When Li Xuandu met Lao Khan for the first time, he was accompanied by Yue Li, and Xiao Yan did not come forward in person. And this time it was different, Xiao Yan personally led Li Xuandu to Lao Khan's Golden Horde, which shows the tension of the royal court now.

Although the Golden Horde's defense was much stricter than before, it was not much different for the Xiao Yan clan. She was honored as the "Mistress of the Royal Court", not simply as a flattery, but as a true illustration of her status in the Golden Horde. No matter how those young girls were favored by the old Khan, their status was always lowly, and the noble and small clans were the wives of the old Khan, equivalent to the queen of the Central Plains. When Xiao Yan asked to enter the Golden Horde, no one could refuse Xiao Yan's request except the old Khan, and the cowardly Xue military lieutenant who was in charge of duty had to ask Lao Khan, as for seeing or not seeing, that was the matter of Lao Khan. Generally speaking, however, the old Khan would not refuse the request of the Xiao Yan clan.

This time was no exception, and the cowardly Xue Jun Lieutenant on duty quickly brought back the old Khan's message and agreed to Xiao Yan's request.

When Xiao Yan and Li Xuan both came to the outside of the Golden Palace, the entire palace was brightly lit. Xiao Yan said: "It seems that the old Khan has expected it, and this is a long time of waiting. ”

Li Xuan didn't speak, but his eyes motioned for Ning Yi and Shi Wuyue to wait outside.

Soon, one of the chamberlains came out to greet him, saluted him respectfully, and then said, "Ran, the Great Khan is waiting for you and your guests. ”

Xiao Yan raised his chin.

The inner attendant understands and leads the way in front.

This time, the old Khan was still not sitting on his throne, nor on the chaise longue in his study, but in his dormitory. When Li Xuandu entered the dormitory, he only felt a blazing fire rushing to his face, making it seem like a steamer. Compared to the bitter cold outside, it feels like a hot summer day again. Old Khan wore only a thin silk robe, his hair was scattered, and he stepped barefoot on a luxurious carpet.

There were already female slaves who served Xiao Yan to remove the cloak and cloak on their bodies, and Rao was like this, but fine beads of sweat still oozed from Xiao Yan's forehead. Looking at those female slaves again, the clothes on their bodies were extremely cool, only covering a few important parts.

The female slaves wanted to serve Li Xuandu again and took off their heavy leather robes, Li Xuandu waved his hand and said, "I'm fine." ”

The female slaves were a little at a loss, and subconsciously turned their heads to look at the old Khan.

Old Khan said with a smile: "The envoy's cultivation is profound, and it has long been cold and heat, so you can retreat." ”

The slave girls retreated into the shadow of the lamplight, as if they were wax figures, and there was no movement.

Old Khan looked at Xiao Yan, "The relationship between the Yan clan and the envoy is really extraordinary. ”

Xiao Yan smiled slightly, "The envoy was brought back by Yue's parting, in the words of the Central Plains, the two of them are closely related, if the envoy has any accidents, she can't get out of it, and she is my daughter, how can I, as a mother, sit idly by?"

Old Khan smiled, noncommittal to Xiao Yan's statement, and turned to Li Xuandu: "I already know about the attack on the envoy, does the envoy have anything to say to me?"

Li Xuandu said: "As soon as I left the Golden Horde, Ili Khan has already received the news, and it seems that the Great Khan's side is not monolithic

。 ”

The old khan was not angry or annoyed, his expression was unusually calm, "I know, because I am old, so the people around me have begun to look for a way out in advance to ensure that they can still retain their power and wealth after the new khan succeeds to the throne." ”

Li Xuandu was silent.

Old Khan continued: "Irihan has already seen me, but not as a resignation, but as a speaker, and he has stated his interests to me and advised me not to negotiate peace with Liaodong. In his eyes, I was a confused old man, not only blind, but also dim-headed. ”

Li Xuandu asked, "Did Old Khan expect it?"

Old Khan smiled slightly, "There is a saying in the Central Plains, called: 'Before you win, you must lose first.'" Before you do something, you have to think about the possible consequences of it. ”

Li Xuandu asked again: "Then how does the old khan plan to deal with this matter? Do you want to continue the alliance with Liaodong?"

"Allies, of course. Old Khan laughed out loud, "The enemy opposes you, slanders you, and obstructs you, not because you have done wrong, but because you have done right." If the enemy praises you, then you have to be careful. Now the attack on the emissaries by the Iri Khan speaks precisely to their fear, and also to the correctness of this decision. If it's right, how can you give up halfway?"

Old Khan's voice gradually became smaller, and he was a little weak. Xiao Yan hurriedly stepped forward to help Lao Khan sit on the bed - whenever Xiao Yan was present, the female slaves who served Lao Han would consciously step aside, leaving the stage for the performance to Xiao Yan.

Li Xuandu said: "I understand. However, I was injured and could not return to Liaodong immediately, and I wanted to remain in the royal court for some time, hoping that the Great Khan would agree. ”

Old Khan raised his hand, Xiao Yan understood, got up and came to the side of the cabinet, and took out a delicate crystal bottle from it, which contained bright red wine, which seemed to be transported from the Western Regions. Xiao Yan took out two more luminous cups, put them on a small table, pulled out the crystal bottle cork on it, poured a full glass of wine first, and handed it to Li Xuandu.

Li Xuandu took it with both hands.

Old Khan looked at Xiao Yan's slender back and said, "Grape wine glow-in-the-dark cup, if you want to drink the pipa, urge immediately." Drunk and lying on the battlefield, how many people returned to fight in ancient times? This is your poem in the Central Plains, it is really beautiful. I often listen to the lectures of the national teacher, and I understand some of them, and I like this poem the most. Messenger, drink this glass of wine first. ”

Li Xuandu held the cup in both hands, but did not drink it immediately, but looked at Lao Khan.

"Don't worry, there's no poison in the wine. Old Khan smiled and asked Xiao Yan to pour him a full glass of wine, "You need to use a luminous glass to drink wine, and the merchants of the Western Regions once gave me a set." According to them, the luminous glass should be under the fire of the night, lined with bright red wine, like virgin blood, the most beautiful and the most invigorating. ”

After that, Old Khan took the wine glass from Xiao Yan's hand, drank it all in one gulp, and then shone the bottom of the glass to show that he was not cheating.

Li Xuandu still didn't drink, looked at the old Khan, and said, "The Great Khan has promised me to stay in the royal court?"

"Yes. Old Khan said, "Some are willing to die in the body of a woman, some are willing to die in a wine cup, and some are willing to die in a sword."

Under the sword, you can do it. ”

Li Xuandu heard the voice of Lao Khan's words, and did not refute, but just raised the wine glass in his hand and drank it all.

Old Khan returned the wine glass in his hand to Xiao Yan's hand and said: "For nearly four hundred years, it has been the golden blood that has ruled the grassland, passed down from generation to generation, and during this time, the Central Plains has changed two dynasties, from the Great Jin to the Great Wei, from the Zhao to the Xu, does the envoy know why?"

Li Xuandu shook his head and said, "Please give advice to the Great Khan." ”

Old Khan said with a smile: "The ancestor of the Golden Horde established a powerful empire that was larger than the Central Plains, and in order to manage the vast empire, he divided his four sons into kings and called himself the 'Golden Bloodline', and at the same time stipulated that only the descendants of the Golden Horde were eligible to become the Great Khan of the Golden Horde. However, after so many years, there are too many people with golden bloodlines, so many that one in a hundred people has golden bloodlines. Therefore, in the history of the Golden Horde, the Great Khan may not all be orthodox with golden blood, or rather, it is not because of the orthodox golden bloodline that he can become the Great Khan, but because he becomes the Great Khan is the orthodox golden bloodline. This led to the extremely cruel competition for the throne of the Golden Horde, and the people who could ascend to the throne of the Great Khan would not be mediocre, ensuring that there would be no young emperors, fool emperors, etc., and there would be no eunuchs and harems to interfere in politics, which was the advantage of the Golden Horde. As for the disadvantages, you have already seen it, this is an extremely cruel thing, the winner gains everything, the loser loses everything, and none of the people involved in it are immune. ”

After that, the old Khan didn't wait for Li Xuandu to speak, he was already lying backwards, and ordered: "I'm tired, the Yan clan and the envoy can retire." ”

Xiao Yan handed the wine bottle and glass in his hand to the slave girl next to him and saluted the old sweat.

Then the two of them exited the old Khan's dormitory together.

Li Xuandu couldn't help but ask, "Old Khan, is this a promise?"

Xiao Yan nodded and said, "The old Khan has warned Ili Khan that in a short time, Ili Khan will not attack the envoy again. However, the old khan was also warning the envoy that if the envoy became more involved in the battle between the kings, there would be no other way but to attach himself to the old khan. ”

Li Xuandu was also aware of this, and asked, "I don't know what the Yan clan thinks?"

Xiao Yan covered his mouth and smiled: "What do I think, naturally I will act according to the orders of the old Khan." ”

Li Xuandu was keenly aware of the slightest mistake, and he had an intuition that Xiao Yan had already made some kind of decision, and it was definitely not acting according to the old Khan's instructions as she said, because that was tantamount to sitting still. Thinking of what Xiao Yan said in the palace that Yaomu Hu Khan had the only possibility to control the cowardly Xue army, as well as the "woman", "wine", and "sword" that Lao Khan said, Li Xuan had a faint guess, maybe Ili Khan's attack was just the beginning, he broke the tacit understanding and balance between the kings, and then the life and death struggle between the swords and soldiers.

Then Li Xuandu thought a little deeper, Lao Khan gave him a glass of wine, if this glass of wine corresponds to the "fine wine" that Lao Khan said, what is the meaning? Who is the "woman" in Lao Khan's mouth? Is it the Xiao Yan clan? Or is it the Da Yan clan? Or is it someone else? Who is the "sword"? Is it Ili Khan? Is it Nai Thorn Khan? Or does it refer to the cowardly Xue Jun in the royal court?