Chapter 71

"King Liejiaomi of the Wusun has gathered an army of 160,000!" The Guo Mo country's duwei (military commander) showed a look of terror. 160,000 was far more than the entire population of Guo Mo, and for a country with only 20,000 people, an army of 160,000 was truly a terrifying number.

Similarly, this was a desperate move for the Wusun! Their entire country had only 600,000 people and 180,000 soldiers. If this major battle were to fail, the Wusun would immediately face attacks from surrounding countries like Qiuci, Yanqi, Kangju, and even the Xiongnu! The Wusun would likely disappear from the Western Regions.

"The Da Yuezhi have also mobilized all 100,000 of their troops to the border between the two countries! After this battle, only one of these two countries will be able to continue to survive in the Western Regions! The one that fails will either have to relocate or choose to submit!" The Western Regions had always been in turmoil, and the Guo Mo country's duwei had heard of similar situations too many times!

"The Wusun, with their customs similar to the Xiongnu, are skilled in horseback riding and archery. Apart from herding, they often raid various places in the Western Regions, repeatedly defeating the armies of the Western Regions. Their combat strength far exceeds that of the Da Yuezhi, and our Guo Mo country has also suffered greatly from them!" The duwei said resentfully. The Wusun was one of the strongest countries among the thirty-six states of the Western Regions and had often harassed the weak neighboring country of Guo Mo. "The Da Yuezhi, whether in terms of military strength or combat capability, are far weaker than the Wusun. Moreover, Liejiaomi is blessed by the gods and has been undefeated since he took command. The king of the Da Yuezhi, on the other hand, is a mediocre leader, far inferior to him. In previous battles, the Wusun has defeated the Da Yuezhi multiple times and captured five of their cities! If the war continues, the Da Yuezhi will surely be defeated!"

He was worried that after the Wusun defeated the Da Yuezhi, they might also destroy the Guo Mo country. The distance between Guo Mo and the Wusun capital, Chigou City, was too close. Perhaps after the war, they would have to submit to the Wusun?

Phew, fortunately, the Da Yuezhi have not been completely defeated yet! That means we still have a chance! Li You slightly relaxed and quickly asked, "Where is the king of the Da Yuezhi now? How far is he from Guo Mo?" Hopefully, everything is still in time.

"The king of the Da Yuezhi is commanding the army at the border between the two countries! Beyond the Shule country, it is about a thousand miles away from Guo Mo!" After saying this, he kindly advised, "At this moment, the Wusun and the Da Yuezhi are in fierce battle, and accidents can easily happen. The envoy should stay in Guo Mo for a few more days and wait until the war is over before going?"

"The Emperor of the Han dynasty has ordered me to visit the countries of the Western Regions. How can I stop because of the war?" Li You shook his head and declined his kind offer. After the war, the defeated Da Yuezhi would be too busy fleeing to agree to an alliance with the Han to jointly attack the Xiongnu.

As they spoke, they had already entered the city. The duwei led Li You and his group to an inn. Li You dismounted and ordered someone to find a piece of silk from the limited supplies to give to the duwei as a token of gratitude for the information he provided. "Thank you, Duwei, for your help. Please inform your king that I will visit the palace early tomorrow morning!"

The exquisite silk made the duwei take a while to recover, and he quickly agreed to Li You's request! He also enthusiastically helped to settle Li You and his group.

"General Ziyun, it seems we need to speed up!" After the duwei left, Li You quickly gathered Tang Yifu and Chen Qingzhi to discuss the next plan. "If we wait for the outcome of the battle, it will be too late!"

"Lord, if you want to form an alliance with the Da Yuezhi, the only hope now is that they can defeat the Wusun!" Chen Qingzhi said firmly. "The Da Yuezhi and the Xiongnu have old grievances, and the Wusun are vassals of the Xiongnu. If they win this battle, even if the Da Yuezhi have no intention of revenge, the Xiongnu will not let them go. In that case, they can only form an alliance with the Han to get through this crisis."

"General Chen's words are very reasonable," Tang Yifu said, but he was not optimistic about the Da Yuezhi's chances of winning. "However, the Da Yuezhi are much weaker than the Wusun. This battle will likely end in disaster! I still think we should meet with the Wusun's Great Kunmi, Liejiaomi. This person is not one who would remain under the Xiongnu for long! After this major victory, the Wusun will be much stronger, and forming an alliance with the Wusun would be far better than with the Da Yuezhi!"

The two deputies gave different opinions. At first glance, Tang Yifu's words seemed more reasonable, but Li You, constrained by his mission and considering the historical development, knew that although Liejiaomi later married the Han princess Xijun, he also married the Xiongnu princess Juci (a title for the daughter of the Chanyu, equivalent to a princess, like Wang Zhaojun's daughter, Yimo Juci). He often wavered between the Han and the Xiongnu and was not a reliable ally. Therefore, Li You was more inclined to follow Chen Qingzhi's decision.

"If Liejiaomi is unwilling to remain under the Xiongnu, he will certainly not serve the Han either! This person is cunning and difficult to deal with. We should quickly go to the Da Yuezhi and meet their king before making a decision!"

"Complying with your command, Envoy!" Since the decision was made, Tang Yifu no longer insisted and continued to discuss the travel arrangements to the Da Yuezhi with Li You.

The next morning, with the duwei's introduction, Li You visited the king of Guo Mo. The meeting went well, and the king of Guo Mo tried to retain them, but Li You politely but firmly declined.

Leaving Guo Mo, they turned southwest and followed the western bank of the Pamir Mountains, galloping through countries like Wensu and Shache, finally reaching the border where the Wusun and the Da Yuezhi were in battle.

The closer they got to the battlefield, the more tense the atmosphere became! The Wusun's cavalry was spread throughout the area. These were people who were accustomed to raiding. Seeing the small Han envoy group, they often tried to rob them! Under Chen Qingzhi's command, the Han soldiers repeatedly defeated the Wusun cavalry. Soon, the news of a group of skilled Han soldiers spread to both the Wusun and the Da Yuezhi, which led to the failure of Tang Yifu's plan to contact the Wusun.

At the Da Yuezhi's frontline fortress, tens of thousands of elite Da Yuezhi soldiers were gathered, ready to face the Wusun's army. The repeated defeats had lowered their morale, and they seemed to have already foreseen their difficulty in winning this war. The soldiers guarding the city gates also looked listless.

"Look! Someone is coming!" A lookout soldier suddenly pointed to the dust rising in the east and shouted loudly.

"Are they our people returning or the Wusun army?" The general in charge of the eastern gate shouted.

"Neither!" The soldier stared in confusion at the small group coming from the east. Although the group had only about fifty people, even from a distance, one could feel their fierce and battle-hardened aura. Who could this group be?