Chapter 217 Ruyan's Understanding of Snake Spirits
After Mochu's rebellion was over, the Turks began to clean up the horrible situation of their tents that had been attacked by the rebels.

Jili Khan made some arrangements to purge the remaining followers and confidants of Mochu, and cavalrymen set out from the tent in an endless stream and dispersed to various places.

Zhao Ji, Li Yuanfang brought Zhang Huan, Li Lang and others back to Jili Khan and Di Renjie to report.

"Khan, my lord, I have fulfilled my mission." Zhao Ji bowed to Di Renjie and Jili Khan.

Jili Khan was all smiles and praised: "The two generals are indeed brave! Without the two generals, Jili would be in trouble tonight."

"Khan, you are too kind." Zhao Jizheng greeted politely.

Ruyan, who had been following Di Renjie, could no longer hold back and ran to Li Yuanfang.

Ruyan looked Li Yuanfang up and down, fearing that he was injured: "Yuanfang, are you okay?"

Seeing this, everyone around smiled knowingly and exchanged knowing glances with each other.

Li Yuanfang was a little embarrassed: "What could happen? The adults are watching!"

Upon hearing this, Ruyan quickly restrained herself and hid beside Li Yuanfang.

Jili Khan was also a wonderful man. He didn't care and said, "Everyone, the banquet has been set up in the tent. Please follow me inside and chat with me."

So everyone went into the tent to enjoy the celebratory banquet, raised their glasses and drank together, and the atmosphere became more harmonious.

The banquet lasted the whole night, and everyone was full and satisfied. Jili Khan took the opportunity to invite Di Renjie, Zhao Ji and others to stay overnight in his tent.

When Jili Khan woke up again, it was already noon the next day.

The Qianniu Guards who had led Mochu away from Shiguo gradually returned to the team. Di Renjie, Li Yuanfang and Zhao Ji went to Hanyi Hall again to search for the trace of the snake spirit.

Under Ruyan's guidance, Di Renjie and Zhao Ji visited the various organs and equipment of Snake Spirit.

Ruyan introduced: "This is the new headquarters of the Snake Spirit. Although it is called a headquarters, it is actually just a large liaison station in the Turkic territory. Many things are very incomplete."

Di Renjie frowned when he heard this: "A new headquarters? So there is an old headquarters?"

Ruyan nodded and said, "Yes, Snake Spirit has an old headquarters in Liuzhou. The old headquarters is the base camp of the Snake Spirit elders, and the elders there have always excluded Big Sister."

"My eldest sister is the head of the Inner Guards and is based in Luoyang most of the time. She has little control over the old headquarters, so she hates to mention it. I have been with her since I was a child, so I know very little about the headquarters in Liuzhou."

Di Renjie became more and more confused as he listened, and asked again: "The elders? Ruyan, can you tell me who makes up the Snake Spirit Organization?"

Ruyan thought for a moment and answered slowly, "I only know that the original snake spirits were formed by a group of refugees. Most of these people were from ethnic groups that Wu Zetian had persecuted."

"For example, my eldest sister is a descendant of Concubine Xiao Shufei. By the way, uncle knows Jin Mulan and Hu Jinghui. Hu Jinghui is a descendant of Queen Wang."

Di Renjie took a deep breath and was somewhat shocked: "So that's how it is. Then, the people with the surname Kui are the descendants of the Li Tang royal family!"

“Yes, these people are the elders of Snake Spirit.” Ruyan replied.

When Zhao Ji heard this, he suddenly asked, "Ruyan, are you also a descendant of the exiles?"

Ruyan shook her head gently, a trace of sadness flashing in her eyes: "No, I was originally a child of an ordinary family. Unfortunately, my parents died in the war of Xu Jingye's rebellion. I was adopted by my eldest sister after my parents died."

Zhao Ji immediately understood that the Snake Spirits were created by Yuan Tiangang, and most of the people who first created them were descendants of exiles persecuted by Wu Zetian.

After Wu Zetian's rule was stabilized, the large-scale persecution by cruel officials was relatively alleviated, and the Sheling lost its largest talent pool. However, the Sheling wanted to continue to expand, so it naturally had to absorb all kinds of people on the existing basis, such as adopting orphans on a large scale and using power and wealth to buy off officials like Su Honghui and Qiu Jing as peripheral forces.

The veteran faction was deeply rooted and refused to cooperate with Xiao Qingfang. Xiao Qingfang could only deliberately absorb non-exiles represented by Ruyan to consolidate his power.

Thus, a clear division was formed within the Snake Spirit, which probably explains why Ruyan, one of the six snake heads, was so ignorant of the situation at the Liuzhou headquarters.

Ruyan also showed no hatred towards Wu Zetian, and even saved her life, because there was no hatred in the first place.

This can also explain why the Snake Spirit spiritual leader Yuan Tiangang naturally gained the support of Kui Wenzhong and others after escaping from the dead.

This was not solely determined by Kui Wenzhong's loyalty to Yuan Tiangang, because they also needed the banner of their old master to fight against the other faction represented by the current Snake Spirit Lord Xiao Qingfang.

If the power of the Lord of the Snake Spirit was passed to Kui Wenzhong, I am afraid he would not necessarily be very active in rescuing Yuan Tiangang.

Although Di Renjie did not have the experience that Zhao Ji had in Snake Spirit, with his ups and downs in officialdom, as soon as he heard what Ruyan said, he immediately had some grasp of the internal situation of Snake Spirit.

His eyes became sharper, and he asked further: "Ruyan, do you know Xiao Qingfang's next plan?"

Ruyan frowned when she heard this and fell into deep thought.

After a moment, she sighed softly: "Based on my eldest sister's personality, I guess she is now rushing to Pingzhou at a high speed. She probably wants to cooperate with the Khitan to deal with the Pingzhou army."

Zhao Ji was thoughtful after hearing this, and murmured, "Is there a traitor in Pingzhou City? Will the Khitan army go south?"

Ruyan nodded heavily and said, "I don't know the details. My eldest sister won't tell anyone the whole plan, but she must have kept a backup plan in Pingzhou."

"And I am sure that since the day we left Pingzhou, Sun Wanrong must have led his troops south!"

After hearing this, Di Renjie's face became even more serious. He said in a deep voice: "It seems that we must set off and return to Pingzhou immediately to prevent any accidents!"

"Now that the Qianniu Guards have returned to the team, we can ask Jili Khan for some supplies and horses, and then we can set off immediately." Li Yuanfang said after hearing this.

Zhao Ji suddenly asked, "Sir, since the Khitan army has once again left Yingzhou and headed south, I have a suggestion."

Di Renjie immediately understood: "Are you planning to repeat your old trick and launch another surprise attack on the Khitan's lair?"

Zhao Ji nodded slightly: "Yes, this is a plan to remove the firewood from the bottom of the pot. Moreover, the focus of the Snake Spirit and Khitan is on Pingzhou, so Yingzhou is bound to be empty."

"Now that Ruyan has just turned around, the Khitans may not be able to react in time. With Yuanfang's skills, we can also cooperate with them from inside and outside."

Di Renjie fell silent for a moment, thinking about the pros and cons.

Zhao Ji continued, "General Yang will set out from Danzhou and join forces with the Xi people. They will reach Yingzhou in a few days. It would be best if we can take Yingzhou."

"If that doesn't work, we can turn back and cut off the retreat of the Khitan army that invaded Pingzhou! General Yang is cautious in his use of troops. On the march, the Xi people are under our control, and there is no worry of being ambushed. This is a win-win situation!"

"In addition, Wang Xiaojie was captured and is likely to be held in Yingzhou. Yuan Fang and his men can also take the opportunity to rescue him."

"In the most ideal situation, General Yang will first attack Yingzhou City, then return to intercept the Khitan. This will allow us to end the war once and for all!"

Hearing this, Li Yuanfang asked, "Sir, I think this plan is feasible!"

Di Renjie glanced at Li Yuanfang and finally nodded: "Okay, Yuanfang, since you have no objection, let's arrange it this way."

(End of this chapter)