Incitement

The Kehadun faction has eighty thousand elite soldiers. On that day, he originally intended to borrow them for his own military campaign. However, for some reason, as the words were about to leave his lips, he suddenly caught a glimpse of the cold, vulture-like gazes of the Golden Eagle Guards, causing him to shudder involuntarily. He then shelved the idea of leading troops south and only disclosed the information to Balinduo Mu'er. Of course, he would not admit to being afraid of Xiao Tunan; instead, he made excuses: after all, we are brothers from the same father, and I must give Asule some face. It was merely a matter of having the Kehadun faction create a little chaos for him, since he allowed his subordinates to treat me disrespectfully. However, as the elder brother, I must show magnanimity and cannot personally cause him trouble.

He boldly said: "Your Highness, the Third Prince, just before I came here, I saw General Wuye of the Zhenye Wang's personal guard, leading many troops northward. General Wuye was marching in a hurry, as if he were rushing to accomplish something." He glanced at Xiao Zhendong, then looked at the camp that clearly required at least a thousand people, slapped his forehead, and said, "Ah, are they looking for Your Highness?" As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt it was increasingly likely. Xiao Zhendong had just reached into the pot, certainly to check the temperature of the contents, to see how long this large troop had been on the move.

His cheeks flushed bright red, and Xiao Zhendong deliberately ignored his words, saying: "Well, Duomuer, let's just pretend I never said anything about this. You mustn't tell anyone else! You know, this is all military confidential information, and very few people are aware of it"

Xiao Zhendong suddenly looked up and recognized the prince before him. It turned out to be Balinduo Mu'er, the son of Chief Kegedun. Balinduo Mu'er also recognized the man with black soot on his face as Xiao Zhendong. As the son of a tribal chief, he could not compare himself to a proper prince, and he immediately turned pale with fear. He quickly dismounted and knelt on one knee, saying: "Halguchuk Taiji, please forgive my rudeness just now." His more than ten followers also knelt behind him, their faces devoid of color.

The speed of message transmission is faster than that of warhorses. As Xiao Zhendong just returned to Pingyuan, he heard the news of the Kehadun army's great victory at the border, with countless spoils of war. This is the first harvest for the Western Zhan in Dayuan in nearly two years, and the entire court and the people are in an uproar. As expected, Ba Lingduo Mu Er could not resist taking action. Although it is a pity to lose those treasures, it is better for the Kehadun army to take them than for the people of Dayuan to benefit for free. The Third Prince does not lack money; he simply cannot stand the youngest's arrogant demeanor. Why should he issue a strict order forbidding action? Now that the spoils have been seized, what can you do?

He was picking at the jerky when a dozen riders came running from a distance. Seeing him moving about alone among a large pot and a pile of firewood, they all stopped to watch. A young man with half of his head shaved had rosy cheeks from the cold, yet he was in high spirits. He rode up and asked in the local dialect: "Hey, what are you doing?"

Ba Lingduo Mu Er absentmindedly nodded, while Xiao Zhendong asked him for some provisions and salt, as well as a horse to replace his tired one. The people from Xizhan were accustomed to carrying dried meat when they went out, and it was easy to find a couple of individuals to gather quite a bit. He also deliberately engaged Ba Lingduo Mu Er in idle chatter, noticing that Ba Lingduo Mu Er's thoughts were completely elsewhere, responding in a disjointed manner, before finally bidding him farewell. He galloped far away, and when he looked back, he saw Ba Lingduo Mu Er and a few others heading in the opposite direction, leaving only a faint silhouette. He also deliberately engaged Ba Lingduo Mu Er in idle chatter, noticing that Ba Lingduo Mu Er's thoughts were completely elsewhere, responding in a disjointed manner, before finally bidding him farewell. He galloped far away, and when he looked back, he saw Ba Lingduo Mu Er and a few others heading in the opposite direction, leaving only a faint silhouette.

He stole a glance at Xiao Zhendong. In the past, when he went to invite Yuan Chaoge, he had seen this third prince a few times, but each time they were hosted by Prince Zhenye, and he had not spoken much with this third prince. Previously, he had perceived him as cold and seemingly arrogant, but to his surprise, after conversing today, Xiao Zhendong turned out to be quite amiable.

Xiao Zhendong's face turned red, and he hesitantly replied.

Xiao Zhendong initially intended to lash out with a whip just as he had done with Wu Ye, but the title of "Tai Ji" made him feel somewhat better. Xiao Tunan's influence was too great, having become the one and only heir in everyone's hearts, and it had been a long time since anyone had referred to him as "Tai Ji." He helped Ba Lingduo Mu'er to his feet and said gently, "It is Duomu'er, I haven't seen you for quite some time. What brings you here?"

However, after resting for a while, Xiao Zhendong found himself alone. He threw a tantrum and suddenly realized that he had not brought any provisions; all the supplies were with Ze Rong. The wisest course of action would certainly be to catch up with Wu Ye and the others, but he simply could not bear the shame. After hesitating for a moment, he finally thought that his hunger was more important than his pride. When he went to pursue them again and ran up the hillside, he found the surroundings completely empty; the group had already disappeared without a trace.

Xiao Zhendong was already not full, and after all this commotion, he felt even hungrier. He paced around the camp and finally managed to find some jerky in the pot. The water in the pot had long since boiled away, and the jerky was half-burnt and stuck to the bottom of the pot. Xiao Zhendong used his fingers to pick out what he could still eat and stuffed it into his mouth. The meat stuck to the bottom of the pot was difficult to remove; after a long time, he had barely eaten much and ended up with a face full of black soot.

He looked at Ba Lingduo Mu Er's gradually reddening eyes and deliberately sighed: "Returning to hire Yuan will take several days for a round trip. I fear that by the time they return, the food will have all been consumed by the people of Dayuan, and the silver will be spent. Even if they haven't eaten, distributing all this food and silver will still be troublesome. With such a vast area in Guanzhong, can we really go door to door to seize it? Alas! If only I had tens of thousands of soldiers here, but it seems that is not possible now. King Zhenye has repeatedly urged us to be cautious, and without assurance that he won't send troops, we can only let the people of Dayuan benefit. " He shook his head deliberately, "Millions of shi of grain and millions of taels of silver..."

Ba Lingduo Mu Er was overjoyed upon hearing this, but Ke Hedun was merely a subordinate tribe of Xizhan, and his own father was to pay homage to the father of the latter. At this moment, when Xiao Zhendong mentioned that Xizhan and Ke Hedun were old friends, he was naturally pleased

Ba Lingduo Mu'er became nervous under his gaze, calling out several times, "Taiji? Your Highness?"

However, it is certainly impossible to completely adopt the Central Plains system; the current system in the West Zhan already incorporates many characteristics of the grasslands. For instance, in the West Zhan, anyone with a qualification for succession can be referred to as Taiji. Not only can several sons of Huyuan be called Taiji, but his brothers and cousins can also be referred to as Taiji. Here, Taiji is more like an affectionate title, unlike in the Central Plains where only one person can be called the Crown Prince

And the reality was as he had imagined; a few days later, Prince Hedun swung his curved sword, causing a streak of blood to appear on the body of the convoy officer, and the silver cart loaded with silver and supplies was taken away one after another.

"Hmm, Duomuer, you speak too harshly, I am merely..." Xiao Zhendong suddenly raised his head, staring at him intently, and suddenly had an idea. He had always been straightforward, but it was rare for him to come up with a strategy; he felt both nervous and excited, rehearsing the words in his mind several times.

"Scoundrel!" The young man was furious, "Dare to be disrespectful to this prince? Someone, teach him a lesson!"

Seeing that the servant of Ba Lingduo Mu Er was mounting his horse in response, and realizing that if he did not stop him, he would leave, Xiao Zhendong could only awkwardly speak up, saying: "Wait a moment, this... this is unnecessary. Wu Ye... Wu Ye..."

Ba Lingduo Mu'er noticed his hesitation and, once again, in a moment of self-satisfaction, suddenly realized: "Is it possible that General Wuye has some task? I have been reckless; you need not trouble yourself, my lord, and there is no need to inform me. Alas, I am merely a subordinate, and yet you, my lord, are troubled on my account; this truly moves me greatly. Should you have any assignments in the future, I, Duomuer, would willingly dedicate my life to you, my lord"

Xiao Zhendong watched as these figures disappeared behind the hillside, his gaze seemingly penetrating the mountains, envisioning the scene of the soldiers of Kehadun seizing one silver cart after another. If it weren't for the interception by the Golden Eagle Guard, all this silver would have been mine. Bah, it has fallen into the hands of that brat Balin Duomu.

Ba Lingduo Mu'er stood up and said: "The wild geese in late autumn are the most nourishing. I would like to catch some autumn geese to serve with wine for my father"

"Harguchuk" is the Western Zhan name of Xiao Zhendong, while "Taiji" is a homophone of "Taizi" in the Central Plains. Two hundred years ago, the Western Zhan greatly admired Central Plains culture and emulated the reforms of Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei. Not only did the royal family take the lead in adopting the Han surname "Xiao," but many nobles were also granted Han surnames and names. Even the title of the crown prince was changed to "Taizi" in accordance with the Central Plains. The Western Zhan, which was in a semi-slave society, gradually became stronger due to this Sinicization reform.

Xiao Zhendong did not realize that this thought saved his own life, but it harmed the only son of Chief Ke Hedun

Xiao Zhendong was in a terrible mood and did not lift his head as he said, "Get lost, it’s none of your business"

Xiao Zhendong said: "We have received news that there are now several million shi of grain and several million taels of silver in Dayuan, along with countless women from the south, who are said to be settling in Guanzhong and Yunchong. We... well, it was originally my plan and Wu Ye's to launch an attack this winter, but upon arriving here, we heard that the Emperor of Dayuan also thought these resources were too abundant and valuable, fearing they would be plundered, so he specifically sent tens of thousands of people to escort them here. We received the news too late and only brought a few thousand people, which may not be sufficient, so I instructed Wu Ye to return and gather more troops."

Xiao Zhendong took the opportunity to inquire about the health of Chief Kehadun, and also asked about the mother of Balingduo Mu'er and the cattle and sheep of the tribe's ranch. Duomuer responded one by one: "All is well"

Ba Lingduo Mu Erhuoran stood up and said: "Your Highness, I, I ... ... "

Ba Lingduo Mu'er then said: "No wonder, I was wondering why Your Highness is here alone; it turns out you got separated." He loudly instructed his servants to quickly catch up with General Wu Ye and inform him that the Third Prince is here. He hurriedly came forward to ingratiate himself, laying his own lynx fur cloak on the ground as a cushion, inviting Xiao Zhendong to sit and wait.

Xiao Zhendong took a deep breath and then continued, "You speak too harshly; however, He Dun and I from Xizhan are old friends, so there is nothing I cannot share with you."

Ba Lingduo Mu'er completely addressed Xiao Zhendong in accordance with the customs of the esteemed ancestor Xizhan, implying a sense of familiarity and suggesting a shared origin, hoping that Xiao Zhendong would not take offense at his own rudeness.