I rode and slashed unparalleled in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 980: Taking the Place of the Host and Going Straight to the Royal Court (Combined Chapter)

"Hong'er will always be with you forever and ever"

Beside the campfire, Su Yao and Hong'er hugged each other for warmth, silently enjoying a moment of peace.

But soon, Zhou Yu's report brought his thoughts back to reality.

Su Yao looked up and saw that Zhou Yu had changed into the uniform of a Wusun guard, and was holding a set of male noble clothing in his hand:

"This was found in the seized luggage. It may be a little small. Would you like to try it first?"

indeed.

With Hong'er's help, Su Yao changed into his clothes and immediately felt tightness in his shoulders and armpits.

But this was the largest style they could find.

Before Su Yao had seen grassland men, he was influenced by various film and television works and always thought that they were tall and mighty men, but in fact, this was not the case.

In this era, the living conditions of the grassland nomads were quite unstable, and they depended on the weather for their food even more than the farming peoples. The harsh environment and food scarcity made most nomads quite thin.

Even during the golden age of nomadic peoples, which was later praised as "peace under Mongolian rule", according to historical records, Mongolian herdsmen were not very tall, with the tallest being no more than 5 feet 23, or about 1.6 meters, far less than the average height of Han people in peacetime.

As for the great Genghis Khan, even with all the halos, he was only about 1.80 meters tall, which was considered majestic. For someone like Su Yao, who is about 1.85 meters tall, it is really difficult for him to find a suitable piece of clothing now.

"Just use it."

Su Yao moved his shoulders. Fortunately, the stitching of the leather product was quite strong. He tried not to do any large movements and was able to hold on.

"The key to the problem is how to perform this drama well. The princess's guards only have 800 people, and they want to take 3,000 of us with them. Gongjin, have you thought about what to do?"

This is indeed a problem.

An army of three thousand people is not a small number. Once they leave the forest and head west to Chigu, the road is mostly covered with grasslands with vast views, making it difficult to avoid being seen.

If this problem is not solved, their plan this time will obviously be just empty talk.

But it was obvious that Zhou Yu had been prepared.

"Don't worry, General. I have a plan. According to the captives, the Wusun royal court is recruiting warriors from all tribes to reinforce the front line. Tribes from all over the country have sent people. We can do something about this."

As he spoke, Zhou Yu confidently unfolded the map and pointed to a red circle on the river northwest of their location:
"There is a large tribe here. We can use our identity as the princess to sneak in and capture the leader. We can control the tribe and then, in the name of conscription, ask the tribe to send guides and guards to escort our 'Princess Guard' to the capital."

"In this way, our team can march openly on the grassland and even get supplies and a place to rest."

"Wait, this isn't right."

As Su Yao listened, he felt something was wrong:

"We are going to the capital, not the northern border. No matter how loosely organized they are, the royal court knows its own orders. How could it easily allow such a team of 3,000 people to approach the capital without permission?"

"This is all thanks to our princess."

Zhou Yu smiled slightly and took out a seized letter from his bosom:

"General, please read this. This is a letter I seized from their chief guard. The gist of it is to ask the leaders of the surrounding tribes to cooperate, keep the princess, and stop him from going north."

"At the same time, I also got confirmation from the captives that they had just sent someone to the capital this morning to urgently report that the princess was determined to go north and requested the royal court to send troops to intercept her."

"In this case, we just need to play the role of loyal tribal subjects and help the royal court "persuade" the princess to return, and then we can take the opportunity to set off."

"After that, when the royal court sends troops over, we will seize the opportunity to capture them and seize their tokens and tokens. Then, we can approach the royal capital unimpeded."

"It's a good plan." Su Yao nodded approvingly, "But we have to make sure that the tribe doesn't leak the news first."

Zhou Yu nodded confidently: "General, rest assured. I have ordered people to interrogate the captives. The chief of this tribe has close ties with the royal family. As long as the princess arrives, they will definitely give her a grand reception. Next, we just need to take advantage of the opportunity to control the chief's family, and the rest of the herdsmen are nothing to worry about."

This is true. The organizational structure of nomadic tribes is loose, and the herders are more dependent on their leaders than Han tenant farmers. As long as the leader is captured and controlled, the entire tribe will be leaderless. In addition, with Princess Ashley as a "hostage", the plan is very likely to succeed.

"Okay, let's do it." Su Yao made the decision, "Let's set out early tomorrow morning and make sure we get to the tribe before noon."

The next morning, the weather was clear and it was just dawn. After ordering Ma Chao and Yan Xing to lead the rest of the people to stay in the forest temporarily on standby, Su Yao took Zhou Yu and the 800 disguised Han cavalry and set off in a carriage.

On the grassland filled with morning mist, a team carrying the flag of the Wusun royal court moved slowly forward.

Princess Ashley was placed in the carriage in the middle of the team. Her pale face and red and swollen eyes could be seen through the window. Sisters Hong'er and Alyssa watched her closely to ensure that she would not do anything to disrupt the plan.

"The Tuke tribe is just ahead." Zhou Yu lowered his voice and pointed at the smoke rising in the distance.

Su Yao narrowed his eyes and saw dozens of felt tents scattered on the hillside in the distance, with cattle and sheep grazing leisurely in the morning light. This tribe was not small in size. According to the information provided by the captives, there were at least 3,000 people.

"According to the plan." Su Yao tightened his slightly tight Wusun noble clothing and rode to the carriage.

Ashley heard the noise and looked up suddenly, her amber eyes full of vigilance: "What are you going to do?"

"Your Highness, it's your turn." Su Yao showed a cold smile, "Remember our agreement. Your every move is related to the lives of those captives."

Ashley bit her lower lip and twisted her fingers around the hem of her clothes unconsciously. She recalled the horrified look in Sai Ya's eyes when she was taken away last night, and Su Yao's threat - if she dared to play tricks, for every Han soldier who died, ten Wusun captives would be executed, and even the entire tribe here would be razed to the ground.

On the other hand, if she behaved well, she would be reunited with Saya after today.

“I know.”

The girl nodded with difficulty:
"I will do as I agreed. Please don't hurt them."

"Don't worry, I'm not a demon. I won't kill people meaninglessly."

Ashley's mouth twitched slightly after hearing Su Yao's words. She looked down at the bruise on her wrist, and recalled the scene of Su Yao covered in blood and killing many people on the battlefield yesterday. She really couldn't associate the man in front of her with "not killing indiscriminately".

As if seeing through the princess's thoughts, Alyssa, who was sitting next to her, comforted her and said, "Our Prince Tang takes his promises very seriously. As long as the princess cooperates, he will definitely ensure the safety of your people."

Su Yao added: "That's right. After all, living prisoners are much more useful than corpses. People are coming. Are you ready?"

Ashley looked up quickly and saw a group of herdsmen coming from afar. They had obviously discovered their sudden arrival. Ashley took a deep breath, straightened her wrinkled dress, straightened her back and nodded silently.

Soon, the herdsmen came to the front of the team. The leader was a strong man with a full beard. He looked at the team with the royal flag in confusion and asked vigilantly who they were.

"Be bold!"

Su Yao rode forward and scolded in fluent Wusun language:

"Don't you recognize the royal flag? This is Princess Ashley's carriage, why don't you dismount and salute immediately?" "Princess Ashley?!"

The sturdy man was shocked when he heard this.

The princess's fame is known to everyone on the grassland. Rumors of her noble beauty have spread throughout the grassland. She is the dream lover of countless young nobles.

Immediately, the strong man quickly dismounted from his horse and knelt on one knee:

"Batu, the centurion of the Tuke tribe, greets Her Royal Highness the Princess!"

Su Yao looked down at the grassland man and noticed that although he was respectful, his eyes kept glancing in the direction of the carriage, and he was obviously suspicious. It was no wonder that the princess suddenly appeared in the border tribe, which was indeed unreasonable.

But this has nothing to do with them, as the princess was originally going to go north.

So, Su Yao told the truth directly:
"The princess is on her way north to inspect the border and will pass by here. Please inform your chieftain to prepare to welcome her."

Batu was even more confused after hearing this: "Your Highness, the royal court sent a message to our army a few days ago, saying..."

"How dare you!" Su Yao interrupted, his hand already on the hilt of the knife, "Do you think you can ask about the princess' whereabouts?"

Just when the atmosphere was tense, the carriage curtain was suddenly lifted, and Princess Ashley poked out half of her delicate face:

"Batu, I remember you. Three years ago, at the royal banquet, you won the first prize for wrestling, and the king rewarded you with a Ferghana horse."

Batu was shocked, and the doubts in his eyes disappeared: "The princess still remembers me!" He kowtowed excitedly, "I will go and inform the chief!"

After Batu and his riders galloped away, Su Yao secretly breathed a sigh of relief and turned to look at Ashley in the carriage with approval. But the girl quickly lowered the curtain, as if looking at her any longer would defile herself.

Soon, the horns in the tribe sounded loudly, and a group of nobles in luxurious clothes, accompanied by dozens of guards, hurriedly came. The leader was an old man with gray hair and beard, who was Torig, the chief of the Tuk tribe.

"Your humble servant Torig is here to meet Her Royal Highness the Princess!" The old man bowed respectfully, but his eyes were glittering with shrewdness. "I wonder what important matter has the Princess come here so suddenly?"

Ashley slowly got out of the car with the help of Hong'er, and said calmly, "I am on the secret order of my brother to go north, and I am stopping here for a rest. No need to be polite, chieftain."

Tolig stroked his beard and pondered: "This old minister just received a letter from the royal court a few days ago, saying that the princess was patrolling at the Tianshan intersection, but she didn't mention going north."

At this time, Ashley's true self performance came into play.

She took a deep breath and took out the rhetoric she had prepared long ago to refute the tribes along the way, insisting that it was a secret order and could not be shown to anyone else. If your tribe does not cooperate with the supply, you will be in trouble when you return.

I have to say, this is really nonsense.

However, the chief Tolig's doubts were immediately dispelled.

There was no way. The beautiful princess's arrogant and unruly character, like her outstanding beauty, was well known on the grassland.

As the chief of the tribe closest to the Tianshan intersection, Tolig knew better than anyone else that the princess had been persuaded to come to the mountain pass for patrol this time by coaxing and persuading, and the royal court specifically sent him a message asking their tribe to help keep an eye on the princess.

At this moment, Su Yao coughed lightly, walked forward, and said loudly in Wusun language:

"The princess has been traveling a long way and needs a quiet rest. The chief should quickly prepare a clean tent and some food and wine."

The Ars chieftain only then noticed Su Yao's presence. Seeing that he was dressed in aristocratic clothes and had an extraordinary demeanor, he asked in confusion, "Who is this lord?"

"I am the deputy of Adena, the chief guard of the royal court. I have been ordered to escort the princess." Su Yao lied calmly, and quietly handed him a secret letter, and said in a low voice, "This is a secret order from the royal court. The chief will know after reading it."

Tolig took the secret letter and saw that it was stamped with Xiang Dalu's seal, and the content was to order all the tribes to secretly escort the princess back to the capital.

At this time, the old chief finally understood everything - it turned out that the princess was acting on her own again and had run away to cause trouble, and the royal court had been prepared, leaving secret orders to the accompanying guards to prevent them from failing to persuade the princess and to ask the various departments to help keep her.

"I will prepare it right away!" Torig bowed and turned to his tribesmen, shouting, "Hurry up and prepare the best golden tent! Bring out all the newly brewed mare's milk!"

After everyone left, Su Yao's mouth curled up slightly. This "secret letter" was naturally forged by Zhou Yu, using the seal pattern of Xiang Dalu found on the captives and the handwriting of the chief guard. Now it seems that the effect is surprisingly good.

Soon, the best golden tent of the Tuke tribe was ready. Ashley went inside to rest with the help of Hong'er and Alyssa, while Su Yao and his guards stayed outside the tent. Zhou Yu took the opportunity to make secret arrangements, observing the terrain of the nomadic camp while quietly placing the elite Han army at various important roads in the camp.

It has to be said that this action did attract the attention of some people, and some young people from the Tuke tribe came forward to express their protest.

However, it's time for the prisoners to appear.

Those prisoners who had behaved relatively well and cooperated well yesterday were also brought along with the army today, specifically to be used in handling conflicts and dialogues with the locals.

They were proud members of the Royal Guards, and they were humiliated yesterday. Today, facing these herdsmen was a good opportunity to vent their anger. They immediately scolded them arrogantly:

"You are blind! How can you give orders about what the Royal Guards do? Get out of here!"

The herdsmen were scolded and could only retreat in dismay. Seeing this, Tolig was speechless. After all, the royal guards were always domineering, not to mention that they were carrying a noble like the princess, so it was reasonable to strengthen the guard. He immediately ordered his men to stay away from them and make a large area for them to guard.

In this way, the disguised guards of the Han army openly occupied a good piece of land next to the core area of ​​the Tuke tribe's tent, like a sharp knife against their necks.

That evening, as night fell, a grand welcoming banquet was held in the open space between their two tents in the center of the tribe.

The aroma of roasted whole lamb filled the air, and the herdsmen sang and danced, offering their most sincere blessings to the princess.

"Headmaster," After three rounds of drinking, Su Yao raised his cup and came to Toliger, "Princess, you have to travel tomorrow, why don't you rest early?"

Tolig understood and quickly stood up to announce the end of the banquet. After everyone left, Su Yao suddenly pressed the old leader's shoulder and said, "Chief, can you please have a word with me?"

Before Torig could react, he was taken to a secluded place. Zhou Yu had been waiting here for a long time with several guards. He was playing with an exquisite bone carving in his hand - it was a personal ornament of Torig's most beloved grandson.

"What do you mean?!" The old leader's face suddenly changed.

"Don't be nervous." Su Yao smiled and filled his glass with wine. "We just want to ask the chief for a small favor."

That night, Tolig was forced to write a written order, ordering the tribe to recruit another 2,000 strong men to "escort" the princess. At the same time, he sent his confidants to the surrounding tribes with forged royal tokens to mobilize food and grass.

The next morning, a team of nearly 3,000 people left the Tuke tribe. In the center of the team, Princess Ashley's carriage was closely guarded; in front of the team, Tolig, his two sons and a grandson "volunteered" to serve as guides; on both sides of the team, elite Han soldiers disguised as ordinary herdsmen secretly controlled the situation.

As for the Tuk tribe, Su Yao also left behind a hundred people. They stayed with Tolig's other younger son to stay in the tribe and take care of local affairs.

In this way, the Han army defeated the Tuke tribe without bloodshed and advanced towards Chigu City unimpeded.

By the way, two days later, the troops sent by the royal court to retrieve the princess were captured by Su Yao and others while looking confused.

Five days later, the majestic outline of Chigu City finally appeared on the horizon. The setting sun gilded the red cliffs, and the entire royal city looked like a gem inlaid among the mountains.

Meanwhile, King Chigu in the palace was completely unaware of the impending threat.
(End of this chapter)