cavalry. Aganda then rode on the white horse and never looked back from the beginning to the end. When Akanti came back from sweeping the grassland with these 3,000 cavalry, he realized that Arganda had been accepted by his adoptive father as a woman under his tent. He jumped up and down to commit suicide. Akanti suddenly realized, and his heart was twisted like a knife, and finally killed his adoptive father and became the first maharaja of the barbarians. The history of the grasslands in northern China has long been beyond verification. The so-called "Biography of King Xun" is just a long poem that tells a story, but the story of Arganda is sad and sad, and has been sung endlessly. Aganda is also called "Mother of Light" by the people on the grassland, and they admire her for her steadfastness and bravery.

Guimu's face turned pale, and he suddenly turned his head aside: "That's what cowards and women do!"

"Cowards and women..." Maharaja's tightly pursed lips trembled.

Guimu was also afraid in his heart, knowing that his father was angry.

Tie You gritted his teeth and kowtowed: "Father, who thinks he is smart on weekdays, who likes to talk about the situation in Donglu the most in front of princes and parents, and who made bold words just now? Why is it now? Stop talking?"

He glanced at Xu Dahan behind him.

The majesty nodded: "Xu Dahan, your brothers are asking you, why didn't you say it?"

Xu Dahan looked calm: "The second brother wants to protect the elder brother, so he should stand up by himself. The son is not afraid, but he is unwilling. It's not that the son has nothing to do. The son thinks that the place where men start their careers is a battlefield. Taking Dong Lu as a hostage is not what my son wants to do."

"What if father lets you go?" Maharaja stared at him.

"Third brother can't go!" Guimu became anxious, "Father will find out when he goes to the city of Beidu himself. The matter is whether the eldest brother does more or the third brother does too much. The eldest brother is either playing ball or hunting. There are envoys from other tribes, nine times out of ten it is the third brother who handles it. There are endless things to hear every day, how many times does the third brother sleep before midnight? The roster of the nine tents, the third brother and I are full After tidying up for more than two months, my eyes are red. Where are those two brothers? Pulling wild horses on Huoleiyuan!"

He glanced at the Bimogan brothers: "Father asked who could go. The son said that both of them could go! Tie You clamored to take charge of the army, would he know how to take charge of the army? Why can't he go to Donglu to learn? Bi Mogan Mo Gan's work, just leave it to the third brother, anyway, if you stay in the capital city, you can't find anyone! Father, tell me, don't you have to do hard work if you don't have the skills and don't care about things, like me and the third brother If you suffer so much, should you be unlucky instead?"

"Guimu," Xu Dahan said in a low voice, "don't shout. Father knows what we have done, so you don't need to say it yourself!"

"Nonsense!" Tie You couldn't help it, "Who is a person without skills?"

"Hmph!" Guimu sneered, "How's your knife skills? So what if you can read and write? It's a matter in everyone's eyes!"

He strode to the side of the bed, grabbed the silver pot of goat milk from the table, and pulled out the long knife at his waist with a thud. He glanced around, threw his hand away, and the silver pot suddenly left his hand. At the moment when the jar was suspended in the air, his long knife vibrated violently and shattered into chaotic iron lights, intertwined and slashed across the water jar, but was blocked by his knife force, and the jar hovered in the air for half a moment. Only the sound of the long knife being sheathed was heard, and the hand-hammered silver pot was completely shattered into pieces, and a splash of water turned into splashes in the air, and pieces of broken silver fell down.

"Tie You, don't tell such jokes. If you want to talk about your skills, first look at the sharpness of the knife in my hand or yours!"

Unable to bear the excitement, Tie You stood up and pressed the waist knife: "Your knife is sharp, but mine may not be bad. It's just cutting a jar, do you have the guts to try my treasured knife?"

Guimu didn't even look at him: "I'm afraid my knife is too sharp and I can't hold my hand, but your neck is not as strong as this jar!"

"You!" Tie You pointed at his nose, his fingertips trembling, "Shuo Beixue bastard, don't forget your identity! I don't care about you in front of my father, but don't think I dare not kill you!" You!"

"Kill me?" Guimu worked vigorously, pulled off his shirt to expose his chest, and patted hard, "There is a kind of stab coming in to see what kind of blood it is, it's all father's son, I'm from Qingyang! "

The brothers stared at each other viciously, and there was a momentary stalemate.

The silence was suddenly broken by a loud bang. Everyone was startled, and felt that it came from the Maharaja's tightly clenched fist, and the nails dug deep into the flesh, as if trying to scratch through the palm. The princes had all seen their father's anger and knew how terrible it was. The four brothers threw down their swords and knelt down together, regardless of the hostility towards each other.

"You...you!" Maharaja's face twisted slightly, "Get out of here!"

The princes withdrew, and Asule was the last.

The majesty called him: "Asule, you are still young, but Dad also wants to know what you think."

A Sule was silent for a while, then turned around and kowtowed: "Abba, is there going to be a war again?"

The majesty was stunned for a while, not knowing how to answer, Asule had already got up and left the tent.

Dahesa smiled: "You don't have to be so anxious, Majesty, you should have known this reaction."

"It's not their reaction that I hate. Shahan, can't you see it from them?" Maharaja whispered, "The biggest enemy of the barbarians is ourselves!"