Taiheiki

Chapter 331 Mumu
————————————————————

The sun was setting in the west.

People sat around a campfire, sharing mare's milk from the same horn cup. Two men skillfully skinned and gutted a weasel with a knife, then skewered it with branches and roasted it over the fire. A porridge of wild grass seeds simmered in a leather pot hanging above the fire. Despite the scarcity of food, everyone's face was filled with hope for the future.

"Horses' hooves!" Huturge stood up. Without his order, his men quickly extinguished the campfire, led their mounts, and scattered, disappearing into the grassland. A few minutes later, they found the source of the sound—four nomadic hunters with bows. They had six horses, two of which were dragging game. They had a good haul: gazelles, rabbits, and pheasants.

"Brothers, you have plenty of prey!" someone shouted as he leaped from the grass onto his horse. "And we're still hungry. Can't you share some with us?"

The four hunters gripped their bows warily, but they soon realized that figures were rising up on their sides and behind them; they were clearly surrounded. The leader gestured for his companions to lower their bows and said in a deep voice, "Of course, but we have women and children starving at home. Is one gazelle enough?"

"That's enough!" Hurtig laughed. Although his side had a significant numerical advantage, he didn't want to fight over a little food. After all, the enemy must be quite skilled to have hunted so many prey, and arrows don't discriminate in a fight. He reached into his robes, pulled out a gold-embroidered belt buckle, and tossed it over: "I won't take your gazelles for nothing. Take this; you can exchange it for some good things from the Han people!"

The lead hunter skillfully took the gold-embroidered belt buckle, then warily looked around: "You thieves, where did you steal this from? If the Han people see this, they'll definitely arrest us as thieves! You took my gazelle and now you want to harm me? That's going too far!"

"I didn't steal this, it's a family heirloom!" Hugh Turgene laughed. "If you don't believe me, you can melt this thing down and trade it for something else!"

"A family heirloom?" The lead hunter laughed. "Do you think we're fools? How could someone like you possibly have such a gold belt buckle?"

Before Xiutuge could speak, his attendant shouted angrily, "Shut up! Open your dog eyes wide! This is Chanyu Chengligutu! Why aren't you dismounting and kneeling down?"

"Chengli Gutu Chanyu?" The four hunters were stunned. In the Xiongnu language, "Chengli" means "heaven," "Gutu" means "son," and Chanyu means "vast and boundless." Therefore, "Chengli Gutu Chanyu" means "the great son of heaven." Although the Xiongnu were no longer the dominant power on the steppe, they had been the dominant force for hundreds of years, from the late Warring States period to the mid-Western Han Dynasty, rivaling and fighting against the Han Dynasty. Although they were eventually defeated by the Han Dynasty and split into the Southern and Northern Xiongnu, with the Southern Xiongnu becoming subjects of the Han Dynasty and the Northern Xiongnu migrating westward, they still possessed immense prestige and influence among the various tribes of the steppe. The four hunters immediately understood the meaning behind the phrase "Chengli Gutu Chanyu."

"But isn't the Xiongnu Chanyu on the Han side?" the leading hunter asked with some doubt. "And why are there only so many followers?"

"Gentlemen!" Xiutuge raised his right hand, stopping his subordinates who were about to step forward and shout, and said with a smile, "I am Xiutuge of the Luandi clan, the eldest son of the previous Tuteroshizhujiu Chanyu. After my father passed away, some people tried to assassinate me, so I escaped. They are all my followers."

The lead hunter looked at Xiutuge, then at the gold belt buckle in his hand: "If, as you say, you really are the eldest son of the Xiongnu Chanyu, and you escaped because you were assassinated, then why don't you ask the Han military officer for his protection? Then you wouldn't be wandering the grasslands, not even having any gazelles to eat!"

"Because I don't want to go back to being the Han people's gatekeepers!" Hutug said. "The Han people keep us trapped in one place, without requiring us Xiongnu to migrate or move around. We are their gatekeepers and servants. Although there are rewards every year, only a few people receive them, and most people get nothing. The tribe is becoming weaker and weaker, so I want to call on the Xiongnu to leave Han rule and return to the grasslands, just like before!"

"I remember now, you're that Xiutuge!" a hunter suddenly shouted. "The Han people have put a huge reward on you. If you bring me your head, they'll reward me with two thousand sheep or two hundred cattle and one hundred horses! If they can bring me news of you, they'll also get half the reward!"

"Shut up, you fool!" the lead hunter yelled, then turned to Hutug and said, "Don't worry, we won't betray you to the Han people!"

"Don't worry, we won't hurt you!" Huturge laughed. "Besides, we won't stay here for long. By the time you report us to the Han people, we'll have already left for another place. On this grassland, the Han people can't do anything to me!"

Following Hugh Turge's gesture, his men made way for the hunters to leave. Some picked up the gazelles and began skinning and butchering them, lighting a campfire to prepare their delayed dinner. Just as everyone was about to eat, the sound of hooves approached again; it was the leader of the four hunters from before.

"There's something that concerns your leader!" the hunter shouted. "I just remembered."

"What is it!" Hugh Turge stood up.

“Your mother is seriously ill and is about to pass away!” the hunter said.

"What?" Hugh Turge's face suddenly turned grim. "How did you know?"

“A few days ago we went to a market near a Han Chinese village to trade hides for salt! The village elders told us that if we met a man named Hutug, we should tell him this!” The hunter cracked his whip: “That’s all for now, I’m off!” With that, he turned his horse around and rode away.

"Chanyu, this is a trap set by the Han people! They want to lure you to visit your mother, and then take the opportunity to kill you!"

"Yes, this is definitely a trap, otherwise why would they release the information!" "I know! But I was raised by my mother, and without her, I wouldn't be alive today!" Hugh Turgenez thought for a moment: "Perhaps there's a way that satisfies both sides. Let me think about it!"

------------------

Yunzhong County, Shaling County (Halabanshen Village, Tuoketuo County).

The history of Yunzhong Commandery can be traced back to the reign of King Wuling of Zhao. This great monarch, who learned horsemanship and archery from the Hu people and introduced the art of cavalry, a type of art of warfare, to the Xia kingdoms, defeated the Zhongshan State (Lingshou County, Hebei Province) in 324 BC. He then turned his military focus northward, and after more than twenty years of fighting, the Zhao people drove the Linhu and Loufan tribes, originally inhabiting northern Shanxi and south-central Inner Mongolia, to the Ordos Plateau west of the Yellow River. The Zhao state's power expanded westward along the southern foothills of the Daqing Mountains and Wula Mountains, extending its territory to the edge of the Hetao region. On this vast land, the Zhao people established three commanderies from west to east: Yunzhong, Yanmen, and Dai.

King Wuling of Zhao built the city of Yunzhong on the east bank of the Yellow River. Besides, Yunzhong was near several rivers, including the Huangyu River (present-day Dahei River), the Wuquan River (present-day Xiaohei River), and the Baiqu River (present-day Baobei River). The land was flat, fertile, and rich in water and grass, suitable not only for animal husbandry but also for agriculture. Therefore, since the Warring States period, both the Central Plains dynasties and the various Xiongnu tribes regarded the area as an important place for raising horses and stationing troops.

However, as the northern climate gradually became drier and colder during the mid-to-late Western Han Dynasty, the local population dwindled. Many former settlements and villages were abandoned, and only a few herdsmen and their livestock were frequently seen, with a handful of farmers remaining. Along the banks of the rivers, endless meadows and thickets stretched out, rarely showing any human presence. The original irrigation facilities also fell into disrepair, and water overflowing from the irrigation canals flooded the low-lying areas, forming patches of marshland. Within these marshes, dense thickets and mixed forests, along with lush meadows, sprang up. These marshes and thickets became habitats for various wild animals and birds.

Deep in the dense forest, countless wild animals inhabit the area, including wolves, gazelles, elk, wild boars, bears, and even tigers. Beavers build their dens in the swamps and river bends. Among the superstitious locals, various ghost stories circulate, such as the fortune-telling beaver grandfathers whose fur is as white as snow due to their age. They are said to possess wisdom, and if you give them a gift, they can predict the future.

The woman from Xiutuge lived beside a swamp. Although she was a woman, she possessed the ability to tell fortunes by observing flowing water and the livers of dead livestock—an extremely rare skill. Therefore, even the most arrogant and conceited Xiongnu warriors dared not speak loudly in her presence. They all believed she possessed some kind of supernatural power, and that offending her would be unwise. The Xiongnu and the neighboring inhabitants called her Asongmu, but behind her back, they called her Asongga, which in the Xiongnu language meant "the woman who cannot bear children."

While Zhang Wen spread rumors that Asongmu was seriously ill and didn't have much time left, he entrusted Gongsun Hao with the task of guarding the woman and luring Xiutuge into a trap. Gongsun Hao led two hundred cavalrymen and fifty crossbowmen—not that he couldn't gather more soldiers, but that he felt it was enough. Any more would make it difficult to avoid detection, and besides, according to the existing intelligence, Xiutuge had already dispersed his troops, leaving him with limited strength. Moreover, Gongsun Hao was very confident in the fighting capabilities of his soldiers. In his view, these two hundred and fifty well-equipped elite soldiers were enough to defeat two or even three times their number of Xiongnu in the open field, and if there were fortified positions, they could even hold off ten times their number of Xiongnu.

"Is this where that woman lives?" Gongsun Hao asked the guide, pointing to the building in front of him.

“Yes, this is it!” the guide said with great certainty. “Mum Asong lives in this place all year round!”

"Dismount and surround this area. Don't let anyone out, but don't harm anyone without my order!" Gongsun Hao said.

"Yes, Captain!" his deputy responded, then began loudly issuing orders, instructing the soldiers to split into small teams and disperse in all directions. The buildings before them were nothing more than wooden huts pieced together from large logs, with small windows resembling firing ports on a bunker. Storerooms, living quarters, livestock sheds, and other structures were all connected to the main building, a chaotic mess, like a large, unregulated tenement. In the open space in front of the buildings was a well, and beside it was a tethered animal—a wild boar, upon closer inspection.

"Damn it! Raised by this strange woman, now I understand why that Xiutug gave up his noble chieftainship to go to the grasslands and eat weasels!" Gongsun Hao muttered. He walked to the door, and his men began to pound on it, which startled the wild boar. It widened its eyes, hissed, and looked ready to attack.

"Asongmumu, Asongmumu, a distinguished guest has arrived! Open the door quickly!" the guide shouted loudly in the Xiongnu language.

A moment later, an old woman's voice came from inside the house: "Alright, alright, stop knocking, I've heard you."

Gongsun Hao gestured, and the soldiers stopped knocking. The gate opened, revealing a woman draped in a fur coat and carrying a short cane. Her expression was stern, even somewhat masculine. Beside her was a boy of about thirteen or fourteen, holding a torch and curiously watching the people outside.

"This is the distinguished guest you spoke of?" Asongmu gave Gongsun Hao a cold look and questioned the guide, "Wearing armor and carrying bows and spears, just to deal with a woman and a child?"

"No, no! You've misunderstood, Asongga Mumu!" In his panic, the guide even blurted out the name he usually used to address the woman behind her back: "This is a high-ranking Han official, and these soldiers are his guards. They're not here for you!"

"A high-ranking Han official?" Asong Mumu sneered. "Then come in! Although my dilapidated house probably can't accommodate all his guards!"

As a native of the border region, Gongsun Hao could understand and speak a simple Xiongnu language. He told the soldiers, "You all stay outside and do not damage Mumu's belongings!" Then he said to Mumu Asong in Xiongnu, "I will only bring two people in. Don't worry, I have no ill intentions today. If everything goes smoothly, it will only benefit you!"

Asong Mumu glanced at Gongsun Hao in surprise, then turned to the side and said, "Alright, but I don't know what good it would do for an old woman like me who's not far from death?"

"Mother, you raised Huturge, didn't you?" Gongsun Hao walked into the house and smiled at the woman, saying, "You must have heard about him, right?"

(End of this chapter)