knife

Chapter 425 Brothers
Tiele stood under a green pine tree.

The pine tree, so large that two people holding hands couldn't encircle it, is the only one within this area of ​​several miles.

Therefore, it has become a wishing tree for countless people.

The canopy was like a cloud, and the long branches that stretched out were covered with red ribbons. Countless people made their wishes here, and how many wishes were fulfilled while others' hopes were shattered.

In the past, the Tiele people, whether in their clothing, speech, or even their gestures, all had a strong Qin style. In addition, their appearance was remarkably similar to their mothers, so when they walked in Qin cities, they would not be recognized as foreigners.

But now, he has grown a full beard, and his once neatly combed hair is now braided into small plaits. Those who were very familiar with the old Tiele are all astonished by his current transformation.

He pulled a piece of red cloth from the bundle on the saddle, held it in both hands, walked to the tree, tied the red cloth to a branch, clasped his hands together, bowed deeply, closed his eyes and silently prayed for a long time. When he opened his eyes and lowered his hands, Tiele took a deep breath.

He's here today to see someone very important.

He went to great lengths to make this meeting possible.

But even now, he doesn't know if that person will come.

If they come, there might still be hope for the Great Yuan Dynasty.
If they don't come, that's just how it is. There are no dynasties in this world that last forever. Since it can't be reversed, let it be.

Anyway, I really tried my best to pull him back from the brink of disaster.

If you are unable to do something, it cannot be considered your fault.

The Great Yuan is now divided into three: Akdun in Yandu, myself in Dading, and my elder brother Jebe, who has fled to Wugudilietong and is based in Taizhou.

Originally, after leaving Dading, I thought that with my own abilities, it wouldn't be long before I could defeat that deluded Akdun who was indulging in some kind of Three Kings Council. But as it turns out, I had oversimplified things.

In the past two years of war, whenever they were about to achieve a decisive victory, the army of the Beiting Protectorate would appear on the border at the opportune moment. Their scouts would even penetrate deep into the territory to cause destruction and killing.

That was certainly a diversionary tactic, but we couldn't ignore it, so we had no choice but to withdraw our troops.

No matter how servile and shameless he had been in front of the Beiting Protectorate over the past two years, hoping that Beiting would stop interfering in the affairs of the Yuan Kingdom, it was ultimately just wishful thinking on his part.

Li Dachui's ambition to destroy the Yuan Dynasty remains undiminished.

With the eldest brother occasionally looting while he and the third brother were locked in a fierce battle, the entire Yuan Dynasty's economy was on the verge of collapse.

Faced with endless internal strife and the economic encirclement by the Beiting Protectorate, the Great Yuan Dynasty was truly on the verge of collapse.

With no place to grow crops and no pastures to graze cattle and sheep, how could the people not flee? How could they not rise up in rebellion? In the past two years, the already elusive Eagle Bandits of the Great Yuan have grown even stronger and have now begun to conquer cities and seize territories.

Those people have a great deal of connection with Li Dachui.

Gao Qunshu unexpectedly ran into them and recognized many of them.

If Gao Qunshu hadn't escaped with his life, he would probably still be in the dark, thinking that the Eagle Bandits were just a powerful band of outlaws from the Yuan Dynasty.

They were the nails that Li Dachui planted in Dayuan.

Thinking of all this, Tiele felt a tightness in his chest, a surge of frustration with nowhere to vent. He looked up to the sky and roared angrily, causing the emerald green pine cones on the pine trees to fall down with a crackling sound.

The sound of rapid hoofbeats came from afar. Tiele's eyes lit up, and he darted out a few steps, looking in the direction from which the hoofbeats came. A chestnut-red warhorse approached quickly from a distance.

Tiele let out a long sigh of relief.

He finally came.

The person he had been waiting for was his elder brother, Zhebie, who was now based in Taizhou.

Compared to Akodun, the third brother of the Tiele, whose core was Dading and Zhengding, the Jebe people in Taizhou lived a much more impoverished life. As the cold wave moved southward day by day, spring had already arrived here, with flowers blooming and everything turning green, while Taizhou was still covered in ice and snow, with nothing but white as far as the eye could see.

White disasters are no longer something that happens occasionally; now they occur almost every year.

The long winter was the most difficult time for Jebe and his men.

Because of the Tiele and Akdun in between, even caravans would not go north to do business.

They've already made a fortune by selling their goods to places like Dading and Yandu, so why would they risk their lives to go further north?

Whether it was Yandu or Dading, the Qin influence was very deep, and everyone still had to pay attention to appearances.

But Taizhou is the land of the northern barbarians. Those guys don't care about reason. Their motto is: if I'm stronger than you, then everything you have is mine.

Jebe was very poor.

His subordinates were even poorer.

Over the past year, Tiele has opened the borders, allowing Jebe's men to trade within their territory and permitting the flow of grain and other goods from their own territory to Taizhou. He believes that Jebe will see these goodwill gestures, and even if Jebe is too blunt to see them, his advisors will.

Jebe dismounted and saw the Tiele who came to greet him. He paused for a moment and subconsciously reached for the sword at his waist.

But immediately, he recognized the guy with a big beard and a head full of braids opposite him as his second brother. He stopped in his tracks, his face full of surprise.

Jebe never liked Tiele.

In his view, Tiele was too influenced by his mother.

The Tiele were not Yuan people; they were Qin people.

How could the Great Yuan Empire allow a Qin person to rise to power?
He even liked Akdun more than Tiele.

"Brother, I was so afraid you wouldn't come!" Tiele went up to him, opened his arms, and wanted to hug his brother.

Jebe took a step back and looked at him coldly.

Tiele lowered his arm with a wry smile.

"Second brother, don't give me that. Even when we were at our best, we never hugged like brothers. I'd rather hug a bear than hug you!" Zhebie said coldly.

Tiele nodded. "Brother, you hate me so much, but you still came!"

"I've come to see what tricks you're up to this time. Of all the brothers here, you're the one with the most mischievous ideas!" Jebe said. "So I've come to see what you're planning this time."

"Brother, I'm out of options now." Tiele smiled bitterly. "Besides you, I don't know who else to turn to. Although you don't like me, I know you're straightforward and genuine. You must know that our Great Yuan is at its most dangerous moment. If we don't find a way, we'll be completely finished."

Jebe stared at Tiele and said, "Do you know what Qin Gong said to me when I came here?"

"Qin Gong is quite resourceful."

Jebe chuckled and said, "Qin Gong told me that if I see you alone, I'll kill you with one stroke. Just fifty miles behind me, tens of thousands of iron cavalry are waiting with their weapons at the ready! Qin Gong said that once you're dead, your subordinates will be leaderless, and I can take advantage of the situation to subdue them without a fight and take over everything you own!"

Tiele laughed and said, "Then why doesn't elder brother do that?"

“Because I know I’m not the one who can save the Great Yuan!” Jebe said. “If my father had passed the throne to me and I had inherited a complete Great Yuan, I would be confident that I could make it bigger and stronger. But now it’s divided into three and has been thrown into chaos by the enemy. It’s beyond my ability to handle. Perhaps you can. That’s why I’m here today. Let’s see if we can reach an agreement!”

(End of this chapter)