When Liu He fled Pingyang with the imperial family and court officials in haste, he was pursued all the way to Zhongyang County in Xihe Commandery, where he assembled fifty thousand troops and ordered the five Xiongnu tribes to come to the king’s aid.

Although the main elite forces had followed Liu Cong to attack the Jin state, the five tribes could still squeeze out considerable manpower if pressed, so some answered the call to protect the king.

Adding the troops of various generals commanding forces abroad, Liu He ultimately assembled an army of one hundred fifty thousand.

Of course, this force still couldn’t compare to the great army in Liu Cong’s hands. As Grand Marshal of the Southern Campaign, Liu Cong had led this expedition to destroy the Jin state, so all the military forces under heaven answered to his command. At the time, he directly commanded two hundred thousand troops.

Even accounting for losses, he still had one hundred fifty thousand troops to oppose Liu He.

One hundred fifty thousand against one hundred fifty thousand—yet Liu Cong’s forces were elite troops, while Liu He’s army had few capable fighters.

But Liu He held the advantage of reputation and righteousness—he was the Xiongnu Crown Prince!

As soon as news of Liu Yuan’s death in Pingyang City arrived, Liu He immediately ascended the throne as the new emperor in Xihe Commandery and proclaimed this throughout the realm. Both Liu Cong and Shi Lei expressed their submission.

Having fled all the way, terrified by Zhao Hanzhang, once Liu He settled in Xihe Commandery he wanted to stay there, build high walls, focus on defense, and order Liu Cong to bring the great army back. He no longer wanted to attack the Jin state—after all, they had already captured the Jin Emperor, so returning now wouldn’t be a loss. What mattered most was recapturing their capital, Pingyang City.

So when Ming Yu and Wu Erlang arrived in Xihe Commandery, Liu He had already settled in Zhongyang County. He directly commandeered over twenty thousand commoners to build a palace.

That’s right—the first thing he did after ascending the throne wasn’t consolidating power or counterattacking Pingyang, but constructing a grand palace in Zhongyang County where he was temporarily staying.

As a merchant caravan from the Central Plains bringing so many scarce goods, Wu Erlang didn’t even need to find a way to connect with Huyan You—as soon as they entered the city, their goods were confiscated.

They claimed there were irregularities and suspected them of being Jin spies, so everything they brought was seized.

At that moment, not only Wu Erlang but even Ming Yu felt a chill run down his spine, thinking they had failed before achieving success and been exposed prematurely.

But the Xiongnu people only took their goods without arresting them. Ming Yu instantly understood—they had simply taken a fancy to their merchandise and used a random excuse to steal it.

He didn’t try to stop them, but had Wu Erlang hint to the other party that they had another batch of valuable goods coming behind them, and that they knew retainers of Huyan You’s household. This trip included some gifts specifically for Huyan You, and they had come to do business—as long as they could open up trade routes, they would continuously transport treasures from the Central Plains in the future.

The soldiers who had seized them, hearing that they were familiar with Huyan You’s retainers, didn’t dare be too forceful. However, they didn’t directly return the goods either, but instead escorted them to General Huyan’s residence to verify the claims.

Wu Erlang was terrified because this was truly just an excuse.

His face turned pale as he looked at Ming Yu.

Ming Yu’s expression remained calm as he gave Wu Erlang a reassuring look. While waiting for the retainers from Huyan’s residence, he subtly glanced at Wu Erlang’s chest.

Wu Erlang immediately understood and, thinking of what he carried, relaxed slightly.

A retainer from Huyan You’s household walked out frowning. Before he could speak, Wu Erlang immediately rushed forward, quickly pulling something from his chest and pressing it into the man’s hand. With a fawning smile, he said, “General, last time General Huyan requested the gold Buddha and pearl strings—I’ve found them all. But when entering the city…”

His gaze shifted toward the soldiers, leaving the rest unsaid, but the retainer understood.

The retainer looked down at the crystal-clear glass bead in his hand. It was a glass sphere the size of a child’s fist, with flowing colors of red, green, and purple swirling within.

This was the first time the retainer had seen such a treasure. His eyes went straight, though he quickly recovered, suppressing his excitement while keeping his expression calm as he looked back at Wu Erlang. “The gold Buddha and pearls the general requested?”

Seeing how much the retainer liked the glass bead, Wu Erlang’s mind stirred. He immediately said, “Yes, everything according to the general’s requirements. Besides the gold Buddha and pearls, there’s also glassware from Yuzhou.”

Hearing there was more glassware, the retainer’s expression relaxed and he smiled. Nodding, he said, “Not bad. Wait here for now.”

Wu Erlang immediately lowered his head and stood to the side.

Only then did the retainer turn with a stern face toward the soldiers who had brought them, saying, “This is our general’s merchant caravan. You’re quite bold to dare intercept the general’s merchants!”

Wu Erlang’s eyebrow twitched as he thought of everything they’d brought this time, feeling the pain despite himself. Fortunately, they had followed Ming Yu’s advice and left half their goods outside while they came in first to scout the situation.

Who knew that all his previous connections would be completely useless now? The Xiongnu people were simply too tyrannical—they had just arrived and already seized the original belongings of Zhongyang County, even robbing passing merchants.

After scolding the soldiers, the retainer simply drove them away.

Wu Erlang quickly glanced at the steward waiting to the side and gave the soldiers a meaningful look. The steward nodded in understanding.

After the retainer brought Wu Erlang and Ming Yu inside, the steward immediately ran after the soldiers, pulling out his money pouch and pressing it into the lead soldier’s hand, bowing and scraping as he said, “Brothers, please forgive us. My master also has to watch the general’s mood to get by. We’ve truly troubled you this time.”

The soldier felt the weight of the pouch, opened it to see a large handful of Zhao family’s new coins, and after weighing it felt the amount was substantial. His expression softened considerably.

He nodded, saying, “We’re all just following orders. As long as your master doesn’t blame us, that’s good.”

“Wouldn’t dare, wouldn’t dare,” the steward said with an ingratiating smile. “We merchants know best how hard you brothers work guarding the gates. With so many people coming and going every day, we rely entirely on you to maintain order and ensure safety.”

The soldier’s expression improved further, even showing a smile. “You merchants have it hard too. With so many bandits on the roads now, it’s not easy traveling, is it?”

“Indeed,” the steward seized the opportunity to complain. “Thanks to the general’s reputation, most places are passable, but it’s chaotic out there. There are always some troublemakers, so we’re basically risking our lives. Coming in and out of the city gates, we still have to grease palms above and below—we’re really just earning enough for coarse grain to eat.”

The soldier pondered this.

The steward reached into his robes, pulled out a small glass bead, and pressed it into the soldier’s hand, saying in a low voice, “If you ask me, we can’t skip paying respects to those above, but we also can’t neglect those below. After all, it’s the people below who do the actual work—you’re the ones who work hardest…”

The soldier looked down at the glass bead and closed his hand around it, nodding. “True enough.”

The steward breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. “Then please, brothers, be understanding with us in the future. Our merchant caravan will need your tolerance going forward.”

The soldier agreed.

Having greased the palms of the gate guards, it would be much easier for those remaining outside to enter later—and much cheaper than paying off the general’s retainers.

This time, the retainer directly took most of what they’d brought, leaving Wu Erlang only some miscellaneous small items. Even so, they were only able to meet Huyan You once.