In fact, the contents of these four letters are almost exactly the same. Except for the different names of the recipients, the contents of the four letters are roughly the same.
First of all, he praised the king as "the great master of the grassland" in a humble and respectful tone, and then expressed his determination to lead his troops to be loyal. Finally, it was agreed that on the day of the decisive battle, I would lead 40,000 sons of iron cavalry, enter from the side of the battlefield, join the battle, and die for the great king! ! At the same time, in order to be able to attack the enemy by surprise on the battlefield and catch the opponent by surprise, I ask the great king to keep the secret. After defeating the enemy in the future, I must kneel in front of the king. The signature at the end of this letter is exactly The son of the slave girl who was always looked down upon by the princes, Saladin.
If it was only Saladin's signature, I'm afraid the four princes might not believe it. But the problem is, after Saladin received this "vote of integrity", the four of them received another letter at the same time! !
And this letter made the four "Prairie Kings" have to be fooled!
This is an autographed letter from Hanmoye. It is the same as the previous one. The content of the letter received by the four princes this time is actually the same.
In his letter, Hanmoye expressed sincerely that he did not accept your call when he was in the royal court, but led people away, which was not an act of fear and defection. After all, if your own tribe is small, with a population of only 30,000 and a military strength of only a few thousand, it will not be of much help at all. My own departure is actually to preserve my strength, and at the same time to find reinforcements for you!
And now, I have tried my best to convince Saladin, the youngest prince. And Saladin has expressed his willingness to join you with me, and I will join forces with him. There are tens of thousands of troops. In this way, it can give you a lot of help.
On the day of the decisive battle, he and Saladin will enter from the side of the battlefield with soldiers and horses, and then...
After receiving the secret letter written by Hanmoye, the four princes were really fooled.
Who is Hamuyah? That was his own uncle. Is the father's brother. In the royal court, he also had a good personal relationship with the princes.
No one believed that Hamuye would harm himself... and no one thought that Hamuye would "take refuge" with Saladin. After all, Hanmoyed is the real noble prince! And Saladin... that's just a boy born from a slave girl, a bastard, who only got to this day by flattering his father! snort…
and. What must be pointed out is the end of Hamuyah's letter, which clarifies one more point!
"Respect the king. I think that although Saladin agreed to help us, we can't fully trust this little bastard. I will help you to monitor him carefully... However, my strength is limited, and it is really difficult to effectively coerce him. , So, please send some troops to assist me. It doesn’t take much, just give me another five thousand troops. I can keep a close eye on this guy, if he dares to make a slight move. I can... "
It is this last paragraph. Impressed the four princes.
Everyone of them is overjoyed—as expected, it is the idea of the prince, the think tank in our royal court! Humph, that bastard kid. Most of them are unreliable! Moreover, Uncle only wants five thousand people, just five thousand people, and he can still squeeze out! After staring at that kid, he will have to send 30,000 to 40,000 people! In this way, it is a very worthwhile thing.
Although the strength of his subordinates is also very tight, he can barely squeeze out 5,000 people.
Therefore, after receiving the "secret letter", the four local "grassland kings" fantasized in their hearts that they could get the support of Saladin and Hamuye, and had no choice but to agree to Hamuye's request.
There were three princes who immediately ordered five thousand horses to come, and quietly left their camp far away overnight. As for the fourth prince, he really didn't have any extra troops, so he simply ordered a small tribe that had defected to him to be sent out as a whole.
In Saladin Hammiya's letters to the four princes, the place and time of contact are different. So this scene appeared: in the next three days, four different times and four different locations. After the four teams arrived at the designated contact point, they all met the "loyal" Prince Hamuyed and his team as promised.
Then... Waiting for these fooled guys is the only fate: first, they were deceived by Hamuyah and were defenseless, and then in this place that had been ambushed by Saladin, they were so heavily surrounded that even a bird could not fly out, and finally let go Arms, only to accept their fate, surrender to be marshalled!
All Hanmuye had to do was to go to four places and perform four plays in three days.
And Saladin, without a single soldier, just used a letter, in exchange for more than 20,000 horses!
Even Hanmoye, who is known as the "brain tank", admires this unconstrained and bold idea.
But what he didn't know was that this idea was not something that Saladin could come up with.
After completing this plan, Saladin secretly met with Alpha. Alpha faced this gloomy prairie man. Although he didn't like this guy, but out of his loyalty to Du Wei, he still accomplished his mission brilliantly.
"Your Excellency the Duke, let me tell you that this plan for you is the last time he helped you, and the rest of the matter will depend on you. We will not give you any free help, starting from today , any help will come at a price.” The four “Prairie Kings” who have “lost” five thousand troops are still dreaming, and they believe that they, supported by the coalition forces of Hanmuye and Saladin, will The strength has already taken advantage.
But when the day of the decisive battle came, reality severely crushed their fantasies! The four princes who were eyeing each other, finally made up their minds to fight! Because they couldn't drag on any longer, they had to defeat their brothers as quickly as possible, and then, with the posture of being strong and victorious, they could make those coveted tribes surrender.
This is the only way.
So, this morning. People and horses from all over the world gathered on this grassland, drums beat, horns blew, cavalrymen polished their scimitars, and horses spouted white gas from their noses. Kicking horseshoes restlessly...
Sharp machete. Under the sun, pieces of golden light shined out.
What's ridiculous is that the four princes looked at the side of the battlefield at the same time...waiting for their "surprising reinforcements".
At noon, when the sun shines overhead. From the side of the battlefield, there was a faint sound of horseshoes, and then, above the horizon, a large cloud of dust was raised. I don't know how many cavalry are galloping. There is no doubt about the dust that obscures the sky. Stimulated the confidence of the four prairie kings!
And, before the dust. A group of cavalry galloped, and they held up the flag. Impressively, it is at this moment that the most ridiculous and ironic scene between Salah al-Din and Hamuyah takes place.
Four prairie kings. Almost at the same time, pointing to the dust flying in the distance. Then he turned around, and with the confidence of a victor, he shouted at his subordinates with a flushed face: "Look! My brave sons! Have you seen those people in the distance! Those are rare The reinforcements brought to us by Prince Muye!! Our reinforcements have arrived!! Victory belongs to us!! Now, raise your scimitars and charge the enemy!!"
Although there are some people who think that although the flying dust is very noisy... But the sound of horseshoes coming from a distance does not seem to be as much as imagined. But at such a tense moment, no one has time to think about these issues.
So... the horn of the charge sounded, the soldiers raised their scimitars, urged the horses, and began the charge without hesitation... Will they be fooled? Saladin smiled at Hamuye who was riding beside him.
Han Moye thought for a while, and he immediately said: "Yes, my lord. Also... I admire your strategy, hmph, only a thousand cavalry were used, and the horses were dragged around on the ground with branches tied behind them , just raised so much dust... They must think by now that we have sent out the whole army to help them."
Saladin smiled sullenly: "Then... now, let our people get on the horses and get ready to go." The total number of people and horses totaled more than 100,000, and they had already collided fiercely, like a huge meat grinder, smashing All life that can be involved! !
Howling, fighting, shouting, screaming...
When the battle went on for a long time, the four "Prairie Kings" discovered angrily that the "reinforcements" they had hoped for had not joined the battle! And the people who sent them came back to report the news, so angry that the four kings almost vomited blood from their horses and passed out!
The so-called reinforcements that came were only a thousand people... The dust that filled the sky was brought up by the branches tied behind the horses. Moreover, when the battle started, they... all ran away! !
"Damn Saladin"
Still, the four grassland kings issued the most vicious curse at the same time in their respective army formations. But they still made a decision by coincidence.
It is impossible to stop the fight! In the current situation, whoever retreats will die!
The four great kings ordered at the same time to let their last reserve team, the whole army rush forward!
Life and death, at this moment! ! -inside
He sent out four teams of five thousand men each. And these five thousand people respectively put on the costumes of the five thousand men sent by the brothers at the beginning, under their banners, and when they were fighting inextricably on the battlefield, they quietly approached the four The stronghold of the Prairie King...
Saladin's order was simple.
"Quick! Everything must be done quickly! If you can grab it, grab it! If you can't take it away, burn it! One blow is the leg, no one is allowed to delay!"
The four princes who devoted all their forces to the decisive battle, and the empty base camp, were exposed to Saladin's minions. This time, he decided to end his life's hatred in this battle! ! The winter of sixty-three years.
The footsteps of winter are coming gradually.
Sitting in the governor's mansion in Loulan City, Du Wei received the last secret message from the grassland. This is also the last letter from Alpha, and then. Alpha will also end his two-year grassland career and return to Desa province.
In the decisive battle between the four "Prairie Kings", Saladin sent troops to surprise the camp of the four brothers after letting the four brothers dove the world away, looting a lot of supplies and wealth. Even plundered many slave populations. Finally swaggered away.
On the battlefield, the fierce battle continued until dark, and the duel between the four beasts shed the last drop of blood. In the end, the two princes died on the spot. And there was one, seeing that the general situation was over, he had to leave the battlefield with his remnant army, and when he fled, there were only less than 6,000 cavalry around him, and most of them were wounded.
The final "winner" was the eldest son of the former Prairie King. It's a pity that this winner also paid a huge price... After he finally counted the results of the battle. But it was discovered that, with the inclusion of prisoners of war. With all his strength, there are only less than 30,000 people left.
And... his base camp was also copied by Saladin.
30,000 people... defeated by 30,000 remnants. What else do you call a king
then. Taking advantage of the dark night, the "winner" lit a fire. After burning the battlefield, he also burned his own "king's flag", and then took the people and left towards the southeast.
And the only winner of this war is Saladin!
His strength expanded by a level. After the war, he already had a population of nearly 100,000 and owned 60,000 cavalry!
This strength, on the grassland, is already considered a first-class tribe.
Moreover, the clever Saladin firmly remembered Du Wei's opinion in his letter: he said that he never set up a king's banner from the beginning to the end, and he didn't stand up for himself as the king of the grassland. Instead, he took his army and devoured all the snobbery around him step by step, and then took advantage of the disintegration of the royal court and the short-term vacuum of forces in the southwestern direction of the grassland to rapidly grow his capital...
When winter comes, Saladin already has an army of more than 100,000! He became one of the most powerful leaders on the grassland!
As for his last two remaining brothers, one fled with thousands of remnants, but on the way, because of defeat, he lost his prestige and was killed by the rebel subordinates.
The other big prince went south with 30,000 people, but was annexed by another big tribe, and that big prince's head was also chopped off.
In winter, on the prairie, several large tribes jointly issued a declaration, requiring all tribal leaders to take people to the former site of the "Wangting" to hold a prairie tribal meeting and re-elect a new prairie. Saladin, who received the news, But he just sneered and tore up the letter casually.
Then, Saladin smiled, showing his white teeth, looked at his uncle Hamuye next to him in the tent, and sneered, "That Roland Duke Tulip once told me not to trust any so-called elected king, the real king, It was not elected! Hmph! If you want to gain true allegiance, you can’t do such a boring thing like election! The only way is to conquer with your scimitar! Completely conquer the enemy, anyone who does not obey Kill, at last, those who remain, and become your own people, and then true allegiance will be given."
"So...we're not going to this convention?" Hanmoyed asked.
"Participate, why not participate." Saladin said: "You can go as my representative. But remember, we only recommend others to be kings, and we are absolutely inappropriate." After the last letter, he handed it to Philip beside him. Philip finished reading with a smile, and then he nodded: "Your Excellency, it seems... In the next ten years, we don't have to worry about the threat of the grassland."
Du Wei nodded and approved Philip's words.
"The royal family in the past was too powerful to hold the entire grassland, so the grassland people will unite quietly under the royal court. But now, the most powerful royal family has disintegrated. The remaining big tribes, even the largest tribes , the strength is far from enough to hold down the entire grassland, and there is no overwhelming advantage. Therefore, even if someone is elected as the king, he still cannot sit firmly in this position. Soon there will be new challengers who will stand up and set off a new era. According to our calculations, the civil war of the prairie people may last at least seven or eight years. And there is an ambitious guy like Saladin. The time may be longer. Therefore, within ten years, we don’t have to worry about these Prairie people."
From the beginning, Du Wei never thought of conquering the grassland, he knew the current situation of the empire. It is impossible to do this—neither strength nor time will allow it.
Du Wei never thought of sending troops to invade the grassland. Even if the grassland people were seriously injured, even if Du Wei could win the war, "winning a battle" and "completely conquering" are completely different.
It is easy to win a war, but to conquer the grasslands, to conquer such a nation. Absolutely not in the short term. In that case, it would instead drag his army into a quagmire.
so. Du Wei's goal was to plunge the grassland into chaos. Serious civil unrest. The civil war that lasted for several years divided the prairie people. And the strength is greatly damaged! ! In this way, Du Wei can concentrate all his attention on dealing with more important enemies.
"Then, we can evacuate the small army stationed in the northwest corridor." Philip said with a smile: "In the past six months, we have consumed too much water every day."
"Withdraw...half." Du Wei thought for a moment: "The border has to be fortified, leaving half of the people is enough." Du Wei walked out of the study, he rubbed his sore temples, and then heaved a long sigh.
Looking at the sky, it seems that it is going to snow.
He didn't bring any entourage, walked directly through the corridor, walked to the other side of the castle, and came to a room upstairs.
In the room, came the melodious sound of the piano.
Pushing open the door, there are still several beautiful girls dancing, and the person sitting in the middle playing the piano...
Du Wei suddenly felt himself in a trance, and he sighed after he saw clearly.
Ai Lu, the female assassin of Daxue Mountain, was wearing a Roland woman's long dress and sitting in the middle—even her posture of playing the piano was so similar to that beautiful girl who was as calm as moonlight.
Du Wei walked into the room with his hands behind his hands, and then let everyone go out, leaving only Ai Lu.
Ailu's expression was gloomy, and she even looked at Du Wei with provocative eyes.
In fact, in the past few months after Hanyue's death, her attitude towards Du Wei has always been like this, but Du Wei didn't make things difficult for her. No matter how violent she was, Du Wei just locked her up for two days That's all.
"You... what are you doing here again." Ai Lu stared at Du Wei: "Are you going to send someone to kill you again this time?"
Du Wei shook his head, then stretched out his hand from behind, a ray of light flashed in his hand, he had already taken out something from the magic ring and held it in his hand.
This is a harmonium with crystal clear strings. It is obviously cleaned carefully every day, so it is spotless.
"You play the piano very well." Du Wei said softly, "So, this pair of pianos is for you."
Elle didn't speak. Du Wei's next words made Ai Lu's body shake violently.
"This piano... was left by her. After she left, this piano has been in my hands."
Ai Lu took the piano, and gently stroked the strings with her fingers.
Afterwards, Du Wei walked to the window, looked into the distance, and turned his back to Ai Lu: "Play a part for me."
Ai Lu seemed to want to object, but when the words came to her lips, she didn't know why, and it became: "What do you want to hear!"
Du Wei was silent for a while, and then said: "Whatever piece she liked to play in the past, you can play it."
The soft and harmonious sound of the strings sounded, and the smooth tune fell into Du Wei's ears, and he sighed.
His eyes set far into the distance.
The direction he was looking at was true north! !
The dark clouds in the sky are very low...
"It seems to be snowing soon." Du Wei seemed to murmur in a low voice: "One year has passed. One year... two years left... time flies so fast, only two years left. "
Although this guy turned his back to her, and I couldn't see his expression, Ai Lu could clearly feel that the voice of this young Duke who was more and more majestic on weekdays was full of exhaustion!
Yes, exhaustion.
It was the kind of exhaustion that seemed to hollow out the heart.
"Two years... what does he mean by two years. And...he is like this now, he wants wind and rain, what else makes him so worried and tired..." Ai Lu's heart, Think quietly.