After Heba finished speaking, there was an awkward and cold silence in the big tent. At this time, not only was Gedan's heart in a mess, but even the Shatu leaders of other tribes were the same. They were all confused, frightened, and at a loss.
The reinforcements of the Black Jie people will not come, and the 40,000 troops in the tribe were wiped out in one day. Such news and blows will make the Shatu Seven Tribes, who have already been walking on thin ice, even more desperate. How many more troops can the entire Shatu Seven Tribes gather now? In the past two years, there have been endless wars on the Gulang grassland. The men in many tribes are almost gone. Now the majority of the tribes are women, children, the elderly, the weak and the disabled. How can they still fight? Among the less than 30,000 Han troops, there are more than 10,000 archers. When the Shatu people in the big tent thought that those Han people and countless rangers and militias would kill to Xingxing Lake in the blink of an eye, they felt like the sky was falling.
"What's wrong? Are you all mute? Aren't you usually very talkative? Why are you silent now?" Ge Dan roared like a bull with red eyes, breathing heavily through his nostrils, staring at the other people in the big tent. "Sora, aren't you known as the smartest person in the Wind River Tribe? What can you do now?"
The Shatu man named Sola did not dare to look into Gedan's eyes, but lowered his head, nodding and unable to speak.
Ge Dan's eyes were fixed on another person's face. "Tuluge, isn't your Tulang tribe known for producing the most courageous warriors on the Gulang grassland? What about you? What are you going to do now?"
"The weeds on the grassland can be cut and grow again, but brave warriors cannot die and live again!" Tuluge's old face, as bark-like, was bitter, and there were even tears in his red eyes. His voice was full of desolation. "The last time we fought the Black Jie people, our Tulang tribe suffered heavy losses. I lost two sons myself. In the battle of Baishi Pass, the Tulang tribe lost nearly 8,000 of its most brave and elite soldiers. In the past few months, more than 20 small and medium-sized tribes under the Tulang tribe were massacred by the Han people. Less than half of the small and medium-sized tribes were able to escape to Xingxing Lake. Among the warriors going out today, there is also my nephew, who is only fifteen years old. Now, the Tulang tribe only has some women, children, the elderly and the weak, and they are no longer able to fight..."
After hearing this, the other Shatu people in the big tent felt sympathetic and didn't know what to say. The current situation of the Tulang tribe was the same as that of other tribes. Just yesterday, everyone thought they could fight the Han people, but now, no one thinks so anymore.
"Sir Gedan, I... have an idea... I don't know whether I should say it..." In the awkward silence, Heba's eyes flashed, he shrank his head, and looked at everyone in the room with a wretched look.
"What ideas do you have? Tell me about it." Ge Dan looked at Heba. Although he felt inexplicably disgusted, he still suppressed his anger and asked.
"This... I'm telling you... Please don't be offended... I'm also... considering the future of our seven Shatu tribes..." Heba said hesitantly.
"Just say it. No matter what you say, we are just discussing it now. It doesn't count as your fault!" said Ge Dan.
Heba looked around at everyone in the room, and finally spoke in a low voice, "How about...how about we ask the Han people for peace!"
Hearing what Heba said, Gedan and the other Shatu people in the big tent all changed their expressions at once. What peace talk? That just sounded nice. To put it bluntly, Heba wanted the seven Shatu tribes to surrender to the Han people.
"Think about it, the Han army led by Yan Liqiang is so terrifying now, what can we do to stop them? What's more, there are more rangers and militia following the Han army. This time they won a great victory. The morale of those rangers and militia is high, and they may be bolder and more unscrupulous. Once those Han people are united, this will be the most terrifying. Once those rangers and militia all rush to Xingxing Lake to burn, kill and loot, there may be hundreds of thousands of people. What should we do?" Seeing that no one spoke, Heba's eyes flashed with cunning light, and his voice was a little louder. "Asking for peace is only to stabilize the Han people temporarily. Those Han people are ambitious and like face. We can tell the Han people that our Shatu Seven Tribes will be in Xingxing Lake in the future, accept the jurisdiction of the Qiyun Protectorate, and bow down to them. We can also provide the Qiyun Protectorate with countless horses, cattle and sheep every year, just like when we first came to Gulang Grassland!"
After hearing what Heba said, everyone's eyes in the big tent flickered. Even Gedan, after his face changed for a moment, began to seriously consider this suggestion. For the Wumu tribe, surrendering to the Han people again did not seem to be something difficult to accept, because originally, the seven Shatu tribes were under the jurisdiction of the Qiyun Protectorate of the Han people. Going back now was not psychologically unacceptable.
"Do you think that after the battle of Baishi Pass, the Han people will still believe our request for peace?" Ge Dan said with a frown.
"I heard that the Qiyun Governor Yan Liqiang is young and capable, but he is just a greedy and lustful man. Didn't he accept Su Shali and those beautiful women and property that our Wuli tribe gave him before? This time, we go to ask for peace with him and give him a hundred beautiful women. The tribes can also pool together and give him more money. As long as we lower our posture and give him a way out, I think it should not be difficult to ask for peace!" Having said this, Heba looked around the big tent in an obscene way, and his voice became mysterious, with a hint of sarcasm. There was a hint of ferocity. "Now the strength of the Shatu Seven Tribes is not as strong as before, but the Qiyun Protectorate is getting stronger and stronger. We have no way to fight the Han people anymore. At this time, as long as we stabilize the Han people, we can recuperate in Xingxing Lake and have children. After another 20 to 30 years, when our women can give birth to children, the Shatu Seven Tribes will recover their strength and there will be more men holding knives. We have the final say in this Gulang Grassland. As for the Qiyun Protectorate, we have destroyed one before, and we can destroy it again in the future!"
"I think this is a good idea..."
“I think so too!”
"Even the strongest eagle will avoid storms, and even the strongest wolf will have to lick its wounds. There is nothing shameful about this. In the words of the Han people, this is a makeshift measure. I think it's feasible!"
The Shatu nobles in the big tent were all excited as if they were injected with chicken blood, and they started talking at once. Heba's idea was not easy to accept at first, but if you think about it carefully, it is a good idea.
Ge Dan pondered for a moment and was very interested. He thought that this method might be worth a try because he had no other tricks at this moment.
Just when everyone was discussing in the big tent, suddenly, an abrupt and cold voice appeared in the tent.
"You Shatu dogs, you are really a dog that can't change its nature. Even at this time, you are still thinking of playing tricks and schemes to plot against my apprentice. Bah..."
The voice was obviously of Han Chinese, and he didn't sound young anymore, as if he was an old man. The high-level Shatu people could speak Chinese, so everyone could understand the voice.
In an instant, all the Shatu people in the big tent changed their expressions.
"Who..." Ge Dan roared and pulled out the knife from his waist.
With a "crash..." sound, a big hole appeared in the ceiling of the big tent, and a figure fell from the hole with starlight all over the sky, "It's your grandpa!"
Seeing the figure falling, Ge Dan and the two high-ranking officials of the Shatu Seventh Tribe beside him roared and slashed at the figure with their swords without thinking.
"Slurp..." Ge Dan felt his eyes blurred, he saw nothing, and then there was a sharp pain, his throat had been pierced by the silver spear tip, and then the whole person flew out...
Severe pain instantly overwhelmed all the nerves in Ge Dan's brain. Just as his body was flying backwards and he was about to close his eyes, the last scene Ge Dan saw was a white-haired old man, like a mad lion, holding a big spear in his hand. With just one shot, he covered everyone in the big tent. In a flash, seven or eight people flew backwards with blood in their throats like himself. Heba had just rushed a few steps towards the door of the big tent when the spear in the old man's hand, like the shadow attached to his body, flew over in an instant and stabbed a big hole in Heba's chest. In the blink of an eye, there was no one alive in the big tent...
(End of this chapter)