Chapter 62

"Xubu Mo! Take people to separate them! Bring a few of the leaders over for questioning!" Zhong Xingshuo hoped for the decline of King Kunye's power, but not at this time! Why would these two tribes under King Kunye's jurisdiction be in conflict? And at such a sensitive time? A sense of foreboding rose in Zhong Xingshuo's heart. Could this be the work of that Han dynasty envoy again?

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Xubu Mo bowed and immediately left two hundred elite soldiers to protect Zhong Xingshuo, while he himself led the remaining five hundred elite soldiers of the royal court straight down! Wielding their curved swords, they separated the two tribes that were in fierce battle.

As Xubu Mo charged and shouted, "We are the troops of the Great Chanyu! Why are you fighting? Stop immediately!" Under his charge and shouts, the two tribes gradually separated, stopping their attacks and looking at them with puzzled and frightened eyes. Why would the elite soldiers of the Xiongnu royal court be here?

The five hundred cavalry surrounded the two tribes, and Xubu Mo personally led the separation, riding slowly through the middle of their confrontation, "Who among you is the leader? Come forward and speak to me!"

After a moment's hesitation, an elderly man with gray hair and a bald-headed, muscular man stepped out of the crowd, kneeling before Xubu Mo's horse, "May we ask what the noble one commands?"

"Are you the leaders of these two tribes?" After receiving a positive response, Xubu Mo brought them to Zhong Xingshuo, while the rest of his subordinates continued to surround the two tribes.

"This is the Heavenly King of the Great Chanyu's royal court! Why don't you quickly pay your respects?" Xubu Mo clarified Zhong Xingshuo's identity and then introduced him, "Heavenly King, the elderly man with gray hair is the leader of the Xinli tribe, Xinli Ding, and the bald-headed man is the leader of the Qushe tribe, Qushe Ruodi."

"Qushe Ruodi and Xinli Ding pay respects to the Heavenly King!" The two leaders knelt and bowed together. Since the other party had a royal title, they were like deities in their hearts, and they dared not be disrespectful.

"Why are you two, both under King Kunye's command, fighting each other?" Zhong Xingshuo asked slowly.

"Your Majesty! He—" Qushe Ruodi and Xinli Ding spoke simultaneously, ready to accuse the other.

"Both of you, be quiet!" Zhong Xingshuo glared coldly and pointed at the older Xinli Ding with his horsewhip, "You speak first! Qushe Ruodi is not allowed to interrupt! Otherwise, you will be executed without mercy!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Xinli Ding bowed again, "I am grateful for Your Majesty's inquiry. My Xinli tribe, following King Kunye's orders, sent our young men to capture the Han envoy. However, the Han envoy was extremely cunning. Not only did they not go west, but they also burned our dry grass and tents!"

Then he glared fiercely at Qushe Ruodi, "The Qushe tribe, which is close to my Xinli tribe, was not attacked by the Han. This must be because the Qushe tribe colluded with the Han! We, the Xinli tribe, came to avenge our fallen tribesmen!"

"You are lying! Our Qushe tribe has always been loyal to King Kunye! How could we do such a thing?" Qushe Ruodi, ignoring Zhong Xingshuo's warning, quickly defended himself, "You probably covet our Qushe tribe's grain and livestock! You want to survive the winter by robbing us! Our Qushe tribe has many brave warriors and will not fear you!"

After a moment's thought, Zhong Xingshuo believed Qushe Ruodi more. The Qushe tribe was far from the Han, so why would they join this Han envoy? On the contrary, it was more likely that the Xinli tribe wanted to survive by robbing the Qushe tribe.

What a vicious plan! First, they burned the dry grass of the tribes that dared to fight, making it impossible for them to survive the winter, thus threatening the young men of other tribes to return to their tribes quickly! The tribes that suffered losses would not sit idly by; they could only rob other tribes to survive! In this way, King Kunye would suffer great losses!

One acre of land can only produce so much grain, and similarly, a grassland can only produce so much dry grass to feed so many cattle and sheep! The Han envoy burned a tribe's reserves, and they would have to rob others to survive! The other tribes would not sit idly by either! Both sides are fighting for survival, and unless someone can provide enough dry grass and food, their fighting will never stop!

Therefore, although he understood the situation, Zhong Xingshuo could not stop the internal strife among the Xiongnu tribes. He could only help Qushe Ruodi kill the Xinli tribe's people, then take the supplies from the Qushe tribe and continue westward.

He made this decision because the Qushe tribe had more remaining young men. Keeping the Qushe tribe alive was clearly more in the interest of the Xiongnu. The competition on the great grassland was so cruel.

On the way west, Zhong Xingshuo and his group saw several tribes under King Kunye fighting over dry grass for the winter, and his heart grew colder! King Kunye could not withstand such a severe blow! He must have already withdrawn his soldiers, clearing the way for the Han envoy to continue westward! Thinking of this, he wished he could immediately rush to King Kunye's tent to stop this foolish and cowardly decision!

But he was too late. At this point, the Han envoy led by Li You had already set out westward again! At first, there were still people blocking them, but after Tang Yifu recognized which tribe these people came from and set fire to that tribe again, no one dared to block them!

After a few more days of travel westward, the grass gradually faded, revealing boundless yellow sand! Seeing this, Tang Yifu hurriedly returned to Li You and reported, "Your Excellency, we are about to leave Xiongnu territory! We no longer need to worry about the Xiongnu's pursuit!"

The group immediately became agitated, and the soldiers who had been tense and looking around relaxed and smiled! Li You also felt much more relaxed. This was like breaking through an iron cage to escape the tiger, or unlocking the golden lock to let the dragon go! Without the Xiongnu's obstruction, who could stop him from reaching the Great Yuezhi?

"Good! Tang Yifu, what is this place called? How far is it to the Great Yuezhi?" Li You asked excitedly. After two months of long travel, they finally saw hope!

"Your Excellency, this place is called Duhuoluo by the Yuezhi people! It was originally the territory of the Great Yuezhi, but they have been driven away by the Xiongnu!" Tang Yifu said a tongue-twisting name!

Duhuoluo? Why does this pronunciation sound so familiar? Comparing this place with the map in his memory, Li You understood where Duhuoluo was. He shook his head and said, "Duhuoluo is not a good name. Let's change it to Dunhuang! Dun means great, and Huang means prosperous. This place will be the beginning of our Han dynasty's expansion into the Western Regions!"

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