Chapter 49

"Your Majesty, to the west lies the territory of the Xiutu King! The Xiutu King often speaks ill of you behind your back..." Xubu Mo advised, their remaining forces now numbering only seven or eight hundred cavalry. If they rashly entered the Xiutu King's territory, it could be problematic if he harbored any ill intentions, "Why don't I lead five hundred men to pursue the Han envoy, while you wait here for news?"

Xubu Mo came from one of the four major noble families of the Xiongnu. Although Zhonghang Yue's current position was higher, in terms of roots in the Xiongnu, he was far inferior to Xubu Mo. Therefore, Xubu Mo knew that while the Xiutu King might entertain some侥幸 thoughts about Zhonghang Yue, he would never dare to kill him, a young talent of the Xubu family.

"General Xubu, I appreciate your concern! However, I doubt the Xiutu King has the courage! The Xiutu King thinks a lot but acts little. He has the audacity to speak ill of me behind my back, but he would never dare to harm me!" Zhonghang Yue said disdainfully. He evaluated the Xiutu King as being overly cautious and indecisive. He knew that entering the Xiutu King's territory seemed risky, but in reality, it was extremely safe. If he were to die here, the Xiutu King would face the wrath of the Great Chanyu.

"Yes, then I will send a letter to the royal court to inform the Great Chanyu of our route!" Seeing that Zhonghang Yue was determined, Xubu Mo did not continue to persuade him but instead took this measure to provide some insurance for their journey.

"Your Majesty, we can set sail now! We have brought a large amount of rope as the old Qiang man suggested!" A guard came to report, pointing to the ropes tied to a large rock. Coincidentally, this rock was the same one the Han envoy had used to tie their ropes when they first crossed the river.

"Alright, select some good swimmers to remove their iron armor and cross the river!" Zhonghang Yue ordered. Iron armor was too heavy, and once in the water, it would be difficult to resurface. This was also a precautionary measure.

"Yes!" The guard took the order and soon, six or seven Xiongnu cavalry skilled in swimming removed their iron armor and stood on the sheepskin rafts. However, few Xiongnu knew how to navigate or pole boats, so they had to find a few Qiang men who had previously handled boats in their tribes to do the job.

Xubu Mo waved his hand, and immediately, these boatmen were pulled out from the crowd and gathered together. Xubu Mo said coldly, "If you want to live, do your best to pole the rafts across the river! If anything goes wrong, you and your families will end up as fish food!"

The Qiang men shivered as they began to pole the long poles. However, the sheepskin rafts were very different from the boats they usually used. They circled around the crossing point for a long time before slowly drifting towards the center of the river.

"Can we really cross the river?" Zhonghang Yue watched in surprise as the sheepskin raft floated steadily on the water, becoming even more curious about the leader of the Han envoy! Having lived in the Han for many years, he had seen countless wooden rafts and boats, but never such a tool for crossing the river. Where did he learn this?

"Noble sir, we are halfway across! It won't be long before we reach the other side!" Once they reached the center of the river, the raft was still relatively stable, and the Qiang men who were poling the raft relaxed a bit, forcing a smile as they flattered the Xiongnu cavalry on the raft.

"If we can cross the river, we will spare your lives!" The Xiongnu cavalry leading the group also relaxed. Swimming in such weather was not pleasant!

"Look at this wood, it seems so thin, but it's quite sturdy!" Another Xiongnu cavalry laughed and stomped on the raft twice!

"Don't!" "Stop!" The Qiang men and the Xiongnu leader shouted almost simultaneously, but it was too late. Binding the raft was a skilled task, and these Qiang men and Xiongnu were not as dexterous as the Han. The raft, already struggling in the middle of the river, began to come apart as the ropes binding the wood and the sheepskin bags gradually loosened.

With another stomp, several pieces of wood and a sheepskin bag fell off the raft, followed by more. The sheepskin raft was about to disintegrate.

"Ah! Save yourselves! The raft is falling apart!" Seeing this, the people on the raft became even more panicked, and their frantic movements accelerated the disintegration of the raft!

"You damned Qiang men!" In a fit of anger, the Xiongnu leader drew his curved sword and began to slash and hack at the Qiang men poling the raft. Without these men controlling the raft, it began to spin in the center of the river. Dazed and disoriented, the Xiongnu men fell into the water like dumplings...

In the end, only three Xiongnu men managed to escape back to the shore with the help of the rope! The remaining Qiang men and Xiongnu were devoured by the fish and shrimp in the river.

"Kill them!" Xubu Mo waved his hand coldly, and a group of Xiongnu soldiers rushed towards the families of the Qiang boatmen, their swords flashing and cries of despair filling the air. In a short time, all of them were slaughtered.

"Give them one more chance! If the raft falls apart again, kill them all!" Zhonghang Yue's face darkened. The longer they delayed, the farther the Han envoy would get. He looked towards the distant mountains, wondering where the Han people were now.

"Achoo!" Li You couldn't help but sneeze, muttering to himself, "Who could be thinking about me?"

"Sir, are you alright?" The accompanying physician hurried over to ask.

"I'm fine! Everyone must be tired, let's stop and rest for a moment! Boil some hot water to warm up!" Li You stopped, panting, and looked back at the path they had taken.

From a high vantage point, the distant Yellow River appeared as a thin line. Another clear and swift river flowed from the foot of the mountain, merging into the Yellow River.

Looking ahead, two mountains stood side by side, each displaying its grandeur. The Gu Lang Gorge rose a thousand feet, with steep cliffs and hanging rocks, a natural barrier. Snow was falling, and the cold was bone-chilling, making every step difficult.

"Crossing the Yellow River, the ice blocks the way; climbing the Wushaoshan, the snow covers the mountains!" Li You softly recited Li Bai's "The Hardship of the Journey" from a later era! Such treacherous peaks would be a challenge even for modern professional outdoor enthusiasts, let alone for them with almost no equipment!

However, the members of the envoy, despite shivering from the cold, still wore confident smiles. In their eyes, since their lord had already led them to defeat the Xiongnu and cross the Yellow River, he would surely conquer this mountain as well.

After resting for a moment and drinking some hot water to warm up, the group continued on. They walked on narrow paths, with a deep, bottomless abyss on one side. A single misstep could result in a fatal fall.

"Ah!" A cry of horror rang out, and Li You turned to see Chen Qingzhi slip and fall towards the cliff below!