I, the prince, only want to be deposed.

Chapter 478: Why don’t you announce the decree?
After listening to the Xiongnu envoy's words, Liu Ju just grinned and said:
"It's not the first time that the Han people have dealt with the Xiongnu."

"The Xiongnu are so fickle. When they married the Han people, they said they would form a thousand-year alliance with the Han Dynasty. But every time they invaded the Han border within two years, how could the Han Dynasty trust the Xiongnu?"

"If I accept the surrender of the Xiongnu on behalf of the Han Dynasty, the Xiongnu will temporarily avoid this crisis."

"In two years, when the Xiongnu have recovered from this, they will once again invade the Han border. By then, I won't be able to blow you up, and you won't be able to straighten you out. How will I explain this to the soldiers and civilians who have suffered on the Han border?"

"Besides, whether to accept the Huns' submission is my father's business. I am just a prince on a military expedition. The only order I received was to attack the Huns. I have no say. If you are really sincere, you should send an envoy to Chang'an as soon as possible with your Chanyu's letter to pay tribute to my father."

"Xiongnu Xinlongcheng is about 5,000 miles away from Chang'an. If we ride fast, we might be able to make the round trip in two months."

This time, Wei Qing did not meet the Hun envoys with Liu Ju.

After all, given his current physical condition, if the Hun envoys saw him, they would be making a fool of themselves and would surely be gloating.

However, even if Wei Qing heard what Liu Ju said, he would no longer object at this moment.

He had already accepted Liu Ju's "Whip of God" plan and had never thought of accepting the Huns' submission.

Because what Liu Qiang said was correct, the Huns were indeed not qualified to surrender or submit. From the perspective of the Huns, as long as they continued to live in the desert, they would always be the biggest hidden danger to the Han Dynasty.

"Since this is the case, we, the Xiongnu, are willing to send an envoy with a letter of credence to pay tribute to the Emperor of the Han Dynasty."

The Xiongnu envoy hesitated for a moment, then bowed and said,

"Just as Your Highness said, it will take at least two months for the Xiongnu envoys to travel from Xinlong City to Chang'an. During this period, could Your Highness ask Your Highness to temporarily suspend the Han army's offensive?"

"That won't work."

Liu Ju shook his head decisively.

"I don't know if you have ever led an army, but you should know that opportunities never come easily."

"Now the Han army has finally reached Xinlong City, and is only one step away from crushing the Xiongnu with its cavalry. If we miss this opportunity, we don't know when we will have such a good chance again."

"Besides, do you know how much extra food and military pay will be consumed if the 70,000 Han troops are delayed for two months?"

"This loss is not small. If you Xiongnu are pretending to surrender, or playing a delaying tactic, my Han Dynasty will have to bear unnecessary losses."

"So, until I receive the imperial edict from my father, the Han army will definitely not suspend its offensive."

"Not only will the Han army not suspend its offensive, it will also speed up its offensive until it wins completely and avoids any complications."

"This……"

These words made the Hun envoy somewhat confused.

What does it mean to be unable to eat anything?
That’s what it’s called!
This prince of the Han Dynasty was even more perverse and warlike than the brainless Wu Shilu. No wonder Wu Shilu was no match for him.

He had no say in the surrender of the Huns, and he was unwilling to wait when the Huns sent envoys to Chang'an to pay tribute to the Han emperor. Doesn't this mean that he was not going to leave the Huns any chance of survival?
The mission that the Xiongnu envoys received from Uwei Chanyu was to delay the Han army for as long as possible, even at a cost.

As for what Wuwei Chanyu was going to do after delaying the Han army?
The Hun envoys also heard some rumors and naturally had some guesses in their minds.

It was very likely that the Xiongnu would relocate as a whole nation. For the tribes willing to follow Wuwei Chanyu, Wuwei Chanyu had already promised them territories after they arrived at the new land. For those who were unwilling to follow Wuwei Chanyu... Wuwei Chanyu had already placed under house arrest several deputy kings who strongly opposed the move, and had collected their people and livestock, so they had no choice but to follow him.

Because it was heard that the Huns might go west of the Pamir Mountains this time, drive out their once defeated general, the Yuezhi, and reoccupy the large tracts of land where they had settled.

Therefore, Wuwei Chanyu needed a large number of manpower. After all, if he ran away by himself, he would be alone wherever he went, and naturally he would not be a Chanyu anymore.

But the young Han prince in front of him was too smart.

Although it is not known whether he has really seen through Wuwei Chanyu's delaying tactic, his aggressive attitude at this moment is enough to cause some trouble to Wuwei Chanyu's plan.

After a moment of silence, the Xiongnu envoy finally tried to probe:
"If the Xiongnu are willing to bear the losses of the Han Dynasty in the past two months, could Your Highness please be lenient with us?"

"You, a messenger, can make the decision on this matter?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Ju's face suddenly became more mercenary and his eyes brightened.

"I can't, but I can go back and report this to Chanyu Wuwei."

The Xiongnu envoy saw that Liu Ju's egg was not completely flawless, and hurriedly said,

"The Han army camp is less than a hundred miles away from our Xinlong City. We can communicate within a day. If Your Highness wants to do this, I will report to the Chanyu and will be able to give you a reply soon."

Liu Ju was obviously not very satisfied, but after pondering for a while, he finally relaxed a little:

"You can go back and deliver the message, but remember to tell your Chanyu that if he really wants me to suspend the offensive in exchange for time to send an envoy to Chang'an to pay tribute, he must let me see the food and supplies to replenish the Han army tomorrow, otherwise don't blame me for leading the army to get it myself!"

"I understand. I will go back and convey the prince's intention to Uwei Chanyu!"

The Xiongnu envoy felt as if he had been pardoned and immediately accepted it and said goodbye to Liu Ju. Then, after getting Liu Ju's approval, he left the Han army tent without stopping and returned to Xinlong City to report.

No matter what, he has fulfilled his mission.

As a mouthpiece, we have been able to discuss things to this point. The rest depends entirely on the opinion of Wuwei Chanyu. Any further problems cannot be blamed on him.

After the Xiongnu envoy left, Guo Zhencai couldn't help but remind him:
"Your Highness, in my humble opinion, this is definitely a delaying tactic of the Huns..."

"I'm not afraid that they are, I'm afraid that they are not."

Liu Ju said with a smile,

"The main force of the Xiongnu has been severely damaged. It is difficult for them to organize a force to fight against the Han army in a short period of time. Even if they are given two more months to prepare, it will still be impossible. So now they want us to suspend the offensive. They must have other intentions."

"What do you think they could be planning?"

Guo Zhen thought about it for a while, and seemed to have some realization:

"Your Highness, do you mean that they intend to escape?"

"pretty close."

Liu Ju nodded slightly.

"If the Huns flee westward, it will be in line with the 'Scourge of God' plan that Your Highness has been talking about!"

Guo Zhen has also started to use his brain recently. He continued to frown and think,
"But at present, we cannot be sure that the Xiongnu will definitely flee westwards. Moreover, if the Xiongnu want to escape, the Xiongnu Chanyu has really promised to send food and military supplies to Your Highness in order to stabilize the Han army. Will Your Highness really let them leave?"

Even if the main elite forces of the Huns were severely damaged, the Huns still have a population of over a million. Even if they are scattered on weekdays, there may be only a few hundred thousand Huns gathered in Longcheng at most. But if Huns of this scale escape, they will definitely be able to accomplish some big things no matter where they escape to.

Although this is in line with Liu Ju's "Whip of God" plan, it always gives people a feeling of letting a tiger return to the mountains.

"Guo Zhen, you are too honest. If the Xiongnu can break their promise to the Han people, why should we, the Han people, keep our promise?"

Liu Ju laughed again, his two rows of white teeth dazzling. "Your Highness means..."

Guo Zhen was a little confused again.

"As long as the Xiongnu Chanyu dares to agree, we will collect food and military supplies and continue to fight the war as usual. How can we give the enemy a chance to catch their breath?"

Liu Ju shook his head and said,

"Besides, it was the Xiongnu who used a delaying tactic to feign surrender to me first. This alliance was not established from the beginning. Even if I sided with the Xiongnu, I would still be morally justified."

"Besides, although my ultimate goal is to force the Xiongnu to migrate westward, it must be a poor migration."

"In this way, the Xiongnu will plunder without regard for anything and become infamous wherever they go. Only then can our Han army become the savior of the Western Regions. Therefore, we need food and grass, and the Xiongnu will be continuously hunted down and weakened by the Han army."

“It is said that only those who endure the most hardships can become the best.”

"How can the Huns become the whip of God without being whipped?"

"..."

Guo Zhen was speechless when he heard this. Is this how His Highness uses this proverb?

……

So the second day.

Wuwei Chanyu agreed to Liu Ju's request and ordered his men to bring 100,000 sheep.

There was no way around it. The Huns did not have enough food, and their main ration was sheep. When they went out to fight, they would drive the sheep behind the army as military supplies.

"Not enough, are you forcing me to go crazy?"

This was the reply Liu Ju gave to Wuwei Chanyu after he accepted the flock of sheep.

One hundred thousand sheep may sound like a lot, but one must remember that Liu Ju and Wei Qing had previously captured more than one million livestock when they conquered the Right Wise King's tribe.

Later, they captured Zhaoxin City and also reaped great rewards.

These 100,000 sheep are just a small amount to him.

What's more, the Han army this time has 70,000 troops. If the 100,000 sheep are averaged out, there is only one more per person. How can they be enough for the Han army to eat for two months?

"This Han Dynasty prince is going too far, he's actually raising the price!"

The Xiongnu were naturally furious, and even the Right Wise King Xianbi, who had been defeated by Liu Ju before, could not help but curse.

Wuwei Chanyu was naturally very upset.

But the situation was stronger than he was, so he could only order the envoy to go to the Han army camp again and beg Liu Ju to be a little more flexible. One day was still too short, so he only gathered so many sheep. More sheep would be sent in a few days.

Loss of power!

Insulting the country!

Since the Xiongnu established their own country, they were defeated several times by Qin Shihuang and driven to the northern desert by Liu Ju's father, Liu Che.

But there has never been such humiliation as this time!

Most importantly, the person who brought such humiliation to them was just a prince whose hair had not even grown fully...

At this moment, Wuwei Chanyu deeply realized what kind of trouble he had brought to others by pampering Wu Shilu. At least in this matter, the emperor of the Han Dynasty was not much better than him, and the son he taught was not a good person either!
However, Liu Ju didn't wait for him at all.

While accepting the sheep, he immediately ordered the Han army to advance thirty miles towards Xinlong City, increasing the pressure. Many Xiongnu subjects in Xinlong City were frightened and began to flee spontaneously, making it almost impossible for Wuwei Chanyu to control the situation.

Wuwei Chanyu was more anxious than anyone else.

He has already made preparations. Some important supplies and important family members are also being secretly transported out of the city. This takes time. Otherwise, if he flees in a panic without caring about his head, the losses will only be greater, which cannot be compensated by 100,000 sheep.

However, Liu Ju obviously would not understand his difficulties.

After the Hun envoy went to ask Liu Ju for a few more days, Liu Ju directly advanced another thirty miles and was almost at the gates of the city.

"Chan Yu, we can't wait any longer! If we wait any longer, the Han army will probably surround the city. By then, it will be twice as difficult to move again, and the losses will only be greater!"

Wei Lu was even more restless than Wuwei Chanyu. After all, he was the one who least wanted to perish with the Huns.

In other words, Liu Ju did not see what Wuwei Chanyu looked like now.

Otherwise, he might think of a bald man in later generations who was reluctant to leave his belongings when he fled in defeat, but was also worried that he would not be able to bring enough soldiers and horses, and would not be able to control the situation after reaching the west of the Pamir Mountains. Therefore, he has been using both coaxing and deceiving methods to madly coerce the Huns' subjects.

"Alas! This is the only way, great man. This emperor will remember today's grudge!"

Finally, Wuwei Chanyu did not dare to hesitate any longer, and immediately ordered the abandonment of a considerable part of Xinlong City's assets. He led most of the subjects in the city out of the city in a hurry and fled westward in a mighty manner.

Got the news.

Generals such as Zhao Po Nu, who had been prepared for this, immediately led their cavalry to pursue.

This westward migration was destined to become the most tragic escape journey in the history of the Xiongnu. Liu Ju had no intention of making things easy for them, and even ordered generals such as Zhao Po Nu to "kill them all"!
Because he knew that even with such an order, as long as the Huns covered their heads and were determined to escape, Zhao Po Nu and others would not be able to really kill all the Huns.

His purpose was only to consume the Huns' manpower to the maximum extent and ensure that after the Huns fled to the Western Regions, although they could bully those small countries, they would definitely not have the strength to fight against the Han Dynasty.

A "Whiplash of God" that will not backfire on its owner is a good "Whiplash of God".

……

Half a month later.

Liu Ju, who entered Xinlong City, once again welcomed the imperial edict from Liu Che.

This time it was another familiar face, Zhao Qian, who returned to Beijing to report after receiving the "local specialties of the Western Regions" last time. Unlike Dongfang Yu, Liu Che did not let him stay in the Western Regions to continue serving as an envoy to assist Liu Ju.

"Zhao Yezhe, I am ready. Can you please announce the decree?"

Seeing Zhao Qian with a complicated expression and hesitant to announce the decree immediately after seeing him, Liu Ju could not help but urge him.

"Your Highness... It's not that I don't want to announce it, but it's meaningless whether this edict is announced or not."

Zhao Qian spoke the truth with an embarrassed look on his face. After that, he put away the staff and presented Liu Che's edict to Liu Ju.

"Well, Your Highness should read it yourself."

(End of this chapter)