Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 355: The Son Becomes the King of the Xiongnu and Lives Up to His Brother's Kindness

"Fuli is one year older!"

Zhang Yu put the chubby Zhang Bi down and said with a smile, "Such a strong boy, if he grows up a few years, we can arrange a marriage for him, and then he can join the army."

Alahai sat quietly beside them, looking at the scene of loving father and filial son, with a faint smile on his lips.

Zhang Yu put his hand on Alahai's and said with a smile: "Madam, you have raised a good son for me!"

"Thanks to my lady's care, he is a little naughty and not as obedient as Mumo!" said Alahai.

Although she was the princess of the Xiongnu king and Wang Ji's wife, Alahai did not dare to take advantage of her status. She was always humble to others and often spoke to Wang Ji as a respecter.

Seeing his parents chatting, Zhang Bi felt bored, so he bowed and went out to play with his brother Zhang Luo.

Seeing the child gone, Zhang Yu put his arm around Alahai, held him in his arms, and said with a smile, "Why should we be so humble in everything? Fuli's temperament is different from Mumo's. I like both his movements and his quietness."

Sniffing the scent released by Zhang Yu, Alahai suddenly asked, "Are you going to send troops?"

"almost!"

Zhang Yu felt the beauty in his arms and said, "Next year, we may have to send troops to attack Hebei. If we can succeed, half of the country will be settled."

"What about the Huns?" asked Alahai.

Zhang Yu stopped groping and asked, "Madam, what do you mean by asking this?"

"Since the death of my eldest brother, the position of Chanyu has been vacant. My second brother often sends people to inquire about it and seek the position of Chanyu." Alahai said.

Zhang Yu looked at Alahai's beautiful face and asked, "Madam, are you asking for the position of Chanyu on behalf of Huchuquan?"

Hearing this, Alahai knew that Zhang Yu was suspicious of her, and she felt wronged. She said, "I married Zhang, so my heart is with my husband. If I were speaking for my second brother, why would I take the initiative to tell my husband?"

Seeing this, Zhang Yu knew that Alahai had been wronged, and quickly straightened Alahai who had turned his body, and said with a smile: "Don't be angry, I have wronged you, Madam. To be honest, I have not appointed Chanyu for a long time because I am considering Fuli."

"What do you mean?" Alahai asked, becoming increasingly interested.

Seeing that Alahai had behaved well, Zhang Yu tore open the gap in his clothes, and his hands began to move restlessly again, saying with a smile: "To be honest, I want to let Fuli be the Khan of the Xiongnu, and turn the Xiongnu into a fiefdom for my children. In the future, Fuli will lead hundreds of thousands of Xiongnu people, fight for me to suppress the rebellion, and I will honor my wife as my queen. Isn't it a pleasure!"

Alahai was delighted at first, but then he began to have doubts. He asked, "The Xiongnu Chanyu has been a member of the Luanti clan since ancient times. Now we are replacing the Luanti clan with the Zhang clan. I wonder what the people's attitude will be?"

"What's so difficult about this?"

Zhang Yu didn't take it seriously and said, "Fuli's Chinese name is Zhang Bi. Now we can take Luandi as our Xiongnu surname and call ourselves Luandi Fuli."

The Xiongnu tribes under Zhang Yu's control, plus the Xiongnu tribes not under Zhang Yu's control, had a population of 300,000 to 400,000 people, which was a considerable force in the north. In order to control this force, marriage and force could only control it temporarily. If he wanted to completely use the Xiongnu for his own benefit, he needed to refer to other methods.

Looking back at the past and present, learning from the Han Dynasty to enfeoff the sons and daughters and control the hard-to-control areas is a transitional strategy. If we first change to a fiefdom, establish a capital, organize the tribes into counties and national roads, and then use the prime minister to empty the fiefdom, and use the strategy of boiling the frog in warm water, we can make the Xiongnu completely submit to the Zhang family.

Among them, the most crucial thing about changing the Xiongnu tribe into a feudal state was to change the concept of the Xiongnu people, so that they no longer regarded themselves as Xiongnu people, but as citizens of the feudal state, and gradually forgot the concept of Xiongnu people.

Historically, in order to unite the tribes in Northeast China, the Tatars created the concept of the Jurchens out of thin air, not only creating writing and language, but also myths with national consensus. At the same time, in order to make the concept of tribes fade away, the Tatars also created the Eight Banners of the Jurchens.

With the emergence of the Eight Banners of the Jurchens, the people of various tribes in the Northeast gradually forgot their original tribes. Through long-term influence, the concept of the Jurchen nation was born.

Therefore, it is no exaggeration to say that Ye Zhupi and Huang Taiji were the two generations that created the concept of the Jurchen nation, and before entering the Pass, they constantly used national narratives to fight against the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, if we want to dismantle the concept of the Huns, we need to replace it with other concepts, and then unify a series of things with national identity, such as writing, weights and measures, and mythological narratives.

Alahai worriedly said, "If I change Zhang to Luandi, I don't know if my husband can still regard Fuli as his son, and I don't know if Mumo can continue to regard Fuli as his brother. Besides, the Xiongnu live in a poor and barren land. Now let Fuli be the Chanyu and live in the land of the Huns forever, won't he suffer?"

Zhang Yu pinched Wenre and said dissatisfiedly: "Fuli took the surname Luandi just to stop the mouths of the old Xiongnu. Henan and Shuofang are rich places. They used to support millions of people. The livestock is second only to Liangzhou. If they can be well governed now, the people of the fiefdom will surely be rich."

Alahai seemed to be thinking of the scene of his own child becoming a king, and said with a smile: "It is feasible to grant Fuli the title of vassal king, but I am afraid that my second brother will be dissatisfied when he finds out."

"Leave everything to me!"

Zhang Yu pretended to be helpless and said, "I have been conquering the world for many years, and I often feel that I am working hard for my descendants!"

"Then can my husband hold back?" As Zhang Yu's movements became bigger, Alahai's breathing became heavier and she said in a charming voice.

"Master has abstained from sex for decades, which is really admirable!"

Seeing that his willpower was so weak, Zhang Yu had to admire Zhi Chen, who had worshipped Buddha all his life.

After hanging out in the house for a while, Zhang Yu took a short rest. Upon learning that Zhang Yan was coming to visit him, Zhang Yu became as energetic as a Buddha. He left his comfortable life and met Zhang Yan in the lobby.

"Yan greets the general!"

"You're welcome, brother!"

Seeing Zhang Yan saluting, Zhang Yu stepped forward quickly to greet him and said enthusiastically: "It has been several years since we parted at Jingxing. I am very happy to see you again today!"

Seeing Zhang Yu's enthusiasm, Zhang Yan's worries gradually faded away. He said with a smile, "Your Excellency has fought against Gongsun, defeated Li Jue, and conquered Longyou in the past few years. You now have a million people and 100,000 soldiers under your command. You are so powerful in Hebei and Yan is very envious of you!"

Since Yuan Shao took Changshan, Zhang Yan retreated to Jingxing and became Zhang Yu's outpost to defend Jizhou. Now Zhang Yu was going to attack Jizhou, and Zhang Yan had 10,000 soldiers under his command, so Zhang Yu had to make contact. So at Zhang Yu's invitation, Zhang Yan went to Anyi to meet him in person.

Previously, the difference between the two was not big, and Zhang Yan would not easily yield to Zhang Yu. However, as Zhang Yan said, Zhang Yu's power has become increasingly powerful in recent years due to his fame in Hebei, which made Zhang Yan realize the difference and it was difficult for him to compare. Therefore, between Zhang Yu and Yuan Shao, Zhang Yan chose Zhang Yu.

"Brother, you are too kind!"

Zhang Yu took Zhang Yan's arm and said with emotion, "When Yuan Shao seized Changshan, I wanted to march south to conquer him. However, I had to lead my army westwards because I was worried about the enemy in Guanlong, so it was difficult to rescue him. Fortunately, you can understand. Now I will lead my army eastwards and fulfill my oath."

When Yuan Shao led his troops to seize Changshan, Zhang Yu could not fight with Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao at the same time, so when he decided to send troops to attack Gongsun Zan, Zhang Yu wrote a letter to Zhang Yan to explain and apologize to him. Although Zhang Yan was dissatisfied with Zhang Yu's inability to fulfill his oath, he could only forgive him generously considering that he would need to rely on Zhang Yu more in the future.

Zhang Yan smiled and said, "The situation was complicated at that time, and it was difficult for you to concentrate on attacking Yuan Shao. How could Yan not understand that? Now that you have no worries, you are raising an army to attack Yuan Shao. Yan is willing to lend a hand to you."

Zhang Yan added, "If you can take Jizhou, I will let the governor of Changshan take over with capable people."

"Brother is a capable man!" Zhang Yu said with a big laugh.

Zhang Yu knew what Zhang Yan meant, it was nothing more than a veiled and conditional submission to Zhang Yu. However, Zhang Yu could not accept it, after all, the great cause had not yet been accomplished, so he could not be so unfaithful.

The two of them sat on the couch, and Zhang Yan asked with concern, "I wonder how many troops will you send out?"

Zhang Yu hesitated for a moment and said, "I have 60,000 to 70,000 soldiers and horses now. After deducting the soldiers who stayed behind, the number of soldiers and horses going out to fight should be 50,000 to 60,000. I wonder how many people you have under your command, and how many soldiers and horses you can send out this time?"

"To be honest, there are more than 100,000 Black Mountain troops, and if all the troops are sent out, there will be 10,000 of them. However, I'm afraid that only half of them can be called elite troops." Zhang Yan said truthfully.

Zhang Yu took out a map from the table and pointed it out, saying, "Youzhou will send troops at my invitation, and Yuan Shao is related to Wuhuan by marriage. I don't know if Tadun will send troops. If Tadun sends troops, there are Gongsun in the south and Wuhuan in the north, and the situation in Youzhou is critical. So you may need to send troops to the north to rescue Youzhou first. When necessary, I will send troops to help."

"If Tadun has no intention of sending troops, Youzhou will fight Gongsun. Brother, you can lead the people of Black Mountain to help Youzhou and see if you can defeat Gongsun first, and then join forces and march south."

Zhang Yan looked at the map and asked, "Your Excellency wants to send troops to Yecheng and attack Jizhou together with the troops of Youzhou. Is this possible?"

"Of course!"

Zhang Yu pointed to Yecheng on the map and said, "Yecheng is the capital of Wei Prefecture and the provincial capital of our dynasty. It has a rich population, a strong city wall, convenient transportation, and is easy to defend but difficult to attack. It is the main road to Shangdang."

"If we can control Yecheng, Handan will be captured in no time. If Zhao and Wei are occupied by our army, we can contact Youzhou in the north and join forces to attack Xindu. If Xindu is captured by our army, Yuan Shao can only rely on the coastal counties to fight against us."

Zhang Yan nodded and said, "Jizhou has a population of one million, and the four counties of Wei, Zhao, Zhongshan, and Changshan account for half of the population. Therefore, the key for you is to take Yecheng. As far as I know, Yuan Shao has people repairing the city walls of Yecheng and stationing troops in the counties along the mountains. If you march your troops out of Shanxing, they may be blocked by Yuan Shao's troops."

Zhang Yu smiled and said, "The route of the troops has not yet been determined. If we send troops to Jizhou, I am afraid that the Black Mountain Army led by you will need their cooperation."

"I am willing to serve you, my lord!" Zhang Yan said seriously.

"Thank you for your help, brother!"

Zhang Yu reached out and held Zhang Yan's hand, and said solemnly, "I swear on my life that if I can defeat Yuan Shao, conquer Hebei, and regain control of the Central Plains, I will never forget the kindness you have shown me and the soldiers and civilians of Black Mountain."

After a pause, Zhang Yu asked, "I am still short of a General for the Northern Expedition. You are well versed in military strategy and are very skilled in the use of troops. I would like to appoint you as the General for the Northern Expedition. What do you think?"

Seeing Zhang Yu's solemn promise, Zhang Yan tightly grasped Zhang Yu's hand and said hastily: "How can I accept the position of General Zheng Bei without any military merits?"

(End of this chapter)