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Chapter 896 Yi Nan's Ambition

This time when Yinan went south, he brought an army of 300,000 with him, in addition to the more than 100,000 troops stationed in the Irtysh River Valley all year round.

The total number of troops is nearly 500,000, which was the force that Jie Li had when his power was at its peak.

Seeing such a murderous and massive force, Yi Nan's heart was filled with an ambition to conquer all the mountains and rivers. He wished he could just give an order and have the army march directly south to crush Chang'an City into pieces.

An army of three hundred thousand soldiers formed a long snake formation.

The Yi men in the front team have already entered the base, and reinforcements from the team behind them continue to pour in from the mountains ten miles away, as if they are endless. Many herdsmen who saw this situation know that the leader is going to make a big move.

Deep in the valley, several clear and wide rivers meander and intersect, extending in all directions. There are vast camps and large tents one after another, densely spread throughout the valley.

Yi Nan, with dozens of generals, came to a large golden tent standing in the middle with great momentum.

"Generals, you have worked hard on the journey. You all should take a rest and set up camp here. Come to my place for a banquet in the evening and relax." Yi Nan got off his horse and gave instructions to dozens of generals behind him.

Everyone's face showed the haggard look of hurrying on the road, and they all responded in unison: "Yes, great leader!"

Holding a horsewhip, Yi Nan, accompanied by his trusted subordinate Botie, climbed three steps and strode towards the golden tent.

As soon as he entered, a servant at the door bowed respectfully and said, "Greetings, Grand Commander."

Yi Nan's face suddenly changed, his eyes filled with anger, he kicked the servant in front of him away, then rushed forward and whipped him with the whip in his hand, shouting: "How many times have I told you to call me the chief, not the commander-in-chief."

"Are you deaf or blind?"

"What Grand Commander? I am the supreme king of the grasslands and the future Great Khan, not some bullshit Grand Commander of the Tang Dynasty."

In just a moment, the servant's robe was torn by the angry Yi man, his skin was torn and his flesh was exposed. He kept rolling on the ground to avoid being beaten, and he struggled and shouted: "Great leader, spare my life. I was wrong. I will never dare to do it again. I beg the great leader to spare me this time."

When Yi Nan was panting and a little tired, and his movements were obviously slowed down, Botie beside him stepped forward and advised: "Chief, calm down. This man is probably new and doesn't know the rules. Don't bother with these slaves!"

"Pooh"

Yi Nan spat in anger and threw the bloody whip in his hand at the servant: "Get lost, don't get in the way here. If I see you again, I will skin you alive."

After the servant left tremblingly, Yi Nan took off the eagle feather crown on his head and the sable cloak on his body, threw them on the couch in the tent, picked up the ceramic kettle beside him, and gulped down the water. After drinking enough, he smashed the kettle to the ground.

"Damn it, it would have been fine if Jie Li was still alive."

There were no outsiders in the tent, only his trusted confidant Botie. Yinan began to vent his grievances unscrupulously: "Now that Jie Li is dead, the Great Khan of the grassland must be replaced by someone else. Among the several forces in the entire grassland, the Xueyantuo is the most powerful."

"Who the hell is Shi Luodi? He's just a second-generation rich kid who hasn't even been weaned yet. How can he be the Great Khan of the grassland?"

"Forget about that. Why don't you stay in Urge and be a guard dog? You actually dare to send troops to the west. What does Shi Luodie want to do? Now he is trying to take action against me, Xueyantuo."

Botie knew why Yinan was in such a bad mood. Ever since Yinan secretly contacted various parties six years ago, secretly defected to the Tang Dynasty, and then ambushed Jie Li at the critical moment and eliminated Jie Li, he had been prepared to replace him.

But unexpectedly, they surrounded Jie Li in a valley.

At that time, Botie advised Yinan to act decisively and get rid of Jie Li, but Yinan was overkill. In order to win the hearts of the grassland tribes, he insisted on using the Tang Dynasty to get rid of Jie Li.

Finally, Jie Li fell into the hands of the Tang Dynasty, but he was kidnapped before he could leave the desert.

When he first heard the news, Yi Nan went crazy and cursed Li Shimin and the Tang army.

Only he knew how great the influence of Jie Li was on the grassland.

As long as Jie Li was alive, he would never be able to covet the position of Great Khan. After learning the news, Yinan mobilized all the troops to hunt them down, but in the end, after spending nearly a month, he still failed to capture Jie Li and his son.

Yi Nan felt bad at that time.

Sure enough, Jie Li successfully crossed the Gobi Desert and reached the eastern grasslands, where he reorganized the internal affairs, put down the rebellion, and re-established the Turkic Khanate. Later, Yi Nan wrote to Li Shimin again and again, asking the Tang army and Tu Li to attack Jie Li from the south, and the Xueyantuo and the Bibi tribe from the north.

While they were still not firmly established, they should completely eliminate the trouble. However, the Tang Dynasty rejected Yi Nan's request on the grounds that the soldiers had been fighting for a long time, the morale of the army was exhausted, and the national strength was insufficient.

At this point, Jie Li became powerful again in the eastern grasslands, and Yinan fell out with Li Shimin because of this. Although he was afraid of the double threat from the Tang Dynasty and Jie Li, he did not break away from the Tang Dynasty, nor did he respect the will of the Tang Dynasty. He went his own way and acted independently.

The Tang Dynasty originally wanted to allocate funds to build a Jinshan Grand Military Governor's Mansion in the Irtysh River Valley as Yinan's residence, but Yinan refused.

Yinan only asked for money, but still retained the living characteristics of nomadic peoples and set up a golden tent that only the Great Khan could set up.

Although the grassland people do not have as many red tape as the Central Plains, they can still distinguish between superiors and subordinates at the higher levels. For example, a general tent can only be set up on the ground and covered with cowhide and wool blankets, and no steps can be built.

Only nobles could add steps, tribal leaders had one level, those with titles and official positions had two levels, and only the Khan could build three levels. The Yi man built three levels without any hesitation, and wore a golden crown that only the Khan could have. The army also raised a wolf-head banner that only the Great Khan could use.

These are all usurpations
This also shows that Yi Nan always regarded himself as a Khan, not an ordinary leader or an official of the Tang Dynasty. Retaining these customs with obvious grassland colors and using the noble symbols recognized by the grassland people is also a way to show his intentions and ambitions to the outside world.

"Great leader, I heard that Jie Li was assassinated on his way back to the Khan's court after the southern expedition. Was it your doing?" Bodhi asked tentatively.

"Humph"

Upon hearing this, Yi Nan said disdainfully: "I am sure I did not do it myself. If I am not mistaken, this matter is most likely caused by the power struggle within the Tang Dynasty or the Turkic people. It is either Shi Luodie or the Right Wise King."

"But I don't care if they want to blame me for the shit."

"The grasslands worship heroes. The grasslands today are no longer the era of Jie Li's rampage six years ago. Being able to kill the Great Khan is the highest honor. Everyone will only be more in awe of me."

"Botie, if that's the case, then you can announce it to the public in the western grasslands and say that it was I, Yi Nan, who did a good job."

Botie bowed and replied honestly: "Yes, great leader!"

Upon hearing Bote's answer, Yinan's mood, which had just improved, became worse again: "Great Chief, Great Chief, those who don't know me would think I'm just an ordinary tribal leader. Am I not qualified to be the Great Khan of the grassland?"

The grassland has undergone many changes, from the Xiongnu to the Rouran, and then to the Xianbei and Turks. The official system and specific names of each dynasty are different, but the people of the grassland have a folk name that has remained unchanged from ancient times to the present to distinguish the strength of the tribes.

Generally, the leader of a tribe with less than 3,000 to 5,000 soldiers is called a chieftain, while the leader of a tribe with 10,000 soldiers is called a chief, and the leader of a tribe with more than 50,000 soldiers is called a great chief. Any more than that is not what ordinary herdsmen understand.

After separating from the Turks, Yinan abandoned the position originally given to him by Jie Li.

However, he did not raise the flag of the Xueyantuo Khanate, nor did he want to use the Grand Commander of the Tang Dynasty, which would cause the people of the grassland to have some grudges against him. So Yinan simply retreated back to being an ordinary tribe, letting people call him the chief.

"Great Chief, the Khan is not a casual title."

Botie looked embarrassed and quickly advised: "After all, we have not really raised the banner of rebellion. In name, we are still subjects of the Tang Dynasty. Without the title bestowed by Li Shimin, the Heavenly Khan, it is undoubtedly a rebellion to claim the title of Khan without authorization. Think twice, great leader!"

"Besides, there are only Great Khans and Ordinary Khans on our grasslands. Ordinary Khans need to be conferred by the Great Khan, such as Tuli. The Great Khan needs the recognition of the entire grassland. We Xueyantuo only occupy the northwest corner of the grassland."

"You are not qualified to be called the Great Khan. You can only be considered as an ordinary Khan. Great leader, haven't you already submitted a petition to the court to request the title? Perhaps Li Shimin will agree?"

Botie was angry and thought, you have the title of Grand Commander but you don't use it, and insist on using the title from the grassland, who can you blame?

Yi Nan angrily said with disdain: "Humph, Heavenly Khan, Li Shimin is too arrogant. Even the Great Khan can't contain his vanity. He can't wait until Jie Li's Turks are completely eradicated. It's ridiculous."

"The Turkic army is approaching. I wonder how Li Shimin will evade this time!"

"It was fine that the grassland was stable before, but now the Turks are invading from the west. The Right Wise King, under the banner of the Turkic Khanate, has seized the territory of the Hebiheli. Hundreds of thousands of troops are heading south, putting great pressure on the Tang Dynasty. And I, the Xueyantuo, have mobilized a large number of troops and stationed them in the Irtysh River Valley under the pretext of defending against the Turks."

"With so many troops gathered here, and only a few hundred miles away from Mo Nan, I think Li Shimin must be as anxious as an ant on a hot pot now!"

After saying this, Yi Nan laughed with a gloating look on his face.

When Botie was about to agree with him, Yinan's face darkened again. "Damn it, the Turks are so quick. The Mobei land of Zhubiheli has been in my pocket for a long time. I have been planning for five or six years, but now it has been taken advantage of by the Turks. It's really heartbreaking."

(End of this chapter)