Chapter 149
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The Xiongnu is divided into three main parts, with the Chanyu at the center. The Zuoxian Wang governs the eastern region of the Xiongnu, while the Youxian Wang governs the western region. Among them, the Zuoxian Wang is also the next successor to the Chanyu, holding a position similar to that of a crown prince.
Generally, the Zuo, Youxian Wangs are appointed from among the Chanyu’s sons. The current Zuo and Youxian Wangs are the two sons of Huyan Huntu.
Chu Hechao had once told Yuan Li about the relationships among the royal nobles in the Xiongnu court, and Yuan Li remembered it very clearly.
Zuoxian Wang is the second son of Huyan Huntu, born to Huyan Huntu and the daughter of the Right General. He comes from a high-ranking lineage. On the other hand, Youxian Wang is the eldest son of Huyan Huntu, but due to his inferior birth status compared to his younger brother, he was relegated to a position below Zuoxian Wang.
However, Youxian Wang doesn’t resent his younger brother; he also fears Huyan Huntu. Because his father was too busy, he wasn’t disciplined from a young age, which resulted in his weak character.
After being appointed as Youxian Wang, he happily led his men to the western region.
Huyan Huntu remembered the shortcomings of favoring his sons, so he never showed any bias toward any of his children. Especially after his eldest and second sons became the Zuo and Youxian Wangs respectively, he became even more severe and vigilant towards them. Huyan Huntu even ordered that the Zuo and Youxian Wangs were not allowed to approach the court without a reason, to prevent them from colluding with various forces within the court and coveting the position of the Chanyu.
As their father issued this order, the Zuo and Youxian Wangs naturally obeyed. Zuoxian Wang might harbor some dissatisfaction, but Youxian Wang was quite content to stay away from the court. He remained in the western region and only returned to the court when ordered by Huyan Huntu.
Amidst the crisis, not knowing who the Xiongnu cavalry on the other side was, mentioning the name of the Youxian Wang was the safest option because they had a high probability of not encountering people loyal to Youxian Wang, and the Xiongnu on the other side probably hadn’t seen Youxian Wang’s people.
The pouring rain covered many sounds and also concealed the figures of Yuan Li and his men.
Inspired by Yuan Li’s composure, the guide summoned up the courage to shout out the reason.
The Xiongnu cavalry stopped their advance and asked another question.
The guide quickly replied, “They are asking why Youxian Wang sent us here.”
Yuan Li had already prepared a reason, “Tell them that Youxian Wang heard about the recent conflicts on the grassland, so he sent us to the court to inquire.”
The guide conveyed the message. The leader of the Xiongnu cavalry turned and exchanged a few words with his subordinates, seemingly contemplating whether what they said was true.
Jiang Chai’s heart was pounding, and he couldn’t tell if it was due to rain or sweat.
After a while, the leader of the Xiongnu cavalry shouted something and then resumed their patrol.
The guide felt weak all over and slumped on his horse, “He said we should not linger here.”
Yuan Li exhaled a breath of hot air, “Let’s go.”
From then on, they proceeded more cautiously. The heavy rain made it difficult to draw a detailed terrain map, so they spent more time trying to discern the landscape.
With no sun to indicate the time, they couldn’t tell how long they had been traveling. However, Yuan Li knew from the system’s provided time that they had been running for three hours.
During this time, they also lost their way a few times due to the rain and spent prolonged periods under the downpour. Yuan Li felt his body getting colder and realized that they couldn’t endure it much longer; their bodies and the horses couldn’t take it anymore.
When they returned, it was likely that they would suffer from high fever.
He sighed inwardly, feeling that he had been too hasty. As their spirits hit rock bottom, the guide suddenly exclaimed with delight, “That’s it, that’s the Chanyu court!”
Everyone’s spirits were lifted, and they looked forward, trying to see through the pouring rain.
The surroundings were shrouded in darkness, and the rain made it hard to lift their eyes, obscuring their vision. Yuan Li placed his hand over his eyes to shield them from the rain and looked forward for quite a while before he could identify a tall watchtower, which indicated the location of the Xiongnu royal court.
The distance to the Xiongnu court was still quite far, and they could only see a large dark mass. Jiang Chai asked anxiously, “Does the General want to continue forward?”
He didn’t agree with advancing any further. It was too dangerous, and catching a glimpse under the heavy rain was already the limit.
“No,” Yuan Li decisively turned around and asked the guide from the Liangliao Institution, “Do you remember the location of the Xiongnu royal court?”
The person from the Liangliao Institution nodded hurriedly, “I have it remembered.”
“Then let’s go,” Yuan Li immediately turned his horse around, “First, leave the Xiongnu court, then find a secluded place to rest and replenish our strength for two quarters of an hour, both for the horses and ourselves.”
Both the left and right sides complied and quickly left the area.
When they had come, they had to take their time to recognize the route, but now they didn’t need to worry about that. They ran at the fastest speed they could under the heavy rain. During this time, they encountered two groups of Xiongnu cavalry patrolling in the rain, but Yuan Li used AR effects for five seconds each time to draw them away.
If it wasn’t necessary, Yuan Li wouldn’t want to use the rewards provided by the system. The origins of the system were unknown, and it could disappear at any time. If Yuan Li became overly reliant on the system, it would eventually harm both him and others. He had been wary of the power of the system all along but at the moment, it wasn’t the right time to worry about this.
After running for two more hours, they finally left the most heavily guarded area. The soldiers and horses were exhausted, but they forced themselves to find a dense forest to rest.
The dense forest provided some shelter from the heavy rain, and luckily, it wasn’t a thunderstorm. Otherwise, Yuan Li wouldn’t have dared to let them rest there.
When they dismounted, they were completely drained of energy, and the same went for their horses. Some of the horses even collapsed on the ground, tilting their heads to eat the grass with urgency.
Yuan Li could tell that two quarters of an hour wouldn’t be enough for them to recover fully. He made a decision to rest there until late at night.
In the night, the heavy rain had turned into a light drizzle, and the temperature dropped accordingly. To avoid falling ill, they had to keep moving to keep warm.
The horses had already regained some strength, and the men set out again to return through the night.
Night travel was dangerous, especially on a rainy night when they couldn’t light torches. Luckily, the number of enemies and man-eating beasts had decreased significantly, and they managed to pass the night without any serious incidents.
The next day at noon, the heavy rain resumed. However, after the rain, the scorching sun finally pierced through the dark clouds and shone upon the grassland.
Yuan Li arrived at the guide’s tribe.
He wasn’t worried about Jia Qing because after Jia Qing had attracted the Xiongnu cavalry’s attention away, Yuan Li used some tricks from behind as well. He created an AR effect to make it seem like Jia Qing’s group was fleeing in another direction, confusing the Xiongnu cavalry’s sight.
Although the AR effect only lasted 20 seconds, Yuan Li considered it worthwhile.
However, what Yuan Li didn’t expect was that besides Jia Qing’s group, Yang Zhongfa’s group was also waiting in the tribe.
When they saw him return safely, both parties let out a sigh of relief. But Yang Zhongfa couldn’t help but scold Yuan Li with a dark face, “Lord Yuan, you were too reckless this time!”
Yang Zhongfa was terrified when he realized what Yuan Li had done. Even if he was getting scolded, he accepted it. With a stern voice, he said, “Your safety is much more important than the location of the Xiongnu court! You are indispensable to You and Bingzhou, your relatives, subordinates, and the Grand General all rely on you! If something happened to you, no one would be able to bear the consequences!”
Yuan Li wasn’t angry. He felt somewhat guilty, “I understand.”
This place was not suitable for a long stay, and Yang Zhongfa still wanted to say something, but in the end, he sighed heavily and insisted, “General sent me here to protect your safety, and I haven’t done what I should. I should be punished. After returning, I will report everything to the General. Please don’t blame me, Lord Yuan.”
Yuan Li touched his nose, already imagining how Chu Hechao would react when he found out what he had done. He sighed in worry and nodded his head, knowing that he couldn’t hide this from Chu Hechao.
The others didn’t say much and mounted their horses again.
On the way, Yuan Li learned why Yang Zhongfa had joined Jia Qing. It turned out that the soldier sent by Yang Zhongfa to deliver messages hadn’t received any communication from Yuan Li’s side for several days. Worried that something might have happened to Yuan Li, Yang Zhongfa rushed over directly.
Ten days later, they finally left the grassland.
After this round trip, a month had passed.
Seeing the tall and continuous city walls and the people welcoming them, including He Lang, Yuan Li felt relieved.
The relief was like the final gasp that forcefully suppressed the discomfort. As soon as he entered the camp, Yuan Li felt the exhaustion and injuries in his body release all at once. With each step, his feet felt heavier, his head began to spin, and he felt increasingly cold.
“Lord Yuan, old Yang, your whereabouts were unknown after you entered deep into the grassland, and the cavalry couldn’t find your trace, nor could any messages get through,” He Lang sighed, “Lord Yuan, your people have sent a message; it seems that the Wuwan people are about to make a move.”
Yuan Li’s hazy mind suddenly cleared, and he stared at He Lang, “What did you say?”
“The Xiongnu people seem to have formed an alliance with the Wuwan people,” He Lang also frowned, “The Xiongnu people repeatedly invaded the border to divert our attention. At the same time, the Wuwan people in Youzhou are starting to act restlessly. They have colluded in secret, planning this for a long time.”
Yuan Li massaged his temples and mumbled, “I see.”
The Wuwan people lived within Youzhou and were concentrated in five counties: Shanggu, Yuyang, You Beiping, Liaoxi, and Liaodong. Whenever they made a move in Youzhou, it was difficult to guard against.
Therefore, Yuan Li had been vigilant against the Wuwan people. In recent years, the people from the Liangliao Institution had infiltrated these five counties and could promptly pass on any information about the Wuwan people.
This information should have also come from the Liangliao Institution, as their information was often much earlier than other sources. The Wuwan people were probably still in the stage of planning and hadn’t taken any real action yet.
It was both the Xiongnu and the Wuwan now, one trouble after another. Yuan Li forced himself to think about how to handle this matter, but his brain began to ache even more.
He couldn’t help but cough a few times, and when he spoke, his voice sounded hoarse, “When was this message sent?”
“Five days ago,” He Lang looked at him anxiously, “Lord Yuan, what’s wrong with you? I’ll go and call the medical officer!”
Yuan Li took a few breaths and said, “Tell the medical officer to come to my room quietly, don’t make a fuss. Also, have the person who brought the message come to see me; he should still be in the northern region.”
He Lang supported him, “Don’t talk about these things right now, Lord Yuan. Please go back and rest quickly!”
How could he not talk about these things?
Yuan Li forced a bitter smile, “I left Jixian, fortunately Yuan Congyun and my staff are there, and the rear should be fine for now. But at this time, there’s no time for me to rest. Lord He, you’ve worked hard; go quickly. We need to find a way to stop the Wuwan people before they make a significant move.”
Yuan Li had already begun to think about what to do.
There was already turmoil on the grassland, and Huyan Huntu should have no time to disturb the northern frontier. The Wuwan people had a force of 200,000, and they were not to be trifled with at present.
Fortunately, not all of the Wuwan chieftains were wholeheartedly loyal to Gulichi. If they could find a way to sow discord among them and prevent them from forming a united front, there might be a chance to break the deadlock.
If the Wuwan people knew that their ally, the Xiongnu, was no longer capable of diverting the military forces from the northern frontier, it might make them hesitate…
Yuan Li’s mind was getting duller, and most of his body weight was leaning on He Lang.
He Lang was extremely alarmed and said anxiously, “Lord, please don’t worry about anything else right now. Your health is the most important! The General is holding everything together, and the General has already returned!”
Yuan Li’s mind went blank, not fully comprehending the situation. He instinctively asked, “Who?”
“General, General has returned with his troops!” He Lang said, “He has come back from Jizhou and is almost at Jixian!”
Chu Hechao has returned?
Yuan Li suddenly let out a sigh of relief, and then everything went dark as he lost consciousness completely.
Chu Hechao has come back?
Yuan Li suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, but then his vision darkened, and he completely lost consciousness.
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