Yuan Shao, the father of Fanghua in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1337 Ambition
In the tent of the Eastern Xianbei king, Budugen was sitting in front of a low table with several concubines. In front of each of them was a wooden stand with various patterns on it.

This was brought from Bingzhou by a merchant caravan from the State of Jin. After Budugen tried it a few times, he became attracted to it. Over the past six months, he has been addicted to it every day and seldom went out for hunting.

He had just been seduced by the concubine of his rival family and was feeling unhappy when a maid came in and reported that the high priest of the shaman wanted to see him. Budugen heard this and asked someone to invite him in.

The shaman chief priest was over seventy years old, his hair and beard were all gray. He came in leaning on a rattan stick, and frowned when he saw Budugen still playing cards.

Budugen was very excited. "The high priest has come at the right time. Want to play a few rounds?"

The high priest looked even uglier, and said, "Your Majesty, Kobe is so aggressive now, but Your Majesty is addicted to this thing called Mahjong every day. I'm afraid this is an evil thing created by the Han people to wear down Your Majesty's mind!

"If Your Majesty is deceived by him for a long time, the future of our Xianbei tribe will be in jeopardy!"

Bu Dugen laughed after hearing this and said, "The high priest is overthinking this. How is this possible? Didn't the high priest cast a spell to exorcise the evil spirit the day before yesterday? Even if there was an evil spirit, it should have been eliminated long ago."

After hearing this, the high priest felt secretly resentful. Who knew what evil things the Han people had brought? Even he was helpless, yet Budugen was still so addicted to playing cards. Perhaps the Han people had summoned some evil spirits?

At this moment, a concubine played a card, and Budugen suddenly laughed out loud, "Win!"

He pushed the cards aside and said to the concubine triumphantly, "You lose, take off your clothes!"

The concubine complained in a delicate voice, then took off the gauze dress she was wearing, revealing her shoulders and arms. Bu Dugen was delighted by this, and he pushed down the mahjong tiles and shouted, "Come again!"

The high priest couldn't bear to watch it any longer, so he said, "Your Majesty, I have come to report something."

Budugen stared at the front, just laying the cards in his hands, without even raising his head, and said, "High Priest, please speak."

After hearing this, the high priest could only say, "Your Majesty, many people from the Taiping Dao have come to the grassland recently."

"They openly spread the Taiping doctrine, which has caused great damage to the spread of Shamanism, the national religion of the Xianbei. I hope the king can drive them back to the interior of the country."

Budugen stared at the cards, "Why does the high priest say that?"

"Those Taipingdao people, first, have not committed any crime, second, have not violated our Xianbei rules, and third, have not opposed Shamanism. Not to mention, they have brought a lot of new and interesting things. What reason is there to drive them away?"

The high priest gnashed his teeth and said, "They broke the rules of the grassland!"

"The strange and bizarre things they brought with them have made the king lose his ambition and made us Xianbei men no longer think about herding, riding and shooting. If this continues, we Xianbei will be extinct!"

Budugen laughed when he heard this and said, "The high priest is worrying too much. How can this little thing that nourishes the heart and mind be so serious?"

"It's bitterly cold in the north, and we have to hide in tents for several months a year. It's so boring."

The high priest urged: "My king, have you forgotten your ambition to unify the Xianbei?"

"Kobineng has been preparing for war. If this continues, the Central Xianbei will become more powerful. How can the Western Xianbei fight against them?"

Bu Dugen was dissatisfied and asked: "Isn't there still the State of Jin?"

"Now that Jin and Kobineng have become mortal enemies, only one of the two sides will survive. Now that we, the Western Xianbei, are not strong enough, we should not get involved. Isn't it better to sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight?"

The high priest heard this and said bitterly, "Your Majesty, this is just waiting to be killed!"

"No matter which side wins in the end, what they will do next is to annex our Western Xianbei!"

"No one of the three Xianbei tribes can be immune to the consequences. Your Majesty is putting his life in the hands of others!"

"Oh?" Budugen stopped and said, "Then what does the high priest think we should do?"

The high priest said, "Your Majesty should negotiate peace with Kobe, put aside previous prejudices and grudges, and make the Xianbei people one, including Suli of the Eastern Xianbei!"

"The Jin State is now powerful, and the Xianbei can no longer fight among themselves. We should work together to deal with the Han people and take control of the interior of the country!"

Budugen listened, his face darkened, "Has the high priest ever thought about who would be the leader if the Xianbei were to unite as one?"

The high priest choked, knowing that he had accidentally touched upon Budugen's sore spot, but he could only bite the bullet and say, "In the face of foreign enemies, it doesn't matter who leads. The key is to completely wipe out the Han people, the mortal enemy of the Xianbei!"

Budugen snorted coldly: "High Priest, now my Western Xianbei and the Han people are on good terms, you are destroying the relationship between us and the Jin State."

"Even if I bow my head, I will bow to the powerful Jin State. Besides, the conditions Jin State offers me are very generous. What can Kobe give me?"

"The Jin State can give me the title of the Xianbei Lord. Will Kobe give up this position?"

The high priest quickly advised: "Your Majesty, Ke Bineng is at least a Xianbei, and those cunning Han people are unpredictable. Moreover, Ke Bineng has a high prestige in the Xianbei, and is the one that everyone expects."

Budugen was furious: "The high priest means that I have been deserted by my friends and relatives and no one wants to rely on me anymore?" "He, Kobi, is a person of low birth. What qualifications does he have for me to bow down to him?"

"I can't get the Xianbei Lord myself, even if I give it to Suli, or even let it fall into the hands of Jin State, I will not let Kobineng, a bastard, take it!"

"It is better to be friends with foreign nations than to be friends with domestic slaves!"

The high priest's lips trembled, "Your Majesty, you are leading the Xianbei down a path of no return!"

"If we, the Xianbei, are torn apart, will the Han people abandon us?"

Bu Dugen said impatiently: "The high priest is overthinking. Isn't it because there are too many Xianbei rebels in the country? What responsibility do I have?"

"As the grandson of the Great Chanyu, I have been trying my best to keep the royal tent safe. Going to fight against the State of Jin now would only lead to the destruction of our tribe!"

"The high priest probably doesn't know how powerful the Jin State is. From the Southern Xiongnu to Cao Wei, from the Wu State to the Three Han States, who has the power to resist?"

"Wouldn't it be better to just herd the animals and wait for Jin to unify the country and confer titles on them?"

"Moreover, those Taoist priests of the Taiping Dao said that Jin will definitely unify the world within ten years. This is the destiny of heaven. Does the high priest want me to go against destiny?"

The high priest heard this and said anxiously, "Your Majesty, those Taoist priests of the Taiping Dao are spreading lies and misleading the people. They are trying to deceive Your Majesty!"

"I hope Your Majesty will kill them all quickly to avoid disturbing the people of Xianbei!"

Bu Dugen sneered after hearing this and said, "Why does the high priest want the people of Taiping Dao to die so much?"

"Are you afraid that they will surpass the high priest in magic?"

"Isn't our Shamanism sometimes not quite accurate?"

The high priest said angrily: "How could the king think so!"

"Your Majesty, my Shamanism is the Xianbei national religion, and it was passed down by our ancestors. How could it be wrong?"

"Oh?" Budugen sneered, "As far as I know, the predictions of the Taiping Dao are very accurate, but the ritual predictions of the high priest are full of mistakes and omissions."

"It's not that I don't want to believe the high priest, but if the prophecy of God is not correct, then either the ritual is wrong, or the high priest does not understand the true meaning of God, right?"

The high priest felt a bitter taste in his mouth and was speechless for a moment. He didn't know why. Originally, the prophecies of the shaman dance had many vague interpretations, but those Taiping Dao alchemists, for some reason, could predict some things extremely accurately. In comparison, the high priest's shaman rituals were completely defeated.

This was a huge blow to the prestige of Shamanism. After several prophecy competitions, many herdsmen on the grassland had shown considerable interest in Taiping Dao, and some even wanted to convert to Taiping Dao.

The high priest naturally knew the seriousness of the matter. The Taiping Dao obviously wanted to dig out the roots of Shamanism. This must be the work of the State of Jin behind the scenes, trying to cut off the source of the problem!

That's why he came to find Budugen, wanting to drive out the Taiping Dao alchemist, but he didn't expect that Budugen had already turned his heart to Taiping Dao!

Budugen looked at the high priest with a look of deep sorrow and said, "High priest, I have given you several chances before. If you can defeat the Taoist priests of the Taiping Dao in a duel, the reputation of Shamanism will remain intact or even become more prosperous. It's a pity that you didn't seize the opportunity."

"Now if you want to reverse the situation, you can only win it through fighting. Otherwise, even if I favor the high priest, it will be useless. The people of other tribes are watching, which will only make them more dissatisfied."

"So the high priest wants to re-establish the prestige of Shamanism. This competition is unavoidable, but I can make things easier for the high priest."

"The content of the duel is chosen by the high priest. If the high priest cannot win now, that would be a little unreasonable, right?"

The high priest's face turned pale after hearing this, and he said, "Since the king has given me this opportunity, I will naturally not refuse it."

"I will think about it carefully when I get back, and think about what kind of competition can make the Han people completely convinced."

After sending the high priest away, Budugen sneered. The high priest was really old and confused. He asked him to rely on Kobe to fight against the State of Jin. How many lives did he have?

Of course, obeying Jin's order to attack Kobinen is not a good choice. Now he doesn't want to be driven by others. In this case, he might as well play to both sides.

Budugen was actually happy to see the fight between the Taiping Dao and Shamanism. The Shamanism had been too arrogant over the years, interfering in every detail, including the replacement of the Chanyu of the Wangzhang. How could Budugen allow these voices that threatened his throne?
Moreover, the high priest obviously wanted to give priority to Kobe, and even gave in to Dugen's anger. This is betrayal. The Shamans took the benefits from him, but turned their elbows outward. It is time to teach them a lesson and let them realize that they are not qualified to interfere in everything!

If Shamanism cannot be used for one's own benefit, it will be a stumbling block to one's great cause, so it is better to get rid of it as soon as possible.

As for who would become the state religion of the Xianbei, Budugen didn't care at all. He only cared about one thing, that his throne would be unshakable and passed down forever.

Thinking of this, a trace of gloom flashed across Budugen's face. The King of Jin was easy to talk to, but Sun Quan and others who were exiled here recently had some unusual moves that he did not want. Did the King of Jin know about these things?

(End of this chapter)