A thousand-year-old family begins with one fighting against ten thousand.

"Chanyu, order the army to proceed first."

Lou Jing estimated that there might be some ambushes here, but it wouldn't be a big problem. He told the soldiers to go first, while he and the Chanyu would follow behind.

Lao Shang Chanyu understood Lou Jing's meaning and waved for the army to advance.

Once the army reached the ambush site, several rockets were suddenly fired, igniting a raging inferno in the valley, the flames burning everything in their path.

Lao Shang Chanyu quickly retreated, but fortunately they were at the very back and managed to escape the ring of fire.

But many more soldiers were not so lucky; they were burned alive in the ambush.

Lou Jing watched this scene, his face turning ashen, his hatred for Wei Ping growing even stronger.

You have tung oil, so why don't you use it on the people in front of you? Why do you have to go against me?

He deserves to die! He's guilty of a heinous crime!

The Xiongnu Chanyu walked over, his face covered in soot. Lou Jing quickly stepped forward and asked, "Chanyu, what are the losses?"

"Of my 10 troops, only 5 will survive."

One fire, and 5 soldiers were wiped out.

"Is the Han army truly invincible?"

The old Chanyu was somewhat fearful. Several years ago, his Xiongnu had 40 archers, and under his command, all the surrounding countries surrendered.

Even the emperor of the Southern Han Dynasty was once surrounded by them.

A few months ago, the Xiongnu had more than 30 archers. They could easily raise an army of 30 servants. How magnificent and awe-inspiring that was!

But now, almost all of my soldiers have died outside Yanmen Pass.

Of the 30 archers of the Xiongnu Empire, 11 have already perished here.

We've only gone halfway through the Daqingshan trail. Will there be any more ambushes ahead?

Unaware of this, he turned his attention to the wise man in his heart: the Imperial Advisor Lou Jing.

A thought flashed through Lou Jing's mind; he felt he had grasped Wei Ping's intentions.

He neither wanted the Left and Right Wise Kings to be completely slaughtered, nor did he want the Old Chanyu to suffer no losses.

He hopes that the two sides are evenly matched and can fight like dogs.

Therefore, when dealing with the Left and Right Wise Kings, they did not use their full strength, leaving them with a sliver of hope.

Lou Jing told Laoshang Chanyu his guess, and Laoshang Chanyu sighed again, "The Han army is really too cunning."

Could the Xiongnu really defeat the Han Dynasty?

Lou Jing saw the confusion in Lao Shang Chanyu's eyes and became anxious. Without the support of the Xiongnu, how could he make the Han Dynasty regret its actions?

"Rest assured, Chanyu, at least we can be sure that Wei Ping doesn't want us to die here."

"Moreover, Wei Ping is unaware of my existence."

"With my help, the Xiongnu will not be in a state of constant chaos. You, Chanyu, will be able to unify the grasslands as quickly as possible. After a few years of recuperation, you will be able to rebuild an army of hundreds of thousands that will be completely under your command."

Lou Jing kept giving Lao Shang Chanyu pep talks, which finally got Lao Shang Chanyu all fired up again and full of energy.

What he didn't know was that what excited the old Chanyu the most about his words wasn't the prospect of the future, but the statement that Wei Ping wouldn't want them to die here.

Thinking of this, the old Chanyu couldn't wait to mount his horse, eager to leave this place that caused him so much sorrow and return to his own vast grasslands.

"Ugh."

As they exited Daqingshan, Lou Jing couldn't help but sigh again.

This was the first time the old Chanyu had shown dissatisfaction since he appointed Lou Jing as his national advisor.

We're about to escape, why are you sighing again?

"I am sighing for the Han Dynasty. Soon, I will help the Chanyu lead hundreds of thousands of troops through this place again."

"At that time, the unified Xiongnu army will no longer be blocked by Yanmen Pass."

"Letting us leave was the second biggest mistake Wei Ping ever made in his life."

"What is the largest?"

The old Chanyu asked curiously.

"The biggest problem is that they drove me out of the Han Dynasty."

Lou Jing, with his nose in the air, didn't see the road for a moment, and his horse tripped over a corpse, falling face-first into the mud.

"kill!"

Before Lou Jing could mount his horse again, Wei Ping led the Han army and attacked from behind.

In a panic, the old Chanyu pulled Lou Jing onto his horse and galloped towards the exit.

This time, the Han army did not give up, but continued to pursue the Xiongnu army northward.

Before the Xiongnu could even rest for a moment, the Han army pressed on relentlessly.

You run, I chase, you have nowhere to escape.

Among them, the servants Wei Ping recruited from the Xiongnu performed particularly well in the military.

They acted more fiercely than the Han army, as if they were facing not their own people, but their father's killers.

When the final tally was taken, the 5000 servants who joined the army killed more Xiongnu people than Wei Ping killed tens of thousands of people.

Almost every servant who joined the army killed at least one of his own kind, and some killed as many as five or six.

The morale of the Xiongnu continued to decline. In the end, even when the Han army had stopped pursuing, they would see the wind blowing through the grass and assume that the Han army was behind them, so they continued to gallop wildly.

......

The pursuit requires a rapid march, while the return journey will be easier.

Wei Ping leisurely returned to Yanmen Pass, where his troops had already joined up with those guarding the spoils of war.

With his conquest of the grasslands and the military supplies brought by the Xiongnu, Wei Ping acquired millions of cattle and sheep.

The area outside Yanmen Pass was transformed into a sea of ​​cattle and sheep.

Looking at so many cattle and sheep, Wei Ping also had a bit of a headache.

That's a bit too much.

Fortunately, he didn't have to worry about these things. With Zhang Liang, one of the three heroes of the early Han Dynasty, around, Wei Ping shamelessly shifted the blame directly.

Chang'an City.

The urgent message, delivered over 800 li, had already reached Liu Bang.

They swept through the Xiongnu, breached the royal court, and erected a stone tablet on Mount Langjuxu. With only a few hundred casualties, they almost completely annihilated the Xiongnu's 30-strong army.

This is a huge achievement.

Not rewarding those who have rendered meritorious service was not in Liu Bang's character, and it would have had extremely negative consequences.

However, the only option for rewarding someone is to confer the title of king.

This was Liu Bang's biggest headache; he didn't want to be made a king.

He even wanted to abolish all the kings who were not of the Liu clan.

But not sealing it off is not an option.

At this time, Liu Ruyi still came to cause trouble. Everyone knew what Liu Bang was thinking. He deliberately sent a minister to submit a letter to Wei Ping to be granted the title of king.

Once Wei Ping is made a king, his death will not be far off.

It would be strange if Liu Bang could feel at ease with a non-royal king who had achieved outstanding military exploits and was invincible.

The only option left for Wei Ping was to die.

Empress Lü was also in a dilemma. She knew that Liu Bang's health was deteriorating day by day. Although his son's position was secure, he still needed Wei Ping's support to ensure a smooth succession.

But Wei Ping is too strong, and she feels a lot of pressure.

She's worried that her son will be uncontrollable in the future, a prince from another family who's invincible and unbeatable.

Unless Wei Ping refuses to be made a king.

Empress Lü recalled her several meetings with Wei Ping and finally became convinced that he was a clever man.

So, while Liu Bang was resting, she gave him a suggestion.

"In that case, why don't you ask the Marquis of Pingcheng for his opinion?"

"You know the character of the Marquis of Pingcheng; he is a man who knows what is important and what is not."

"Well, that's just how it is."

But that's a title of kingship; can anyone really resist such a temptation?

Liu Bang believed he couldn't do it.

Moreover, if someone can refuse even the title of king, how ruthless must that person be? And what great ambitions could such a person possibly have?!

Is being granted the title of king no longer enough for him?!

Zi'an, what choice will you make?