Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 118 Sudden Change
February of the fifth year of Zhongping.

Inside the tent, Zhang Yu sat on a fur-covered chair, holding in his hand a historical document about the Xiongnu rebellion.

"In the first year of Jianguang, General Du Liao and the Southern Xiongnu... attacked the Xianbei and ordered them to station troops at strategic points. The newly surrendered Xiongnu resented the heavy conscription and rebelled, led by the A tribe..."

Zhang Yu could not help but sigh and said, "The rebels swore to die rather than surrender, and all drowned in the river. It is really frightening. They were able to force the Hu people to this point. It is just as Confucius said, a harsh government is more ferocious than a tiger."

In order to find and solve the Xiongnu rebellion problem, Zhang Yu found the information that could be collected. Through the early official document feedback, Zhang Yu had to admit a problem. The excessive use of Xiongnu soldiers by the Eastern Han Dynasty caused resistance from the Xiongnu people.

At the beginning of the Eastern Han Dynasty, a military system based on conscription was established. Conscription was bound to cost a lot of money. In order to fight against the Northern Xiongnu and Xianbei and save the cost of conscription, the Qiang and Xiongnu were over-conscripted. Over the years, the Qiang and Hu could no longer bear it and finally rebelled.

Now the Xiongnu people can ignore the identity of the Chanyu and directly kill him and elect a new Xiongnu Chanyu, which is enough to show the Xiongnu people's disgust with heavy military service.

As he spoke, Zhang Yu put down the official document and asked his attendants, "If we pacify the Xiongnu now, in order to prevent them from rebelling again, what do you think?"

Yu Yi held the warm water in his hand and said thoughtfully: "My Lord, in my opinion, although the Xiongnu are fierce by nature, they are the same people as the Han people. If we want to prevent the people from rebelling, we must not only reduce taxes and levies, but also appease their hearts."

"It is not enough to be lenient alone. We need to use military force to intimidate the Huns. Only then can we subdue them with kindness and force," said Zhang Liao.

Zhang Yu looked at Kobe and Shi Yi and asked with interest, "What do you two think?"

After hearing many suggestions from the Han people on how to govern the Xiongnu, Zhang Yu wanted to hear the Xianbei people's opinions.

Kobi hesitated for a long time and said, "Sir, the Huns live in the river valley. If they gather together to cause chaos, it will be difficult for the army to suppress them. Therefore, if you want to subdue the Huns, you might as well follow our method and send cavalry to plunder every year, or take the people as slaves, or move them to a vast land, which may make it difficult for the Huns to cause chaos!"

Zhang Yu nodded slightly. Although Kobe's words were rough, they were a good idea. A large number of Huns lived in the mountains. If they rebelled, it would be difficult to wipe them out by using the Han Chinese method. On the contrary, using the Xianbei people's looting plan would make the Huns very uncomfortable.

In addition, Zhang Yu actually did not want to see the Huns living in the mountains. The Huns were originally a foreign race, and their customs and language were different from those of the Han people. It was easy for the upper echelons to assimilate, but it was difficult for ordinary people to assimilate.

"What about Wing?"

Shi Yi scratched his head and said, "I think you can use the method you used to rule the Lan clan and Zuo Nan tribes to rule the Xiongnu."

Zhang Yu pursed his lips and said nothing, he couldn't help missing Zhong Yao, Du Ji and others he met in the Central Plains. The Bingzhou area was rich in martial virtues, but it was really backward in culture and system.

His policies for governing the Hu people so far can only be regarded as means, but cannot be said to have a systematic system.

For example, when governing the Hu people such as Shiyi and Buluhutuli, Zhang Yu used the method of granting titles to the tribes to make them submit to him; as for the Zuonan tribe, Zhang Yu adopted the method of marriage and distributed salt to the Huyan clan; as for the Lan clan, Zhang Yu used the method of splitting up to ensure the interests of the leaders of the small tribes.

At the same time, in order to prevent the government from collapsing after he was transferred, Zhang Yu used money to recruit troops to achieve multi-dimensional control.

As for why Zhang Yu was thinking about the plan to govern the Huns at this moment, to be honest, Zhang Yu considered replacing Wang Rou after this battle. After all, the position of Lieutenant General of the Protectorate of the Huns not only allowed him to legally expand his troops to 2,500 people, but also gave him the right to govern the Huns.

"Everything you said makes sense!"

Zhang Yu smiled and said, "If I can conquer the Xiongnu in the future, I will use your strategies."

Hao Zhao asked, "Sir, our army has been stationed in Zishi for ten days. All troops are ready. I wonder when we can march in to quell the bandits?"

Zhang Yu stood up from his chair and said, "The Xiongnu rebels have many soldiers and are now gathering around the river. Our army has less than 20,000 soldiers and horses. If we fight the Xiongnu rebels, we will not be sure of victory. So I have asked you to think carefully and accept my suggestion of holding on. I want to wait until the Xiongnu's troops are weakened before fighting them."

Hao Zhao pondered for a moment and said, "If that's the case, then after we recapture Zuoguo City, won't we need troops to cross the river and go to Hexi to fight against the Xiongnu rebels?"

"not sure!"

Zhang Yu paced with his hands behind his back, saying, "Perhaps he will welcome Yu Fuluo to Zuoguo City to succeed him, and then pacify the rebellious Xiongnu tribes by appeasing them. If he crosses the river to suppress the Xiutu tribe, the war will last for a long time and cannot be settled in a short time."

While Zhang Yu was speaking, Guo Wei walked to the entrance of the tent, poked his head inside, and waved to Zhang Yu. It was obvious that he had something important to discuss with Zhang Yu.

"Everyone, return to the camp for training. I will inspect the camp later!"

Seeing this, Zhang Yu gave some instructions and went out of the tent to look for Guo Yu.

"What's the important matter, Lord Guo?" Zhang Yu asked.

Guo Yu looked unhappy and said, "Jian, there is a sudden change now, and I am afraid we need to send troops."

"Why?" Zhang Yu asked in surprise.

Guo Yu pointed to the road below and said, "Envoy Zhang has sent someone to invite us. Let's discuss this matter slowly on the way."

On the way to the big tent, Guo Yu lowered his voice and said, "Jian, you don't know, there is urgent military information reported from Hedong just now, saying that the people of Xihe River were bewitched by the remnant of the Yellow Turban Guo Tai and started a rebellion in Baibo Valley. Now they are looting the countryside of Hedong, and there are more than 10,000 followers. It seems that their momentum will grow stronger."

Zhang Yu's expression changed, and he said, "The Baibo army is attacking Hedong. If they contact the Xiongnu bandit army, the bandit's power will be unstoppable!"

"Of course!"

Guo Yu looked depressed and said, "Now the envoy is worried about this. If we stick to the old strategy and wait for the Xiongnu rebels to retreat, it may take another month or two. But the Baibo rebels cannot be ignored. If they join forces with the bandits, not only will it be difficult to disperse the Xiongnu rebels, but the Baibo army will also go north to plunder Taiyuan."

Hearing this, Zhang Yu cursed inwardly, and was speechless about the Eastern Han court. Could it be that they didn't know how to comfort the refugees?
It wasn't long after the Xiongnu rebellion that the Baibo Army, which was recorded in history, emerged. Bingzhou's population was small, and its military strength was less than 20,000. It was already difficult to deal with the Xiongnu rebels, and now the Baibo Army had appeared. It was impossible not to fight.

By the time Zhang Yu and Guo Wei arrived at the big tent, the generals in the army had already arrived there one after another.

"Envoy!" Zhang Yi looked exhausted, and pressed his hands down, motioning everyone to sit down, and said: "I invite you to the military tent to discuss matters. I think you should know about the Baibo Rebellion!"

"I've heard about it!"

Wang Rou nodded and said, "The remnant of the E bandit Guo Tai has led his people in rebellion and is now leading his troops to attack the cities in Hedong. His momentum is not small and there are already more than 10,000 people."

"Of course!"

Zhang Yi sighed and said, "Because of the Northwest Rebellion, the troops from Hedong were transferred to Guanzhong. Now the troops from Hedong are scarce and I am afraid they are no match for the Baibo Army. And I am worried that the Baibo Army will unite with the Xiongnu rebels. If our army is attacked from both sides, Bingzhou will be in danger!"

"Therefore, we have to send troops to attack the Huns now!" Zhang Yu said helplessly.

"Can't we go south to pacify the Baibo Army first?" Shangdang Governor Wei Xuan asked doubtfully.

"cannot!"

Seeing that Wei Xuan didn't know anything about military affairs, Zhang Yu patiently explained, "The Xiongnu rebels are in the west, and our army is separated from them by Luliang. If we move our troops southward, Taiyuan will be left empty. If the Xiongnu lead their troops eastward, Bingzhou will be in danger!"

If they could choose, everyone would choose to deal with the Baibo Army first and then defeat the Xiongnu. But the problem was that the Baibo Army was in the east of the Yellow River, south of the main army, while the Xiongnu soldiers were in the west.

The army will march south to suppress the Baibo Army. If the Huns want to take advantage of Taiyuan's emptiness, they will lead their troops eastward, and Taiyuan will be plundered on a large scale, or they will cooperate with the Baibo Army to attack the army from both sides.

Now, when fighting against the Huns, the Baibo Army is limited by its own strength. Even if they want to help the Huns, they will be unable to do so due to the restraint of the Hedong County soldiers. They can only watch the army fight the Huns.

Therefore, as the situation has developed to the current point, the Bingzhou army has no choice but to go to war.

Zhang Yi paced in front of the map and said, "Now we need to send troops to defeat the Xiongnu rebels first, recapture the cities in Xihe, and then go south to Hedong to help Hedong suppress the bandits."

"But the Huns have so many soldiers!" Wang Rou said worriedly.

"What can a large number of soldiers do?"

Zhang Yi encouraged himself and said, "The Xiongnu troops are under the command of various leaders. They are unwilling to fight to the death with our army. Therefore, although they have many soldiers, their morale is not united. Although our army has few soldiers, they are good at fighting. If we fight them now, we may be able to win!"

"I wonder if you are willing to follow me into battle?"

"I am willing to follow your orders!" Wei Xuan was the first to express his opinion.

"I am willing to lead the troops to fight!" Zhang Yu responded to everyone.

"good!"

Seeing that everyone's morale was high, Zhang Yi nodded and said, "All units should prepare for battle. We will march out in two days. We will first go to Yuli to join Feng Taiyuan, and then go west to Lishi to wipe out the rebels!"

"promise!"

After chatting about the deployment of troops for a while, Zhang Yi asked everyone to leave.

After leaving the tent, Zhang Yu looked serious.

Guo Yu followed closely behind Zhang Yu and invited him, "Would you like to walk for a while?"

"Ok!"

Seeing Zhang Yu's heavy expression, Guo Yu asked, "I see Ji'an's face is not happy. Could it be that he has different opinions on Envoy Zhang's arrangement?"

“There is no question of having different opinions!”

Zhang Yu sighed and said, "I just think that Envoy Zhang is too eager to send troops!"

"If we don't send troops now, won't we just sit back and watch the Huns join forces with the Baibo rebels?" Guo Yu said.

Zhang Yu paced back and forth, holding his sword in his hand, and said, "Actually, I have a dangerous plan, but I'm afraid it will be difficult to implement given Envoy Zhang's temperament."

"What's the plan?"

"Leave some troops to garrison the strategic point of Luliang, and lead the elite troops south to raid the Baibo Army. If the Baibo Army is defeated, we can return to attack the Huns." Zhang Yu said.

"It's too dangerous!"

Guo Yu shook his head and said, "We don't have many soldiers in Bingzhou to begin with. If we divide our troops and the defending troops are defeated by the Xiongnu, the situation will be very unfavorable to our army. Your Excellency cannot agree to this."

“It’s dangerous!”

Zhang Yu muttered something, looked at the smoke rising from the camp, and stopped talking.

Dividing the troops to resist the enemy, as Guo Yu said, this strategy is too risky. Bingzhou has few troops and it is difficult to stop the Xiongnu. Once the Xiongnu enter Taiyuan, the situation in Bingzhou will be corrupted, and the commander Zhang Yi will be directly dismissed.

Hedong was not under the jurisdiction of Bingzhou, so even if the Baibo Army caused trouble in Hedong, Zhang Yi would not be punished. Therefore, it was not difficult for Zhang Yi to choose. Sending troops to fight against the Xiongnu rebels was the most stable option.

(End of this chapter)