Chapter 21 Chapter Twenty-One

The first year of the third year of Yuanshuo (126 BC) came in a blink of an eye. When winter just entered the grassland, the military minister Shan Yu had already reached the end of his life. The loss of Henan was a huge blow to him. When the sixteen-year-old boy ascended the throne, he never expected that the relationship between Han and Hungary would evolve into what it is today. Ever since the Battle of Mayi, whenever he thought of the emperor of the Han Dynasty in Chang'an City, he felt a faint sense of panic.That was the first time he saw the courage of the Han Dynasty to send out an army of 300,000 to ambush the Xiongnu. If Wei Shi hadn't leaked the secret, he would have already returned to the sun god.

Henan - Oh!Now it is Shuofang County in the Han Dynasty——for him, it was already a bleak dream. When he woke up, the land under his feet had become incomplete and broken.What should he take to meet the ancestors of the galloping horse and leading the bow, Fengyun I? The military minister Shan Yu went to despair in exhaustion, and finally the candle of life was extinguished.With endless regrets, he passed away with his true love for Long Luyan. Yi Zhixie and Yu Shan turned against each other around Shan Yu's position, and soon the various tribes of the Huns fell into a civil war.The gale blew up from Langjuxu Mountain, swept across the vast grassland with a strong smell of blood, and reached the northern foot of Yin Mountain, which straddles the southern edge of the desert.

The grassland is bleak in the elegy! Cangshan trembles in the elegy! Shan Yuting is swaying in the elegy! In this season, the Huns lick the cold light on the blade, regard the bodies of their brothers and sisters as sharpening stones, and regard the blood of their tribes as the water of the Yuwu River that gives birth to spring grass. The curtain of the long winter night. From the very beginning, it was a contest of great disparity in power. The immature Yu Shan was no match for Yi Zhixie, and the army led by Huhan Kunmo chased Yu Shan and fled on both sides of the Yuwu River like lambs.Yi Zhixie said that after he succeeded Shan Yu, he would follow the custom of the Huns to enshrine Long Lu as the Yan clan...

The Long Luyan family finally spent another long day, and welcomed the afterglow of the setting sun on the grassland.But the daytime is difficult, and the night is even more difficult.She doesn't know how she will pass the time of fear, and she doesn't know if she can live until tomorrow. Her melancholy eyes looked at the darkness outside the dome before she retracted her gaze. She looked around the empty room and shivered involuntarily. Ziyan came in, she knocked on the flint, and after a lot of effort, she lit a suet lamp.Immediately, two slender figures were reflected on the wall of the dome, and under the dim light, it was the face of a woman who was no longer young.

"Any news?" "I heard that Prince Yu Shan has withdrawn from the Yuwu River to the south. Failure is certain. In the past, it was only heard that the Huns did not even bat an eye when they killed the Han people. Recently, it has been frequently heard that they also treated their brothers with swords. Blood, after the army passed, corpses littered the fields, and blood flowed like rivers." "Hey! Why is this?" Yan sighed. "It's not about fighting for the Shanyu's throne. I heard that Yi Zhixie has established herself as a Shanyu, the prince is not reconciled!"

"This Yi Zhixie, the Ai family has long seen his ambition, but Shan Yu just didn't believe it, and wanted to entrust him with the important task of assisting Yu Shan. As a result, Shan Yu raised his sword to the prince before his bones were cold." Ziyan sighed and said, "We women are the ones who suffer in the end!" "It's not that you don't know the customs of the Huns. No matter who becomes the Shan Yu, the Ai family will inevitably be established as the Yan clan!" Long Luyan couldn't help but shed sad tears. A gust of cold wind lifted the leather curtain of the dome and blew onto Yan's face, like a needle prick. It was the deep wound left by the military minister Shanyu.She couldn't forget Shan Yu's heart-breaking entrustment when he was dying. He stretched out his thin hand and stroked the scar on Yan's forehead, his words were full of guilt.

"Don't you remember the widow?" "How dare the concubine hold grudges against Shan Yu?" "It made you feel wronged." The military minister Shan Yu was talking about how she asked Zhang Qian to take Hu Hanlang away that year.On that day, the military official Shanyu beat her severely with a leather whip, and left a scar on her forehead that would never be erased. Long Luyan prostrated herself on the ground, letting the whip rain down on her body.She didn't have the slightest anger or regret, as long as her son could return to Chang'an, she could risk her life.Since then, every time it rains, the wound on her body will be aching.

On his deathbed, Shan Yu finally came to his senses: "Looking at it now, you were right to send Wang Er away. If you don't leave, you will inevitably die." Yan could no longer suppress the grief in his heart, and threw himself into Shanyu's arms: "Shanyu...no...don't say that, it's my concubine who is sorry for Shanyu..." The military minister Shanyu smiled sadly, and seeing that his breathing became short, he took Yan's hand and said, "Look! You are like a child. Stand up, I have something to do! After the widow goes, you have to follow the Huns Customs, marry Yu Shan, assist him..."

The military minister Shanyu left, taking his pride, regret and concern with him.Long Luyan made up her mind in her heart that after Shan Yu left, she would assist Yu Shan, but she would never marry him.Yu Dan is married to Princess Yihe. In terms of seniority, she and Longli are aunts and nephews.What's the point of serving a man for two generations? However, the Long Luyan clan could not control the situation of the Huns, and disturbing news came from afar every day. "If things go on like this, even if the Han army doesn't attack, the Huns will kill themselves." Yan said worriedly.

"Wars are a man's business. The princess should not think about these troublesome things. In fact, according to my servant, maybe only the Han army can stop this massacre. When the Han army comes, my servant and the princess can go back to Chang'an." Even though she said that, she herself felt how unrealistic it was.Being with the princess all day long, seeing her getting thinner and thinner, Ziyan felt ashamed of the Queen Mother's entrustment, but right now that's all she can do. The night of the prairie was like a monster, engulfing everything in the darkness. Ziyan brought tender stewed beef and mutton and rich and fragrant milk tea.

No matter how the battle is fought, the grassland will never lack beef and mutton.But Long Luyan had no appetite, he only ate a little, and ordered to withdraw. What Yanshi is most afraid of now is the loneliness at night. She turned her mournful eyes to Ziyan and said, "Don't go there tonight. I will sleep with my sister. If something happens, there will be someone to take care of me." Ziyan nodded, moved the mutton oil lamp to the silver seat, and began tidying the carpet for the Yan family.She spread out the bedding and added some dried cow dung to the stove. When the two women's bodies were pressed together, they found that the feeling of youthful vitality could only be found in memory. The life in the grassland and the passage of time made their skin rough and loose. The moonlight shines on the two pale faces through the small window in the dome, evoking their homesickness—especially in this turbulent day, they are always full of nostalgia for Chang'an. "The emperor must be in his thirties!" "No! He was only four years old when the princess left. With the flick of a finger, we have been in the Xiongnu for more than twenty years." "I can't imagine what he will look like now." "I heard that the emperor has a son!" "Oh! He's a father too." "I don't know how the Queen Mother is doing?" "The Ai family is in their forties, and the queen mother is old too! I'm afraid there is no hope to return to the queen mother in this life." Long Luyan's throat was sore, and there was some bitterness in his words.But her thoughts immediately turned to the battle in front of her, she turned her body sideways, faced Ziyan and asked: "You said if Yizhi wins obliquely, how will Aijia face him?" Ziyan didn't speak. Yan looked at the saber hanging in the corner of the dome, sat up suddenly, and said with a serious expression: "If that's the case, Aijia will never submit to that traitor, and would rather use this saber to end his own life." "Princess!" Ziyan could no longer lie down peacefully and talk to Yanshi, the two women hugged each other tightly, Ziyan whimpered and cried: "I will always follow the princess." The night wind blew the moon to the top of the dome, and there was a halo of rain around it, which was the precursor of the snowstorm. Yanshi was not sleepy, she had a lot to say.She called Ziyan softly twice, but there was no response, and even breathing came from her ears.Oh!she fell asleep.Yan quietly lay down next to Ziyan, and continued to think about his thoughts. A desolate singing voice came from afar, flowing through Yan's heart like a thread: Holy sun god apparition save my poor brother The Holy Moon God Appears Pointing to the confused soul sun and moon one is the son of god one is the daughter of god son and daughter connected by blood how can we separate dear brother do you know the day when the sheep bit each other Hyenas will plunder our land The singing was blown by the wind across the grassland in the quiet night, intermittently, making the Yuwu River shed tears. "Hey..." The voice rolled towards Yan's dome from far and near, and Yan sat up vigilantly. The sound of the horse's hooves became more and more clear and urgent, and Yan hurriedly pushed the people around him to wake up. Ziyan: "Sister! Wake up, there is something to do!" The two quickly got up, took the saber from the wall, and put it on their waists. They guarded nervously behind the door, but they listened to the movement outside without relaxing their ears for a moment. A group of horse teams passed by, and another group of horse teams passed by. "Let's go! The pursuers are coming!" This is the panicked voice of the men. Another group of horses came rushing, and suddenly stopped in front of Yan's Qionglu. One person got off his horse and asked the guards guarding Qionglu, "Is Yan's here?" Oh!It was the sound of Tutuhutu. "Ms. Yan is asleep, sir, come back tomorrow if you have something to do!" "It's too late, Yi Zhixie's men will come over soon, wake up Yan Shi, and say that the crown prince wants to see her." How to do it?Yanshi and Ziyan exchanged meanings with their eyes. For more than 20 years, Tu Tuhu painted for Han Xiong's harmony and black hair turned gray, and even his daughter followed Zhang Qian, but wars shattered his dreams time and time again.How could she refuse such an old man? Yanshi shook Ziyan's hand, and Ziyan hurriedly stepped forward to open the door: "Yanshi has an order, please His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Master Tutu come in and talk." The biting cold wind swept Yu Shan, Tutuhutu and Li Mu into the Qionglu.The prince's battle robe, armor and face were covered with blood, and there were noises in his gestures, and Princess Yihe followed closely behind him. Princess Yihe threw herself into Long Luyan's arms, said "aunt" and broke down in tears.Long Luyan gently stroked the princess's shoulder and said, "My child! Be strong, you are the princess of a big man!" Yu Shan wanted to take Yanshi to retreat, so he said urgently, "It's urgent, please retreat with me." "Where is your highness going to retreat?" "Here... let's take one step at a time! Keep heading west. If it doesn't work, retreat to Dawan Kingdom!" "The crown prince's words are wrong! Dawan Kingdom is small and sparsely populated, and has always feared the Huns like a tiger. How can we expect it to offend Yizhi and accept the crown prince under such circumstances?" Yan analyzed. "This……" "According to Ai's family, His Royal Highness should give up the idea of ​​fleeing to the Dawan Kingdom, and go directly to the Han Dynasty to seek asylum." Yan urged in a firm voice. "This... for many years, the Han and the Hungarians have fought each other, and the wars have continued. Can the Emperor of the Han see me?" Prince Yu Shan scratched his head and said. Yan Shi moved forward, looked around at several close officials and said: "The current emperor is the younger brother of the Ai family. He looks at the universe and is full of anger. Although there are wars between the Han and the Hungarians, after all, they have been close for a long time. How can the emperor do this?" Remember small grudges and forget great righteousness?" As he said, Yan took off a jade pendant from his waist, his eyes were full of confidence and firmness, "This was given by the mother when Ai's family left Chang'an, and it was engraved with the seal of the Han Palace. The matter is urgent, we cannot stay here for long, His Royal Highness, please take this jade pendant, go south, cross the Great Wall, and enter You Beiping County, the prefect Li Guang there will definitely treat His Highness well when he sees this jade pendant." Yan Shi turned his face to Li Mu again and said: "Your Excellency and General Li are of the same clan, please ask Your Excellency to be your guide, let's go all the way!" Shocked and moved by Long Luyan's calmness, Yu Dan led Zuo Guduhou and Li Mu to kneel down: "This is the end of the matter, please come back to the Han Dynasty with me!" "Confused!" Yan stepped forward to help the crown prince, with tears welling from the corners of his eyes, "Don't you understand that what Yi Zhixie wants is Shan Yu's throne, and if Ai's family leaves, Yi Zhixie will definitely chase after him Don't give up, there will inevitably be another big battle between the Han and the Hungarian. Your Highness, hurry up, Yi Zhixie will not do anything to Aijia." "No! Yu Dan can't leave Yan Shi alone!" Princess Yihe also took Yan Shi's hand and said, "Auntie! Let's go together!" "Go!" Long Luyan shook off Princess Yihe's hand and said loudly, "Aijia orders you to go!" "Yanshi!" "Hurry up!" Yan Shi pulled out his saber from his waist with a "swish" and shouted in a stern voice, "If you don't leave, the Ai family will die here." "Yanshi!" Ziyan threw herself into Yanshi's arms, crying: "Yanshi! Absolutely not!" "My sister is also going back with His Royal Highness the Crown Prince." Ziyan hugged Yanshi tightly and cried: "The servant follows the princess according to the Queen Mother's will, how can she leave the princess and go back alone now? Please don't force the servant anymore, the servant will follow the princess life and death." Tutuhu Tu Lao burst into tears: "Hello to the Yan family and Miss Ziyan!" The three kowtowed three times and bowed nine times to Longliyan.When Yu Shan raised his head, in his tearful eyes, he seemed to see the golden light around Yanshi, the red clouds, and several phoenix birds flying around her.He couldn't help thinking to himself, this is the holy moon god who came to the world to protect the Huns! Yu Dan could no longer tell whether it was an illusion or a real scene. What filled his chest was only the devotion to the totem, and only the son’s sacredness to his mother. , the baby is gone." After saying that, she left the Qionglu. His Royal Highness's cavalry went further and further away, and the Qionglu returned to dead silence.Ziyan and Yanshi hugged each other and stood in the center of the dome, as if time had completely stopped, until Ziyan woke up when she heard the barking of a shepherd dog in the distance, shook Yanshi's shoulder and said: "Princess! Dawn gone." "It's dawn, and Yi Zhixie's troops are arriving soon." "Why doesn't the princess go with the prince?" "No! Only when the Ai family stays can we buy time for the prince." At noon, Yizhixie's troops drove over in a mighty manner.As if he was facing a big enemy, he spread sentry posts all over the surroundings of Yan's Qionglu, and entered the Qionglu with the pride of a victor. When his gaze rested on Yan's face, he couldn't help but say "Ah", this woman is so beautiful, no wonder the old brother Wang would neglect many women and give her all his love Woolen cloth! However, what he was eager to know now was the whereabouts of that Yu Dan, and he pouted at Yelu Gutu who was following him. Yelu Gutu immediately stepped forward and said, "Shanyu asked you something, and you have to answer it truthfully." Long Luyan cast a contemptuous glance at Yelu Gutu and said, "Bold! Seeing Ben Yan, who is so rude, aren't you afraid of the spirit of the military minister Chanyu?" "Hmph! How dare you be so contemptuous of Shan Yu, this Marquis will kill you first!" "Rude! How can you talk to Yan Shi like this? She is the Yan family of the elder brother, and will be the Yan family of the widow in the future, do you know?" Yizhi slanted back Yelu Gutu, and said to Ziyan, "You Go out first, the widow wants to talk to Mrs. Yan." "No! Sister is here, not going anywhere." Yan stretched out her arms, protecting Ziyan behind her, and said, "Your Highness, if you have something to say, just speak it out, there is no need to threaten and intimidate like this." "No! The widow is now the Shanyu of the Xiongnu, and the Yan clan should be called the Shanyu." "Hmph!" Yan sneered, "Shan Yu? When did Your Highness become Shan Yu? Is there an old Chanyu's edict? The crown prince is still alive, so how can His Highness pretend to be Shan Yu?" "Hahaha!" Yizhi laughed while pointing at the army outside the dome, "Can that idiot Yu Dan lead the Huns to fight against the Han people? Can he guarantee the happiness and safety of the Huns? Take a look, Mrs. Yan Both Shi and Lanti have embraced the widow as Shan Yu. Hahaha... let that wimp die!" Yizhi turned sideways and walked towards Yanshi, when Ziyan and Yanshi were only two steps apart, Ziyan and Yanshi pulled out their sabers almost at the same time. "Stop! If you go any further, Aijia will die for you." "Are you blackmailing me? Tell me, where did Yu Dan go?" "Say it!" Yelu Gutu raised his saber. "You can't catch up with him." "So, the Yan family knows where they are going?" "Humph!" what!Yi Zhixie understood that Yu Dan must have gone south according to Yan's instructions, maybe he had already crossed the Great Wall and entered the territory of Han. "You spy!" Yi Zhixie furiously stretched out a slap, and slapped Yan Shi fiercely, "How dare you instigate Yu Dan to surrender to the Han Dynasty. Chase! We must catch up with that traitor, come!" Immediately, a large number of soldiers rushed in and surrounded Yanshi and Ziyan. "Take these two women down..." Before he could finish his words, he felt two streams of hot blood spraying on his forehead. "You guys!" Yi Zhi swung her arms sideways and hit the soldier in the face, "Why didn't you stop her?" For many years, Yanshi is like a star in the sky, he can only look at her from a distance, but he can't get close to her.He once swore that when he replaced the military minister Shan Yu, his first wish was to make this woman his own Yanshi, and now...