Red Mansion: Seizing Jiangdong, starting with pirates

Chapter 238, The Usurpation of the Throne

Influenced by Gao Zhi's words, Bazan believed that if the eldest son, Tuolei, were to take the throne, he would surely eliminate his rivals.

He holds military power and is on good terms with the second son, so he will inevitably become one of the primary targets for elimination.

While Gao Zhi's words were somewhat self-serving, they weren't entirely exaggerated.

According to the conventions of past dynasties, once a new emperor ascends the throne, no matter how benevolent he may be, he will not easily let go of his rivals and their cronies.

Gao Zhi, judging others by his own standards, naturally believed that the eldest son would inevitably launch a purge after ascending to the throne.

So the two secretly conspired to alter the will of Khan Qah and support the second son, Dore, to ascend the throne.

When Qah Khan was entrusting his affairs, he said in front of his generals that he would pass the throne to Tuolei. However, Qah Khan was already like a candle in the wind, with weak breath and a very soft voice. Moreover, the names Tuolei and Dorei sound quite similar. Who could be sure that the Khan would definitely pass the throne to Tuolei?
As long as they insist that the Great Khan passed the throne to Dorei, and then join forces with the Second Prince's forces to directly eliminate Li Hao and the First Prince, then only the Second Prince will be able to succeed to the throne. Even if everyone knows the truth, they will have no choice but to accept it!

Having made up his mind, while the grassland army was still halfway there, Bazan secretly dispatched his men to ride back to the tribe at top speed and inform the second prince.

The second son, Dorei, was always ambitious and looked down on the cowardly Tuolei. When he learned that his father was going to pass the Khanate to Tuolei, he decided to seize the throne without hesitation.

When Bazan returned to the tribe, his first priority was not to enjoy the company of his beautiful, widowed sister-in-law, but to secretly discuss the details of seizing the throne with Dore.

Soon, Li Hao organized a rally.

All members of the Abuka family came to participate.

Just as Li Hao was reciting Khan Kah's dying wish and preparing to support the eldest son's succession, a discordant voice rang out from the crowd:
"No, the Khan clearly said he would pass the throne to Dore!"

A stone stirred up a thousand waves.

Everyone looked toward the source of the sound, which was Bazan.

"Nonsense! The Khan himself said that he would pass the throne to his eldest son, Tuolei!"

According to a close associate of Tuolei who was present at the time.

Bazan argued irrationally:
"Who heard me? Who heard me!"

"The Khan did mention the character 'Lei,' but it's Second Prince Duo Lei, not Tuo Lei!"

"Bullshit!"

"fart!"

Those who supported the second son and those who supported the eldest son started making a fuss.

Bazan slammed a snuff bottle to the ground, and Gao Zhi led a large number of soldiers in from outside.

Everyone was utterly astonished.

Only Li Hao and the eldest son Tuo Lei remained calm on the field.

Li Hao was well-versed in literature and ancient Chinese teachings; how could he not take precautions against such a mutiny?

Although the eldest son, Tuolei, was kind and honest, he was not stupid. When Khan Kah went on his expedition, Tuolei was in charge of handling all the affairs at home. In his eyes, his younger brother Dore's plans were as ridiculous as children playing around.

The two had already prepared their troops, and Dorrey had absolutely no chance of winning...

"Crack!"

The sound of a blade piercing flesh rang out, and Li Hao's eyes widened instantly as he stared in disbelief at Dorei behind him.

"you you!"

Li Hao had calculated everything and was fully aware of Dorei's various arrangements. He was confident that he could quell Dorei's rebellion without lifting a finger. However, he never expected that Dorei would be so decisive.

Dore, holding a small, foot-long knife he usually used for eating meat, took advantage of Li Hao's distraction and stabbed him in the back of the heart.

"Prime Minister!"

Tuo Lei's mind went completely blank for a moment.

He never expected that his younger brother would actually take action himself, and that he would kill Li Hao with a single strike!
Tuolei rushed forward. Dorei, his face contorted with rage, lunged at Tuolei with his knife.

Tuolei delivered a side kick, breaking Dorei's wrist, and then punched Dorei in the waist, causing Dorei to fall to the ground instantly, unable to get up due to excruciating pain.

In just two moves, the martial arts expert Dorei was instantly defeated by Tuolei.

It was only then that Dore realized that his elder brother was not unskilled in martial arts, but rather that he did not use his skills lightly.

At this moment, the ambushers that had been prepared on both sides launched their attack. Chen Zhengdu led his troops in an invincible charge, forcing Bazan and Gao Zhi's forces into a series of defeats.

Dore's plan failed, unsurprisingly.

However, despite this, Li Hao's life on the field was already beyond saving.

Tuo Lei sadly helped Li Hao up. No one knew better than him how important this Han Chinese man, who had been loyal to their family for three generations, was.

Blood spilled from Li Hao's mouth. He struggled to raise his hand, wanting to touch Tuo Lei's face, but he had no strength left. With his last breath, he uttered his final words.

"Young...Young Master, we must eliminate them completely! We absolutely cannot...we cannot show any mercy!"

After speaking, his hands fell limply, and Li Hao died.

Li Hao supported the Abuka tribe in dominating the grasslands throughout his life. Taking advantage of the weakness of the Central Plains, he advised the Khan of the grasslands to lead the army south to invade the Central Plains. They even occupied the capital for a time, but unfortunately, they could not overcome fate and their efforts failed.

Li Hao never married a woman from the grasslands. It is rumored that he had a son in the Central Plains, but no one knows the son's name.

Perhaps Li Hao himself knew that someone like him was destined to be infamous for eternity, so he didn't want his descendants to suffer the world's scorn along with him.

The fighting soon subsided.

The rebellion of the second young master, Dorei, was easily suppressed by Chen Zhengdu and others.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Bazan and Gaozhi led their troops to flee, but they had no supplies and could not run far on the grassland.

Tuolei has already dispatched a large number of troops to pursue him and has also informed the major tribes in the vicinity.

Currently, the Abukha tribe left behind by Qah Khan remains the largest tribe on the steppe, and it is highly unlikely that anyone would risk offending the Abukha tribe to take in these two individuals.

Dore, the instigator of the rebellion, was not able to escape and was captured.

Tuore's punch to Dorrey's waist nearly shattered his kidney, and Dorrey still can't stand up.

Tuolei angrily walked up to Dorei.

Dore not only rebelled, but also killed Li Hao; his crimes are absolutely unforgivable.

Seeing Torre's anger, Dore immediately knelt on the ground without hesitation and loudly begged for mercy:
"Brother, I was wrong, please don't kill me, brother!"

"I was momentarily bewitched. Yes, it was Bazin who seduced me, it was Bazin who seduced me, brother!"

Dore's tears flowed like a spring.

He kept kowtowing, begging his elder brother for forgiveness.

The spirit of a grassland warrior, the pride of a solitary eagle—all of these became meaningless at this moment.

"Please, spare my life! I'm willing to spend my life herding cattle and sheep and never get involved in politics again!"

"We are all our father's children, and we have younger brothers and sisters. We can't kill each other. Please don't kill me!"

Dore kowtowed repeatedly.

Tuo Lei originally wanted to take action immediately, but upon hearing the words "younger brother and sister," he couldn't help but stand still and didn't act immediately.

possible!
Dore quickly scrambled forward, grabbed Tore's leg, and begged for mercy:

"Brother, elder brother, you have always been kind and benevolent. When you were practicing archery and horsemanship, you couldn't even bear to kill prisoners in the death row. Are you going to kill me, your blood brother? Brother, we have the same father!"

(End of this chapter)