All the heavens begin with the love in the courtyard.

This also crushed the pride of the Xiongnu people, who clenched their fists, tears welling in their eyes, as they watched their national treasure, the magnificent horse, being ridden away by the Donghu people.

After the Donghu delegation left, Maodun's face was ashen, his expression dark, as if he were on the verge of exploding. He sat alone in his tent all night.

After one night, Modu Chanyu was in a completely new mood. He immediately went to the military camp and began to personally lead the soldiers in drills. At the same time, he summoned the major Xiongnu tribes and announced various policies.

Most of these policies were good news. Modu was willing to give up most of the interests of the Xiongnu royal family, such as taxes and the money that the tribes usually paid as tribute. Modu chose to reduce them significantly.

However, his requirements were also very simple: he wanted each tribe to provide him with horses and cavalry, according to the size of the tribe, so that he could reorganize the army and build his own.

The Xiongnu adopted a feudal system, which divided the country's territory into smaller parts. The Xiongnu king, Chanyu, occupied the largest territory, while his brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, and other relatives each had their own territories.

Every year, they had to offer cattle and sheep to the Xiongnu chieftain, and they also had to pay a portion of the commercial taxes from various regions. Although it wasn't much, they still had to give a token amount every year.

Now that Maodun is willing to significantly reduce his forces, it is a great thing for all the tribes.

In the past, if the Xiongnu wanted to conquer other countries, they had to issue orders to the major tribes in advance. Only after the major tribes had gathered their troops could they begin the attack. Often, it would take several months to prepare for a single battle.

Moreover, after the war, rewards had to be distributed based on merit. Often, most of the spoils from a single campaign were divided among the various tribes, and they had no choice but to share them.

Because of the Xiongnu people's custom, whoever conquered the territory owned the spoils of victory, and most of the wealth there was divided up among the various tribes.

It was precisely because they could plunder wealth that those tribes obeyed the rules of the Xiongnu. Once the Xiongnu Chanyu issued a summons, all the tribes had to comply.

People will only send troops to fight for you if there are benefits to be gained; otherwise, who will risk their lives for you?

After the war, the armies of the various tribes would return to their respective tribes and would no longer directly obey the Chanyu.

The Xiongnu were less a nation and more a tribal alliance of tribes, with the Xiongnu Chanyu's tribe being the largest.

Maodun's tribe now has a population of over 200,000, with over 20,000 cavalry. Due to internal strife, many elite veterans have been lost, and now over 10,000 of the 20,000 cavalry are new recruits.

In Modu's view, 20,000 cavalrymen were far from enough. If he were to launch a surprise attack on other countries, he would definitely need a force that was completely loyal to him.

Moreover, this army needs to be able to quickly assemble and launch an attack, instead of waiting for months to be recruited from various tribes as before.

The humiliation that the Donghu delegation brought to Maodun was immense. He had made up his mind that his next goal was to eliminate the Donghu royal family and completely annex the Donghu.

As long as the Donghu are integrated into one's own territory, and one's own tribe becomes the sole dominant force among the Xiongnu, then one can control the situation of the Xiongnu in the future.

Once the Donghu are conquered, then we can launch an attack on the Yuezhi. After conquering the Yuezhi, we can launch an attack on the suddenly rising Dragon Kingdom, and finally the Qin Dynasty.

Maodun now had a clear goal in mind: to unify the Western Regions, unify the northern grasslands, and establish an unprecedented Xiongnu Empire.

Maodun had many ambitions, but Han Chunming's ambitions were even greater. He wanted to build an unparalleled empire that would never be surpassed, turning the world into his own backyard. And now, he was also working towards that goal.

In half a year, they conquered eleven small kingdoms in the Western Regions. Although these kingdoms were small, with only tens of thousands or even thousands of people, the small gains added up, and now the map of the Dragon Kingdom is three times larger than it was half a year ago.

Now all the small kingdoms of the Western Regions are trembling under the iron cavalry of the Dragon Kingdom. Many of them have sent envoys to the capital of the Dragon Kingdom to express their willingness to submit and pay tribute every year, just asking the Dragon Kingdom to spare their lives.

After more than half a year of conquest, Han Chunming was also somewhat tired, and even considered stopping the conquest several times. After all, the territory of the Dragon Kingdom was now large enough, exceeding 100,000 square kilometers.

However, Han Chunming gritted his teeth and chose to continue the conquest, because he had to unify the Western Regions before the Qin Dynasty was destroyed.

Moreover, these small countries in the Western Regions were not very strong. His real opponents were the Xiongnu, Donghu, Yuezhi, and other truly powerful countries.

Time continued to move forward, and nearly half a year later, Han Chunming's Dragon Kingdom once again doubled in size.

Over the past year, dozens of small kingdoms in the Western Regions have been conquered and annexed by the Dragon Kingdom, and its army has reached the Turpan Basin in Xinjiang in later generations to launch another campaign.

Today, the army of the Dragon Kingdom has expanded to more than 100,000 people. The army has expanded too quickly, and there are many hidden dangers and shortcomings. The army's faith is also far less pure than it was when there were more than 20,000 people.

Many small countries that were originally conquered occasionally experience rebellions, and even small-scale uprisings occur. Organized sabotage takes place within their borders, and the security environment deteriorates significantly. These problems are commonplace.

But these are minor issues; time will solve everything, and Han Chunming needs time now.

At this moment, Modu of the Xiongnu also needed time, but fate did not grant him that time.

In half a year, he recruited 13,000 cavalrymen, and together with the original 20,000 or so, he now had 33,000 cavalrymen under his command.

Thirty-three thousand cavalrymen were enough to make them the most powerful among the Xiongnu, but this number was far from enough to defeat the hundreds of thousands of cavalrymen of the Donghu. However, Maodun could not change the fact that Maodun lacked manpower.

These 30,000 cavalrymen were already the limit for Modu, because his tribe could no longer afford to support them, whether in terms of financial resources or manpower.

For the sake of these 30,000 cavalrymen, Maodun has increased their training to a hellish level over the past six months.

Besides training, Maodun also learned from the strengths of the Dragon Kingdom and developed saddles and stirrups, which he then began to equip his troops with in large quantities.

In addition to training combat effectiveness, Maodun subjected this army to an abnormally rigorous training program to improve their obedience.

In his army, Modu's orders were the truth, and no one could question them. Anyone who questioned him was shot dead as a target, and thousands upon thousands of arrows were used to kill them.

In the past six months, the Donghu envoys came again, this time with even more outrageous demands. In the end, Maodun gritted his teeth and gave in to them. He needed time, and besides time, he was also trying to lull the Donghu people into a false sense of security.

But Maodun never expected that the Donghu delegation, which had left just a month and a half ago, would return.

Last time, Maodun gritted his teeth and paid the other party three hundred slaves, three hundred warhorses, and one hundred maids. He never expected the other party to be so shameless.

Judging by the time, they had almost reached the Donghu, dropped off their goods, and then returned to the Xiongnu.

Upon seeing the Donghu envoys appear once again, Maodun's anger finally reached its peak. He had made up his mind that since the other party was so shameless, he had no choice but to overturn the table.

Maodun was ultimately a powerful and ruthless leader. Since he was going to overturn the table, he had to be strategic and make the performance of this play a complete success.

The two sides sat down at the negotiating table once again. The Donghu envoy did not waste any words, and his attitude was arrogant and overbearing. This time, he did not even bother to show his face. He stood up and, in front of all the Xiongnu ministers, pointed at Maodun's nose and scolded him.

"Modu, our king has already said that this time we need a thousand warhorses, five hundred maids, and five hundred strong slaves. You have three days to prepare them. If you are unwilling to provide them, hmph, then we will grant you the Donghu land within a thousand miles of your border, as we previously requested. You make your choice!"

Upon hearing this, Maodun stood up abruptly, his eyes filled with anger and pain, staring blankly at the Donghu delegation.

The Donghu delegation was startled by Modu's actions, thinking that Modu intended to fight to the death. In fact, they hoped that Modu would fight to the death, so that the Donghu would have a reason to send troops to occupy large areas of Xiongnu territory.

In fact, the Donghu are capable of launching an attack, but the Xiongnu have been giving them a lot of resources and wealth every time they submit. For the Donghu, this situation is not bad. By exploiting the Xiongnu, they can obtain a lot of wealth every year, which is far more worthwhile than sending troops to occupy a thousand kilometers of desert.

Moreover, the Donghu also knew that it was unrealistic to occupy the Xiongnu on a large scale. There were still the Qin and Yuezhi on the other side, and even a newly rising dragon kingdom. The best option now was to use military force to threaten and exploit the wealth of the Xiongnu.

Maodun finally suppressed his anger. With red eyes, he walked step by step to the envoys. Suddenly, he bowed deeply to them and said in a pleading tone.

"Distinguished guests, we Xiongnu are truly at our wits' end and cannot meet your demands. We only beg you to give us a chance to breathe!"

The envoys were greatly pleased to see Maodun so humble at this moment. Looking at the red-eyed Xiongnu ministers in the hall, the envoys felt a surge of satisfaction.

So humiliating the Xiongnu king is so satisfying, then we must continue to humiliate him.

An envoy, carrying a large belly, smiled and spoke to Maodun.

"Modu, our king has heard that you have a concubine in your harem named Eshi, whose beauty is like that of a celestial being. Our king has long admired her. This time, our king said that if you can bring Eshi back with us, then this gift will be waived. What do you say?"

The Donghu envoy's words shocked everyone present. All the Xiongnu ministers were furious and pointed at the Donghu envoy, cursing him loudly.

If demanding the Xiongnu king's finest horse the first time was already an insult to the Xiongnu, then demanding the Xiongnu king's concubine this time was an utter humiliation, forcing the entire Xiongnu to submit to his will.

All the ministers were indignant, but the Donghu envoys were full of arrogance, ignoring the ministers' complaints and staring intently at Maodun, who was caught in a dilemma.

When Maodun heard the news, he almost lost control of his emotions, but he managed to hold back. His right hand, hidden in his robe, clenched tightly, and the veins bulged out.

But Maodun ultimately endured it. He slowly walked to the envoys, and finally closed his eyes, his eyes filled with tears of shame, and said with red eyes.

"Alright, I promise you! I'll let the Empress Dowager go back with you!"

When the Donghu envoy saw Maodun's tearful expression, everyone burst into laughter, praising Maodun for being sensible and mindful of the bigger picture.

Having achieved their goal, the Donghu envoy then returned home with the most beautiful concubine of Maodun's harem.

After watching the Donghu envoy leave, Maodun returned to his throne. Looking at the ministers kneeling below, his face no longer showed the previous struggle and pain, only indifference.

A minister stood up, cupped his hands in greeting to Modun, and then spoke.

"Over the past year, we have suffered heavy losses. The Donghu have repeatedly pressured and humiliated us, but we have chosen to compromise time and time again. I beg the Chanyu to cede a thousand miles of border land to the Donghu. Once we have recovered and regained our strength, we will surely retaliate a thousand times over."

Maodun did not answer the minister's question, but instead coldly looked at the ministers below. After a while, he slowly spoke.

"I have decided that, effective immediately, we will launch a campaign against the Donghu. Does anyone have any further opinions?"

Upon hearing Maodun's words, the ministers were stunned. It took them a while to recover. A group of ministers spoke up in unison, urging Maodun to think twice and not to act rashly.

The minister who had previously proposed ceding border territory also hurriedly shouted out.

"Shanyu, that thousand miles of border territory is nothing but desert. It's not a big deal to cede it to the Donghu. But if we launch an attack on the Donghu now, we will surely lose. On the contrary, the Xiongnu will be in danger of national extinction. I urge you, Shanyu, to think twice!"

The minister's words resonated with many others, who unanimously advised Modu that it would be better to cede territory than to launch a war at this time.

Maodun looked at the ministers below, his expression growing increasingly cold, and finally he spoke in a calm tone.

"Maji says he wants to cede a thousand miles of territory to the Donghu. My dear ministers, who else agrees with his proposal?"

Maodun spoke in a calm tone, as if asking for everyone's opinion. The ministers all expressed their views. Out of more than twenty ministers, eleven of them agreed to cede territory in exchange for temporary peace from the Donghu.

After everyone had lined up, Maodun called out to the door in a very cold tone.

"Someone come here!"

A group of guards immediately entered from outside the door, and Maodun spoke to them in a cold tone.

"Take all eleven men out, cut off their heads, hang them on a flagpole, and place them on the reviewing stand so they can see that our warriors will be invincible and that one day they will return victorious."

Without any hesitation, the guards dragged all the stunned ministers out like dead dogs. Soon, a guard returned to report that all eleven heads had been hung up.

After killing these ministers, Maodun quickly went to the military camp, began to gather troops, and started preparations for conquest.

Modu had been preparing for the campaign against the Donghu for more than half a year. Training the 30,000 cavalrymen was only one part of the process. The scouts he trained had spread throughout the border between the Donghu and the Xiongnu.

All the Donghu mission members who returned home were under Maodun's surveillance.

Upon learning that the delegation had left the city, he ordered his cavalry to expedite preparations for war.

After the delegation had traveled fifty miles from the city, he immediately led an army of 30,000 cavalrymen in two directions toward the Donghu.

He followed the delegation all the way, and the two sides were about twenty or thirty miles apart. The delegation members ahead were not alert at all and happily led the Empress across the border into the territory of Donghu.

Although the border region is mostly desert, both countries have established outposts and beacon towers along the border to keep a close watch on any developments.

As the delegation entered the country, Maodun's army slowly approached the border. Upon learning that the delegation had entered, Maodun smiled sinisterly and then spoke to the scout general.

"We can proceed with the next step of the plan. Remember, success is the only option; failure is not an option!"

The scout commander immediately agreed earnestly and left to carry out the order.

After a long time, a scout came to report that all outposts along the Donghu border had been captured, the mission was complete, and they could enter the country smoothly.

Upon learning this news, Maodun immediately sat up straight, waved his hand, and led tens of thousands of cavalrymen across the border between the two countries, heading straight for the Donghu royal court...!

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Speculation

Modu prepared for this war for more than half a year, and his military talent is beyond doubt.

His secret to victory was leading by example, uniting his army in purpose, and ensuring everyone followed in his footsteps.