819 Rivalry (1/2)
Zhe Su was not a big fan of conspiracies. When he had lived in the Royal Court, he had always abhorred the constant deceit and intrigue there. In his eyes, subterfuge and assassination were not the only things responsible for King Rizhu's death. He had ultimately been a victim of many various plots.
Whoever gained the Naihang Tribe's support would be the new Khan, and in return, one of King Rizhu's sons would regain his father's title — this was widely taken to be the consensus. So, Zhe Su decided to conduct the negotiations publicly.
The Second Consort was invited and she sat at the head of the table as a representative of the Khan's authority. Dozens of generals had also been invited, and they sat on the side of the table, acting as witnesses to the negotiations. Finally, Shulitu and Duodun were sitting opposite to each other, fully displaying the sharp contrast between both their sizes and their demeanor.
Zhe Su and Duo Ercha stood in the middle and welcomed every guest as much hospitality as two entertainers whose performance was about to begin.
Liman had come to the negotiations as Duodun's companion and respectfully bowed to his father. Unexpectedly, he was the only one that Zhe Su acted indifferently towards — his father merely grunted, ”Mm,” and then hurriedly went to greet the next guest.
Gu Shenwei was sitting among the generals — this wasn't to avoid any potential accusations, but rather to observe the negotiations from a different perspective. Shangguan Ru had planted a seed of suspicion in him. He would occasionally glance at the Second Consort, wondering whether he had been lured into a trap by her tempting suggestions.
The Second Consort was sitting straight with a grave look on her face. She knew that her current status was merely symbolic in nature and didn't grant her any actual power; keeping silent was her best move here.
Fang Wenshi was dressed in the fashion of the Norland and sitting beside Shulitu. His role was to give the young king any necessary guidance and declare the young king's decision to marry the Second Consort at the most appropriate occasion.
Upon seeing that all the guests had arrived, Zhe Su opened his arms as if to embrace all the people in the tent. ”Welcome, everybody. First, please allow me to say something irrelevant.”
Zhe Su paused for a moment as though he was waiting for someone to oppose his opening remark, and then resumed talking when no one did. ”In one night, the grasslands lost its greatest Khan, and the Naihang Tribe lost its most prominent lord. The Khan ascended to the Heavens and became a god, receiving the reverence of all. However, King Rizhu was killed by an assassin. The Naihang Tribe will avenge his death even if there is only one clan member left.”
Zhe Su twisted his fat body, his saber clinking back and forth on his waist. Duo Ercha was beside him and looked restrained. It seemed as if he hadn't drunk much and didn't plan to talk much either.
”But the Naihang Tribe clearly understands what takes priority and what can be postponed. Seeking revenge is our domestic affair, and the election of the new Khan is a common issue. So, the Naihang Tribe will place our personal interest below that of the collective.”
”Place our personal interest below that of the collective,” Duo Ercha echoed as if he were a canyon.
It seemed as if Zhe Su had memorized his words beforehand, so what he said sounded a little bookish and was not his usual style.
Duodun burst into laughter. ”That's quite a speech — 'place our personal interest below that of the collective.' What do you plan to do, old general? Elect the Khan today?”
From this moment on, Zhe Su returned to his normal inflection. ”I'm a boorish man, and there aren't many smart people in the Naihang Tribe. However, even we wouldn't have any delusions of electing the new Khan today. But there is one thing that Naihang Tribe is sure of — if we decide to support a descendant of the Khan, he will have our unwavering support. We will never quit halfway, neither would we ever switch allegiance to the enemy — we will never do that kind of goddamn dirty thing.”
”Well said!” Duodun smacked his hand down on the table, followed by a roar of approval.
Shulitu reacted a bit slower, but even if he had reacted in time, a boy as thin as him wouldn't have shown the expansiveness of a grasslands' man anyway.
Duo Ercha was so excited that his cheeks flushed red as if those compliments were aimed at him. Yet Zhe Su remained rather composed. After the noises of the crowds subsided, he said, ”Right now, there are two descendants sitting in this tent. One of them is Shulitu, King Riying's grandson, and King Rizhu's great-grandson. I've heard with my own ears that the two old kings' had intended to raise him as the new Khan.”
This was a very favorable introduction. More than half of the generals nodded their recognition. Shulitu slightly lowered his head, in condolence for the two old kings. Fang Wenshi cast a quick glance at the Dragon King, indicating that this was a very good start and that maybe they wouldn't need to resort to the Second Consort's lousy plan.
Duodun maintained a polite smile on his face, but Liman, who was beside him, looked grave.
”The other one is Duodun.” Zhe Su pointed his hand at the aforementioned candidate and continued, ”He is the Khan's son, young and strong. And I heard that the Khan once left a posthumous edict designating Duodun as the new Khan. It's a pity that nobody's ever seen it. Otherwise, things would be much easier.”
Among all the people present, Gu Shenwei was the only one who had actually seen the posthumous edict.
There were actually two posthumous edicts of the deceased Khan. According to one of them, Duodun was to be the new Khan, but according to the other, the new Khan was to be Luoluo. The former was in Lotus's hands, and Zhang Ji had the latter. As they were a highly effective tool to control the new Khan, neither sides had displayed their edicts yet.
Duodun raised his head, neither admitting nor denying the existence of the posthumous edicts.
Even Gu Shenwei had to face reality. Judging by their appearances, Duodun looked more like a Khan than Shulitu did. This was an advantage that Zhe Su hadn't mentioned, but was one that the generals could see with their own eyes.
”Both of the two have a claim to the throne and the Naihang Tribe will choose one of them and offer him our full support. But before that, I'd like to make a request: no matter who we choose, I hope that you will continue to be allies instead turning to enemies.”
This was a very reasonable request and almost all the generals nodded. Some of them had already chosen Duodun, and some others Shulitu, but more of them were still ambivalent. But without exception, the last thing all of them wanted to see was public hostility between the two descendants of the Khan.
It was time for the two candidates to state their stance. Duodun politely let Shulitu speak first.
Shulitu had read a lot of books and he knew that if he were in the Central Plains or the Western Regions, he should modestly say that he had no intention to be the Khan. But in the Norland, modesty was only regarded as weakness. ”In the names of my ancestor and my father, I swear that if Naihang Tribe decides to support Prince Duodun, I will follow him with my full heart and be a soldier for him. If I break this oath, may I die a violent death.”
Duodun gave out a short cough. ”I, Duodun, swear this oath — with God as my witness, under the Khan's gaze, no matter whom Naihang Tribe supports, I will assist him with all the soldiers and provisions I have. If I break my vow, may I be burnt by the fire of heaven.”