Chapter 83 of 100
Chapter 83
17 min read4,211 words
He will definitely show up! Although Li You didn't know whether Zhong Xing would wait there, continue to join forces with King Kunye's army for a large-scale search, or wait at a strategic point on the Hexi Corridor, he had a premonition that on the way back to Chang'an, Zhong Xing would definitely appear before them! This might be their final test before returning to Chang'an!
If you still don't give up, then come! Li You looked back at the people accompanying him. A fierce battle was about to come, and he didn't know how many of these two hundred people would return to Chang'an safely.
"Xu Yannian, ride the Heavenly Horse and take a few people to scout ahead. Once you discover the Xiongnu, don't engage them; return immediately with a report!" Li You instructed. After entering the Xiongnu territory, they must be even more vigilant!
"Yes, sir! I'll go right away!" Xu Yannian replied excitedly. These Heavenly Horses were obtained by Li You through the King of Da Yuezhi from the Kingdom of Da宛 (Da Yuan). They were usually treated as treasures, not allowed to carry loads or riders, and only occasionally ridden by grooms for a few laps. Everyone envied their lightning speed, and Xu Yannian had been eyeing them for a long time! He never thought he would have the chance to ride one now. He quickly dismounted and ran to the Da Yuan groom, taking the reins of the Heavenly Horse from him.
The other three soldiers followed closely behind. The four skilled riders on Heavenly Horses soon disappeared from sight, and the others looked at them with envy.
"Lord! Next time, let me go! I'll bring back a few live captives for you to interrogate!" Pan Feng was almost drooling. For a warrior, a mount like the Heavenly Horse was incredibly tempting!
"General Pan, the Heavenly Horse isn't good at carrying heavy loads!" Li You glanced at Pan Feng. With your large build and heavy axe, you probably won't get far on it!
Heh! Pan Feng looked at his huge axe in frustration and said nothing. On the other side, Hu Weishika also sighed, "If it weren't for General Chen's disapproval, I would also want to scout!"
"General Hu Weishika, your status is too high to take such risks!" Li You understood. Who doesn't like a good ride? He had also been eyeing these Heavenly Horses for a long time! He even tried to put the Heavenly Horse into the Tiger Talisman, but it had no effect, so he had to give up.
With the swift Heavenly Horses scouting ahead, they would report back immediately if they found any Xiongnu. Li You and Chen Qingzhi would then decide whether to charge straight through or take a detour based on the situation.
After a few days, Li You noticed something was off. From the encounters over the past few days, the obstacles he faced were much weaker than when they crossed King Kunye's territory last year! After interrogating a captive, he learned there were two reasons. First, last year, they had burned the winter hay of multiple tribes, forcing the tribes under King Kunye to fight for survival, resulting in the deaths of many young men.
This year, news from the Western Regions reported that the Han and Da Yuezhi had formed an alliance and defeated the Xiongnu vassal state of Wusun. The Wusun Great Kunmi, Liejiaomu, fled to the Xiongnu court to seek help from Chanyu Junchen. Chanyu Junchen ordered King Kunye and King Xiutu to send troops to assist. These two commanders had to follow the Chanyu's orders and lead their young men to the Western Regions. As a result, the number of young men remaining in their territories had greatly decreased, leading to the current situation.
Ha, this is really good news! Li You and his companions were delighted. This would make their journey back to Chang'an much easier.
However, before he could be happy for long, a new problem arose! Although the number of Xiongnu young men had decreased, their pursuit and interception became more organized. Each time they broke through a line of defense, new defenses were immediately set up on their path. The Xiongnu cavalry fought fiercely, as if they had a deep-seated hatred. This left Li You and his companions exhausted. If it weren't for the advance scouting by the Heavenly Horses, the guidance of Tang Yifu, who knew the terrain, and the leadership of the excellent general Chen Qingzhi and his brave soldiers, they would have been captured by the Xiongnu long ago!
"This isn't something a single tribe can do! There must be someone behind the scenes directing and commanding them!" After a small but intense battle, they found a relatively safe place to rest under Tang Yifu's guidance. After eating, Chen Qingzhi said to Li You.
"King Kunye and King Xiutu have both led their troops to the Western Regions! The one directing them now is probably Zhong Xing!" Li You speculated, "He must be using the Chanyu's orders to command these troops! In the Xiongnu, only he values us so much!"
"The previous miscellaneous troops weren't much of a threat, but they have cost us quite a few men!" After several days of fighting, the number of people in the mission had decreased again. Chen Qingzhi said with some concern, "Zhong Xing must be planning to use these miscellaneous troops to wear us down. When we are exhausted and our strength is depleted, he will use his elite troops from the Chanyu's court to intercept us and deliver a fatal blow, leaving us on the grasslands!"
"Although we have killed hundreds of Xiongnu cavalry, we have also lost dozens of soldiers!" The fighting strength of the Da Yuezhi soldiers was somewhat lacking. "We have only covered about 20% of the journey in Xiongnu territory. If this continues, it will be very disadvantageous for us!"
"From now on, we will not engage the enemy! We will abandon all unnecessary supplies and travel light! We must escape before they can react!" Chen Qingzhi suggested, "Now, each of us has at least three horses. If we just want to escape, the tribal miscellaneous troops can't stop us! At that time, Zhong Xing will have to come out from behind the scenes! As long as we defeat them, the rest of the journey will be much easier!"
"Agreed, except for horses, seeds, and weapons, everything else should be discarded!" Li You didn't care about the gold, silver, and jewels given by the Western Regions. The Han Empire didn't lack these things. "If we just want to escape, the grasslands are vast, and they can't stop us!"
"Yes, but the closer we get to the Han Empire, the fewer the roads become! I think if Zhong Xing loses our trail, he will definitely intercept us somewhere!" Chen Qingzhi asked, "Should we not bring any provisions?"
"No need, I'll take care of it!" The Tiger Talisman still had ten thousand stones of grain, which was more than enough!
The next day, the entire mission discarded everything they could. They managed to shake off several pursuing troops and, after several days of frantic riding, finally reached the banks of the Yellow River again.
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