Chapter 65

The merchant of the Da Yuezhi suddenly changed his expression. The population of the Wusun Kingdom exceeded 600,000, and its military strength exceeded 180,000, far surpassing the Da Yuezhi's 400,000 population and 100,000 troops. Moreover, the Wusun Kingdom now had a powerful and wise king, Kunmi Lie Jiaomi, who was far superior to the current Da Yuezhi's mediocre king. Furthermore, the Wusun Kingdom had close ties with the Xiongnu; with its own strength already inferior to others, and with the support of the Xiongnu, a massive power, the Da Yuezhi merchant could hardly see any hope for his country to win this war.

"Oh, can you elaborate?" Li You became interested in the impending war between the Wusun and the Da Yuezhi! He vaguely felt that this might be an opportunity for the Han.

"The Wusun and the Da Yuezhi had old grievances. Kunmi Lie Jiaomi's father, Nandoumi, originally lived between Qilian and Dunhuang with the Da Yuezhi, but later moved to the Western Regions!" The Shule merchant slowly explained, thinking that the migration of these two countries was closely related to the expansion of the Xiongnu, in other words, they were likely driven here by the Xiongnu from the Hexi Corridor.

"Later, the Da Yuezhi attacked the Wusun and defeated them, killing Kunmi Nandoumi. The infant Lie Jiaomi was abandoned in the wilderness." At this point, the Shule merchant showed a look of reverence, "If an ordinary person were in such a situation, they would either starve to death or be eaten by wolves, but Lie Jiaomi was protected by the gods. Crows brought him meat, and a she-wolf came to nurse him! The Great Chanyu of the Xiongnu, seeing this, found it extraordinary and believed that Lie Jiaomi was a child of the gods, so he raised him to adulthood! After growing up, he helped Lie Jiaomi re-establish the Wusun Kingdom, and now Lie Jiaomi has inherited his father's throne and is preparing to take revenge on the Da Yuezhi." (Historical records show that the Wusun defeated the Da Yuezhi and forced them to migrate west to the Amu Darya River around 161 BC or 139 BC. Here, to increase the conflict, both dates are used; Kunmi, like Chanyu and Khan, is a title for the king of the Wusun, also written as Kunmo!)

Upon hearing this, Tang Yifu and Chen Qingzhi both showed looks of surprise, seemingly in awe of Lie Jiaomi's story. Chen Qingzhi even whispered, "Could this person really be destined by heaven?"

Li You, however, was not very concerned. There were many miracles in the historical records of later generations! There was even the legend of Liu Bang slaying the white snake during the founding of the Han Dynasty. In his view, these mysterious legends were mostly exaggerated to deceive the people or were simply fabricated! Even if it were true that he was destined by heaven, so what? He had that attribute too! The He Shi Bi wasn't just for show!

"The Wusun and the Xiongnu share the same customs, living nomadically and following the water and grass. They have many horses, and their people are skilled in archery and riding, making their combat strength far superior to the Da Yuezhi. Before I left, the Wusun were gathering brave warriors, and perhaps they have already started the war?" The Shule merchant finally finished explaining what he knew.

"Thus, the situation for the Da Yuezhi is not good!" Li You nodded, no wonder they were driven from the Ili River to the Amu Darya River, thousands of miles away. For nomadic tribes, a wise tribal leader would quickly unleash their powerful combat strength; for the Wusun, Lie Jiaomi was like Modu Chanyu to the Xiongnu and Genghis Khan to the Mongols. Facing such a person, the Da Yuezhi's chances of victory were indeed slim.

After asking more detailed questions about the various countries along the western route, Li You distributed the silk he had brought to them in exchange for the supplies and mounts needed to reach the Da Yuezhi. He then sent them off and discussed the plans for reaching the Da Yuezhi with Chen Qingzhi and others.

"Sir, the Da Yuezhi are struggling to protect themselves, and it is unlikely they will have the energy to join forces with the Han to attack the Xiongnu!" Tang Yifu said worriedly. He had been away from the Xiongnu for over ten years, and the current situation had already deviated from his expectations.

"Hmm." Li You tapped the table in frustration and sighed, "To make the Da Yuezhi join in the attack on the Xiongnu, we must first resolve the issue with the Wusun. But their troops are only half of the Wusun's, and their combat strength is far inferior. It seems difficult to achieve."

"From my perspective, although the Wusun are currently vassals of the Xiongnu, Lie Jiaomi is not the type to remain subordinate for long. If we cannot ally with the Da Yuezhi, perhaps we should meet this Wusun Kunmi!" Chen Qingzhi changed his approach. In his era, the Southern and Northern Dynasties period, it was common for generals to rebel and establish their own regimes. He believed that after defeating the Da Yuezhi, Lie Jiaomi would not stop his expansionist ambitions, and the Xiongnu would not tolerate his growing power. A conflict between the two was inevitable.

Future events also confirmed Chen Qingzhi's view. Later, Lie Jiaomi sent dozens of envoys with Zhang Qian to the Han territory. The envoys, seeing the strength of the Han, prompted the Wusun to consider an alliance with the Han, which displeased the Xiongnu. Emperor Wu of Han arranged for Princess Xijun, the daughter of Liu Jian, to marry Lie Jiaomi, and from then on, Lie Jiaomi began to break away from Xiongnu control, wavering between the Xiongnu and the Han.

If the alliance target were adjusted to Lie Jiaomi of the Wusun, as Chen Qingzhi suggested, it was not impossible. Emperor Wu of Han would not care whether the allied country was called the Da Yuezhi or the Wusun; he was more concerned with the number of troops and the threat they posed to the Xiongnu. If successful, he would be overjoyed to have another powerful opponent with 180,000 troops against the Xiongnu.

If Zhang Qian were leading this mission, he would likely be delighted to accept Chen Qingzhi's suggestion and change the route to the Wusun Kingdom. However, Li You could not do so. He clearly remembered that the tiger talisman assigned him the task of allying with the Da Yuezhi, and he did not care which of the two posed a greater threat to the Xiongnu.

This task was truly a headache! Li You couldn't help but scratch his head and slowly shook his head, "Now we only hear one side of the story from the merchant. The current situation of the Da Yuezhi is still unknown. Let's decide after we reach there!"

"Yes, that's the only way for now!" Chen Qingzhi and Tang Yifu both agreed. The journey west was still long, so there was no need to rush into a decision.

After the discussion, they were about to go out to see the sights of Loulan City when a soldier hurried over, "Sir, we have found traces of the Xiongnu outside. It seems they are heading to the palace of the King of Loulan!"

Could they be planning to capture us through the King of Loulan? Li You and Chen Qingzhi exchanged a glance. Now that they were in the city rather than on the grasslands, it would be much harder to escape!

"How many are there? What do they look like? Where did you see them?" Li You asked a series of questions, but before he could get a clear answer, another visitor arrived at the door. A minister of the King of Loulan invited them to a banquet at the palace.

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