Death Scripture

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.”

Zhe Su burst into laughter as he said, “Good. I’m done nagging, and you two have taken your oaths, so now let’s get to the main business. The Naihang Tribe will place our personal interest below that of the collective, but we won’t forgoe our personal interests entirely, and neither will we support the new Khan for nothing. We want something back — and yes, I’m saying this in public. Not like those guys who always try to hide their true intentions.”

Zhe Su’s eyes swept through the crowds as if he was about to enter a battlefield. But he didn’t find any opponents, since nobody opposed his speech.

“First, the title King Rizhu will be owned by the Naihang Tribe for all generations to come irrespective of the Khan’s conferral. Are you willing to make such a commitment?”

“I am,” Duodun replied immediately. “But the new King Rizhu must pledge allegiance to Khan.”

“Of course.”

“As am I,” Shulitu said. This was Naihang Tribe’s bottom line, and he had to agree in any case.

With a good start, Zhe Su already felt more confident. “Second, after pacifying the grasslands, the Naihang Tribe will seek revenge. No matter where their enemies hide, even if they’re in the Western Regions or the Central Plains, we’ll lead the army there and kill them. If that really is the case, we might need the new Khan to send his army to support us.”

This meant that the new Khan would have to declare war against the Central Plains as soon as he ascended the throne, so both candidates had to be prudent. Shulitu gave his response first, saying, “In that case, no matter how many troops the Naihang Tribe dispatches, I’ll send support them with the same number of cavalrymen.”

Duodun followed up with, “The best cavalrymen of Norland will be at your disposal, General Zhe Su.”

Zhe Su continued to state his conditions, some of which were very petty, such as what kind of protocol would be followed when the new King Rizhu met the new Khan. The responses of Shulitu and Duodun became simpler and simpler, and most of the time they just answered. “Agreed,” or, “I do.”

Although it seemed that neither of the two candidates had gained any advantages over the other, Fang Wenshi was still worried. Shulitu might lose the contest to Duodun if they didn’t make an extremely tempting offer to the Naihang Tribe. So, Fang Wenshi winked at the Dragon King.

Gu Shenwei knew what the counselor was signaling, and he nodded back.

Zhe Su’s last condition was about territory. He wanted to designate a grazing area that would belong exclusively to the Naihang Tribe; no other tribes would be allowed to enter it unless explicitly invited.

This was an unusual request. The new Khan’s consent to this would be synonymous to a concession to King Rizhu’s independence. Although both Shulitu and Duodun were in desperate need of the Naihang Tribe’s support, a lot of the other tribes would immediately follow suit with a similar request if this one was agreed to in public. Essentially, this request would deprive the new Khan of his power before he even succeeded to the throne.

The two candidates, who had been racing each other to be the first to answer, suddenly became polite and modest.

Gu Shenwei thought that it was time for Shulitu to propose. Once Duodun was disgraced, this rivalry would be over. At this time, Long Fanyun stealthily handed over a scrap of paper to the Dragon King.

Gu Shenwei unfolded it and glanced at it.

She lied. She won’t accept.

There were no other words on it. Gu Shenwei signaled Long Fanyun to leave. He didn’t need anybody to tell him that this was Shangguan Ru’s handwriting.

Naturally, “she” referred to the Second Consort, and “won’t accept” referred to the proposal. Shangguan Ru seemed to have discovered something and this was why she had sent this message so hurriedly.

Gu Shenwei held the paper in his hand and shook his head at Fang Wenshi, before turning to stare at the Second Consort.

Fang Wenshi was a little anxious. Duodun seemed more like a Khan than Shulitu did, and he could also see this from their respective advocates. Duodun’s companions firmly believed that Duodun would become the Khan, while Shulitu’s followers only hoped that Shulitu would live a good life. At this rate, the young king would surely lose without a “surprise” move.

Duodun, who was on the opposite side, took a step forward. “I’m not giving Naihang Tribe a pointless promise just so that I can become the Khan. Ever since the ancient times, Norlanders have always migrated freely on the grasslands, and there have never been any established boundaries. It’s okay if an old general wants to set a precedent, but I’ll have to become the Khan first and then consult with all the other tribes before I can consent to your request. Before that, any so-called consent would be no different from deceit.”

“I share the same sentiments as Prince Duodun.” Shulitu couldn’t think of a better reply.

“That’s a temporary disapproval then.” Zhe Su was in no rush, but he had to start pressuring the two of them. “How about we take a break and have a drink? Then maybe we can talk about what other perks you can offer to the Naihang Tribe?”

The servants outside the door immediately entered and served wine, making sure that everybody had a full bowl.

There were barely any people who actually drank. Everybody was whispering and sharing their own opinions. Zhe Su believed that the two competitors would reconsider his condition.

Gu Shenwei nodded at the counselor. Though Shangguan Ru had reminded him, he still had to risk it. If things continued on like this, Shulitu would either suffer a miserable defeat or become a puppet controlled by the Naihang Tribe.

Fang Wenshi whispered something in Shulitu’s ears.

Shulitu couldn’t help but glance at the Second Consort, thinking that what he was about to do was a bit too awkward.

Right at this moment, Duo Ercha unexpectedly stood up and attracted all the “awkwardness” in the room to himself.