Chapter 451: Black Steel Torrent
August twenty-fourth.
The Lu caravan returned from the depths of the desert, bringing news that the Xiongnu had brazenly attacked the Yuezhi Kingdom and unilaterally tore up the armistice agreement.
Upon hearing the news, Dun Ruo waved his arms vigorously with a look of excitement on his face.
Great things can be accomplished!
Before this, he had always doubted whether Touman would attack the Yuezhi.
Even a tiger won't eat its own cubs, let alone the fact that Prince Maodun was the successor that Touman had spent so much effort to train.
Would Touman, a heroic leader who unified the Xiongnu, murder his own son Maodun for a woman?
Now that the news had come back, he felt relieved and no longer had any doubts about Ying Chengjiao's judgment.
He was so excited that he hurried to find Ying Chengjiao.
He didn't know what he was going to do, he was just so excited that he had no place to vent.
Only Touman and Ying Chengjiao knew that Touman was planning to murder Maodun.
Dun Ruo walked past the caravan carriage with a flag bearing the character "Lu". When he opened the curtain, he saw Ying Chengjiao talking with the leader of the caravan.
Ying Chengjiao stood with his hands behind his back, looking casual yet dignified.
The leader of the caravan stood in front of Ying Chengjiao with his head slightly lowered, looking very respectful.
Dun Ruo took a quick glance and his original guess came true - the Lu's Chamber of Commerce that had unimpeded access in the desert belonged to Chang'an Jun.
Ying Chengjiao glanced at Dun Ruo and nodded slightly as a greeting, then continued to chat with the leader of the caravan about unfinished matters.
"What do the Xiongnu think of Gaoque City now?"
“Most people are half-believing and half-doubting, and are taking a wait-and-see attitude.”
"That's good. I'm satisfied that they are not hostile to Gaoque City. Thank you for your hard work on this trip. You will be remembered for your contribution in the war to unify the desert."
The leader of the caravan was overjoyed at first, but soon said modestly:
"It was all your advice, my Lord. I was just following the instructions and doing some hard labor."
Since Ying Chengjiao led the Taotie army into the desert, Gaoque City had not yet been built . The Lü family caravan, whose business was spread across many Hu people, mainly promoted the reconstruction of Gaoque City and the benefits of Gaoque City in the Xiongnu territory.
As the old saying goes, good wine needs no bush, but wouldn’t it be better to take the wine outside the alley to show it off?
Ying Chengjiao smiled and encouraged the leader of the caravan, and asked about the tribal distribution in the Xiongnu territory and the relationship between the various tribes.
For example, which two tribes often have marriages and which two tribes have feuds? This took another half an hour.
The caravan leader gave detailed answers for those who knew how to answer, and listed his guesses about the merger and separation, as well as the clues he had found, for those who didn't.
After he finished speaking, he bowed slightly to show his respect, and when he left Dun Ruo, he nodded slightly to Dun Ruo.
Ying Chengjiao was so thirsty from talking that he picked up the teacup and took a sip of water.
Dun Ruo suddenly asked:
"What is your relationship with the Lu family caravan?"
Ying Chengjiao replied without hesitation:
"The Lu's Chamber of Commerce is mine."
"It is true."
Dun Ruo had thought of this a long time ago and believed that it was very likely to be true.
He thought he was fully prepared for this, but after really hearing it, he still felt a little complicated and glanced at Ying Chengjiao deeply.
Every time he thought he had seen through Ying Chengjiao, Ying Chengjiao would always give him some new surprises.
After chatting for a while, the two of them got into the mood and discussed again the issue of intervening in the internal affairs of the Xiongnu under the name of Maodun.
Finally, Ying Chengjiao said with some worry:
"Based on your understanding of Maodun, will he come to you for help?"
Dun Ruo said with some surprise:
“I thought Chang’an Jun had everything under control.
"If it weren't for the Purple Mountain Grassland incident, I wouldn't be so sure.
"But now, he will definitely do it. Having been stabbed by his biological father, he is like a frightened bird. He must seek external protection before he dares to return."
Marquis Zongheng was very confident in his ability to understand people's hearts. For a disciple of the Zongheng school, this was a basic skill.
Ying Chengjiao thought for a moment, looked at the Yuezhi Kingdom on the map, and punched it lightly.
"Let's go pick up this Prince Maodun!"
…
Behind him, there were shouts of killing, the sounds of arrows flying through the air, and the sounds of bows being drawn.
Maodun's body was covered in blood, and the whip left an afterimage.
He didn't dare to look back, he just ran faster! Faster! Faster!
The same was true for his personal guards and princes from various tribes, who died in the panic just like him.
The withered yellow grass was dyed blood red.
The yellowish sand and stones were dyed blood red.
The emerald green river was dyed blood red.
The road they took as they escaped was dyed red with blood!
The disaster that happened to them was an unexpected one, so unexpected that even after escaping for two days and two nights, they still felt it was unreal.
Why would their Chanyu attack the Yuezhi Kingdom at this time? Does he want them dead?
Three days ago, the Yuezhi Kingdom suddenly arrested them. Those who were arrested were sentenced to death on the spot and dragged to the execution ground to be beheaded in public.
They certainly won't just sit there and wait to die.
Having experienced a real life-and-death situation, they performed much better in the second life-and-death situation than the first time. They robbed horses, hacked people, and escaped, all in one go.
Under the leadership of their prince Maodun, they fought their way out of the Yuezhi Kingdom and escaped to the desert.
When the Yuezhi Kingdom was intentionally killing people, it was already a miracle that more than a thousand of the three thousand people were able to escape. They admired Prince Maodun even more.
There was no Prince Maodun kidnapping the daughter of the Yuezhi king, no Prince Maodun leading the way, and no Prince Maodun asking them to ride a horse and bring another horse to ensure that each person had two horses.
They had all been caught up and shot, dying on the way, just like their comrades who fell off their horses.
It was as if Prince Maodun had known that the Chanyu was going to attack the Yuezhi Kingdom and had been preparing to escape.
But how is this possible? If Prince Maodun knew in advance that the Chanyu was using him as bait, why would he agree to come to the Yuezhi Kingdom and be the fish on the chopping block?
In fact, Maodun did know and had made preparations in advance.
With the mentality of believing it is better to believe it than not, Maodun had been planning how to escape since he arrived in the Yuezhi Kingdom.
Although he didn't agree with this deep down in his heart, but what if?
People in the Central Plains say that if you plan ahead, you will succeed; if you don't, you will fail. Maodun thinks this is very true. It will never go wrong to be more careful.
These preparations allowed Maodun to escape with more than 200 people and 500 horses.
The enraged Yuezhi State dispatched five thousand elite cavalrymen to hunt down the dishonest Touman's son Maodun and the lives of the princes from various Xiongnu tribes!
As time went on, the number of people around Maodun became fewer and fewer.
Although they often changed horses while escaping, when the warhorse under them was galloping, they stood up and jumped onto the back of the accompanying warhorse, so as to prolong the escape time and prevent the warhorse's escape speed from decreasing too quickly.
This method is indeed very effective.
However, the elite cavalrymen from the Yuezhi State who were chasing them also rode two horses each.
This means that unless some external incident occurs, they will not be able to shake off the Yuezhi cavalry behind them even if they run a thousand miles.
Maodun's hands were already bruised, and his butt was sore from sitting on the horse. Just when he was desperate and felt that running was pointless, he wanted to turn around and fight these Yuezhi people.
In his sight, a black steel torrent appeared...
