xymnovel Chapter 397 Your brain must have been kicked by a donkey.
Chapter 397 Your brain must have been kicked by a donkey.
"He said...that you, Great Chanyu, must be out of your mind to dare ask the Great Qin for things. He told you to wash your neck clean and wait; the Great Qin doesn't need charity, they'll come to the grasslands themselves with iron and blood!"
Touman Chanyu's face turned purplish-red, and the veins on his forehead bulged.
What a shame!
Having roamed the grasslands for many years, even the Donghu and Yuezhi had to avoid his sharp edge; he had never been insulted like this before.
"And then? The Qin people just let you roll back like that?" Touman Chanyu drew his scimitar and smashed the wooden frame beside him.
The envoy prostrated himself on the ground, weeping bitterly: "Great Chanyu... they not only beat their subordinates out of Xianyang with sticks... but the Qin emperor also issued an imperial edict, announcing to the world that they have declared war on us, the Xiongnu!"
"What?" The generals inside the tent exclaimed in surprise, their faces changing drastically.
"Is Qin really going to fight? How many troops have they mobilized? Who is the commander-in-chief?" a general asked.
The envoy replied tremblingly, "When I was driven out of Xianyang, the Qin army had already set out. They mobilized 300,000 troops! Meng Tian was in command, and that fake immortal master Zhang Fan was accompanying him as an advisor!"
"Not only that... on our escape route, I saw the Qin border troops assembling along the Great Wall. Their grain transport wagons don't require many horses and are extremely fast!"
"The Great Chanyu...the Qin army of 300,000 men may already be approaching the northern border, pressing towards our royal court! They claim they will take no prisoners and will trample the grasslands flat!"
The royal tent was deathly silent.
Touman Chanyu stood still, his scimitar falling to the ground.
He originally thought that the Qin state would send grain and ironware to appease the situation.
But he didn't expect that the messenger he sent out to demand supplies would attract the Qin army.
That fake immortal master not only rejected the conditions, but also led an army of 300,000 men, charging into the snow!
That was the Qin army that had just conquered the six kingdoms!
"Great Chanyu... what should we do now?"
An old general broke the silence. "Countless cattle and sheep have frozen to death, and our warriors are starving. Our warhorses are emaciated and unable to charge through the snow!"
"But the Qin army came prepared! The heavy snow blocked the roads, and we had nowhere to retreat."
There is a white disaster inside, and food supplies have run out!
"Xiang Liang! He lied to me! Qin is not afraid of war at all!" Touman Chanyu roared.
He bent down to pick up the scimitar from the ground, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at the heavy snow outside the tent.
"Retreat? Where do we retreat to?! Behind us lies the far north ice plains; retreating means certain death!" Touman Chanyu turned around and beheaded the wailing messenger on the ground with a single stroke, blood splattering onto the carpet.
He stepped over the messenger's corpse, pointed his scimitar at the generals inside the tent, and roared:
"The Qin people want to conquer the grasslands? Dream on!"
"Send the order! Summon all the men from the twelve tribes! From the elderly to the children, all must take up arms and mount their horses!"
"Cook and eat the meat of the frozen beef and mutton! If that's not enough, drink horse blood!"
Touman Chanyu smiled: "Since the Qin people won't give us a way out, then let's fight to the death on the snowy plains! Let the snow bury Qin's 300,000-strong army!"
Just as the Chanyu's voice echoed in the tent, and everyone was immersed in the atmosphere of preparing for a desperate battle, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the tent.
A corner of the heavy felt curtain was lifted, and a messenger stumbled in and knelt on one knee.
"Outside the Great Chanyu's camp, that southerner Xiang Liang requests an audience!"
The messenger's voice trembled, "He's with someone else!"
Upon hearing the name "Xiang Liang," Touman Chanyu's eyes instantly blazed with fury.
He was already frustrated by his pent-up rage, and this southerner who provided false information actually dared to deliver himself to his doorstep.
"Let him in!"
Touman Chanyu gripped his scimitar tightly, drops of blood falling onto the carpet. "I want to know, what exactly is he up to!"
Before long, the curtain was lifted again.
Two figures entered the tent accompanied by the cold wind carrying icy snow.
Walking in front was Xiang Liang, still dressed in neat Central Plains attire, his face calm and his steps steady, as if he was completely unaware of the oppressive atmosphere inside the tent.
Following behind Xiang Liang was a man dressed in a wide black robe.
This person was none other than Ji Dan.
As soon as Xiang Liang stood still, his gaze swept over the decapitated corpse of the envoy on the ground.
A barely perceptible hint of joy flashed in his eyes, and then he raised his hands and calmly bowed.
"Xiang Liang greets the Great Chanyu."
"You still dare to come see me?"
Touman Chanyu ignored his salute, strode forward, grabbed Xiang Liang by the collar, and held the blood-stained scimitar directly to his neck.
"You treacherous southerner! You told me that Qin was in turmoil and its country was weak, so it dared not fight! You said that as long as my army pressed in, the Qin emperor would obediently send over grain and women!"
Touman Chanyu roared, "And now? An army of 300,000 has crossed the Great Wall and is attacking! My envoy had his legs broken and was thrown back like a dog!"
The Chanyu pointed to the heavy snow outside the tent: "The grasslands are suffering from a white disaster, and cattle and sheep are freezing and starving to death! Tell me, what do we have to hold off 300,000 Qin troops?"
Are you deliberately colluding with the Qin people to drive us Xiongnu to our doom?
Faced with the Chanyu's questioning and the curved sword held to his neck, Xiang Liang showed no panic.
He sighed softly, a hint of guilt appearing on his face at the opportune moment.
"Great Chanyu, please calm your anger. This matter... was indeed a miscalculation on my part."
Xiang Liang lowered his posture and slowly said, "I never expected that the tyrant Ying Zheng would be so incompetent. For his own selfish interests and so-called face, he actually disregarded the lives of the people at home and forcibly launched an attack in the dead of winter."
"Miscalculation? A single miscalculation can negate the threat of 300,000 troops?" The Chanyu sneered, his scimitar remaining firmly in his hand.
Xiang Liang was secretly overjoyed.
For him, the current situation is a godsend.
Whether the Qin court agrees to peace talks or decides to go to war, he is guaranteed to win in this game.
If the peace talks succeed, Qin will hand over Mi Yueyao, eliminate the traitors, and befriend the Xiongnu.
Now that the Qin Dynasty has chosen to start a war, it is exactly what he wanted.
With 300,000 troops trapped deep in the northern snowfields, the amount of food and fodder consumed by the men and horses every day was astronomical.
If the Qin army were to wage war, it would inevitably cripple the nation's strength.
With the army marching north, the south will inevitably be left vulnerable, taxes will increase, corvée labor will be more frequent, and public resentment will surely boil over.
Once the Qin army and the Xiongnu have fought to the death in this icy and snowy land, that will be the best time for the Xiang family to raise an army in Jiangdong and restore the Great Chu!
Despite his inner elation, Xiang Liang outwardly appeared worried.
"Great Chanyu, although the Qin army has 300,000 men, you must not lose your composure."
Xiang Liang extended two fingers, pinched the back of the knife against his neck, and slowly pushed it away. "Think about it," he said, "this heavy snow not only froze the cattle and sheep on the grasslands, but also blocked the Qin army's grain transport routes."