Memoirs of the Heavenly Khan

Does Chapter 362 feel like it was predetermined?

Does Chapter 362 feel like it was predetermined?
For the Rouran people north of the Yin Mountains, autumn and winter were the perfect time to launch a war.

However, the Rouran ruler Anagui did not do so.

The royal court was a vast expanse of tents, and the Rouran people drove their livestock to graze, then put them into simple pens.

Due to their nomadic lifestyle, the Rouran people carried everything they needed; basically, a few cattle or horses were enough for them to take with them.

The makeshift livestock pens were simply fenced off with wood.

Of course, it's not that nomadic peoples didn't want to live in cities; in fact, both the Xiongnu and Xianbei built cities.

But whether it was Touman City established by Touman Chanyu of the Xiongnu, or Tanshihuai, Chanyu of the Xianbei, the Danhan Mountain Royal Court established by Tanshihuai, they all eventually disappeared into the dust of time.

Firstly, their city-building technology was too backward, and secondly, the tribes on the grasslands fought each other too frequently, so these fixed cities didn't have much value.

After Anagui occupied the southern part of the desert, he took over the former cities of the Six Garrisons.

The houses in these cities were then used as places for women to give birth.

The loud cry of a baby rang in his ears, and Anagui, who was patrolling outside, smiled.

"It seems this kid will grow up to be a strong warrior."

The Rouran nobles beside him all wore smiles and praised him repeatedly.

As the ruler of the Rouran, Anagui was very sensitive to the number of newborns and their survival rate in the tribe each quarter.

With more and more newborns and a significant increase in livestock, the Rouran tribes were growing stronger. This was Anagui's most direct observation after moving south.

This was a courtyard, and there were other Rouran women giving birth in the other rooms. However, the news of the return of the Prime Minister Tutujia made Anagui stop his inspection tour and change his itinerary, returning to the Khan's Golden Tent.

Tutujia was waiting in the tent, his face looking very unwell.

After Anagui entered the main tent, he patted his brother on the shoulder and, seeing that his brother looked unwell, comforted him:

"I know that the two states of Lingxia are now occupied by that Da Yeshuang. You didn't complete the task I assigned you this time, but it's alright!"

With that, Anagui sat back on his throne, his face full of confidence, and said:

"Shortly after you left, two more Tiele tribes submitted to my Rouran. Even without Heba Yue as an ally, we will be able to take over the Yunshuo land sooner or later."

The Hetao region has always been a place that Anagui wanted to acquire.

The reason is simple: the environment there is much better than that north of Yinshan Mountain.

The quality of the pasture is also better!

Only with more pastures can more livestock be raised, and only then can the Rouran become stronger.

The reason why grassland tribes have to be nomadic is that, in addition to the impact of environmental changes with the seasons, the biggest factor is that a pasture can only support a limited number of livestock. Therefore, grassland tribes must migrate to another pasture after the grass in one pasture is exhausted.

But what if a grassland tribe goes through great hardships to reach another pasture, only to find that the grass in that pasture has already been eaten up by the livestock of another tribe?

Generally speaking, there are only two choices: wait to die or fight to the death!
There are many grudges between the grassland tribes, some of which are even blood feuds.

As the ruler of the Rouran and the overlord of all the tribes on the grasslands at this time, Anagui's prestige was enough to establish order on the grasslands, delineate territories for the tribes under his command, prevent them from fighting over pastures in private, and severely punish those who violated this rule.

Or rather, it was precisely because Anagui was able to protect him that he was able to become the supreme ruler.

Anagui was so at ease because after moving south to southern Mongolia, the territory of the Rouran Khanate had expanded considerably. He had a lot of land at his disposal, enough not only to distribute to the Rouran people but also to attract other tribes.

Tutujia looked at his brother, the Khan of the Rouran, and said:
"The King of Qin agreed to our request, but he has one condition!"

Anagui was taken aback, somewhat surprised, and even a smile appeared on his face.

"I've heard that this Da Yeshuang is quite a figure. He seized Jinyang from the Erzhu clan and appointed a hero like Yuwentai as the Grand Commander of the Northern Expedition. How come he's so easy to talk to?"

Upon hearing this, Tu Tujia's expression grew even more somber, and he gave a bitter laugh.

"Ohno Sō said he could give us pasture, but we had to agree to be father and son with him."

Anagui was momentarily stunned by what he heard, thinking to himself how weak the King of Qin was. But once he realized what was happening, he stood up abruptly, his entire body as straight as a stick.

Anagui looked at Tutujia for a final confirmation, and the other party nodded.

"You brat, you've gone too far!"

Anagui's angry voice filled the tent, attracting the attention of the Rouran nobles outside the golden tent.

"Get out of here!"

Anagui's angry shouts caused the Rouran nobles to leave the golden tent, leaving only Anagui and Tutujia inside. He plopped back down on his wolf-headed throne.

Angered Anagui was not as calm as Tutujia. Tutujia looked at him and asked:
"Khan, what should we do?"

After a long while, Anagui gradually calmed down and asked:
How many arrows do we still have in our royal court?

"Three hundred thousand!"

Three hundred thousand arrows may sound like a lot, but if they were distributed equally among the ten thousand cavalrymen surrounding the Rouran royal court, each person would only receive thirty arrows.

Rouran cavalry, mostly light cavalry, would typically carry at least twice that number of arrows in a single battle to be considered at a normal level.

Today, it is clear that our military preparedness is inadequate.

After hearing this, Anagui gritted his teeth and said angrily:
"not the right time yet!"

Tutujia advised:
"Khan, even if you are well-equipped, now is not the best time to fight Ohno Sou."

Anagui asked:
"Why?"

Tutujia recounted everything he had seen in Tongwan City.

"When I went to Tongwan City, I saw that the leaders of dozens of tribes from Lingxia, Yunshuo and other places had arrived. They had all received tokens from Daye Shuang and were granted the titles of Great Khan and Lesser Khan..."

Before Tutujia could finish speaking, Anagui's emotions, which had just calmed down, were reignited.

"Khan, dozens of them! They're all Khans now, so what am I!"

Anagui's anger was palpable, but Tutujia advised him:

“Brother, the title is secondary; what matters is that Da Ye Shuang can command these dozens of Khans.”

Tutujia's words calmed Anagui down, because he had realized the crux of the matter.

In Chang'an, the capital of Guanzhong, south of Yinshan Mountain, there was another person who, like him, established order on the grasslands, divided territories, and made the tribes obey.

This is extremely dangerous!

"After the Lingxia land was occupied by Daye Shuang, he redistributed the pastures to the various tribes. Now, his Khans such as Huli Jin, Shedi Gan, Cao Ni, and Po Liu Han Chang each have several thousand cavalrymen under their command, and their troops are strong and well-equipped. If we fight against them, and Yuwen Tai attacks from the side, we will surely be in danger."

When Anagui marched south, he claimed to have 100,000 cavalry. Regardless of whether this number was accurate or not, even if it was, it's impossible that all 100,000 cavalry were combat personnel.

Anagui knew very well that although he was the Khan of the Rouran Khanate, the Rouran had become quite weak in recent years due to the attacks from the Xianbei.

His power as Khan was incomparable to that of the Xiongnu Chanyu of yesteryear.

Putting aside everything else, he couldn't command the various tribes of the Eastern and Western Tiele in southern Mongolia.

"brother!"

After a long silence, Anagui uttered those two words.

Tutujia was taken aback and asked:

"What does the Khan mean?"

Anagui looked at his younger brother, with a hint of humiliation, and said:
"Let's be sworn brothers!"

At this moment, Tutujia didn't obliviously ask, "Who is the elder brother and who is the younger brother?", but simply said:
How should an alliance be drafted?

"The land from Baidao to Wuyuan shall belong to my Rouran Khanate. If this is achieved, we can sign an alliance and agree not to invade each other in the future! In addition, he must open markets in Yunzhong, Pingcheng, Mayi, and Daning, and allow my Rouran people to purchase iron, salt, and other goods."

"What if Ohno Sō asks us for tribute?"

Anagui stated his bottom line, saying:
"Each year, we may present five hundred horses, ten cartloads of furs, and five rare and precious items!" Tutujia nodded and said:
"Khan, rest assured, I will do my best to make this happen."
-
"brother?"

When Tutujia saw Li Shuang again, it didn't take much time, because he had already led his light cavalry north from Tongwan City to Yunzhong City.

“My lord says that from this day forward, I shall serve the king as an elder brother!”

Li Shuang glanced at Tu Tujia and chuckled:
"If I remember correctly, Anagui ascended to the throne by stepping over his own brother?"

Tutujia was somewhat embarrassed, not expecting Li Shuang to be so familiar with the inner workings of Rouran.

“My lord is different. He also visited Luoyang in the past and saw the attire of the Chinese people. He has long admired the etiquette of the Central Plains and will naturally observe the proper brotherly relations!”

Upon hearing this, Li Shuang sighed:
"In that case, I'll just have to take the loss and accept this younger brother as my sworn brother!"

"Your Majesty is wise. What should be done about the land and the opening of the market?"

"Not urgent!"

Li Shuang waved his hand, and a woman who had been waiting nearby walked over and bowed.

Tutujia glanced at the woman and felt a little tempted.

The woman was beautiful, and unlike the Rouran women, she had very fair skin and a captivating charm.

"how?"

"Truly an unparalleled beauty!"

Tutujia gave a thumbs-up, and the woman, feeling Tutujia's gaze, frowned, a hint of disgust in her eyes.

Do you know who this person is?

Tutujia shook his head and asked:

"I hope Your Majesty will inform me!"

Li Shuang smiled and said:
"This is our niece!"

Tutujia was stunned and couldn't understand for a moment, but then he saw the woman step forward and give Tutujia a standard Rouran royal salute.

"Uncle Wang!"

Tutujia was greatly alarmed. He pointed at the woman, looked at Li Shuang, and said:
"Who is this woman, and why does she call me Uncle Wang?"

Li Shuang patted Tu Tujia on the shoulder and said:

“Back then, my younger brother hurriedly fled back to the northern desert, leaving behind many clansmen, including my niece.”

"impossible!"

Tu Tujia said something subconsciously, then quickly stepped forward and, disregarding etiquette, tore open the woman's clothes. Only when he saw the distinctive tattoo on her arm did he finally believe it.

"Ah Mi, it really is you!"

Yujiulü Ami didn't react much to the agitated Tutujia, and even found his rough behavior disgusting.

In fact, if Tutujia hadn't said that, the woman would have almost forgotten the name Ami.

"Thank you, King Qin. I will take Ami back to the royal court to see my lord immediately!"

Li Shuang waved his hand and said:

"We're all family, why would we go back?"

What does Your Majesty mean?

Tu Tujia asked, puzzled, but Li Shuang replied:

“My niece is getting on in years and has reached the age to get married. I intend to prepare a grand wedding banquet for her!”

Tutujia listened and asked:

"Who is the new son-in-law?"

"It's not decided yet!"

"..."

Li Shuang said:
“Who is my niece? If she were not the most valiant hero of the grasslands, how could she be worthy of him? I intend to inform all the tribes of the grasslands that those who wish to marry the Rouran princess should bring their betrothal gifts to Yunzhong, and I will choose the best one!”

Tutujia advised:
"Should we discuss this matter with my lord before making a decision?"

Li Shuang smiled and said:

"What's there to discuss? Just have our brother prepare his dowry!"

"..."

Tutujia forgot about the land request for a moment, and hurriedly took his leave, intending to go back and tell Anagui about it.

After Tutujia left, Yujiulü Ami came up and bowed to Li Shuang.

"Your Majesty, why must I be shown this foolish creature?"

"Didn't you tell me you wanted to be the most noble woman in the world?!"

Li Shuang glanced back at the woman, but her eyes were blurry with tears. She said:
“I no longer wish to be the most honored woman; I only wish to stay by Your Majesty’s side. If Your Majesty is willing to take me in, I am willing to be your slave.”

The woman's face was streaked with tears, making her look pitiful and delicate, possessing a gentle beauty unlike that of women from the grasslands.

Li Shuang's smile deepened as he looked at the woman.

"Liu Lingzhu has done a good job training you!"

In an instant, the gentle look on Yu Jiulu Ami's face disappeared, replaced by confusion and resentment.

What she had learned since childhood had been effective for all the men she had met, but why was it completely ineffective in front of this man!

Doesn't he like women?

Yu Jiulu Ami didn't understand, but there was nothing he could do, so he could only honestly reply:
"I've heard that those roewort people don't like to bathe, they live with livestock all year round, and they have a strange odor, like insects. I don't want to live that kind of life."

Yujiulü Ami was a Rouran princess, but she grew up in Yanzhou and was raised by Liu Lingzhu. She was influenced by the northerners and did not recognize the Rouran at all. She did not consider herself a Rouran, and even regarded them as Rouran.

In fact, if Yujiulü Amie were not told her identity, no one would associate her with the Rouran princess.

Many people would assume she is a noblewoman from a prominent family!

"Don't worry, I won't make you suffer!"

Li Shuang said something, but his assurances clearly failed to reassure the woman.

"If the Rouran are in such a state, how much better can the other tribes be?"

Li Shuang smiled and said:
"Although there are many guests at this wedding banquet, the groom has already been chosen!"

"Then why bring so many people?"

"We still need to accept the betrothal gifts!"

"..."

Yu Jiulu Ami asked curiously:

"who is it?"

Li Shuang glanced at the woman who was pressing for answers, and slowly said: