The autumn wind is bleak and the chill is cool. On the vast grassland, a large tent is endless, as if it extends to the end of the sky. On the grasslands outside, countless herders are desperately harvesting the yellowed grass to make reserves for the upcoming winter. After all, it will snow every winter, and the animals will not be able to eat grass, so they can only rely on the grass they have reserved to spend the winter.

This is the Turkic royal court. Jie Li's big tent sat in the middle of the royal court. The defeated man was made of snow-white lambskin, and countless small tents were placed everywhere, living inside. The concubines selected by Jie Li from various tribes. Every night, he would choose a small tent to move in according to his own mood.

However, Jie Li was not in a good mood to play with women during this period. The war with the surrounding tribes had already made him anxious. Moreover, the doubts of the nobles within the Turks were getting stronger and stronger. Seeing another winter coming, the tribe still had insufficient cattle and sheep food, which gave Jie Li a headache.

"Khan, Mo He tribe has sent people to ask for peace. As long as we no longer take the initiative to attack them, they will surrender to the Wang Ting and are willing to send a batch of cattle and sheep as a plea!" In the Wang Ting's tent, a tall and thin middle-aged man reported to Jie Li, who was sitting cross-legged with a serious expression, that this middle-aged man was Zhao Deyan, who was recommended to Li Shimin by Li Xiu.

"Yes, there is a rare good news that makes me happy. Zhao Qing, you have a way. Unlike those idiots who have been fighting for several months, not only did they not defeat Mo He tribe, but they also suffered huge losses!" Jie Li said with a rare smile on his tired face when he heard Zhao Deyan's words.

The Mohe tribe was originally a large tribe that was dependent on the Turks, but it had raised an army to resist the Turks before, and it also attracted a group of small tribes to form an alliance. Jie Li sent people to attack several times but failed. A month ago, Zhao Deyan took the initiative to take on this matter, but in the end, he sent only a few envoys, which made the Mohe tribe surrender to him again. How could this make Jie Li unhappy?

"Khan praised it. I just did my duty and should not be praised by Your Majesty!" Zhao Deyan replied with a smile at this time, but under his smile, there was a bit of coldness hidden, because he would not tell Jie Li that although the Mohe tribe surrendered on the surface, the Mohe tribe had formed an undying enemy with the Turkic expedition before. Now the Mohe tribe just needs time to recuperate, so he had no choice but to bow his head, but when they recovered, they would definitely launch a rebellion again.

"By the way, winter is coming soon. How are the tribes prepared? Is there enough forage? In addition, I heard that a fuel called coal is used in the Central Plains, which can be used to keep warm and burn fire. Can we find coal mines on the grassland?" Jie Li asked again with concern. If the herdsmen want to survive in the winter of the grassland, there are two things that are essential, namely food and fuel, which is also the issue that Jie Li is most concerned about now.

"Khan, all tribes are snatching up time to stock up on forage. This year we have snatched a lot of livestock food from outside, which should be enough for the tribe to spend the winter. As for coal, I have heard of it, but I don't know if there is any on the grassland. I plan to send someone to the Central Plains next year to find some craftsmen who understand this aspect and search on the grassland. If we can find the best, if we really can't find it, we can also buy some from the Tang people." Zhao Deyan reported again.

However, when talking about the coal mine, Zhao Deyan sneered in his heart again. In fact, a caravan had reported that he had seen an open-pit coal mine on the grassland, but this caravan was casually charged by Zhao Deyan and was killed. Others who knew about this matter had almost no good ending. Even if other people knew about this, they would not dare to tell Jie Li that this was the benefit he brought to heaven.

"Well, then you have to hurry up and do it. In the snow disaster last winter, most of the dead people were frozen to death. If we had enough fuel, we might be able to survive many people. So this matter is very important, and you must not slack off!" Jie Li nodded when he heard this. He naturally didn't know what Zhao Deyan was thinking, so he gave a special reminder. After all, he was not stupid, so he naturally knew the importance of coal mines to the Turks.

Hearing Jie Li's words, Zhao Deyan agreed again, and then told them a few nice things, which made Jie Li even more happy and praised Zhao Deyan for his good work. Zhao Deyan was very modest about this, but this made Jie Li more satisfied with him.

It was not until it was late that Zhao Deyan came out of Jie Li's tent, then looked up at the dark sky and the endless Cangshan behind Wang Ting, and then breathed a sigh of relief. Then he looked at the tent behind him, but there was a hint of sneer that was not easy to detect.

During this period, the Turkic wars continued, and Jie Li was also in a panic. Originally, Zhao Deyan only cared about internal affairs and military affairs, so these wars had nothing to do with him. However, he took this opportunity to start intervening in the Turkic military. Although he could not command the army, he also expanded his influence.

In addition, Zhao Deyan now reports good news to Jie Li but not bad news. Every day he only chooses some good news to tell Jie Li, but he will never tell Jie Li about the crisis facing the Turks now. For example, he will not tell Jie Li that there are many internal conflicts in the Turks. Even among the nobles who supported Jie Li in the past, many of them were dissatisfied with Jie Li; and he will not tell Jie Li, because he valued foreigners during the internal reform of the Turks, resulting in internal division of the Turks. These problems may not have had much impact at the beginning, but when the opportunity comes, they will erupt like a volcano.

The camp where Zhao Deyan lived was not far from Jie Li's tent, so in a short while, he returned to his residence. However, as soon as he entered the tent, a girl in a velvet immediately came up and said, "Husband, are you back?"

"Well, are the meal ready? Am I hungry?" Zhao Deyan looked at the girl with a bright smile and couldn't help but show a warm smile. The girl's surname is Yang, and she is the granddaughter of Emperor Yang Guang of Sui. When he went to meet Empress Xiao before, the other party actually married the girl to him as his wife in order to curry favor with him. Zhao Deyan happened to have not married either. At the same time, he also wanted to win over Empress Xiao and eliminate the other party's wariness, so he agreed.

"It's ready. I've made the soup cakes that my husband received, and there are a few side dishes. I'm waiting for my husband to come back!" Yang replied with a smile again. Although the age difference between her and Zhao Deyan was very different, she was a little unwilling at first, but later she found out that Zhao Deyan still cared for her, and because of their marriage, Zhao Deyan took great care of her grandmother and cousin. This made her even more grateful and began to regard Zhao Deyan as her husband wholeheartedly.

After saying that, Yang stepped forward to help Zhao Deyan take off the fur outside and serve him food. Zhao Deyan was busy outside for a whole day and was too hungry at this time. He picked up the chopsticks and started eating it in big mouthfuls. He is also from Guanzhong and has loved pasta since he was a child. Moreover, the soup cakes made by Yang are very suitable for his appetite. This alone made him very satisfied with his wife.

However, just as Zhao Deyan was about to finish his meal, he suddenly heard a low voice from a guard from outside and said, "Sir, the villain has something important to report!"

As soon as he heard the word "sir", Zhao Deyan immediately stopped chopsticks, and showed a solemn expression on his face. Then he looked at Yang next to him. Faced with this situation, Yang had long been used to it, because she knew that although Zhao Deyan loved her, she never liked her to participate in political affairs, especially the special guards, who were deeply trusted by Zhao Deyan. When they discussed matters, they even forbid themselves to be in the tent, so she also left the tent very tactfully and helped Zhao Deyan clean up the horse.

"Come in!" Zhao Deyan then said instructing him when he saw Yang leaving. Then he saw a man dressed in a guard strode in. Among Zhao Deyan's guards, a few were assistants placed by Feinusi next to him. These people were Zhao Deyan's confidants on the surface. They were usually Zhao Deyan's confidants. They were usually different from other guards and were also called Mr. Zhao Deyan. And every time these people took the initiative to ask for a visit, they usually had extremely important information.

After the guard walked in, he came directly to Zhao Deyan, and then whispered a few words in his ear. After all, they went deep into the Turks as spies, and Jie Li's eyes and ears were around him. Therefore, they would lower their voices when communicating. They would come out of my mouth and enter your ears, and they would never let the third person hear it.

When Zhao Deyan heard the guard's report, even with his cunning, he still showed a shocked look. He didn't react for a long time. It was not until the end that he suppressed his excitement and muttered to himself: "I really want to do it. It's great. Finally, I've let me wait for this day!"

It turned out that what the guards reported to him was the Tang Dynasty's preparations for military use against the Turks. Although Li Shimin decided on this matter as early as the beginning of the year, it was kept confidential. Zhao Deyan was in a dangerous place and it was even more impossible for him to know that even though the Tang Dynasty was ready to use military use against the Turks, the news still did not reach the grassland. It was not until today that Feinusi told Zhao Deyan the news so that he could cooperate with the army's actions.

"Does the boss have any instructions?" Zhao Deyan was excited and finally calmed down again and asked in a low voice.

"No more, the boss just said that we should act according to the opportunity. In addition, the prince consort asked the leader to tell you that you would protect yourself and return to the Tang Dynasty alive!" The guard reported again that the leader of Feinusi became Ma Ye again, so Li Xiu asked Ma Ye to bring a message to Zhao Deyan, that he would be the best to cooperate with the army's actions, but the most important thing is to ensure his safety.
Chapter completed!