[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-memoirs-of-the-heavenly-khagan":3,"chapter-memoirs-of-the-heavenly-khagan-memoirs-of-the-heavenly-khagan-chapter-73":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Memoirs of the Heavenly Khagan",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2311791,4516,"Chapter 73: Inexperience Is Just Inexperience","memoirs-of-the-heavenly-khagan-chapter-73",73,"\u003Cp>It was a quiet afternoon; the hardworking Rouran people hid inside their large tents, engaged in various production and reproductive activities.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even though winter was drawing near and the Monan plains had already grown bitterly cold, the icy winds sweeping across Saibei could not extinguish the Rouran people’s fervor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“God, please bless me this time as I follow the Great Khan southward—let me capture enough slaves. I’m not greedy; I only need one strong Han slave to till my fields, one Chilei  slave to tend my horses, and two Xianbei slaves to herd my sheep. If your grace descends and grants me sufficient fortune, please also give me three or four young female slaves.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These simple words reflected the most humble wish in the heart of this Rouran man.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet before he finished his prayer, his tent was ripped open.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who built this tent? I’ll whip him soundly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But when he stood up, the scene around him was no longer familiar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The small settlement of several hundred people was now filled with cavalry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A burly man clad in fine chainmail rode up on a towering steed and spoke to him in broken Xianbei.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I heard you’re some kind of damn potato?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Rouran man instinctively nodded, then, seeing the scene, shook his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he was whipped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Is it or isn’t it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, I am. And who are you, sir?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Listen well—I am Li Shoutian, Hundred-Commander of the Second Cavalry Battalion of the Shengle Garrison under the Grand General Who Pacifies the Rebels.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What brings you here, sir?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ve decided—this settlement now bears my surname, Li.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Saying this, Li Shoutian slapped a slip of paper onto the man’s face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Go to the camp thirty li behind us and report my name, Li Shoutian.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Don’t worry—you won’t be shortchanged. You know who I am to the Grand General? Even he calls me Third Uncle.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, a dozen young Huaihuo youths rushed over, carrying gold and silver vessels, silk and brocade, even women.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Shoutian barked:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What are you doing?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Looting!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The hardworking, simple-minded Huaihuo youths replied.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“We’re the Imperial Army—can’t you behave with some dignity? And we’re at war—how are you supposed to march carrying all these heavy, dead-weight things?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then what should we do?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Leave all this here. Let the Rouran carry it to the rear camp.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But what if they run?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Take their horses, dismantle their carts, tear their tents, smash every pot and jar. In this freezing weather, where can they run?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dozen Huaihuo youths hurried off to carry out orders; Li Shoutian grumbled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fresh recruits are always fresh recruits!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he looked at the bewildered potato-facer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Listen—hold onto this paper and my token. Don’t lose them. If my settlement suffers even a scratch, I’ll whip you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over fifty cavalrymen rode off into the distance; the potato-facer stared at the slip in his hand, utterly bewildered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Was I just robbed?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You… you… who are you? How did you get here?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Huan, clad in armor, slew the towering Rouran Thousand-Commander before him with a single sword stroke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gazing at the ruined Rouran encampment around him, Gao Huan’s eyes burned with fierce flame.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Jing ran up to Gao Huan and asked:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He Liuhun, have you truly decided?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a grueling battle, Gao Huan was weary, yet his resolve was unshakable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Go!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But that Grand General Who Pacifies the Rebels doesn’t seem like the type to kill his dogs once the rabbits are gone.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Precisely because he isn’t, we must leave!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Jing was confused.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“What do you mean?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He’s only a miscellaneous general. Even if we join him, what can we gain? At best, we’ll become a Battalion Commander.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was another thing Gao Huan didn’t say: he felt that if he stayed with Li Shuang any longer, he’d eventually be stripped bare by this general.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Jing had no interest in the title of Battalion Commander, but he was very interested in the gold and silver scattered everywhere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unlike Wei Jing, Gao Huan looked at the gold and silver littered on the ground with no trace of longing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The Liuzhen Uprising has only just begun—the world will descend into chaos. Shuozhou is too small. If we stay here, we won’t make any real noise. Leaving Huaihuo is what matters most.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If we leave here, where will we go?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Now we have horses, armor, and weapons—the whole world is open to us! I’ve already made an arrangement with Han Gui—we’re heading to Rouxuan Garrison to join Du Luo Zhou. There, we’ll at least get ourselves a generalship.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Whatever you say—I’ll follow you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My lord, He Liuhun has fled with several hundred Huaihuo cavalry!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hou Jing rushed in and delivered the news to Li Shuang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“How did they escape?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He Liuhun led several hundred cavalry to attack a Rouran Vanguard Thousand-Commander and annihilated them. Our men sent to reinforce them only found the soldiers He Liuhun left behind to guard the spoils.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Did he take our horses and armor?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No—he left all the supplies we issued him after his victory. He only took some of the captured goods. By military law, those were his to begin with. And he didn’t even take it all—he left most of it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Shuang laughed heartily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This He Liuhun—even when he betrays you, he makes you feel good!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My lord, what should we do? If He Liuhun planned this in advance, Lou Zhaojun and the others must have left too—should we intercept his family?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Shuang looked at Hou Jing and asked:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If I told you to go intercept them, would you be willing?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hou Jing smiled wryly and said nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wasn’t willing—after all, they were all Huaihuo people, and they’d just shared life and death. To strike at their families now would make him a monster. After all, many Huaihuo men had stayed behind—they were all neighbors and kin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I won’t go. But my lord, you can send someone else.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Others just earned their merit—they left only because their ambitions diverged. Is it right to harass their families?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Huan chose his moment of departure with perfect timing—he was certain Li Shuang wouldn’t sacrifice a major opportunity over a few hundred cavalrymen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Issue orders across Shuozhou: if anyone encounters He Liuhun’s family, do not harass them. Send troops to escort them to Pingcheng and deliver them to the Lou clan—it’s a favor to the Lou family!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yes, my lord!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Shuang gazed at the landscape ahead, feeling a pang of regret.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They really did leave fast!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even under these circumstances, could he still draw away several hundred Huaihuo men?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it’s better this way—the ones who left are gone; those who remain will become truly his own.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Order Gao Ang and Yang Kan to close in on my forces—full army advance, straight toward the Golden Tent of the Wolf-Head Banner!”\u003C\u002Fp>",1143,"2026-06-20T12:30:56.711Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","63780653fad52a4c9a22dbd2fef080ab716c21e3f5ec82e0833ab127ce28f238","memoirs-of-the-heavenly-khagan-chapter-74","memoirs-of-the-heavenly-khagan-chapter-72",211,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fmemoirs-of-the-heavenly-khagan-cover.jpg"]