Shangjing was the location of the royal tent of the Khitan tribe.
Before Liao Taizu Yelü Abaoji established the Great Liao, Shangjing was actually just a gathering area, a place where Khitan nobles gathered, and there was no city wall.
Like other grassland tribes, there are felt tents everywhere, ordinary, luxurious, luxurious, etc. There are all kinds of felt tents, which are dazzling.
The current leader of the eight Khitan tribes is Hendejin Khan, who is from the Yaonian clan and is a cowardly man.
In fact, each of the eight Khitan tribes had its own leader, commonly known as the clan leader or the king; under the king, the military officer in charge of military affairs was called the Yilijin of the tribe.
The current Yilijin of the Diela tribe is Yelu Xiadi, and Yuyue is Yelu Shilu.
It is worth mentioning that Yilijin of the Diela tribe was not only the Yilijin of his own tribe, but also the commander-in-chief of all the armies of the eight Khitan tribes. His every move represented the military movements of the entire Khitan.
In fact, Yelu Xiadi was forced to become Yilijin of the Diela tribe.
In the Battle of Juyongguan and the Battle of Qingliang Valley, Yelu Xiadi and Yelu Shilu killed three powerful generals, Murong Ba, Yelu Sala and Bala. More than 100,000 elite Khitan troops went south, but only less than 30,000 of them returned with them.
In order to escape the blame from their tribesmen, the two men simply went all out and directly captured Yilijin of the Diela tribe, thus taking control of the entire Khitan military and political power.
After taking up high positions, they used every possible means and worked together to quell the incident.
However, these two heroes who once colluded with each other to seize Yilijin of the Diela tribe now have a rift between them.
The reason is very simple. Yelu Xiadi, the Yilijin of the Diela tribe, was not doing his job well.
There is no doubt that Yelu Xiadi and Yelu Shilu are both people with strong desire for power.
The two conspired to seize the position of Yilijin. Then, Yelu Shilu, who was a member of Yu Yue and the second-in-command of the Diela tribe, sidelined Yelu Xiadi. Could Yelu Xiadi feel comfortable
At this sensitive time, Yan Mujin, Xiao Xiala and others who had been captured by Zhu Li escaped from Shuozhou and kidnapped Zhu Li's sister Zhu Ning'er.
It is said that after discussion, Yelu Shilu and Yanmujin planned to hold a firewood-collecting event to select the strongest warrior from the eight tribes to marry Zhu Ning'er, in order to establish a friendly relationship with Zhu Li of Shuozhou.
If you can't defeat them, then surrender. This is a fine tradition of the ancient Northern Di people.
It is said that the most powerful warriors will be selected from the eight tribes, but there is an age limit. The warriors participating in the selection must be under the age of 25. This makes it intriguing.
As everyone knows, Yelu Sala and Yanmujin's son, Chuoliji, has grown up. Chuoliji, now sixteen years old, is nine feet tall, with a strong upper body and a sharp lower body. He has a sharp gaze and can hold a bow that weighs three hundred pounds. He is so brave and valiant that no one can match him.
This grand firewood-collecting event was clearly prepared for Chuolizhi, and almost anyone with a discerning eye could see that. It must be pointed out here that the childhood nickname of Liao Taizu Yelü Abaoji was Chuolizhi.
The Khitans hated Zhu Li of Shuozhou to the core. They killed more than 200,000 elite Khitans in three battles. They wanted to skin him alive and pull out his tendons.
However, after they actually managed to trick Zhu Li's sister Zhu Ning'er into surrendering, the Khitans began to worry again.
The Khitans obviously did not dare to touch her at all. No one wanted to become a mortal enemy with Zhu Li. If Zhu Li became furious, the Khitans would not be able to bear the consequences.
Seeing their enemy's sister in their hands but not daring to touch her at all, the Khitans came up with another way: to turn Zhu Ning'er into a Khitan woman. In this way, no matter Zhu Litong agreed or not, she would have to accept it.
This is the intention of the Khitan nobles. Everyone wants a powerful ally, but there is only one Zhu Ning'er.
If Zhu Ning'er is married and Zhu Li agrees, with his support behind the scenes, any Khitan tribe may come to the fore and become the master who dominates the fate of the entire tribe. This is why the firewood-collecting ceremony is held.
Since everyone wants to marry Zhu Ning'er, then everyone should try their best and the truth will be revealed at the grand event.
The most sacred event of the Khitan people was to "pile up firewood into an altar and burn firewood to worship the sky." This was the long-rumored Chai Ce Ceremony. Once the ceremony was completed, it was regarded as a divine will. The etiquette of the Khitan people for selecting their leaders could not be desecrated.
It was against this background that Shangjing welcomed four uninvited guests.
There were three men and one woman, led by a man who was over seven feet tall, with shaved hair with many braids, bare chest with visible tattoos, and a curved sword on his waist, looking very heroic. This man was none other than Zhu Li.
Following Qing Ruo's suggestion, he cut his hair and dressed up as a Khitan. Qing Ruo was more attentive and helped him paint a lifelike wolf head on his chest, which was the symbol of the Khitan royal family.
If one only looked at his appearance, as long as Zhu Li didn't speak, no one would know that he was Han Chinese; but Qing Ruo, Guang Mao and Xiao Yao were all suddenly subordinates of Zhu Li, the pseudo-Khitan royal family.
This is also a helpless move.
It’s different now. With a pseudo-Khitan royal like Zhu Li protecting them, no one would dare to touch them easily.
When they entered Shangjing, they spent a large amount of money and lived in a very luxurious felt tent; there was no other way, as everyone lived in felt tents in Shangjing, so they had to follow the local customs.
After everything was arranged, the little demon, who served as a scout, slipped out to gather information. It was not until the evening that the little demon returned to the tent in high spirits.
"Brother hero, I have heard news about Madam Zhu Ning'er." As soon as he entered the felt tent, the little demon excitedly reported to Zhu Li.
"Well, tell me quickly, how is she now?" Upon hearing this, Zhu Li stood up and asked anxiously.
Since he became the commander-in-chief of the three armies and served as a local vassal, he has lost his temper twice; once was when Yuchi Jin got into trouble; and once is now.
Seeing Zhu Li's anxious expression, Xiao Yao naturally did not dare to neglect him and hurriedly said, "Brother Hero, Zhu Ning'er is now under house arrest in Yelu Shilu's tent. She is not in danger for the time being, but..."
"But what?" Zhu Li breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that there was no danger for the time being; but when he heard the word "but", his heart, which had just calmed down a little, was lifted up again.
"Hurry up and tell me, don't keep me in suspense." Qing Ruo, who was standing next to him, glared at Xiao Yao fiercely, obviously blaming him for being so startled.
Seeing Qing Ruo's eyes, Xiao Yao immediately said: "Seven days later, Yelu Shilu will gather the warriors of the eight tribes and hold a grand firewood accumulation ceremony in the central grassland of Shangjing."
"At that time, all Khitan men under the age of 25 will have to demonstrate their skills at the event, and the strongest one will be chosen to marry Zhu Ning'er."
"Snap"
Before Xiao Yao finished her words, she saw Zhu Li suddenly picked up the teacup on the table, and then threw it hard to the ground, breaking it into pieces.
Looking up, they saw that he had a ferocious expression, like a bloodthirsty ghost crawling out of hell, ready to devour someone. Qing Ruo, Xiao Yao and Guang Mao felt their scalps tingling when they saw him.
The atmosphere in the tent suddenly became oppressive. When Qing Ruo saw that Zhu Li looked strange, she immediately asked Xiao Yao, "Xiao Yao, can you confirm where Zhu Ning'er is living now?"
"As long as we know the location, we can have the kitten dig a hole, sneak in quietly, and 'steal' the person out."
Qing Ruo's words were like a bright light in the darkness, which immediately attracted Zhu Li's attention. He instantly suppressed his anger and looked at Xiao Yao expectantly.
Facing Zhu Li's gaze, Xiao Yao was embarrassed and explained in a stammering voice: "Yelü Shilu, as a member of the Diela tribe, his tent is surrounded by warriors of the Pishi Army. I can't get in at all."
"If I can't enter the tent, how can I be sure where Madam Zhu Ning'er is living now?"
Xiao Yao's helplessness was obviously an unsolvable problem. Although it was confirmed that Zhu Ning'er was in Yelu Shilu's tent, there was no way to find out her exact location. There was nothing that could be done about it.
Zhu Li frowned and suddenly said, "Kitten."
"Hmm?" Hearing this, Guangmao quickly raised his head and looked at Zhu Li, "Brother Xia, if you have any instructions, just tell me."
After spending the whole journey together, Zhu Li had already regarded them as his own people, so he was naturally not polite and immediately said, "I may have to trouble Brother Guangmao to dig a tunnel in the dark to Yelu Shilu's tent."
"Hmm?" Zhu Li's request made Qing Ruo startled. He quickly asked, "Brother Xia, what do you want to do? Do you want to sneak into Yu Yue's tent at night?"
"Is there any problem?" Zhu Li looked at Qing Ruo with confusion.
Upon hearing this, Qing Ruo immediately frowned and asked cautiously, "Are you sure you can avoid the Pi Shi army and prevent them from discovering you?"
"You should know that the Khitan army is composed of four types. The first type is the ?` army, these people are cannon fodder; the second type is the herdsman army, which is composed of the elite among ordinary herdsmen, and their combat effectiveness is not very good."
"The third type is the Gongfen Army, which is the elite cavalry led by Yilijin of the Eight Tribes. During this period, they were the main force in the charge. The fourth type is the Pishi Army, which is the most elite and powerful army in the entire Khitan tribe. The army is full of elite warriors, and only the general military commander is qualified to lead them."
"Yilijin of the Diela tribe led the eight Khitan warriors, and Yelu Shilu sidelined Yelu Xiadi. There is no doubt that the most elite Pishi army also fell into his hands."
"His tent is now guarded by the Pishi Army. If you want to sneak into Yue's tent at night, it would be like pulling teeth out of a tiger's mouth."
Zhu Li looked indifferent when he heard that. After all, he was also a master of the Xuan realm. If he could be discovered by ordinary soldiers when he sneaked into Yueya's tent at night, wouldn't he be unworthy of the title of Tianxuan
With this thought in mind, he looked at Qing Ruo calmly and said calmly, "Thank you for your reminder, madam. However, I have made up my mind. I will go to Yelu Shilu's tent even if it is a dangerous place."