Chapter 290

At dawn, the Han army arrived at the city walls.

The sleeping Xiongnu Chanyu was awakened by the earth-shattering cannon fire.

He rushed out of the tent, only to see streaks of fire across the sky, followed by earth-shattering explosions.

"Heavenly Thunder! The Han people have invited the Great Han's prestige, to guard the northern border forever!"

The Chanyu was so scared his legs went soft.

Immediately after, the fire suppression of the AK-47 made it impossible for the Xiongnu cavalry to charge.

Sheets of Xiongnu cavalry fell, and the rest fled in all directions.

Huo Qubing hugged the AK, charging at the front, killing everything in his path.

After returning, he said to Liu Che: "Your Majesty, this thing is too easy to use! It's more satisfying than chopping melons and vegetables!"

Within half a month, the Han army divided into three routes, sweeping through all the Xiongnu tribes.

With the support of AKs and cannons, there were almost zero casualties.

The Xiongnu tribes surrendered one after another, and some tribal leaders even took the initiative to offer their heads to beg for mercy.

Huo Qubing led five thousand elite troops, chasing the remnants of the Xiongnu all the way to the Wolf Mountain.

Liu Che led the main force and arrived later.

Ying Zheng, Liu Bang, and Gu Shanhe arrived with them.

On the top of the Wolf Mountain, the autumn wind was blowing.

The four of them set up a simple tent in the lee of the mountain peak, lit a stove, and brewed tea.

Looking into the distance, Lake Baikal looked like a sapphire embedded among the mountains.

Ying Zheng stood at the very front, hands behind his back, his robes rustling in the wind.

Liu Bang stood on his right, one hand on his hip.

Liu Che stood on Ying Zheng's left, in high spirits.

Gu Shanhe walked up last, holding a bowl of hot tea, and found a rock to sit on.

Ying Zheng spoke first, his voice not loud, but very clear:

"This land, I had Meng Tian fight for it back then, reaching the Yin Mountains, and didn't go further north."

"It wasn't that it couldn't be taken, but I felt it wasn't necessary."

"Now seeing you kid take it down, I actually regret it a little."

Liu Bang interjected: "Brother Zheng, don't regret it."

"I didn't even see the Xiongnu back then, and was trapped at Baideng."

"If it weren't for that kid Chen Ping using dirty tricks, I would have almost died there."

He laughed heartily as he said this, not feeling ashamed at all.

Liu Che was in high spirits: "Two ancestors, this Wolf Mountain is now mine."

"From now on, the Xiongnu will never dare to take another step south."

He paused and said: "I plan to erect a monument here, engraved with the eight characters 【Great Han Prestige, Guarding the Northern Border Forever】."

Ying Zheng sneered: "Eight characters? Eight characters are enough? If it were me, I would write at least eight hundred."

"How it was fought, what weapons were used, how many people were killed, all engraved on it."

Liu Bang was amused: "First Emperor, that's a merit monument, not a memorial monument. Eight hundred characters, the person carving the monument would be exhausted."

Gu Shanhe interrupted them: "Three Majesties, the tea is ready, who wants some?"

He poured a bowl for each of them.

The four of them drank tea around the stove, and the atmosphere suddenly quieted down.

Ying Zheng suddenly stood up, holding his tea bowl, and walked to the edge of the cliff.

In the distance, the surface of Lake Baikal shimmered like broken silver in the sunlight.

"When I was in the Xianyang Palace reviewing memorials until midnight, I would look up at the map and always feel the world wasn't big enough."

Ying Zheng's voice wasn't loud, but everyone could hear it.

"Standing here now, looking at this land, I suddenly feel that the world is actually quite big."

Liu Bang also stood up and walked to Ying Zheng's side.

"Brother Zheng, are you feeling sentimental?"

"When I conquered the world back then, lying in the palace counting gold and silver, I also felt it was meaningless."

"Thinking back, conquering the world is interesting, sitting on the world is not."

Liu Che smiled and continued: "So I don't sit on the world, I conquer the world."

"Conquer everything that can be conquered, and let the descendants sit honestly."

Ying Zheng suddenly turned his head and glanced at Liu Che, a hint of something indescribable in his eyes: "You kid, you're better than your father."

Liu Che was stunned for a moment, then smiled.

He knew Ying Zheng was talking about Liu Qi—Emperor Jing of Han.

Gu Shanhe stood up last, holding his tea bowl, and walked between the three of them.

"Three Majesties, let me tell you something."

The three of them looked at him at the same time.

Gu Shanhe said: "The place you are standing on now, in my era, belongs to Russia."

"On our map, this place is no longer there."

Ying Zheng's face changed instantly.

Liu Bang's smile froze.

The tea bowl in Liu Che's hand almost fell to the ground.

"What did you say?!" The three of them spoke almost simultaneously.

Gu Shanhe waved his hand, signaling them not to be anxious: "That was something that happened later."

"Now that you have taken it down, it is yours."

Ying Zheng took a deep breath, his gaze falling back to the distant lake surface.

"Russia?"

He read the name once, his tone cold, "I have remembered it."

Liu Bang rarely didn't joke, but looked at Gu Shanhe seriously.

"Immortal Master, are you saying that our descendants lost this land?"

Gu Shanhe thought for a moment and said: "It wasn't lost, it was taken away by others."

"But later, some of it was taken back; whether it's complete or not depends on how you calculate it."

Liu Che put down the tea bowl in his hand heavily, his voice sinking.

"The land I conquered, if my descendants can't hold it, that's their incompetence."

"But I don't care that far, I only care about the present."

"Right now, this place is mine."

Gu Shanhe looked at these three people and suddenly smiled.

He remembered that in his own era, people on the internet often argued—who was more powerful, Qin Shi Huang, Emperor Gaozu of Han, or Emperor Wu of Han.

Now it's fine, the three of them are standing together, no need to argue.

All are powerful.

But all are also quite miserable.

Ying Zheng sought immortality his whole life and didn't find it; Liu Bang killed meritorious officials until his hands were soft; Liu Che fought wars until the national treasury was empty.

But at this moment, they stood on the top of the Wolf Mountain, drinking tea, blowing in the wind, looking at this land conquered by guns and cannons, all with smiles on their faces.

Gu Shanhe raised his tea bowl: "Three Majesties, a toast to you."

Ying Zheng glanced at him and also raised his tea bowl.

Liu Bang and Liu Che followed suit.

The four tea bowls clinked together, making a crisp sound.

"A toast to the world," Gu Shanhe said.

"A toast to the world," the three of them said simultaneously.

The wind blew from Siberia, making the robes of the four rustle.

In the distance, Lake Baikal was as blue as a piece of freshly cleaned glass.

As the sun set, the four of them rode down the mountain.

Huo Qubing led the elite cavalry to guard the front and back.

Huo Qubing rode to Gu Shanhe's side, looking at him eagerly:

"Immortal Master, that AK... can you give me some more?"

"My brothers are all fighting over the one I have."

Gu Shanhe glanced at him: "Get proficient with the one in your hand first. Don't waste it."

Huo Qubing muttered: "Does this thing need practice? I can hit the target with my eyes closed."

Liu Che heard it from the front and scolded with a laugh:

"Qubing! Don't be cocky! Be careful I take that one back too!"

The sound of horse hooves clattered, gradually disappearing into the twilight of the grasslands.

The last ray of golden light fell from the horizon, like the light during the Sky Screen's ranking, but warmer and softer.

Gu Shanhe suddenly said: "Three Majesties, do you think that in a thousand years, someone will also stand on some mountain top and talk about us?"

Ying Zheng didn't answer.

Liu Bang thought for a moment and said: "Whether they talk about us or not, it doesn't matter, I won't be able to hear it anyway."

Liu Che smiled: "Gaozu is right, things I can't hear, why bother."

The Sky Screen suddenly appeared and lit up in the sky.

Then several bullet comments from later netizens appeared:

【Netizen · Emperor Wu of Han yyds】: "Liu Che: The land I conquered, if my descendants can't hold it, it's their incompetence. That's how it's said, but looking at the future, it still hurts."

【Netizen · Great Qin Iron Cavalry】: "The First Emperor said 【Russia, I have remembered it】—is this planning a western expedition from two thousand years ago?"

【Netizen · Little Fan of Ming Taizu】: "If Zhu Yuanzhang saw this part, he would probably say: Why didn't my Zhu family catch up with this good thing?"

【Netizen · History Enthusiast】: "So who exactly is Gu Shanhe? A time traveler? An alien? Or a graduate of some university's history department?"

【Netizen · Melon-eating Crowd】: "No matter who he is, I just want to know, can I have an AK?"