Chapter 1162: The Resolve of the Northern Xiongnu

After spending some time in Parthia and learning a lot, Li Jue and his companions returned to the Western Regions, bringing along the reparations that the Parthians had given them. Rome and Parthia had agreed to a ceasefire from April of this year to April of the following year.

This made the Parthian king immensely grateful for the Han Empire's assistance, so he gave Li Jue and his men even more gifts. However, at this point, Li Jue was no longer as thankful as before. He had come to understand that once he stepped beyond the borders, the previous warm sentiments could be set aside.

As Li Jue returned, some Romans accompanied him on his journey to the Han Empire. Just as Li Jue planned to send people to investigate Rome, the Romans were also very interested in the Han Empire. The difference was that Li Jue couldn’t find any Han people who spoke Latin, while Gannasius managed to find Romans who understood Chinese.

Gannasius was known for his swift and decisive actions. After concluding the harsh negotiations with Parthia, he immediately dispatched an envoy to Li Jue.

To showcase the grandeur of the empire, Li Jue didn’t refuse. Instead, he accepted the envoy with a smile and planned to send them to Liu Bei next year. As for the emperor, Li Jue couldn’t care less.

Once they arrived in the Western Regions, Li Jue recruited a translation team of over a dozen people who spoke both Latin and Chinese from the Wusun tribe, appointing An Yue as the lead translator and Wu Xi as the leader. They then escorted the Roman envoys toward Taishan, not realizing that Taishan was no longer Liu Bei’s capital.

Nevertheless, it didn’t matter much. Li Jue’s journey from Liangzhou through Sichuan to Xu Province was marked by a flourishing landscape.

Although the different environment caused some of the Roman envoys to suffer from illnesses, the frequent boat rides left the Romans with a strong impression of the vastness of the Han Empire. The prosperity of Sichuan, Jingzhou, Xu Province, and finally, Taishan's Fenggao was a sight to behold!

Upon entering Xu Province, the wide official roads and the increasingly dense population left the Romans in awe. By the time they arrived in Taishan, though Wu Xi hadn’t mentioned this being the imperial capital, all the Romans had tacitly agreed that this was the Han Empire’s capital.

However, these events wouldn’t take place until April or May of next year. Currently, Li Jue was still organizing his thoughts to write a letter to Li You. In this letter, he planned to detail every piece of intelligence gathered at the cost of hundreds of brothers’ lives, without adding any personal analysis—just recording everything he had seen.

Once he finished writing, Li Jue ordered several dozen of his personal guards, who were familiar with Li You, to ensure that this letter was delivered to either Li You or Jia Xu. He was confident that as long as the letter reached them, they would give him a favorable path forward.

After completing these tasks, all Li Jue, Guo Si, and their companions could do was wait. Of course, Li Jue wouldn’t forget to mention his army’s innate abilities in the letter. He took great pride in this—after all, it was the legendary army’s innate ability, where the spirit never left the body, and the general’s power wasn’t reliant on any special talent!

With this letter, dozens of Li Jue’s personal guards set off, each with three horses, racing day and night toward Taishan. Li Jue felt it was crucial to inform Li Ru and the others about the current situation in Central Asia.

At the same time, the Northern Xiongnu received news from within Parthia—Parthia had defeated the Romans with the help of the Han army.

"Chanyu, let us send troops! Let us annihilate that Han army! The hatred between us and the Han cannot be washed away even with the waters of all the rivers and lakes. That isolated cavalry unit—let’s wipe them out!" A Xiongnu leader knelt before Huyan Chu, shouting in pain.

Huyan Chu was filled with sorrow. As a Chanyu, he longed to face off against the Han in battle, but he remembered the words of the previous Chanyu: Do not fight the Han Empire anymore; preserve the Xiongnu bloodline and wait for the right opportunity!

"Chanyu, send the troops! Let us destroy that Han army and at least wash away part of the shame that clings to us!" Another leader knelt bitterly before the Chanyu.

The enmity between the Northern Xiongnu and the Han Empire was one of blood. Their hatred ran so deep that one side would have to be completely eradicated from the continent for it to end.

"Chanyu!" All the Xiongnu leaders knelt before Huyan Chu. At that moment, he was filled with bitterness. With only seven hundred thousand Xiongnu left, how could they possibly contend?

Yes, they were indeed strong enough to match the Han Empire’s elite troops in a one-to-one fight, but so what? The Han Empire had fifty million people, while the Northern Xiongnu only had seven hundred thousand!

"I intend to raise an army against the Han Empire!" Huyan Chu raised his hand and said slowly. "At the beginning of next year, we will return to the eastern plains, annex the Xianbei, and then launch a full-scale attack on the Han Empire from the grasslands. That’s the plan!"

The Xiongnu leaders were all shocked. Although they constantly clamored about fighting back, they knew deep down that the current Han Empire was not something they could contend with.

"Mount Langjuxu has sunk..." Huyan Chu said with his eyes closed.

"What?!" All the Xiongnu leaders jumped to their feet in a frenzy.

"I intend to unite the strength of the grasslands to attack the Han Empire!" Huyan Chu said coldly, looking at the group. Instead of facing the Han head-on, it would be better to subdue all the grassland tribes first, then lead them in a full-scale assault on the Han.

The fighting power unleashed by sheep led by a lion would at least be on par with a wolf pack. At the very least, by sending countless sheep into the fray, they could inflict massive casualties on the Han Empire while reducing the losses of the Northern Xiongnu. The Northern Xiongnu couldn’t afford any more losses.

"We are willing to follow the Chanyu!" All the leaders shouted, their eyes blazing with fire. They all knew Huyan Chu wouldn’t deceive them. Since he said Mount Langjuxu had sunk, it meant that this sacred mountain of the Xiongnu had disappeared from history.

"From today on, all tribal leaders will migrate eastward. At the beginning of next spring, we will subdue the Western Xianbei, and the warriors of all tribes should be prepared." Huyan Chu’s gaze swept coldly across all the leaders.

Huyan Chu had no intention of clashing directly with Li Jue’s Xiliang cavalry. Even the Chanyu’s elite guard would lose about three thousand men if they went up against those Xiliang iron cavalry. It wasn’t worth it!

To be precise, the current Northern Xiongnu Chanyu understood very well that it would only take ten Northern Xiongnu warriors leading twenty thousand Xianbei to grind down the Xiliang cavalry. Why sacrifice three thousand of their own people when they could use someone else’s blood?

Huyan Chu was confident that a united war of the grassland tribes against the Han Empire would result in far fewer casualties than a direct clash between the Northern Xiongnu and the Xiliang cavalry.

[We are the proud Northern Xiongnu! We are nothing like those trashy Xianbei and Wuhuan. Our strength is not just in our combat prowess!] Huyan Chu thought silently as he gazed at the indignant tribal leaders. The Northern Xiongnu still had a Chanyu with brains!

[It seems I must start grooming a new Chanyu. We need more than just brute strength; we also need intellect to match it. What a pity…] Huyan Chu felt a tinge of sadness as he looked at the enraged leaders. The Northern Xiongnu had plenty of warriors and knew how to unite, but they were sorely lacking in intellect.

Previous Chapter | | Next Chapter