The film and television world begins with the battle for the throne in Kowloon

Chapter 880 Everyone has their own agenda
Hermu understood and said, "Right Wise King, it is indeed like this on the grassland. Since Zhuolibuhua and the other thousand captains are willing to follow you, you should accept them, so as not to disappoint the loyal ministers and martyrs."

"Well, in that case, I will accept your allegiance!"

Li Yan's face turned serious, and he ordered: "I plan to mix your 5,000 soldiers with the 20,000 soldiers of the Right Wise King's army and reorganize them. You will still have your previous positions, and the number of subordinates you command will not change."

"But we are no longer the same people as before. Are you willing?"

Several people looked at each other and said in unison: "Since we are the king's subordinates, we must obey the king's arrangements. We will obey your orders."

"Well, then you guys go find Gu Rentu!"

Li Yan waved his hand: "Explain my intention to him and let him make the arrangements."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Zhuolibuhua bowed respectfully and withdrew with the five centurions.

When everyone left, Hermu said with a smile: "Your Majesty, once Zhuolibuhua surrenders, Jie Li's 5,000 soldiers will fall into our hands. Shiluode will have no hope at all. Once those royal family members and generals are eliminated, the Khanate will be ours."

Li Yan also smiled slightly, looking at the sunset in the distance with longing, it was time to take a big step forward.
Two days later, a unique ceremony was held according to the customs of the Turks at the place where Jie Li died.

Li Yan had been in Turkic for five or six years and had some understanding of this. Everything was handled by experienced old men on the grassland. The place where everyone was was more than 2,000 miles away from Khan Ting Urge, and it was summer and autumn. Anyway, they couldn't rush back, so it was the same to hold it here.

Li Yan silently watched this ceremony which was very different from that in the Central Plains. The scene was solemn and dignified.

Early in the morning, when the sun rose, everyone came to the felt tent where Jie Li's body was placed. Shi Luodie personally slaughtered a sheep, took its head, placed it in front of the tent for sacrifice, and led the horse around the tent seven times.

Then, they go into the tent and use a knife to cut the face of the deceased, causing blood and tears to flow. This is repeated seven times until the sun sets three poles high, and the ceremony is considered complete.

Li Yan was very confused by this kind of ritual, as it was a complete insult to the corpse.

But the Turks believed that this would allow the soul bound in the skin to leave the body and return to the eternal heaven. The horse that Jie Li often rode was also used to carry the soul, and in the end the horse would be untied and released back to the grassland.

Everyone watched the warhorse that had regained its freedom disappear into the distance, as if this was a farewell to Jie Li's soul.

Although Li Yan did not have any doubts about this, he did not interfere. He chose to follow the local customs and respect the customs of the local people.

The next day, they took the things that Jie Li usually used and burned them together with his body.

The ashes after burning are collected and wait for a good place to be chosen for burial later. There is a difference in the time. Those who died in spring have to wait until the end of autumn when the grass turns yellow before they can be buried; while those who died in autumn and winter have to wait until the spring when the grass is lush before they can be buried.

Jie Li could only wait until next year for his burial.

When the body is buried, relatives will offer sacrifices to it and leave stone carvings in the tomb with images of the deceased and the battles he or she had during his or her lifetime.

When a person was killed on the battlefield, a stone statue was erected as a memorial, which recorded the prosperous past of the tomb owner and hung the title of the sheep and horse sacrificed on the stone statue. Jie Li killed countless people during his lifetime as a Khan, and the number of stone statues he erected was as many as a thousand.

Seven days later, many people came from the north one after another, all of them were covered in dust. These people were basically Jie Li's close relatives and subordinates, as well as generals promoted from the battlefield during Shi Luodie's southern expedition.

After these people arrived in Hanar, they began to offer sacrifices to Jie Li.

Jie Li was a great Khan who had been rampant on the grassland for many years. He had a very high prestige and had ruled the entire grassland for a long time. He led troops south many times and forced the Tang Dynasty to surrender.

His departure still caused concern among many people.

After everyone arrived, they saw that Crown Prince Shi Luodie was safe and sound. Jie Li also left a will, passing the throne of Khan to the crown prince. Another strong competitor, King Youxian, did not cause any trouble, so everyone was relieved.

However, the succession of the Khanate is the same as the succession of the emperors in the Central Plains. It is not just a simple change of the boss. With the reshuffle of power, bloodshed will follow, and a large number of people will lose their heads. This is inevitable.

At the place where Jie Li’s mourning hall was originally placed, Shi Luodi sat in the first seat.

The first one on the left is Li Yan, followed by Hermu, Gurentu, and twelve thousand captains; on the right are three of Jie Li's fellow tribesmen, namely Ashina Guyehu, Ashina Duoyehu, Ana Shiluyehu, and some generals promoted by Shi Luodie in the Goguryeo War.

The princes and dukes second only to the Khan in the Turkic Khanate were called Yehu. Whether they led troops depended on whether the Khan trusted them. They had a very high political status and had a great say in the affairs of the Khan's court. They were roles that could not be ignored.

If these people are not eliminated, Li Yan will not be able to sideline Shi Luodie.

The two sides were clearly divided, both had ulterior motives, and were in a state of confrontation. This impromptu meeting was destined to end only when one side fell. The three of them exchanged glances, and Ashina Gu was the first to stand up and say, "Sir, I heard that before they left, the Khan was still fine. He was originally protected by 5,000 people, but when the Right Wise King's 20,000 people came, the Khan was assassinated?"

“Is there any mystery in this?”

After saying that, Ashina Duo and Ashina Lu also echoed, staring at Li Yan opposite with meaningful looks. Ashina Gu also winked at Shi Luodie who was sitting above, and his intention to take advantage of this opportunity to take down Li Yan was obvious.

In the new era, after Shi Luodie ascended the throne, the position of Zuo Xian Wang became vacant, and there was no doubt that a new choice would be made. Li Yan, a Han Chinese, was in the position of You Xian Wang, who was second only to the emperor and above ten thousand people, which aroused the jealousy of many people.

After a year of invading the south, Jie Li and Shi Luodie had already used various means to greatly eliminate the influence of the Right Wise King and replaced him with many of his confidants.

Many people disliked Li Yan, the Right Wise King, who occupied half of the grassland.

On the way here, the three Ashina brothers won over many middle-level generals and promised them various benefits. As powerful members of the royal family, the three Ashina brothers had been suppressed by Jie Li in the past. Although they had a high political status, they had no real power and did not have many troops under their command.

Jie Li was in the position of Khan, and in order to check and balance the generals of his clan, he valued Li Yan. Now that Jie Li was dead, the people who were usually suppressed jumped out. In the minds of many people, Shi Luodie's ability and prestige were not worthy of being Khan.

Now that Jie Li is gone, his position as Khan should be returned to the tribe and chosen from among the three Yehus.

Even the three of them had already made an exchange of interests on the way here, and were ready to take two steps. First, they would push the assassin's behind-the-scenes murderer onto the Right Wise King on the grounds of protection disadvantage, and take down Li Yan. Without the support of the Right Wise King, Shi Luodie would be in their hands.

Then they would find an opportunity to deprive him of his inheritance rights, and let the oldest of the three, Ashina Gu, inherit the Khan, while Ashina Duo and Ashina Lu would be the left and right wise kings respectively, thus controlling the entire Khanate in one fell swoop.

Shi Luodie felt bitter in his heart, because these generals of the tribe were too confident.

He came from afar to mourn his father Khan, but he did not bring a large army with him. He traveled lightly, with only a few hundred guards each. Without any soldiers or horses, how could he deal with Li Yan?

Several people always thought that this was the Turkic region and Li Yan, a Han Chinese, could not cause any trouble.

However, they do not know that a Han Chinese who represents the interests of many tribes cannot be regarded as an ordinary Han Chinese.

Before Li Yan could say anything, people like Gurentu, Heermu and the captains all glared at the three Yehu of Ashina Shi.

Gu Rentu was hot-tempered and said first: "Ashina Gu, what do you mean? The Khan's death is clear. Even the Khan explained this matter to everyone when he was dying. I don't believe you don't know the reason."

"Are you trying to put the blame on us?"

Ashina Gu's face darkened, and he coldly rebuked: "Gu Rentu, do you have the right to speak here? When we were generals, you were just a slave. You were supposed to be a servant, but you were promoted to a general by the Right Wise King."

"Humph, there are fewer and fewer rules on the grassland. All kinds of messy people can sit in high positions and issue orders without any hesitation."

After Ashina Gu finished his innuendo, he ignored Gu Rentu, who was of humble origin but was furious, and glanced at Li Yan, who was silent.

Heermu stepped forward to calm the furious Gurentu and smiled, "Ashina Guyehu, please calm down a bit. Fortunately, the assassin Labul was captured alive by us and was not silenced. After the interrogation over the past few days, we have also learned a lot of unknown inside information."

"It's a good opportunity for us to take advantage of the arrival of the three Yehus, and interrogate the murderer in court in front of the prince, and find out who is behind this?"

After Hermu finished speaking, Gurentu waved his hand, and two tall and strong Turkic soldiers came up, escorting Labul, who was covered in wounds.

Both sides started targeting each other, and no one took the prince Shi Luodie who sat on the throne seriously. Shi Luodie was indignant and simply ignored everything. Anyway, the two sides below were fighting each other, and no matter who won, he would not have a good ending, right?

In that case, let them fight!
No matter how they fought in the meeting, in the final analysis, it was still about who had more troops. And in this incongruous wilderness, Li Yan had the most troops, so the final winner was obvious.

But Shi Luodie was very curious about what method Li Yan would use to win.

It was not until they saw the assassin Labul coming up that Shi Luodie vaguely guessed Li Yan's plan, and the three Ashina brothers also felt something was wrong.

As expected, as soon as Labul came up, Hermu questioned him: "Labul, you were bribed by the Yi men of Xueyantuo to assassinate the former Khan, which is undeniable. But as a spy, how could you climb to the position of deputy chief eunuch of the Khan's tent within five years without the help of an insider?"

"Today, in front of the Crown Prince, the Right Wise King, and all the Yehu Generals, you must confess honestly."

His face was haggard, as if he had suffered a lot of punishment in the past two days. Labul raised his head and glanced at everyone present. Finally, his eyes fell on the three Ye Husbands and he said apologetically: "Three Ye Husbands, I'm so sorry. I really couldn't bear it anymore, so I called you out."

(End of this chapter)