Xueyantuo Royal Court
Looking from a distance, Xueyantuo Khan looked like a devil at this moment, with two lifeless eyes staring straight outside. For a whole winter, this guy never walked out of his tent. Every day he either drank, beat people, or just sat there.
If someone were to calculate, then the time he spent sitting there should be the longest. Many people came to report news from all over the place, but he acted as if he didn't hear anything. Even though many pieces of news were very important, they were just a few words in his mind. Although these pieces of news may affect the lives of thousands of people, he really didn't want to care about this at the moment. He really didn't know how to take over this mess.
"What is going on? Why has this disaster befallen me? Why are you punishing me? Have I done something wrong? Even if I did something wrong, you, the wicked God, cannot do this to me."
When the guards responsible for security heard this sound, they all held their breath. Whenever their Khan cursed at the sky, that was when the Khan was at his most furious. If anyone made the slightest mistake, the person would be beheaded.
Xueyantuo Khan believed that this was an injustice done by God. He had never encountered such a severe snowstorm before. People from all over the country opposed him. His officials took their people to defect to the Tang Dynasty. Cattle, sheep and other livestock froze to death in large numbers. In short, there was no good news in this world.
The ministers around looked at each other, and they didn't know how to persuade them. This year's natural disasters were indeed severe, but if we were to say who was the culprit for the current situation, Xueyantuo Khan could be said to have made the greatest contribution. If you could distribute daily necessities evenly, how could so many people freeze to death?
This is a natural disaster, a man-made one, and the human factor is even more significant. Many tribes don't even have a single grain of food. How do you expect them to survive? You sent your most elite troops, not to stop the Tang army's attack, but to plunder every tribe under your command, leaving them in an endless state of cold. How can you expect these people to continue to support your rule?
When Xueyantuo Khan was cursing God, he heard the sound of horse hooves in the distance. The guy stood up tremblingly. Because of long-term drinking, he was in a dazed state for at least ten hours a day. However, he heard the sound of horse hooves coming from the east, which should be important news.
"Is it the Tang army that's attacking? Is it the Tang army that's attacking?"
Hearing his panicked voice, his men grew even more panicked. Even if the Tang army attacked, you should have given your men some confidence. Now that you're panicking like this, how can the rest of you calm down? It's as if you've already been defeated before the Tang army even arrives.
"Report to the Khan, we haven't received any news for five consecutive days. Those people defected with the Left Grand Commandant, right?"
Although it was not news of the Tang army's attack, it was not good news either. Xueyantuo Khan had planted many spies in his tribes, and someone would send him news every once in a while. Now that Angurtai had surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, those people would often send back some news, but now five days had passed and no news had been sent back. Perhaps those people had been killed, or perhaps those people had also surrendered to the Tang Dynasty.
"This group of heartless people must have defected to the Tang Dynasty. I'll capture their families, tie them to my horses, and drag them to death on the grasslands. Let everyone watch. Anyone who dares to betray me will suffer this fate. No one can plead for them, and anyone who dares to plead will suffer the same fate."
Xueyantuo Khan said hysterically that he would not tolerate anyone betraying him now. The surrender of the Left Commandant had broken down all his defenses. Anyone with even a little suspicion would be killed immediately with their entire family. Even if it was later proved to be a misunderstanding, he would never bow his head and admit his mistakes to those people. Of course, there was no point in admitting mistakes. Could the killed person be resurrected?
"Khan, wait, we can't just kill people. Perhaps because the roads are blocked, their message hasn't been passed on. You know, they're gathering information for us in the enemy camp, which is a very dangerous thing in itself. If we kill their families, will anyone still work for us in the future?"
An old minister could not stand it any longer. Although his official position was not very high and he was only a general of a 10,000-man army, he had a long history in Xueyantuo. When the father of the current Khan of Xueyantuo was still alive, he was already a general.
"If no one works for me, I will kill their entire family. What are you still doing? Find the families of those spies and kill them all. Since you are my father's close minister, I will spare your life this time. If you dare to disobey my orders again, I will kill you too."
Looking at the old minister's trembling appearance, Xueyantuo Khan seemed to feel his own majesty. He breathed a sigh of relief and none of the ministers below dared to say a word.
This is the end for the most prestigious old man. If we step out rashly, we don’t know whether we can see the sun tomorrow. The Khan’s knife was less than half a meter away from him. When the situation gets intense these days, this guy is ready to draw his knife and kill people at any time.
"Where's the Prime Minister?"
After returning to his tiger-skin seat, this guy glanced at the tent and found that the prime minister was not there. The prime minister was the second-in-command of the entire Xueyantuo. Could it be that he had surrendered to the Tang Dynasty at this moment?
"In reply to the Khan, the Prime Minister caught a cold yesterday. We've tried everything, but nothing works."
A maid whispered that the prime minister was the wisest man in the entire Xueyantuo. This guy had half Middle-earth blood and had always given Xueyantuo many good ideas.
After hearing this, Xueyantuo Khan remembered that it was because the Prime Minister kept coughing yesterday that Xueyantuo Khan drove him out. If he caught a cold on the grassland, it would be like losing half his life. But he couldn't do anything without him...