Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 288 Let Tadun wash his neck!
"I haven't seen you for a long time. You look more energetic than ever!"

Knowing that Zhang Yu was inspecting the northern border, Pingcheng, the trade center of the northern border, became more and more lively, with many Wuhuan, Xianbei, and Xiongnu people. The main purpose of these people gathering in Pingcheng was to show their obedience to Zhang Yu, the overlord of the northern border, and secondly to do some business along the way.

For example, although Hu Yanhe, the leader of the Zuonan tribe, was Zhang Yu's father-in-law, he did not dare to follow Wang Hong's example and went to Pingcheng to meet Zhang Yu in person. Even if the leaders of the Daishuo Hu tribe could not come in person, they would send their sons to pay a visit, fearing that Zhang Yu would bear a grudge against them.

"Your Excellency defeated Gongsun Zan and your reputation spread throughout the northern border. All the Hu tribes in Daishuo are in awe of you. Even though I live in seclusion in Chanhebi, I have heard of your reputation." Hu Yanhe looked at Zhang Yu who was sitting on the chair and said, "It is easier to control the Xianbei in the northern border than to control them. I am afraid that the Wuhuan in Youzhou are too powerful and it is difficult for you to use them all at once!"

The decline of the Xianbei was almost in sync with the decline of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Since the deaths of Tan Shihuai and He Lian, fierce internal strife broke out in the Xianbei. First, Kuitou succeeded to the throne, but Qianman killed Kuitou in the middle. Then Budugen and Fulohan expelled Kuitou one after another.

As the Xianbei royal court split, the leaders of the eastern Xianbei tribes such as Suli, Mijia and Queji, who were entrenched in the three counties of Liaoxi, Youbeiping and Yuyang in Youzhou, gradually broke away from the control of the royal court and became independent tribes. However, the Xianbei in Youzhou were not powerful, and the Wuhuan had been entrenched in Youzhou for hundreds of years and had become the local tyrants.

"If the Wuhuan were to disperse among the various counties of Youzhou, claiming to be kings and ruling their own territories, I would not be worried!" Zhang Yu said, "It is only because Tadun of the Liaoxi Wuhuan replaced Qiuliju as king and ruled over the Wuhuan of Shanggu, Yuyang and Liaoxi counties that I am worried."

After being defeated by Huo Qubing, the Wuhuan moved to the outer border of Youzhou and served as a border guard for the Western Han Dynasty. When the Southern Xiongnu became powerful, the Wuhuan were either used by the Eastern Han Dynasty or by the Southern Xiongnu, and they were independent for a long time. After the Eastern Han Dynasty weakened, the Wuhuan still maintained their own rule, but they consciously formed an alliance to plunder Youzhou.

Especially during the rebellion started by Zhang Chun and Wuhuan, the Wuhuan tribes worked together to fight against the Han army, and gradually gave rise to prestigious leaders such as Qiu Liju. Qiu Liju was a Wuhuan tribe in western Liaoxi, with more than 5,000 tribes under his jurisdiction. He was personally brave in martial arts and feared by other Hu tribes.

After Qiuliju's death, his nephew Tadun came to power and took charge of the army on his behalf. With the help of Qiuliju's prestige and his more outstanding abilities than Qiuliju, he gradually won the trust of various tribes. Not only did he become the de facto leader of the Wuhuan in Liaoxi, but he was also able to command the Wuhuan in Shanggu and Yuyang counties. The Wuhuan in Liaodong and Youbeiping also accepted his orders.

In the campaign led by Zhang Yu against Gongsun Zan, Liu He was able to muster tens of thousands of Han and Hu soldiers, among whom was Nanlou, the leader of the Wuhuan in Shanggu, whose tribe numbered nearly 10,000 and included 6,000 soldiers.

Hu Yanhe expressed his loyalty and said, "If you intend to attack Tadun, I, Zuo Nanbu, am willing to lead the way."

Zhang Yu smiled and said, "I know your good intentions. I am now determined to stay in the Central Plains. When I have defeated Yuan Shao, I will lead my troops to behead Tadun. If I move the Wuhuan to Shuofang, I will probably need you to keep an eye on them for me."

"I am willing to guard the border for you!" Hu Yanhe said respectfully.

Since submitting to Zhang Yu, Hu Yanhe has relied on the Chanhebi Salt Lake and his son-in-law Zhang Yu to recruit scattered Hu tribes in the left south. Gradually, his tribe has grown stronger and now has more than 7,000 people, making it the largest Hu tribe in Yanmen County.

As for Hu Yanhe's rise to power, Zhang Yu turned a blind eye. After all, he had been fighting for hegemony in the Central Plains for a long time and did not have much energy to control the Hu tribe. Moreover, the prosperity of the southern part of Zuo was beneficial to Zhang Yu's stability maintenance, and he supervised the evil Hu tribe on his behalf.

As for how to weaken the southern part of the left in the future, Zhang Yu has gradually come up with ideas. However, the southern part of the left is needed to maintain stability and must be relied upon.

Zhang Yu poured a glass of wine for Hu Yanhe and asked with a smile: "The Central Plains is vast, and I am short of soldiers for the expedition. I want to select strong men from various tribes. I wonder if you are willing to help me?"

"How dare you not want to!"

Hu Yanhe thought for a moment and said flatteringly: "My fellow men from Zuo Nanbu are your soldiers. If you want to recruit them, just give the order!"

"I have no intention of conscripting adults now, but will select young and strong men from each account," said Zhang Yu.

Hu Yanhe was confused for a moment, and said, "Young and strong men need to grow up before they can be used by you, Your Excellency. Now that you are eager to dominate the world, why don't you use warriors and hunters?"

Zhang Yu was unwilling to explain too much, and only said vaguely: "Meng Shi can be my hunter, but he can't protect me. However, Zhuang Er has received my kindness in raising him, so he can not only be a hunter, but also protect my safety!"

"I wonder how many young and strong men you want?" Hu Yanhe asked cautiously.

Zhang Yu stretched out three fingers and waved them in front of Hu Yanhe.

"Thirty people?"

"Three hundred people!" Zhang Yu said, "Strong men between the ages of nine and twelve. I won't accept weak children. I only choose strong men!"

"What if the parents don't want to?"

"I just want Zhuang'er!" Zhang Yu emphasized.

Physical fitness is a gift, not everyone is physically strong. Especially in agricultural and nomadic societies with scarce resources, strong men are very popular. Zhang Yu picked out strong men, which was actually one of the means to weaken the Hu tribe. And strong children will become strong warriors after a little training when they grow up.

Hu Yanhe was silent for a while, then said, "I cannot afford to pay for three hundred strong men. Your Excellency needs to let the leaders of each tribe take the quota according to the number of their accounts."

"good!"

Zhang Yu smiled and said, "That's what I think. But when selecting strong boys, I need the father-in-law to send someone to help."

Due to the particularity of nomadic peoples, the means of controlling the Hu tribe by successive dynasties in the Central Plains were more through managing the leaders and then conscripting the Hu tribe’s troops, similar to the feudal system of the Zhou Dynasty. The so-called Janissary (Sultan’s personal soldiers) system is essentially the selection of foreign talents, starting with young children, and alienating them into Mangzhu people from an early age. Zhang Yu plans to select 300 Hu children for training first. If the first phase is successful, Zhang Yu will recruit more Hu children for training next time and form a periodic system, such as selecting strong children every five years and selecting according to the population ratio. It can even be used not only on the Hu tribe in northern Xinjiang, but also on the southern barbarians, Goguryeo, and Qiang people.

After chatting with his cheap father-in-law Hu Yanhe, Zhang Yu convened a meeting of the Hu tribe three days later.

After many years, Zhang Yu restarted the Pingcheng Conference. Compared with the last Pingcheng Conference, this time there were more Wuhuan leaders from Dai County and Wuhuan from Shanggu who sent envoys to offer gifts. However, because the two Wuhuan tribes had just joined, Zhang Yu approved the relaxation of tax standards for the two Wuhuan tribes.

As a recognized ruler, Zhang Yu first listened to the feedback from the leaders of the various Hu tribes, mediated the conflicts between the leaders of the Hu tribes, refined the relevant laws between the Han and the Hu tribes, and fine-tuned the pastures for each tribe. The leaders of the various Hu tribes declared their loyalty to Zhang Yu and promised to fulfill their tax obligations. As for the "blood tax", although the leaders of the various tribes had objections, they still agreed to implement it.

Shortly after the Pingcheng Conference, to Zhang Yu's surprise, Tadun sent an envoy to visit Zhang Yu from afar.

"Your servant greets you, my lord!"

The messenger presented the gift list, his expression was not respectful at all, and he said: "My lord has heard of your reputation and has long wanted to make friends with you. Now he has specially ordered me to pay a visit to you."

Zhang Yu glanced at the contents of the gift list and saw that Tadun only offered fifty fine horses, one hundred deer skins, and two hundred sheep skins. The gift was not generous, so he was unhappy and said indifferently, "I don't know why Tadun asked you to come here?"

The messenger said, "Since your lordship left Youzhou, Gongsun Zan has led his troops to attack Youzhou. My lord is willing to send troops to help Youzhou."

"The governor of Youzhou is Liu He. You can just go find Liu Youzhou. Why do you need to ask for my opinion now?" Zhang Yu asked.

The messenger smiled awkwardly and said, "Liu Youzhou could not agree, so he asked me to come and pay my respects to you, Your Excellency."

"What are the conditions for sending troops that Liu Youzhou cannot agree to?" Zhang Yu asked.

The envoy bowed and said, "My lord wishes to make peace with you, and hopes that Bing and You states can continue with the old system, give money and food every year, and open border trade. If you send troops to defeat Gongsun, you will have to pay extra money and food."

"What is the old system?" Zhang Yu asked casually.

"During the Han Dynasty, 100 million coins were given every year!"

Zhang Yu sneered and said, "In the past, the Han Dynasty gave the Xiongnu more than 190 million coins a year. Do you know what reward I have given them for ruling over the Xiongnu now?"

"What reward is it?" the messenger asked blankly.

Zhang Yu drew out his sword, placed it horizontally on the table, and said in a deep voice: "The princess of the Xiongnu king is my wife. The Chanyu is under my command. The soldiers of the Hu tribe on the north are at my disposal. If you want to get my reward, you must kill the enemy for me."

Zhang Yu was not Liu Xiu. In order to give the people a rest, he gave 500 million coins every year to the Xiongnu, Xianbei, Wuhuan and other Hu people in the Western Regions. At that time, the annual tax revenue in the early days of the Eastern Han Dynasty was only 200 to 300 million.

Now, for Zhang Yu, it is okay to temporarily give concessions to the Hu people in order to dominate the world, but he really cannot spend a lot of money to give money to the Hu people. It is better to use the money to fight. Besides, the Xianbei in the northern border are divided, the Xiongnu are not worth mentioning, and the Wuhuan are not worth paying a lot of money to please.

"Since you are unwilling to pay, don't blame my lord for resorting to force!" Seeing Zhang Yu's stiff attitude, the messenger threatened.

Zhang Yu sneered and said, "If Tadun dares to cross Yanshan to attack me, I will lead my troops to fight him in a decisive battle."

Zhang Yu was unwilling to talk to the envoy any more, so he waved his hand and said, "Drag him down and behead him, then send his head to Tadun and tell him that I am waiting for you in Jinyang."

"promise!"

"How dare Zhang Yu?"

Without waiting for the messenger to speak, the soldier stepped forward to cover his mouth, then dragged him out of the tent and beheaded him.

"My lord, Tadun leads tens of thousands of Wuhuan tribes in Youzhou. If we kill Tadun now, I'm afraid he will help Gongsun Zan!" Yan Rou said worriedly.

"The Wuhuan are just a bunch of idiots, why worry about them becoming a big threat?"

Kobe said in a deep voice: "If Tadun dares to lead his troops to attack, I am willing to lead the troops for you, my lord."

Zhang Yu stood up from the couch and said with a sneer, "If Tadun behaves himself, I can still keep him alive for a few more days. If he doesn't know how to live or die, I will kill him after I defeat Yuan Shao."

Wuhuan was not a well-known tribe among the Hu tribes. Its name was derived from the word Rouran in Hu language. The fact that the Xiongnu and Xianbei people scornfully called it Rouran shows that Wuhuan’s fighting power was not strong. The reason why Wuhuan rose to prominence in the late Han Dynasty was that they had a leader named Tadun who had the ability to command all tribes.

(End of this chapter)