Abaci and Heyi Jike supported Jieli, thinking about how to hide him.
Their eyes were on Jieli's life and death, and they paid no attention to whether Jieli's current state would affect troop morale.
After searching everywhere, they found no place to hide Jieli.
Finally, Abaci's gaze fell on his warhorse.
"Under the horse's belly?"
"Chieftain Heyi Jike, how about we tie the Great Khan under the horse's belly?"
"Absolutely not!"
Before Heyi Jike could answer, Ashina Bibo rushed over and interrupted him.
These two had been dragging Jieli back and forth in the formation, and other chieftains had already noticed.
Before even meeting Li Shimin, the Great Khan had already met with disaster; whether the battle could continue was a problem.
Therefore, some chieftains who were not entirely convinced of Jieli, led by Yinan, walked over.
Behind Yinan were several others, including:
From the Yili Die tribe, Yili Die Yinan.
The chieftain of the Naiman tribe, Na Da Bie Rou.
The chieftain of the Die tribe, Die Jin Fen Dui.
The chieftain of the Yushesi tribe, Yu She San Jin.
The chieftain of the Geluozhiya tribe, Ge Zhi Wo Yang.
Seeing Yinan leading the group and preventing him and Abaci from hiding Jieli, Heyi Jike immediately became unhappy.
"What, Ashina Bibo, are you hoping that after the Great Khan is killed by the strange ball in the sky, you can take his Khan position?"
"Presumptuous! How dare you speak like that! Ashina Dubi's Khan position was indeed snatched from Bibo. Heaven above, who dares deny it?"
Yinan sternly questioned Heyi Jike.
Ashina Dubi was Jieli Khan's name, and Ashina Bibo, the future Tuli Khan, was his nephew.
The previous Turkic Khan was named Ashina Shibo Bi, who was Ashina Bibo's own father! His title was Khan Shibì.
Khan Shibì had two younger brothers: the previous Khan Chuluo, Ashina Silifu She, and the current Jieli Khan, Ashina Dubi.
As long as one was not foolish, the Khan position would naturally be passed to one's son, but at that time, Ashina Bibo was young.
Therefore, the Khan position was seized by his uncle, Ashina Silifu She, but this uncle died mysteriously of illness after only two years as Khan.
Then, his second uncle Jieli continued after his elder uncle, once again seizing the Khan position that rightfully belonged to Ashina Bibo.
This succession of the Khan position was not a secret among the eighteen Turkic tribes, as they needed to timely choose their allegiance each time.
Yinan's words left Abaci and Heyi Jike speechless.
Bang!
At this moment, Zhang Tian fired again.
The bullet directly hit Jieli's buttocks!
"Ooooh~~~!"
Jieli, who had been in a coma, was directly awakened by this shot. A scream echoed through the Turkic army formation.
The sound was so loud that even Zhang Tian above could hear it clearly.
"Tsk tsk tsk, what a soul-stirring cry! Come, come, let me give you a symmetrical one!"
After speaking, he pulled the bolt, aimed at Jieli's other buttock.
Bang!
Another shot was fired.
"Ah!! My bird!!"
Abaci instantly collapsed, clutching his groin and rolling on the ground.
With him falling, Heyi Jike was caught off guard, his grip slipped, and Jieli fell to the ground.
Jieli's legs were now disabled, and he had been shot in the buttocks. With this fall, he happily fainted again.
Just then, the fleeing Gu Rou Xiang Lian and Ba Le Meng Gan finally returned to the front of the main army with the routed soldiers.
"Report~~!"
"Report! Chieftains, the Tie Le tribe and the Gu Pu tribe have also retreated!"
A soldier quickly ran to Yinan and the others, kneeling on one knee to report.
"Hmph! Look at what Ashina Dubi has done!"
In just one month, five tribes—Zhishi, Sunong Yarjin, Helu, Sibi, and Yiyan—had lost contact!
Now, the Sijie, Tie Le, and Pugu tribes had suffered heavy losses!
Nearly half of the eighteen tribes were gone. If you want to continue fighting, go ahead. I'm taking my men back to Zikou!"
Ashina Bibo pointed at Jieli on the ground and roared at the crowd before turning and walking towards his generals.
"Hmph!"
After a cold snort, Yinan and the others also followed. kanδん
Not long after, changes occurred in the Turkic army's main camp.
The nearly 100,000 troops of the Ashina, Yili Die, Naiman, Die, Yushesi, and Geluozhiya tribes, along with tens of thousands of auxiliary soldiers, broke away from the main camp and directly retreated towards the direction of Qikou.
Left behind were Abaci, trembling and clutching his groin on the ground, Heyi Jike standing by, the chieftain of the Bayan tribe, Le Mo, and the chieftain of the Beishi tribe, Beishi Ye Si, the four of them looking at each other blankly.
The two who had just returned, Ba Le Meng Gan and Gu Rou Xiang Lian, were even more bewildered.
What the hell!
Twenty thousand troops mobilized with great fanfare, plus nearly 400,000 auxiliary soldiers, and in just one day it became like this?
The six men looked at Jieli on the ground, not knowing what to do.
Zhang Tian promptly gave them a reminder.
Another shot was fired.
"Damn it! It missed again!"
Seeing from the scope that this shot had only taken off Jieli's ear, and it was just a whisker away from headshotting the guy who shot him, Zhang Tian cursed fiercely!
Ma Bao Guo took a moment to grab his binoculars and peek.
Jieli's miserable state made him shudder. "Holy crap! The regiment commander is too terrifying!"
What had he done to a perfectly good person.
These two had no idea that the person on the ground was Jieli!
"Keep your aim steady! Damn it, the wind is picking up!"
Zhang Tian glared at Ma Bao Guo, pulled the bolt, chambered a round, aimed, and fired again.
"You son of a bitch, it still missed!"
"No, I have to ask the Marquis how to calibrate my rifle when I get back!"
Looking at this shot hitting Jieli's arm, Zhang Tian was extremely dissatisfied. "I clearly aimed at his buttock..."
Jieli lay on the ground, his eyes vacant, groaning intermittently.
His ear, buttocks, and left arm had all been shot.
His left foot was gone, and his right leg was broken.
Every wound was a piercing pain. He now only wished the guy in the sky would grant him a quick death.
Heyi Jike and Le Mo quickly helped Jieli up again. Seeing that Jieli was awake, he said in his ear:
"Great Khan, we have been defeated! Bibo and Yinan, those damn traitors, have taken away the warriors of six tribes!"
Jieli woodenly turned his head and looked at Heyi Jike.
"Defeated, defeated?"
"Yes, Great Khan, defeated!"
Heyi Jike's expression was very frustrated.
"Defeated, defeated?"
Jieli repeated his earlier words, and then a flicker of spirit returned to his hollow eyes. He glared at Heyi Jike.
"Then why aren't you all dead! Huh?"
Heyi Jike, Le Mo, and the others were all dumbfounded.
Abaci, who had been shot in the groin, heard this and felt as if his heart ached more than his groin!
"Holy shit!"
Is this all his loyalty got him?
ps: one more chapter