My life is like walking on thin ice

Chapter 528 Shan Yu Court

This western expedition has been very fruitful for the Xiongnu Chanyu court.

Starting from Mu Nan, the Xiongnu army marched north and then westward along the desert. Led by the main force of the Chanyu court, the Xiongnu westward expeditionary army advanced triumphantly, winning battle after battle.

In the Western Regions, all tribes and warriors, including the Chanyu court, fought fiercely—or rather, plundered a great deal.

The army arrived near Dayuan, confirming the existence of this weak and powerful nation located west of the vast grasslands.

What Junchen longed for most were undoubtedly those tall and mighty Ferghana horses!

Unfortunately, during this western expedition, the Xiongnu Chanyu court did not have much time to spend outside of the Western Regions.

The Chanyu King coveted the land of Dayuan, a great nation that was rich in gold but also so weak that it could crumble at any moment. However, he had to temporarily suppress his greed.

Of course, before returning, the King of Dayuan was very sensible and presented the Chanyu court with many local specialties.

What? Gold coins with big heads printed on them?
A blonde, blue-eyed beauty!
There were also exquisite craftsmen whose skills seemed to be no less than those of the Han people, leaving the Xiongnu people speechless!
The only thing missing was the Ferghana horse.

The five Ferghana horses that Junchen acquired were presented to him by local merchants under cover of night, which made Junchen aware of the existence of this excellent breed of horse.

As for why the King of Dayuan was so 'dishonest' and why he secretly kept the Dayuan horse, Junchen could easily understand the key reason.

—For Dayuan, the strength of the Xiongnu was beyond doubt.

As a powerful nomadic unified regime, the Xiongnu's military threat to Dayuan was centered on its cavalry.

If the Xiongnu were to possess the Ferghana horses, wouldn't that be like adding wings to a tiger?

Furthermore, although the principle of "a common man is innocent, but possessing a treasure is a crime" did not spread from the Central Plains to Central Asia, the people of Dayuan still understood a similar principle.

The people of Dayuan understood that the wealth of gold coins, beautiful women, and artisans was not only theirs—but also that of the entire nation, and even the small countries of the Western Regions could contribute some of it.

But the Ferghana horse was a treasure that could drive the Xiongnu people crazy, even to the point of madness.

Once the Xiongnu learn of the existence of Ferghana horses, the Ferghana Kingdom will become the Xiongnu's number one enemy and a country they must conquer.

It's a pity that God did not fulfill his wish.

Despite his meticulous planning, the King of Dayuan never anticipated that the greed of the merchants would become the key factor in the failure of his plans and his ultimate defeat.

This time, the Chanyu returned from his western expedition with a full harvest, but he was not in a hurry to conquer Dayuan.

But this prize had already been added to the wish list of the Xiongnu Chanyu's court.

The primary target of the Xiongnu Chanyu's next western expedition will likely be the Dayuan Kingdom and its specialty, the Dayuan Heavenly Horse.

Of course.

All of this was predicated on the presence of the Xiongnu people, the Xiongnu Chanyu court, and the energy of their large army's westward expedition.

Judging from the current situation, in the next few years, the Xiongnu people's attention will mostly be focused on the once impregnable but now vulnerable southern region.

"Is this how the Right Wise King betrayed the trust and expectations of the God of the Plow and the nomadic people of the grasslands?"

South of the Mu River, Dragon City.

Having just returned from his western expedition and set foot in Longcheng, the Xiongnu Chanyu, Luandi Junchen, hadn't even had a sip of water yet, and his face was now extremely grim.

He sat on the tiger-skin throne at the head of the table with a magnanimous air, his gaze fixed on his younger brother, the Right Wise King Yizhixie. His deep and sinister gaze seemed to wish he could tear Yizhixie to pieces!

Inside the royal tent, Yi Zhixie raised her head at the sound.

Then a magnificent, golden figure came into view.

—After this western expedition, Junchen has also upgraded his weapons.

The once dark golden crown has been cleaned by the craftsmen of Dayuan and now shines with a dazzling golden light.

The originally bare crown is now adorned with pearls and gemstones.

Slowly descending from the golden crown—the iron and bronze rings on Junchen's face, ears, and even his nose and mouth were replaced with gleaming gold rings.

There are even exquisitely crafted gold chains connecting the gold rings!

Several necklaces, each as thick as a thumb, made of pearls, jade, and gold, hung heavily on Junchen's short, thick neck.

His Hu-style robe had long been replaced with a luxurious outer robe adorned with gold, stones, and jewels, perhaps even more than cloth.

What is most astonishing is undoubtedly the golden scepter in Junchen's hand, which symbolizes the supreme authority of the grasslands.

—Not only is it a whole size thicker than before, but it also has many more pearl and jade embellishments!

Especially at the top of the golden tent, a fist-sized, bluish-green luminous pearl emitted a cool, eerie green light under the firelight inside the tent.

Judging from the attire of the soldiers, it was clear that the Xiongnu Chanyu's western expedition had been very successful.

But it was precisely this nouveau riche air, which emanated from within and was practically written all over his face, that made Yizhixie feel increasingly ashamed and even more afraid to look directly into Junchen's cannibalistic and ferocious gaze.

The wealth plundered by the main force of the Chanyu court from the Western Regions and Dayuan during this western expedition was enough to make the entire Xiongnu much stronger, and even give them the financial strength to continue to challenge the Han people!
Needless to say, the gold ornaments that Junchen was wearing at this moment were enough to make any Han Chinese merchant sell all the things that the Han Chinese were not allowed to sell outside the Great Wall to the Chanyu court.

Including but not limited to: standard weapons such as crossbows and armor;
Prohibited metals including copper and iron;
Economic and cultural products such as tea seeds and books.

If the Han and Xiongnu remained at peace for the past two years, then after Junchen's return from his western expedition, the balance of power, which had been increasingly tilting towards the Han, would most likely have shifted back to favor the Xiongnu.

But when he thought of all this—when he thought of the past two years, the time when Gunshin was busy with the western expedition, and what happened at the southern headquarters of the Mukō, Ichisai's already deeply bent back felt as if it were about to break completely...

"The great plowman brought back the blessings of the gods from the West."

"But the Right Wise King of the Great Xiongnu has become a man possessed by a demon."

Having said this, Yi Zhixie had no choice but to kneel down, crawl forward, and carefully lick Junchen's exposed toes.

It's like a hound that has made a mistake, trying to gain its master's forgiveness and pardon through this shameless fawning.

But it is clear that the mistake Ichisai made is far from something that can be resolved by simply licking Junshin's toes or shifting the blame to the so-called devil.

Especially now, the situation of the Xiongnu people when facing the Han Dynasty is even worse than before Junchen's westward expedition—much worse!

Before the westward expedition, the Xiongnu people were not very confident when facing the Han people;
Upon their return from the western expedition, everything seemed to have gone smoothly. When the Xiongnu faced the Han people, their backs, which had initially been bent, now appeared to be completely broken.

How could Junchen not be furious?
It's like a game where you steal the dragon by yourself and dominate the team fight.

Looking back, I was shocked to find that the ivory tower was gone...

“The Right Wise King is a sinner of the nomadic people.”

Surprisingly, Junchen did not erupt in a hysterical outburst of curses, nor did he furiously draw his sword to attack. He merely uttered a single, light sentence, and then, as if all his strength had been drained, he slumped limply onto the tiger-skin throne.

For Junshin, the current situation is far beyond what words like 'troublesome' or 'tricky' can describe.

Once upon a time, the Hetao region, Hexi region, Munan region, Mubei region—almost all the grasslands—belonged to nomadic peoples.

At that time, the Han people didn't even have a decent piece of land for raising horses.

While it was said to be about "light taxes" and "giving the people a break," in reality it was about swallowing grievances and developing quietly for many years.

But more than fifty years have passed since Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang;
The Han dynasty went through six emperors: Emperor Gaozu, Emperor Hui, the Former and Later Emperors, Emperor Taizong, and Emperor Jing, until the seventh emperor, Liu Rong, who is currently in power.

The Xiongnu Chanyu court on the grasslands was passed down from the first Modu Chanyu, then to the Laoshangjizhou Chanyu, and finally to the third generation, Junchen.

Over the years, the Han people's so-called "accumulation of strength" has only amounted to the combined strength of the entire nation, barely managing to gather a few cavalry captains.

The Manchu cavalry, numbering only about ten thousand men, would not have made a ripple on the grasslands, let alone attract the attention of the nomadic people.

In particular, these cavalry captains were never organized by the Han people into a cavalry force of tens of thousands of men.

At least half of them were organized into scout cavalry commanders and cavalry garrisons, and were dispersed among the various armies of the Han dynasty.

The only two fully-equipped cavalry captains were extremely precious—not only were they spared from going into battle and fighting against the Xiongnu cavalry, but even their daily training was treated with utmost care and deference.

Junchen even heard that Emperor Xiaojing of the Han Dynasty was so enraged by the fact that a general had caused an elite cavalryman to fall to his death during training that he almost executed the cavalry general!
Similar incidents are commonplace on the grasslands—accidents of warriors falling from their horses and dying happen every day across the grasslands.

Not to mention the Chanyu court, even the tribe to which this warrior belonged would not take such a thing seriously.

Junshin had thought that this situation would last for a very, very long time.

Even after the Xiongnu Chanyu ascended to the throne, and the throne passed down to Junchen's sons, grandsons, and even his descendants hundreds of years later, the Han people still could not muster a decent cavalry force.

Unexpectedly, in the Battle of Hetao-Mayi, the Han people used despicable means to seize the sacred land of Hetao, which was bestowed upon the nomadic people by the god of the plow.

Losing this fertile land was enough to make Junchen a powerless Chanyu, condemned by all the people of the steppe.

However, the situation is not completely out of control.

—The Han people occupied the Hetao region, but did not massacre the Hetao tribes.

Given enough time, Junchen is confident that by working with these tribes from within and without, he can drive the Han people back inside the Great Wall and continue to "rest and recuperate" and "accumulate strength".

However, the loss of Hetao caused Junchen to lose all his prestige. Junchen urgently needed a dazzling victory and tangible benefits to reunite the various tribes of the grasslands and unite them into a cohesive force in order to have a chance to confront the Han people again.

Therefore, Gunchin risked his life to launch a westward expedition. Before leaving, he entrusted all matters of his headquarters in the southern part of the country to his ambitious second crown prince, the Right Wise King Ichisai.

As for the military minister, no matter how ambitious Yizhixie was, he was ultimately bound to the Shanyu court, sharing both its glory and its downfall.

For the sake of the Xiongnu Chanyu's court and to maintain the Luandi clan's control over the grasslands, Yizhixie would inevitably prioritize the overall situation and safeguard his southern base camp.

Once he returns victorious from his westward expedition, the nomadic people of the grasslands, united once again, will surely be able to seize back the Hetao region in one fell swoop!

And now, Junchen has truly returned from his western expedition.

They truly returned in triumph, and with victory after victory and loads of wealth, they truly brought the nomadic people of the grasslands back together.

Upon returning to Munan, they discovered that the Hetao region had long since become a distant paradise that nomadic people could only dream of, but could never easily set foot in again.

Even Gaoque, which separated the Hetao region from the southern part of the Mu region, had been captured by the Han people.

In the future, the Xiongnu Chanyu court will have no interest in the Hetao region.

On the contrary, the southern part of the region, due to the loss of Gaoque, was exposed to the Han army and was in constant danger of being ravaged and swept away by the Han...

"God of the Plow, why don't you favor my Great Xiongnu more..."

Thinking this way, no matter how helpless and powerless Junchen felt, he had no choice but to force himself to cheer up.

From Yizhixie's words, we learned about the entire process of Gaoque's loss, as well as the series of responses Yizhixie made after Gaoque's loss.

Even though he was unwilling to admit it, Junchen had no choice but to nod helplessly.

—Yizhixie has done almost everything he could.

Junchen asked himself honestly, if he or the Chanyu were in Munan, under such treacherous schemes of the Han people, he would most likely not have been able to defend Gaoque.

After losing Gaoque, Junchen's reaction would likely not be much more comprehensive than Yizhixie's.

As for the unsatisfactory final result, Junchen blamed it all on his own legitimacy as the source of his rule: the god of the plow.

However, as a competent ruler—or at least one who had held power for many years—Kunison eventually calmed down.

Given the current situation, discussing who is right and who is wrong, or who should take the blame for the loss of Gaoque, is no longer of much practical significance.

This dire situation meant that Junchen had no energy left to use the matter to damage Izhixie's already dwindling reputation, thus paving the way for his only son, the Left Wise King Yudan.

Yizhixie and the Xiongnu Chanyu were in the same boat.

And what about Junchen?

If the Chanyu court no longer exists, if the Luandi clan's rule over the grasslands no longer exists, then what is the point of the struggle between the Left and Right Wise Kings for the Chanyu's throne...?

"Send an envoy to meet with the Han people."

"Let's see what the Han people really want to do."

"If possible, buy Gaoque back."

Before Yizhixie could even react, Junchen himself deflated upon hearing those words.

After finally regaining his composure, he said again, "With Gaoque lost, Hexi is also beyond saving."

"I fear that the Han people, having gained control of Hexi, will still be unsatisfied and will travel all the way to the Western Regions along the Hexi Corridor..."

...

"Right Wise King, go to the west."

"Become the Rizhu King of my Great Xiongnu."

"Defend the Western Regions, defend the last remaining assets of our Great Xiongnu."

"As long as the Western Regions still exist, even if our Great Xiongnu loses the southern part of the Mu, there is still a possibility of turning the tide..."

(End of this chapter)