Huo Qingtong went pale with fright and hurriedly asked what had happened. After the man explained, she finally understood the situation.
The Muzhuolun Tribe had originally been ruled jointly by two leaders, brothers. The elder brother was Bodu, who occupied Kashgar City, the Kashgar of later generations; the younger brother was Huo Qingtong's father, Muzhuolun, whose base was in Yarkand City, the Yarkand of later generations.
Over the years, the two brothers had worked together to conquer north and south. They could be said to have jointly conquered the southern frontier, while also repelling the Mongol Empire's invasions several times.
However, Huo Qingtong had been far too prominent these past years. As a woman, she had led the tribe to victory after victory and won tremendous renown. More importantly, she was extraordinarily beautiful. Even people in the Central Plains had heard of Green Feathered Yellow Robe.
The result was that the Muzhuolun Tribe had become overwhelmingly dominant, with all the glory claimed by their branch. Meanwhile, Bodu, as the elder brother, was no inferior to the Muzhuolun branch in strength or contributions, yet outsiders only ever referred to them collectively as the Muzhuolun Tribe.
Over time, Bodu inevitably grew dissatisfied, though it had remained within tolerable limits.
That changed some time ago, when a woman appeared at Bodu's side. Bodu became utterly infatuated with her. When he learned that Huo Qingtong had been defeated on the front lines and her fate was unknown, he finally made up his mind and led his troops in a surprise attack on Yarkand.
Muzhuolun had thought his brother had come to reinforce him and took no precautions whatsoever. Besides, Huo Qingtong had taken away most of his main force, so precautions would have been useless anyway.
Bodu's army attacked and captured Yarkand City. Amid