Chapter 61

"Xili, Dingling, Hunyu, Qushe, Ge Kun... Nearly eight tribes have had their winter supplies of grain and tents burned by those Han people!" In the royal tent of King Kunye, a thousand-ride leader bowed his head and reported, "This is what we know. If we include those from distant places whose news hasn't reached the royal tent yet, there will be even more!"

"Eight tribes? That's thousands of people!" King Kunye frowned deeply. According to historical records, twenty years later, Huo Qubing led an army into Longxi, and King Kunye and King Xiutu's tribes surrendered to the Han. Excluding the rebels who were killed, only about 40,000 people surrendered to the Han! Now, even without the damage of war, the total population of the tribes in their territory was at most 80,000! If only counting King Kunye's own tribes, there were probably only 40,000 people!

And now this Han envoy had deprived at least one-tenth of his tribes of their winter supplies. Thinking about the population loss next year, King Kunye was truly heartbroken!

For nomadic tribes like the Xiongnu, population meant wealth! In the past, when they invaded Han territory, the captives they took were never easily killed. Zhang Qian and Su Wu were also saved because of this reason! Now, with the impending loss of thousands of people in the territory, King Kunye deeply regretted his initial decision.

Looking at King Xiutu, he didn't take Zhong Xingshu's letter seriously! He let the Han envoy pass without burning the grass and tents of his tribes, and at most, they only plundered some horses and grain. What was this loss compared to the current situation? But now, if King Kunye were to retract his order, he would lose face. Moreover, if his tribes learned that he had submitted to the Han, how would they view him? King Kunye was in a difficult position!

"Great King, the news has also reached the west! The elders of each tribe have sent messengers to the brave warriors sent to intercept the Han. These warriors are worried that the Han will go to their tribes! If I hadn't forcefully restrained them, they would have all run away!" The thousand-ride leader Yimore finished speaking and looked at King Kunye, seemingly hoping for new orders. His Yimore tribe had not yet been harassed by the Han, but he couldn't guarantee that it would remain safe.

"What do you think we should do now?" King Kunye showed signs of retreating but didn't want to speak first, so he threw the question back to Yimore.

"Great King, there has been no snow since winter began! These hay bales are the lifelines of the tribes! And now the young men are far from their tribes, searching for the Han envoy! They have no strength to defend!" The Xiongnu was not a country but a loose alliance of thousands of small tribes, with much weaker control over their territory compared to the Han! It was impossible to control such a vast territory with only 40,000 people!

Previously, they could block the Han envoy's path by knowing they were heading west. Now that the Han envoy has temporarily abandoned their westward plan and is circling around the grasslands, they have lost direction! They have no way to predict which tribe the Han army will attack next.

"The warriors of each tribe are already impatient! A few soldiers from the Xili tribe were shouting to return to their tribe a few days ago and even fought with the soldiers who tried to stop them! If this continues, I fear I won't be able to control them!" Yimore began to complain. Not to mention others, he was also worried every day about whether his Yimore tribe would become the next target.

King Kunye's eyebrows twitched, as if he wanted to speak, but in the end, he didn't say anything. He nodded, signaling Yimore to continue.

Yimore understood that King Kunye was somewhat moved. He bit his lip and boldly said, "Great King, I believe the idea of capturing the Han envoy is entirely the Heavenly King's. What does it have to do with us? Now that the Great Yuezhi has been intimidated by us, how dare they provoke us again? And King Wusun's King Liejiaomi has long wanted to attack the Great Yuezhi! Even if we let these Han envoys go west, what can they do?"

He secretly glanced at King Kunye, seeing his eyes closed and not stopping him, Yimore lowered his voice and continued, "The Heavenly King and King Xiutu couldn't stop this envoy. Even if the Great Chanyu is angry, he won't blame you!"

This sentence seemed to hit King Kunye's heart. He had been so focused on blocking the Han envoy because he knew Zhong Xingshu was the Great Chanyu's confidant and feared being punished for reporting to Junchen Chanyu! Now that Zhong Xingshu and King Xiutu were helping him take the blame, what did he have to fear?

He immediately opened his eyes and sternly said to Yimore, "Yimore, pass the order..."

"Heavenly King, after walking for so long without seeing any snow, this winter will be tough for King Xiutu and King Kunye!" Crossing a small river with little water, Xubu Mo said to Zhong Xingshu.

"Those Han people will also find it easier to escape!" Zhong Xingshu, who had lived among the Xiongnu for a long time, knew the terror of the black disaster, but his thoughts were different from Xubu Mo's! The weakening of King Xiutu and King Kunye's power was good news for the Great Chanyu!

In his view, the political structure of the Xiongnu was too loose! Although the Great Chanyu was the nominal leader of the tribes, he had little control over the internal affairs of each tribe! The Han knew to weaken the power of the kings and strengthen central authority. For the Xiongnu to oppose the Han, King Xiutu and King Kunye, such powerful figures, were the greatest rivals to the Great Chanyu. He was very happy to see these two kings suffer!

Alas, the Xiongnu and the Han were ultimately different. The Great Chanyu absolutely lacked the ability and courage of Emperor Jing of Han to weaken the power of the feudal lords through war.

"Heavenly King! There is a small tribe not far ahead! We can rest there for the night and get some supplies!" Just as they were talking, the guide returned to report.

Hearing this, everyone immediately sped up their horses. They had been traveling for a long time and were eager to eat fresh mutton and drink sweet wine! Of course, if they could find a woman to sleep with, it would be even better!

Their desire for delicious food, wine, and women made them reach the tribe the guide mentioned in no time. However, when they climbed over the hill, the first scene that met their eyes stunned them.

"Heavenly King, what is going on? Why are the tribes under King Kunye fighting each other?" Xubu Mo widened his eyes, looking at the two groups of Xiongnu cavalry fiercely battling below the hill.

The battle was so intense that not only the young men but also the elderly and women were shouting and fighting together! This greatly surprised Xubu Mo and the others.

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