Chapter 922: Altan's Oath
What do people fear most?
Some people say they are afraid of death, while others say that life is worse than death.
Dozens of powerful generals were detained in a sheepfold.
The sheep pen was filled with a strong smell of sheep, and the sheep dung on the ground was frozen hard. At night, the north wind blew through the cracks in the shed, making all kinds of noises that sounded like ghosts howling.
Dozens of people were furious at first and cursed Altan, but gradually they realized that something was wrong.
"Why is the Khan delaying releasing our hostages? What is he trying to do?" An obese nobleman sat on a sheepskin mat, shivering, with snot running down his nose that looked like two sticky strands of milk residue.
A general sat in the corner and said coldly, "Hostage."
The noble laughed, "My son will be in charge of the tribe. It's useless for him to hold me hostage!"
"He needs time to settle those restless people." An old man said this and then started coughing heart-wrenchingly. He covered his mouth and hunched his body like a giant shrimp.
After an unknown amount of time, he gasped and opened his hands, his palms full of blood.
The old man's face was pale. In the grassland where there was a shortage of medical care and medicine, if he could return to his tribe and return to his luxurious tent, then he would still have a glimmer of hope.
But here...
The old man curled up his body and murmured: "Everyone will die, everyone will die..."
The noble sneered, "He dares? If he dares to do it, dozens of tribes will rebel together. Besides, are the others stupid? Aren't they worried that after he kills us, he will do it to them?"
"He dared." The old man lay down slowly, panting, "Back then... that year the Khan was still weak, he was hanging out under his brother, leading his men to fight everywhere. He... he quietly gathered those people. He also secretly hid a lot of spoils. His confidant, the warrior Dal who saved him several times in the war, accidentally discovered the money... guess what happened?"
The old man looked at the crowd and laughed, "I happened to be out peeing that night... the night was so beautiful. I saw Dar's silly smile. The Khan asked him to dig a hole, saying there was something underneath. Dar dug and dug until he made a big hole. Then, the Khan stood behind him, stabbed him in the back with a knife, and kicked him into the hole."
Everyone couldn't help but shrink their backs when they heard it.
"I watched the Khan bury Dar and then went back as if nothing had happened. The next day, he said Dar had defected, but he let it go for the sake of friendship. Then the Khan took Dar's wife in.
Hahahaha, this is the Great Khan! After he took over his brother's tribe, he gradually changed and became less cruel.
I later thought about it! The more humble this person is, the more ruthless he is. If he is not ruthless, he will not be able to get ahead. But after getting ahead, he becomes cautious. "
Inside the sheepfold, everyone looked at the old man in silence.
In a place like this, the body will quickly suffer from hypothermia after lying down. The old man is already weak, and there is a high probability that he will not see the sun tomorrow.
The old man panted, "You are all used to the Khan who is not ruthless enough, but you forget that he is in a desperate situation again today. If he is not ruthless enough, he will not be able to get ahead. Everyone will die, everyone will die..."
The old man laughed, his laughter carrying a murmur of his lungs.
"he came……"
The old man pointed to the gate of the sheepfold.
Everyone looked subconsciously and saw that there was no one else outside except a few guards.
"Old lunatic!" someone cursed.
There were footsteps coming, and it sounded like there were dozens of people.
There was a sound of talking outside, and then several guards opened the half-open door.
Someone walked to the gate, blocking the rare sunlight.
The noble narrowed his eyes, "Master Zhao?"
Zhao Quan stood outside the door, looking at these people, and asked, "Are they all here?"
The guard nodded, "Count once in the morning and once in the afternoon every day."
The same applies to herding sheep. Count once in the morning when you drive the sheep out of the pen, and once in the afternoon when they return.
The noble said happily: "Master Zhao, is the Khan going to let us go? Damn, do you have any good wine and roasted lamb legs? Hurry up and prepare the roasted lamb legs. I have lost a lot of weight recently."
"Master Zhao, what are you waiting for?"
Zhao Quan was silent.
Behind these dozens of people there is a force of varying sizes. Executing them would mean completely offending those forces.
If it was before going south, Zhao Quan would not have hesitated at all, but would have thought it was a good thing.
After all, his goal was to overthrow the Ming Dynasty.
The grassland is just his stopover and a tool he uses.
However, Jiang Qingzhi's use of firearms completely extinguished his dream of counterattacking the Ming Dynasty.
Maybe... I can go back!
For countless nights, Zhao Quan felt that the madness of those believers was enough to resist the sharpness of firearms.
As long as there are enough people, the Ming army can be crushed by mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
After seeing Altan's predicament, Zhao Quan felt that this dream would be impossible within ten years.
ten years!
How many decades are there in life?
And how will the Ming Dynasty develop in the next ten years?
One of the main reasons that prompted Altan to go south was that the Ming Emperor intended to start a new policy. Before the new policy was officially launched, he took measures such as purge the Beijing guards to make the army stand up straight first.
Give the Ming Dynasty another ten years...what will that behemoth become?
The Nine Frontiers will be equipped with firearms, and the crazy believers will have no choice but to kneel down in the face of the fortified city and the firearms above it.
The great cause of the holy religion!
Zhao Quan closed his eyes in pain.
hands up.
"Zhao Quan, Master Zhao, what are you going to do?"
"Zhao Gou, you are just a stray dog, how dare you act so arrogantly?"
"Let me out now!"
Altan Khan will be unable to take care of himself, and Zhao Quan believes that the possibility of him going south again is almost zero.
So, how could the White Lotus Sect, which was parasitic under Altan Khan, have the opportunity to counterattack the Ming Dynasty?
The development of the White Lotus Sect on the grassland was inseparable from plundering. Zhao Quan led his men to sneak into the Ming Dynasty and persuade those believers to follow him to settle in the grassland.
He needs time to develop.
But after the disastrous defeat in the south, the morale of the Ming army in the nine borders was greatly boosted. What would those believers think?
A while ago, a disciple from Xuanfu brought news that the faith of believers in the city has been lacking recently, and they all wondered why the gods did not bless the holy religion.
If things continue like this, the holy cause will be in tatters and we will have to thank all the gods and Buddhas for our survival.
If they want to survive, they have to depend on Altan's mood. If he turns against them, Zhao Quan and the White Lotus will become street thugs on the grassland and will disappear in less than half a year.
So... "Zhao Quan, what are you waiting for?"
In the eyes of these nobles and generals, Zhao Quan was just a dog, a dog that Altan kept for fun. How dare a dog show off to me?
Zhao Quan waved his hands vigorously.
Behind him, dozens of his subordinates drew their swords.
"Kill them all...!"
Zhao Quan turned around and saw hundreds of people coming from outside, not knowing who had notified them. They were watching him and everything in silence.
"kill!"
Dozens of people rushed in.
"What is this for?"
"Help!"
"Zhao Quan killed someone!"
"Here comes someone!"
The sound of the blade cutting the human body continued to be heard, and the sound of blood spurting sounded very strange, mixed in with the screams, as if someone was farting.
The old man lay there on his side, his right hand still pointing at the door. The smile on his face had long since become stiff, looking particularly weird.
With one knife strike, the old head rolled over, rolling and rolling all the way... until it rolled out of the gate.
The sun shines brightly on the earth, white snow lines can be seen on the distant mountains, and teams of cavalry are setting off... There is ferocity and excitement in their eyes.
"Kill all the rebels!" roared the Khan.
Tuotuo stood outside the king's tent and said with a wry smile, "Is killing inevitable? But killing brings not only conquest, but also hatred. Can a force filled with hatred still go south to herd horses?"
Going south to herd horses is the duty of every grassland leader. For thousands of years, the first thing a new leader would do when he came to power is to go south.
Our neighbor to the south has money, a large population, and everything that the grassland lacks.
Everything!
To rob, to plunder, to occupy, to enslave...
Turn that prosperous land into our pasture and turn those hardworking people into our slaves.
Without this goal as support, no force can survive more than fifty years.
Even within fifty years, it will collapse because it cannot find a way to vent its conflicts externally.
"Khan!" Tuotuo closed his eyes in pain.
"They are all dead." Footsteps were heard, and Zhao Quan's voice sounded very relaxed.
"You offended those people."
"Yes."
"From now on, the only way to survive is to be loyal to the Khan." Tuotuo opened his eyes, looked at the smiling Zhao Quan and said, "Don't resent the Khan. If you don't take action today, how can the Khan dare to use you?"
“I know, so I came back.”
"I'm glad you understand." Tuotuo patted Zhao Quan's shoulder, "As long as we are united, we will definitely be able to overcome this difficulty."
Go south!
This word is now a taboo within the Altan clan.
Zhao Quan walked into the king's tent.
"Killed?" Alden asked.
The two guards behind him stared at Zhao Quan, their hands holding the hilt of the knife steady.
Zhao Quan knelt down slowly.
He was originally a guest official, and even to Altan Khan he only bowed as a sign of respect.
"Yes."
Zhao Quan lowered his head.
Altan was startled for a moment, then couldn't help laughing, "Hahahaha!"
Ma Tianlu was not far from the king's tent, shaking his head and sighing, "He who knows the current situation is a hero, Zhao Quan's move was decisive. However, from now on, the great cause of the Holy Religion will become a dream!"
"This is a good thing for the Ming Dynasty," said Jineng.
Ma Tianlu shook his head. "Zhao Quan has lived his life on the dream of great achievements. Now that his dream is shattered, he will go crazy. Who knows what a crazy Zhao Quan will do?"
Ji Neng smiled sinisterly, "Once those crazy guys start making trouble inside the Ming Dynasty...it will be very lively."
“Many people will die!”
"The sweat is coming out."
Altan walked out of the king's tent and said, "Call them over."
The dignitaries gathered.
This was the first time Altan summoned everyone after the defeat.
What does he want to do?
The people who had just learned that those noble generals had been beheaded looked at Altan in silence.
Hostility pervades.
Altan slowly pulled out the dagger, and the gems inlaid on the handle sparkled in the sun.
"The battle to the south was lost. It was all my fault."
Everyone was stunned, thinking that as soon as Altan came back, he captured those nobles and generals for various reasons and blamed all the reasons for the defeat on those people.
This is……
Yes, those people are dead and the threat is gone.
This is similar to the emperor of the Central Plains issuing a self-criticism edict.
Everyone was moved.
Altan placed the tip of the dagger under his cheekbone and slowly slashed downwards...
Blood flowed down his cheek...
Altan's voice came in the sunlight.
"I swear, if I cannot ride my horse across the Central Plains in this lifetime, my soul will be left without a place to go after I die!"
(End of this chapter)
