Chapter 31

Zhang Zhong said that he was originally a eunuch in the palace during the reign of Emperor Wen of Han. When the Chanyu of the Xiongnu ascended to the throne, due to internal instability in the Han dynasty, it was unable to resist the Xiongnu! Therefore, Emperor Wen of Han had no choice but to compromise, selecting a suitable woman from the imperial family to marry into the Xiongnu. The eunuch Zhang Zhong, who was from the Yan region, accompanied her as a servant.

From the bustling city of Chang'an to the freezing, primitive Xiongnu, Zhang Zhong was of course unwilling! However, he could not defy the imperial decree. Before his departure, Zhang Zhong made a threat, "If I go to the Xiongnu, I will definitely help them threaten the Han dynasty!" At the time, Emperor Wen of Han only took this as a joke, but he did not expect Zhang Zhong to actually do it.

After arriving in the Xiongnu, Zhang Zhong immediately fulfilled his promise, doing everything he could to sabotage the Han dynasty's marriage alliance plan, constantly stirring up tensions between the two countries, and launching one attack after another on the Han border regions! He used war as a threat to extort money and gold from the Han dynasty and taught the Xiongnu counting methods, making them even stronger!

Initially, the Han dynasty's documents to the Xiongnu were one foot and one inch long, with the words "Emperor respectfully asks the Great Chanyu of the Xiongnu how he is." To outdo the Han, Zhang Zhong suggested that the Xiongnu Chanyu reply with a document one foot and two inches long, with the words "Heaven and Earth, Sun and Moon, the Great Chanyu of the Xiongnu respectfully asks the Han Emperor how he is."

His hatred for the Han dynasty was evident! The things Zhang Zhong did were recorded in history, and he became infamous as the first traitor in Chinese history!

Although his character was despicable, Zhang Zhong still had some abilities. Having such a person who was extremely familiar with the internal affairs of the Han dynasty made the Xiongnu repeatedly gain the upper hand in their conflict with the Han!

What a headache! After the banquet, Li You returned to the inn but tossed and turned, unable to sleep. The journey ahead was long, and there were enemy forces blocking the way. How should he deal with it? Fortunately, he had the tiger talisman. After passing through the checkpoint the next day, he could summon the army to help and first eliminate Zhang Zhong!

The next morning, Li You woke up from his sleep, wandered around the market inside the checkpoint, and bought some things that might be useful in the future! He made the final preparations for supplies, knowing that it would be much harder to get these things after passing through the checkpoint!

After passing through the checkpoint, they traveled for another full day. Under the guidance of Tang Yifu, they set up camp by a small river at dusk! While everyone was busy setting up the camp, Tang Yifu walked to Li You and whispered, "Sir, according to He Wu's words yesterday, the Xiongnu cavalry is waiting for us two days away! How should we deal with it?"

"Is there no other way to go to Da Yuezhi?" This was just the beginning, and Li You did not want to reveal all his cards. He did not know what difficulties he would encounter in the future, and it would be best to avoid the enemy's interception if possible.

Tang Yifu slowly shook his head, "This is the shortest and safest route! Other routes require deeper penetration into the Xiongnu territory. If we take other routes, we will encounter even more Xiongnu cavalry!"

Li You's hope quickly faded. He frowned and thought for a moment, then said, "Let's rest for today. Tomorrow, I will see if I can find reinforcements to help!" He then went into his tent, leaving Tang Yifu puzzled. After passing through the checkpoint, enemies were everywhere. Where could he find reinforcements?

Hearing that the members of the embassy had all fallen asleep, Li You took out the tiger talisman and caressed it. He remembered that in the last draw, he could summon a thousand Bawei soldiers. With the help of these troops, defeating or even killing Zhang Zhong should not be a problem! Let the words "laughing and drinking the blood of the Xiongnu" in Yue Wumu's poem become a reality!

Having made up his mind, Li You chose to summon the Bawei soldiers! He then waited quietly for the powerful army to appear. However, five minutes passed... ten minutes passed... and there was no response.

"What's going on?" Li You couldn't help but take out the tiger talisman and ask, "I clearly summoned the Bawei soldiers, why haven't they appeared?"

"Host's leadership is insufficient! Cannot summon!" The tiger talisman coldly said, "Host's leadership is 25, and can only summon 599 soldiers to fight for you! The number of Bawei soldiers is one thousand, which exceeds the host's leadership limit, so they cannot be summoned!"

"Can I summon 500 cavalry first?" Li You pitifully begged. This was like holding a golden rice bowl and starving to death. He clearly had a thousand Bawei soldiers that could eliminate Zhang Zhong, but he couldn't summon them, which was extremely frustrating.

"No! These one thousand Bawei soldiers are a whole unit and can only be summoned together! They cannot be divided!" The tiger talisman's words disappointed him again.

Was he really going to die on the western journey? Li You sadly continued to look at the options he could summon. He didn't lack food and arrows, so they were completely useless; Pan Feng, though powerful, couldn't fight a thousand Xiongnu cavalry! If he had Li Yuanba, there might be a chance! Damn, why could these summoned generals only be used once?

In despair, Li You focused on the last option. This person was at least a military strategist, and getting his help to come up with a plan was better than him just thinking aimlessly.

"Summon, Chen Qingzhi!" Li You chose to summon the famous general of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, who once led eight thousand white-robed cavalry to sweep through the Northern Wei, winning every battle and conquering every fort!

"Chen Qingzhi greets the lord!" A white light flashed in the tent, and a young man in his twenties, wearing a white robe and a long sword at his waist, appeared in Li You's tent. He looked gentle and weak.

Li You rubbed his eyes; this was nothing like the image of a famous general he had imagined! He looked more like a scholar. Was he really the famous general of the Southern Liang who often won with fewer troops?

"Are you really General Chen Qingzhi?" Li You couldn't help but ask.

"I am indeed the Wuwei General of the Liang dynasty, Chen Qingzhi, with the courtesy name Ziyun!" Chen Qingzhi remained gentle and elegant, not at all angry at Li You's doubt.

"Ah, General Ziyun, please sit!" It seemed the system wasn't malfunctioning. Li You helplessly accepted this reality. Well, as the ancients said, one cannot judge a person by their appearance. Let me talk to him and see what talents he has. Li You got up and pointed to a cushion beside him.

"Qingzhi follows the order!" Chen Qingzhi bowed in thanks and took a step towards the direction Li You pointed. However, he tripped after just a few steps and fell flat on his face!

Seeing Chen Qingzhi struggling to get up, Li You covered his face and sighed. Oh, is there really a famous general who can't even walk steadily? Looking at his weak physique, the long sword at his waist was probably more for decoration than for actual use. Was he really going to die at the hands of the traitor Zhang Zhong?